GALVESTON — Jeff Collins and his wife might leave Galveston Island if things don’t change. Frustrated with a federal housing program and living in a battered home, they might shutter their local linen business, cross the causeway and move away.
The Collinses are among 2,000 applicants for a multimillion-dollar disaster assistance program meant to repair or rebuild island homes damaged during Hurricane Ike.
They also are among an uncounted, but clearly large number, of islanders who’ve grown exasperated with a program that, 24 months after the storm, has begun repair work on fewer than a dozen houses.
“At first when they came out with this program, we decided to stay here and carry on,” he said. “We started the process with the city and the recovery program. Everything sounded good and looked good. That was a couple years ago, and nothing has happened since.”
Frustration is mounting despite assurances from Camp, Dresser McKee, a company hired to administer $167 million in federal funding for the program, that the slow pace was unavoidable in such a large and complex effort and that things were about to begin moving faster.
There’s also fear among Galveston’s official and unofficial leaders that the creeping effort will cost the city residents and businesses, which it can ill-afford after decades of slow population loss and a sharp downward spike just after the storm.
The city council recently has demanded answers from the contractor. Councilman Steve Greenberg has even suggested firing the Massachusetts-based firm.
“You do have a major problem,” Councilman Rusty Legg told CDM in a meeting last week.
“There is a strong lack of communication with the upper management and case managers. Get the people the information so they’re not in limbo.”
To apply for the program, residents must have owned the home when the storm hit, the home must be on the island and be their primary residence.
If applicants meet initial eligibility, they have to submit paperwork, such as title documents of ownership, utility receipts and employment verification, a CDM spokeswoman said.
Each applicant also has to prove household income by gathering six months of income information from those 18 or older living at the house.
Finally, residents have to submit duplication of benefits documentation, which includes any homeowner or flood insurance or Small Business Administration or Federal Emergency Management Agency funds. The duplication of benefits amount is then subtracted from the eligible award amount. But it’s not just voluminous paperwork that’s stalling the process, it is glitches in the program, Collins said.
“They came out and inspected the home, and an inspector took pictures, and then the inspector turned it in, I guess,” he said. “Three or four months went by, and I didn’t hear anything. Then all the inspections got thrown out.”
In August, the city said inspections from The Mission Group weren’t accurate, while CDM said the subcontractor was taking too long.
City officials said the second round of inspections at 350 houses wouldn’t delay the program.
“Six months after the first inspection, they inspected again,” Collins said.
About 500 applicants from a pool of about 1,500 have made it through all eligibility checks and are being pushed forward through inspections and work write-ups, said Mike Spletto, CDM’s director of disaster recovery.
To date, the firm has completed almost 300 work write-ups. Homes can go out for bid after being inspected. The city last week awarded contracts for work to begin on 150 houses.
“I understand it’s been over two years, and it’s been 13 months since CDM has been hired,” Spletto said in an update to council. “I understand it’s been a long time, but the averages are showing there is production, and the process is moving.”
As of Wednesday, more than 250 applicants had withdrawn from the program, a CDM spokeswoman said.
Repairs to Collins’ house were estimated to cost about $70,000. He isn’t allowed to make any major repairs himself — doing so could void his application.
“The air-conditioning ducts are under my house and just rusting away,” he said. “My light bill is running $700 to $800 a month because the heater is just running constantly to heat the outside and inside.
“I’ve patched the roof, but that was years ago and now the patches are wearing out,” he added. “We’re just tired of the fight.”
To add another challenge for Collins, his home is historic. Under national law, all federally funded work on buildings listed or eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places must pass a review from the state Historical Commission.
Hoping to speed up that process, city council voted Thursday calling for a resolution to “express urgent need for residents to return to their homes” and for the commission to expedite their reviews.
Collins said he would wait a few weeks before making a move to East Texas town of Tyler, where he owns another house, but he isn’t holding out too much longer.
“This is the last straw for us,” he said. “If there are snags and hang-ups, then we’re definitely packing up and we’re out of here.”
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Information from: The Galveston County Daily News, http://www.galvnews.com