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Date 8-30-2018

Freedom of Information Request: Request policy documents from the OCD-DRU related to reconstruction of homes ONLY by licensed contractors and to exclude the state law that allows the homeowner to be their own contractor under the State Contractors License Exemption law.

We have been told by the OCD-DRU that we can not self contract work on our own homes. But Mr. Hassert of the state licensing board claims we can self manage and self contract our own home builds.

I am looking for documents that specifically state a home owner can not be a homeowner contractor for their home reconstruction. I have asked the OCD-DRU IEM Inc employee to provide this information and they refer me to a brochure with a checklist.

I hope you can help with the retrieval of any document that discriminates against homeowners that wish to manage their reconstruction projects

>>> Response by State of Louisiana DOA OCD-DRU <<<
Date 8-30-2018

This is to acknowledge your e-mail submission of August 30, 2018, below. Please note that that the Louisiana Public Record Law allows for requests of existing documents and not generally for submission of questions, discussions, requests for research, or creation of documents. Also, it is important to state as succinctly as possible the documents which you are requesting to avoid ambiguity or confusion. If your submission contains any questions, comments, assertions, or characterizations, this communication is not to be deemed a response or concurrence with same. Your e-mail below is being interpreted as a request for policy documents in the Restore Louisiana homeowner assistance program regarding requirements that Solution 2 grant recipients utilize licensed contractors for reconstruction. The following language is contained in the Restore Louisiana program manual, Iocated on the following website Restore Louisiana program manual website link :

FAQ No. 29    

Date: 1-4-2019 Updated: 1-4-2019 Subject:

State of Louisiana HUD CDBG-DR AMI (%) Percentage.

AMI up to 80% 2018 (low to moderate) PDF Download.

AMI up to 120% 2018/19 (average) PDF Download.

Need more information? Here's your jump board.

If your AMI changed from below 80% to over 80% and under 120% you can appeal that your increase has not be for two consecutive years. Over 120% AMI you can argue the on the same grounds if your increase has not been for 2 consecutive years. (Based on light Sunday reading)

Those of you that are over HUD's income limits (120%) and would like to understand more about how HUD determines over income limits this link is for you.
Resource link: FR-2018-07-26

Very Low Income * 2.4 = 120% AMI.
Very Low Income is 50% AMI.
Example: State wide VLI family of 2 = $24,850
$24,850 * 2.4 = $59,640 120% or HUD Income Limit.
So be sure the state doesn't use the math I just showed you. Some areas are much higher while others are lower. The state really likes to put everyone in one box, so look out for a spreadsheet with the above calculations in VLI for your areas.

Example: Louisiana State Wide 120% AMI.

Research Resources:

FAQ No. 135    

Date: 6-16-2019 Updated: 6-16-2019 Subject: AMI

34. Rental assistance to displaced homeowners. The requirement of 42 U.S.C. 5305(a)(8) are modified to authorize grantees to extend rental assistance payments on behalf of qualified homeowners for up to 24 months. After a disaster, many homeowners encounter unanticipated delays and scarcity of available construction and/or elevation contractors in their area. While undergoing rehabilitation of their homes, most of these homeowners are forced to pay not only a mortgage, but a rental payment as well since their homes are not inhabitable. In other cases, homeowners who have paid off their mortgages must accommodate this additional rental expense into their budgets. In order to provide temporary financial assistance to these families, many of whom are low- or moderateincome households, HUD is modifying the requirements at 42 U.S.C. 5305(a)(8) to the extent necessary to allow grantees to provide up to 24 months of homeowner rental assistance to eligible applicants within the grantee's singlefamily rehabilitation/reconstruction programs. In the case of rehabilitation programs in which the homeowner is responsible for construction oversight, the grantee must establish performance milestones for the rehabilitation that are to be met by the homeowner in order to receive such payments. A grantee using this alternative requirement must document, in its policies and procedures, how it will determine the amount of assistance to be provided is necessary and reasonable. Homeowners receiving interim mortgage assistance are not eligible for rental assistance.


Resource Research:

FAQ No. 134    

Date: 6-15-2019 Updated: 6-15-2019 Subject: Allocations

33. Limitation on emergency grant payments - interim mortgage assistance. 42 U.S.C. 5305(a)(8) is modified to extend interim mortgage assistance to qualified individuals from 3 months to up to 20 months. Interim mortgage assistance is typically used in conjunction with a buyout program, or the rehabilitation or reconstruction of single-family housing, during which mortgage payments may be due but the home is uninhabitable. The time required for a household to complete the rebuilding process may often extend beyond 3 months, during which mortgage payments may be due but the home is inhabitable. Thus, this interim assistance will be critical for many households facing financial hardship during this period. Grantees may use interim housing rehabilitation payments to expedite recovery assistance to homeowners, but must establish performance milestones for the rehabilitation that are to be met by the homeowner in order to receive such payments. A grantee using this alternative requirement must document, in its policies and procedures, how it will determine the amount of assistance to be provided is necessary and reasonable.


Resource Research:

FAQ No. 133    

Date: 6-15-2019 Updated: 6-15-2019 Subject: Allocations

"Dear Homeowner,

You are receiving this notification because you have not closed on your grant award offered by Restore Louisiana.

Please note that you MUST execute your grant agreement by Wednesday, July 31, 2019 or the grant offered will be rescinded and you will no longer be able to participate in the Restore Louisiana Homeowner Assistance Program. "

According to reports filed for April and May the state of Louisiana Office of Community Development Disaster Recovery Unit working under the name of Restore Louisiana Homeowners Program has increased it's speed of processing grant awards by increasing the number of rescinded grants offered to homeowners.

April of 2019, 30 homeowners have had their HUD CDBG-DR grant awards rescinded by the state for state created policy reasons.

May of 2019 278 homeowners have had their HUD CDBG-DR grant awards rescinded by the state for state created policy reasons.

The state of Louisiana's timing will match the 3rd year since the flood and fall on or close to the anniversary date of the August 12th 2016 floods.

It appears the state has not formally offered homeowners with alternatives to their recovery. With over 2,000 homeowners at risk of losing everything from the flood to include all additional grant funds for unmet needs the state will face additional homelessness and blight as a result of meeting goals and deadline.

HUD officially allows the state to run the distribution of funds up and to the Sept. 2022. The state of Louisiana OCD-DRU has announced several times the closing dates of programs in 2018 and continues by rewording the closing of programs to the rescinding of grant awards.

"Elsewhere, this notice describes the extension of the expenditure deadline that the Department is authorized to provide to all CDBG-NDR (NDR = National Disaster Resilience) grantees, allowing them to expend funds until September 30, 2022. "

Grantee Name: Louisiana
Grant Number: B-16-DL-22_0001
Grant Award: $1,708,407,000
Balance: $973,501,310
Average of March, April, May Spending: $23,334,110
Grantee Spending Status: On Pace

NOTE: On Pace = Spending greater than the monthly pace required to fully use the grant by target closeout date.

Research Resource:

FAQ No. 132    

Date: 6-13-2019 Updated: 6-13-2019 Subject: State Contractors

Tulane University , LSU, University of Louisiana at Lafayette did you receive your invitation to bid on what Executive Order Number JBE 2018 - 16 details?

Do you have copies of the discussions and first drafts?

"WHEREAS, Louisiana has invested and is continuing to invest significant resources toward creating organizations such as The Water Institute of the Gulf and university centers that build the state's strength as a unique, global leader in water management; and
"

Have you participated with the collection of data related to Mississippi River Basin Wide Modeling in the past decade with a group called "The Water Institute of the Gulf?"

Several Not For Profits, For Profits, and University Science Research groups may have been purposely excluded from grant awards published in Public Law 115-123.

Editors Note: Has the state of Louisiana and it's capital region taken economic development over collaborated scientific research between Not for Profits, Universities and For Profit organizations?

Modeling software developed by one university may share the same data as another and provides slightly different results. Modeling software such as Hurricane Tracking software often produces different results. They may be similar but no two data calculating applications seem to produce the same results. Many factors are included but are not important for this report. What is important is knowing that non technical, non science community individuals have lobbied for specific modeling software provided by a group that is located in a part of the state of Louisiana that is only interested in economic growth from the grant awards related to Public Law 115-123.


FAQ No. 131    

Date: 6-13-2019 Updated: 6-13-2019 Subject: Watershed

Let's first start off with some resources to bring you up to speed.

Then, in a article we'll share what one homeowner is doing in the southern state of Louisiana to fight against rusty ducts, dirt, moisture in the air and just plan cool sticky inside the home. Enough, we're not from the stone age, let's work the science of building.

Resources to read:

FAQ No. 130    

Date: 6-9-2019 Updated: 6-9-2019 Subject: Construction

You will find a time you need to question those who claim to know their processes. You will need to be able to research those inspecting and offering you information to make sure you are given the best most accurate information. It is your duty to verify everything that is said to you verbally, cross reference everything that is in writing and be sure you know you have the right to ask questions until you have a full understanding of your FEMA sponsored recovery.

Your family, your home, your property is and should be the most important thing in your life during a disaster and during the disaster recovery period. It may take you months or years to recover, you are the only one that will protect your rights to federal assistance. Don't sit back thinking someone is going to do it all for you. Get active and become pro-active with your Federal Disaster Assistance. It's not a handout, you have paid into the system since the first day you paid federal taxes.

https://nfipservices.floodsmart.gov/

  • Bulletins
    • FEMA issued Bulletins to the NFIP Clearinghouse Community
  • Claims
    • More information for Claims & Adjuster Community
  • Underwriting
    • More information for the community regarding Policy
  • Manuals
    • Links to various Flood Insurance Manuals
  • NFIP Training
    • Links to NFIP Training Courses for Agents and Adjusters.
  • BureauNet Reporting
    • The place to go for reporting and community related documentation.

Research Resource:

FAQ No. 129    

Date: 6-4-2019 Updated: 6-4-2019 Subject:

It appears that your NFIP will cover floodway as well as spillway floods even if the Army Corps of Engineers opened the spillway waters.

In fact, the Morganza Spillway actually flows into a Floodway then that spills over into the "Spillway" which causes the flooding.

FEMA defines a flood as: A flood is (1) "A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of two or more acres of normally dry land area or of two or more properties (at least one of which is your property) from a. overflow of inland or tidal waters; b. unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source; or c. mudflow*. (2) collapse or subsidence of land along the shore of a lake or similar body of water as a result of erosion or undermining caused by waves or currents of water exceeding anticipated cyclical levels that result in a flood as defined in A.1.a. above."
Get the news out to those that own homes in Floodways or Spillways that can qualify for a mortgage that will require you to have NFIP coverage.

The 30 day waiting period does not apply to secured loans using your home as security such as a mortgage. Also, you can insure your home for up to $250,000 for the structure and up to $100,000.
You would have to have all of your contents placed inside the NFIP insured structure before the flood event.

From FEMA Flood Smart website: "If you purchase flood insurance in connection with making, increasing, extending or renewing your mortgage loan, there is no waiting period."
Check with your banks and your NFIP agents to make sure they give you coverage when the storm is at your shoreline or the Mississippi is going to be opened up in your backyard. The FEMA trained people tell you you have to wait 30 days. But Lenders and Banks can get that waived.

Flood in Progress: FEMA memorandum June 30, 2011 "Guidance Related to Flood-in-Progress Exclusion and New Policy Applications" (Linked in resources below.)

This memorandum was in reference to the Morganza Spillway opening May 17, 2011. Once the Spillway is open it is a flood, a flood in progress and it is too late to insure your home at that point.

Please read this document if you do not have flood insurance and own a home in the spillway.
Research Resources:

FAQ No. 128    

Date: 6-3-2019 Updated: 6-3-2019 Subject:

Scientific American republished an article by E&E News titled "Levees Won't Save Louisiana from a Climate Existential Crisis”
Republished E&E News article can be found at Scientific American article Levees Won't Save Louisiana from a Climate Existential Crisis
Additional links of interest that are embedded in the article are.

HUD Sponsored the report that the State of Louisiana OCD-DRU created and presented. It was part of the National Disaster Resilience Competition HUD sponsored with $1 billion in grants. The competition is designed to provide a national model for adaptation. Louisiana wasn't first in prize money but it did earn it's spot amongst 13 other states.

The report is intended to serve as a national model for adaptation. The Department of Housing and Urban Development funded the $40 million project in 2016 through its National Disaster Resilience Competition, which allocated $1 billion to 13 states and cities, from California to Minot, N.D., to develop responses to climate change.

FAQ No. 127    

Date: 6-2-2019 Updated: 6-2-2019 Subject:

From 2017 Research into SBA Loans Declined by Households that were below 80% AMI and did not sign the closing documents.

June 6, 2017 Third Appropriation Funding Recommendation - Conference Calls between Restore Louisiana Task Force Members:

"HUD allows the state to provide assistance to LMI homeowners who were approved an SBA loan, but declined it and never entered into a loan agreement with SBA. The cost of providing assistance to these homeowners is approximately an additional $5,152,000."

Additional research showed that in 2016 the state anticipated only 109 households would be in this category.

Follow up research first quarter of 2018 showed that the state did not have a process in place to notify homeowners that matched the "HUD" Nov. 16, 2011 Hardship Guidance and appeared to simply ignore the topic and allow the homeowners to think they had to wait for the Congressional SBA fix.

Follow up research 2nd quarter of 2018 an Advocate Reporter messaged me telling me the state closed the "Loophole" (His word) and no other hardships were being processed. This was the same time they changed Homeowners Assistance Director from a state employee to a temporary hire from CSRS Inc. by the name of Stacy Bonnaffons. As you all are aware, Stacy was the topic of a contract that did not get renewed because of a conflict of interest within the program and possible bid rigging. She has been cleared by the state ethics board but only for what was published. Could this actually be the person that denied Low to Moderate Income families their Recovery funds by not declaring hardships in accordance with HUD Guidance of Nov. 16, 2011?

Conclusion: Since management change that included temporary hires from CSRS Inc. no additional homeowners that qualified for a hardship waiver have reached out to me to report their status.

Fall of 2018, document requests identified what could be a minimum of 1,158 homeowners incorrectly classified under the Duplication of Benefits calculation for SBA loans. The states legal department headed up by Dan Rees by not responded to my request to research this issue has in my opinion allowed HUD Core Objectives to be ignored and has penalized Moderate to Low income families by not researching the 1,158 homeowners which the numbers (not names) were given to me by the same legal department in which Dan Rees works.

News media was informed about this issue and felt it was not "News Worthy" .

I would like to find ONE family, one family that applied for the SBA loan, then declined to accept the loan, did not sign the closing paperwork and is below the 80% AMI household income.

Help me find just one household that matches the Guidance from Nov. 16, 2011 and you may have just helped one thousands households recover after the flood.

I'm posting this because a law firm stated if you can prove damages they would represent the 1,158 in a class action. The damages are in the email, estimated $5,152,000 that may or may not have been allocated to low to moderate income families by the state during the time of CSRS Inc management.

Research Resources:

  • Emails Lori Dupont to Louisiana Task Force Members.
  • HUD Allocations discussion and conference calls.
  • Various state sources under the FOIA.

FAQ No. 126    

Date: 5-30-2019 Updated: 5-30-2019 Subject:

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