(Editor’s note:) The Aug. 15 L’OBSERVATEUR reported $7 million of Community Development Block Grant money was coming to St. John the Baptist Parish to help with damage sustained during Hurricane Isaac. St. John officials clarified the money will go to the Parish, and then be used to assist residents who went through the application process in November of 2014. Money will not be sent directly to homeowners. Parish officials said approximately 1,100 people began the application process and more than 500 will be eligible for the funds while the money lasts.

LAPLACE — Homeowners awaiting federal funding to begin the rebuilding of their homes damaged in Hurricane Isaac should be helped by the parish receiving checks sometime in October, according to St. John the Baptist Parish Chief Administrative Officer Michael Coburn.

Coburn told St. John the Baptist Parish Council members Tuesday night approximately $7 million of Community Block Development Grant money should be sent to the parish by late September or early October.

Timely reception of the funding is critical, Coburn said, because the parish is obligated to pay contractors twice a month. He added of the 526 applicants, more than 150 have been moved on to the title phase and another 106 to the inspection phase.

In response to a question from Councilwoman Jaclyn Hotard, Coburn said letters have been sent to all applicants informing them of their status.

Coburn said another $346,000 was expected this past week to pay vendors who have been involved in administrative process of the $32 million grant, such as legal and title work. An additional  $229,000 should be arriving in the next several weeks to complete final payments to those vendors.

Coburn informed Council members the various parties involved in the administration of the grant meet weekly to “discuss every hiccup we see. We address every problem we see.”

Parish President Natalie Robottom said there is insufficient funding for all parish residents who applied and additional funding is being sought through other channels. She said the state Office of Community Development is in charge of disaster recovery funding.

Robottom admitted her staff must be more efficient in complying with grant requirements so as to receive all funding in a timely manner. Some of the money has apparently been delayed because of confusion in paperwork or project requirements, she said, which has pushed back payments to vendors.

“We cannot cash flow a $32 million project,” Robottom said. “We should not make vendors wait as long as they are waiting. This is a concern for me.

“We have to do a better job of managing these dollars. Whatever system we have in place is not working.”

In other business, Council members authorized the Parish to enter into a cooperative endeavor with the St. John the Baptist Parish District Attorney’s office for management of the Adjudicated Properties Program.

St. John Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Angelic Keller said the agreement allows the D.A.’s office to manage the program. Keith Green of the D.A.’s office said the current process for adjudicating property is confusing and “will not work.”

He said the process will be tested on 25 projects and once any bugs are identified and corrected, the process will be presented to the Council.

“We have to make sure the properties are eligible to sell,” he said, adding he does not know how many such properties there are in the parish.

Councilman Lucien Gauff said, “we have all been wanting to get the adjudicated properties back in commerce.”

— By Richard Meek