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Harahan officials say FEMA review clears major hurdle for fire station replacement
Summary
City leaders told the council they have moved past a FEMA review step for a fire station replacement and are now negotiating project valuation, with the project exceeding a 50% damage threshold that supports replacement funding.
Harahan officials told the city council on March 20 that the city has cleared a key FEMA review step for a planned fire station replacement and is working with federal reviewers on project valuation.
Mayor Baudier and municipal staff said the project passed a FEMA technical review and subsequent peer review at the CRC, and that engineers now are negotiating the replacement value. “We are actually above the 50% mark. Correct? A complete replacement, not a remodel,” the mayor said, describing the project as meeting FEMA27s threshold for replacement rather than repair.
Finance Director Todd Turnion and other staff said FEMA and the state review process had been slow but that a new staff member working with the team had accelerated progress. City officials said they remain optimistic about securing federal funds but did not provide a final award amount.
Why it matters: Clearing the FEMA and CRC review steps increases the city27s chances of receiving federal assistance for a full replacement of the fire station rather than partial repairs. The final funding and project scope remain subject to FEMA valuation and agreement between the city and federal reviewers.
Next steps: City staff said they will continue negotiating the project valuation with FEMA and return to council with details when a funding determination is finalized.
