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Bill offers Katrina reimbursement to Pine Bluff Convention Center Friday, Sep 16, 2005 By Alison Vekshin Stephens Washington Bureau WASHINGTON -- Legislation introduced in Congress this week could reimburse the Pine Bluff Convention Center and other Arkansas halls sheltering Hurricane Katrina evacuees. The bill calls on the Federal Emergency Management Agency to compensate convention facilities and arenas for lost revenue from canceled events because the buildings were being used to house victims. Hurricane evacuees continue to eat and sleep at the Pine Bluff center, said executive director Bob Purvis. The American Red Cross, the Salvation Army and the Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services have set up there to offer relief services. "So far, we have been able to reschedule and rearrange things," Purvis said. "We are hopeful that we won't have to cancel any of our business." Purvis said 140 evacuees slept at the center Tuesday and 320 were eating there. On some nights, as many as 350 people have sought shelter there. Purvis said this time of year is customarily slow for gatherings. "We haven't lost any business," he said. "The two or three weeks right around the time school starts are traditionally slow." But two events are scheduled for the convention hall in a couple of weeks. About 500 people are scheduled to attend the Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame's induction ceremony on Sept. 30. Several thousand are scheduled to attend a Christian gospel concert on Oct. 1. Cancellations would cost the center between $18,000 and $24,000 in lost revenue, Purvis said. They also would affect local hotels and restaurants, he added. "We know that there are people in our shelters who do not have any place to go," Purvis said. "The big challenge will be assimilating them into communities." Housing the evacuees is costing the city-owned convention center $2,000 per day in utilities and supplies, Purvis said. "It's really like a double whammy," said Jim Crider, president of the Economic Development Alliance of Jefferson County. "On the one side, we are happy to be of assistance," Crider said. "On the pragmatic side, there is a daily cost just to open the doors of the convention center." FEMA spokeswoman Kathy Cable said the Pine Bluff Convention Center could be reimbursed for operating expenses under the state's emergency declaration. Reimbursable expenses include utilities, security, janitorial services, food, water, cots and overtime for regular staff, Cable said. Convention center officials can submit their bills to the state to be processed based on eligibility. Then FEMA pays the state and the state disburses the funds. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, introduced the relief bill. Texas has taken in as many as 370,000 evacuees, housing them in the Astrodome in Houston and in smaller gathering halls in other cities, according to the governor's office. At last count, Arkansas is home to between 25,000 and 50,000 evacuees, according to Gov. Mike Huckabee's office. "The bill has merits," said Sen, Mark Pryor, D-Ark. "Certainly, we do not want to punish businesses or civic centers or non profits that are helping their fellow man." Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., said she had not reviewed the bill. "I do think our businesses need to be helped," she said. Rep. Mike Ross, D-Prescott, said he supported the bill, saying it "goes a step further" than FEMA's intent to reimburse states for housing evacuees. Ross is scheduled to meet with evacuees at the convention center on Monday. -- 30 -- |
