22 months engaged in hometown recovery Mike Park from his office at the LA-RFO. Mike spent 22 months in directing aspects of the recovery, including being one of the core responders who managed operations remotely from Vicksburg, Miss., days after the storm. LA-RFO Photo by Spec Larry Gleeson. Back to Features

Mike Park
Beneath the face of the LA-RFO leader and director
By Tom Clarkson, public affairs specialist, Louisiana Recovery Field Office 

Editor's Note:  On July 23, Mike Park accepted a new position in Task Force Hope, relinquishing responsibility of the LA-RFO to Mike Smith, his deputy and LA-RFO veteran.

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NEW ORLEANS, LA …At first glance, the readily apparent professional intensity and focus of Mike Park might cause some to perceive him to be a singularly driven, no nonsense sort of leader, devoid of levity and personal relationships.  Nothing could be further from the truth. 

In fact, over the course of but a few minutes, a gamut of emotions flashed across the face of the director of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Louisiana Recovery Field Office (LA-RFO). 

The experience was during the briefest of pauses from a pace often marked by very long days logged almost two years without break, while conversing with the New Orleans City Business Editor Terry O’Connor.

A life-long New Orleans resident, Park was asked of any personal impact he’d encountered as a result of the 2005 disaster trifecta – Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the flooding of New Orleans. 

 
Mike Park escorts the new chief of engineers (l) and current
commander of Task Force Hope during the chief's first official visit

His expressive grey eyes briefly blinked revealing pain of personal family loss as he quietly spoke of the passing of his mother-in-law, the result the physical stress of her hurried evacuation from her home just prior to Hurricane Katrina. 

With keen understanding of factors determining the severity of flood damage, he related how six feet of water had taken a near-terminal toll on his long-time, former residence – one from which his family had moved out of only two years earlier.  

A short while later – in appreciation for new life - the broadest smile of paternal pride spread across his face as he recounted how he and his wife had finalized adoption of their infant a son, Gabriel, a scant fourteen days before Katrina’s landfall. 

A papa with new purpose in life, he briefly rummaged through piles of reports and files on his desk to pull out, and present, a picture of his dark-haired youngster. 

And then, with steely determination fairly radiating, he recounted the Herculean debris removal and demolition efforts undertaken and successfully completed by his hard working, LA-RFO team.   

Despite a record-breaking debris and demolition pace, the mission is now heading toward the end of its second year.

“No one ever imagined that this work would take this long,” he observed, “but the preponderance of the area’s pre-storm populous was dispersed across the country and, initially, without home owner’s approval we could not address demolition or debris removal on private property.” 

The City of New Orleans has since given the Corps the necessary legal gateways to conduct private property debris removal and demolitions requested by city through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. 

Citing that an estimated 80,000 homes were substantially damaged by the blistering fury of the two hurricanes and the ensuing flooding, Park stated. “We surpassed the initial estimate of 12 million yards of debris removal in New Orleans.”  Statewide, the numbers are staggering at 28 million cubic yards. 

“Initially we were moving around 200,000 cubic years of debris daily.  A year ago, that figure was down to 20,000.”  “Now, he added, “we’re removing only 8,000 cubic yards per day statewide and about 6,000 in the Orleans Parish.”   

A significant portion of this work was the result of the gutting of private residences, ruined by the flood water.  But he added that also addressed were salt-water-killed trees, recounting how, “We’ve removed over 27,000 killed trees from private property and 8,000 off of public land. alone.” 

But more than the hauling of debris was successfully accomplished by his team.  81,000 blue – temporary - roofs were installed.  Also 310 temporary critical public facilities were replaced including over 200 school buildings.  The Corps also removed 50 million pounds of rotten meat from area warehouses in a distasteful task dubbed “Operation Dirty Bird.” 

Noting that recovery work is far from complete, the recently-turned-50 Park recounted that thousands of private residences and small businesses still lay in need of demolishment.   “We’ve completed work on 3,698 homes so far.  About 1,500 were volunteered for demolition by homeowners, 150 were taken down as immediate health hazards, and over 2,000 homes were demoed as being at high risk of collapse.

“We know of more than 2,500 additional houses requiring demolition that are in the city, state and FEMA ‘pipeline.’ The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers mission assigned to us by FEMA is moving toward a September 30th completion.  Folks need to understand that after we leave, the City of New Orleans will have this responsibility.” 

Lauding the partnership forged between FEMA and the Corps of Engineers, he deferred compliments regarding his personal sacrifices and lengthy hours labored repeatedly pointing to the arduous and dedicated efforts of others.  

 “However, I am enormously proud of being able to have been here to do this work.  The disaster plan and its relative system, that had been worked out in advance, has worked.  It’s actually a rather elegantly crafted plan and its implementation, by those who have worked through it, awe inspiring.” 

Speaking of his team – comprised of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers government service careerists, a substantial number of rehired annuitants who volunteered to come help in this effort and a few Army professionals – he says, “It’s important to note that we’re an ad hoc organization.”  The LA-RFO’s very existence came from a request from FEMA and was terminal from the outset. 

“The Corps has one purpose: to help these victim communities until they can themselves assume responsibility for their recovery needs.  The City and FEMA see that date quickly approaching.” 

As a result, and with a compassionate desire to see proper closure for all, he notes that his team has done all that was allowable by law to help New Orleans and the surrounding area recover.   

He pauses momentarily and peers intently into his interviewer’s eyes, then, with great conviction states, “I encourage those property owners who have not yet done so to get their affairs in order.”

For nearly two years, such straightforward and direct talk coupled with arduous work standards has been his hallmark.  The LA-RFO legacy he leaves has been described by some as “unprecedented disaster; unparalleled response.”  

Some who know Mike Park might add “with unparalleled leadership.”  

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