Reports - Mississippi Renewal

THE GOVERNOR’S COMMISSION REPORT | 75Recommendation 36: New Six-CountyRegional Planning Agency. To ensureplanning issues associated with housing,transportation and other infrastructureare considered jointly, the Governor’sCommission advocates the creation ofa regional planning authority spanningthe six counties most affected by Katrina.This could be formed in one oftwo ways. First, the existing Gulf RegionalPlanning Commission (GRPC)could be expanded to include housingand other infrastructure in addition totransportation and to cover all six counties.Second, a new regional planningauthority could be created and subsumethe current role of GPRC. Theplanning agency would be created bythe state, working in concert with thecity and county governments in the affectedarea. While this recommendationis not as urgent as others, it should beaddressed within 12 to 18 months. Thestate must determine the long-termsource of funding for the organization.Possible sources include federal funds,state funds, or specially earmarked localsales taxes.SynthesisTable 5: Recommendation Synthesis.Table 5 and Figure 6 put the recommendationsdiscussed above in context.Table 5 represents a synthesis of thehousing recommendations. The firstcolumn lists the name of the recommendation,while the second indicatesits relative importance, with three starsindicating the highest priority. The thirdand fourth columns indicate the timeframeduring which the recommendationshould be initiated as well as aqualitative indication of the likely cost.The next four columns, five througheight, highlight the goal that is supportedby the recommendation (supply,safety, efficiency, and planning coordination),while the final 10 columns (ninethrough 18) provide details on the typesof institutions that will be involved inimplementing the recommendations.Note that a solid circle indicates that avalue of “yes” or “definitely involved,”while a hollow circle indicates a valueof “potentially applicable.”Figure 6 depicts the timeline alongwhich tasks related to the rebuilding ofhousing in Mississippi are likely to unfold.The top section, ImplementationProgram, includes high-level tasks relatedto planning, financing, designing,constructing, and inspecting housing.The pacing of these general tasks setsthe timeframe during which variousrecommendations should be accomplishedin order to provide maximumbenefits. The second section, “Recommendations,”shows the aggregate timelinesfor the four categories of housing