First Mississippi Katrina Cottages Delivered

PEARL RIVER, MS - Pearl River County has received its first cottages from the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency. The five cottages, designed to replace FEMA trailers brought into the region after Hurricane Katrina slammed the Mississippi Gulf Coast in 2005, were delivered to SunRoamer's RV Resort Park. Kathy Baucum, supervisor for Multifamily and Special Projects for MEMA, said the park has been approved for a total of 30 cottages. The cottages are designed to provide persons still homeless due to the hurricane with safer, more attractive and larger accommodations. Baucum said Sarah Greenly will be the first resident to move in on Tuesday.

Stephanie Hennessey, a MEMA representative who oversees private property units for Pearl River County, said that on personal property the cottages usually take about seven to 10 days to set up and be occupant ready. The time is a little less on a commercial site. "We can set them up in a matter of days. In commercial sites, we have the septic and power hookups readily available, so it doesn't take as long," Baucum said.

The five units delivered on Friday are all one bedroom models, but Baucum said two- and three-bedroom models will be coming later. "The one bedroom models have 400 square feet in them. They come furnished, and have what we call a living kit, which includes linens, dishes, pots and pans, silverware, pillows and kitchen utensils," Baucum said.

Hennessey said the cottages come with the basics, including a sleeper sofa, a microwave, a table, a refrigerator, a stove, central air and heat and a double bed in the master bedroom. The two- and three-bedroom models have single beds in the extra bedrooms. The units also come with washer and dryer hookups, but not the appliances themselves.

Hennessey said the cottages are extremely well insulated, so power bills should be low. Officials said MEMA will be placing units in other mobile home parks around the county. "If you don't own your own property, and you qualify otherwise, we will try to find a place to put you," Baucum said.

To be considered eligible for a cottage, Baucum said residents must have lived in Mississippi on the day of the storm, and must be currently living in a FEMA housing unit. There are no income requirements, Baucum said.