Long-term plans for Holt focusing on improvement

By Adam Jones, Staff Writer, Published: Monday, August 8, 2011 at 3:30 a.m.  Tuscaloosanews.com

 

Like their neighbors in the city, Holt and surrounding homes are putting together a long-term recovery plan to help put their community back together after a tornado devastated parts of it more than three months ago.

But unlike those in the city of Tuscaloosa, people in the Holt area don’t live in a municipality with powers over land use and zoning. The long-term plan for Holt will be different than Tuscaloosa, but its blueprint could be as important outside the city as inside.

“It’s a great step forward, because Holt has the opportunity to be better because of this,” said the Rev. Shaun Faulkner of the long-term plan.

Faulkner, who grew up in Holt, is a pastor at Soma Of Christ Church in the Holt area. His house off Holt-­Peterson Road was destroyed in the April 27 tornado. In the two meetings he’s attended, Faulkner said people are excited and passionate about what they hope the Holt area looks like once it begins to rebuild.

“The greater Holt community coming together and having one voice is a good thing,” he said.

The Tuscaloosa County Commission requested that the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s long term community recovery program work with the Holt community in devising the plan. FEMA offers the service to cities, towns and unincorporated communities hit by a catastrophic disaster at no cost to the community.

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FEMA long-term recovery workers meet with residents in Holt

Published: Tuesday, July 12, 2011, 11:40 PM     Updated: Tuesday, July 12, 2011, 11:41 PM

 By Izzy Gould | Tuscaloosa Bureau

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama - HOLT -- Six people sat around a table covered completely by a blank sheet of paper.

A FEMA worker asked them to visualize their ideal community. She then asked them to pick up vibrantly colored magic markers, and to draw the words and pictures that symbolize the vital needs of Holt and the surrounding area.
In the next step toward rebuilding, a team of five working as part of FEMA's Long Term Community Recovery program met Tuesday night with about 100 community members at SOMA Body of Christ church. The program is a federal, state and local effort that enables disaster-affected communities to identify opportunities for a more effective recovery.
The two-hour meeting and workshop also served as an introductory session between the FEMA team, which will work in the community for the next eight-to-10 weeks while staying in a local hotel. Their purpose is to listen to community members, and to give them guidance toward planning the rebuilding of the Holt community.

Three points that were emphasized were identifying rebuilding opportunities, creating partnerships and maximizing resources.
"This is sort of the beginning point where you begin to understand what the visions are from the community," said John Boyle, an official with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

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Tornado damage whipped Saban into action in Holt

Shortly after the worst tornado in the history of the state of Alabama, Saban brought together local companies with one primary, purposeful goal: Rebuild the town of Holt. He found architects and engineers and lumber yards willing to give their time for free, and set the plan in motion.

Read more: http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/story/2011-05-31/tornado-damage-whipped-saban-into-action#ixzz1OPaZLUwD