In typical New Orleans fashion getting the abandoned, flooded cars off the streets became a disjointed mess and near scandal. In fact it became a multi-scandal involving city, state and federal agencies lots of money, two or more sets of connected contractors and some enterprising entrepreneurs (thieves) before it finally resolved.

18 months later it is almost, but not yet, over.  Ten thousand cars have been collected and are being stored at a cost of $7,700 per day pending final disposition.

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The paragraphs below track the progress leading to this point:

In March news emerged that the City had decided to award the removal contract to high bidder CH2M Hill out of Denver. The city asked for bids to tow and store cars with disposal slated for a later date in a separate deal. The winner bid $1,000 per car while others clustered around the $300 mark, but the Mayor had instructed his selection team not to consider price. He explained that FEMA would be paying the bill and they would negotiate the price later. (Is this how FEMA gets involved in crazy pricing anyway?) At a price of $1,000 per car this was originally touted as a $23 million dollar contract even though the numbers don't add up (sounds like they think there are actually 23,000 cars to be towed which makes sense).

The lower bids around $300 to tow and store from local companies prompted a firestorm of controversy that was picked up in the Times Picayune and repeated nationally. There was even one unofficial offer to pay the city approximately $75 per car to tow and scrap. The city has the right to take the cars so why not make a profit on the deal? The mayor explained that FEMA would not allow the city to make a profit on the removal so the proposals he had received for tow and scrap on the "back of a napkin" were never even considered.¹

But, never mind, after the outcry over the CH2M Hill deal the city decided to piggyback their efforts onto a state contract for the same services. A local 9'th Ward firm had partnered with an Atlanta based janitorial service and had won the state removal contract with the low bid. With strong political support from Sherman Copelin and Dave Treen, concerns over the company's ability to perform were smoothed enough to obtain legislative approval. The company was sure they could get the required performance bond.

They could not. No insurance company was willing to back this cock-a-mamie scheme. Their numbers were too low, their experience too light, and their political connections too strong. The deal reeked. So the state is back to ground zero, almost. They announced their intention to rebid the contract, but the runner-up in the initial contract evaluation may have a claim. We are waiting to hear if a court battle will ensue.

The cars are still scattered about. Well most of them are. Police announced that they recently arrested a local scrap yard operator for unauthorized towing and crushing of abandoned cars. Apparently he could turn a profit of $100 per car as scrap, so he just sent his tow trucks out at night to collect cars. He got several hundred hundred but is now in deep water, facing imprisonment for decades and fines in the hundreds of thousands. Or maybe they'll give him a civic action medal. Apparently he is not alone. There are reports that the number of abandoned cars has shrunk from 150,000 to 100,000. Was it just bad estimating or will this problem disappear by itself if we just let it?

Oh and one more thing. Just thinking about at least 100,000 cars abandoned around the city suggests to me there was more than enough transport available to move every man, woman, child, invalid, cat, dog and parakeet to safety before the storm. Why were they left to go the way of the yellow school buses? Perhaps a mandatory evacuation order ought to include the right to commandeer abandoned property for the public good.

In July there is finally a contract and the cars are disappearing. First they are towed to a storage site. Later they'll be sent to a scrap yard.

In October the cars are gone from public property (in all only 10,000 were towed away, the rest were either claimed by their owners or stolen or just bad estimates in the first place). Now FEMA has been requested and has approved towing away cars found on private property.

In December 2006 the state seems to be realizing that the 10,000 or so cars that were towed away are still being stored at a cost of $7,700 per day (who is getting paid?). That is $0.77 per day, $23.10 per month, $277.20 per year for each car. I expect these must be luxury accomodations. Until December 31, 2006 the federal government is bearing the entire cost. Starting January 1, 2007 the state will have to pay 10%.

Hey guys it is time to move on. Confiscate any unclaimed cars and sell them for scrap. If somebody shows up with a valid claim against one of the cars you scrapped (maybe they've been in a coma for the past sixteen months), charge them for shipping and  storage and refund the balance. I am so irritated at government throwing my money away. Whether it's the feds, the state orthe city, these guys show no respect for their responsibility. Am I the only one who is absolutely disgusted by this kind of waste?