VIDALIA &8212; The town&8217;s new visitor center won&8217;t be ready to serve as a shelter during the coming hurricane season, but that doesn&8217;t mean Concordia Parish won&8217;t be ready.

Representatives from the department of Homeland Security and the Red Cross met with parish leaders and residents Thursday night to discuss preparations for the upcoming season and the role the area will play in future evacuation plans.

&8220;We need quick action,&8221; the parish&8217;s Homeland security and Emergency preparedness Director Morris White said. &8220;We&8217;ve got until the first week of June to get this worked out.&8221;

White said the Red Cross&8217; Central Louisiana Chapter plans to move evacuees through the Miss-Lou to large sheltering areas further north, saving the area as a space of last resort.

At the moment, only two schools and one church, First Baptist in Ferriday, are certified as Red Cross shelters. White said he would like to see more faith-based organizations join the Red Cross team.

&8220;There was an emphasis at the meeting that churches did a wonderful job (post-Katrina and Rita) with the work they did, and we hope they would register so they could be reimbursed for their expenses,&8221; he said. &8220;That way, they can work for the good of the Lord without putting a burden on the finances of their organizations.&8221;

The chapter&8217;s long-term plan includes Concordia Parish as one of four &8212; Avoyelles, Rapides and Vernon are the others &8212; key points of evacuation. While it won&8217;t be ready for the 2006 season, Theron Jones, the chapter&8217;s Community Recovery Coordinator, said it was never too early to get new members to staff the new 1,000-person shelter.

&8220;I was there to recruit volunteers for the April 19 training session in Vidalia,&8221; he said. &8220;We plan to train people to operate a Red Cross Shelter.&8221;

White said the volunteer base in the parish could use a little broadening.

&8220;The people who work our shelters here are getting older,&8221; he said. &8220;The type of work they did during the hurricanes last time was definitely hard on them.

&8220;Some of them won&8217;t be able to do it anymore so we&8217;re looking for some new blood to train and put into the system.&8221;

The training sessions will be held Wednesday at 1 and 6 p.m. in the meeting room at Vidalia City Hall.

&8220;Once you&8217;re trained, you are the Red Cross,&8221; Jones said.

Vidalia Mayor Hyram Copeland said plans to expand the Gateway Convention and Visitor Center to include the space and facilities to house evacuees were ready to be implemented and the grant money to pay for the project &8212; an estimated $2.2 million &8212; had been applied for.

&8220;We&8217;ve got the support of the city, our state and federal delegations and the Red Cross,&8221; he said. &8220;We are going to get the money because it is so vitally important to our area.&8221;

And while he hopes to get the money in time to add the expansion into the original construction, Copeland said it wouldn&8217;t be a problem if he didn&8217;t.

&8220;We had originally planned the building to be much bigger, but Katrina and Rita forced us to delay some of that,&8221; he said. &8220;All we have to do is remove the end wall and move it out.&8221;

The project&8217;s architect, Wayne Coco, said last week the budgeted cost would be the same either way, but that rising material and gas prices could make it advantageous to go ahead and get it built at the same time.