GRETNA, La. — The Jefferson Parish Inspector General is warning about the planned construction of a $10 million building in downtown Gretna that would be paid for with taxpayer dollars to house a new brewery, taco restaurant and government information kiosk, but generating no revenue for the parish in return.
IG Kim Chatelain issued the 35-page letter Thursday about the projects being orchestrated through two public corporations that were created in 2000, Jefferson Redevelopment Inc. (JRI), a public benefit corporation, and Jefferson Facilities Inc. (JFI), an economic development corporation.
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The two entities were formed to build and fund the parking garage that sits next to the Jefferson Parish Government Complex in Gretna, but their governing bodies, with the support of the JP Council in many cases, are now trying to build and refurbish additional properties owned by Jefferson Parish nearby.
“The framework for past and planned projects raises significant concerns about fraud, waste, and abuse. The legal safeguards designed to ensure public accountability and transparency ‒ such as Page 2 of 35 Public Bid laws, Public Lease laws, and Open Meeting laws ‒ were circumvented,” Chatelain writes in the public letter.
The Port Orleans Brewery project began under Ricky Templet, the former JP Council Member for District 1, which encompasses Gretna. When asked about the IG’s letter, he said, “There have been 5 council votes on this so my question is, why didn't the IG issue an opinion on this three years ago?"
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One of those votes was during a heated meeting in October 24, 2023, when the council held a special meeting to authorize the lease agreement between JFI and Port Orleans Brewing Company, formally named POB Gretna Beer, LLC and POB Restaurant Gretna, LLC.
Now JP Council Member At-Large Jennifer VanVranken grilled Port Orleans reps about the terms of the lease and the financial viability of the project, asking why a market or feasibility study had not been done.
The council signed off, greenlighting the lease of a building that has yet to be constructed.
But the development plans don’t end with the Port Orleans multi-use development at 200 Huey P. Long Ave. The JFI and JRI arrangement is being used for a nearby parking garage and the redevelopment of the one-time school district headquarters that currently houses the German Cultural Center at 519 Huey P Long Ave.
Using public benefit and economic development corporations is not new, in fact, there are several of them operating in the city of New Orleans, including the French Market Corporation, which controls the French Market.
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But Chatelain said in an interview Thursday, that the funding set up for JFI and JRI raises enough questions for her to conduct a full investigative audit.
“The issue is that the parish has committed $10.3 million to an economic development company in Jefferson Facilities, Inc to build a building that the parish is not actually going to control or operate in, nor is it going to receive any revenue from the building,” she said.
Parish Council President Scott Walker said that he, too, had questions about the project and that he asked those at the special council meeting in October.
“The IG’s public letter echoes those concerns and raises new ones. I still wonder if the parish should be in the commercial landlord business, but if it is going to be, this lease doesn’t seem to maximize the benefit to the people of Jefferson Parish,” Walker said in a statement Thursday.
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