If you were shopping for a new car, whether it was a Chevy
or a Cadillac, chances are you would do your research. You might go online to
compare car prices or visit multiple dealers to try to get the best deal and
the most bang for your buck.
Even after you’ve decided upon a dealer who is giving you
the best price for the car that you want, you probably would still haggle with
him to get the price down even more. All they can do is say “No” right?
Unfortunately, since they are spending other people’s money,
Kenner Mayor Mike Yenni and the Kenner City Council don’t feel the same way.
At last night’s Kenner City Council meeting, by a 6-1 vote,
the Council approved spending over $700,000 for a new “Cadillac” Food Bank. The
current Food Bank is being sold to the East Jefferson Levee District as part of
the EJLD’s new headquarters.
The lone dissenting vote, District 1 Councilman Gregory
Carroll, who’s District houses the current Food Bank and will be home to
the new Food Bank.
Councilman Carroll doesn’t object to the Food Bank. On the
contrary, he spoke eloquently about “Kenner
showing its humility and humanity” for wanting to help others less
fortunate.
Carroll objected to the bulk of the money for a City of
Kenner Food Bank coming from money that could be spent on infrastructure
improvements in District 1.
“The fact that we are getting a new Food Bank
is fantastic,” Carroll said. “But this is a ‘City of Kenner Food Bank’ not a ‘District
1 Food Bank’.”
The City is using money that was dedicated to District 1’s
infrastructure needs from the sale of streets to the EJLD, and a combination of
money including $180,000 from the sale of the Toy Train Museum in Rivertown
(which I believe should also stay in District 1 to promote Economic Development
in Rivertown) and Federal CDBG money dating back to 2007.
What other money is sitting in old CDBG accounts that hasn’t
been used for its intended purposes and is sitting there in a quasi-slush fund
waiting for Mike Yenni to spend it?
Why does the City of Kenner have unspent CDBG money from
2007 and other years including 2010? No one knows. Most cities spend their
Federal funding almost as fast as they get it because, if they don’t spend it
all, they can receive less in subsequent years.
But, that’s not how Kenner works.
In addition, the Kenner City Council doesn’t follow its own laws.
In 2006, then-District 2 Councilman Joe Stagni authored
legislation to ensure that money from the sale of streets would stay within the
District to fund other infrastructure needs like drainage, sewerage and
streets.
The legislation was never meant to pay for buildings.
This has been the custom for many years and Stagni’s
ordinance only formalized this custom.
It was taken a step further by several Council members
including new At-Large Councilwoman Maria DeFranchesch to keep contract
overages within the District. If a City contract actually came in lower than
the money that the Council had approved, as rare as that is, the Council member
of the District housing the project would request that overage be sent back to
his/her District for use on another infrastructure project.
Interim City Attorney Louis Gruntz claimed that a new Food
Bank was infrastructure and the Council was well within the parameters of the
2006 ordinance.
Carroll disagreed saying that the “intent” of the ordinance
wasn’t for City buildings.
“You wouldn’t expect
one council district to pay for a new firehouse or the relocation of City Hall.
The City spent over $1 Million to pay for a new Public Works Building. The
project started small and kept growing and growing. The Council always found
the money for that.”
In addition, while Councilman Carroll doesn’t object to paying
District 1’s share of the Food Bank (either 1/5 or 1/7 of the $700,000), he
objects to District 1 paying almost 90% of the cost.
While Mayor Yenni maintains that CDBG money is “city money”,
the reality is that this CDBG money was used primarily for low-income programs.
District 1 has the lowest per capita income in the city, thus they would have
received most, if not all, of this money anyway.
The City is using money from a CDBG grant that would have
paid for the Annie Washington Center (to be housed in District 1), money from
the aforementioned Toy Train Museum sale (also in District 1), $84,000 from the
sale of the current Food Bank (again, in District 1), and $161,734 from the
sale of streets in District 1.
The proceeds from the sale of the current Food Bank should naturally be included in the funding of the new Food Bank, but the rest, minus a prorated share, should stay in District 1.
In addition, after spending $512,000 to renovate the Code Enforcement office and $1 Million for some flowers at the entrance to Laketown, and with money unspent from the 2030 Plan borrowings (and still more money that was budgeted for the 2030 Plan and that is now being funded by the State and Federal Governments and the Regional Planning Commission), Kenner's coffers are overflowing and has ample money to pay for a new Food Bank from City funds.
Carroll was understandably frustrated.
“It is hard for me to believe that, with a $50 Million City Budget and
$30 Million in new projects (from Yenni’s 2030 Plan), that we can’t find the
money (from City funds) for a new Food Bank,” Carroll said.
Carroll also produced information from the City that showed
that only 45% of the Food Bank’s users came from District 1.
After admitting that her staff gave Councilman Carroll the
wrong information, Community Services Director Arleeta Terrell gave the correct
stats on the Food Bank usage:
45% from
District 1 residents
21% from
District 2
11% from
District 3
9% from
District 4
14% from
District 5
So, 55% of Food Bank users come from outside of District 1.
“The numbers prove my point,” Councilman Carroll said. “This is a ‘City’
Food Bank.”
From those numbers, you would think that the rest of the
Kenner City Council would be shamed into at least providing ½ of the new Food
Bank funding.
“It’s up to the Councilmembers to determine what is fair,” Carroll said,
“It is not up to me.”
So, did each Councilmember put up $100,000 each?
No, the collective remaining members of the council could
only pony up $13,600 each for a total of $81,600 of the $705,725 tab, or about 11% of the total.
New District 4 Councilman Leonard “Lenny” Cline sounded
downright proud of the Council for spending any money on the Food Bank.
After the meeting, Councilman Leonard Cline noted that six council offices -- all except Carroll's- - contributed $13,600, or a total $81,600, from capital funding allocated to each district.
"We all contributed," Cline said.
At the least, Carroll believes that $125,000 should be
returned to District 1 for infrastructure. He rationalizes that if $161,734 was
received specifically from the sale of District 1 streets, that money less
$36,000 that the City is spending for new parking for the new Food Bank, or
$125,000 should be sent back to District 1 for drainage, sewerage or other infrastructure
projects.
That would be something. Not exactly fair to District 1 residents, but something.
He asked the Council to approve the new Food Bank with that
stipulation. The Council refused.
As troubling as the Council’s lack of action in funding the
new Food Bank with City money are, it is also troubling that there was only 1
bidder on a huge project like the new Food Bank.
How can a project worth $796,000 before some reductions,
only have 1 bidder especially when it’s a building project that dozens, if not
hundreds, of companies could receive?
Originally, there were 2 responding bidders but one bidder
was disqualified.
Why didn’t the City re-bid this contract to get more
contractors involved and get a lower price? Were the bids specs written so
narrowly that only 2 potential bidders bothered to vie for the contract or was
the bid rigged in such a way to favor the qualifications of the winner at the
expense of the City and, since the money was coming from District 1 anyway, at
the expense of District 1 residents? Was this punishment for Councilman Carroll’s
disagreements with Mayor Yenni as Carroll continues to stand up and represent
the people of District 1?
Regardless, on a project this big and general, this project
should have received more than 2 bids. I mean, how many companies in Jefferson Parish alone can construct a modular building? But, when you’re spending other people’s
money, you get a little lax from time-to-time.
"We all contributed," Cline said.
Yes, indeed Mr. Cline – you all contributed.
Unfortunately for the people of District 1 who have a multitude of infrastructure needs, THEY contributed more. Much more.
I hope that Mr. Cline is proud of himself and his fellow Council members.
I know that I'm not.
