[This transcript was generated automatically from audio using AI and hasn't been reviewed by a person -- it can contain mistakes, including plausible-sounding sentences that were never actually said. Treat it as a starting point, not a verbatim record.]

[0:00] All right. Call of meeting. I'll stand that clock over there. It's one minute slow. It's now 10 o'clock on the dot.
[0:09] Okay. Would everyone stand for the pledge of allegiance?
[0:15] Pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God.
[0:36] We're going to do the roll call. As soon as the secretary is up here,
[0:42] Greg,
[0:45] roll call.
[0:45] to
[0:54] carry here Michael Schnell here Greg
[1:01] Marsiglia present Randy Noel here Debra
[1:05] Satune here Roy Karuba here Kerwin King absent David Martin present we have a
[1:15] quorum do we have a motion to adopt the agenda motion second motion by Karuba
[1:23] second by our most severe all in favor aye any nays motion pass now I need a
[1:31] motion for prove the minutes of the void meaning that was held July 17th wait
[1:36] oh at
[1:40] that point okay all right I won't make an announcement we're gonna need to
[1:46] take some things out of order the executive session I need a motion to
[1:51] remove that to the end of the agenda. Motion. Second. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Thank
[2:02] you, Mr. Ruby, for reminding me. So, now we need the motion for the minutes of the
[2:07] Boyd meeting held July 17th. Motion. Second. Motion, Caruba, second, Moxiglia, all in
[2:14] favor? Aye. Any nays? I abstain, as I was not present. Okay.
[2:24] Did we move the
[2:25] Executive Session, where did we move it to? To the end of the year, before the
[2:30] adjournment. But isn't one of the resolutions dependent on that? No, not
[2:35] right now.
[2:40] It's just I didn't want, we may be in there for a while, and I didn't
[2:44] want all these people sitting in here. Okay, so we're gonna do the A2, we have
[2:50] move that one as well.
[3:00] That's all going to be in we're going to move that all to
[3:03] the back.
[3:10] So we're
[3:15] moving it where now Matt?
[3:16] You're going to move it to a funder between one and two new businesses right above it.
[3:22] It's right before administration.
[3:25] This one we're going to move to right here.
[3:28] Yeah, what we're going to do is we're going to move the executive session to before that.
[3:32] Okay.
[3:33] All right.
[3:34] So we're going to move the executive session before a actually after a one and before a two.
[3:41] Is that right before a one just do the do the two of them together.
[3:44] Okay. All right. Good. Good. Good. So be right there will be right before a one. Okay. You know the motion. The emotion for that. Motion. Second. Motion by Krueger second by Mr. Noel. All in favor. Hi, nice. Okay. Motion passed.
[4:08] Okay. Next is opening comments by president and commissioners. I don't have anything as anybody commission. We'd like to say anything.
[4:17] I would for one minute.
[4:18] Pete, I want to congratulate you on becoming president.
[4:23] And as the outgoing president, I lend my hand to anything you may need me to do to assist you.
[4:30] I appreciate that.
[4:32] And I commend you for your efforts for what, 10 months do you wear?
[4:36] Nine.
[4:36] Nine months.
[4:37] But I appreciate that role.
[4:40] I really do.
[4:41] Anyone else?
[4:45] Okay.
[4:45] I just want to say it was very nice to see some of the previous commissioners come to
[4:52] the recent Senate and House Transportation meeting on our organization and it just shows
[4:59] you how dedicated they are.
[5:01] And I think two of them are sitting here today.
[5:04] Okay.
[5:04] Thank you.
[5:07] No one else?
[5:09] Okay.
[5:09] And that's just public comments.
[5:11] I don't have any cards.
[5:12] No one wants to say anything.
[5:15] Okay, great.
[5:18] All right.
[5:19] Next is a presentation from Louis Capo.
[5:22] I hope I said it right.
[5:24] Come on up to the podium.
[5:26] Is that microphone on?
[5:28] Yes, it should be on.
[5:30] Thank you.
[5:31] Good morning, commissioners.
[5:34] My name is Louis Capo.
[5:35] I'm the executive director for the
[5:38] Lakefront Management Authority.
[5:39] And just a little bit of background on myself.
[5:49] I'm a certified fraud examiner and a certified internal auditor.
[5:54] I started with the Orleans Levy District in 1996.
[5:59] I was hired as their internal auditor and I was their first internal auditor.
[6:04] I helped set up the internal audit function and I remained in that position until the
[6:10] January of 2006. The then managing director Max Herron was retiring and the
[6:19] outgoing board of the Orleans Levy District appointed me as the director
[6:25] of real estate and non-floods. I remained in that position through the
[6:35] remainder of that board. I was asked by the division of administration for
[6:40] the state to continue on in my capacity as the executive director, I did.
[6:47] That ran from 2007 and 2010.
[6:52] The voters of Orleans Parish in 2006 voted to strip the Orleans levy dish of what's
[7:00] known as non-flood assets.
[7:03] And that's what we manage.
[7:04] And 2010, Senator JP Morel put forth legislation to create a non-flood protection asset management
[7:16] board that was going to bring those assets under the control of the Division of Administration,
[7:24] move them back to local control. And that's who we are today. That is this entity, the LMA.
[7:31] We've changed our name in 2019 from the non-flood protection asset management authority, which
[7:37] no one could say or no one knew what we did or who we were to the lakefront management
[7:42] authority.
[7:44] I remained as the executive director for LMA until the end of 2014.
[7:52] I rejoined SEPLOM in late 2014 as the internal auditor again.
[7:59] I remained in that position from 2014 to late 2018 when I went back as the Executive Director
[8:10] for the Lakefront Management Authority.
[8:13] So I've been around these assets for the last almost 30 years, either with LMA, OLD, or
[8:19] CELFLA.
[8:20] So quite versed in what we have here.
[8:26] Who is the Lakefront Management Authority?
[8:27] Again, we were created in 2010 by Statue.
[8:32] We are a political subdivision, just like CEPHLE, a political subdivision.
[8:38] Our board is comprised of 17 members.
[8:42] They are appointed by, we have two members appointed by Congressman Carter from the
[8:48] first district.
[8:49] We have state legislators, state representatives, the mayor of New Orleans.
[8:55] We have council members, the lakefront HOA, the present four presidents get to pick two
[9:03] people.
[9:04] The LADOTD has an appointment to our board.
[9:07] City Park has an appointment to our board.
[9:09] Poch Strain Conservancy has an appointment to our board.
[9:13] And lastly, this authority has an appointment to our board.
[9:17] We currently have Stanley Kahn, who is the appointment of this board.
[9:22] Stanley was appointed by Clay Kosei, so back in 23, like that.
[9:31] But Stanley Kahn is the appointment from the Flood Authority to the Lakefront Management Board.
[9:38] We operate just like you all. We have seven standing committees.
[9:42] We have one board meeting each month, and we have approximately 46 employees.
[9:51] What do we do?
[9:52] We manage, the LMA manages the, has management and control over the non-flood assets of the Arlene's Levy District.
[10:02] Just like you all manage, the CEPLA manages the flood assets of the Arlene's Levy District.
[10:08] I know there's some confusion on who owns the assets.
[10:12] The LMA, nor does CEPLA own those assets, is still owned by the Arlene's Levy District.
[10:17] What was abolished in 2006 was the Board of Commissioners of those three entities.
[10:24] The Board of Commissioners of L.D., East Jeff, and Lake Bourne.
[10:29] And this board here was put in place, say a Super Board over those three entities.
[10:35] How we manage the different assets, I have copies here of the MOU.
[10:41] We're on our third MOU with the Flood Authority.
[10:43] The first one ran from 2007 to 2018.
[10:48] The 2007 MOU Memorandum of Understanding was amended in 2011.
[10:56] When we split in 2007, the OLD police were under the control of the LMA.
[11:05] In 2011, we could no longer afford paying the OLD PD.
[11:11] We worked with civil service and we transferred all the police functions back over to the
[11:19] flood authority.
[11:21] And that is governed by the MOU in 2007, amended in 2011.
[11:29] We redid another MOU in 2018.
[11:33] That's where you may hear us talk about the insurance.
[11:36] When we split again in 2007, all those assets were considered non-flood were transferred to the books of the LMA.
[11:48] In 2018, there was an idea that we can get a better rate on the insurance if we let the OLD buy the insurance
[11:59] and the LMA in our tenants would reimburse you all.
[12:02] So that's how the insurance has come under FPA now.
[12:08] In 2018, the properties were transferred back onto the books of the OLD.
[12:16] Somewhere around $150 million of property was put back on the books of the OLD.
[12:24] 2023, we revised and redid the 2018 MOU, which I thought was a good MOU, and it gave us a
[12:35] little bit of revenue.
[12:35] I thought we were going to get more from Bohemia.
[12:38] Y'all allow Bohemia to be transferred or considered as a non-flood asset, and the
[12:44] revenues from the oil and gas would come to the LMA.
[12:49] Just to give you a little flavor of what we maintain, I have a couple of slides here,
[12:55] and then I'll go into a little bit of our budget.
[13:01] Our areas, it's all part of the reclamation zone.
[13:05] This was back in the 1930s.
[13:06] There were five reclamation zones that the state legislature approved.
[13:10] and each one of these sections here all the way to what is it by 510 Paris Road
[13:18] that's all part of the reclamation zone. The airport is in a reclamation
[13:23] zone 4, but it runs from West End all the way to
[13:29] Assasio Harbor. Here's a list of what both parties have considered to be
[13:35] non-flood assets and this is what these are the areas that we manage the
[13:39] Arlene's marina, the boat houses, the new basin canal properties, the Lake Vista
[13:45] Community Center, the Lake Front Airport, South Shore Harbor, the Mardi Gras
[13:48] Fountain, Seabrook Boat Launch, and Frank Davis Pier, four subdivisions. One
[13:53] thing the Levy District did, they created those four subdivisions. They kept
[13:58] control of the interior parks and they mandated that the OLD was still
[14:05] going to review building restrictions, building plans for compliance with lot
[14:09] coverages and height and things that's so in setbacks. We still have to do that
[14:14] and that's that's on the LMA and then we have the former neighbor reserves facility
[14:19] and all of Lakeshore Drive. Certain parts of Lakeshore Drive are managed
[14:27] differently the lights and all I believe are in the MOU this can be
[14:30] repaired and replaced by Seffler or OLD. The Orleans verinas, two verinas on the
[14:38] west end, you have an outer harbor and you have an inner harbor. Orleans verina is
[14:43] the inner harbor. Orleans verina was built by the city of New Orleans and it
[14:50] was transferred to the Orleans levy district in late 1959, early 1960s. So
[15:03] And we still have that. And we have a ring of boat houses along there.
[15:10] And that's the closer
[15:11] up of the Orleans marina. When it was built and things of that sort. We've got 45 boat
[15:17] houses. The New Basin canal properties. You may have passed along Lakeshore Drive from
[15:24] the new lighthouse all the way around that canal all the way up to the southern Yacht
[15:29] Harbor, that is owned by the Orleans Levy District.
[15:32] That's properties that we manage.
[15:35] I think we have two that are not land and water bottom leases.
[15:39] We lease land and water bottoms to the Blue Crab, the
[15:42] Felix, the Landrys.
[15:44] All that is water bottom leases, the condos.
[15:47] That's all owned.
[15:48] The ground and water bottoms are owned by the
[15:50] Orleans Levy District.
[15:55] The New Basin Canal green space, from the fallout
[15:59] shelter on Poncha Train in West End all the way to Veterans. That green space in the middle
[16:04] is owned by the Arlene's Levy District. That was through years of land swaps. The new
[16:13] canal company I think got Lincoln Beach, DOTD, and the net company transferred this property
[16:20] to the Arlene's Levy District through the years.
[16:25] The new canal received Lincoln Beach
[16:28] and we received in the new basin canal. We maintain all that grass, the trees,
[16:33] everything along that way, the lighting path. The new the Lake Vista community
[16:37] center. This is a 16-unit office building inside of Lake Vista. We maintained
[16:42] this building. We just finished the last portion of the roof, but there's a
[16:48] 16-unit office building that was built in the 1940s. It's kind of hidden
[16:54] the way and it's easy to get to. We let the state use it for early voting. We're trying
[17:01] to get some money. We're talking with Verizon, possibly putting a tower in that vicinity
[17:07] around the community center to increase our rents a little closer up of it.
[17:15] The next one is I guess the crown jewel of the LMA is the late front airport.
[17:23] This was
[17:25] major reliever airport for the state of Louisiana. I want to say it's the second
[17:30] busiest airport in the state with operations. For the Super Bowl, I mean we
[17:39] have close to 600 planes on the ground for the Super Bowl. It is very very
[17:43] instrumental to the city and to the area. One thing, the major problem with
[17:53] the lakefront airport is that there is no flood protection and in my 28 years here
[17:59] those FBOs have flooded four times meaning each time there's a flood on
[18:06] average about every five years they're gonna have to redo the interior of
[18:10] those FBOs and that's getting really old and it's almost unacceptable. Lewis I
[18:18] I want to make a comment about the airport.
[18:20] So I've flown into private airports all over this country and I can tell you that this
[18:26] is one of the most unique and beautiful airports, not the least of which is landing and taking
[18:32] off over water, which is beautiful day and night, but it also has a terminal building
[18:38] with an architectural element that I haven't seen anywhere else in the country and I've
[18:42] flown my plane all over the place.
[18:43] So, it truly is an asset and a gem and it's to your point about the lack of flood protection.
[18:49] I've witnessed those FBOs and I've had to get my airplane out of there when flood events
[18:53] were coming.
[18:55] Yeah, it's truly a disappointment and really it's a hindrance to any kind of new development
[19:01] out there because no one's going to build anything out there knowing that we don't
[19:05] have flood protection and we're going to get flooded.
[19:08] They've had some pretty in an opportune times. In 2012, Leifernab would flooded Hurricane
[19:15] Isaac and over for the 2013 Super Bowl. So the FBO is operating out of a trailer. So it's really
[19:26] not a good look. We're trying to get flood protection. There is a major pump station
[19:32] that's going on out there, the FAA is funding that. The FAA, I hate to say it this way, but the FAA
[19:38] doesn't really concern themselves with the buildings. They concern with the runway. And the further you
[19:45] get from that center line of the runway, the less the FAA is going to participate. And as far as
[19:50] buildings, they don't really participate in the maintaining or funding for buildings. And so
[19:57] So, they will fund the pump station thinking that it's going to flood the runway.
[20:04] And we've done, I know, the FPA has done some analysis, I think when the lake gets up to
[20:08] about 4.4 in elevation, we start seeing water come onto the airport.
[20:14] Well, the terminal, I agree with Roy.
[20:16] We have a plane also, and we've flown in to there many times, and that terminal is
[20:21] just so unique.
[20:22] No other airport has that.
[20:24] Yeah.
[20:24] We go on the airports where maybe just a little metal building or millionaires there, but that doesn't have the architecture
[20:31] We need to do what I would can to save that this this
[20:34] Yeah, if there was any good that came out of Katrina
[20:37] That was the restoration and the return to this airport to its heyday of the 1930s. I've been to
[20:46] two parties there y'all actually have parties at an evening there for birthdays or whatever it was and
[20:53] It's a beautiful building. Yes. Yeah, it is. Yeah, prior to Katrina, they only had four windows in that building because I worked out in that building for years.
[21:00] Oh, really? Those four windows. Now we've got 144 windows. All the concrete panels on the outside have come down, murals, everything has been exposed again.
[21:08] It's really a beautiful building. Go ahead, continue.
[21:13] That's a shot of the restored building at night. It's really beautiful.
[21:16] In the day, there's some pictures of the murals.
[21:21] South Shore Harbor.
[21:22] South Shore Harbor has always been a challenge for us.
[21:25] When Valleys, Louis Roussel in 1993, on the Star Casino, and that was the spot for the
[21:32] first riverboat in the state of Louisiana, South Shore Harbor was developed in 1984-1986
[21:42] And it was going to be models similar to Marina del Rey, that North Peninsula was going to have a continuation of the covered boat slips and boat houses on it.
[21:55] Once the casino came in, they don't like any type of competition.
[22:00] And valleys and through the years, valleys at the end, they were paying the Orleans Levy District 4.5 million a year for every piece of land that was out there.
[22:10] So nothing else was developed.
[22:13] Valleys pulled out in December of 2005 and how we knew that because we had the bridge
[22:18] tenders and they had to open the bridge for the boat to leave.
[22:21] And so they called and said, hey, the boat's leaving.
[22:24] And so the Valleys pulled out.
[22:28] It's not going to return to this area.
[22:30] It was lasted with the 15th or 16th license.
[22:34] All we know has always been a struggle.
[22:36] I hate to say it this way, but it's the truth.
[22:40] People don't want to come, or they consider this to be in the east.
[22:43] They don't want to come to the east.
[22:45] We try hard to quash that stereotype.
[22:51] It's a safe location.
[22:53] Mr. Henry Cokeson is redeveloping the blue building there.
[22:58] He's going to open up a barn grill on the outside,
[23:02] and he's doing a white linen tablecloth on the inside, so that is well underway.
[23:09] He should have that opened by the end of this year. We tried to go off release in
[23:14] 2014 with Roland von Karnachowski with Tepetinas. They leased him all the land
[23:20] out there and we know what happened with that. But we're back, we're trying
[23:27] to, we had the marina consultant come in, expert in marinas. They suggested
[23:32] that we consolidate all the slips, all the boats to piers 5, 6, 7, and 8 so we
[23:38] don't have to maintain the entire marina and that's what we're doing. Last year,
[23:44] or this July I should say, was the first year that we raised rates at either
[23:48] marina in 10 years and the tennis were still up in arms over that. We went up
[23:54] 15% what is the rate I think above a four something for an 85 or 525 for a 30
[24:04] foot slip and it's water per quarter and that's per quarter but it's that's water
[24:09] in electric hookups no just water just water yeah we both the rain is you have
[24:14] to you have to contract with energy they'll put a meter in for you you can
[24:19] get you can get power you can get your power we provide water but you have to
[24:23] get your own electric. I know at municipal, they do a pro-rated share. They don't have
[24:27] each slip does not have a individual meter. We don't, we have an individual meter and
[24:36] we allow the tenants to go and get that.
[24:40] And as I talked about the four lakefront subdivisions,
[24:44] those are the two, the yellow and the green dots, those are the two interior parks
[24:48] that we have to maintain. We maintain the trees, the grass, everything in there.
[24:54] And any home
[24:55] in that this is Lake Shore come to us with building restrictions. And we review them
[25:03] for compliance. We do not have a mechanism for a variance. If the homeowner wants to take it
[25:12] down to the BZA, we go and fight against a variance against our building restrictions
[25:19] because they've been in place now since the 1940s, especially Lake Shore and Lake Bista,
[25:25] and we maintain the rights to our building restrictions. And the only way that a subdivision
[25:31] can modify, change their building restrictions is if they have a supermajority of the
[25:36] residents change the building restrictions. And that has not happened.
[25:42] Those that
[25:42] for subdivisions like as you come east you can have Lake Vista, Lake Vista you
[25:49] can see that where the two circles two cul-de-sacs you have same piles of one
[25:52] side and a method is on the other.
[25:56] That's Lake Vista, Lake Terrace as we come further
[25:59] this way. It's bound by the lakefront or the FPA's warehouse in UNO and Lake
[26:09] Oaks. I'm sorry, Lake Oaks is bound by the FPA.
[26:15] And then we had the teardrop shape on
[26:18] Lake Shore Drive. That was the former Naval Reserve facility. We tried to go out with RFP
[26:23] on that. We've gotten no takers. It's outside of flood protection, and it has so many restrictions
[26:30] on, even though it's 12.6 acres, I believe it's only maybe two acres of that is buildable
[26:37] or usable because of the proximity to the levee
[26:40] and you have to be, I think, 300 feet off the seawall
[26:44] before you can actually build anything.
[26:46] So there's a lot of restrictions.
[26:48] Where is that at?
[26:49] That's over there by, oh, I'm sorry.
[26:50] I don't have it up there.
[26:51] There it is.
[26:52] It's by the Seabrook Boat Launch in that vicinity.
[26:56] What, a yellow pin is that on there?
[26:58] Yes, it's a 12-acre site.
[27:05] Mardi Gras Fountain is a well-known landmark
[27:08] here in the city.
[27:09] if you pass out there after dark the lights all working.
[27:14] This was restored in
[27:15] May of 2005. Katrina came along and destroyed it three months later.
[27:24] That's
[27:24] just a little bit about the properties and the Mardi Gras found in
[27:27] rededication ceremonies. The Tadiki Bridge and Frank Davis fishing
[27:32] pier, that's under the bridge. We have applied for state capital
[27:38] outlay for the Seabrook boat launch. That is the only boat launch on the south side of south east
[27:45] side of Lake Pondstrain. We do have monies in priority two and priority five. We're in design
[27:54] phase with redesigning the Seabrook boat launch trying to get that back open for the public.
[28:03] We do have one back down that is open.
[28:08] I'll have one slides.
[28:11] Our budget for this year is approximately $9.3 million.
[28:16] We get approximately $6.9 million, $6.7 million,
[28:20] and self-revenue generating funds from the properties
[28:24] they throw off about roughly $7 million, say.
[28:27] The rest of the monies come from ad valorem tax.
[28:31] and the Orleans Lovey District, they collect three taxes, the constitutional, the maintenance and the slip fund.
[28:41] The slip fund is the only one that I want to reference here because that's where we get our money from.
[28:46] In 2012, when they went out for the renewal of the slip fund, which renewed in 2016,
[28:57] They put in a portion of the Avalorum tax, back then it was 0.61% mills, to go to the
[29:09] funding of Lake Shore Drive and the lakefront in the slip fund.
[29:14] So we're part of the slip fund.
[29:17] Your finance department collects that from the city of New Orleans and then remits that
[29:21] to us.
[29:22] Right now, with the rollback, we're getting, I believe, 0.4 non or 0.46, but that equates
[29:30] to about $2.4 million in Avalon tax, yes.
[29:34] Mr. Capo, does the City of New Orleans charge against the dedicated tax?
[29:43] It's my understanding they do.
[29:44] Yes.
[29:45] As a fee, they hold back.
[29:47] And as a certain amount, it's uncollectible on pro-protest.
[29:52] Sorry about the pro-protest.
[29:53] The people pay on the protest or are uncollectible
[30:03] I don't believe we have. I'm not familiar. That's a legal question, and I'm not up to speed
[30:13] on that. But that's where we get our monies from, those two revenue sources. And we do
[30:20] get a little bit of money from Bohemia. It's not turning out the oil I get used to, but
[30:25] But of course, we get it under our control, it sputters.
[30:31] But it all, operationally, we do fine.
[30:34] We can meet our operational goals.
[30:38] The problem we have is in the capital improvements.
[30:43] Our properties don't throw off enough revenue to have monies left over to put into capital
[30:50] improvements.
[30:52] I heard you all talk about the LAMP account before, you got a hundred and something million
[30:58] across the board.
[31:00] Y'all collect more in interest than we have in the bank in LAMP.
[31:03] We got a million dollars in LAMP.
[31:05] That's not much.
[31:06] We were one storm away from having some trouble with improvements.
[31:12] But our capital maintenance is very challenging for us.
[31:18] A lot of times what we have to do is work with our leasees.
[31:23] They need an extension or something, and they want to put improvements in.
[31:29] They'll put improvements in, and we give them an extension.
[31:31] Or we get a new tenant that comes out there.
[31:34] They want to build something, or anywhere they want to build.
[31:37] Well, we'll give them a rent credit against what they're going to build.
[31:39] They're going to put their money into it.
[31:41] They're going to spend the money.
[31:43] We'll give them some rent credits.
[31:44] We'll get the money over time.
[31:46] That's how we operate. But the major hurdle for us is capital investment. And that's where we have the biggest challenges that our capital project fund this year is way down with struggle.
[32:02] And that concludes what I have to say. Gentlemen, if you all have any questions.
[32:09] When two questions of Lewis one is Lincoln Beach. We do you still know we have nothing
[32:15] to do with what transferred that over to that transfer years ago to the DOTD or to the city
[32:22] to the city the city has because I mean there's some thinking about redevelopment and I didn't
[32:26] whether we were involved with that or not. Okay, thanks. We sit on the committee myself
[32:30] and Bruce Martin because of the proximity where we are to Lincoln Beach, but Arlene's
[32:34] Levy District owned it years ago and then transferred and swapped it out to the city.
[32:38] And us tell the new folks about your leases where people live on West End and the problem
[32:48] was the boat houses over at the harbor with the fire protection.
[32:53] The fire protection, a year ago, we had some challenges with that.
[32:58] We had a tenant that was not even in the covered boat slips who basically raised
[33:05] enough issues to where a state fire marshal came out and they had some issues.
[33:09] We had to put in a new fire suppression system for over a million dollars.
[33:15] So you did put it in?
[33:16] We did put it in.
[33:17] Yes.
[33:17] It's a dry system now.
[33:19] And then we land leased the buildings over by the other marina, right?
[33:25] They came in a long ago ahead of the boat houses over there. The boat house over there. That's all water bottoms in land
[33:31] Yes, the tenants own those boat houses
[33:34] We we don't want to be in the property in the sense of the structure owning
[33:39] We want to be in land and water-bottom business and we renegotiated those leases
[33:44] Last year year before last. Yes, those folks. They got an extension to 20 69
[33:50] And we reduced anytime. We had a transfer yesterday of a boat house
[33:55] Any time the old rate was 8%.
[33:58] You transfer and you sell your boat else to 200,000, it was 8%, we got 16,000.
[34:04] In order for that, there was some conditions that were placed on them as far as getting
[34:09] a lease extension.
[34:10] Their leases were coming up in 10 years, so they wanted a lease extension because they
[34:15] couldn't sell them.
[34:16] They were becoming less valuable.
[34:17] And so what we did was in order to grant them a lease extension, we required them to get
[34:25] a structural inspection by a licensed Louisiana engineer and a piling inspection, a current.
[34:33] They have that, then we know those boat houses are good because many of those boat houses
[34:37] are built in the late 70s, mid 70s, so they're getting old.
[34:42] And so, we needed to know that those boat houses were in good shape structurally.
[34:48] They needed repairs.
[34:49] They had to do the repairs before they get the extension.
[34:51] So we did extend the boat houses.
[34:54] Thank you, Liz.
[34:55] So, I don't remember the exact word you used, but financially y'all struggling for capital
[35:03] improvement?
[35:03] Capital improvement.
[35:04] But not today-to-day.
[35:06] Not today-to-day.
[35:07] Overhead, y'all.
[35:08] Okay.
[35:08] We could, we could, we'd cover in our expenses day to day, but to, for example, we have to
[35:13] put a new roof on a hanger.
[35:15] Well, we're struggling with that, you know, we'll be going to get the funds in there.
[35:19] And one of the hangers over there, the Moffitt hangers, an old hanger that was totally wiped
[35:24] out, the roof was wiped out, not by hurricane, by a straight line winds that came through
[35:29] a year or two ago.
[35:31] So we're negotiating with the insurance company.
[35:33] We also have someone who approached us and said, let them take that building down, knock
[35:41] it down and replace it, reorient the hangar doors.
[35:44] They want to put a couple of Gulf streams in there.
[35:47] The hangar as it is now cannot hold a Gulf stream.
[35:51] Right.
[35:51] As part of transparency, I don't know if you remember, I probably had more head and
[35:57] didn't have great beard, but I restored the harbor house for y'all after Katrina and all
[36:04] those neighborhoods.
[36:05] All the shelters, too.
[36:06] Yeah, all the shelters and all that, because it didn't click to me until I seen your name
[36:10] and I seen you.
[36:11] I said, I hadn't seen him in 20 years.
[36:14] Who's the architect?
[36:15] Was it Murray?
[36:18] Yeah, he was the architect.
[36:19] Joey Murray was the architect.
[36:20] Yeah.
[36:21] Y'all were the owners.
[36:22] Yeah.
[36:23] Okay.
[36:23] Good seeing you again.
[36:24] Do you have a question?
[36:25] Yeah, I have a question.
[36:27] Did you bring the quarterly update, financials?
[36:30] No, we're going through an audit right now.
[36:33] We only one month, a little over a month into the year, I don't have anything on the finances
[36:37] for this year yet.
[36:39] Okay.
[36:39] But we're in the same audit cycle as you all are, because part of our audit, the
[36:44] general fund, is combined.
[36:46] This was more of a general education for the new board members.
[36:50] We have so many new board members, you'll hear me talk numbers, but you don't
[36:52] know what I'm talking about.
[36:53] So I figured I'd give the new board members, the new director just a feel for who we are and what we do.
[37:00] And that quarterly report was to help us understand their finances because we do subsidize some of their costs.
[37:08] I haven't received a check yet.
[37:12] I don't do that.
[37:14] I like you when you think, though, you help subsidize, I like to know where those checks are.
[37:19] That comes to special lady right there.
[37:21] I mean, just for clarity, we do not subsidize their finances.
[37:26] We share some common purposes.
[37:29] No, ma'am.
[37:30] We don't.
[37:31] We do not.
[37:31] Insurance.
[37:32] We cannot spend flood protection money on non-flood, which is the issue with the properties
[37:38] that OLD owns.
[37:40] Okay.
[37:41] Yeah.
[37:41] I'm just talking about taking over the police and things like that.
[37:45] Well, they're our responsibility now.
[37:47] Now, yeah.
[37:48] Right.
[37:48] We do not subsidize their expenses, so.
[37:53] If you are, if you do.
[37:54] Louis wants to check.
[37:56] So, is the fallout shelter y'all wrong?
[37:59] In the MOU, we have it.
[38:01] Okay.
[38:01] Yes.
[38:02] Basically LMA lives paycheck to paycheck.
[38:05] We pretty much, that was always there.
[38:08] I just want to remind everyone, after last meeting of last week,
[38:15] We had some feedback some people that were watching us on home or in their
[38:20] office or whatever please talk into the microphone and even when y'all come to
[38:25] the podium make sure y'all into that microphone. We want everybody to hear
[38:30] what we're talking about but I'm sorry. President McCurry and Director Williams
[38:36] I know Anthony Richard who is our chairman of our board is not here but
[38:40] he extends an offer that he would like to meet with you as the new
[38:43] president with Director Williams. We can meet at the airport. We'll be here so you
[38:49] can feel for his direction. Anytime since I sent the governor put me here, I feel
[38:57] like I'm doing this 24-7 and in my business, but I'm committed to this. So
[39:02] anytime he wants to do it, get with Jeff and we'll be there. I know that
[39:07] feeling. This will definitely consume you time. He does too. Yeah I mean this is the
[39:14] passion I want to do this but anytime y'all want I'm available. Other than the
[39:19] two weeks of cruising the coast I've let everybody know that I'm done. Those two
[39:24] weeks it's done. I'm sorry. That's all I have. Thank you. Thank you very much. So
[39:35] Yeah, I'd like one.
[39:47] Yeah, that's what I'm going to next. Good senior again.
[39:56] This is the current.
[40:02] Yeah.
[40:04] Incorporates all prior amendments. Yeah.
[40:06] Or it is the only. No, all prior amendments.
[40:10] That's what I want.
[40:14] Okay. Is that it? All right. Next committee reports. Finance committee, Mr. Randy Noel.
[40:21] We had a finance committee this morning at 9.30 and the audit is ongoing, which should
[40:28] be wrapped up pretty soon. And pretty much we just we had the report from our investment
[40:35] counselor from Edward Jones. And that's pretty much all we did. So we have no recommendations
[40:41] to make today. Thank you. Thank you. We have any directors reports? No, nothing
[40:50] significant to report on, Mr. President. We did that last week. We're good to go.
[40:56] I'm sorry. Did we get a report on the accident that I mentioned in the
[41:00] special meeting? Yes, I did receive that report early this morning. I did not
[41:07] get a chance to review it yet but I do have the formal written report and we
[41:11] will get it out to you. Okay. What can you tell us? What accident are we talking
[41:17] about? The employee on a Monticello tractor accident a couple of about 10 days
[41:25] ago so I did not get to review it yet but I did get to see the report it's
[41:28] in my inbox. Okay. Just so you know our past practice has been if there's
[41:34] serious report, you know, serious injury or death, we need to know about it right
[41:41] away, either by email or, you know, that's because of the liability of it.
[41:47] Acknowledge. Thanks. Well, the first one needs to be Kurt and Chief. Let him know.
[41:55] Okay, Ryan, you don't have anything? No, not at this time. Okay. No one else?
[42:02] Okay. Any new business?
[42:05] You might want to mention our inspection costs have been, the Corps of Engineers inspection monies have been restored.
[42:15] Yes. That was an article. It was in the paper. Did y'all confirm that?
[42:20] Yes. Yes. They have reached out to us to schedule some inspections on our complex structure.
[42:25] So that's going to be ongoing and occurring in the next couple weeks.
[42:28] So their budgetary issues have been restored and this is going to start happening.
[42:34] Yes, for the complex structures, yes.
[42:39] There will be conducting some inspections on some of the PCCP sites and some of the complex structures.
[42:46] I mean, I guess they're good partners by doing that, but we just sort of probably know when I say we, the team,
[42:52] Y'all do that every day when y'all out there cutting grass or, you know, they are trained
[42:57] to look for these things.
[42:58] Yes.
[42:58] We're conducting our monthly quarterly annual, semiannual inspections.
[43:04] So just because I guess the core is low on some funding, it doesn't take away from the
[43:11] work that we do.
[43:12] Correct.
[43:13] And I'd like to add to that that the funding, the reprogramming is for FY25 only.
[43:20] So there's still no funding in the budget for FY26 for the Corps, but the big point that I'd like to add here, we just had levy recertification in 2023.
[43:34] So that's another eight years before certification requires that's a big deal for us to participate in the National Flood Insurance Program.
[43:43] So we still have seven years to go before it becomes impactful, but we are doing the work that is required.
[43:50] As I said in a hearing the other day, it is the agency that is responsible for that certification, not the Corps of Engineers.
[43:58] Right. I think in the next couple of weeks, we're going to have the lobbyist group, remember the name of the company?
[44:05] Mercury.
[44:06] Yeah, they're going to come in and give us an update, but I will tell you one update that they told us that the 200-year flood,
[44:14] I want to expand on it, the 200-year flood study, they have half a million dollars in the appropriation
[44:22] committee in Washington that's there to be his airmark and hope it passes for the 200-year study.
[44:32] I don't know if y'all knew that, but they told us it's there.
[44:36] I'd like to say something before we move on.
[44:40] When I was president, I was instrumental in getting Jeff here as the interim regional director
[44:45] through being the chief engineer.
[44:47] The reason Jeff could speak so eloquently and accurately about what was going on with
[44:52] the Corps is because he came to us from the Corps of Engineers in a leadership position.
[44:56] And one of the reasons that I
[45:00] As Jeff to come aboard is not only does he have impeccable character and integrity, but
[45:04] he brings a wealth of knowledge from a technical standpoint that this agency needs. So at some
[45:11] point in the near future, I want to recommend that we get him as our permanent regional
[45:15] director because he brings exactly what he just did this morning with no preparation,
[45:21] gave all of us a very eloquent and technically accurate account of what is going on with
[45:27] the Army Corps of Engineers. And Jeff, thank you for that.
[45:31] In the last, I don't know, two weeks that you and I have been working together, you've
[45:35] been right on the spot and definitely I'm very impressed. We're going to, at this point,
[45:41] any other questions? No.
[45:43] All right, we need a motion to go into executive session.
[45:48] Motion, second.
[45:50] Debbie, moves.
[45:52] Second.
[45:53] Randy, second.
[45:55] Call in favor?
[45:57] Aye.
[45:57] Aye.
[45:58] Any opposed?
[45:58] Just do we need to do a roll call on Ruby?
[46:01] No.
[46:02] Okay.
[46:02] Just got to be unanimous.
[46:04] So we're going to be in executive session.
[46:06] It may be a little while.
[46:07] You're welcome to stay.
[46:09] But we got to go.
[46:11] Is it too late for me to make another comment before we go into executive session?
[46:15] Go ahead.
[46:16] Go ahead.
[46:16] I also want to speak to the value of Chief Rondino in a dual role of being the chief compliance officer.
[46:24] He brings 20-plus years of experience with civil service in addition to his law enforcement pedigree.
[46:30] He is also a man of impeccable character and integrity.
[46:33] And I wanted to state that on the record, given some of the things that have been floating around in the media.
[46:38] Thank you.
[46:39] I agree.
[46:40] Let's go into executive session.
[46:48] Everybody back?
[46:52] Motion to come out of executive session.
[46:54] Second.
[46:55] Okay, all the time is we have to vote on it Pete. The time is 12 21 21 I did the
[47:06] motion yeah so Greg motion by Roy Caruba second by Randy all in favor go
[47:12] back on record hi no nays no nays okay there's been no on the two items that we
[47:23] We went into executive session, there's no decision, nothing done on that.
[47:28] So no action taken.
[47:31] No action.
[47:31] Thank you, Curt.
[47:33] So the next would be the motion for the attorneys.
[47:41] I would like to propose we just defer that again.
[47:45] Move we defer.
[47:47] Second.
[47:48] Okay.
[47:49] A motion by Miranda, second by Roy, all in favor?
[47:53] Aye.
[47:54] Aye.
[47:54] Any nays?
[47:57] Nays have, I mean, yeas have, all right.
[48:02] Number two, that's going to be deferred also to the next
[48:06] meeting, we're going to have a special meeting next week,
[48:10] which Ruby?
[48:11] I'll make a motion to defer.
[48:13] Second.
[48:15] Motion by Roy Krueger, second by Mr. Noel, all in favor?
[48:19] Aye.
[48:20] Any nays?
[48:22] Okay.
[48:23] So engineering?
[48:25] Anything?
[48:26] Can we clarify for the minutes about the special meeting?
[48:31] We're going to have a special meeting.
[48:32] I don't know anything about that, yeah.
[48:34] Wait, what?
[48:35] I don't know anything about special meeting.
[48:37] Are we having one next week?
[48:39] Yes.
[48:39] Okay.
[48:40] I'm going to get rid of that.
[48:42] Yeah, you've got to advertise it in all kinds of ways.
[48:44] We'll put the notice in all of them.
[48:46] Yeah.
[48:47] Don't get excited.
[48:48] Well, I need to arrange for family care.
[48:52] All right.
[48:54] So the only other, any action items or lists, anything?
[48:59] Guys, Ryan, you want to say something?
[49:02] No, I think most of the action items lists, we had one revision.
[49:12] We're going to be investigating the path forward for divesting on that property and I believe
[49:17] you had mentioned possibly looking at Lee San also and the condition of that one.
[49:23] The only other item was that we had a pending CEA with St. Bernard Parish for the safe
[49:29] housing of our Lakeborn employees.
[49:32] They have gotten back with us on a CEA and I believe it's either been reviewed
[49:37] or it's currently being reviewed by legal, but those are the only two revised items for this month.
[49:43] Okay, based on the real estate of Poche and Ruzan?
[49:47] Lisan, Lisan.
[49:49] Curt, have you ever come, got an opinion yet on how we dispose of that stuff?
[49:57] Afford the process from Larry Marino to you.
[50:00] I don't know if you had a chance to review it.
[50:02] That's the one where you had to go to the sheriff's office or something.
[50:07] But are they willing to do that? I thought there was some discussion.
[50:11] We had decided previously that we would put it on the market.
[50:15] You talk about pollution?
[50:17] We'll go through this sheriff's sale.
[50:19] There was discussion before with the sheriff,
[50:22] a representative sheriff's office stating that we needed a judge to sign off,
[50:26] but that's not in state law.
[50:28] Right. So I remember you saying that. I didn't know if that's the way it ended because it wasn't like a sheriff's sale or a judgment of a sale.
[50:37] Judicial auction. Judicial auction.
[50:40] Yeah, judicial auction. Because normally that's what they do at the sheriff's sales. So how do we…
[50:46] We would have to revisit that issue with the sheriff's office.
[50:50] Okay. Let's put that on pretty close to the top of the list.
[50:55] You know, these properties deteriorate and deteriorate every day.
[50:59] And we've got to do something with that, both of them.
[51:03] Now you can sleep.
[51:04] Okay. We had decided that it wasn't really the Sheriff's Office that had to handle that.
[51:10] To get more money for the East Jefferson-Levy District, which still exists as an entity,
[51:16] we had decided to put it on the market and that is the way it's going to bring
[51:22] the most value back to the corresponding agency that owned it.
[51:30] I heard that. I
[51:32] hear what you're saying but I need a legal opinion first. Is it legally you're
[51:37] saying we can use the board resolution before but I don't know where that
[51:41] process ended up, like when Chris Humphries was here or if it had stopped.
[51:49] It was Martin Isler's task.
[51:53] Yeah, basically what we need is what Pete is asking for, just a legal opinion on what route
[51:58] we can or can't take.
[52:00] That's my point.
[52:01] If there was a resolution passed to put it on them, if y'all did an action and said
[52:08] that hire XYZ real estate company?
[52:12] Is there any resolution out there?
[52:13] I don't call now.
[52:14] Okay, good.
[52:15] So give me a legal opinion how we dispose of it.
[52:20] Jeff, we're gonna say something.
[52:22] Yes, just another point of consideration
[52:25] is the resolution, the Senate resolution back in 2021
[52:30] that says that all authority property
[52:32] must be approved by Senate finance committee
[52:38] It's not law, it's a resolution, but there's some political ramifications behind that, so
[52:44] we need to take that in consideration and figure out how we want to navigate that.
[52:49] So that's all part of the legal opinion, okay?
[52:52] That was from 2021.
[52:55] So please, let's get that handle.
[52:59] I would just ask that we include the East Jefferson representatives in the discussion.
[53:06] I have, when I did the tour out there, the Lee Sam building, they're like, they have no need for it.
[53:15] We had sandbags that they had to store in there, but now the sandbags are all rotten.
[53:20] They said, we don't need them.
[53:22] No, no.
[53:22] But your point is, well, I'll tell you, you get them involved.
[53:24] I mean, this is the reason Jefferson Parish has two commissioners.
[53:29] And the only thing Lee Sam we might want to explore is retaining a portion of the property for stockpiling as far as dirt clay
[53:37] I know I believe we're not allowed to stockpile and our Reverend Wilson
[53:42] They told us that they told me that when I was there. Yeah. Yes, and and on the river road or whatever
[53:48] That's that's yeah, it's Reverend Wilson
[53:50] That Lee saying property has always been used for staging and as an extra
[53:56] like sometimes you need real estate and an emergency and you don't have it. We
[54:01] can't come all the way out here if it's you know.
[54:06] Give us an opinion and we'll
[54:07] talk about it. Okay. What's next? That's it. Who we adjourned? We have to announce the
[54:15] board meeting. Do we have a motion by Rand? Oh yeah I'm sorry. The next board
[54:20] meeting will be September 18th. Is that right? Here at Franklin Avenue at 10
[54:26] o'clock. We have a motion to adjourn. Second by Greg to adjourn. All in favor? Aye.