The Advocate has pounced on The Daily Advertiser’s newsroom, snatching up several reporters and a senior staffer in a coup that could cripple Lafayette’s flailing daily.
Drag Queen Story Time suit officially dismissed
The gist: A spurious federal lawsuit filed to stop the library's Drag Queen Story Time event planned last fall was formally dismissed Jan. 31. The court ruled the out-of-state fringe Christian organizations that filed suit had no standing.
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1 min read
The ruling was long expected. A federal magistrate recommended the case be thrown out last month, saying plaintiffs Chris Sevier and John Gunter Jr. failed to show “dollars-and-cents” injury from the library’s organization of Drag Queen Story Time, given the pair live out of state and don’t pay local property taxes. Both Lafayette Consolidated Government (by way of Mayor-President Joel Robideaux) and the Lafayette Public Library (by way of Director Teresa Elberson) were named defendants in the suit.
Sevier, an attorney and EDM producer, is a litigious agitator on LGBTQ+ issues — same-sex marriage, transgender rights, etc. — and has filed dozens of suits on bizarre grounds across the country. His cases typically argue the LGBTQ+ community is in effect a faith ideology. Any government interaction, he claims, like issuing marriage licenses or promoting a Drag Queen Story Time, is tantamount to state-sponsorship of a religion, and thus a violation of the First Amendment's establishment clause. He teamed up with West Virginia-based extremist Christian ministry Warriors for Christ to sue the Lafayette Public Library.
“By bringing this lawsuit, we are unapologetically and firmly defending the civil rights movement led by pastor Martin Luther King," Sevier told News 15 last year. Sevier made national headlines for other legal stunts like suing Utah for the right to marry his computer and Apple for not preventing porn from ruining his marriage.
Magistrate Judge Patrick Hanna was clearly exasperated with the case in December. He complained the court was "snowed in" by Warriors for Christ filings during a hearing on an ACLU intervention into the case on behalf of DQST supporters.
Drag Queen Story Time is back. Supporters have booked two private readings at the library's south regional branch this Sunday. Religious groups and opponents have begun circulating information about it. Organizers say they expect some protests and have arranged for security. Sunday's events are not directly affiliated with the program, planned by an LGBTQ+ fraternity at UL Lafayette, that sparked the last few months of controversy and attracted the attention of Sevier and Warriors for Christ.
That event was postponed indefinitely when a venue big enough to accommodate scores of sympathizers and protestors couldn't be found.
2018 Lafayette Parish retail sales projected to top $6 billion
The gist: Year-to-date sales in Lafayette Parish approached $5.5 billion through November 2018, according to a release from LEDA, on pace to surpass $6 billion. That puts local commerce in shouting distance of 2014’s $6.4 billion peak with a month of reports to go.
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Total taxable sales in the parish were up 4.4 percent from 2017 and 5.6 percent from 2016 in that time period.
But the city’s lagging behind: The city of Lafayette performed the worst among municipalities, up only 1.4 percent, compared with 28.2 percent in Duson, 19.3 percent in Youngsville, 17.3 percent in Scott, and 9.2 percent in Carencro. Even unincorporated Lafayette Parish beat the city with a 3.7 percent uptick.
More than 70 percent of the total retail sales in the parish happen in the city of Lafayette. It’s still the region’s shopping anchor. In the city, apparel, general merchandise and building material sales are all down from last year. LEDA CEO Gregg Gothreaux says that’s in part due to belt-tightening and a correction from flood-related boosts in construction.
“The downturn forced people to curtail spending,” Gothreaux says. “Apparel is something that can easily be put off, and the sales numbers over the past four years reflect that. People focused on purchasing necessities — looking for the best bargains — or may have occasionally splurged at the hot, new store. The 2016 flood spurred a modest increase in building materials sales that has since returned to pre-flood levels.”
Up but still down: While the parish’s performance might be up from last year, sales through November were off more than $300 million from 2014. The cities of Lafayette and Broussard and the unincorporated parts of the parish are all down more than $100 million each from where they were back then.
Up and up and up: But some parts of the parish have seen a steady rise in retail sales despite the economic downturn in the parish the last few years. Youngsville‘s up about $60 million since 2014, Scott about $40 million and Carencro more than $50 million.
Duson‘s all over the place: If you compare 2018 to 2014, Duson’s down about $1 million. But if you compare it to 2013, it’s up almost $11 million. But then if you compare it to 2012, it’s down more than $24 million. What’s going on in Duson?
More sales = more revenue for government, but in a good way: When total taxable sales go up, so too do sales tax revenues for schools, city governments, and economic development districts. That means more money for government without having to raise taxes. Modest increases in sales tax receipts in the unincorporated area helped patch a temporary budget hole when a plan to sell a parish-owned parking garage to the city fell through. Unincorporated Lafayette parish has been routinely raided of its sales tax revenue through annexations by nearby towns and cities.
Good news, but ... Rising retail sales is an indisputably good thing. But Lafayette still has a ways to grow to recover lost ground. So while we celebrate finally getting some good economic news, let’s not forget that this just suggests the bleeding has stopped. There is still a lot of healing left to do.
Letter: A public apology is in order
Anyone with personal knowledge of the workings of the library knows the people who volunteer to serve on the board of control always act solely in the best interest of the library system and the public.
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6 min read
Downtown is staring at a residential breakthrough
The gist: Waitr is busy taking over the Lemoine building. CGI is sniffing for office space. Meanwhile, new residential projects in the works could break down the housing dam.
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Vermilion Lofts broke ground last week to some who’s who fanfare. The project, a mixed-use development at Johnston Street and W. Vermilion Street, represents something of a coup for Downtown. Scheduled for completion by fall of this year, the loft development will feature 24 units (studios and two-bedroom apartments) and 3,600 square feet of commercial space on the bottom floor. Developments like Vermilion Lofts are the norm in successful urban centers; Lafayette’s got a long way to go.
“This project will set the tone for the future,” Downtown Development Authority CEO Anita Begnaud told onlookers, basking in “chamber of commerce” sun. (No fewer than three speakers made use of that turn of phrase.) “This is what we’ve been waiting for for a long time.”
Housing is showing up at the right time. Waitr has moved into the top floor of the Lemoine building at the north end of Jefferson Street and is reportedly slated to take over all three floors in the not-so-distant future. The app company’s rapid expansion is poised to bring scores of new jobs, if not hundreds. Meanwhile, tech consultant CGI has been after space Downtown to accommodate 400 new jobs announced in an extended incentive deal with the state last year. This is the virtuous cycle of urban development. Who knows, maybe a grocery store is next *insert interrobang.*
“We need to ask the question if there’s good alignment among all the pieces,” Begnaud says of the outlook. “How do we move at the speed of business to make it as cost efficient and timely. Those conversations are starting to happen.”
Vermilion Lofts makes four substantial housing developments on the way after years in a residential quagmire. Four projects, in varying stages of development and certainty, would bring around 200 new housing units Downtown. That’s still well below the 1,000 units a 2017 market study estimated Downtown could handle. (That figure is down from 2000 in 2011.) Here’s the rundown:
- Vermilion Lofts: 24 apartments and studios. Under construction. Estimated completion in 2019.
- Buchanan Heights: 30 townhomes. Under construction. Estimated completion unknown.
- The Monroe: 70 apartments. Seeking approval for HUD financing. Estimated completion one to two years.
- Place de Lafayette: 68 apartments. In due diligence. Deadline for completion Dec. 31, 2020.
The big question: Is Downtown ready for success? Vermilion Lofts tested the limits of Lafayette’s aging wastewater system. LUS has not given the all clear on the project’s 34-unit second phase. Sewer capacity remains a challenge long term; Place de Lafayette (the old federal courthouse redevelopment) will have to invest in sewer upgrades to go forward. That project is not yet a sure thing. But it’s not just the pipes that could clog up momentum; some developers say it’s just too hard to build Downtown.
“It’s great we have a lot of momentum, but that momentum can only go so far,” Vermilion Lofts developer and architect Stephen Ortego tells me, if the district doesn’t figure out how to navigate developers through thorny regulations and higher taxes.
Fix the ballot, Lafayette
Why is America so badly governed? Blaming voters or politicians is the wrong answer. It’s how we vote.
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5 min read
Mixed forecast at Acadiana Mall: controversial owner in, H&M on the way
A national retail operator with a reputation for buying troubled malls and investing little in them bought Acadiana Mall in mid-January.
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7 min read
Robideaux’s library accusations are not grounded in fact
The mayor-president has accused the library system of defrauding taxpayers to the tune of $21 million dollars. Unfortunately for his credibility, the facts don’t back up his claims.
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13 min read
‘Ghost millage’ spooks council into deferring library rededication
The gist: The mayor-president claimed Tuesday night to have discovered unknown library money — a “ghost millage,” so to speak — and spooked the council into punting on calling an election to shift $18 million from the Lafayette Public Library’s controversial fund balance. The proposal, which would shift the money to infrastructure needs, will be taken up again in the spring, pushing any public vote till the fall.
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A ghost millage is born. At the last minute, Mayor-President Joel Robideaux sprang on the council that major library construction projects were paid for by a property tax associated with a $40 million bond package approved by voters in 2002 and not, as he suggested the public likely believed, by a millage passed at the same time to pay for construction, operations and maintenance. Robideaux characterized it as a “fourth millage” that supported the library, kicking up a dust of confusion among council members. Councilman Jay Castille, who motioned to defer the election resolution in light of Robideaux’s “new” information, called it a “ghost millage.” Castille’s motion carried 7 - 2.
“This is a confusing issue,” Castille said. “Usually council members are not caught off guard like that.” Council members were flustered the info was late-coming, shared with a huddle of members minutes before Tuesday’s meeting started.
Robideaux implied the library built its fund balance in bad faith. By his account, that the word “construction” was featured on the millage passed in 2002 misled voters to believe those funds were meant for four new branches when, in fact, the projects were paid for by the $40 million bond authorization. The “ghost millage” he’s referring to is the property tax used to pay for parish debt, which includes the library bonds. Robideaux suggested the library squirreled away the separate “construction” millage until 2012, when the library then used fund balance dollars to build a library in Scott. “The library feared the public caught on,” he said, and decided to use fund balance dollars to avoid suspicion.
Robideaux told The Advocate he believes the millage language was intended to "fool" voters back in 2002.
“Joel muddied up the waters and got it wrong,” Andrew Duhon, vice president of the library’s board of control, tells me. Duhon says the system has mixed fund balance and bond money to pay for all of the projects on the bond list, using cash-in-hand to avoid interest. “It’s the strongest model of financial management in the parish,” he says of the library’s stewardship. The library has sold $21 million of its $40 million authorization, tapping pay-as-you-go dollars for the rest. He insists the library has operated prudently and argues Robideaux is grasping at straws. “I think he’s in a protectionist mode,” Duhon says. “He’s tired of getting beat on, but he’s his own worst enemy.”
I don’t understand. Neither does the Siri who lives inside LCG Chief Financial Officer Lorrie Toups’ phone. The robot chimed in during council discussion. Meanwhile, information banged around the room and rarely landed with the right context. Some council members gained the impression, one arguably conjured by Robideaux, that the “ghost millage” was stealing money from roads and drainage needs; budget language pegs the general obligation bonds to pay for those things.
The “ghost millage” is not a pool of general purpose money. It pays parish debt on bonds sold.
“It wasn’t a misappropriation,” Toups replied to a pointed question from William Theriot. Theriot, echoing sentiments from other council members, sought assurance that the “ghost millage” situation wouldn’t happen again. Toups emphasized that the millage pays for the debt on the specific projects authorized in the 2002 bond package, dispelling the notion the millage is used inappropriately. So, ghost millages will continue to haunt city-parish budgeting.
What should really scare you: The number of elected officials who don’t understand how bonds work. Wherever you stand on the fundamental issue — i.e., the size of the library’s fund balance and what to do with it — council discussion revealed a startling lack of comprehension with respect to the relationship between the library’s millages and parish debt.
What to watch for: How the delay affects the proposal’s political usefulness for Robideaux. The library is a polarizing issue now, and some see his proposal as an effort to score political points in an election year. Others view the rededication as Drag Queen Story Time retaliation. Now kicked to a fall ballot at the earliest, the transfer could appear alongside his re-election bid. That limits its value as campaign material.
Funk, soul brother: Akie Bermiss talks about how he joined Lake Street Dive
Bermiss talks competition among music school geeks (or the lack thereof), joining a band on a never-ending tour and the ins and outs of defying musical categories.
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10 min read
Bird, Lime scooters agree to pause service in Lafayette
The gist: Turns out those e-scooters aren't exactly street legal, according to state law, at least not clearly. Bird and Lime agreed to take the scooters off the streets until legislation can clear a legal pathway for them to continue service.
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When a scooter is a motorcycle: Ambiguities in state law may inadvertently define the electric scooters as a motorized vehicle and thus regulate them like rascals, mopeds, motorcycles. Viewed that way in the eyes of the law, the scooters may be prohibited from sidewalks (Bird and Lime say the scooters shouldn't be on sidewalks, anyway) or from riding the streets without registration and titling. The state definitions predate the shared mobility rage, a phenomenon that took cities by storm in the last couple of years with free-standing, app-enabled bikes and scooters. In other words, it's more or less an accident of history that Bird and Lime may run afoul of statutes like this one from 2005.
What if we call them something else? In an email sent to Mayor-President Joel Robideaux over the weekend, Lime representatives suggested calling the scooters "motorized novelty vehicles" as a workaround. The loophole accommodates Segways, for instance. The semantic solution was apparently considered in New Orleans before city officials ultimately decided — "for political (not policy) reasons," according to Lime reps in the email exchange — not to let the companies operate there. Scooter companies first encountered the state issue in approaching New Orleans and have worked to find a state-level solution since.
"Simply using a newly defined name falls short of a workable solution on our end and does not change the fact that current State law would still consider them a vehicle which cannot be operated on sidewalks or any street without the required equipment, " Robideaux replied in an email to Lime reps.
Robideaux raised the legal issue two weeks ago in remarks to the City-Parish Council, suggesting the administration has been grappling with what it now views is a cut and dry prohibition. Robideaux has taken a cautious but friendly posture to the scooter companies since they arrived in early December, working to develop a policy framework that would allow them to stay long term. State law, however, trumps local law. In other words, Lafayette can’t be more lenient than the state in regulating the scooters. It's unclear how long the administration, which has not responded to a request for comment, has been aware of the statute. UL threatened to impound scooters left on campus back in December, shortly after the fleets landed. Students were told not to ride on sidewalks and were ordered to park them in bike racks.
Please leave before we kick you out. In letters delivered to Bird and Lime, Robideaux asked the companies to "stand down" voluntarily rather than face cease and desist orders. The companies will have to pull approximately 100 or more scooters scattered around the city but mostly clustered around the urban core. Some cities have taken to impounding the scooters when Bird, Lime and other operators have been slow to leave when asked. The companies have tended to pounce on new markets unannounced, part and parcel of a disruption ethos among Silicon Valley outfits, and have faced backlash from some communities and welcome in others. That strategy seems to be changing as the element of surprise has dissipated. Now rideshare companies are commonly working with municipalities to design agreements ahead of deploying the scooter fleets.
What to watch for: If this is truly a pause or something more final. Legislation, at its earliest, would be available in late spring. Locals have had a love-hate relationship with the devices. Some see them as a nuisance, even a safety hazard, taking issue with teenagers zooming on Downtown sidewalks, in clear violation of Bird's and Lime's own user instructions. Others view them as a useful mobility tool able to provide quick and convenient access for short trips, addressing a major cause of traffic in urbanized areas. LCG has made clear its intent to find a way to keep the scooters here. But it’s an election year, and public opinion on the scooters has hardly been uniform.
Moving library money only looks like a good idea
Mayor-President Robideaux wants to rededicate $18 million from the library’s fund balance to pave roads and clean coulees, but there are hidden costs that must be accounted for.
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8 min read