Taxable oil spill income could be another mess
February 1, 2011Thursday, Feb. 3
February 3, 2011
Two weeks after agreeing to address the citizens of Lafourche Parish regarding the BP oil spill claims process, Gulf Coast Claims Facility Administrator Kenneth Feinberg informed Parish Councilman Daniel Lorraine via e-mail that he would not be able to attend the council’s oil spill committee meeting Feb. 7.
The message, sent by Feinberg’s public affairs secretary Amy Weiss on Jan. 29, cites a scheduling conflict and was sent one day after Weiss sent an e-mail expressing concern about the meeting’s format.
“I want to be sure this isn’t a ‘town hall’ meeting,” the Jan. 28 e-mail reads. “Ken is happy to meet w (sic) your group but I’ve seen news reports about 800 people showing up. That will not be a conducive to a dialogue about the process, methodology etc. A circus does no good. Can we discuss format etc? Thank you”
The District 9 councilman took offense to the e-mail’s contents.
“When I got this e-mail, I was very upset and I felt offended because people that live in Lafourche and the surrounding areas are not elephants, they are not clowns and they are not lions. They are good people. This circus crap p—— me off,” he said.
When asked if she would elaborate on the scheduling conflict or if Feinberg had a future date in mind when he could visit the parish, Weiss responded via e-mail. “Mr. Feinberg regrets having to postpone his visit to Lafourche Parish due to an unforeseen scheduling issue. He will come to Lafourche Parish soon, though we don’t yet have a date,” it said.
Lorraine sent on Jan. 25 to Weiss and Feinberg a copy of the committee meeting agenda, which included a statement from each of the committee’s members before Feinberg would be introduced, allowed to speak and requested to answer questions from the audience.
The next day, Weiss responded with an e-mail that said, “we are good to go. I have worked out our scheduling issue.”
Lorraine said he complied with all their requests and will continue to work on bringing Feinberg to Lafourche.
“I did everything the man told me to do. You’ve got to remember, we’re the only parish that has a committee. We’ve got to follow the rules and regulations. I can’t tell somebody that you can’t come to the meeting. I can’t control that. We can control the meeting by discipline, and we can control the meeting by respect and professionalism,” he said.
Feinberg has made a spate of visits to south Louisiana since the New Year, including multiple stops in Terrebonne and Jefferson Parish to address the public. He has yet to hold a public meeting in Lafourche Parish.
Lorraine said he has already spoken to councilmen Lindel Toups and Joe Fertitta, the other two members of the BP oil spill committee and on Monday expects to pass a resolution formally requesting Feinberg to schedule a date to address the Lafourche citizens.
Kenneth Feinberg has visited the region several times recently
