Council OKs agreement for TEDA

The Terrebonne Parish Council extended its cooperative endeavor agreement with the Terrebonne Economic Development Authority last Wednesday for another three years.

Following a month of tension, deadline conflicts and talks to renew communication efforts, both council members and TEDA leaders breathed a sigh of relief and voiced that they were confident about the future relationship between government officials and the economic development agency.

“I think there were some council people that had questions and they weren’t clear with some particulars on the cold storage project,” TEDA Board of Commissioners Chairman Don Hingle said. “They had some questions on the ins and outs of a $1.2 million grant we received from the feds, and the other thing they mentioned was they wanted us to pick a candidate to replace Mike [Ferdinand] before they extended [the cooperative endeavor agreement], not thinking that was going to make it awkward to pick somebody. I think there was some disconnect between us and the council, which was in part TEDA’s fault in not being in as good of communication with the council as we should be.”

Hingle revealed that he and TEDA board member Morris Hebert had met separately with four undisclosed council members to hear their concerns and iron out differences prior to the parish council finance committee meeting last Monday. “We got them what they want and they are happy,” Hingle said.

The cooperative endeavor agreement between the parish and TEDA is an arrangement in which the local government designates half of an occupational license fee, paid by businesses in the parish, to TEDA. The business license tax came into existence when TEDA was formed in 2004 and was created to support the agency. The 50 percent that does not go to TEDA is used in the parish government budget. The cooperative endeavor agreement also offers council members a final say in who serves on the economic authority’s Board of Commissioners.

With a renewal deadline looming and projections of a three-month process in finding a new CEO for TEDA, the agency faced a momentary threat of being shut down by the end of February. An initial 30-day extension headed off that concern before a final three-year extension could be passed.

“There were concerns,” Parish Council Chairman Clayton Voisin said. “I’ve done quite a bit of research and the problems I had [with TEDA] were solved. There was a lack of communication and in some cases over-communication by some people. I’m just happy we were able to solve those problems. The contract will help them move forward.”