Emile Joseph Bourgeois Sr.
May 25, 2009
Madeline Marie Cadiere Usie
May 29, 2009
The Terrebonne Economic Development Foundation, the nominally private arm of the government-run Terrebonne Econo-mic Development Authority, is a public body since the same members sit on both boards, said TEDA attorney James Dagate at last week’s meeting in Houma.
TEDA’s bylaws state that its board members have to sit on the TEDFo board, said TEDA Executive Director Mike Ferdinand.
TEDFo board members questioned whether they could be personally liable for loans made through the foundation’s microloan program.
In that program, the Small Business Administration lends funds to TEDFo which in turn lends the money out for economic development purposes. The funds must be paid back to the SBA.
Ferdinand said funding for TEDFo’s microloan program is nearly exhausted. SBA loans are needed to replenish funding for the program, said TEDA board chairman Mike Voisin.
According to Dagate, officers signing notes for the SBA loans have responsibility. Due diligence is necessary.
In applications for the microloan funding, TEDFo board members have to furnish information about their backgrounds.
At last week’s TEDA board meeting, researcher/grantwriter Lisa Maloz announced that the Louisiana Recovery Authority will apply for federal Community Development Block Grants to build a cold storage facility in Terrebonne under an urgent need category.
The facility for area fishermen will be built as part of the federal government’s local recovery effort for hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Board members questioned whether the project qualifies under the CDBG program’s immediate need category.
Ferdinand said more businesses are interested in applying for funding from the federal Gulf Opportunity Zone (GO Zone) program, aimed at businesses damaged by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
A special meeting was called to approve TEDA’s policy governing GO Zone funding.
At the state level, Ferdinand said TEDA continues to assist Performance Energy Services’ effort to receive Louisiana Economic Development funding for the company’s expansion at the Port of Terrebonne.
Ferdinand is negotiating to purchase land for use by TEDA at the former McDermott Shipyard and to rent 2,000 square feet of space in downtown Houma to house TEDA’s new office.
The agency’s current office is on Corporate Drive near the Martin Luther King Boulevard commercial area. The new location will have nine parking spaces.
Also at last week’s meeting, TEDA recognized Edison Chouest Offshore’s receipt of a CiCi Award in the March/April 2009 issue of Trade & Industry Development.
Chouest’s LaShip shipyard under construction at the Port of Terrebonne was listed in the publication as one of 15 projects nationally having exceptional economic impact on the community.
The Terrebonne Economic Development Authority is seeking a federal Community Development Block Grant to build a cold storage facility in the parish. The facility for area fishermen will be built as part of the government’s local recovery effort for hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
