Comments for Death of a Good Intention at http://www.theind.com , comment 1 to 27 out of 20 comments http://www.theind.com Sat, 25 May 2013 05:04:38 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.theind.com/news/9-indnews/8569-death-of-a-good-intention-#comment-19328 I have this theory that people of all different ideologies have become very skeptical and involved with government, and state/local politicians don't realize it, yet. That's why they keep running into resistance from unexpected quartets everytime they try to do something. To that I would add that the internet is the "democratization of the media" and we no longer have to relie on the printed newspaper. Also, the ability to research public information and social network are empowering the individual enormously to mount public resistance; even before abuses take place. The "good-old-boy" network hasn't caught on and will soon be the "good-ol-farts" club; unable to weild the powere they once did. - realitycheck Sun, 03 Jul 2011 06:56:08 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/9-indnews/8569-death-of-a-good-intention-#comment-19320 Ragin: Yes, Gachassin is the developer and AOC has a 1% ownership now. (wonder if that keeps them from paying property taxes on the $18 Million development in the first 10 years?) Later, AOC gets 100%. Gachassin denies that it will be a prisoner reentry housing but he won't guaranty it with a performance bond or even a neighborhood agreement. (prisons are overcrowded and there is a move for massive releases to help state budgets everywhere) Who is to say what AOC will do with it? After all, their 1/2 way and 3/4 houses today are people who would otherwise be in jail. Their 3 Graces in Abbeville services people with both addictions and mental illnesses. They have about 90 beds; JDV will have about 70 units. The CEO of AOC when asked directly says that people they work with "will need sustainanble housing". So, their patients/inmates will be treated for addiction but they will exit with mental conditions, don't you think? The development might start off as mixed use for the developer to max his money the first 10 years of tax benefits, during which time, I think, it has to maintain the ratios, but once it switches over to AOC, anything could happen. That's one social experiment we don't want to see in Downtown Lafayette!! Sustainable??? If it fills up at that point with mental patients, it will be sustained with tax money. If it is 100% owned by a nonprofit, it won't have to pay property taxes, right? AOC doesn't pay property taxes now, so one would think they won't even on this large scale development. If that's the case, built 100% with tax money, sustained by taxes in HUD vouches but pays no property taxes, thus a triple tax cost to the rest of the community. ("Sustainable" = your taxes) The DDA should have done some due diligence and should get an opinion from Conrad Comeaux on the tax issue; first 10 years and also when AOC takes it over.They should also seek performance bonds so it does not end up a slum and drain on the community. A candidate does not need to come from the northside; they just need to understand the different issues of the inner core and upper Lafayette. That would get a lot of votes with just that, because this HB531 was wayyyyy too close for people to continue sleeping. As Boudreaux said, when you're talking about taking people's homes, that's pretty much everything! - realitycheck Sat, 02 Jul 2011 15:50:53 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/9-indnews/8569-death-of-a-good-intention-#comment-19286 VERY interesting! I don't know much about that whole issue with AOC and the housing development they're trying to build with AOC...lemme guess, that's Greg Gachassin developing that? If Joey thought he'd slip one by...well, that fits,too. I have this theory that people of all different ideologies have become very skeptical and involved with government, and state/local politicians don't realize it, yet. That's why they keep running into resistance from unexpected quartets everytime they try to do something. If the northside crowd is getting geared up to ensure Durel doesn't get another term.,,,who's running against him? Do they have a candidate? Who? - ragin_cajun Fri, 01 Jul 2011 12:42:37 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/9-indnews/8569-death-of-a-good-intention-#comment-19269 I think Joey and LEDA kept introducing it year after year, adding things and rewriting, not really knowing/watching/caring what the state guys were doing, so they had no idea that state law had changed and solved their problem for them. Can't agree with you on that. Joey Durel wanted way more power to grab land and put together large packages for developers; downtown and throughout the parish. I believe that Durel looked to other states with eminent domain abuse for "economic development" (prohibited by our state constitution) and used that as the model and tried to slide it by the public by emphasizing "blight"; thinking no one would actually read it, much less compare it to the supposed model in Baton Rouge. He is "frustrated" and "angry" because he got caught! I would suggest to you that if you look at the time line, when the Joke de Ville development (a/k/a future AOC slum) runs into hold out property owners, Durel tries something like this again to bully them into selling for dirt cheap prices, worried they are doomed to expropriations. Durel and cronies have grossly underestimated the downtown and upper Lafayette community, who are already planning to insure that Durel does not get another term. It is a large voting population in upper Lafayette and his attempted theft of home and business has activated many. - realitycheck Fri, 01 Jul 2011 07:09:12 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/9-indnews/8569-death-of-a-good-intention-#comment-19257 I have no inside scoop, you'd have to ask someone who does. But I strongly suspect Rabideaux didn't have a clue what was in the bill--he just dropped it in the hopper because Joey told him to and made it sound like no big deal. I think Joey and LEDA kept introducing it year after year, adding things and rewriting, not really knowing/watching/caring what the state guys were doing, so they had no idea that state law had changed and solved their problem for them. They had plans and a bill in a desk drawer, and they never really kept current on the issue. You have to understand--Joey has bigger fish to fry than keeping up with legislation that affects city government. There's just not a lot of "sizzle" on that particular "steak". :). But, then again, you don't sound like a Chamber/leadership Lafayette type insider, so you couldn't POSSIBLY understand things like this.....:) Best thing we could do is leave issues like this to ultra educated mental giants like Joey Durel and Don Bertrand and their Star Chamber patrons. - ragin_cajun Thu, 30 Jun 2011 17:58:27 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/9-indnews/8569-death-of-a-good-intention-#comment-19248 Thanks Ragin! The presentation was very helpful. Much abuse was contained in HB531 that was never mentioned in that presentation. And why was that being done at the state level rather than just doing the enabling ordinance at the local level which is all that is needed? There was sooooo much mess added in there that is not found in the BRRA. Expropriations would be necessary for larger developments and that was Durel's goal. And, also to bully hold out landowners who are not interested in selling their property, both the small homeowner and holders of large, undeveloped tracts. - realitycheck Thu, 30 Jun 2011 16:32:19 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/9-indnews/8569-death-of-a-good-intention-#comment-19212 Yeah, it's right here... http://www.lafayettela.gov/obcouncil/default.aspx Parts one and two. They also posted the power point presentation, too. There's a part at the end where Brandon Shelvin asks McGoffin how this all would affect proposed state legislation creating a redevelopment authority (HB-531), and McGoffin said that it was irrelavent. That bill would only state who takes control of the adjudicated property. Without a redevelopment authority, then the council could take control of it and do whatever it wanted with it--sell it, give it away, whatever. I personally think that the Council should handle this. That way, people can go to the council meetings and speak, they can vote out their councilmen if they don't like what he/she does with adjudicated properties, everybody'd know if a councilman was favoring his buddies, and there'd be no arguments over appointments to a commission to run an authority. Let's keep in mind, that the Council has a TERRIBLE record of appointing people to head authorities recently. - ragin_cajun Thu, 30 Jun 2011 09:06:34 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/9-indnews/8569-death-of-a-good-intention-#comment-19208 ragin: I want to review that; got a link or the date of that meeting? thanks - realitycheck Thu, 30 Jun 2011 07:49:59 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/9-indnews/8569-death-of-a-good-intention-#comment-19205 Durel just wants to write his own law to control the outcome rather than simply letting properties go to the highest bidder at public sale. Durel is the hold up; nothing else. He wants a "Redo-it-my-way Authority". Durel has no respect AT ALL for our history nor for the Upper Lafayette area. Remember, he says "I'm just not in my element in North Lafayette". Dahh.... that's because you've ignored it and only show an interest now bc you think you can use federal funds to enrich your buddies and maybe cover up the neglect. Mr. Durel, your attempted rape of the northside and attempted theft of private property will be remembered at the polls. - realitycheck Thu, 30 Jun 2011 07:06:23 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/9-indnews/8569-death-of-a-good-intention-#comment-19201 Not Even Cloar -- McGoffin and Ottinger's presentation says clearly that if the proposed ordinance presented tomthe council were enacted, the council could clear these "adjudicated properties" without a redevelopment authority. They also said that changes in State Law about two years ago make this possible. So that tells me that if the council would get their head in the game, all these blighted properties wouldn't be a problem. Is that how you see it? The presentation we're talking about is on the Council's website. - ragin_cajun Wed, 29 Jun 2011 22:32:53 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/9-indnews/8569-death-of-a-good-intention-#comment-19193 I sat in on Gary Mcgoffin's presentation about blighted properties twice. His vision was very similar to this bill. It created an authority that would be able to deal with these blighted properties because the ordinances on the books presently have NOT been able to clear the titles on properties that have been abandoned. Ottinger has concurred with this. Clearing the titles have been a nightmare that no one has been able to resolve for the last 30 years. - Not even close Wed, 29 Jun 2011 16:37:12 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/9-indnews/8569-death-of-a-good-intention-#comment-19188 Airport Commission is the first example? Hmmmm. Didn't they have some issues with expenses? Didn't the legislative auditor have some "suggestions" for them? - Remember Wed, 29 Jun 2011 15:24:01 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/9-indnews/8569-death-of-a-good-intention-#comment-19186 Is the guy building all that wonderful stuff in Baton Rouge on other people's property with other people's money also the guy who sits on the committee in BR to determine who gets the tax credits? Left Hand...Right Hand....no body notices........ Anyway, that's how it will/does work in Lafayette usually (Housing Authority seemed too anyway) - wondering Wed, 29 Jun 2011 15:15:43 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/9-indnews/8569-death-of-a-good-intention-#comment-19183 by jfredblair "Lafayette is missing out. The RDA in Baton Rouge scored $60 million in federal tax credits" ------------------------ Do we reduce economic activity to a political game? Doesn't anyone realize such states as California and Illinois are bankrupt because of governmental action? - James Melancon Wed, 29 Jun 2011 14:55:54 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/9-indnews/8569-death-of-a-good-intention-#comment-19182 jfred: We have not missed anything; rather, we have been spared of the worst oppression. Oppertunity still remains but progress will only be had when Durel learns that he can not inject his greed and corruption so that he can control outcomes for buddies. And a healthy dose of due process needs to be had along with a respect for the State Constitution. - realitycheck Wed, 29 Jun 2011 14:53:12 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/9-indnews/8569-death-of-a-good-intention-#comment-19181 "objection to an appointed, un-elected commission are arguably tiresome"..."three dozen such appointed boards and commissioners operating in Lafayette Parish." ---------------- Yes, and it is a festering problem. It is part of the reason government is a financial mess. - James Melancon Wed, 29 Jun 2011 14:48:25 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/9-indnews/8569-death-of-a-good-intention-#comment-19175 Lafayette is missing out. The RDA in Baton Rouge scored $60 million in federal tax credits that are being used to build in some census tracts, including the areas between downtown and LSU. Already, the RDA has provided a direct infusion to build a YMCA in North Baton Rouge and tax credits for a hotel in downtown, and on it will go. Congrtulations, Lafayette. Even BR is doing more than you. - jfredblair Wed, 29 Jun 2011 13:28:05 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/9-indnews/8569-death-of-a-good-intention-#comment-19169 "Wash his hands"? Wait till after the election. If re-elected he will shove this and more like it down our throats. Bubba if you love him your a FOOL. Joey is the most for TAX and against poor people mayor to ever hold office in Lafayette. Don't forget if you disagree with him your stupid are just don't understand and must hate Lafayette. - barb Wed, 29 Jun 2011 12:45:30 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/9-indnews/8569-death-of-a-good-intention-#comment-19165 There already IS a process to move blighted properties "back into commerce", and it was presented to the Council months ago, before HB531, by Pat Ottinger and Gary McGoffin. We should all go and watch the video of that presentation to understand this issue. HB - ragin_cajun Wed, 29 Jun 2011 11:21:43 +0100 http://www.theind.com/news/9-indnews/8569-death-of-a-good-intention-#comment-19164 Thank, all of you who looked out for us when the elected wouldn't. We can't keep up with all of this and our elected won't. Again, thank you all for your personal time to help save our city from the greedy. - tif Wed, 29 Jun 2011 11:12:44 +0100