Remarks by Matthew Willard
41 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 1 of 2
“Thanks, Madam Chair. Just a couple of questions. Thank you guys for being here today. I noticed that there's $35,000 budgeted for conventions and travel. Could you touch on that? We're really trying to limit that across the city.”
“And then $100,000 for outside legal services. Is that in preparation to write the reports? No.”
“Okay. Because it looked like the last couple of years you didn't have that.”
“And then how do you guys decide where you go next? What departments to look into? What contracts? Services? Yeah, so... Does somebody, like, give you a lead or...”
“We also rely on tips that come in as well. Okay. Awesome. Well, keep up the great work. Thank you. Thank you. Appreciate it.”
“Council Member Willard. Thank you, Madam Chair. Casey, thank you for coming down and walking us through all of this. I had a couple of questions just on the rent side. You presented some stuff about getting closer to market rate rents. When's the last time French Market Corporation actually adjusted rents?”
“What did you guys do, I guess, to mitigate with that sticker shock for the huge spikes? Was there like a phase-in plan?”
“Okay. And then on the slides you showed, when they had zero, that means that was an empty space?”
“And how do the new leases compare to other facilities in the French Quarter, other office space?”
“Okay, so you looked at all of that when you were setting the new rent. Yeah. Okay, that sounds good. All right, thanks, Casey. All right, thank you.”
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“And so we'll know who the next CEO is next Tuesday?”
“Okay. I hope so. All right. A couple of questions on the budget side. So it looks like before the government assistance kicks in, you guys operate at a $21 million deficit. On the government assistance side, it looks like preventative maintenance takes up 93% of that allocation. What's the source of this funding for the preventative maintenance?”
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“Yeah, I think long term that would be a good program to incorporate under RTA's jurisdiction. So just putting it out there. I hope that the new CEO and board can start to look at that in the years to come. Yes.”
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“I know you did. I know you did. Okay, so what about the city money? Is that millage revenue that they get, that you guys get?”
“All right, that's fine. Thank y'all. Thank you. Anything else? No. I did, actually. So the lease payments that you guys get, so the development district owns that property out there and they lease it out. I mean, it just seems interesting. How did they come about owning that property out there in the West Bank? You have to know. Oh, on Federal City? Yeah, on Federal City.”
“So is that when the development district created it? Yes. Got it. Okay. Thank y'all.”
“Thank you, Madam Chair. Good afternoon. Thank you all for coming down today. One question, then just a couple of comments. Andy, you said you're expecting $1 million from the city EDD next year. That's the TIF?”
“Sounds good. The National Cancer Institute designation, I mean, you know, I really hope we get there in short order. I think that would be transformative for the city of New Orleans. Last year I did a panel with Senator Cassidy on clinical trials and research and really spending by the industry toward clinical trials and Apparently, it's an issue going on at the federal level up in D.C. because a lot of clinical trial activity has moved over to Asia. And so he said a lot of his colleagues were trying to work on something to bring more of that activity. that investment here into the U.S. And…”
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“Thank you, Councilmember Hughes. You know, just reflecting on Taj, and even in his passing, he gave back. Even in his passing, he gave back. And to have someone so young who deeply cared... about the city of New Orleans and its people and District E and the residents of New Orleans East and not only cared but tried to get other people to care and tried to get other people involved in public service is extremely, extremely rare. And the city is better for the service that Taj dedicated his life to. He believed in showing up for people. He served the city through his work at City Hall. He…”
“Councilman Willett. Thank you, Council President Morrell. Frank dedicated his life to making sure that an important part of our history was never forgotten. Through his work as a historian, author, educator, and a tour guide, he helped people better understand the French Quarter, the role of the LGBTQ plus community, and the role that it played in helping shape this city. I actually met Frank when he was running for city council, and I remember the takeaways. He was good for a laugh, he was good for a smile, and he was good for a story. Bobby, I didn't know Frank that well, but by the time…”
“I move to receive. Can I get a second? Seconded by Councilmember Harris. All in favor? Aye. Six yays, zero nays.”