Meeting to create city plan fizzles, consultant releases timeline

At least one member of Mayor Adrian Perkins' transition team pushed to create a free, independent report for the city based on original city planning done by the transition team.  

According to an email obtained by The Times, Chairman of the Quality of Life Subcommittee for Perkins’ transition team, John-Paul Young, wants to create an independent report based on notes and ideas from the mayor’s transition team project, The Future of Shreveport. He said he wants to provide the report to the city and the mayor at no cost.

"I would like to type all these up as our own report and give it to the city, and the mayor, for free," he wrote in an email Monday.

Young called the meeting for Wednesday saying the initial report will likely not be published if The Future of Shreveport isn't reimbursed for their work, but the meeting didn't happen.

“The Report from Future of Shreveport is likely never to emerge, because the city is having trouble finding the money to pay the consultants. They won’t turn over the report until they’re paid, and I’m not saying that’s unfair,” Young's Monday email reads. 

Michelle Thomas sent an email to the Quality of Life committee on Thursday apologizing for not communicating sooner regarding the timeline for the production of the final transition report. Thomas said the report will go to production on June 10 in hopes to have a final PDF form on or around June 13.

Thomas did not respond to e-mails, texts or phone calls from The Times Thursday nor Friday.

The day before Thomas sent the email would have been the day Young's group met at The Levee. The restaurant is owned by Young and his partner Brandon Fail, who is Perkins’ Economic Development Director.

“I’d like to invite you all back to the Levee on Wednesday May 22 at 5 p.m. to write up our ideas for ourselves," Young wrote in his email. "If you can come please bring all your notes and ideas from the committee. If you can’t, please email them. I would like to type all these up as our own report and give it to the city, and the mayor, for free. I believe we formulated the policies that will change this city and I don’t want that work to go to waste.”

Young said Thursday no one was able to make it to the meeting and some people preferred to wait for the City Council to approve funding to pay the Future of Shreveport consultants. 

"None of the former committee members could meet yesterday so I'm afraid there's nothing to report yet," Young wrote in a Facebook message he sent to The Times.

"The meeting was short notice and we are all busy people with careers and obligations. Some people said they preferred to wait to see if the council would approve funds to pay the consultants for the report. I don't think we can wait to get to work on a food supply, which is an essential need we have lacked here for a generation," Young wrote in a text to The Times on Friday.

Late last month, the City Council voted 5-2 against Perkins using $40,000 from the Riverfront Development Fund for the transition team.  

The mayor's administration introduced the proposal again after it had been voted down at the last City Council meeting. The second reading and final vote on the proposal was set for Tuesday. But the item was removed from the agenda Friday. 

Clay Walker, a recipient of Young's message and Quality of Life committee member, sent an email about Young's communication saying he doesn't want to undermine Erich Caulfield, a consultant working for Thomas.  

"I hear what you're saying and I want the mayor to get the report and the ideas — and I want to continue the conversation. But if we type up our own report, we undermine Eric. And I don't want to do that. Thoughts?" Walker wrote. 

Charles Johnson, another recipient of Young's email, agreed with Walker.

"I concur with Clay! We need to consult with Erich and even the Perkins administration," Johnson replied in the chain of emails.

Young texted The Times early Friday to give some specifics about the ideas from the group.

"I and a handful of other people on the committee for Quality of Life showed up to every meeting and contributed the majority of the ideas that we could accomplish as a cash-strapped city," Young wrote. "Chief among these was the use of our land and water resources to generate a local food supply. Litter prevention and abatement, NGO cooperation and accountability, improvements for seniors and those with limited abilities." 

Thomas sent an email to The Times Tuesday saying more than 100 volunteers and Advisory Board members met over a period of five months. 

“Over the past five months, more than 100 volunteers and Advisory Board members have given of their time, expertise and talents to discuss, in depth, the issues facing the City of Shreveport,” Thomas wrote. “They have reviewed national best practices, heard from subject matter experts, reviewed research findings and discussed together what is best for the Future of Shreveport. Their recommendations are currently being compiled into a transition report that will represent their best ideas to move the City forward.”

Thomas did not respond to requests for comment about Young's proposal to create a city plan independent of The Future of Shreveport. She also did not respond to further questions.

Co-chair of the transition team’s Advisory Board, Graham Walker, wrote in an email to The Times saying the mayor didn’t review the consulting contract or any information about expenses or debts incurred by the Future of Shreveport with the Advisory Board. He said the Advisory Board was not involved in financial decisions and its members served on a non-paid, volunteer basis.

“The consultants working on the Mayor’s transition team were smart, professional, and helped lead a broad group of Shreveport citizens in identifying good actionable ideas for the new administration,” Walker wrote in the email. “But the current status of payment and any fundraising efforts are unclear to me.”

The registered agent for the Future of Shreveport nonprofit entity is Joshua Williams, the mayor’s campaign manager. Williams said he defers all questions about the transition team to Thomas. Payments to consultants are being made and will continue to be made, he said.

The mayor's administration has not made any payments for the transition report communication director Ben Riggs wrote in an email to The Times on Friday. 

"The administration has not paid any consultant related to the transition team or a strategic plan," Riggs wrote in another email to The Times on Friday.