Jefferson Parish council votes to investigate I.G. and rejects brewpub pause

JEFFERSON PARISH, La. (WVUE) - The Jefferson Parish Council voted to move forward with a controversial brewpub project and investigate the parish inspector general who challenged it.

The five district councilmembers (Marion Edwards, Byron Lee, Deano Bonano, Arita Bohannan and Hans Liljeberg) voted to ask the council's Legal Services Committee to pick a law firm to investigate Inspector General Kim Chatelain's conduct and relationship with At-Large Councilmember Jennifer Van Vrancken.

That law firm will make recommendations to the Ethics and Compliance Commission (ECC), which controls Chatelain's employment.

Van Vrancken and At-Large Councilmember Scott Walker voted against the measure, though Walker clarified his vote was not against the spirit of the resolution but its language.

Additionally, Van Vrancken failed to get a second to vote on the two resolutions she filed on the brewpub issue. One would have frozen the $10.3 million connected to a controversial brewpub project. The second would have required a hearing on the project.

In the meeting, Van Vrancken indicated she accepted the results but questioned how thoroughly the project was reviewed.

The series of votes comes in the aftermath of Chatelain's office publishing a 35-page letter on the project.

The letter laid out how the parish council (including Van Vrancken) approved giving $10.3 million to economic development nonprofit Jefferson Facilities Inc. (JFI) to build the brewery on the Kingfish parking lot in the heart of Gretna.

The brewery will be managed by Port Orleans Brewing.

The parish will own the building once constructed. However, the parish will receive no rent from the business, nor any substantive compensation from JFI. Additionally, sales taxes from the operation will flow to Gretna and the state, not to the parish government coffers.

The parish attorney Toni Hurley described the deal as legal and proponents said it will be an economic engine for the community.

Chatelain admitted she did not interview anyone connected to the project, deciding to gather and present information with what a private citizen could gather.

Supporters of the project, including the district councilmembers, have attacked Chatelain for that decision and included it in the resolution.

The resolution also asked the law firm to investigate misconduct by Chatelain and her relationship with Van Vrancken.

Chatelain released a statement reading in part:

"Make no mistake, the work of this office and integrity of its devoted staff are under attack for delivering increased accountability to parish government, the very purpose for which this office was created."

The statement said the office reports to the ECC regularly and its work has been reviewed.

Chatelain has issued subpoenas related to the brewpub project and said she would be contacting the state attorney general's office about the project.

In the meeting, Bohannan raised ethical concerns about Chatelain and Van Vrancken's lobbying about the project.

It led to a tense exchange where Bohannan and Van Vrancken sparred on reporting ethical reporting requirements.

Van Vrancken said Bohannan had a duty to report violations "but there's nothing there."

Bohannan said the resolution was designed to remind Van Vrancken of her obligations.

"Let's just hope they don't find anything. But if they do, and I know about it, you can be assured I know my obligation as a member of the bar and whoever is involved will be reported," Bohannan said.