This article may appear in multiple series, as the topics are intertwined.
Economic development in Northeast Louisiana is often described as a public-private partnership. That model is common. What matters is how it functions in practice.
A review of GROW NELA’s publicly listed Board of Directors and investor roster reveals a pattern of overlap between those who financially support the organization and those who help govern it.
Documented examples include but are not limited to:
– Shane Smiley, President of the Ouachita Parish Police Jury. The Police Jury is listed as an investor in GROW NELA. Smiley also serves on GROW NELA’s Board of Directors representing the parish.
– Tania Hilburn, Senior Vice President with Chase Bank. Chase is listed as an investor in GROW NELA. She serves on the board representing the bank.
– Matt Dickerson, Chief Strategy Officer at Mid South Extrusion. Mid South Extrusion is listed as an investor in GROW NELA. He serves on the board.
– Chap Breard, owner of MOEbiz. MOEbiz is listed as an investor in GROW NELA. He serves on the board.
– Emily Stogner, affiliated with DPR Construction. DPR is listed as an investor in GROW NELA. DPR is also a prime contractor on the Meta data center project in Richland Parish.
These connections are drawn directly from publicly available board and investor listings.
This structure means that multiple entities financially supporting GROW NELA also hold governance positions within the organization.
That structure is not automatically improper.
However, when public institutions invest taxpayer dollars into an organization whose board includes private firms that may later benefit from development projects, the public has a right to review:
– How funding agreements are structured
– Whether conflicts of interest are disclosed
– Whether recusals are documented
– Whether procurement processes involving investor-linked firms are transparent
Public Records Requests
In order to better understand how these relationships operate in practice, I submitted public records requests to both the City of Monroe and the Ouachita Parish Police Jury seeking documentation of:
– Contracts and cooperative agreements with GROW NELA
– Payments to investor-linked firms
– Procurement documentation related to those contracts
After receiving no communication from the Police Jury, I visited their office in person. I was informed that my request was received on February 20. I requested written confirmation of receipt and was told the request had been forwarded to the Police Jury’s attorney.
As of this writing, no records have been produced.
Under Louisiana Public Records Law, public bodies are required to respond within three business days by either producing records or providing a written explanation and timeline.
The State of Louisiana has acknowledged receipt of a related records request and indicated that documents are being compiled on their behalf.
This review is ongoing.
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