How much are you getting paid Wayne and Mike? This is disgusting. All the politicians who went on this trip need to be busted publically.
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Developer goes fishing in state political waters
SCOTT DYER. Advocate. Baton Rouge, La.: Aug 3, 2004. pg. 7.B.S
Full Text (694 words)
(Copyright 2004 by Capital City Press)
More than 200 elected officials from all over the state participated in a fishing tournament earlier this month that involved local developer Ted Hicks, who is considering applying for a major tax break to build a tourist attraction at Interstate 12 and O’Neal Lane.
Hicks insists neither his project nor the tax break have anything to do with the fishing tournament.
The tournament featured freebies donated by Bass Pro Shops, which is using the tax increment financing program that will allow its future sales tax revenues to construct a new retail development in Denham Springs.
Hicks wants to use the same concept to help develop his proposed tourist attraction.
Tax-increment financing allows state and local taxes generated by a private project to be used to pay for roads and other improvements associated with the project. The tax-increment financing deal obtained by Bass Pro Shops will in effect build a new development for the company in Livingston Parish.
The recent fishing tournament was sponsored by a group of business people to express appreciation to elected public officials from all over the state, Hicks said.
“We had the state Supreme Court Justice John Weimer there for the dinner, and we had about 15 other judges. We had state representatives, state senators, along with several sheriffs and clerk of courts,” Hicks said.
If Hicks decides to pursue tax-increment financing for his tourist park, he’ll need the support of the Metro Council, state lawmakers and the state Bond Commission. In addition, Hicks wants the support of the Baton Rouge Recreation and Park Commission to move the Baton Rouge Zoo to the site to become part of his attraction.
Before the recent fishing tournament, Hicks obtained a state ethics opinion that said the tournament would not violate state ethics laws so long as the elected officials did not receive gifts valued at more than $100.
“We went to the Board of Ethics, and they basically told us how to proceed and how to go about it,” Hicks said.
Hicks said top-finishers received cash prizes, but all of them were donated to charities.
“One of the winners of the event was Judge Duke Welch, whose team won $1,000. His team said, ‘We don’t want the money, give it to St. Jude’s,’ “ Hicks said.
Second-place finisher was Thibodaux City Councilman Norm Swanner, who donated his winnings to Nicholls State University.
“That’s how all the money went. There were cash awards, but no one accepted them. It all went to charity,” Hicks said.
Hicks noted that Metro Councilmen Mike Walker and Wayne Carter both attended the fishing tournament.
Meanwhile, Hicks said, the nonprofit organization that sponsored the event, La Vie Dans le Tournoi de Louisianne, “didn’t make a penny off the tournament.”
And Hicks said the tournament-sponsoring organization has nothing to do with his proposed tourist attraction, which is called, “La Vie Dans de Louisianne,” which is French for “Life in Louisiana.”
The only connection between the two is that their names contain some of the same French words, Hicks said.
The tournament organization is composed of business people who have nothing to do with the proposed project at I-12 and O’Neal Lane, Hicks said.
And Hicks said every elected public official across the state was invited to participate in the tournament, regardless of whether they will have any say in any tax-increment financing project.
This was the inaugural run for the tournament, but Hicks said he’s planning to make it an annual event.
Meanwhile, Hicks said, he recently received the green light from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to donate land to the Baton Rouge Recreation and Park Commission for the proposed new zoo.
Part of the plan calls for a train that would travel through the tourist attraction, zoo and down two miles of frontage along the Amite River, Hicks said.
“We could create feeding areas, to where we would have animals that are native to Louisiana, such as coons and squirrels, in their natural habitat,” Hicks said.
Hicks said his project will help to fill a void, contending that no tourist attractions are located along the I-12 corridor in Louisiana.
Scott Dyer covers metro government for The Advocate.
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