BATON ROUGE (CNS)—In anticipation of Hurricane Isaac a year ago, the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) purchased 33.9 million pounds of ice at a cost of more than $7.1 million, nearly half of which was allowed to melt in an unrefrigerated warehouse in Lacombe, according to a report just released by the Louisiana Inspector General’s (IG) office.
Lacombe is in St. Tammany Parish.
GOHSEP Director Kevin Davis was St. Tammany Parish President until his appointment by Jindal to head GOHSEP in December of 2011.
In addition to the cost of the ice, the state also paid Pelican Ice, Inc. of Kenner nearly $1.1 million for mileage and $9.2 million in “loitering” fees for Pelican drivers at $75 per hour, bring the total cost of the ice supply project to $17.4 million.
The reported noted that the Louisiana National Guard (LANG) claimed that 1.5 million bags of ice were distributed to the public.
Pelican, however, invoiced GOHSEP for the delivery of only 142 truckloads, or 624,800 bags. Pelican was the sole supplier of ice for the hurricane relief effort.
Based on all associated costs, GOHSEP paid $28 per bag of ice distributed.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reimbursed the state for 75 percent of the costs of the ice with GOHSEP paying the remaining 25 percent.
Certainly, had there been a widespread power outage caused by Isaac and had the administration not been prepared with sufficient supplies of ice, there would have been harsh criticism from those unable to obtain ice.
But at the same time, it would seem reasonable to assume that GOHSEP would have taken the necessary precautions to secure refrigerated storage facilities for the ice that was not distributed to storm victims.
Isaac made landfall near the mouth of the Mississippi River on Aug. 28, 2012, and GOHSEP place three separate orders with Pelican for ice—on Aug. 29, Aug. 30 and Sept. 2. Each order was for 15,050,000 pounds of ice in 10-pound bags, or 45.15 million pounds total. The amount actually delivered was 33.9 million pounds for which Pelican invoiced the state $17.4 million.
The invoice amount included 268,856 miles at $4 per mile ($1,075,901), $9,207,692 “loitering time,” the time which Pelican’s drivers were required to wait to load or unload their trucks beyond a four-hour delay. The ice itself cost $7,124,000, according to Inspector General Stephen Street, Jr.
Additionally, GOHSEP agreed to pay Pelican a $315,000 “restocking charge” to take back some of the ice but the ice was taken to an unrefrigerated warehouse in Lacombe where it was allowed to melt. The warehouse rental was negotiated by Baron Property Management of Destrehan. The registered agent for Baron Property Management, Paul J. Murray, contributed $1,000 to Jindal in November of 2008.
The cost of the ill-fated Lacombe warehouse project came to more than $7.5 million, the report said. That included $3.2 million for the ice, $416,114 in mileage costs, $315,000 for the “restocking fee,” and $3.6 million in loitering costs.
Another sticking point noted in the IG report was that even though GOHSEP paid Pelican $4 per mile and the $75 per hour loitering fee, it also paid $238,819 to refuel the loitering ice trucks. This meant that taxpayer dollars paid mileage and purchased fuel for the trucks, in effect, a dual payment.
Among the IG’s findings and recommendations:
- During hurricane Isaac, neither GOHSEP nor LANG had an inventory tracking system sufficient to accurately record the daily consumption of ice. Such a system should be implemented to ensure that the essential amounts of commodities are on hand or on order.
- We found that LANG could not provide supporting documentation to show the amounts of ice consumed and requested during the hurricane. An inventory tracking system should include a feature that reliably memorializes the amount of commodities requested by each parish and the quantities ordered and delivered to fulfill those requests.
- GOHSEP expended $7,536,314 to acquire, transport and restock ice that was allowed to melt in an unrefrigerated warehouse. To prevent such unnecessary expenditures of public funds in the future, GOHSEP should include a provision in its ice contracts for excess ice to be returned to the distributor along with a refund of the value of the returned product.
- GOHSEP paid $238,819 to purchase fuel for refrigerated trucks that it was already paying $1800 per day to loiter. Future delivery contracts should be written to ensure that trucks receiving loitering and mileage payments be required to provide their own fuel. In the event that the trucks cannot leave their assigned location, arrangements should be made for fuel to be delivered to the trucks at their own expense.
Davis, in his response to Street’s report, said that all four of the report’s recommendations have since been implemented by GOHSEP.
In September of 2008, Jindal lost no time in making Department of Social Services Secretary Ann Williamson the scapegoat for the confusion that surrounded shelter conditions and the emergency food stamp program following Hurricane Gustav.
Though Williamson officially “resigned,” it is no secret that she was forced out, or “teagued” by Jindal—a tactic that seems to be his preferred method of jettisoning people he doesn’t want in his administration. Williamson had the misfortune of having served under former Gov. Kathleen Blanco, apparently an unpardonable sin in the Jindal administration.
In commenting on Williamson’s departure, Jindal, as is his custom, declined to say whether he leaned on her to resign, choosing to fall back on what would become a familiar line with subsequent departures: “We agreed it was time to go in a different direction.”
No word has been forthcoming from the governor’s office if any disciplinary action might be considered for Davis’s waste of $7.5 million in lost ice and transportation costs or if an agreement to “go in a different direction” might be in the works.
Of course Williamson was not the one who contributed $3,000 to Jindal’s campaigns.
That was Davis.
Louisiana Voice 
In addition to everything else, here is another example of the private sector giving the state a good deal – for themselves, of course. But, hey, it’s good for the economy, right? A dollar spent in the private sector has a multiplier effect on our economy unlike those dollars simply wasted on direct services by government agencies. We all know that and if we don’t, it’s not because we haven’t been told. It’s a good thing GOHSEP has such a tight handle on how its funding is spent and that they direct much of it to private companies who have only the people’s best interests at heart – the people who own the companies, that is.
Did anybody from St. Tammany expect any less from Kevin Davis?
The tactic by Jindal to blow a disaster out of proportion is to justify wasteful spending in the hope that he can skim more federal money. The more expensive the disaster, the more the feds pay. The standard excuse is that they will not apologize for being over prepared. Witness the last “disaster” and the DCFS (formerly Social Services) response with over staffed DSNAP sites and understaffed parish offices. Hotel rooms were booked prematurely and were paid for even though they were not occupied for 2-3 days. And these were really nice hotels as in downtown. Hope that gets audited too. Hope they compare how many people it took to issue benefits to X number of people. It would have been cheaper just to mail everyone in the affected parishes an EBT card.
And I thought the Louisiana governor on True Blood was slimy…….
Please someone explain to me how someone rents a building without the required freezers or for that matter no freezers whatsoever to keep the ice frozen!!
If anyone working for a private company made such a costly mistake he would not have to worry about when or where to pick up his last paycheck.
I can’t imagine how hard the owner of Pelican Ice is laughing all the way to the bank with our money!!!
A mistake?
“Privatization” of government services is simply the new paradigm for old-fashioned kickbacks and political spoils. These long-term privatization contracts guarantee the continued influence of Jindal policies beyond his term as governor. He may be gone in 2 years, but no matter who follows him, his successor will be stuck with Jindal’s legacy of government destruction. The cost to taxpayers is huge as tax monies get transferred into private coffers and services are reduced. These companies don’t take on the role of service provider unless there’s considerable profit in it for them.
Have you ever looked at the ambulance services/companies involved in ‘emergency’ relief transportation. Seems like there were several which made a killing on gov’t contracts.
And just where were those charged with identifying and prosecuting Price Gougers?
Can our elected officials really do away way with public assets constitiutionaly?
Sent from my iPad
A question for your locally elected officials/legislators before you walk into the voting booth! The question is, will there be a candidate without dirty hands to vote for.
http://theadvocate.com/home/6677098-125/expansion-plan-for-hurricane-evacuees – More on Louisiana wealth distribution to the hurricane experts in Wisconsin.
Oh God, will the madness never end?
And my first thought when I saw this was: Tom Aswell always talks about connecting the dots and following the money. Think about the fact the governor of Wisconsin (Scott Walker) is so strong in the Republican party he actually has a shot at the Republican nomination for president. I’m sure there are no dots to connect nor money to follow here, but still….
What a coincidence, but where will the expert be to help Louisiana who knows more than FL, TX, MS and AL about LA and hurricanes, but Wisconsin, who’d thought it???
I haven’t read the original IG’s report, I’m still looking for it on line, however, the mileage and the “loitering time” charged the state appears seriously out of line, demanding further investigation and examination. First, the “numbers” surrounding the mileage charges simply don’t add up. Paragraph 5 reports “Pelican,… invoiced GOHSEP 268,856 miles(Par 11/Ll 1))for 142 truckloads(Par 5/Ll 1). In dividing the mileage charged, 268,856, by the number of truckloads delivered,142, one develops average mileage of 1,894 miles(992 miles one way) per load. Where was the ice delivered? Chicago, Denver, Baltimore? Something just ain’t right with respect to this aspect of the operation.
Second, an examination of the “loitering fees” is even more revealing and equally puzzling. “Loitering fees” of $75 per hour were charged if not unloaded within four hours of arrival. “Running” the numbers on the “loitering fees” generates total loitering hours of 122,769 hours($9,207,692/$75 per hour). Dividing the number of loitering hours charged,122,769, by the number of loads delivered, 142, one generates an average waiting time of 865 hours per truck. In real time, on a 24 hours bases, this average waiting(loitering time) per truck would equate to one truck being unloaded every 5.14 weeks or ever 36 days.
Maybe I’m missing something, but something just doesn’t seem right with this picture. If what is reported is even remotely accurate, then there is absolutely no doubt in my mind these two aspects of this report alone would form the basis of a fraud and malfeasance suit against all parties involved.
My mistake. After reading the IG’s 16 page report I humbly request anyone disregard my previous post. The numbers with regards to the number of deliveries was off. The IG’s report indicates the related cost quoted was for a total of 771 semi-truck loads handled through this process. These 771 loads
loads comprised the initial 142 deliveries to POD stations as well as subsequent transport of and disposal of the ice which included:
1. 347 truckloads to an unrefrigerated warehouse in Lacombe, LA;
2. 191 truckloads to the LA State Penitentiary and other prisons in the state, 3. 71 truckloads to restaurants, seafood suppliers, and ice companies;
4. 11 truckloads to Camp Beauregard in Pineville, LA (and)
5. 9 truckloads to the LA Department of Agriculture & Forestry.
There are still areas of concern which the state should further investigate and improve upon. I am a retired cross-country truck driver and I have never heard of any trucking company being paid a mileage payment, in this case $4 a mile, plus, additional compensation for the fuel spent/used in delivering the product. Furthermore, the waiting time, “loitering time” appears excessive in both duration and charges. My question is at what point did the state start paying the $75 per hour fee and did the time include the four hours waiting time? Historically, most trucking companies would charge waiting time fees for only the hours above and beyond a two or three hour period. This is one of those “little” things that make a big difference, monetarily, in a contract.
All in all, I would just like to apologize for my earlier comment. I didn’t do my homework and shouldn’t have “aired” my disgust until I had the “raw” information in hand.
No problem. Until you see the actual report, it would be difficult to decipher based on anyone’s news story or commentary.
Understandable that you would question these high costs if you are not from Louisiana. Disaster is a lucrative business here. These kinds of preparation activities ensure that even if a disaster does not occur,our politicians and friends make their right change.
Reblogged this on #BattleOfOurTimes.Com.
Tom – Where is your a Twitter share button?
I don’t have a twitter account and have no intentions of getting one.