[StBernard] Put St. Bernard ice house project on ice: Editorial

[Westley Annis]

Put St. Bernard ice house project on ice: Editorial

The Editorial Board, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune By The Editorial Board,
NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune 
on August 08, 2014 at 4:43 AM

There's no need for an ice house to be built with taxpayer money in
Yscloskey, St. Bernard Parish officials say. But they are planning to go
ahead and build it anyway. Otherwise, the parish will have to pay back the
$289,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant money used to buy the
site in 2011.

So, they're about to spend $965,000 in federal disaster recovery grant money
because they can't reimburse the government for the first $289,000?

That is absurd. There has got to be a better solution than spending $1.2
million in tax money on an ice house that would rarely be used.

"Basically, we were too far into it to turn around," Councilman Monty
Montelongo said Wednesday at the groundbreaking for the ice house. "It was
inherited from the previous administration, but I don't think we will ever
need it. I can see much better uses for that money."

Ground was just broken this week, so construction is only beginning. The
project should be stopped before more money is wasted.

This boondoggle wasn't the doing of the current parish administration.
Former Parish President Craig Taffaro dreamed up the idea and paid a small
fortune for an old ice house that was privately owned. His vision was to
supply ice to fishers.

But there are private ice operations that sell to fishers, and current
parish President Dave Peralta argues that government shouldn't compete with
those businesses. He's right.

To avoid hurting private ice operations, though, the parish ice house "will
be strictly for emergencies," he said. Based on recent history, that would
mean ice would be made once every few years. And it might not be needed even
during a hurricane. After Hurricane Isaac, which hit the area hard, the
National Guard provided all the ice that was needed.

The new ice house will have an emergency generator and will be able to
produce about 16 tons of cracked ice per day, according to the parish
government. On the rare occasions when it is used, that is.

The wastefulness is mind-boggling.

The block grant money is from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development, which ought to step in. The smart thing would be for HUD to let
St. Bernard stop the ice house project and use the $965,000 for something
essential. As for the $289,000 spent on the property, it would be better for
HUD to wait for that money -- or even forgive the expense -- than to have
triple that amount wasted.

Perhaps the property can be sold to recoup the investment, or maybe it can
be used for something that actually is needed.

Either way, HUD and St. Bernard ought to put the project on ice.