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Landrieu office updates raise eyebrows -

Renovations total nearly $1 million

Times-Picayune, The (New Orleans, LA)
August 14, 2005
Author: Jan Moller
Capital bureau
Estimated printed pages: 5

BATON ROUGE -- Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu has spearheaded renovations of his office and official residence totaling nearly $1 million since his election in 2003, spending that his staff said is a critical part of their efforts to improve the state's image. But others noted that the state has a long list of facility needs identified as more critical.

Public records show taxpayers have paid more than $950,000 for the two renovation projects involving Landrieu's office: a $419,000 face-lift of a reception area and personal residence in the historic Pentagon Barracks across from the state Capitol; and a $536,000 upgrade of Landrieu's executive office at the Capitol Annex, in the same area with the state Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, which the lieutenant governor oversees.

Most of the money was spent on basic materials and labor. But the projects include upgraded carpeting in the executive suite, a decorative glass partition in the reception area and $10,000 for an interior design firm. The residential renovations include a new spiral staircase connecting the second and third floors, and commercial-grade kitchen appliances.

Landrieu declined to be interviewed about the construction projects but issued a written statement that said they are consistent with his efforts to "re-image" the state by allowing for a more polished presentation.

"Renovations to the space occupied by the office of lieutenant governor and the office of the secretary of DCRT (Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism) were designed to give us a place to host dignitaries, conduct economic development and tourism business meetings -- basically to show the state in a more professional, positive light to those who we do business with," the statement said.

State officials said the project is not unusual, and that it makes sense to have the lieutenant governor working from the same office as the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism. But others question why the projects were financed at a time when the state faces a $263 million backlog of "critical" repairs to other buildings and property.

"Given all the other capital outlay needs, that's an awful lot of money to be spending for the operation of that office," said Sen. Jay Dardenne, R-Baton Rouge, who was chairman of the Senate Finance Committee under former Gov. Mike Foster.

Dardenne said he's not familiar enough with the project to know whether the renovations were needed, but he said he suspects there were other projects that could have used the money.

"I'm sure it's very nice now, and I'll also assume it was not the highest spending priority," Dardenne said.

Jerry Jones, state facilities director for the Division of Administration, estimates there is a $2 billion backlog of repairs needed on state-owned buildings, including $263 million deemed "critical" and needing to be done immediately. Charity Hospital in New Orleans, for example, needs $508,434 worth of roof repairs and $4.3 million to fix an exterior wall.

"I don't want to say he jumped ahead of everybody else, because this was part of the . . . plans," Jones said. "But that's not to say we don't have those . . . critical things we need to take care of."

Another state construction official said the only thing unusual about the project was that an outside firm was hired to provide "design oversight" for the architects chosen by the state.

"It's not normal," said Billy Wilson, who heads the Office of State Buildings. "That's my first experience with that."

Secretary of Culture, Recreation and Tourism Angele Davis said the renovations were a necessary part of Louisiana's effort to project a more "professional business image," which had become difficult to do before the renovations. She said the space previously used by the lieutenant governor's office in the Pentagon Barracks had water stains on the walls and other signs of wear and tear.

"We are in the business of selling our assets and our culture to the rest of the world," Davis said. "You don't do that in an office that has watermarks and torn up carpet."

The money to renovate the lieutenant governor's residence and reception area came from the Budgetary Control Council, a 12-member group that meets once a year and is controlled by the speaker of the House and the president of the Senate.

The financing for converting the fifth floor of the Capitol Annex into a 6,800-square-foot suite of offices for Landrieu and other top tourism officials came from a special state fund that pays for construction and renovation projects in and around the Capitol.

Furniture for both spaces was purchased from Prison Enterprises, and that cost was not included in the price.

In his statement, Landrieu said the projects should be judged in the context of a government building boom in the capital, with at least four new state office buildings recently completed or under construction.

"In 2002, the state spent over $320 million to build new buildings in the Capitol Complex," Landrieu said. "None of the renovations or new buildings incorporated our department. That is why we worked with the Division of Administration to use funds that were already slated for the repair work to the Annex."

Before the renovations, the lieutenant governor had both a residence and office in the Pentagon Barracks, a historic complex of four buildings that sit diagonally across the street from the state Capitol and also includes apartments for legislators. The tourism staff worked across the street in the Capitol Annex, a Depression-era building nominated for the National Register of Historic Places.

Wilson, the head of the Office of State Buildings, said the renovation of the fifth floor of the Capitol Annex had been on a five-year list of proposed projects. But the project did not gain momentum or financing until Landrieu presented his plan to consolidate the functions of his office under one roof.

A series of e-mails obtained from the Division of Administration through a public records request indicate Landrieu took an active interest in the project, down to reviewing carpet samples and asking that a private toilet be built adjacent to a large conference room.

"The carpet samples were transmitted to the lieutenant governor's office, and they are not happy with the 'industrial' look of carpet tiles," reads a typical e-mail.

Eventually it was decided a suite of offices for Landrieu and Davis would have a higher-grade carpet than the rest of the offices on that floor.

Not all of the lieutenant governor's requests were granted. For example, the state turned down a request by Landrieu's hand-picked interior designer to raise the ceilings in Landrieu's personal office by a foot. A suggestion by the designer to hang a chandelier in the reception area also was rejected out of fear it would be too large for that space.

http://www.nola.com