| Advisory opinion request regarding whether the Code would prohibit CSRS, Inc.'s (CSRS) ability to respond as a prime contractor to the State of Louisiana, Louisiana Land Trust's Request for Qualification Statements for Phase III Engineering Design and Related Service for the Resettlement of Isle de Jean Charles (Phase III) while also subcontracting with the Office of Community Development Disaster Recovery Unit (OCD-DRU) to provide grant management services. |
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On November 14, 2017, Pan American Engineers, LLC ("PAE") entered into a Professional Services, Independent Contractor, Agreement (the "Contract") with the State of Louisiana, Division of Administration, Office of Community Development ("OCD"). The Agreement had an effective date of October 1, 2017.
The Contract provides that PAE is to assist OCD and sub-recipients to whom OCD awards Community Development Block Grant ("CDBG") funds in the effective and expeditious implementation of the program and of individual CDBG grants awarded to grant recipients. The Contract enables OCD to call on PAE to assist it and its grant recipients in program design, the pre-application process, the application process, project development, bidding and pre-construction, as well as construction and project close out.
On January 24, 2018, PAE entered into a subcontract with CSRS to assist in the performance of PAE's scope of responsibilities to OCD. The subcontract describes the scope of work as including grant management services for the OCD/CDBG Disaster Recovery Program related to Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav, Ike, Isaac, severe storms and floods of 2016 and future disasters. The subcontract had an effective date of October 1, 2017. Work would be performed by CSRS for the benefit of PAE on the basis of specific work orders with each work order detailing a scope of work, as well as a deliverable, and not to exceed budget.
On May 3, 2018, Revision 1 to the PAE subcontract with CSRS was issued engaging CSRS to provide executive staff augmentation services and personnel to provide executive staff services as temporary Chief of Staff for the OCD-DRU program. Stacy Bonnaffons, an employee of CSRS, was assigned by CSRS to provide the staff augmentation service as temporary Chief of Staff for the OCD-DRU program. On July 15, 2018, her position as acting chief of staff was discontinued. Ms. Bonnaffons' responsibilities were reformed and limited to only the 2016 flood recovery program of OCD, the "Restore Louisiana" homeowners program.
The original PAE-CSRS subcontract included work "related to Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav, Ike, Isaac, Severe Storms and Flooding of 2016 and future disasters." The revised PAE-CSRS subcontract includes work "related to NDR." NDR is the National Disaster Resilience program, which is the source of funding for the Isle de Jean Charles Project and other unrelated projects.
On July 5, 2017, the Office of Community Development- Disaster Recovery Unit ("OCD-DRU") issued a Request for Proposals for Community Master Planning and Program Development for the Isle de Jean Charles (Phase II). The RFP is related to the Resettlement of Isle de Jean Charles and seeks proposals from firms interested in leading the development of a master plan for a new community to be founded on a site to be selected and secured by the State for the resettlement of current and, potentially, former residents of the island.
The Resettlement of Isle de Jean Charles is a Disaster Recovery Program described in an Action Plan submitted by the State and approved by HUD. The Resettlement project is specifically identified in the Contract services as a recovery effort for which it will provide grant management services. CSRS did not provide grant management services regarding any aspect of the Resettlement of Isle de Jean Charles.
The Isle de Jean Charles project is broken down into three phases: (I) data gathering and engagement, (II) site selection, acquisition and master planning and (III) development of the new community site.
In August 2017, CSRS requested and received an opinion from the Ethics Board, BD # 2017-887, that CSRS was able to respond as prime contractor to the OCD-DRU's Request for Proposals for Community Master Planning and Program Development for the Isle de Jean Charles ("Phase II") while it also sought to act as a subcontractor to the State's Request for Proposals for Disaster Grant Management Services for recovery efforts other than the Resettlement of Isle de Jean Charles. Phase II is complete.
The Road Home Corporation d/b/a the Louisiana Land Trust (LLT) is a publicly chartered nonprofit corporation created to take title to properties purchased by the Road Home Homeowner Assistance Program.
In January 2018, OCD entered into a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement with the Louisiana Land Trust ("LLT") to provide a range of services including the implementation of activities related to Phase III, including all procurement for required professional services. On January 16, 2019, LLT issued the RFQ for Phase III of the Isle de Jean Charles project.
The RFQ was open to the general public to bid, and CSRS did not participate in any way developing or drafting the RFP. PAE provided input to LLT in preparing the RFQ and a principal of PAE served in an advisory capacity to LLT's panel that evaluated the RFQ responses. CSRS did not provide input in the preparation of the RFQ and no one at CSRS served in an advisory capacity to LLT's evaluation panel.
CSRS has submitted a proposal and would like to serve as Contractor on Phase III of the Isle de Jean Charles project.
Initially, CSRS's qualifications statement proposed to utilize Stacy Bonnaffons on the project to be responsible for CDBG-NDR compliance but subsequently decided that Stacy Bonnaffons would not participate in or be involved in any way in CSRS's delivery of services with respect to Phase III.
Ms. Bonnaffons did not participate in any discussion or review of any aspect of Isle de Jean Charles Phase III or its funding through NDR during her tenure as staff of OCD. Moreover, no discussion or review of Requests for Qualifications or Requests for Proposals were ever involved, nor any interaction with Louisiana Land Trust.
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La. R.S. 42:1121B prohibits a public servant, for a period of two years following termination of his public employment, from assisting another person in a transaction in which the public servant participated, or from rendering any service he rendered to the agency during his public employment on a contractual basis to his former agency.
La. R.S. 42:1121C prohibits a legal entity in which a former public servant is an officer, director, trustee, partner, or employee, for a period of two years following the termination of his public service, from assisting another person, for compensation, in a transaction, or in an appearance in connection with a transaction in which public servant at any time participated during his public service and involving the agency by which he was formerly employed or in which he formerly held office.
La. R.S. 42:1102(16) "person" means an individual or legal entity other than a governmental entity, or an agency thereof.
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Adopt draft advisory opinion.
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| Assigned Attorney: |
Suzanne Mooney |
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