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STATE OF LOUISIANA <br /> p4 Lo L DEPARTMENT OF STATE CIVIL SERVICE <br /> °N 4USTcsr9 LOUISIANA BOARD OF ETHICS <br /> P.O.BOX 4368 <br /> * * BATON ROUGE,LA 70821 <br /> •CONFI DE C, (225)219-5600 <br /> ,,,,.• FAX:(225)381-7271 <br /> 1-800-842-6630 <br /> www.ethics.1a.gov <br /> Friday,July 8, 2022 <br /> Alexandra"Alex" Gelpi Carter,AICP <br /> President/CEO <br /> Desire Line LLC <br /> 79 Versailles Boulevard <br /> New Orleans, Louisiana 70125-3550 <br /> RE: Louisiana Board of Ethics Docket No. 2022-323 <br /> Advisory Opinion <br /> Dear Mrs. Carter: <br /> The Louisiana Board of Ethics("Board"), at its July 8, 2022 meeting, considered your request for <br /> an advisory opinion as to whether the Louisiana Code of Governmental Ethics ("Code") would <br /> prohibit Desire Line LLC from entering into a contract with the Pontchartrain Levee District to <br /> provide grant management services. <br /> FACTS PROVIDED <br /> Alex Gelpi Carter, AICP was publicly employed with the Louisiana Office of Community <br /> Development ("OCD") from 2018 to September 2021 as a Resilience Program Manager <br /> responsible for providing planning and policy services in support of the launch of the Louisiana <br /> Watershed Initiative, a $1.2 billion Community Development Block Grant-Mitigation ("CDBG- <br /> MIT")program federally funded through the U.S.Department of Housing and Urban Development <br /> ("HUD"). Evelyn Campo, CFM was publicly employed with OCD from 2018 to September 2019 <br /> as a Resilience Analyst and then from September 2019 to July 2021 as a Resilience Specialist <br /> assigned to the Louisiana Watershed Initiative ("LWI"). Nicolette Jones was publicly employed <br /> with OCD from August 2019 to July 2021 as a Resilience Analyst and from July 2021 to January <br /> 2022 as a Resilience Specialist assigned to the Louisiana Watershed Initiative. <br /> The Pontchartrain Levee District("PLD")was awarded a$42 million infrastructure grant by OCD <br /> in March 2021. On September 17, 2021, PLD approved and entered into a cooperative endeavor <br /> agreement("CEA")with OCD for the use of the HUD CDBG-MIT funds on the LWI Highway 22 <br /> Gapping Project("Project"). The Project is described as follows: <br /> LA Hwy 22 functions as a barrier impeding natural hydrology in the <br /> Amite River floodplain. The highway prevents the natural flow of <br /> water into the adjacent McElroy Swamp,increases surface elevation <br /> in the river and exacerbates area flood risk. The LA Hwy 22 Bridge <br /> Construction and Drainage Improvements project includes the <br /> AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER <br />