Jackson Jambalaya

Is there a website that publishes who is on the board of commissioners of the JRA? I can't find one.

According to CMPDD, JRA is not in control. Too bad JRA didn't correlate the facts. Did JRA want to find a pawn to cast this shadow?

This letter does appear to take the side of Watkins, but just says the JRA did now follow Its agreements and legal requirements when cancelling the lease.

Not to my knowledge, city website does not have this info. Following is list supplied by the City Clerk's office in the past month.

JRA BOARD (as of Oct. 2013)

BEAU WHITTINGTON 8/13/15 WARD 1
MATT THOMAS 8/13/14 WARD 2
BENETA BURT 8/13/14 WARD 3
GREGORY GREEN 8/13/09 WARD 4
JOHN REEVES 8/13/13 WARD 5
RONNIE CRUDUP 8/13/11 WARD 6
BRIAN FENELON 8/13/12 WARD ? (NO WARD SUPPLIED)

It's not that 'the letter takes the side of Watkins'. Its more like the letter reminds JRA of the legal requirements involved in the lease agreements and loans. Is John Bell Crosby the attorney for JRA?

Watkins wasn't mentioned. CMPDD is moving to protect its collateral.

Brian Fenelon now lives in Madison which is why no ward designation is listed for him

John Reeves also lives in Madison.How does the JRA legally do business? Maybe their business is not legal.

This is the last sentence of the letter.

"we believe the best course of action for all of the parties is to move forward with transparent discussions aimed at getting the Farish Street project completed in a manner that achieves everyone’s goals.”

This is pretty important stuff, but I'm not sure that either "transparent" discussions or "achieves everyone's goals" are possible with the JRA.

There are just too damn many personal agendas surrounding that board.

They both own businesses in Jackson. Maybe thats the angle.

John Reeves is no longer on the board, nor is Brian Fenelon.

The city representatives on the CMPDD are: Mr. Stamps, The Lord Mayor, Mr. Whitwell (secretary of the planning board), and a Mr. Gilbert Sturgis, the Mayor's new appointee. He is a former US Marshall agent and county employee.

The attorney for JRA has always been Zach Taylor of Jones Walker (formerly Watkins Ludlum).

You think Clarke Holmes is pissed or what! Not very smart of JRA to pick a fight and sour relations with the State and MDA. They've got enough reasons to be hatin on us as it is. Do the idiots at the JRA think this won't spill over to legislative politics in January when the City, as usual, takes a wish list to the capitol? Looks like they've been so busy trying to prove they can stomp Watkins if they want to, they've lost sight of the the big picture. Let's face it, the JRA is out of control. I'd like to know how much in legal fees the taxpayers are gonna have to pay the JRA lawyers to play all these games. On second thought, I probably don't want to know. I might gag. I still live in Jackson.

According to the letter CMPDD is acting for MDA and protecting a State of Miss. loan by making sure all the notification requirements are met.No big deal just keeping the steps in the right order to make sure loan get tracked.Out come may be same.

The JRA is a total and complete failure. I wish KF would interview recently fired from the JRA John Reeves. I think he would uncover and tell some interesting facts. Jus do it.

Jackson is a total and complete failure. Why would JRA be any different.

Planning and development districts are neither state bodies nor an arm of the MDA. They've been in existence for years, originally set up as money brokers to handle the channeling of federal training and development funds, millions of dollars.

One of their primary functions is traveling about the state and Southeast attending conferences, symposiums and focus groups at casino resorts and various other venues that have fabulous buffets. Travel and training budgets are tremendous.

Many of their employees have been on the payroll since the early days of The Concentrated Employment and Training Act (CETA) from as far back as the Jimmy Carter days and forward. They've cycled through state jobs for years and upon state retirement, many have landed at the Planning and Development Districts.

It's very similar to families who have cycled through dependency and entitlements for generations. They have no real expertise other than 'government-speak' and funneling funds to bogus causes. One that comes to mind, from years back, was a Literacy Initiative that got a tremendous grant to teach folks in a Rolling Fork nursing home to read. Say what?

When Stokes and Graham eventually get 'turned out', they will wind up working for one the PDDs.

Any organization of which Willie Mott is the director is a joke. Have y'all met this guy? A buffoon. It's embarrassing when he talks.

4:34, Planning and Development Districts through out the state are all very different. They are regional organizations established to promote common, multi-jurisdictional problem solving for their respective regions. The ones with which I am familiar are staffed with well trained and educated professionals that possess a wealth of knowledge. The job training programs which you are citing were added to the responsibilities of certain planning and development districts several years ago and they are a small part of what they do. There are no "Stokes or Graham" types working for any planning and development districts that I'm aware of.

9:29, I would agree with 4:34 much more than your opinion of PDD's. The 10 PDD's around the state are all pretty much the same - organizations originally created (in the Great Society days of the 60's) suppossidly to promote common multi-jurisdictional problems, but now basically funnel tax dollars. They collect dues from the cities and counties within their region and then charge those same entities for doing work for them (transportation planning, redistricting, grant writing) as well has managing federal programs (meals, job training) and most particularly - loan making using funds from federal and state programs (EDA, MDA etc.)

There are plenty of 'Graham' types working at the various PDD's, but I don't know of any 'Stokes' types now working at them. But the description of their major function - attending conferences around the country - is not a bad analysis. Except of course for the recently retired director of the SMPDD - he couldn't attend some of those conferences because he couldn't sober up and they wouldn't let him drink before 2 pm.

The question here is who at CMPDD is qualified to be loaning $5 million of our tax dollars to any group? Obviously their decision to loan Watkins that kind of money on this boondoggle shows that they should get out of this business.

Fixing a bad area in Jackson is a lost cause for anyone and 5 million is a drop in the bucket. This project began when the State legislature started this program, set up the guidelines and funded several million to get it started.I think MDA and CMPDD were named the law to handle the loans. MDA made all the final decisions The Watkins group was not the first to try this. The group that redid Beale
street in Memphis were first selected and they failed.Watkins was given a shot to pick up the pieces.Under the best of times and the best of management, project was doomed.

9:29; Sorry, but you are wrong. PDDs across this state were little more than "funneling organizations" 30 years ago when they were first formed. They served the sole purpose of directing millions of 'federal' dollars into communities under the guise of 'training' opportunities and improving the work force. Their functioning as a loan-arranger came along many years later. The feds required each governor to establish such a network of 'money funnelers' if the states wanted training dollars from the DOL.

I will bet you a dollar to a donut that each of the ten PDDs currently has at least fifteen staff members who are retired from two or three state agencies and many of them are hold-overs from the days of CETA/JTPA thirty years ago.

If one has toiled in the trenches of Department of Labor Training language until agency retirement, they are much sought after by the PDDs to occupy a desk in The District. The fact that they can continue to draw state retirement as well as a check from the PDD attracts them like flies. All they have to do is talk the language, attend meetings, glad-hand and move about the seminar room, cordially.

Not much different from retired educators being attracted to so-called 'consulting' jobs with the State Department of Education. I can assure you my knowledge of this debacle goes all the way back to Cliff Finch's Department of Job Development and Training, which preceded the PDD concept but gave birth to it. And we're talking 1975.

If there ever was a money-trough that ought to be busted up like a moonshine still, this is it.

11:25, I agree with you in principle, but you are incorrect in a couple of details. PDD's were formed in the 60's, not in the 1975 range. (BTW, Cliff Finch did not become Governor until 1976 - elected in 75. But who's counting?) They were created as a 'funnel' for fed $$s, but not just for job training funds. Some of them were funneling loan dollars early on - others got in the business later through disasters, both natural i.e. Camille, and economic through plant closings or openings. Job training became a big program for most, as did meal programs. One of the best moves of Governor Barbour was the removal of most job training money from the PDD's to the Community Colleges early in his first term. Too bad he didn't shut down more of their functions.

ON a semi-related note, I just visited Jackson for the first time in 3-4 years. It looked rough. Noticeably worse than last time I saw it. Sad. The wig store at Pear Orchard and Old Canton is a really nice touch, though.

So I guess is now bad for an organization to be good at getting federal grant money. Congress called for a regional method to fund projecs.If the Planning and development Districts had not in place to get this money, may have not been able to get these funds.I like good roads, clean water, industrial parks, ect.

The federal government only began requiring the states to set up 'receiving agents' for federal job training funds in the mid to late 70s. Each state had to come up with a plan and designate receivers.

Some thought they should be the community colleges, others felt community based organizations or regional boards should manage the trough of federal money. The point is that PDDs came into being as large training-money handlers and employment agencies around 1982, not in the 60s.

It was then that the retirees and castoffs from state agencies started finding their way to post-retirement jobs with these organizations. I made no claim, thus no mistake, as to Finch's period of rule. However, it was his department of Job Development and Training (a monstrous bureacracy) that gave birth to the concept of recycling all these manual-headed, process-minded bureacrats that still populate these PDDs all over this state. Benita Burt is one name that has been recycled through all these programs for decades. And there are many more. They were and ARE virtual fiefdoms.

3:12
You like good roads, clean water, industrial parks, etc. Just what does that have to do with Jackson?

Jackson needs federal money to fix our wastewater and water distribution. The mayoral CMPDD appointee, Mr. Sturgis, was the manager who improved the Jackson city jail in the face of the lawsuits. We need a new county jail and water/sewer infrastructure in the face of the federal consent decrees with EPA. The regional interest is for Jackson to be functional. I know Madison County needs to fix the 'Galleria roller coaster',but we all need essentials first.

"The wig store at Pear Orchard and Old Canton is a really nice touch, though. "

Is it as nice as the wig store on County Line nest to the site abandoned by Marble Slab ice cream?

And 9:12 - I'm not sure what you're ranting about, but why would Madison care about the Galleria, which is in Houston, TX? No roller coaster in Madison that I know of.

The most important thing about this letter, which was well stated, is it was not answered.I bet there are several lawyers smiling about this pattern of behavior or the part of JRA.

What no one is mentioning in all this is the ridiculous notion that Watkins has over four million in cash in Farish Street. The JFP and the CL are tripping all over themselves to report what they can't understand. I doubt he's worth that even on paper. The four million is all a result of development fees that he is claiming. He could just as easily have $47 or $47 million as $4.7 million claimed. It's a ruse to make people feel sorry for him, but it's not real money. It's how he values his "contribution".

The only 'job' Harvey Johnson ever had was 'grant writer'. Surely that fact has a place in the discussion.

This and any other PDD is in way over its head when it comes to the legalities surrounding contracts. But, they're suggesting they be given a chance to correct the wrongs. So, let's watch.

nice try, 9:34.

Are you Zach Taylor or another Jones Walker lawyer? If not, then what's your authority to make such a "ridiculous" (to use your word) statement?

Oh, sorry, what was I thinking? You must be working for Stokes and still looking for that audit of Watkins money that the JRA did a few years ago. I guess some people have been in office so long that they don't know the difference between public and private money.

I suspect CMPDD is in the right here. If JRA agreed to the use of the leaseholds as collateral, then there is a problem with terminating the leases.

10:01, I do now know about other PDDs but CMPDD is a very well run profession organization and knows
a lot about contracts.

KF, I would partially agree. If the leases are collateral, then JRA probably has to notify and include CMPDD. But just because there is a loan with the lease as collateral, there should still be the ability to terminate the lease if the leassor did not perform as required. Would have to see the leases and the loan documents, but bet JRA does have the ability, albeit maybe with more notice to CMPDD, to terminate Watkins.

Don't know that it really matters - neither Watkins or anybody else is going to be able to make a go out of Farrish Street until lots of other crap is cleaned up in the area. Did see that 'city' or someone is cleaning up the crack houses behind the Sun&Sand - a good start, but going to take a lot more clearing. Time to quit pouring money into those nice brick streets w/empty buildings.

Not that it matters as relates to this post by KF, but 3:53 (and before) your concept about PDD's is just not correct. They were not created because of job training, nor were they created in the late 70's/80's.

They are outshoots of the Economic Development Administration, US Dept of Commerce. EDA was established in 1965 and a major part of its mission (at first) was the creation of regional planning organizations - at the time referred to as Economic Development Districts (EDDs). EDA provided funding to establish these regional organizations and they begin establishing them in 1965/66. There are 10 districts in Mississippi, with the first few being formed in the 1967-68 period and continuing through 1971-72. CMPDD was formed in 1968. Job training became a part of PDD's programs in the mid to late 70's, but there are other functions - with different PDDs doing different programs.

I know - because as the head of EDA I tried hard to modify the funding process of federal dollars to PDDs nationwide, and had plenty of fights with NADO (their national organization) over the total fiasco that had grown from the little funding that came from EDA in the late 1980's.

Pete: I usually enjoy your posts, but not always. You're scratching your own back in this one. You seem to entirely overlook the flow of federal training funds into the states during the days of CETA, MDTA and other monickers for the same failed programs, a time, during which, each governor was required to designate in their state who or what body would be the stop-off point for federal training dollars. It's been debated for decades but, for most of that time, the PDD network was the depot.

My point is, that's the point at which these districts became virtual fiefdoms and bureacratic empires. With your apparent background, I'm sure you can compare the organizational chart of a PDD in the sixties and early seventies with the organizational chart of the same or any other PDD in the late 70s, 80s and 90s.

Although each of them has a requisite number of token conservatives serving on boards and focus groups, largely they are democrat spending and raking empires; always have been, always will be. We're left to wonder, now, which lawyers and study groups will CMPDD contract with to make recommendations on the Watkins debacle.

http://www.slabbed.org/2013/11/25/jackson-legal-if-it-werent-for-a-conflict-of-interest-jones-walker-would-have-no-interest-at-all/#more-45862