Council OKs Audubon Commission amendment, adds $3.55 million in city bond funds for wharf repairs

The New Orleans City Council on a voice vote approved an amendment to a cooperative endeavor agreement with the Audubon Commission to cover substructure repairs to the Governor Nichols and Esplanade Avenue wharves and extended the agreement through Jan. 1, 2028, adding $3,551,412 in city bond funds.

The move, introduced by Councilmember King by request, was approved after a public comment period in which a resident raised concerns about subsurface pilings under the wharves and the potential cost to the city. "You're gonna give 2 to $3,000,000 for what's happening underneath the surface of the water, specifically what's happening to the pilings," said Michael Eric Burnside, who gave his address as 2215 Felicity. Burnside said river action had previously undercut wharves and that subsurface work can be costly.

The amendment — described in the council filing as Amendment No. 1 (and in an earlier related filing as Amendment No. 3 to the previously executed cooperative endeavor agreement) — changes the terms of the cooperative endeavor agreement (CEA) between the City of New Orleans and the Audubon Commission to add the wharf substructure work as a project and to allocate an additional $3,551,412 in city bond funds. Councilmembers moved and seconded the ordinance and voted to adopt it; the clerk recorded the vote as "5 yeas, no nays." The council later recorded a similar vote on a related ordinance authorizing the same repairs and bond allocation.

Supporters described the agreement as a way to fund repairs that would allow Audubon-managed properties and adjacent public spaces to remain safe and usable. Opponents in public comment focused on long-term subsurface risks and said prior projects had encountered large unanticipated subsurface costs; Burnside referenced prior warehouse removals on the moonwalk and the Avondale shipping yard's bill for subsurface piling work as cautionary examples.

Council action amends the city's budget ordinance language to appropriate bond funds for the Audubon project and extends the CEA term. The ordinance file and the amendment text attached to the council agenda contain the details of the scope and the funding; the council did not set a specified schedule for further inspections or guaranteed maximum costs in the public discussion.

The council's vote authorizes the mayor to execute the CEA amendment with the Audubon Commission and obligates the specified bond funds for the project. The public comment record shows unresolved concerns about subsurface liability and whether the use of city bond funds is the best funding source in light of other potential matching federal programs.