Interim Emergency Board approves scope changes for six capital outlay projects

The Interim Emergency Board approved scope changes for six capital outlay projects at a meeting where staff presented the requests and a commissioner moved approval with no objections. Commissioner Burrow moved approval; no members objected, and the changes were approved in a single, global vote.

Staff member said the first set of items, numbered 3 through 8 on the agenda, are scope changes requested after projects were originally authorized in House Bill 2 (HB 2). “As projects are authorized in HB 2, when the agency or entity is interested in an adjustment to the scope from the original capital outlay request … the process to give them approval to make that tweak or adjustment is through the Interim Emergency Board,” the staff member said.

The approved changes include: allowing the Northeast Louisiana Children’s Museum to acquire property that was not in its original request; authorizing the Will Reach 1 Foundation’s Center for High Quality Early Learning to purchase fixtures, furniture and equipment after the building has been acquired by other means; revising the Office of Behavioral Health’s Central Louisiana State Hospital relocation in Pine Crest to include construction of a new administration building because staff said new construction proved less expensive than renovating the older building; permitting the Morgan City Harbor and Terminal District to use leftover funds to add a new roof and insulation to protect the integrity of an existing fire suppression system; breaking Assumption Parish’s Shell Beach boat launch into two phases so the first phase (replacing sheet piles with jetties, constructing a wharf and regrading the parking lot) can be completed with current funding and render the site safe for the public, with the actual boat launch to be a later phase; and revising the Orleans Parish Hospital Service District A behavioral health project so the authorized scope matches the project’s updated title and includes a service-line expansion.

Staff member summarized the recommendation: “So, those are the first set of items that are scope changes or project alterations and we would recommend approval.” After the presentation Commissioner Burrow moved approval; there were no objections and the motion carried.

These approvals alter project scopes but do not, in themselves, add new HB 2 appropriations; the board approved the requested scope adjustments and left fiscal details or future appropriation requests to the project sponsors.