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Terrebonne Council sets deadlines for Finding Our Roots project, says funds may be reallocated
Summary
After more than two hours of public and council debate, the Terrebonne Parish Council voted to give Finding Our Roots a written deadline to deliver a business plan and site commitment and to execute a subrecipient agreement; failure to meet the dates will allow the parish to reallocate CDBG‑DR funds to other resiliency projects.
The Terrebonne Parish Council on June 24 voted to give the Finding Our Roots African American Museum a final timeline to secure its disaster‑recovery funding or risk losing the money to other projects.
Steve Trosclair, who offered the substitute motion that passed, told the council the point of the vote was to “draw a line in the sand” and require the museum’s leaders to produce a business plan and a written site commitment so the parish and state grant administrator can complete the subrecipient agreement. The motion directs Finding Our Roots to submit an acceptable business plan and a written commitment to the proposed site at 7928 Main Street by July 31, 2026, and to execute a subrecipient agreement satisfactory to the parish by August 14, 2026; failure to meet those conditions would allow reallocation of the CDBG‑DR award to other projects.
The substitute was approved in two steps: council members first voted to prefer the substitute wording over an earlier motion to reassign the funds outright, then approved the substitute on final vote. The substitute motion passed the roll call and the final motion carried 7‑2.
Supporters of the deadline said it balances patience with a need to use time‑sensitive federal disaster funds. "We need to give a deadline that they either comply with or then we decide where we're going to go with it," Trosclair said during debate. Several council members emphasized that CDBG‑DR deadlines set by the state require decisions about projects in the coming months.
Opponents or cautious members warned the action risks disrupting a long, multi‑party effort. Tanner McGee, who has worked with project proponents, called the museum proposal "probably the most vetted public project in the history of Terrebonne Parish" and asked the council to be careful before reallocating federal funds. Representatives for the proposed museum and for a downtown partner (who has invested time and money preparing a building for the project) urged the council to allow the museum one final chance to produce the required documentation.
Council members raised legal and procedural cautions: committee and administration staff reminded the council that if a subrecipient fails to spend funds properly the parish could be responsible to return federal money. The chair also noted inconsistent references in the discussion to a $4.5 million award and a $2.5 million commitment and made clear the record must reflect the distinction between an awarded program allocation and any shorter‑term commitment the council may approve.
The council instructed administration to communicate the deadlines and return to the council if the museum does not meet them. If the deadlines are unmet, the administration is to prepare applications and budget amendments reallocating the funds to other eligible CDBG‑DR projects.
The council’s action does not itself award or disburse funds; rather it sets conditions for continued consideration of the Finding Our Roots project and a procedural path to move the money if those conditions are not met.
