Vidalia’s Square on Carter project keeps getting more and more intriguing.

What started as a project to purchase and develop land across from Walmart in Vidalia now appears to reach the upper echelons of Louisiana state government.

How that happened and exactly how the drama surrounding the project will ultimately play out is anyone’s guess.

Here’s what we know:

The City of Vidalia is seeking permission from the Louisiana State Bond Commission to borrow up to $7 million to purchase and improve approximately 65 acres of land to create a development project.

The city seems intent on getting the project moving with public funds backing the endeavor in hopes that private developers will pick up the deal and run with it.

Millions could be on the line if their hopes are not realized.

The city even acknowledges as much on the city’s official Facebook page with the use of the word “potential” when describing the project. The city put quotes around the word for emphasis.

If it works as planned, all would be great. If it doesn’t, the people of Vidalia are stuck repaying the bonds.

Vidalia Mayor Hyram Copeland and at least four members of the Vidalia Board of Aldermen seem hell-bent on pushing the project through to fruition.

When the bond commission effectively nixed the idea several months ago citing it did not seem to reach constitutional muster, the city was unwavering. They simply backed up and reapplied to the bond commission, this time under the guise of an economic development entity they had created last year. Each alderman is a member of the new economic entity’s board. Changing one’s name and letterhead may legally make things work, but it certainly doesn’t smell any better.

Copeland has made impassioned pleas suggesting the entire future of Vidalia is on the line. That bit of hyperbole seems over-the-top, even for a politician.

The emphatic drive that continues to push Copeland and others to pilot the project seems suspicious.

After Vidalia’s first attempt to convince the state for permission to borrow $7 million failed, Copeland said the city was positioned to do the project without need for a bond.

Yet they’ve now tried an end-around with the second run at the bond commission. This time city leaders are wearing their economic development district T-shirts.

Former Louisiana Secretary of State and current Concordia Parish resident Al Ater testified against the project at the first bond commission hearing. Since then, he has thrown the gauntlet down, calling for an investigation of the deal.

Ater claims Copeland has conspired to help create a profit for Copeland’s former business partner, Bryant Hammett, who serves as Vidalia’s city engineer.

Copeland has repeatedly denied any such conspiracy, says he’s done nothing wrong and that the people of Vidalia want the project, not him.

Ater’s calls for investigations apparently raised the ire of Hammett who has fired back through a Baton Rouge lawyer who has requested all sort of documents from the bond commission. The move is presumably to either rattle Ater or possibly to gather information in hopes of trying to file some sort of lawsuit against Ater.

Normally, threats of “I’m going to sue you” are just that, threats. If they do seek to fire back it would seem a difficult case to win as Ater would appear to have nothing to gain from this and the parties involved are public figures and the cash on the line is public money.

On Thursday, Louisiana Treasurer John Kennedy, who chairs the bond commission suggested something unusual was going on with Vidalia’s project.

Kennedy told Hammett’s lawyer the commission needed to go behind closed doors to seek legal counsel, not because of her request but because they had, “bigger fish to fry.” He later said the request they were dealing with was not a public records request. It’s difficult to know what that means, but it may indicate that Ater’s call for an investigation was heard and that it’s under way.

Stay tuned folks; this likely is going to get more interesting before it’s over.

 

Kevin Cooper is publisher of The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached at 601-445-3539 or kevin.cooper@natchezdemocrat.com.