I was surprised to read mention of my name by Phil Lank In The Independent Weekly ("Had Their Phil," Oct. 19). Lank states that I stopped requesting progress reports several years ago. For his information, I retired as Lafayette City-Parish Council Clerk on June 30, 2001; so when was I supposed to have stopped requesting his monthly reports?
Also, Ordinance No. 254-97, adopted on Aug. 19, 1997, in Section 3 of the ordinance states: "The vendor shall provide the Lafayette City-Parish Council quarterly progress reports and implementation plans to develop Lafayette North." The vendor in this case is Phil Lank, and it does not say I had to "request a report," and the word "shall" in the ordinance means mandatory.
I was also somewhat surprised to learn about Mr. Lank's contract with Louisiana Economic Development and could not help but wonder if he could not provide services to Rebuild Lafayette North as part of this contract and save the city some money. After all, isn't rebuilding Lafayette's north side primarily about economic development?