KEY TAKEAWAYS: Terrebonne Parish Council voted 5-1 to end a $4.5 million project for the Finding Our Roots African American Museum in Houma. Council members cited communication breakdowns and unresolved project requirements after more than two years of work. The project’s cancellation frees $4.5 million in federal funding that can be redirected to other eligible parish projects. Parish officials have discussed resiliency and community centers as potential uses for the available funding.   Terrebonne Council votes to end $4.5 million Houma museum project A $4.5 million plan for an African American museum in Houma ended after the head of the museum “ghosted” the parish government and those who were trying to help her. The Terrebonne Parish Council voted Aug. 12 to cancel the $4.5 million project to fund a new brick-and-mortar home for the Finding Our Roots African American Museum with federal dollars. Five council members voted to end the deal, three refused to vote, and one voted to keep the proposal alive. The project did not dissolve overnight. Margie Scoby, the museum’s chief executive officer and chair of its board, systematically shut out council members and the administration, and tried to bypass them and enlist the favor of state officials. Her actions didn’t just cost her the money, it cost her the confidence of the council. “Since 2024 I fought tooth-and-nail for Margie to get that museum,” Councilman Clyde Hamner said. “It gets down to bottom line, ready to sign the deal, and she ghosted me.” He continued to argue that she ceased to take part in the negotiations and said it’s difficult to fight for someone who doesn’t show up. “She’s not even here tonight for me to vote for her,” he said. “She’s gone, and I’m right here. I’m right here, and no explanation whatsoever.” Hamner joined councilmembers Danny Babin, John Amedee, Kim Chauvin and Kevin Champagne in voting to end the project. Councilman Carl Harding was the sole vote against ending the project. Council members Brien Pledger, Clayton Voisin and Steve Trosclair remained in their seats and did not vote at all. They showed up as absent in the vote. The vote killed more than two years of work that could have continued with a stroke of a pen. Scoby did not attend the meeting, and no one spoke on her behalf. HTV Owner Martin Folse, whose building was being eyed for purchase, had his attorney Tanner Magee speak on his behalf. Individual public comments typically are limited to three minutes, and council members may vote to give more time. Pledger, the council chairman, said he chose to allow speakers greater leeway to speak because the issue was important. This resulted in Magee speaking for roughly an hour, debating the council members. It became a running joke between the council members and Magee that he was better at debating than they were. “Danny, give it up, he’s better at it than you,” Hamner said to Babin. Babin had been verbally sparring with Magee. “He’s very good, but it doesn’t mean that he’s right,” Babin said. Members told Magee he fought a good fight, but it was Scoby, not Folse, who scuttled the deal. Where will the money go? The project’s demise means the $4.5 million that was tied to it is now free to be moved to any of the other projects. The council has given some indications as to what that might be. When Scoby’s deadline passed to provide requested documents, Bergeron met with small groups of council members to avoid a quorum. This meant the meetings were not open to public viewing and no documentation of what was said was recorded. During their next council meeting, some members alluded to the discussions they had. This included resiliency centers. Prior to voting on the Finding Our Roots project, a presentation showed these resiliency centers. Each resiliency center will function as a recreation/community center when not in use for a disaster. There is no priority set to the list, but Moffatt Nichol Planner Haley Blakeman showed three tiers of the centers. The tiers were based on how much funding the project would have. The project already has $4.5 million allocated to it, not including the Finding Our Roots money. The $4.5 million already allocated would fully fund tier 1. Tier 2 would take $5.7 million, and Tier 3 would need $8.7 million. The additional $4.5 million now freed up from the Finding Our Roots project would push the amount well above Tier 3. Tiers 2 and 3 both include a Village East Center. Pledger made a campaign promise that he would get a community center for Village East. He has told the Houma Courier/Thibodaux Daily Comet if the Finding Our Roots deal went through and there’s any money left over, he wanted those funds for a community center in Village East. If the council had a vote to reallocate funds away from the museum, he said he would only support it if those funds went toward a community center in Village East. At that time, Pledger said if any of the money promised to the African American museum was to leave that project, it was only fitting that it go to a primarily African American community. His speech just before the vote that killed the project centered on the Black community. Pledger said he supported the museum, while consistently voting down this project. According to Pledger, the parish was setting Scoby up for failure. He said he wanted the museum to succeed, “because that would mean me as a Black man would succeed here in Terrebonne Parish.” He went on to say that he voted it down each time because the project wasn’t sound, but that didn’t mean the project had to be scrapped. “There is not one project that is not devoted solely to the African American community,” Pledger said. “A lot of you wouldn’t understand because the melanin in your skin doesn’t allow you to.” A story of self isolation Hamner backed Scoby for about two years until she pushed him away, but he wasn’t the only one. Harding and Pledger were in talks with Scoby shortly after Parish President Jason Bergeron took office. The museum’s project had $1 million allocated to it during former-Parish President Gordy Dove’s administration. Scoby told Pledger and Harding that the deal was always for the museum to get $3 million to buy the building. Harding and Pledger both went on to support the museum. Harding fought for the museum to get the additional $3 million. Pledger fought for Bergeron to continue the annual $30,000 to $40,000 payments the parish government gave the museum. The plan, at the time, was to use $3 million to buy the old Dupont building, 7938 W. Main St, from Folse and move the museum in. The plan resulted from a handshake deal between Folse and Scoby back during Dove’s administration. A separate project to build a new parish jail fell through after it couldn’t find matching funds. This freed up $3.5 million, and when the then-Council Chairman Harding proposed to allocate the money to the museum project, Hamner was a supporting vote. Hamner said he thought Houma’s only African American museum getting a large home was a worthy project. Pledger, however, was one of three votes against it. Scoby had provided a one-page business plan that only included the $4.5 million allocated to the project. Pledger asked her if she had any other funds, or plans to keep the museum self-sustaining. Scoby said she had no other money, and she would raise funds. An investigation by the Houma Courier/Thibodaux Daily Comet found that she had other money. Scoby cut off communications with Pledger around the time of that meeting. The 7938 W. Main St. building had living quarters and a kitchen, which Scoby intended to use, alongside admission fees, to raise money for the building. This was a problem, because it didn’t fit with federal rules surrounding federal dollars. The dollars come from the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery, which comes with rules attached. The project that was approved was for a museum, and according to Westwood Consultant Taylor Gravois, Scoby’s proposal to use the kitchen for catering and the living quarters as an Air BnB would not be approved by the federal government. It would be considered profit made through the use of the federal funds, and therefore would have to be given back to the federal government. Hamner talked to Scoby about other options, and after talks with Folse she settled on the neighboring building, also owned by Folse. The plan was for the 7928 W. Main St. building to be $1 million. Folse’s attorney Tanner Magee sent a letter to the parish stating that Scoby agreed to the deal and would return $2 million of the money so that it could be used on other projects. The parish council passed a resolution in support of the new deal, and Scoby cut ties with Harding. Regardless of the lack of communication, Harding said he still supported the museum. He said if the project was being scrapped, it should at least get the original $1 million it was allocated. “When I try to reach out to Finding Our Roots, I reach a dead end,” Harding said. “This particular project has some pluses and minuses.” Scoby later sent a letter to the parish stating she didn’t want the building, and she wanted the full $4.5 million. Hamner didn’t give up. Hamner pushed for the parish to host a meeting that included parties from all sides — administration, Folse, the council and more — and Scoby did not attend. She sent Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Attorney Raymond Wilkes III in her place. The meeting sought to pin down what address Scoby actually wanted so discussions could move forward, but officials said Wilkes told them he could only relay the message. Scoby cut ties with Hamner. With her ever shrinking communication with council members, Scoby emailed Louisiana Office of Community Development Executive Director Gina Campo a list of grievances with the Terrebonne Parish Government and asked Campo to mediate between them. Campo did not. The council gave Scoby one last chance on June 27. They sent her a list of three demands they sought from the museum. The council wanted Scoby to provide an address she wanted for the museum, a written acknowledgement that the budget would only be $2.5 million, and a business plan by July 31. Scoby responded with a letter July 30 that provided none of it. This article originally appeared on The Courier: Terrebonne Council votes to end $4.5 million Houma museum project Reporting by Colin Campo, Houma Courier-Thibodaux Daily Comet / The Courier USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect ...read more read less