Funds released to continue blue light patrols in French Quarter Share Updated: 3:44 PM CST Feb 26, 2021 WDSU Digital Team Share Updated: 3:44 PM CST Feb 26, 2021 Hide Transcript Show Transcript everybody. Thank you so much for joining us here today. Uh, I guess I'll go ahead and spell my name. J O s H U A last name. Cox C o X c o x. Ah, we're here today because on Monday we told you that there was a mess. The French Quarter management district promised to keep the blue light patrols that everyone loves in the quarter going with private dollars from January through at least March. They failed to do that. Uh And so on Monday, we told you that we were doing everything in our power to fix that. Well, today I'm happy to say that we've done that on Sunday at 12:01 a.m. The blue light patrols are going to start up again, and I would like to thank a couple of people who made that happen. First, I'd like to thank Councilwoman Palmer, who is the signatory of the French Quarter Economic Development District Trust Fund. None of those funds to keep this task force going would have been released without her partnership. So I thank her. I'd also like to thank uh, Sidney Torres and S d. T for their collaborative partnership on making sure that we still have the French Quarter task force app which residents love. Um, and I'd also like to thank Bob Simms, who was not only a co founder of the task force in the Blue Light Patrol but who's also been instrumental in keeping it going and partnering with the city to make sure that this vital service, uh, continues Now, we reached an agreement with Councilwoman Palmer to do a three month ce a where the Reserve dollars in that quarter for the quarter trust fund are going to be spent on keeping these blue light patrols, uh, moving for the next three months. So with that, I would like to turn it over to Bob, who's got a couple of words to say about, uh, what this means to him. Thank you. Bob Simms are my French Quarter resident and you know, the last er seven days, I've really missed the blue light patrols, and so is all the other residents I know. The most common question I get when I bump into people is what happened with Blue Light patrol when they're coming back. Well, thanks to Councilman Palmer, thanks to Josh we're back. And so it's good news for everybody. It's good news for the residents and the businesses of the French Quarter. It's good news for everybody that we're back and we're on the street and helping to keep the French quarter safe. So, um, looking forward to continuing on. We've been doing this for six years. That's Carrie. Keep it going. Thank you. Thanks, Bob. So in summation, Uh, the problem that the fq MD created on Monday has been solved. Uh, today. And so we look forward to the patrols, starting up again on Sunday at 12:01 a.m. with that, I'll turn it over to Miss Norton for any questions, if there are any. Wait at the end. You know this well, slightly different city. Find an airplane in the city. Yeah, thanks for the question. Uh, so that's just fundamentally untrue. And here's why. First of all, the French Quarter Economic Development District is managed by the City Council, and that's listed in statute. Secondly, the signatory or the authority for the quarter for the quarter dollars, the authorities, Councilwoman Palmer and so this the mayor and the mayor's office does not have any control over these dollars. And that's why we actually needed an agreement with the council woman in order for those dollars to be released and to be used on the blue light patrol. So, unfortunately, those facts are are misleading and untrue, and, uh, and they can be fact checked by simply looking at the statute and looking at the law. I'd be happy to also send you, um, a c e a from the quarter for the quarter. In the past, that might shed a little bit of light on exactly who's in control of these funds. Because in this case, it's not the mayor district. Yeah. Yeah, well, you know, unfortunately, uh, the French Quarter management district promise that it would use its private funds, uh, to keep this task force going, and they weren't able to. And so, you know, this is it's pretty troubling. Especially as coming in April. They're gonna ask, not for private dollars. They're gonna ask for control of public dollars. And so, you know, if they've demonstrated inability to manage private dollars, why should we trust them with public money? Um, and so, you know, I think this is the situation that we're in right now is really concerning for, um For them receiving control of public money in the future. Thank you all. Thank you.