With allegations and innuendo flying left and right about plagiarism, backroom vote-rigging and undue political influence tainting what’s supposed to be an apolitical selection process, the controversy surrounding the selection of an architect for the $21 million downtown library is nearing a boiling point. There’s even talk now of an ongoing FBI investigation.
Trahan Architects principal Trey Trahan claims he lost the contract on May 19 because information meant to paint him as a plagiarist was circulated among members of the selection committee prior to the final vote. Trahan was the leading vote getter in the first round of voting by the selection committee on April 28.
Trahan’s attorney, Gray Sexton, says he’s learned that the circulated information amounted to a rendering by a Netherlands firm for the Czech Republic National Library and was said to bear a resemblance to Trahan’s conceptual design for the downtown library. The rendering was given to Parish Architect Jim Frey by local architects Trula Remson and Jerry Hebert, Sexton says. For a side-by-side look at the designs, click here. (Trahan’s rendering is on the left).
Remson is on vacation this week, according to her voicemail, and has not responded to a request for comment via e-mail. Hebert adamantly denies providing Frey with any such information and says his name should not even be entering the controversy. “I want to be 100% clear here,” Hebert says. “I did not give Jim Frey any information.”
East Baton Rouge Parish Library Director David Farrar has placed an item on the library board’s regular meeting agenda tonight to “remove the River Center Branch library construction project from the current construction schedule.” The meeting starts at 4 p.m. at the BREC headquarters building on Florida Boulevard.. Read the full story here. Steve Sanoski
This story has been corrected since it was first published.
Today’s poll question: Should the process to select an architect for the new downtown library be re-opened?
