Sulphur mayor says city has received no FEMA reimbursement for Willow Avenue lease

SULPHUR, La. (KPLC) - Sulphur Mayor Jacob Stutes says the city has not received any FEMA reimbursement for its lease at 501 Willow Ave., and he does not see a path for the city to be reimbursed.

“But the real thing to address is, you know, we were made to believe that all of those things were going to be reimbursed,” said Stutes. “And that’s, one, it’s not true. And two, I don’t see a path for reimbursement because there was laws broken and procurement processes that are not on the up and up, you know.”

“And as of to date, October 22nd, 2026, there’s been zero money collected from FEMA for an agreement that they entered then,” Stutes said.

“We’ve spent over $520,000 on that lease, and zero dollars have come our way,” Stutes said. “And as a matter of fact, we’re $521,000 plus a $325,000 parking lot. So that’s $846,000 that I don’t think will recoup the money because public bid law was broken.”

Interim Finance Director, Lindsey DeLouche, confirmed that no reimbursement monies had been received in what should be a 90/10 split for all expenses.

City officials weigh options

After speaking with DeLouche and public works director Austin Abrahams, there is still hope the over $20,000-a-month lease can be reimbursed. Abrahams clarified that the city was not eligible for FEMA reimbursement at the time the lease was initially signed because there was no timeline the city could provide for its permanent solution(the proposed judicial center).

Reimbursement would only come after FEMA approves the city’s application, which has already been put forward, and the city’s proposed judicial center goes out for public bid. Until then, questions remain over the building’s future.

Councilman Joshua Baden, District 4, said the city should consider other options.

“Let’s find another building that’s suitable for our court and our marshal’s office and our council chambers. And let’s try to divert that funding somewhere else, you know, because it looks like we’re not going to get reimbursed through FEMA. And so the taxpayers is fixing to have to eat at large costs that they just sank into a building over here and not get anything back,” Baden said.

“What comes to my mind is somebody has dropped the ball,” Baden said. “We’ve been over there for two years, and nobody has filed for any type of reimbursement for FEMA.”

Former councilwoman disputes blame

Baden and Stutes blame the missing FEMA money on negligence by the previous administration. Former Councilwoman Joy Abshire disputes that, alleging the FEMA application window had already closed before she left office. Abshire said the city still isn’t asking the right questions now.

“I am concerned if the city is only focusing on the actions of the previous administration and not being aware and asking the questions as to what they need to be following for continuation of business,” Abshire said.

“When the previous administration left office in August, FEMA had not opened up the application period that a 501 Willow would have fallen under,” Abshire said. “Applications are made only after expenditures have occurred.”

“And then, if that application is approved, you will receive a 90% reimbursement of it,” Abshire said.

“So, while I couldn’t tell you 100% that you receive, you know, a reimbursement, you are likely to receive that reimbursement as per guidance and following of FEMA’s requirements,” Abshire said.

7News received statements from several other sitting council members regarding the matter. FEMA and consulting company Rostan Solutions had not responded to requests for comment as of airtime.

Council members respond

Council members were told that Mayor Stutes believes there has been no FEMA reimbursement and that he primarily cites the previous administration as the reason.

Danielle Monceaux, City Council District 3, said:

“I think too many people are looking at these issues as personal attacks or political bias, and that’s not what this is about. One thing I don’t think everyone understands is that all five members of the Sulphur City Council and the mayor are newly elected. We are now learning about decisions made before any of us took office, and some of those decisions have left us with issues that need to be addressed. We didn’t create these problems, but we do have a responsibility to deal with them. That is why I support the investigation into Willow Ave. by Mayor Stutes’. There are questions that deserve answers, and I believe the citizens of Sulphur have a right to know how their city government has been conducting business. I think we need to find out exactly what happened with the FEMA reimbursement. There have been questions about the Willow Avenue building for a while, including whether FEMA approved the move from the original temporary buildings. If the city never received the reimbursement, the public deserves to know why, when the city found out, and what was done to try to resolve it.”

Danny DiPetta, District 5 and council chair, said:

“FEMA reimbursements do not happen overnight like some people think. Even though the storm and damage occurred under a previous administration the current administration and City Council need to be diligent and continue to get updates from Rostan as to where we are in the process. Rostan should be at the next meeting to explain where we are and to give us an update.”

James Ledoux, District 1, said:

“Thats news to me, but glad he is helping to get to the bottom of this issue.”