A $50,000 appropriation by Mobile County Commission President Juan Chastang to United Cerebral Palsy of Mobile apparently ended up funding a March 24 concert/fundraiser at the Mitchell Center called Spring Break Blast. The event, featuring pop star Ciara, lost the entire sum and has other commissioners questioning the donation. Discussion of the donation led to a heated exchange at a County Commission work session April 5 in which District 2 Commissioner Stephen Nodine blasted County Administrator John Pafenbach and County Attorney Jay Ross for allowing the donation to be made without following proper procedure. Chastang, however, maintains the donation was completely legal and ethical and that any questions about it are simply a "personal vendetta" against him orchestrated by Nodine. Nodine’s lambasting of Ross and Pafenbach came after a story on the donation was broken on the Lagniappe Web site the previous evening. With several members of the local media in attendance at the following morning’s work session, Nodine tried to show normal procedures were not followed in sending the check to UCP. He said just that morning he had finally seen a signed contract for the donation, but it had dates on it from both March 21 and March 26. The concert took pace March 24. "It blows my mind that after two weeks of spirited conversations, you two sit here and say everything was followed," Nodine said after both Pafenbach and Ross said they were satisfied standard procedures were followed. Chastang originally brought the $50,000 donation before the commission March 12, allocating it from his annual budget of $300,000 in Education Funding Program money. Nodine says neither he nor District 3 Commissioner Mike Dean were aware the donation was going to fund a concert, and they were told the money was for "ongoing expenses" at the charity. Nodine says standard procedures were not followed in allocating the funds, and that no contract was ever signed by UCP that would have guaranteed how the money would be used. UCP president Glenn Harger said the money indeed went to fund the concert, which he and promoter Allen Horn hoped would not only recoup the $50,000 but would generate additional funds. The hope, Harger said, was that the charity could make money and still have the seed money to put toward future events. Unfortunately, he said, ticket sales were poor and the entire $50,000 was lost. "We used the money to try to leverage more money," Harger said. "We were trying to create more money. Unfortunately, based on the way the concert turned out, it didn’t work out." Nodine said the first "red flag" he saw concerning the appropriation was when he heard ads for the concert on WABB-FM saying the show would be presented by Commissioner Juan Chastang. Chastang also received credit for presenting the show on a Web site and on tickets. Horn, the promoter, said the idea to give Chastang credit came from UCP officials who wanted to thank him. But Harger told Lagniappe UCP did not ask to put Chastang’s name on any promotional material and he was not sure how that happened. The show featured pop/rap artist Ciara with guests Lloyd and Brandon Kane and tickets sold for $30 and $40 in advance and $35 and $45 at the door. Horn could not provide ticket sale information for that evening, referring reporters to Mitchell Center officials, who did not release that information. In addition to making money for UCP, the event was also supposed to generate funds for another charity, Teen Focus. They were to get 30 percent of any profits once UCP recouped its $50,000 investment. UCP was to get the other 70 percent, according to Horn. Horn, who promoted the show through his company BCOG Management, said he has done fundraising work for UCP for 15-20 years, although this was his first stab at promoting a concert. He said the sum total of UCP’s exposure in this fundraiser was the $50,000 donated by the county and that he took on the rest of the risk. "We had information from the (music) industry that we could leverage the money, but that was all based on selling tickets. For whatever reason, expectations were not realized," Horn said. He said he was unclear as to who came up with the concept of having a concert, but said he spoke with Chastang about the idea before the money was allocated. Horn said he attended commission meetings, but was not sure if the other commissioners were aware of whether the funds were going to promote a concert. As for whether Chastang received credit for presenting the show, Horn said that was a request made when UCP signed the contract with him. He maintains, however, that radio ads did not carry Chastang’s name as a presenter. "Commissioner Chastang was trying to help people in need in the community. He did not request it. I don’t even know if he knew," Horn said. Nodine said when he first heard the ad on WABB, he asked County Administrator John Pafenbach about the concert and Pafenbach said he knew nothing about it. After being contacted by a Lagniappe reporter a few days later, Nodine said he asked Pafenbach again and was told the money had gone for "ongoing expenses." But, he said, there was no contract for the money, something that is standard procedure for such donations. Nodine said each commissioner may spend up to $300,000 in Education Funding Program money annually, and generally the other commissioners simply rubberstamp the requests. He said the county administrator and county attorney are supposed to insure that the funding is appropriate and passes the smell test. Nodine said after the commission voted for the appropriation March 12, Chastang became concerned about a week before the concert and needed a check cut immediately. Nodine assumes that was to pay the promoter. He said the check was indeed cut, even though no contract was signed, something that would be the norm. "My main concern in the accountability factor," Nodine said. "I have a big concern with the legal staff, particularly (county attorney) Jay Ross and his responsibility to protect Commissioner Chastang. We can’t allow a $163 million business to be run like this.". Nodine said he was finally informed last week by Pafenbach and Ross that the money had indeed gone for a concert, and he was shocked to discover the entire amount had been lost. When Lagniappe contacted Chastang April 5 about the appropriation, he said Nodine is directing an effort to "sabotage" him and refused to answer specific questions about the allocation. He alleged that Lagniappe was being used by Nodine to attack him and referred all questions to county attorney Ross. "This whole thing is a sabotage!" Chastang said. "Commissioner Nodine is doing this against me. Everything was done legally. This is ridiculous! I won’t answer any of these questions. This is a personal vendetta with Commissioner Nodine!" When Chastang was asked whether Commissioners Nodine and Dean knew the appropriation was going to be used to try to leverage more money for UCP for a concert promotion, Chastang said, "They voted for it, I hope so." Chastang reiterated that position the following day at the work session when, during a heated exchange, he said Nodine had known full well the funds were going for a concert. "Commissioner Nodine asked for four tickets!" Chastang said. "I asked to see what was printed on them," Nodine retorted. "Why do you need four tickets to see what was printed on them?" Chastang shot back. Nodine denied any kind of vendetta against Chastang and reiterated that it was Lagniappe that first brought to his attention the fact that Chastang gave money to promote a concert. "This is not a personal vendetta against anyone. This is my personal fiduciary responsibility," he said. UCP board member Carl Butler said April 5 that the board was generally unaware of the situation, although questions being asked by reporters had them looking into it. He said to his knowledge, Horn had primarily helped UCP in the past by allowing golf tournaments at Bay Oaks golf course when he was manager there and had never headed up large fundraisers for the charity. "We are going into a finance committee meeting this afternoon, and I know some questions are going to be asked," Butler said.