LAPLACE — The annual Andouille Festival continues to be an economic development engine for St. John the Baptist Parish but with a net loss of more than $115,000 for the 2017 event, administration officials are wondering if changes are in order.

Economic Development Director Jerry Jones told Parish Council members analysis of the latest numbers suggest the festival has outgrown its original intent and feasibility. He said the parish administration “strongly recommends pursuing non-profit participation in funding and operations of the festival if it is to continue to grow.”

According to the figures Jones released, the biggest snag appears to be controlling expenses. The 2017 event raised $189,965 in revenue, with another $16,100 coming from a grant from the BP oil spill, bringing the total to $206,065, about $6,000 more than what was budgeted.

However, expenses checked in at $321,328, more than $70,000 over what was budgeted. When factoring in overtime, the total net loss was $165,714, but those numbers do not reflect the economic impact in the community, especially in LaPlace.

Jones told Council members he hopes to have an economic impact study completed before the summer.

“If (the festival) operated as a non-profit they could raise way more money because of our government status,” Jones said.

“If operated correctly, I don’t see how it could fail. You are selling Andouille. In this parish the food culture is extremely high and rich in tradition.”

Jones explained that by having a non-profit agency solicit sponsors, businesses would be more likely to participate because they would be able to write off the amount of their donation.

“We are not trying to throw it out of our department,” he added. “We want this to be successful and it has the potential to be more successful.”

Parish President Natalie Robottom said she doesn’t   want to lose the festival but the goal is to reduce the losses and increase the revenue.

“It’s costing a lot more than we ever thought it would,” she said, adding the Parish might be able to supplement a non-profit agency with startup costs.

Jones did say the 2017 gumbo cookoff, which made $10 in total revenue, has been canceled.

He said that decision was made with the intent of discarding events that are not doing well and focusing on “what we do well and strengthen that.”

This past year 26 restaurants participated, which Jones said was too many. He is planning to drop that number back to 20, and perhaps even 17 if necessary for 2018.

He also revealed that only one Andouille shop participated this past year.

There was also a discussion about limiting the restaurant vendors to parish business only, with council member Julia Remondet saying she did not want out-of-parish businesses making money at the expense of in-parish vendors.

Robottom said there is no policy restricting vendors to in-parish only, and was not sure of the legalities of such a policy.

In other news, the Parish Council moved its next meeting from Feb. 13, which is Mardi Gras, to noon on Feb. 14.

— By Richard Meek