Two members change vote; project to go ahead as planned
St. Martinville – The St. Martin Parish Council voted at this past Tuesday’s regular council meeting to go ahead with plans for its government annex building expansion, two weeks after a clash at a committee meeting over an effort to scale back those plans.
Ordinance 1493-OR, introduced by District 5 Councilman Chris Tauzin, called for reducing the scope of the $1,844,894 annex building addition from plans for new office spaces and storage for parish clerk and Clerk of Court records, along with additional parking to mainly a storage only facility for the parish and court records.
The budgeted cost includes $1 million from state Capital Outlay funds, with the remaining $844,894 coming from parish coffers.
But District 2 Councilwoman Carla JeanBatiste said that the council was limited by an approaching deadline to spend the $1 million that the parish was getting from state Capital Outlay funds for the $1,844,894 project. The money must be spent within two years of its awarding to the parish, which means it must be used by December of this year.
The state hasn’t done it in the past, but could request the money back if the parish has not engaged in the project, she said.
“We just need to take into consideration there’s a strong possibility that we could actually lose the million dollars. As well as we’ve already expended out about $150,000 in architectural fees. I’m just asking that y’all take all of that into consideration that in order to save a little bit we might lose a lot.”
District 3 Councilwoman Tangie Narcisse said that in addition to that, the parish might not have the opportunity in the future to get $1 million for a project that way because of state and federal cutbacks.
“We just need to be wise,” she said. “.While we have something in our pockets and while we had a plan, if we’re going to reconsider it, we need to reconsider it fast and we need to make a move.”
District 6 Councilman Corey Melancon said he had been contacted by constituents concerned that the parish was spending money on an addition to the central office while residents are dealing with severe flooding issues.
“Point blank, one of them told me, ‘you’re going to build a building, but we have houses that are flooding. We need all the help that we can get.’
“I know there’s funds allocated. I understand that. But again, as Miss Narcisse said, if we’re going to readjust or reassess or reevaluate this thing, we need to do it in a very, very quick manner.”
Those were Tauzin’s main concerns with the project and his reason for submitting an amended budget for the project, he said after the meeting — the parish has roads and drainage issues that are more pressing than office space.
Parish President Pete Delcambre said that the central office addition project included security considerations for parish employees.
“So moving forward, in the event of this being taken off the board, please consider the repercussions of decisions such as this,” he said.
Following the public hearing and discussion of the ordinances, including the budget amendment, the council voted 6-3 in favor of amending the budget for the central office building project, with JeanBatiste, District 8 Councilman Ben Clay and District 9 Councilman Chris Courville voting no.
After all of the ordinances were voted on, however, Narcisse asked if there could be a new vote on the budget amendment ordinance because she had not voted the way she intended to.
Changes
The council agreed to a new vote on the ordinance, and Narcisse and District 7 Councilman Vincent Alexander both changed their votes to no, meaning the amendment ordinance failed on a 5-4 vote.
Other ordinances
The council also voted to create the position of Social Media/Special Projects Manager in parish tourism with one ordinance.
The council also passed an ordinance providing for rules and regulations for the Keystone Locks and the property around the locks.
Other ordinances passed called for:
• reducing the servitude rights of the parish from 100 feet to 25 feet on the northern side of a drainage channel designated as L34B where it borders Parcel No. 06102B3419;
• providing for the lease of one Caterpillar Model D3121GP Dozer;
• and providing for the lease of three Caterpillar Model D5-17VP Dozers.
Resolutions
The council voted on several resolutions, including one authorizing parish attorney Lee Durio to prepare an amicus brief in support of the effort by Atchafalaya Basinkeeper and other groups opposing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ approval of the East Grand Lake project, which they warn could lead to sediment buildup in the basin and result in flooding to adjacent parishes.
Other resolutions passed included:
• a resolution reappointing Danielle Fontenette to the St. Martin Parish Planning Commission;
• a resolution for a change order for a decrease of $84,127 for the Petroleum Parkway Extension Project by Sierra Construction;
• a resolution appointing Alaina Conner as the Executive Director of the Enhanced 911 Board of Commissioners for the parish, as recommended by St. Martin Parish Sheriff Becket Breaux;
• a resolution approving a 10-year Industrial Tax Exemption for Processors LLC;
• and a resolution authorizing a contract with the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals for the Louisiana WIC program.
Ordinances introduced
Several ordinances were introduced for publication, including ones:
• authorizing the parish government to abandon Saddle Creek Lane;
• amending the expenditures for the Fire Protection Fund in the 2025 Operating and Maintenance Budgets;
• and authorizing a lease agreement with Reid T. Martin for property at 110 Old Market St. in St. Martinville to be used as a temporary office for the parish tax assessor.
