– The chairman of the St. Martinville Police and Fire Civil Service Board tendered his resignation in a letter to Mayor Jason Willis that Councilman Mike Fuselier brought up at Monday’s St. Martinville City Council meeting.
But the council put off naming chairman Michael Formeller’s replacement on the board while city attorney Allan Durand researched the proper procedure for nominating and appointing a board member under the city’s new Lawrason Act form of government.
Formeller said in the letter that he did not appreciate a phone call from the mayor “firing” him from his voluntary position after 30 years.
Formeller went on to say that the call seemed to indicate that the mayor was removing him from the board because Police Chief Ricky Martin wanted someone else in the role, but that the mayor and chief were mistaken about the way civil service board members are appointed because the council approves those appointments, and the subject was not brought to the council.
Formeller went on to say he had intended to see the final civil service hearings that he had been involved in through, then to resign, but given the mayor’s actions decided to resign immediately.
Willis told the council that he had not tried to fire Formeller from the position but had called to tell him that his term had expired and the mayor was just calling to say he was planning to nominate someone else for the position on the board.
Fuselier wanted to recommend Kervin Fontenette as the replacement for Formeller on the board.
The mayor said that though he had no problem with Fontenette and would support his appointment to the post, Willis had already asked someone else to fill the position, with the council’s approval. Fontenette is a retired major in the St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office.
“Just to let you know, the recommendation comes from the mayor, the council has to approve it,” Willis said. “Now I really don’t have a problem with Mr. Kervin, but I had already spoken with somebody else.”
The mayor said he might even recommend Fontenette for the position, but would have to speak to the person he had already planned to recommend for the post first.
“We would have to wait at least until the next meeting to make an appointment,” Willis said.
Councilwoman Carol Frederick asked if it was certain that the mayor has to make the recommendation to fill the civil service board openings, but that Durand should verify that to be the case under the Lawrason Act as it had been under the old charter.
The resignation could cause problems for the civil service board because the board had yet to vote on a pending case it had heard for some four hours, Durand said. The board needs to reconvene to vote on the case because of some technical difficulties with the first vote, and asked Formeller to “please hang in there for the next two or three weeks until we can have a reconvening of the hearing.”
Durand said that if the same board doesn’t vote on the case, his initial impression is that the board would have to hold another hearing at great expense to the city, because of the attorneys’ fees involved.
Board
Frederick said she had spoken to Formeller after Durand spoke to him, and that based on the information in the letter, Formeller is resigning.
The meeting adjourned without taking the issue up again.
New ordinances
The council adopted a new burn ordinance, introduced at a meeting the previous month, and also discussed its grass and weed cutting ordinance but put off voting on it while language in the ordinance was cleared up to indicate that the city would hire outside services to remove trees on private property if they pose a threat to the public by potentially falling onto sidewalks or streets.
Durand said the current ordinance allows the city to cut down those trees, but Fuselier and Frederick didn’t think city crews should be doing that work since the city doesn’t have the proper equipment or training for doing so.
Durand said that the city has the power to hire contractors under the current language in the city ordinances but the council wanted it put in writing that outside contractors would be hired for tree cutting, and that the expense in such cases would be passed on to the property owners’ tax bills.
Permission for events The council approved a request from the Knights of Peter Claver to hold a Breast Cancer Awareness Walk on Oct. 18 beginning at 9 a.m.
The walk would be from Notre Dame Catholic Church to the front of City Hall, Yvette Morris told the council.
The council held off on voting to approve the use of the Sterling Alexander Center for a tutoring program while details of funding the program are finalized.
Pat Jones, who made the request, said that she has talked with members of Gov. Jeff Landry’s staff about getting funding for the program, which would begin in October and be held until around April when LEAP testing begins.
Council members praised Jones for the effort but wanted to make sure that the program was funded by the state first before approving use of the facility at no cost. If students or their parents are charged for the service by the tutoring program organizers, council members said, the city could not legally allow the use of the facility at no charge.
The issue will be raised at a future meeting after details are approved by the city attorney.
City Culture, Tourism and Recreation Director Danielle Fontenette asked the council to approve a request from the Chamber of Commerce to sell alcohol during the Grand
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Reveil Acadien/Great Acadian Awakening event on Thursday, Oct. 18.
The council approved the request.
The council also approved a request from Fontenette to hold a citywide garage sale at the old Walmart parking lot, in conjunction with the Breaux Bridge citywide garage sale on Saturday, Oct. 4. The city would grant permits to those wishing to set up booths for the garage sale.
Nuisance properties The council heard from the mayor that the owners of property at 2085 Terrace Highway had sprayed the high grass on the property and had made progress in cleaning up the items on the property.
The council also approved giving the family that owns the property at 817 St. Martin St. seven days to board up the building on the property and 90 days to come back with reports on the progress in cleaning up the property.
The family has already cut the grass on the property and removed items from the yard. And since the property has already been ruled a nuisance, boarding up the house and posting no trespassing signs would give police the right to arrest and/or fine trespassers. Cynthia Martinez, whose extended family owns the property, said she will continue to make sure the property is kept clean.
