St. Martinville – The St. Martinville Newcomers Club explained its plans for Mardi Gras celebrations in 2026 and 2027 to the St. Martinville City Council on Monday to begin the process of preparing for a Mardi Gras Festival next year and a parade in 2027.
The club has set a Feb. 15, 2026, date for its Mardi Gras Festival and Feb. 7, 2027, for a Mardi Gras Parade, and the council agreed to hold those dates for the club’s use unless changes are made to the dates.
The club will return before the council once Police Chief Ricky Martin has finished his assessment for the planned festival, a necessary step before the council can approve use of city property or streets for events.
The assessment will include the number of police officers who will be needed to provide security for the events, which Martin said ideally 150 officers would be needed for the parade. But because so many other Mardi Gras parades around the state are held on the same weekends, the plans must be made as early as possible to line up available police officers for security from other agencies.
Sporting events at UL Lafayette around the same time also use police officers from around the area for security, which could cut into the available pool of officers for a parade.
Councilman Mike Fuselier brought up concerns for traffic, which at the most recent parade cause a lot of congestion on neighborhood streets. Martin said there is a plan in place to abate those issues, including requiring the parade organizers to have the streets cleared within an hour of the end of the parade.
The plans must be done ahead of time because officers from other cities and parishes as well as state troopers must be brought in to bolster the number of officers the city can provide. Martin coordinates with St. Martin Parish Sheriff Becket Breaux on those assessments and plans.
The group would prefer to hold the festival at the city’s festival grounds, which are currently being worked on to add a walking track and playground equipment for special needs children.
Mayor Jason Willis said the grounds should be ready for Feb. 15 but if not the group will hold the festival at Magnolia Park.
JoAnn Etienne said the group wanted to come before the council for permission for the two events because it must get permits from the city, and the club also wants to have enough time to get the money together for the parade. Setting the dates for the two events allows the club to get permits for bands and vendors and to sign contracts to get parade floats for a specific date.
Martin said he would bring an assessment for the festival at next month’s meeting.
Clearing properties
The mayor led a discussion of how the city could pay for clearing adjudicated properties or nuisance properties in the city.
City attorney Allan Durand said he sent a question to Wesley Johnson, a lawyer whose company, E&P Consulting, has a website (louisianalandsolutions. com) on which the city has agreed to post adjudicated properties that are for sale.
Durand asked Johnson, if the city has an adjudicated property on it that is declared to be a nuisance by the city council, and if the city council pays to have the structure demolished, is the cost of demolition added to the cost of redemption if the owner wishes to redeem (reacquire legally) the property.
Johnson said that it is, but unless the city believes the tax debtor would likely redeem the property, the city should instead try to sell the property.
The price to a third party is the lower of two-thirds of the tax assessment, or the tax bill. If the city tears the property down it can add the price to the tax bill, but if the assessment of the property is $3,000 and the cost to tear it down is $10,000, the minimum price for auction would be two-thirds of $3,000, so the city would likely lose money by tearing the building down.
Selling it in an as-is condition would be financially better for the city, so the city should advertise those properties on the city website with a link to the louisianalandsolutions. com website.
The mayor also suggested the council consider bidding out contracts to tear down dilapidated properties and adding the cost to the tax bill for those properties. In some cases, land owners are unable physically or financially to clear their properties, or may be part-owners where other heirs to properties are unwilling to help pay to clear the properties.
Councilwoman Carol Frederick suggested the city take those owners to court to have them declared in contempt to force them to do the work, instead of committing city funds to the work.
In other business
The council also reappointed Raymond Smith to serve a three-year term on the St. Martin Economic Development Authority board.
The council discussed having the city attorney put together an ordinance prohibiting the blowing of grass clippings onto public streets, including having fines assessed for violations.
The ordinance would be based on the St. Martin Parish ordinance regarding the same issue.
The council agreed to declare several city vehicles as surplus and to sell them, Those vehicles at the city barn are not in running condition and are not even worth selling for parts, the mayor said. Companies that buy such vehicles will bid on them and agree to remove them.
The mayor reminded the council of the Music at the Market event on Saturday from 6-9 p.m. featuring Sha Me Nu at the Evangeline Oak Park along Evangeline Boulevard.
Trunk or Treat is scheduled Saturday from 6-7:30 p.m. in front of City Hall.
St. Martinville Senior High’s Alumni Association is hosting a homecoming parade Sunday starting at 1 p.m. from the school to the old Fred’s. Immediately afterwards, the group is holding a fall festival at Magnolia Park from 2-6 p.m. with food and drinks for sale. All funds the alumni group raises from its events are given in scholarships to SMSH students.
The mayor also announced two new businesses in the city.
