– The St. Martinville City Council gave permission at its Monday council meeting to city resident Joe Paris to form a non-profit Friends of Magnolia Park group to help raise funds for, beautify and otherwise promote the city park.
Paris said he has been involved with legislative bodies and city park groups since age 3. Paris said his father grew up near Galvez Park in Mobile, Alabama, and helped formed the Friends of Galvez Park group that supported the park.
Paris grew up largely in Crowley and has been a member of several “Friends of” park groups everywhere he’s lived, including time as a television reporter in New Orleans and Lafayette and as a student at LSU in Baton Rouge.
He moved to St. Martinville two months ago, he said, but was already familiar with “the third oldest city in Louisiana” because cousins lived here.
Paris said he began walking after moving to St. Martinville at his doctor’s instruction, including walking to and around Magnolia Park, which he’s fallen in love with.
Finding there was no Friends of the Park group, he decided to form one, and has received positive feedback from everyone he’s talked to about joining the group.
“And get this, we never want to come before you and ask for money,” he said. “We want to do the opposite of what most groups want to do. We want to come to you and give you money.”
He said that the park could be made into a venue for wedding photos or graduation photos, where a small area is set aside for that purpose and evolves into a place with the Teche in the background as a beautiful background, and charge a nominal fee.
He also met with a resident who suggested putting pétanque courts to be daughter next to her.
Parking
Alexander said people also requested no parking signs on both sides of the road because the road is narrow and parking there causes traffic issues.
Parish resident Andrew Babineaux, however, said that unlike the former Police Jury system where Police Jurors would vote for whatever the representative of that district wanted, the Parish Council members do not have to vote for what the district representative favors.
Babineaux said Alexander told him the parish council members would vote for the ordinance because it was Alexander’s district, and he wanted them to vote that way. Alexander denied having said that.
Babineaux also said that no parking signs wouldn’t prevent anyone from stopping and urinating anyway.
He further said that the reported case did not involve any indecent exposure.
“They told me he was clearly in between the door (and the car),” Babineaux said. “So how will no parking signs stop someone like myself, who has diabetes, and I don’t have a gall bladder anymore, when I’ve got to go, I’ve got to go. How will that stop that?”
Babineaux said that in the 25 years the subdivision has been there, the sheriff’s department has never been called because traffic was blocked because people were parked along the roadway. He suggested signs saying “do not block driveway” to prevent driveways being blocked by people parked beside the road.
“You have people down Orchard Park Road that have family gatherings,” he said. “So is it right to stop a whole community for one little incident that happened? I don’t feel it’s right.”
Babineaux said the parish might consider “children at play,” “drug free zone” or “handicapped resident” (if appropriate) signs before no parking signs.
Two residents from the street spoke in opposition as well. One said families frequently have functions that bring family and friends to their homes.
Patrice George said she’s lived in the neighborhood for 15 years and drew up a petition signed by everyone living along the road that she approached, opposing the no parking signs.
Alexander then asked if the issue could be tabled, but since the committee was only holding a public hearing for discussion. The council will vote on the ordinance at its Feb. 3 meeting, with the public again allowed to comment on the issue.
President’s Report
Delcambre addressed several ongoing projects and future projects in his report to the council, including the Consolidated Water District.
The consolidation project is getting closer to being ready to turn the entire process over to the consolidated water board’s control.
Among the final items to be finished before that is securing servitude right-ofway along the road to the new water well site that has been leased.
One family owns about half of the servitude rights and has agreed to terms with the parish for right of way use to lay pipes and electrical transmission lines to the water well site, but the remaining half is owned by a large number of heirs to the original owners, some of whom may not be easily found. Those who have been located have been notified of the right of way servitude issue and agreed to terms, but Delcambre said the easiest way to solve the remaining open issues — really the only way, according to Durio — is to expropriate them.
Delcambre stressed that expropriation in this case does not mean taking property from anyone, it means taking the right of way and servitude rights and paying the heirs a fair market value for that. No property is taken, only the right to bury the pipes and electrical service lines. Funds go into an account for any heirs that can be found and is paid to them if they are located, or held in the account if they cannot be located, Durio said.
