Franklin-If they give an endurance award to the St. Mary's Parish Committee meeting, then Wednesday's secretary Lisa Morgan will be the medal winner. For the record-literally-Morgan read the three or four line descriptions of 20 separate resolutions, each representing a project for which the parish government hopes to receive state capital expenditure funds. The committee passed all 20 proposed resolutions to seek funding under the state's 2022-23 Capital Expenditure Act. The deadline for submitting such requests is November 1. Two other funding requests, namely improving a road heavily used by sugarcane trucks and installing emergency generators for the central parish water district, have been temporarily postponed. Also on Wednesday, the committee passed a resolution to pay tribute to Donna Meyer, chairman of the Saint Mary’s Chamber of Commerce, and Sylvia Lockett, a member of the school board, both of whom died this month. The resident of Bayou Vista has a newly repaired curb in his house and he wants to know why this work takes so long.
The capital project country generates ideas for the project and accepts suggestions, which are prioritized and funded when funds are available. The projects that the council has applied for state capital funding include:-Construction of a welding training school in the Charenton Canal Industrial Park. -Emergency power supply improvements in the parish court. — Expansion and improvement of St. Mary's Law Enforcement Center in Centerville. -The new fire station in the 11th fire zone in the Four Corners area. — A walking bike path from Teche Road to Venus Road in Bayou Vista. — Roofing works, interior modernization and elevator code upgrades for the Fairview Treatment Center in Bayou Vista. — New stadium lights and other improvements at Kemper Williams Park. Jeanerette's Councillor Craig Mathews asked for one more project: the improvement of Guidry Road, which is between La. 182 and US 90, close to La. 318 and St. Mary Sugar Co-op. Matthews said that there are a large number of sugarcane trucks on unpaved roads — David Hanagriff, the parish chairperson, set this number at 70 per day — meaning "something has to be paid." Matthews said that in addition to complaining, there is a large pile of bagasse, which is rot and unpleasant waste produced during sugar processing. A pile of bagasse is stored on the land near Guidri Road. Matthews said he believes that cooperatives should share the responsibility for improvement. Hanagriff said the cooperative is cooperating with the plan to spray water on the road to reduce dust at least once a day, or even twice. The Chief Administrative Office Henry C. “Bo” LaGrange proposed to develop a cost estimate for Guidry Road pavement and put it in a resolution for consideration at the October 27 meeting. Another request came from Morgan City Councillor Kristi Prejeant Rink. She asked for $110,000 to buy a new emergency generator at the Water and Sewer District No. 3 water plant in downtown St. Mary. Link had hoped that the funding would come from the federal U.S. rescue bill funds received by the parish government from the federal government. Link said that, among other problems, the failure of the water plant will mean that prisoners cannot be held in the Parish Prison in Centerville because the sprinklers cannot operate. Hanagriff said that District 3 has its own funding of US$8 million. Rink said that most of the funds have been earmarked for other work, but Hanagriff and other council members stated that the request should wait until the parish develops a comprehensive plan to use federal COVID assistance funds. "I'm not saying that this is not needed," Matthews said. "I mean this is not the way to do it." Rink refused to withdraw her motion, which failed by a 6-5 vote. Members Gwendolyn Hidalgo, Matthews, J Ina, Rodney Olander, Scott Ramsey and Patrick Hebert voted against; James Bennett, Mark Duhon, Rink, Dean Adams and Leslie "Les" Rulf voted in favor.
Respect Hidalgo introduced the resolution to commemorate Meyer, who has been chairman of the Chamber of Commerce for 17 years. "She is a pack of explosives," Hidalgo said. "She can light up a room," Hanagriff said. "Very professional... somehow, she brought everyone together." Mathews introduced the resolution honoring Lockett, who served as a teacher and principal across the parish for nearly 30 years before being elected to the School Board in 2018. The resolution says Lockett “exemplified true leadership and servanthood in her family and community throughout her life, her friends, family and community will truly miss her.”
The curb appealed to Bayou Vista’s James Sharp for the first time a year ago to repair his damaged curb near Bayou Vista’s home. It was finally confirmed on Wednesday, and Sharp appeared before the parish committee that day and asked why the work took so long. He said he even indirectly accused him of breaking the curb. "I went through all the right channels," he said. Cao Lagrange said that the diocese government "lost the ball." Lagrange said that Sharp’s request became part of the parish’s public works staff’s list of such projects, and Sharp’s curb should have been at the top of the list. But on the day before the meeting, Lagrange found that Sharp's curb repair had not yet been completed. By the time the board of directors met on Wednesday, the work had been completed. After talking to the city council, Sharp said that he thought he finally took action because he posted his roadside photos on Facebook.
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