Corps’ soil study request slows Franklin Canal reinforcement

Despite the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ call for a costly soil boring analysis on the Franklin Canal, work continues on reinforcing the structure to hold back hurricane storm surges, according to Franklin Mayor Raymond Harris.

The Corps wants a $160,000 soil boring study completed to determine whether sheet piling will be sturdy enough to hold back surges south of the Chatsworth Bridge.

“It’s a financial stumbling block,” Harris said of the study, “but the project is still ongoing.”

During Hurricane Ike, city officials learned just how vulnerable the canal is to rising tides from the Gulf of Mexico. The storm pushed water over the canal walls, flooding more than 1,000 homes in St. Mary Parish.

Shortly before the September 2008 storms, Harris and city officials erected a makeshift six-foot levee along the Franklin Canal in an attempt to provide residents east of Willow Street some protection. However, Ike’s seven-foot surge topped the levee and water poured into homes east of the canal.

Because a number of homeowners objected to having a levee built on their property, the makeshift barrier had several gaps, which later served in redirecting floodwaters west of the canal toward the Pecan Acres Subdivision.

With the help of the St. Mary Parish Levee District, the Franklin City Council is seeking a set of floodgates along the canal. Plans call for a swing barge to connect both sides of the Franklin Canal. The gates would be closed as storms approach.

Harris said a 12-foot sheet pile levee would also be erected from the canal northward to the Yokley levee.

With $640,000 in capital outlay funds already set aside and an additional $500,000 commitment from the state, Harris said the city has the money to begin work.

The $160,000 needed for the corps soil study will be drawn from existing funds. “We’re hoping future stimulus dollars will carry us farther,” Harris said.

The project is expected to be complete in two to three phases. The first phase is installing the sheet pilings, the mayor said.

“Trust me, whether this project is finished or not, if we see a storm in the Gulf, we’re going to drop sheet pilings immediately,” Harris said. “This project is a big undertaking, but we are committed. We have moved on and we’re not sitting on our hands. We’re going to protect our people.’

For Pecan Acres resident Andrea Strubb, whose home flooded after Hurricane Rita and again after Ike, the levee cannot come soon enough.

“Have any of your homes flooded?” she challenged the council. “With all the recent rain we’ve had, in addition to rising waters from up north, the canal is already high. And if there was a storm in the Gulf, I think we would see flooding right now.”

Councilman Joe Garrison replied, “Look, we don’t want that to happen back there any more than what you do. We’re not saying that you shouldn’t be concerned. We’re all concerned.”

Councilman Kenny Scelfo vowed, “Nobody is going to drop the ball this time.”

After the meeting, Strubb said, “Look, I don’t mean to be a pain. I just want them to get something done.”

In other business, the council approved a 3 percent across-the-board pay raise for all employees, despite Scelfo’s objection. The salary hike will cost the city $81,000 annually.

Despite a recent $20,000 decline in local sales tax receipts, Harris said the move would help stimulate Franklin’s economy. The city’s 100 staffers last received a pay bump in 2006.

Sales tax collections fell in February for the first time in a few years, Harris said.

“Up until this point, we have been blessed by a boom of sorts,” he said. “However, we’ve never counted any surplus into our budget preparations. In fact, the recent decrease actually put us right on target for our current budget calculations. Extra expenditures, however, including payroll, would result in us having to make big changes, which would include personnel.”

Scelfo had sought a 5 percent raise for all workers, accusing Harris of increasing some employees’ pay but not a number of others.

Harris rebuffed the charge, saying, “If we give 5 percent pay raises across the board, there is a good chance that we will not be able to sustain those salaries in the future, possibly resulting in having layoffs. A 3 percent raise is comfortable.”