Culverts installed on private property under fire

The Lafourche Parish Council rescinded an ordinance mandating the parish to install culverts on private property last Tuesday, arguing that any work on private land is outside the scope of the parish’s responsibilities.

District 4 Councilman Tommy Lasseigne said, however, the parish has an obligation to clean out ditches and install culverts, even if it is on private property. Improving drainage serves a public purpose, he argued.

“We are public servants,” Lasseigne said.

Parish President Charlotte Randolph reminded Lasseigne that last year the council passed a resolution asking her administration to discontinue performing work on private property unless it met certain criteria; the work must serve a public purpose and the cost must be proportionate to the benefit.

Currently, if a resident wants a culvert installed they must first obtain a $25 permit from the parish. The fee, some have argued, is too low. District Attorney Camile Morvant even delivered an opinion about the issue months back.

But now, the parish wants to abolish that service all together.

Lasseigne would rather see residents pay a reasonable rate than to have the service exterminated. The councilman quoted figures that he had previously received about labor costs at the meeting.

In response, Randolph said that Lasseigne had “cherry-picked” what he wanted out of those figures. “You didn’t include equipment costs or any other costs,” she said.

“How are we going to charge people for the truck that they have already paid for with their taxes,” Lasseigne countered.

However, Randolph said that the equipment and time it takes to install culverts needs to be used in other ways. “We would prefer attending to levees and drainage more so than installing culverts,” she said.

District 5 Councilman Mark Atzenhoffer said, “I am growing weary of hearing that people aren’t going to clean out their own ditches. If someone doesn’t have enough pride in their yard or their property to clean out their own ditch then that’s their problem. An open ditch will flow more water than a city-installed culvert.”

District 6 Councilman Lindel Toups said that as far back he can remember the parish has been installing culverts. “I know the Department of Public Works said that we don’t have enough people,” he said. “So lets let the people who cut the grass now install culverts in the winter.”

Randolph said that because of current ordinances the parish only has 60 days to act on a request. “I am concerned that this will lead to developers asking us to put in culverts and we have no recourse to say no. It doesn’t matter who is asking,” she said, adding that the parish doesn’t want to be in the subdivision-developing business.

The ordinance to rescind existing ordinance No. 3847 passed 7-2 with District 7 Councilman Phillip Gouaux and Atzenhoffer voting nay.

In other business, the parish council again refused an ordinance to create the South Lafourche Beachfront Development District.

The purpose of this ordinance would be to give the land back to the people of the parish, Callais said. Had the measure been approved, the council would have had to create a board to oversee the district.

Before the ordinance came to vote. Callais added an amendment that the Beachfront Development District could not charge tolls for the beach or for access to the fishing peer. However, the measure failed by a 4-5 vote. District 9 Councilman Daniel Lorraine, Callais, Lasseigne and Atzenhoffer voted in favor of the ordinance.

In other business, the parish council took the following action:

A proposed ordinance establishing a 15 mph speed limit on Nelson Street, Ward 7-District 6 of Lafourche Parish, passed unanimously. This would authorize the installation of “Speed Limit” signs and provide penalties for violators.

A similar proposed ordinance was passed unanimously for Wolf Street in the same ward and district.

An ordinance approving a servitude agreement between Chad Jarreau and the Lafourche Parish Council passed unanimously.

An ordinance approving a letter of No Objection for road work near Acadian Gas Pipeline System passed unanimously.

An ordinance providing for a supplemental appropriation covering projected increases and decreases for the Lafourche Parish 2006 Operation and Maintenace Budget and Capital Outlay Budget passed unanimously.

A resolution requesting the Attorney General to authorize Lafourche Parish to hire an attorney and/or their law firm when necessary to perform any and all legal defense services for parish government at the rate of $125 per hour passed unanimously.

A resolution to purchase a high caliber color-copier passed unanimously.

A resolution approving an agreement of services between Lafourche Parish and Ronald J. Boudreaux, P.E., Inc., to purchase and install a chiller at the Courthouse Annex in Thibodaux passed unanimously.

A resolution in support of possible rail lines in Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes and to request the Federal delegation to assist in a feasibility study for those lines passed unanimously.