Eric John (Easy E) Matherne
June 16, 2009June 18
June 18, 2009Dual bond measures totaling $7 million could fund much-needed upgrades to Morgan City’s drinking water and sewerage systems.
City officials are issuing $2 million in utility bonds to the state Department of Health and Hospitals and $5 million to Louisiana’s Department of Environmental Quality to fund the projects.
To pay back the money, Morgan City officials are counting on provisions for financing infrastructure projects included in President Barack Obama’s stimulus plan.
To fix Morgan City’s water woes, the city will first issue “Build America Bonds” to the state, Mayor Tim Matte explained. If the sale is approved, the federal government will pay 35 percent of the interest costs on the utility bond loan and forgive the parish council as much as $600,000 of the utility debt.
The city is being offered a 0.95 percent interest rate on the sewer bond debt, he said.
But competition for the money is stiff, and financing isn’t a given, the mayor said.
“We know we’re not the only applicants for this special type of stimulus financing,” Matte said. “I think there is like $120 million available and $900 million in applications, but we’re going to give this our best shot.”
With money from the utility bond sale, Matte said he would purchase a new water tower to replace Morgan City’s two smaller towers.
Funds from the sewer bond sale, on the other hand, would be used to upgrade wastewater collection systems, rehabilitate the master lift station and further analyze the sewer system for additional improvements.
Morgan City is also considering other infrastructure improvements, including reconstructing Martin Luther King Boulevard. The price tag for the roadwork ranges from $1.14 million to $1.17 million.
Matte said two plans are being considered, both of which would add a westbound left-turn lane onto Allison Street. An eastbound left-turn lane is included in the second option.
The city has set aside $1.15 million for the project, which is expected to take approximately 12 months to complete.
At last week’s city council meeting, the city’s tourism and recreation department announced plans to advertise the incorporation of Brownell Park into Lake End Park. Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Federal Emergency Management Agency set up a trailer park for displaced residents at Lake End Park. After the trailer park was closed, the land was donated to Morgan City.
Brownell Park covers 9.5 acres, and was given to Morgan City by Mrs. Claire Horatio Brownell, a member of one of Louisiana’s pioneer families, Matt said.
Home to a number of plants and trees common to the region, the park is best known for the 106-foot Carillon Tower, whose 61 bronze bells chime every 30 minutes.
According to the park’s Web site, Brownell envisioned the space to be a nondenominational setting where a person might retreat to commune with God. Because of her interest in musical bells, Brownell had the tower built to be the park’s focal point. The bells, which were cast in Holland, each represent five full octaves and weigh 18 to 4,730 pounds, the site states.
Verses from Psalm 23 of the Bible are also engraved on some of the bells.
