Levee board renames president

The Terrebonne Parish Levee and Conservation District Board of Commissioners selected Tony Alford to lead their efforts for an eighth-consecutive term.

‘I’ve got a real supportive board, and I hate to start something I don’t finish, Alford said following the board regular session last Tuesday.

Alford is credited with having made bold moves during the past eight years to secure financing for the Morganza-to-the-Gulf hurricane protection system that prompted construction through local and state funding when federal officials failed to respond in what the levee board considered a timely manner.

‘Some of the challenges we [still] face [include] getting our last $45 million, Alford said of what is needed to complete an inter-Morganza levee and floodgate system. ‘We were fortunate to come up with $10 million [promised by Gov. Bobby Jindal], but I think it is going to be important for us to continue to get additional funding.

Board members warn the levee system is still not complete and residents should continue with preparations and precautions during hurricane season.

The board also issued two resolutions offering words of gratitude to St. Mary Parish and the St. Mary Levee District for their cooperation to help fight backwater flooding from the Atchafalaya River during May. ‘It was a consolidated effort, Alford said. ‘Everybody participated with the levee boards and the parishes. That’s the way it ought to be. Everybody working together.

Final costs for flood protection, which included sinking a 500-foot barge in the Bayou Chene and construction of a temporary protection structure, had not been determined, but Levee District Executive Director Reggie Dupre estimated the amount to be less than $5 million. ‘This needs to be federally reimbursed, Dupre said.

Among standard agenda items that included opening ongoing construction projects to bid and supporting mitigation, the board issued approval with no discussion or objections to the final amended budget for the 2010-11 fiscal year. That measure listed total revenue in all funds at more than $37 million and total expenditures at more than $33 million. The most significant change was the itemizing of all projects spending rather than listing expenditures as bulk measures.

‘We’re just getting started, Alford said. ‘I think everybody [on the board] has a feel for where [we] need to go. Let’s keep building. Let’s spend money wisely. Let’s put it in appropriate places where we are most at risk.