Levron named T’bonne Parish manager

The appointment of Al Levron, capital projects administrator with the Parish Department of Public Works, as Terrebonne’s new parish manager was approved by the Terrebonne Parish Council at its regular meeting last week.

Parish Planning Director Pat Gordon had held the position for more than a year as an interim appointment.

Terrebonne President Michel Claudet had named Natalie Robottom as parish manager shortly after he took office in January 2008, but Robottom soon resigned to take a state job.

Levron was parish manager from 2000 to 2004 also. He served as Public Works director under Parish President Don Schwab, Claudet’s immediate predecessor, and from 1992 to 2000.

Councilman Clayton Voisin voiced support for Levron’s appointment.

Claudet and Councilman Johnny Pizzolatto said Gordon had done an excellent job as parish manager, but Claudet said Gordon was needed in the Planning and Zoning Department to manage the more than $100 million in federal Community Development Block Grant funds the parish will soon receive for recovery from hurricanes Gustav and Ike.

Levron called himself a technocrat who is strong at executing the completion of needed projects.

Also at last week’s meeting, the parish council adopted a single ordinance creating a new grant writer position in parish government and another assistant planning director position.

Claudet and several parish council members said another grant writer is needed to try to secure more federal dollars for Terrebonne. The parish had a single grant writer, Dale Nored.

“I hope the two of them will allow us to go after federal funds,” said Councilwoman Arlanda Williams.

“It would be great for the parish,” said Councilman Johnny Pizzolatto. “There’s a lot of money out there to get. When I go to meetings, they say there is tons of money available.”

Parish Housing and Human Services Director Darrel Waire told the council a second grant writer was needed to help secure money from the federal stimulus bill.

He added that the parish should not fund the new position if more grant money is not received.

Most of the grant applications are written for the Housing and Human Services Department, Waire said, but the grant writer completes applications for other departments. The work is excessive, he said.

Councilwoman Teri Cavalier was the only member voting against the ordinance.

When the ordinance creating the positions was introduced at a committee meeting in May, Cavalier voted against sending the measure to the full council. She said the assistant planning director position was needed, but not the second grant writer.

The council will review a list of grant applications submitted by Waire’s department. Many of the applications did not receive a proper response, according to council members.

At the opening of last week’s meeting, Pizzolatto and councilmen Billy Hebert and Clayton Voisin each publicly donated $100 bills to start a fund to aid former Bayou Cane Fire Department Chief Jerry Gautreaux, who has cancer.

Parish resident Sybil Guidry made an appeal to the council because Gautreaux’s benefits from his service with the fire department do not cover his treatment costs, according to the state attorney general’s recent ruling.