Claudet: People prompt Terrebonne’s progress

Terrebonne Parish President Michel Claudet said there are too many different projects in the works to point out a specific accomplishment during the past year. Progress in Terrebonne, he said, is reflective of public involvement. Roads and levees and quality of life venues such as a skate park and field of dreams sports complex are among the highlights.

Claudet will soon be entering his second, four-year term as the parish’s top executive. During his first stretch, the parish president’s administration was met with devastating hurricanes, floods, and the largest oil release ever in North America. An offshore drilling moratorium followed by lagging restoration of permits severely impacted jobs in the oil and related industries. Many fishermen and other residents are still waiting for compensation from the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, and with that a rift between locals and federal representatives continues to widen.

“Our shrimp industry has taken a hit, [and] our fishermen are really suffering.” Claudet said. “I did speak to [BP Gulf Coast Claims Facility Administrator] Ken Feinberg and he assured me that he is going to come out with positive things for shrimpers.”

Yet, Claudet insisted during a 30-minute conversation last week that the people of Terrebonne Parish have persevered through their adversity and will come out ahead.

“I think we have progressed a lot [during the past year],” he said. “Valhi extension just came out to bid. We have projects coming from all over. We just finished Westside Boulevard. We are hoping to do the Bayou Gardens extension embankment will be going out to bid at the first of the year. We had restoration projects. We had wastewater simulation projects. We have three pump stations being constructed and drainage improvements throughout the parish.”

Specific tasks completed during the past year include the opening of Phase 2 of the Westside Boulevard extension between Main Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard in Houma. This route will ultimately link to La. Highway 311 via the Equity Bridge, which was also dedicated during 2011.

Coastal and marshland restoration was addressed in Terrebonne Parish with the installation of 1,500 linear feet of floating islands along the newly reconstructed Isle de Jean Charles Island Road.

Claudet credits joint cooperation with public and private interests and leading to parish successes. Parks, sports fields and walking trails are expected to get off the drawing board and be completed during his second term.

The parish president noted removal of derelict vessels from main bayous, the demolition of blighted buildings and a concerted effort to eliminate debris and litter as making Terrebonne a cleaner parish during the past year.

“We have definitely worked to improve the pride people take in our parish,” Claudet said. “And I think that is quite evident.”

Claudet said Terrebonne Parish moved into the forefront of leadership and recognition during the past year. “Look at that [Acadian Odyssey] monument that just went up at the Waterlife Museum,” he said. “We are the first in the United States to get that monument.”

Louisiana’s Community Rating System lists Terrebonne Parish as the best in the state in terms of flood preparation with a rating of six, which includes the elevating of homes and levee construction. That and improved fire department services has prompted Property Insurance Association of Louisiana to offer a Class 2 designation to the Houma Fire Department. This grade lowers insurance premiums for business and homeowners.

“Our recreation department takes some hits once in a while,” Claudet said, “but we recreate more children [per year] than any other parish in Louisiana.”

While the remainder of the nation remains in an economic recession, including an unemployment level of more than 9 percent, Terrebonne Parish holds an unemployment level below 5 percent.

“We have a lot of positives in our area,” Claudet said. “In government you have the tortoise and the hare. The hare doesn’t always get there. I think the steady pace is what needs to be done. Then all of a sudden you start seeing all of the improvements for all the hard work.”

Expansion of the BP warehouse facility on La. Highway 311 and construction of a new Chevron facility on La. Highway 24 demonstrates for Claudet how Terrebonne Parish’s central location along coastal Louisiana is an economic plus for the area. “We provide quality of life and are easy access to the Gulf,” he said.

Tourism efforts continue to offer a benefit for the parish. “Saltwater fishing brings a lot of people,” Claudet said. “You can see that with the [$500,000] camps at Fisherman’s Retreat and around Cocodrie. We want to bring people to our area because when they come down they spend money.”

Claudet confirmed that his first term in many ways was a learning experience, but he insisted that is just part of life when it comes to stepping into any new role. “We are just thankful for the relationships we have been able to establish,” he said.

“We’ve had so many things [progress] this year,” Claudet said. “Infrastructure, homes elevated, cleaning of bayous, sewage improvements, economic development and quality of life.”

Public involvement has enhanced the development of Terrebonne Parish during the past year, according to the parish president. “I can see progress throughout the parish,” he said. “It kind of depends on what you are looking for. When I compare where we were and where we are today I think you just have to look around.”

Claudet credited parish residents for being the key element that makes any level of progress possible.

“Terrebonne means good earth, but [the parish] could have just as easily been named good people, [du bon monde],” he said.

Terrebonne Parish President Michel Claudet says several projects are in the process of completion or the early stages of development. Progress, he says, is seen when one looks back and realizes what is being accomplished. MIKE NIXON