SLLD to appropriate between 90-210 feet of Lafourche land

Tuesday, May 25
May 25, 2010
Thursday, May 27
May 27, 2010
Tuesday, May 25
May 25, 2010
Thursday, May 27
May 27, 2010

The South Lafourche Levee District will hold the final of three preliminary meetings tonight at 6:30 p.m. at the LaSalette Center in Golden Meadow to inform residents about its plans to appropriate land in order to heighten levees on the west side.


The amount of land appropriated will vary from 210 to 90 feet depending on the type and amount of soil needed and will span from Oakridge Park in Golden Meadow to approximately W. 68th Street in Cut Off.

Residents living in these areas will be offered fair market value for their land, and the levees will be raised to 16 feet in Golden Meadow, tapering down to 13 feet in Cut Off.


Residents may also donate their land if they choose to.


“We see all the storms pushing 14 feet to 12 feet of water lately, and we figured we could reduce the chance of flooding by raising the levee as high as we could afford to,” said South Lafourche Levee Board General Manager Windell Curole. “By looking at the costs and how expensive it is, we figure another three feet would give us a lot of protection, and we think it’s in the range of affordability.”

However, engineers have told the board that for higher levees to remain stable, they must be built wider. Unfortunately, most of the borrow canal material in this area has been exhausted, according to Curole, making appropriation necessary.


“It would be too expensive to truck in dirt from somewhere else to raise the entire levee,” he said. “The board decided appropriating land from each respective landowner next to the levee would be most cost beneficial to us.”


By law, the levee board must appoint two appraisers – one of whom, Bill Pousson of Tarpon Appraisal Service, estimates a one-acre land appropriation along the levee would pay between $800 and $2,000.

“I have to be fair to not only the affected landowners, but to the citizens of this parish,” he said. “Remember, all of these payments are coming from the pockets of the tax payers.”


Because the value of land decreases the further away it is from a highway, Pousson said land near the levee where the appropriations will take place is worth far less than the portion located near the road.

Affected landowners like Galliano’s Richard Racki, who is slated to lose 210 feet of land, believes it is unfair the land that he will lose is deemed least valuable.

“They’re putting a burden on the people living along the back road, and if we don’t give up our land for practically nothing, it’s like we’re the bad guy,” said Racki. “I’d rather they set a bigger sales tax so it comes from everybody.”

But Curole said these residents own riparian property, making appropriation legal and well within the board’s rights – a fact that worries some landowners not only now but in the future as well.

“So, when is it going to stop if they could come back in two years and take even more of my land?” asked Golden Meadow landowner Noles “Butch” Chouest. “I wish they would just take what they want now so I don’t have to worry about this anymore.”

But in order to make the process fairer to the landowners, Curole said optimum land for the project will be appraised at a higher price.

“My goal is to make sure that like property gets valued the same way,” he said. “If it’s pasture, everybody will get the same thing. If it’s improved pasture or if it’s a little better property, I want to make sure you get a little bit better money. Everybody in that same class will get the same per acre price.”

Since land south of Oakridge Park is closer to La., Highway 3235, Curole said it is more cost-efficient to truck in dirt rather than pay the higher appropriation fee to these landowners.

Curole said official meetings will be held at a later date to further explain the appropriation process to the residents.

He hopes to begin sending out letters to all affected landowners within two weeks explaining the process and listing future meetings.