St. Mary Sugar Co-op seeking bunkhouse for its workforce

Despite several objections and few details, the St. Mary Parish Council approved the first step for the St. Mary Sugar Co-op to locate bunkhouses on its property in Sorrell.

The council accepted a recommendation at last Wednesday’s council meeting from the parish Planning and Zoning Commission clearing the way for the bunkhouses to be erected.

St. Mary Chief Administrative Officer Henry “Bo” LaGrange said the next step will be a formal public hearing on the matter next month, followed by council consideration of an ordinance formally approving the request.

St. Mary Parish Councilman Craig Matthews, who represents the Sorrell area, was absent from the meeting on a work assignment.

However, two area residents, Rose Rubbins and Mary Charles, said Matthews has expressed opposition to the bunkhouse project.

Rubbins said the mill would create a noise nuisance for residents in the area and would destroy residential property.

“The steam from the sugar mill – it creates sap and soot, which leads to dirty, sloppy driveways for most of us. Our homes are stained with ash, sap, you name it,” she said.

The Sorrell resident also argued about pay inequities at the co-op.

“And then there’s the issue of fair pay. I’m sure they need workers because what experienced worker is going to stay and work for low pay and watch someone with hardly any experience get a $2 to $4 an hour raise,” Rubbins charged.

Charles, who also lives near the mill, told the council, “Our neighborhood needs to be in order before you vote on this. It’s a mess.”

David Thibodeaux, an assistant manager at the mill, said the mill only performs specific duties to ensure its operation.

He noted the mill generally rehires 42 percent of its workforce annually for grinding season. “We’re happy to hire anyone; we just have a huge turnover rate,” he said. “Workers don’t stay.”

St. Mary Councilman Charles “Butch” Middleton took issue with employment practices at the St. Mary Sugar Co-op. He said local residents deserved more consideration because they had to “put up with a lot” during grinding season. Middleton suggested the mill should be looking for “ways to hire them instead of not hiring them.”

“Maybe you don’t give local employees the best incentives in the world if they don’t stay,” Middleton said.

Thibodeaux said the mill has employees with 35 to 37 years tenure.

Over the last five years, the St. Mary Sugar Co-op has paid over $1.3 million in property taxes to the St. Mary Parish Council. Thibodeaux said the company will pay over $400,000 a year more in the coming years when current tax incentives expire.

“I don’t feel like we’re asking for something that someone else in our situation would not,” Thibodeaux said.

Despite objections from Middleton and Councilman Albert Foulcard, Thibodeaux said the company has no plans to hire security to police the area while the bunkhouses are occupied.

Thibodeaux explained there are people on site 24 hours during the sugar cane grinding season who can serve as security. “We only hire security during the off season,” Thibodeaux said.