Terrebonne health unit, libraries lagging behind times; upgrades planned

Though Terrebonne Parish counts itself among the progressive and growing areas of Louisiana, parts of its public infrastructure have not kept pace.

The parish’s public health unit and several of its branch public libraries need to be replaced or renovated, according to a pair of parish officials.

The Terrebonne Parish Health Unit, built in 1985, is outgrowing its 11,000-square-foot building next to the Synergy Bank branch on Polk Street off Tunnel Boulevard, said Al Russell, parish public health facility manager.

The health unit has been able to set aside $690,000 – a fund maintained by the parish – from its operational budget toward constructing a new facility. The unit funds its operational budget from a dedicated parish property tax millage.

To keep up with its growing population, Russell said Terrebonne requires a new health clinic that is at least 15,000 square feet. Architect Curtis Marcello estimates a new building would cost around $3.2 million to construct.

The clinic hopes to take in enough money from the operating budget to fund the new facility, but the money may have to come from another source.

“We’re not taking this thing much further until we have the money,” Russell said. “It would be a wasted effort.”

The new clinic would be built near the current location. Russell wants the health unit close to the heart of the parish’s population.

The facility mostly serves the needs of lower-income persons spread throughout Terrebonne Parish.

“Those services we provide need to be in a central location, along bus lines,” Russell said. “We need to consider public transportation.”

Russell has looked at a tract of land off Barataria Avenue in downtown Houma owned by a railroad, but the availability and the cost of the property are not known.

At a Terrebonne Parish Council budget meeting on Oct. 22, Council Chairman Alvin Tillman pointed out to Russell that the parish population is moving northward.

Russell said if the clinic is constructed further north, residents in the southern part of Terrebonne could be isolated.

“What about services in the southern part of the parish?” he said. “We want to serve the majority of our clients.”

The current health unit building would be converted into another use by the parish should another facility be built.

“But that’s pie in the sky because we have no definite plans to move,” Russell said.

He was also skeptical whether the new building’s 15,000 square feet would be sufficiently large.

“With the way Houma is growing, it would meet our needs presently, but what about the future?” he asked.

The Terrebonne Parish Health Unit is not a primary care facility. Residents with earaches will not be treated at the clinic, Russell said at the meeting.

The clinic charges $10 if the person needing treatment can afford the cost.

In contrast to the health unit, the Terrebonne Parish Main Library, adjacent to the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center, is state-of-the-art. The building, completed in 2003, was named Louisiana Library of the Year in 2004.

But the parish’s eight branch libraries, sprinkled throughout Terrebonne, are over 30 years old, on average.

“The main issue is renovation is needed at a number of the locations,” said Pam Lemoine, chair of the parish library board.

The voters of Terrebonne passed a quarter-cent sales tax in 1998 to fund construction of the main library. The board promised to renovate the branches with the revenue, said Library Director Mary LeBouef.

“The branches are not modernized,” she said. “They need more space for technology. We need to put more computers in the branches. Some of (them) only have two computers.”

The board recently finished renovating the East Branch in Houma (778 Grand Caillou Road), built in 1967. A new meeting room at the location is under construction.

“The meeting rooms at the main library are always used,” Lemoine said. “There was a decision by the board to add a meeting room for East Houma. The community did not have access to meeting rooms.”

While the East Branch has benefited from an upgrade, the other branches in the parish are vulnerable to flooding or need room for expansion.

The North Branch in Gray (4130 W. Park Ave.), built in 1976, requires bulkheads to keep the land from eroding. The building is located along Bayou Terrebonne.

The Grand Caillou Branch, built in 1985, has been unusable since the structure suffered flooding from Hurricane Rita. Lemoine said the renovations undertaken at the library following the flood had to be halted when the parish changed wind and flood construction codes.

A mobile library donated by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has been serving the community.

The Dularge Branch is housed in a former bank building given to the parish. When the building was donated, the library board was low on funds, Lemoine said.

The building is being renovated with volunteer labor. A bank vault in the middle of the structure is being moved.

The Chauvin Branch (5500 Louisiana Highway 56) was also flooded by Hurricane Rita. The library is currently housed in a rented building which has suffered flooding as well. A new site is needed, but the process “hasn’t gotten that far yet,” Lemoine said.

The Montegut (1135 Louisiana Highway 55), Bourg (4405 St. Andrew St.) and Gibson (6363 S. Bayou Black Drive) Branches are located on School Board property and are in flood zones.

All three structures need remodeling and room for expansion, Lemoine said.

Located on Polk Street, Terrebonne Parish’s public health unit is struggling to keep pace with the area’s needs. Approximately $690,000 has been set aside from the facility’s operational budget to build a new site. Officials are exploring options to make up the needed $2.5-million difference. * Photo courtesy of the TERREBONNE PARISH HEALTH UNIT