Thibodaux council finalizes budget

The Thibodaux City Council approved a hand full of measures last Tuesday that finalized several construction budgets, making the financial changes in order to be aligned with the upcoming year-end audit.

The first measure was to accept a change order from Paincourtville, La. based-Shelby Gaudet Contractor, decreasing the price of the public facility wind-retrofitting project by a cost of $5,341.

The company submitted a substantial completion order for the project as of Dec. 7. The total cost of the project was $162,937.

The wind-retrofitted project came under the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. The mayor said the city installed storm shutters to Peltier Park, Thibodaux Senior Citizen Center, the American Red Cross building and the Stark Complex as a precaution to the 2009 storm season.

A second motion was made to pay G&W Construction Co. of Houma an additional $44,556.71 to complete Phase II of the 2008-2009 Community Development Block Grant project.

Caillouet said the increase in price was for additional drainage work that was performed at Cardinal Drive and Bell Street. The total cost of the project was $268,299.31.

The council also approved a $4,400 change order to increase price of the Harang Auditorium Interior Renovation project. The latest renovations will install mechanical lift platform gates at the lower and upper level of the building, and two platform extensions for a full platform enclosure.

Thibodaux’s Randy Landry Construction is performing the work for the city. The Finance Department reports that the total cost of the project is $277,267.

Hurricanes Gustav and Ike inundated the auditorium, formerly known as the Thibodaux Civic Center, with water in 2008. City officials repaired the damages to the building at minimal cost.

However, a year later, Caillouet said the city council decided to renovate the interior of the building ,upgrading the facilities’ storage area, concession section and dressing rooms.

“We felt that we needed to utilize all the available space in the building,” he said.

In addition to finalizing what was spent during 2009, the mayor informed the council that Thibodaux is in a position to receive funds for road improvements through the Department of Transportation and Development as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

The council authorized the mayor to enter into a state-sponsored agreement with the DOTD.

Caillouet said the city is on tap to receive $960,000. He said the funds are administered through the Houma/Thibodaux Metropolitan Planning Organization, a subsidiary of the South Central Planning and Development Commission. For the proposed improvements to be eligible for the stimulus payment, each project has to be what the federal government calls “shovel ready” items.

The bulk of the money will be used to resurface the streets near Audubon Drive, Ridgefield Road, Tiger Drive on La. Highway 1 near Parish Road, Menard Street and the Tiger Drive Extension between La. Highway 3107 and La. Highway 3185.

Another portion of the funds will be utilized to construct the Acadia Road Pedestrian Walkway. The city wants to construct a 6-foot pedestrian path in the median of North and South Acadia Road.

Caillouet said construction of the pedestrian walkway wouldn’t start until 2010.