Bruce J. Hebert
December 11, 2006
Houma man leads police on chase
December 13, 2006
What Terrebonne Parish administrators considered a “lead project” in levee restoration was “dumped on the laps of the parish” by the Terrebonne Levee Conservation District, according to parish administrators.
Parish Administrator Barry Blackwell said the Terrebonne Levee Conservation District discontinued the Ward 7 Levee Project during its Dec. 4 meeting. Blackwell brought the news to the parish council’s attention during last Wednesday’s regular council meeting.
Administrators reviewed the recordings of the levee district meeting that afternoon after hearing third-hand rumors and made a call to the executive director of the TLCD, Jerome Zeringue, who confirmed that the district would no longer sustain the project.
“From the sound of the tape, they didn’t want to be held accountable for the project and claimed the project was not appropriately funded,” said Blackwell. “The Ward 7 Levee has been the No. 1 priority of the parish, and we will do everything in our power to get this completed.”
Ward 7 was one of five co-operative projects between the parish government and the levee district. The government made a $5.7 million match for project funding during a Levee Priority Advisory Committee meeting last December.
“We had recently just [put up] $1.2 million to in fact fully fund the project,” said Blackwell.
Zeringue said the levee board received no financial commitment from the parish government, nor had there been any word about an additional $1.2 million.
The project was broken into two sections, an upper and lower ward, because of the cost of the project. Since the funding was already in place, Blackwell speculated that the extra cost of mitigation was the reason behind the district’s decision.
The levee district has a $2 million yearly budget and Zeringue said the additional expense of mitigation and obtaining right of ways became too expensive.
“If the sales tax would have passed we would have been capable to support 80 percent of the parish projects, but since it didn’t we have to focus on where our main concerns lie, and that’s hurricane protection,” he said.
In dire need of repairs for the residents around the Montegut area, levee district analysis in 2005 documented 36 incidents of major breaching in addition to water overtopping.
The blueprint for upgrades included repairing 3,100 feet of the Ward 7 Levee at the minimum, which stretches 31,000 feet from the bank of Bayou Petit Caillou at Boudreaux Canal north to the Lashbrook Pump Station.
“They are focused on Morganza-to-the-Gulf, which is our ultimate salvation. In the meantime (while waiting on federal funding) we could take care of many things in cooperation. Interim levees and flood control are critical and even more critical [without Morganza],” said Blackwell.
“Their budget is four times ours with the quarter-cent sales tax and sewer and drainage millages,” said Zeringue. “We helped move things along with planning, a bid is ready to be contracted and now the project needs to move forward, and you (the parish) ultimately have the money to finish it.”
Council members expressed concern with the levee district’s decision.
“This is unbelievable to me,” said Councilwoman Teri Chatagnier Cavalier of District 4.
According to Cavalier, two members on the levee district are council-appointed and receive some direction from council members.
“We give them money and they decided to do what they want with it. I listened to [the people’s] cries. You (the board) deserve to give us an explanation in front of this camera,” she said. “It is arbitrary to not want to be accountable… it’s chicken-blank when you act like that.”
District 6 Councilman Harold Lapeyre warned against pointing fingers and suggested to focus on “the central theme being the health, safety and wellness of the citizens.” With a viable contractor and a tabled bid, he suggested finding the funds and continuing with the project without the help of the levee district.
“We need parish funding, state funding and federal funding to do this,” said Lapeyre, seeing the Ward 7 Levee dilemma as another reason to readdress and resubmit the one-cent sales tax proposal.
Blackwell said that bids will be awarded sometime in the next two weeks, and that he will consult with the parish attorney on the statutes behind transferring the project. As for where the other 50 percent of funding is going to come from, Blackwell said that will be [decided] another day.
“This project is already 45 days late and now another two weeks more,” said Council Chairman Peter Rhodes, expressing concern that the continued delay will postpone completion and leave surrounding homes vulnerable during the 2007 hurricane season. “It’s sad because the ones that are hurting are people down the bayou. How many times are they going to be let down.”
“I don’t know why the parish brought this up that night,” said Zeringue. “The conversation was taken completely out of context and I don’t know exactly where their motivation lies. It is an obvious attempt to poke at the eyes of the levee district.”
Wanting to clear the air of any misconception, Zeringue and levee district members will compile a presentation for the next parish council meeting.
In Other Action:
The following is a rundown of action taken by the Terrebonne Parish Council at the Dec. 6 regular meeting. All council members were in attendance. All decisions were unanimous unless noted:
• Adopted the 2007 Operations and Maintenance Budget and the Five-Year Capital Improvements Budget of the Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government, presented by the parish president. Amendments were made to the budget by the council prior to its adoption.
• Filled one vacant position on the Terrebonne Parish Port Commission. The parish council appointed Ray Sick Sr. over two other nominees: Todd Lyons and Al Badeaux, Jr. Sick will serve, representing the Chamber of Commerce, until December of 2012.
• Held the appointment of one vacant position on the Terrebonne Economic Development Authority after the resignation of Steve Robichaux to receive nominations. The council will vote during the Dec. 20 regular council meeting.
• Introduced an ordinance to authorize the parish president to have authority to enter into an ‘Intergovernmental Right of Use Agreement’ with Houma City Court for the Arceneaux Courthouse. The 2006 Adopted Budget will be amended to recognize rental income and balancing transfers, which were projected in the calculation of the 2007 Proposed Budget.
• Introduce an ordinance to amend the 2006 Budget to provide funds for the Upper Ward 7 Levee Project.
Andrea Carlson can be reached at (985) 876-3008 or andrea@tri-parishtimes.com
