DRINK THE KOOL-AID!
February 9, 2018
LADY PATS IN CONTROL
February 9, 2018
There could be a gridlock on La. Hwy 1, stopping traffic inside the Lafourche Parish Council Chambers.
The fate of funding for a leadership academy that will shine the spotlight on Nicholls State University and the parish, a new building for the parish coroner, and membership dues to a planning group whose track record brings millions into the parish, all seem to rest in the hands of Parish President Jimmy Cantrelle, after all three items have been approved by the parish council.
Chairman Luci Sposito describes the matter as, “unfortunate, but this is the world we live in.”
Councilman Jerry Jones says, ”this parish will never progress as long as Cantrelle is the president.”
Cantrelle has yet to make a public decision on funding the La. Girls Leadership Academy, a new building for the Lafourche Parish Coroner’s Office, and paying the parish’s membership dues to South Central Planning and Development Commission.
And this was after Laura Badeaux, director of the academy, Coroner Dr. John King, and Kevin Bellanger, director of South Central Planning, each made presentations before the council, during their
Jan 23rd meeting.
Badeaux asked the council for $25,000 to help fund the 10th academy this summer, a five day event that begins on June 10th.
The council approved the money in their budget last fall. Cantrelle vetoed it. The council came back with an override to the veto.
The money is approved, and can’t be used for anything else, yet because of paper snafu inside the council clerk’s office, Sposito said fate of the money is at the will of Cantrelle.
During the council meeting Jan 23rd, Cantrelle told Badeaux, “I didn’t say I wasn’t going to give you the money. I said I would look at it, because of the budget.”
Badeaux asked when will he make some sort of decision, and he never answered.
On Sunday, during a phone interview, Badeaux, who is unsettled over the issue, said she is biding her time and waiting until the first council meeting in February, to see what Cantrelle will say.
“This isn’t some camp. This academy is educational empowerment for 50 girls from a cross this state, of which at least 10 percent are from this parish. The governor, corporate executives, celebrities attend to teach these girls skills and so much more,” she said.
Badeaux said she has listened to legal counsel, and will wait for the next meeting to see what Cantrelle has to say, before planning her next move.
“The money is there. The council is behind it. What’s the problem?” she asked.
Meanwhile, Dr. John King made a cry for help before the council, saying the present facilities for the corner are unusable.
“We’re in desperate need of a new building,” he said.
King described grappling with a lack of storage, rotten wood, mold and mildew scattered throughout the 1,700 sq. ft building as he and his staff try to work. He said they also deal with trying to keep the office’s freezers working.
Although he thanked Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre for his assistance in allowing prisoners to help him rehab the building so far, he explained that he has found another location, a building at the corner of Wilson Street and La. Hwy 1. The cost is roughly $190,000 but it needs additional renovations of roughly $70,000.
The building is 2,291-squarefeet in size, which he said will allow him to create a waiting room for grieving families, free of storage boxes and the like.
Sposito informed King that the council set aside a budget for the project.
Finance Director Carrel Hymell III, said the amount is $250,000, and the money is in the building and maintenance fund.
So Sposito said the matter is now in the hands of Cantrelle, who in turned questioned King about maintenance and work orders.
“I need your help with this new building, Mr. Cantrelle,” King said. “Now.”
Cantrelle also questioned King over the proposed building on Wilson Street, saying it was quite old as well.
“I’ll get with you,” he said to King.
But King also cited the location of the corner’s present facility being too close to Raceland Elementary School.
“No child should see us bringing a body to and from our building,” he said.
Perrillioux agreed, saying his own children had attended the school.
In another matter, Cantrelle seems to be baffled as to whether the parish should pay its annual dues to the South Central Planning and Development Commission.
South Central Planning performs a variety of services for its member governments, which include: long range planning; acting as a state and federal liaison including advocacy; preparation of economic development strategies and plans, land use plans, and capital improvement plans.
Sposito indicated the membership dues, $30,000, are a recurring item in the budget. She asked South Central Planning Director Kevin Belanger to appear Jan 23rd, to detail the work the commission has performed for Lafourche Parish.
Belanger’s report shows South Central Planning has assisted the parish and its citizens in obtaining funds into the millions for varying projects.
Some of those include $1.2 million in grant funds for the Lafourche Airport Access Road (which is ready for bid), to sidewalk rehabs in Chackbay, a $45,000 project.
Belanger said Cantrelle also serves as a member of the South Central Planning Board, because he is parish president.
“I understand that there is talk about not paying the dues and local match this fiscal year to the South Central Planning and Development Commission, for services and activities that go one in Lafourche Parish,” Belanger said before the council and Cantrelle.
“We are recognized by the United States Department of Commerce, through their Economic Development Administration to serve as their ears and eyes to this region.”
Belanger added that the commission employs nearly 100 people to which over 35 live in Lafourche Parish.
Cantrelle did not comment after Belanger’s presentation.
