Grants, app, Census: Local officials report on progress

Economic development, a local history phone app, lots of water and drainage work and lots of grants were among the topics Wednesday, when St. Mary city and parish officials talked to St. Mary Chamber members at Petroleum Club of Morgan City luncheon.

The new chief is in Franklin, where the appointment of Cedric Handy was approved by the City Council on Tuesday. The history app, Explore Morgan City, provides video, text and voiceover information for 14 historic Morgan City sites.

One of those sites is Shannon Hardware, the employer of Chamber Administrative Assistant of the Month Mandy Price. The Community Concert Association of Morgan City was recognized for 75 years of providing high-class entertainment to the people of St Mary.

Speaking at the luncheon were:

—Morgan City Chief Administrative Officer Charlie Solar. The big item on Morgan City’s list is the April 6 announcement that the city will receive a $6.9 million grant from the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. The grant, which will go toward upgrading Morgan City’s natural gas distribution system, is one of only 47 such grants awarded in the country, Solar said.

Solar praised grant-writer Hannah Roy for her work.

He also made a pitch for the proposed half-cent city sales tax for police and firefighter pay and training, which appears on the April 29 ballot in Morgan City only.

The tax will bring pay up to the parish average, but not as high as the average across the larger region.

Morgan City firefighters answer 600 calls a year, and the department is training its staff to be emergency medical technicians and, in one case, a paramedic.
City police answer about 14,000 calls a year.

The tax “will cost you about 2 cents on a gallon of milk,” Solar said.

Early voting on the tax proposal continues through Saturday.

—Berwick Mayor Duval Arthur pointed to two new subdivisions where utilities have been installed.

There are plans to improve drainage at Country Club Estates. The snag there is that the town applied for and received a $1.5 million grant for subsurface work before COVID. The pandemic raised prices on construction material, he said, so all the bids came in higher than expected.

Berwick is seeking approval from the state to seek more bids.

Another state-funded project, a sidewalk program in the oldest part of Berwick, is about 95% complete, he said.

Arthur was again critical of the 2020 Census results, which town officials had hoped would push Berwick past the 5,000-resident threshold required to move from town to city. Instead, Census figures showed a decline in population over the previous decade from 4,960 to 4,771.

LSU and Louisiana Municipal Association surveys differ, putting Berwick’s population at more than 5,100. The association will soon classify Berwick as a city with 5,128 people, Arthur said.

He praised his Town Council members for bringing enthusiasm and ideas to their work.

“I could search the world for a better council and never find one,” Arthur said.

—Franklin Mayor Eugene Foulcard, who said his city government has torn down 60 blighted properties recently and has plans to demolish 30 more.

Franklin has received federal grant to replace air conditioning and the city’s recreation center. And work on the Northwest Boulevard entrance to the city, which Foulcard said is where most of the city’s development is expected to take place, continues, he said.

Franklin is also trying to boost police pay, the mayor said, through raises and signing bonuses.

And he praised the work of the eight St. Mary fire departments in fighting the blaze that destroyed Joe’s Lounge, housed in a building that once housed the business started by Foulcard’s grandparents, on Good Friday.

The work of the firefighters saved nearby structures, he said, a lesson in how St. Mary communities can come together.

—Patterson Human Resources Director Holden Murray said the city is working with the South Central Planning and Development Commission staff to revamp Patterson’s zoning ordinance.

State capital outlay funding is being used to pay for new water meters for residents south of the railroad tracks and gas meters for Bayou Vista residents served by Patterson’s natural gas system.

The city government is using an $800,000 Community Development Block Grant and the proceeds from a bond refinancing for a street improvement program.

Surveillance cameras have been installed at city facilities. Facilities, including parks, are being wired for internet access, Murray said.

The city was also able to give employees a 6% cost of living raise, he said.

—Baldwin Mayor Clarence Vappie, the newly elected mayor said he doesn’t have much to talk about yet, other than continuing work on water and sewer system projects.

But he could point to the recent ribbon-cutting for South Louisiana Community College’s welding and truck-driving training facility at the Port of West St. Mary

—St. Mary Parish Chief Administrative Officer Henry C. “Bo” LaGrange noted that Economic Development Director Evan Boudreaux has been reappointed. LaGrange relayed word from Parish President David Hanagriff about plans to launch initiatives to help existing businesses and industry overcome obstacles to expansion.

The parish is also planning an expanded marketing program in economic development.

Homeland Security Director David Naquin is stepping down, and will work with that department part-time, LaGrange said.

And LaGrange himself has announced that he will retire at the end of this month after 33 years in parish government, including 27 as CAO.

“Thank you, St. Mary Parish,” LaGrange said. “It has been a blessing to serve you.”