Morgan City Mayor Lee Dragna gives a Positive Image certificate to Lisa Levy, whose Gotta Dance Studio recently began its 41st year. Dragna praised Levy for continuing to teach through good economic times and bad. Also shown, from left, are Councilmen Lou Tamporello, Steve Domangue, Ron Bias and Mark Stephens.
The Review/Bill Decker
Members of the Port of Morgan City staff receive a Positive Image certificate from Councilman Lou Tamporello at Tuesday's meeting. The port recently hosted a conference on the Atchafalaya and Red rivers and conducted a ribbon-cutting to mark the opening of the port's channel. Shown in front from left are Tori Henry and Raymond "Mac" Wade of the port, Tamporello, Cindy Cutrera and Shelley Morrell of the port, and Deborah Garber, who is the city's finance director as well as a member of the port board. In the back row are Councilmen Steve Domangue, Ron Bias and Mark Stephens and Mayor Lee Dragna.
Mayor: Citywide blackout will start two hours later, with extra workers called in
The Morgan City government has moved back the time a citywide blackout will begin to accommodate repairs on an important electrical line.
The blackout, originally scheduled for 10 p.m. Thursday, has been pushed back two hours to midnight.
Mayor Lee Dragna repeated the announcement, which had been made Monday, at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. Also Tuesday, the council approved the cooperative endeavor agreement by which the city government will take possession of the M.D. Shannon Elementary property; found some money for new playground equipment at two parks; and made a minor change in the hours bars are allowed to stay open.
The blackout is being called to allow repairs on the main line that brings Cleco power into Morgan City. Falling trees during a March storm damaged the small line that provides lightning protection on a 125-foot pole.
Friday’s blackout will allow a contractor to make repairs, which Dragna said are important during storm and hurricane season.
The work was originally expected to take four to five hours at most. Dragna said that to minimize the inconvenience, the contractor agreed to bring in more workers, reducing the repair time to three to four hours.
Councilman Lou Tamporello said he hopes the citywide outage will start at the advertised time. He noted that a more limited blackout in the Wyandotte area earlier in the week had begun an hour before the time the city had announced.
Dragna said that during the Wyandotte repairs, a pole failed, leading to the earlier-than-expected shut-down. If two major lines had touched, Dragna said, the blackout could have lasted for days rather than hours.
Also Tuesday:
—The council passed the ordinance approving the agreement by which the Shannon school property is being sold to the city by the St. Mary Parish School Board, and by which land on the site is being given to the Morgan City Development District to be turned into 16 residential lots that will be sold to the public.
The city government will pay the School Board $100,000 over three years in monthly installments.
The School Board wanted to be rid of the insurance and upkeep costs for the long-closed Shannon building, which was once Morgan City High School. The city will take control of the building and use its gym for youth sports in addition to providing housing on the city block occupied by the school.
—The council reallocated $40,000 to buy improved playground equipment at Hamm’s Park and Willie Evans Park.
The money was originally donated by the H&B Young Foundation for work on the restrooms at the Sports Complex. Dragna said the foundation has agreed to the reallocation to the two parks.
—The council passed an ordinance that brings rules for bar closures in line with the parish rules.
Before the new ordinance passed, the time to stop serving alcohol and to have customers off the premises was 2 a.m. in Morgan City. Under the new ordinance, last call will still be at 2 a.m., but the bars get until 2:30 a.m. to send customers on their way.
—Dragna recommended hiring the South Central Planning and Development Commission to redraw council districts based on the 2020 Census. The cost would be $15,000.
The School Board and other parish governmental entities with upcoming elections this year have had to move more quickly. But Morgan City has more time because the next elections will be in 2024.