Berwick council moves to buy firetruck, secure flood insurance

BERWICK — People have good days and bad days, even if they’re town council members.
Tuesday was a good night for the Berwick Town Council.
The council had a chance to congratulate three outstanding students, do the paperwork that will allow the town to get a new — although gently used — firetruck, and take steps to secure flood insurance for Berwick homes and businesses. And they did it all without so much as a citizen complaint or a dissenting vote.
The students are Kate Marie Williams of Berwick Elementary, Anna Leleux of Berwick Junior High and Nicholas Levergne of Berwick High. They received certificates and glowing introductions from council members for being the St. Mary Students of the Year.
Levergne is among the students being considered for state Student of the Year.
Superintendent Leonard Armato told the council that having three parish Students of the Year from the same town hasn’t happened before.
The council also unanimously agreed to buy a used 2004 firetruck from the Patterson Volunteer Fire Department for $130,000.
Both sides of this deal appear to be winners. Berwick gets what officials say is a well-maintained 2004 truck that was seldom used and has a bigger capacity than the firetruck it will replace.
Patterson, meanwhile, will put the money toward a new firetruck for its busy department. Patterson Fire Chief Scott Domingue told The Daily Review earlier this month that his department handled about 200 calls in 2016.
Also Tuesday, the council unanimously voted to accept federal flood control guidelines, meeting an April 19 deadline. The move was needed to ensure that Berwick homes and businesses are eligible for the National Flood Insurance Program.
The new ordinance accepts the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s latest Flood Insurance Rate Map for St. Mary Parish that will take effect April 19.
The council also heard a short presentation from Tammy Rogers of Chez Hope, the Franklin-based domestic abuse shelter, about the April 1 Trivia Night fundraiser at the Patterson Civic Center.
The funds raised are especially important this year, Rogers said. The SNAP domestic abuse operation in Iberia Parish recently ceased operations. Chez Hope has stepped in to serve clients in Iberia and St. Martin parishes.
Rogers said she gets the job of telling people about Chez Hope. But the real work is done by the people who work with victims of domestic abuse and their children.
“Our advocates deal with survivors on a daily basis,” Rogers said. “That’s the tough job.”