Berwick ready to begin work on street repairs

BERWICK – Those who drive the roads surrounding Berwick Elementary and Berwick library may soon be able to give their tires a break.
According to Reid Miller of Miller Engineers and Associates, who spoke at Berwick’s Town Council meeting Tuesday, funding for road repairs in that area appears to be coming through.
“We have a tentative notice to proceed to be issued sometime the first week of February. Everything is ready,” Miller said. “All of the paperwork has been approved from the state, and we are ready to do some work.”
This was welcome news for both the board members and the public in attendance.
“I know it seems like forever for this project to start, believe me, but it just doesn’t move very fast,” Mayor Duval Arthur said. “Government doesn’t move very fast, but just bear with us, at least we can see a light at the end of the tunnel,”
Berwick resident Scott Babin questioned the council which streets would be receiving the repairs with the grant money received for this project.
“Texas Street, Fourth Street, Fifth Street, Ehrlich, Kyle and Francis are the streets,” Arthur said. “We can’t fix any other roads than what is on that paper with this grant. There will be a map and a sign by the library that will show what we are going to do and how much money it will cost.”
“So it could be as early as February?” Babin questioned.
“If we issue notice to proceed the first week of February, the contractor gets 10 days to actually mobilize to the site, so you would see some work in that second or third week,” Miller answered.
Allen McElroy Jr., legal counsel for the town of Berwick added to the conversation by letting the public in attendance know “as a part of the legal requirements of the contracts, and I drive those roads everyday as everyone else does, we were prohibited from making any repairs in order to get the grant, so that is why the roads have been in the condition they are in now.”
The council also addressed an issue about political signs that was tabled at their April meeting called Ordinance No. 702. The council agreed to take the ordinance off the table and re-introduce it with revisions to political signs.
“The original motion said that no political signs can be placed more than 60 days prior to an election, no limit of amount of signs, but a size limit of 48 by 48 in residential neighborhoods, but it did not include along Highway 182, so I would like to reintroduce Ordinance No. 702 to include that signs can be larger than 48x48 along Highways 182,” Councilman Lud Henry said.
“Does this restrict Fairview Drive, where people have these huge lots, it is residential also?” said Councilman James Richard. “So even if they have a huge lot, they can’t put that in their yards?”
“That is correct,” Henry replied.
“But what if they want to?” Councilwoman Collen Askew asked. “What if they don’t care. What if I am that person that lives on that street and I say it’s fine to put a political sign in my yard, what difference does it make what size it is if it’s my yard?”
The council was at odds with the idea of more government restrictions, even though they agreed that there needs to be rules in place for how long political signs can be displayed.
“My ordinance is not meant to restrict a person’s personal choice,” Henry said. “It came about to coincide with the rest of the parish and what Morgan City has in their books. I like this ordinance, personally. At the last election we had so many signs involved at the same time, it was political pollution.”
The council decided to put this ordinance on the agenda for next month to allow for more discussion and to receive opinions on the issue from the public.