Dragna seeks reversal of drainage district consolidation

Lee Dragna, who becomes Morgan City’s mayor next month, is challenging the Parish Council on an issue involving Dragna’s previous governmental post: the increasingly controversial consolidation of two east St. Mary drainage districts.
Dragna, appearing at Wednesday’s council meeting at the Parish Courthouse in Franklin, attacked the legality of April’s consolidation vote based on parliamentary procedure grounds. Dragna also said he’ll make an extensive public records request for cellphone records, text messages and documents, including those from parish employees and parish boards involved with projects worth at least $50,000.
On April 22, the Parish Council merged St. Mary Parish Gravity Drainage District No. 2 in the Morgan City area with Gravity Drainage District No. 6 in Amelia to form Gravity Drainage District 2A.
Advocates of consolidation, chief among them Parish President David Hanagriff, said the consolidation will save money by eliminating administrative duplication. The combined district will be stronger than either district is individually, Hanagriff said.
He insisted that tax money raised by the millage in Morgan City would be spent in Morgan City, and the same would be true for Amelia.
But the last point was met with skepticism from opponents.
“All the money will go into one pot,” Parish Council Chairman Dean Adams said at one point. “The money will be distributed according to how the board sees fit.
“One of the two districts will suffer.”
Dragna, who chaired the Gravity Drainage District No. 2 board until it was replaced by a council-appointed consolidated board, also spoke against the merger before the April 22 vote.
On Wednesday, Dragna said he believes the council acted contrary to law on that night in April.
Dragna noted that as he spoke to the council that night, Councilman Mark Duhon made a procedural move known as calling the question. Under Roberts Rules of Order, which the parish charter requires the council to follow, calling the question cuts off debate.
But the rules of order say calling the question requires a two-thirds vote. Dragna cited April 22 meeting minutes that say the vote to call the question passed only 6-5. Eight votes would be required for a two-thirds majority. Dragna also said it was improper for Duhon to call the question when Dragna had the floor.
Next, the council went on to approve the consolidation 8-3. The three no votes came from Morgan City representatives: James Bennett, Kristi Prejeant Rink and Adams. Two other members from Morgan City, Gwen Hidalgo and Patrick Hebert, voted for consolidation along with J Ina, Craig Mathews, Rodney Olander, Duhon, Scott Ramsey and Leslie “Les” Rulf.
“So I believe and the law says that you should reverse that vote on that consolidation …,” Dragna said Wednesday.
“If the Parish Council wants to reverse that vote, it’s up to you all. If you say ‘no, we’re not going to reverse that vote,’ then the facts that have come into play and probably judges will have to come into it, too.”
Dragna said he will also ask for cellphone records and text messages during meeting times and dates in 2020, apparently in connection with a state attorney general’s opinion that messages among members of a public body during a meeting may fall under public records laws. Dragna said he’ll ask for the same information for members of the drainage district No. 2, No. 6 and No. 2A boards.
And Dragna wants documents from the parish government, parish boards, parish employees and contractors related to projects worth at least $50,000.
“That stems from some conversations at the drainage district about how the parish does business, and it proved to be wrong,” Dragna said.
On Dec. 5, residents of the new District 2A voted by a nearly 2-to-1 margin against combining the property taxes from the two old districts into a single millage. Dragna painted that vote as a public repudiation of the consolidation, although Hanagriff had said the propositions failure wouldn’t reverse consolidation.
Now Dragna, his attorney, the parish government and maybe others will have to sort out to whom the records requests should be made.
Some employees have cellphones provided by the parish government, said Chief Administrative Officer Henry C. "Bo" LaGrange.
That could make the parish government the official custodian of the records.
But others, including parish council members and Hanagriff, don’t have parish phones. Those officials have parish government email addresses, LaGrange said.
Neither LaGrange nor legal adviser Eric Duplantis, who normally reviews public records requests, received a formal request from Dragna by mid-afternoon Thursday.
After Dragna spoke Wednesday, Hanagriff said he didn’t want to make a full reply because of the legal issues involved.
“I don’t necessarily agree with what you said tonight,” Hanagriff told Dragna.