Mayor demands hike in fees for housing prisoners

FRANKLIN — Morgan City Mayor Lee Dragna is insisting on an increase in the fees St. Mary Parish government pays the city for housing parish inmates.
And if the city doesn’t get the increase it’s looking for, it will begin charging the even higher rate other cities pay Morgan City to house prisoners, according to a letter delivered by Dragna on Wednesday to the St. Mary Parish Council.
Also Wednesday, the Parish Council OK’d the construction of a new cellphone tower in the western parish, half a mile from an existing tower; declared Oct. 3-9 to be National 4-H Week in St. Mary; heard report about Port of Morgan City operations; and heard about plans for a National Night Out event in Franklin on Oct. 5.
Prisoners
The parish government pays four St. Mary municipalities to house parish inmates at a rate of $14 per prisoner per day. Those fees amounted to $278,000 in 2020, of which Morgan City received $163,000 because its jail is best suited for housing female prisoners.
But Dragna has told the Parish Council that the city government is losing money at $14, and he asked in August for what he said is a break-even rate of $19. Parish President David Hanagriff countered by offering a $2 increase and a promise to look for more money for housing inmates during ongoing budget deliberations.
At the Sept. 8 council meeting, Dragna renewed his request. And on a motion from Councilman James Bennett of Morgan City, the council voted to table a budget amendment for a month. The amendment contained operating expenses and a 5% raise for parish employees.
Then, on Wednesday, Dragna returned with a letter to the council saying that the cost of housing prisoners is going up. The letter asks for the $14 rate. And if Morgan City doesn’t get the increase within 30 days, the mayor said, Morgan City will begin charging the parish the $22 rate it gets from other local governments.
That drew an objection from Hanagriff.
“I don’t appreciate you coming up here with ultimatums,” Hanagriff said.
Dragna replied that his letter gives the parish more time than the city is required to give.
Later, during the parish president’s report, Hanagriff began to link Bennett’s budget amendment motion Sept. 8 to the attempt to get Morgan City the raise in inmate housing fees.
Chairman Dean Adams gaveled that statement to a stop.
“I don’t want to hear about that tonight,” Adams said.
But Hanagriff continued to say that the budget amendment is “money we need to run parish government.”
The parish government seems to lack good alternatives to using Morgan City. Members have talked about restoring the jail on the top floor of the courthouse, which hasn’t been used since the St. Mary Law Enforcement Center was opened in Centerville. The courthouse jail would require work and inspections at a cost that hasn’t been determined yet, Chief Administrative Office Henry C. “Bo” LaGrange has said.
On Wednesday, Adams said his check indicates the closest site available for housing parish prisoners would be Pineville at a rate of $26 per day.
Tower
The council approved a Planning & Zoning Commission recommendation to allow construction of a cellphone tower at the Port of West St. Mary by Tillman Infrastructure.
SBA Structures, owner of an existing cell tower 0.544 miles from the proposed tower site, objected, citing duplication of services and parish land use guidelines.
Councilmen Adams and Patrick Hebert of Morgan City supported construction of the new tower on free enterprise grounds. Council Rodney Olander of Franklin said Hurricane Ida showed that cell service is vulnerable and that redundancy might help keep cell service in operation.
Port
Port of Morgan City Executive Director Raymond “Mac” Wade told the council that by November, four dredges will be in operation along the port’s main channel.
The dredges are working under U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contracts to restore the channel’s authorized dimensions of 20 feet deep and 400 feet wide.
That would open the port to large vessels with a positive impact on the local economy.
The dredging itself has economic benefits, Wade said.
Working on contracts that can reach $20 million or more, the dredges operate with 30- to 40-member crews. Crew members eat, shop and stay in hotels here, Wade said.
“The dredging brings millions of dollars into the parish each year,” he said.
4-H
Students and adult leaders Adriana Drusini and Ashley Istre sought the National 4-H proclamation from the council.
Members of the organization talked to the council about the skills they’ve acquired in the 4-H Leaders Club. They got a round of applause from the council members in addition to the proclamation.
Night Out
Alfreida Edwards and Florence Beverly told the council about plans for the Oct. 5 Night Out event, designed to bring communities together with law enforcement authorities to raise awareness about crime prevention.
The event will include participation by the Franklin Police Department, the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office and other local agencies.
The event will be at the Franklin Recreation Center.
Appointments
The council approved the appointments Wednesday.
Tim Mathews was appointed to the St. Mary Parish Consolidated Gravity Drainage District 2 and 2A boards serving the Morgan City and Amelia areas.
Angelena Swords Brocato was appointed to fill a vacancy on the St. Mary Hospital Service District 2 board, which owns the Morgan City hospital operated by Ochsner Health System.