Morgan City Council dives in, OKs pool construction bid

The Morgan City Council on Tuesday voted to put about $4 million to work for business and fun.
The fun part is the proposed swimming pool near the city tennis courts. The business is an upgrade to the city’s natural gas distribution system.
The council accepted bids for work on both projects at the regular fourth-Tuesday meeting.
The council approved the pool construction bid of $1,367,000 from GW Oliver Aquatics of Baton Rouge. The other bid was for $1,585,000 by Verius Property Group. The engineer’s estimate was for $1,148,000.
The city will use donated funds to build the pool.
GW Oliver will build the pool on a vacant piece of land next to the current tennis court pro shop, which is being remodeled to include a small changing room.
The pool will be open to the general public but will also be big enough to handle swimming competitions. The long portion of the L-shaped pool will be 25 yards long and wide enough for eight lanes in its longest dimension. The smaller leg of the L will be shallower and have water features.
There’s a business angle here, too. Mayor Lee Dragna has talked about combining the pool, the tennis courts and a nearby ball field into a sports complex that could draw tournaments and boost weekend hotel occupancy.
Work on the pool is to begin next month with a 120-day timeline that could mean the pool would be complete in August.
The natural gas system upgrade includes replacing PVC transmission lines with polyethylene pipe, which is more flexible and better able to withstand pressure than rigid PVC lines.
The council approved the bid from Norris & Boudreaux Contractors LLC of Schriever. That company submitted a base bid of $2,600,135.97 with an alternate bid of $1,000,952.04. The engineering estimate was for about $5.4 million for the base and alternate.
Phases 1 and 2 of the project will perform work in the Elliot, Marquis Manor and David Drive areas.
The work is being funded by a $6.9 million federal grant awarded in 2023. That could be enough to work on the third phase in the Lakeside area.
Also Tuesday:
•The council introduced an ordinance setting city property tax rates for 2026. The rates would remain unchanged at 16.07 mills for general purposes and 2 mills for Municipal Auditorium.
Together, the taxes would cost the owner of a $100,000 home $180.70 per year, and the owner of a $200,000 home $361.40.
Louisiana’s homestead exemption does not apply to city taxes.
If the tax ordinance follows the normal course, it would come up for a public hearing and passage vote at the April 28 meeting.
•The council passed an amended ordinance limiting domestic poultry at a residence to 10.
“No Roosters, Cockerels, or Capons are allowed,” the ordinance says.
The ordinance sets penalties at a fine of $500 or up to 30 days imprisonment for a first offense, or both; $750 and up to 60 days for a second offense; and $1,000 and up to 90 days for a third offense.
Council members Thomas Hutchinson, Steve Domangue, Bonnie Leonard and Tim Hymel voted for the ordinance. The Rev. Ron Bias voted against it.
The ordinance already required domestic animals to be kept no less than 30 feet from the nearest home.
•Resident Barry Walker came to the council lectern to express concern about electric bicycles and scooters.
People, often below driving age, use e-bikes without following traffic rules and without helmets, he said.
Walker said he recently took one such driver to the hospital after a collision with his vehicle at Egle and Federal.
“Something needs to be done as far as helmets,” Walker said.
Dragna wondered aloud how the city would be able to enforce traffic rules when the drivers are too young to have driver’s licenses.
But a consensus formed around education for the parents as well as the young speedsters themselves.
On Wednesday morning, the Morgan City Police Department took a first step with a Facebook item about e-bikes, safety and how traffic rules apply to the e-bikes.