Parish Council completes call for charter revision election

FRANKLIN -- A series of proposed changes to the St. Mary Parish Charter appears likely to go to the voters June 27, although some Parish Council members had sought a different and less expensive election date.
The council on Wednesday passed a resolution calling for the election. The council passed an ordinance calling the election last month, but the resolution was required to seek state approval to put the measure on the ballot.
Members had hoped to find a way to move the election to a date other than June 27. Councilman Patrick Hebert of Berwick said Wednesday that picking the right date could be the difference between paying $80,000 for the election and $14,000.
The Secretary of State’s Office lists possible election dates of June 27, Nov. 3 and Dec. 12.
But state law and the ordinance itself require the measure to go before voters on the next available election date.
A year of work by an 11-member Charter Review Commission resulted in six major changes in the current parish governing document:
•The council would be reduced to eight members from 11 by eliminating the three at-large districts. The current charter limits the two council leadership positions to members elected from the at-large districts. All three at-large members are elected by voters parishwide.
•Compensation for the parish president and council members would be changed “to reflect current duties, with cost-of-living adjustments every four years.”
•Council members and the parish president would be limited to 1-1/2 consecutive terms.
•The chief administrative officer post would be eliminated, leaving the parish president as chief executive and administrative officer.
This provision and the potential pay raise move the parish closer to having a fulltime parish president, which advocates say is needed to make the parish competitive in endeavors such as economic development.
•Procedures for vacancies, meetings and publication of ordinances would be updated.
•Outdated, redundant or obsolete sections, including outdated ballot and district provisions, would be removed.
The council created a framework in which the revisions recommended by the commission would go before voters without being altered by the council.
The elimination of the three at-large districts seems likely to cause controversy. Councilwoman Dr. Kristi Prejeant Rink of Centerville expressed concern after the Jan. 28 meeting about the all-or-nothing nature of the proposition for voters who might like some proposals but not others. And in a social media post, Councilman Rodney Olander of Franklin also pointed to the potential for a six-figure salary for the parish president.
Also Wednesday:
•The council voted 10-0 to condemn the Plantation Inn property in Bayou Vista.
The hotel, damaged by fire nearly a decade ago, is “in a dilapidated and dangerous condition which endangers the public welfare. …”
The ordinance gives the owners 60 days to demolish buildings on the property and remove the debris.
Owners Anything You Want LLC and D Palm Hotel LLC, which acquired the property in 2024, asked for more time to make repairs.
The council had already rescinded one condemnation to provide that time. Hebert, a contractor, said Wednesday that the owners hadn’t sought permits for the needed work.
•The council passed an ordinance that limits comments by council members to the same five minutes that members of the public get when they come to the lectern during meetings.
•Councilman Dean Adams of Morgan City introduced an ordinance prohibiting the feeding of stray cats and dogs on residential property in unincorporated areas of the parish. The ordinance makes an exception for people who own the property on which they feed strays.
The ordinance is based on laws passed by the Berwick and Morgan City councils, Adams said.
The ordinance cites “a fruitful breeding ground for infectious disease, including rabies and distemper, and may otherwise bite or attack humans and domestic animals.”
Twenty days must elapse between the introduction of an ordinance and a passage vote. Adams’ ordinance could come up for a final vote as soon as March 11.