Parish Council puts off action on board member's removal

FRANKLIN — The St. Mary Parish Council on Wednesday put off discussion about removing a board member in the recreation district serving Bayou Vista, with some hope differences can be worked out.
Also Wednesday, the council found a way around legal obstacles to help pay for a summer program for children from homes affected by domestic violence.
The discussion about the possible removal of Lane Boudreaux from the Recreation District No. 3 board was placed on the agenda by Parish Councilman Scott Ramsey of Bayou Vista. Ramsey eventually moved to table that discussion after it became clear there was no consensus on the council.
Ramsey has been pushing for a walking trail in Bayou Vista.
“St. Mary Parish is dying,” Ramsey told the council, and needs activities that enhance the quality of life.
He said the commission, and targeted Boudreaux specifically, has moved slowly to accept a donation of 18 acres for the project. And Ramsey believes the commission has asked for a level of planning detail that is unreasonable at this point.
Funding of $200,000 has been identified, including a $100,000 grant from the Recreational Trails Program, Ramsey said.
“Yes, I wanted [the trail] but I didn’t want to shove it down anyone’s throat,” Ramsey said.
Commissioners John Trevino Sr. and Paul Tholen, the board’s current vice president, spoke to the council on Boudreaux’s behalf.
The board didn’t want to accept the donation without having a detailed plan in place, Tholen said.
“We make decisions for the people,” Tholen said. “We try to be good stewards.”
“If we can’t freely do what we think is best for the community,” Boudreaux told the council, “what’s the point in having a board?”
Ramsey also pointed to a case in which a district employee was accused of obtaining more than the authorized salary.
“The board had an obligation to alert the Parish Council …,” Ramsey said. “That was not done. That’s what upset me. …
“I ran for Parish Council [in 2019] and had no idea that was going on in the recreation district.”
The commissioners said they turned the matter over to auditors, the Sheriff’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office. The money was repaid and the board was advised not to press charges, the commissioners said.
Parish Councilman Craig Mathews of Jeanerette said he had doubts about taking action on the removal.
“I don’t want to be in the business of removing people from boards just because we disagree,” Mathews said. He said he’s done that, but only for legal reasons or philosophical disagreements.
“I’m not especially in favor of removing anyone,” said Councilman Rodney Olander of Franklin, “especially in mid-term.”
Summer
program
Mathews brought a request from Chez Hope, the region’s advocacy and domestic abuse shelter organization, for about $3,300 for its Summer Camp program. Mathews suggested using a 3/10ths cent sales tax levied in six wards and dedicated to purposes that include recreational facilities.
The legal advice from counselor Eric Duplantis was that the sales tax proceeds can’t legally be used to operate a program but must be used for a facility.
Chez Hope Director Cherrise Picard said the money could be used for badly needed electrical system repairs at the building that will serve as the program’s home.
The council unanimously approved the donation.
Picard said the number of women and children leaving homes where domestic violence happens often rises in the summer because the abused parent doesn’t have to worry about transferring kids from one school to another.