Patterson council says farewell to three members

The Patterson City Council on Tuesday said a fond farewell to three of its members during the last meeting before their replacements are sworn in.

Also Tuesday, Mayor Rodney Grogan talked about a state-federal aid program in terms that fell short of fondness.

The departing council members are Joe Russo III, current Mayor Pro Tem Travis Darnell and Dawn Rentrop.

At the Jan. 3 meeting, they’ll be replaced by R. Demale Bowden Jr., Mamie Soudelier Perry and Miranda Knott Weinbach. They will take office without the need to run because, when Darnell withdrew after qualifying, only five candidates remained for the five-member council in Patterson’s at-large system.

They’ll join incumbents Lee Condolle and Ray Dewey Sr. Mayor Grogan and Police Chief Garrett Grogan also qualified without opposition.

Russo, an agriculture science teacher, has served on the council for 20 years.

“When I took office,” Rodney Grogan said, “he said, ‘I’ll never do anything behind your back to hurt you.’ He kept his word.”

Russo thanked city officials and employees, as well as the voters “who trusted me to serve.”

“I want to thank you,” he told the mayor, “for the leadership and more importantly, for the friendship.”

Darnell, a social studies teacher, wasn’t present at Tuesday’s meeting. Grogan said Darnell has asked to serve on the Planning & Zoning Commission as a way to continue to contribute.

Darnell has served two four-year terms.

Russo and Darnell will serve as grand marshals in Patterson’s Christmas Parade at 2 p.m. Sunday,.

Rentrop was appointed fill the post left vacant when her husband, John C. Rentrop, died in March. Dawn Rentrop was already part of city government, working with the city’s Main Street program.

Grogan said that spouses of council members often share part of the burden, including Dawn Rentrop even before she became a council member.

“Dawn was always right there,” Grogan said.

Water and sewer

The program about which the mayor spoke in less than glowing terms Tuesday is the Louisiana Water Sector Program, designed to provide grants to local governments using money from the federal American Rescue Plan Act.

The $300 million in the Water Sector Program is dedicated to “repairs, improvements and consolidation of community water and sewer systems around the state,” according to the program’s online application portal.

Local governments apply for grants and are judged according to a point system based on need and other factors, including the ability to consolidate systems and the amount the grant recipient is willing to use as a match.

Patterson applied for two grants in the second round of Water Sector funding: $3 million for sewer rehabilitation and $4 million for improvements at the city’s water plant.

Patterson missed receiving the water plant grant by seven points, but fell much farther short on the sewer grant.

“This thing has now turned into a political game,” Grogan said. “It was not put there for us to compete among each other.”

The water plant, which has been allowed by state health officials to operate with one Actiflo clarifier unit, now requires another, and the cost is expected to be near $2 million.

The sizable point advantage awarded to consolidating systems is not available to Patterson, Grogan said.

The most recent applications were for the second round of Water Sector funding. Recipients were named last month.

In the first round during the summer, local recipients included Morgan City, $4.6 million; St. Mary Water and Sewer Commission No. 4, $6.6 million; and St. Mary Water and Sewer Commission No. 3, $2 million.