Patterson makes plans for the future, plans to fix streets

PATTERSON — Now that the city government has built a new water plant and is nearing completion of Morey Park improvements, Mayor Rodney Grogan has an idea for Patterson’s next big project.
Some of the Patterson people who came to Tuesday’s meeting were more worried about the condition of the streets near their homes.
Also Tuesday, the City Council voted to put three proposed City Charter amendments on the March 26 ballot (see related story).
Last month, the council awarded a contract for a pavilion at Morey Park, the last piece of park improvements that included new playground equipment and other amenities. The new water plant, designed to provide safe water with fewer chemicals than conventional plants, went into operation earlier this year, replacing a World War II-era plant.
Now Grogan hopes the city will turn its attention to land across the river behind City Hall.
On a motion by Councilman John Rentrop, the council authorized Grogan to talk with the landowner about the possible acquisition of 16 acres across the Atchafalaya from City Hall.
Grogan said development opportunities aren’t available in other directions, so the land across the river offers the most likely site.
In an email Wednesday, Grogan said roughly 46 acres in three separate but adjoining parcels are of interest to the city.
“We are primarily interested in the parcel with 33 acres situated directly across from city hall and Morey Park,” Grogan wrote.
“In our current application with [the U.S. Department of Agriculture] to expand our Water Treatment Facility and increase water sales, we have plans to bore under the Lower Atchafalaya with water and gas within the next year or two.
“Of the 33 acres we plan to make an offer to purchase 1/2 and ask the owner to enter into a contractual agreement for ‘right of first refusal.’
“We would purchase the remaining property at a later date or after the sale of first half.”
Possible plans include annexation, offering waterfront property and a marina.
Planning and Zoning Director William Gil talked at the meeting about the possibility of riverside residential development and of attracting boaters. He said the ability to refuel draws a crowd of boaters to Belle River on Saturdays and during the summer.
“Patterson is ripe for the picking ...,” Gil said. “Once you drop that water under the river, it’s on.”
The mayor said the development won’t happen overnight and pointed to Renwick Subdivision in Berwick.
“Renwick was a conversation in the Seventies,” Grogan said. “It’s a development now.”
But “God laid it upon my heart and gave me a vision,” Grogan said. “It’s time to talk about going across to the other side of the river.”
Street work
The council recently approved a $570,000 bond issue to pay for improvements on some of the city’s lesser-traveled streets, most with gravel surfaces.
The city government has developed a list of 24 such streets. But fixing them all would cost more than the money available from the bond issue. So Grogan has asked the council to choose which streets should be improved first.
Some of the residents who attended Tuesday’s meeting had ideas on that subject.
Cody Blanco lives on Jake Street, one of the streets on the list of 24. The list says the target is Jake from Lia Street to the city limits.
The street, with eight homes along its length, is listed as being surfaced with gravel. The holes are frequently patched, but the patching doesn’t last, Blanco said.
“When it rains, you don’t see where they’re at and it damages your car,” Blanco said.
The cold-patching obviously doesn’t work, Grogan said.
“We’ve overlaid enough streets that we should be on top of those potholes,” Grogan said.
The preliminary list of projects lists Jake Street as a low priority. Two other residents spoke about one of the two streets with a possi-ble “top” priority: Shady Grove from Red Cypress to the cul-de-sac, which has a priority listed as “moderate/top.”
Two residents spoke about Shady Grove, and their frustration showed.
Grant Guillory-Dohman said that since a fallen bridge was replaced with culverts several years ago, “it seemed that we deserved no more work as it had been said, ‘We just replaced your bridge.’ As if a favor had been done for us. The tax paying citizens of Shady Grove. ...
“In the 30-plus years that I’ve lived here, our roads have never actually been fixed,” he said.
When the city government is called to fix holes, “they put a little bit asphalt in the hole and expect that it will fix the problem. I was told last year that our road would be graded,” Guillory-Dohman said. “That still hasn’t been done.”
Drivers sometimes have to wait while one vehicle uses a single lane to avoid potholes, said resident Lea Oubre.
“It’s time to do something,” Oubre said. “I’m tired of hearing ‘next year.’”
The council is awaiting cost estimates for projects on the list before making a decision.
The list of proposed projects with their preliminary priorities:
Taft from Hickory to 11th, top; Eighth from Park to Taft, moderate; Ninth from Park to Taft, moderate; 10th from Park to Taft, moderate; 11th from Park to Taft, moderate.
Park from Carmen to U.S. 90, low; Tall Timbers from Luke to end, moderate; Fern from Tall Timbers to the cul-de-sac, moderate; Dangerfield from Plum to Hickory, low; Vaughn from Plum to Hickory, low; Willow from Taft to Martin Luther King, low/moderate; St. Mary from Gabriel to end, low; St. Lucy from Gabriel to end, low.
Sugarhouse from Joseph to Stable, low; Stable from Waveland to Kentwood Water, low; Joseph from Waveland to Sugar-house, low; Lucia from Leo to Mike, low; Progresso from Lia to Veterans, low.
Morrison from Live Oak to end, low; Roussell from Cherry to end, low; Laws from Main to end, low; Shady Grove from Red Cypress to the cul-de-sac, moderate/top; Jake from Lia to the city limits, low; Bridge from Main to bridge, low.