Public meeting Thursday on boat launch improvements, resilience lab proposal

St. Mary residents have a chance to learn about three projects proposed by parish government using funds received through the federal Restore Act.

The projects, which include improvements at two boat launches and a new resilience lab in Morgan City, will be the subject of an informational meeting at 5 p.m. Thursday at the Parish Council's meeting room on the fifth floor of the Courthouse in Franklin.

The plans would be financed with $876,000 from the the federal Restore Act trust fund.

The projects are:

--Improvements at the Fontenot Boat Launch, located where the west bank of the Atchafalaya River and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway intersect.

Phase I calls for a 40-by-80-foot steel frame pavilion and 10-by-20-foot steel frame fish-cleaning station.

Phase II would create a hard-surfaced access road across the Atchafalaya Basin levee.

Phase III would create a timber fishing pier.

The plan is to make the launch more accessible to RV users.

--Quintana Boat Launch improvements. The launch is north of Cypremort Point on the west side of La. 319.

The project would replace and elevate more than 2,300 square feet of timber dock, and to raise a portion of the concrete boat ramp and parking area, all so the launch isn't inundated at high tide.

--The Morgan City Resilience Lab. The lab was one of the recommendations in the 2018 Urban Land Institute study, commissioned by St. Mary Excel and exploring development opportunities in Morgan City and Berwick.

The parish would partner with the Water Institute of the Gulf "to enhance job creation and reduce population loss through St. Mary Parish and the Tri-City Region."

The 2012 Restore Act -- officially, the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act -- created a trust fund supported by penalties and settlements resulting from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.