St. Mary mayors praise cooperation, list accomplishments

Franklin Mayor Eugene Foulcard was unopposed for re-election when qualifying for the May 16 primary ended on Friday the 13th. The bad luck came a week later.
On the morning of Feb. 20, city employees scrambled to overcome a failure in the water system’s raw water intake pump. Franklin residents were without water until 4:47 a.m. the next day.
Patterson Mayor Rodney Grogan recalled how he came to a public event last year hanging his head, as he described it. The city had found an $800,000 shortfall in the previous year’s budget, leading to a variety of cost-cutting and revenue measures.
The city is now paying its bills and putting aside money, Grogan said. “I stand here thanking God and all who prayed for Patterson.”
Grogan and Foulcard were among the St. Mary mayors, plus Chitimacha Chairwoman Melissa Darden, who spoke Wednesday at a St. Mary Chamber breakfast normally devoted to lists of civic accomplishments from the previous year. This year, they made time to praise the way they work together.
“There were those at the parish level on down who laughed and snickered” at Patterson’s financial problems, Grogan said. “But my fellow mayors all called and told me exactly what I needed to do and how I needed to do it,” Grogan said.
Foulcard had similar praise for his colleagues during the water plant crisis, and added praise for cooperation with the Council on Aging, the St. Mary/Vermilion Community Action Agency and St. Mary Parish government in converting the old Franklin Foundation building into a residential facility for seniors.
“It takes teamwork to make the dream work,” Foulcard said.
Grogan, Foulcard and Darden were joined by mayors Lee Dragna of Morgan City, Duval Arthur of Berwick and Clarence Vappie of Baldwin.
Wednesday’s Chamber Business Breakfast at the Petroleum Club was not without the traditional lists of civic accomplishments.
Among the highlights:
•Morgan City’s Dragna said two highway projects, resurfacing La. 182 through Morgan City and reconstructing Ninth Street, are set to go out for bids in June. Dragna thanked Gov. Jeff Landry for making the work possible.
Half of $2 million in private donations will go toward building an eight-lane swimming pool near the existing tennis courts. Bids for the pool will be sought beginning March 9.
The pool, new beach volleyball courts at Lake End Park and other improvements are designed to attract tournaments and increase weekend hotel occupancy.
Engineering work is underway for a gas system upgrade financed by a $7 million federal grant.
•Darden said the Chitimacha reservation has 1,700 tribal members on 1,000 acres. The Chitimacha’s have their own police department and court system, she said.
“It’s a big misconception,” Darden said. “People think we do just for the reservation, and we don’t.”
State and federal grants are expected to provide $4.3 million to rebuild a failed bridge that currently hampers emergency response.
There are plans for a new boat launch. And a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration grant will pay for a living shoreline project aimed at protecting coastal land.
•Berwick’s Arthur pointed to $8 million in recent grants, including $4 million for the same kind of gas system upgrade that Morgan City is undertaking. Another $2 million is going for gas meter replacement.
More grants: $800,000 for repaving Sixth Street, $600,000 for a sewer system upgrade in the oldest part of town and $600,000 for new water meters.
The Brown House museum has added 400 square feet for exhibitions.
The town currently has 14 new homes that are occupied and another 14 under construction. Fifteen blighted properties have been condemned.
And Berwick is currently working out the details for an oil well to be placed on town property, which will provide a source of revenue for the town as well as the parish and the state.
“They say it’ll be one of the largest in the area,” Arthur said.
•Franklin’s Foulcard noted that on the night before the water system broke down, the City Council approved plans for an upgrade that includes the raw water intake pump.
Phase One of the water system upgrade is already complete.
Also underway is the rehabilitation of Northwest Boulevard from U.S. 90 to the railroad tracks.
Franklin is one of six U.S. cities to receive a $1.6 million federal Thriving Communities grant.
Foulcard said 93% of businesses along Main Street are occupied. The city’s focus on attracting film production has attracted the attention of John Schneider of “The Dukes of Hazzard” fame.
•Patterson’s Grogan said the city has benefitted from $8 million-$9 million in grants and state capital outlay funding.
The resulting work includes upgrades at nine sewer system lift stations. The Police Department received $100,000 for cameras and protective vests.
Another $100,000 is going for new gas meters south of the railroad tracks.
Grogan thanked the area’s congressional delegation, state Sen. Robert Allain and state Rep. Vincent St. Blanc, Arthur for his assistance with grants and Dragna for using his personal relationship with the governor for making sure St. Mary communities aren’t being forgotten.
•Baldwin’s Vappie pointed to more infrastructure work, including sewer system pumps and generators. Repairs on the natural gas system are also underway.
Baldwin invested in new Main Street signs, opened basketball courts and re-opened the baseball field, bringing back Little League for the first time in 10 years.
Baldwin has received a $2.6 million grant to be used for eliminating unneeded railroad crossings, and another $1.1 million grant is on the way for a bicycle-hiking trail.