Baldwin receives utilities updates

Baldwin’s board of Aldermen approved Mayor Donna Lanceslin's authorization Thursday to execute the purchase of four new sewer pumps totaling $10,945 to replace present pumps which are faulty or non-functioning.
The approval came following a report from Power Specialties LLC personnel, which gave diagnostic updates and prices for replacement options.
The first two pumps set to be replaced are located on Baptiste Street, purported to be where they are most sorely in need.
In related news, Alderman Gene St. Germain shed light on the reason for Baldwin’s intermittent water stoppage this week as failed, corroded iron bolts and fittings from the water lines’ initial placement.
St. Germain conveyed the findings during the public comments portion of the meeting amidst beleaguered citizens voicing grievances with water bill inconsistencies and questionable meter readings.
Mayor Pro-tempore Margaret C. Coleman chaired the meeting for an absent Lanceslin, and directed all with water bill and sewer bill grievances, to the newly appointed town clerk, Chrystal S. Willis.
In addition, a town-wide smoke-free ordinance was approved subsequent to consensus having been reached at a public hearing held before the town board meeting. The ordinance was amended to include a provision for local parks and the bleachers therein as smoke-free zones, enforceable through removal from such zones by local police.
In announcement was the Krewe of Donnis Mardi Gras Ball, to be held Friday at 8 p.m. at the Town Civic Center, with tickets to be sold at the door for $20 each.
Closing the meeting was a resolution approved to appoint Aldermen Clarence Vappie and Donald Grimm as Baldwin representatives with Louisiana Municipal Natural Gas.