Pelican Waste put on notice by parish government

Complaints regarding Pelican Waste, the firm that services waste pickup in St. Mary Parish, have reached the ears of the parish council.
Parish President David Hanagriff said Wednesday that Pelican “for the most part has done a great job. For the first several years…they’ve done a wonderful job.
“But as of late, the last six, seven, eight months, it’s kind of gone down. We talked to Pelican and of course they’ve had issues, from labor, to equipment, new trucks.”
Hanagriff said he’s receiving calls from residents, and they’re growing. “It has to improve, if it doesn’t improve, we’re going to start imposing fines,” he said. “(Pelican) says it will start improving next week. If it doesn’t, I’m going to have them come before the council.”
In Chief Administrative Officer Henry “Bo” LaGrange’s report, he noted that tipping fees at the landfill will be increased by $1 per ton beginning Nov. 1. He said the fee was $36 per ton, then $37, and will now be $38 per ton.
LaGrange also reported that upkeep issues at The Plantation Inn site in Patterson have been largely addressed by the owners, and no enforcement actions are planned, but will be monitored.
In other business, Councilman Patrick Hebert announced plans to place an “In God We Trust” placard in the council room. It will hang above the council podium.
Also Wednesday, Councilman J Ina asked the council clerk to send correspondence to the council’s home rule charter advisory committee. “This thing has been dragging on for a long time,” Ina said. He said the process has taken too long and members need to be encouraged to finalize their work in considering changes to the document.
Council Clerk Lisa Morgan said a previous email to the committee resulted in no reply.
“Then we need to get willing people who want to do something,” Ina said.
“Is there anything that would prevent the council to serve as the charter review committee?” Councilman Craig Mathews asked.
“The council gets the final say,” Vice-chairman Kevin Voisin noted.
Ina reiterated that each council member picked a representative from their district, but that while it was “a good group” it seemed to be lagging.
Councilman Patrick Hebert said he spoke to commission member Jason Watson and was told the project was “extremely close” but there were problems having a quorum for a meeting.
“I’d like to get this wrapped up so we can move forward,” Ina said.
Councilman Ken Singleton noted that the charter has been modified over its 35-year history.