St. Mary Excel reports on fourth-quarter activities

(Editor’s note: The St. Mary Excel citizens group submitted this report on Excel’s fourth-quarter 2023 activities.)

St. Mary Excel continues to implement recommendations of the Urban Land Institute panel, “Morgan City and Berwick Louisiana: Building the Foundation for a New Economy Along the Atchafalaya River.” A link to the report appears on this story on StMaryNow.com.

St Mary Excel:
--Attended Atchafalaya Intracoastal Coalition meeting with Michael Roberts, P.E. of The Coastal Trust.
--Attended meetings with St. Mary Parish Levee District to connect St. Mary Parish area students with field trip opportunities to Emergency Operation Center, Levee District, resources of LA SeaGrant, and field trip opportunities.
--Released, in conjunction with the St. Mary Parish Chamber of Commerce, the “2023 St. Mary Parish Quality of Life Survey.” Input was received from nearly 500 respondents on: economic development, health and wellness, safety, education, recreation and leisure, Atchafalaya National Estuarine Research Reserve (ANERR), and a maritime residential high school. St. Mary Excel shared the results with local leaders (mayors, school board and hospital leaders, and parish leaders.) Results will be summarized and released to the public in January 2024.
--Attended the Governor’s Office Resilience Task Force in a Nov. 6 meeting and made comments of support by St. Mary Excel and the Atchafalaya Intracoastal Coalition in the parish’s application for an Atchafalaya Resilience Lab at Coastal Morgan City. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FRuKN3-Hu4 . The parish’s application to begin the planning for the lab was approved by treasury in December, 2023.
--Attended the National Estuarine Research Reserve Association annual meeting at the Jacques Cousteau Reserve in New Jersey. The attendance creates readiness for the Friends of the Atchafalaya group that will work in partnership with the ANERR state designated management agency, the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON).
--Hosted officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and LUMCON on St. Mary Excel’s work to secure ANERR nomination and to advance Friends of the Atchafalaya formation.
--Met with Morgan City Library management to assist in seeking grant funds for cataloging and preserving documents and artifacts held in the Morgan City archives. The work was made possible through an H&B Young Foundation Appeal.
--Attended a second meeting with municipal and health leaders to share 2023 survey results in advancement of wellness and swimming needs in the area. An earlier meeting had taken place in September in which the 2023 quality of life survey was requested. Attendees in the September meeting included: city of Morgan City, town of Berwick, Ochsner St. Mary, HSD No. 2, and the St. Mary Parish School Board.
--Facilitated a meeting by Scott Hemmerling and Allison Haertling of the Water Institute to share results of Morgan City, Berwick and Stephensville stakeholder representatives’ input into a Nonstructural Mitigation Study of the Morgan City-Berwick and Stephensville area. Stakeholders also reviewed a resilience index and decision-making tool of the Institute. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1vEd8Xc5pE
--Shared St. Mary Excel’s work with the St. Mary Parish Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership St. Mary class.
--Continued inquiries into current awarded bike/hiking trail grants: 1) placing pedestrian head crossings on 3 intersections identified as dangerous; 2) placing trails from downtown Morgan City to South Louisiana Community College, and 3) continuation of trail from the Cajun Coast Visitors and Convention Bureau to David Drive. The St. Mary Parish Council previously dedicated $100,000 in the 2023 budget to advance the work.
--Set Jan. 16, as the next meeting date for the Local Interest Group at the South Louisiana Community College –Young Memorial Campus and encourage readers to continue to check out the St. Mary Excel website at stmaryexcel.com
--Made plans to join Dr. Brian Roberts on May 29 as the St. Mary Parish Chamber of Commerce hosts him for their monthly luncheon. Dr. Roberts will update the community on ANERR process progress.