Berwick council votes to pass on rate increase

BERWICK — The Town Council unanimously voted Tuesday to pass along a controversial sewer service rate increase to Berwick residents in what seemed to be an acknowledgment of the inevitable.
The increase approved Tuesday, an additional $1.50 for every 1,000 gallons treated, passes on a rate hike set by the St. Mary Parish Joint Sewage Commission-Wards 5 & 8, which treats sewage for Berwick, Patterson, Bayou Vista and other areas of eastern St. Mary.
The commission bills the two municipal governments and the parish government, which in turn collect fees from their residents based on their water usage.
When news of the commission’s action reached the local governments last month, they reacted critically to the abrupt nature of the rate increase and the lack of supporting data, including a rate study.
The public fallout led commission Chairman Chris Cooper to resign.
Commission members Tim Kyle and Brandon Monceaux faced some sharp questions about the rate increase at Tuesday’s meeting.
Patterson Mayor Rodney Grogan attended the Berwick meeting and pointed to a 70-cent rate increase three years ago and a another $1.50 hike in October 2023. No rate study has been down for 15 to 20 years, he said.
Patterson put off action on the rate increase Oct. 7 after hearing from legal counsel that the commission minutes that included the rate hike vote may not have been presented in the way outlined in the 40-year-old agreement among the three governments.
But the sentiment on the Berwick council was that cooperation is needed to help the commission deal with an aging sewage treatment system.
“If we don’t raise it now,” Councilman Lud Henry said, “what are we going to do?”
In an interview Wednesday, Kyle said the commission has submitted a list of needed projects to Miller Engineers and Associates, which will estimate the cost. The price seems likely in the millions.
The list includes minor and major projects, some of which need attention soon, and some that will be needed in the future, Kyle said.
Among the major work needed is an increase in capacity for a neighborhood near Patterson High School. That work could cost $5.3 million, he said.
A force main leading out of Berwick is deteriorating, Kyle said. It may not need work in the next few years, he said, but it will in the future.
On a normal day, Kyle said, Berwick sends 500,000 gallons of sewage into the system for treatment. But on a day with significant rain, the total can be 2.5 million gallons, a sign that runoff is entering what is supposed to be a closed system.
Miles of sewer pipe may also need replacement.
The commission is asking U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins, R-Lafayette, and state Sen. Robert Allain, R-Franklin, for help with funding from the state and federal governments.
Parish Councilman Patrick Hebert of Berwick, who attended Tuesday’s meeting with Councilman David Hill and Parish President Sam Jones, gets credit for telling the commission about the Louisiana Infrastructure Technical Assistance Corp. That nonprofit is devoted to helping local governments “in rural and economically distressed areas with the tools and resources they need to identify, apply for, and administer federal grants funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,” according to the LITA website.
Currently, Kyle said, the board’s income is about $20,000 more each month than expenses, provided nothing goes wrong.
Kyle has been on the commission for a year, and “we’ve never experienced a month when nothing goes wrong,” he said.
The increase the commission seeks raised the surplus over expenses to about $60,000 a month.
Also Tuesday:
•The council passed resolutions authorizing Mayor Duval Arthur to enter cooperative endeavor agreements related to three line items in the state budget passed in this year’s legislative session.
The appropriations for Berwick are $50,000 for beautification, $20,000 toward the town’s replacement of water meters and $100,000 for “no stated purpose.”
•The council passed a resolution of respect for Herbert Mashburn, who died Sept. 3. Mashburn, a Vietnam veteran, was a former justice of the peace and chairman of the Berwick-Bayou Vista Waterworks District. He was also a baseball umpire for 30 years.
Mashburn’s wife, Sheryl, and daughter Judi Lambert were present at Tuesday’s meeting.
•The council passed a resolution recognizing Chez Hope in October, which is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Chez Hope is the region’s domestic abuse prevention and shelter program.
A two-mile “Walking With A Purpose” event by Chez Hope is scheduled at 8 a.m. Saturday at the Parish Courthouse in Franklin.