Parish Council to take meetings to the people

Parish Council meetings will go on the road starting in February to “take parish government to the people.”
At the Jan. 5 meeting, Parish President Guy Cormier announced the return to the practice of holding the regular parish meetings in a different town each month. This is designed to give residents throughout the parish a closer look at their elected government at work and make it easier for citizens of these towns to get involved. A schedule of the meetings will be published when it becomes available.
Residents of Belle River were in attendance last week to bring their concerns about a proposed drilling waste transfer station to the council’s attention. The contractor, FAS Environmental Services, was denied a zoning variance by the council on June 3, 2014. The company proffered a massive response in two thick binders, but Cormier stated that it was still unsatisfactory.
In its response, FAS attempts to make the case that, despite zoning, the proposed project is not inconsistent with existing land use in the area. It also states that the parish does not have the authority to stop the project after it was approved by the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
The parish and the residents of Belle River do not agree. They feel that the DNR seems to have again lost sight of its mission and is willing to approve anything and everything that comes before it. District 4 Councilman Carroll Delahoussaye commended Belle River residents who made the hour-and-a-half drive to the meeting and assured them that, despite the efforts of FAS Environmental and the DNR, local zoning ordinance decisions will be taken seriously.
A hearing on the matter will be held in Belle River at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 26.
Council Chairperson Lisa Nelson commended Cormier for a his success at making good on his vow to get the three most traveled of several closed bridges in the parish reopened by the end of 2014.
A resolution was passed to award the contract in the amount of $97,520 plus a change order to increase the amount by $29,920 for repairs of Boon Lasseigne and Division Road bridges to the lowest bidder, M. Matt Durand LLC. The change order was made necessary by the discovery of erosion damage to the wing wall and bulkhead structures surrounding the Boon Lasseigne bridge which could not be detected until work commenced. Even with the change order, the amount is slightly under the original estimate for the repairs.
An ordinance was introduced by District 9 representative Dean Doré to adopt a new travel expense reimbursement policy for parish council members. The most notable change is in specifying that each member will be entitled to only one-ninth of the total travel budget adopted by the council.
Doré had earlier complained that, due to their involvement with various organizations, one or two members had depleted the council’s travel budget.