Rigid played a limited role in the Lake Farm Road detention project that first landed LCG in court over property rights, having been paid $61,000 to clear and burn trees on the Randol family land near Costco in May 2021. He says removing the spoil banks makes flooding much more likely for their residents. St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars said he is excited about the project, which will bring broadband connectivity to the St. Martin Economic Development Authority's SMEDA Industrial Park, which is located on the Lafayette/St. Cedars said it is the parishs stance that it has rights to the road because it has maintained it for decades. Russel C. Foti Welcome to St. Martin Parish Government Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password. [2] St. Martin Parish is part of the Lafayette metropolitan area in the region of Acadiana, along . Your e-mail address will be used to confirm your account. And surreptitiously LCG went out and removed those spoil banks and, in our opinion, has put our citizens at peril, contrary to what they may postulate.". When asked if the project would harm residents of St. Martin Parish, Guillory said, We surely wouldnt bless off on a project that would hurt anybody, but the science is clear. document.write(year) Tel: 337.441.0393, District IV St. Martin council passes ordinance restricting dumping, burning Those spoils banks were keeping areas in St. Martin Parish from flooding, parish leaders say. ALLother St. MartinParishSchoolswill beopen on Tuesday, March 7th,for IN-PERSON INSTRUCTION. If you forget it, you'll be able to recover it using your email address. That's your idea of heroes? Joyce Haynes is the president of the school . Breaux Bridge, LA 70517 Why would you do that to neighbors when you don't have a permit?. His statement reads, In order to successfully sue for damages in a plaintiffs case, you must show that there was harm created. According to Cedars, LCG had initiated a study for a potential project that entailed the removal of the spoil banks in April 2021. Over the past several months, The Current has reviewed hundreds of of pages of court documents and records obtained from LCG related to its immense capital program for drainage. St. Martin Parish School Board. "Our interest is to ensure that the citizens of St. Martin Parish are protected from enhanced flooding risks that we believe the removal of the spoil banks creates," he told the Daily Advertiser. The update, which was posted at about 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, says that "as stated in. St. Martin Parish president expecting appellate ruling on lawsuit soon Martin Parish line. "They didn't listen and unfortunately unless you take someone's money out of their pocket, they won't listen," Boudreaux says. Lawsuit:Despite judges ruling, LCG uses identical quick take to seize land for detention pond. Theres a process to this, and the process was definitely not followed, resident Chad Boyer said. The same cant be said for us, said Yvonne Romero, a St. Martin Parish resident who attended the meeting. St Martin Parish Government Location 301 W Port St, Saint Martinville, Louisiana, 70582, United States Description Industry Government . Just $4,800 was spent on tree clearing and $260,000 on excavation and fill. Rigid billed $1.9 million for expedited mobilization, a sum that, according to the original contracts terms, should have been included in the contract pricing. Executed and paid for in days, the spoil banks operation is emblematic of the quick pace of government the Guillory administration has bragged about but has nonetheless landed it in legal trouble. Meet Our Board of Control | St. Martin Parish Library On Feb. 18 LCG filed with the Lafayette Parish Clerk of Court Amendment #1 to the as-needed contract, saying the parties desire to amend the agreement to add line items for additional services. The amendment was signed by Mayor-President Josh Guillory and Rigids Fortier. St. Martinville, LA 70582 . The wire transfer to Rigid came five days after LCG lost the Homewood ruling and is for work on that project. 337.332.3388, St. Martin Parish Operations,Maintenance &Transportation St. Martin sues Lafayette to rebuild spoil banks along Vermilion River "We tried to be civil, we did, we tried to go over there and ask them good questions to try to get the solutions rolling voluntarily, but they didn't listen, so what's the next step?". St. Martin Parish. of our parish leaders are excited about the decision of Ochsner and Trax Development to locate this PPE facility in our parish," said St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars. The spoil banks, left behind from the last time the Vermilion River was dredged decades ago, run along the rivers southern bank around the swamp in St. Martin Parish, just east of the border with Lafayette Parish. Cedars did say he had productive conversations with members of one family about their concerns and proposed a possible compromise. D) St. Martin P. O. Create a password that only you will remember. 1005 Judy Street Ballotpedia provides comprehensive coverage of the 100 largest cities in America by population.This encompasses all city, county, and special district elections appearing on the ballot within those cities. St. Martin Parish Archives - Geaux Vote Billy Broussard sues Daily Iberian for "nothing short of journalistic The high water mark is at Rookery Road, where the levee used to be, Cedars said. 301 West Port Street. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. If your child will play baseball or softball this spring, youll need to stock up on appropriate clothing and equipment. The three measures were approved by all nine council members. Lafayette Consolidated Government beat St. Martin Parish to the punch Wednesday by suing over the removal of the Vermilion River spoil banks at the center of the two parishes' recent feud . St. Martinville, LA 70582 It is also my understanding, as Ms Turk mentioned, St Martin has been an obstacle to the removal of the spoil banks and restoring the natural floodway. "Many residents and local business in our parish struggle to access reliable internet service," St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars said. It has also been corrected to reflect additional reporting confirming that LCG purchased land for the project from two property owners, intentionally leaving a third landowner out of the transaction. At this point in time, there is absolutely no articulable, cogent reason most of our community should continue to refuse to wear masks in indoor setting or refuse to even consider receiving a vaccine. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Angelle was elected at the age of twenty-five to the St. Martin Parish Police Jury, the local governing body known as the county commission in most other states. St. Martin Parish to sue, investigate removal of spoil banks by Lafayette Consolidated Government. 1059 Sonny Dr. All Rights Reserved, Opening/Purchasing a Bar/Nigh Club/Lounge, RESTORE Act Multiyear Implementation Plan, RESTORE Act Multiyear Implementation Plan-Amendment #1. According to St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars October 19, 2021, President's report, Josh Guillory was no longer pursuing the spoil bank removal project. Thats our job, Cedars said. Mike Clay ST. MARTINVILLE, L.a. Aging water systems are causing issues for small municipalities across the country, state, and even here in Acadiana. The removal will allow the river to flow into the swamp during storms. An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account. P. O. Select from these options: Breaking News, Evening News Headlines, Latest COVID-19 Headlines, Morning News Headlines, Special Offers. Cedars said studies have differed on the impact and risks of removing the makeshift levees and that he found out about LCG's quiet removal of the spoil banks Tuesday afternoon, weeks after the work had been done. In February it was chosen over The Lemoine Company to negotiate pricing with LCG on the $60 million Homewood Detention Ponds project, the largest drainage undertaking in the parishs history. All 9th and 12th graders will remain home on Tuesday and participate in their courses virtuallythrough Google Classroom using their Chromebooks. . Bid law exists to protect against cost overruns and to keep negotiations honest. Nothing was given to us to review. It's uncalled for and unwarranted," Cedars said Thursday. In recent months, private landowners around the lake have tried to block access for the public, either out of a fear of liability should an accident occur or, as in the case of the litigation the parish is engaged in, for commercial purposes. 600 Corporate Boulevard / PO Box 1000,Breaux Bridge, LA 70517 Email Davide Mamone at dmamone@theadvocate.com. A no-trespassing sign is displayed near a blocked off area of the parking lot near the boat launch at Lake Martin Monday, November 23, 2020, in St. Martin Parish. The $3.7 million project, now the subject of a barbed lawsuit with St. Martin Parish in federal court, was top secret and never competitively bid. In all likelihood, St. Martin Parish would have gone to court to stop the work, and indeed Cedars has since threatened to sue everyone involved. St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars listens to a discussion at Tuesday's parish council meeting. [citation needed] From 2000 to 2004, Angelle was the first parish president of St. Martin Parish and the vice president from 1998 to 2000 of the Huval Companies in Lafayette, Louisiana. Edna M. Johnson Her work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Acadiana Advocate, The Daily Advertiser, Baton Rouge Business Report, Louisiana Illuminator and Gambit. One contractor interviewed by The Current defended the pricing in the contract, noting its what he would charge for the work. St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars said, however, it will not help their region and called it an act of misconduct.. On Feb. 23 Rigid invoiced LCGs Public Works Department $3.7 million for the work, billed as a change order, and was paid five days later out of the city general fund, according to LCGs Open Book, an online financial transparency tool debuted by the Guillory administration in 2020. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. The Army Corps of Engineers did not require a permit for this, Guillory told News Ten. With multiple boil advisories in the recent past, Cedars says it's no secret the parish and others with outdated equipment and infrastructure like it have issues with the systems, especially in rural areas. Salary Schedules - St. Martin Parish - saintmartinschools.org Get the Android Weather app from Google Play, Workday sued on suspicion of discriminatory hiring, 86-year-old woman honored for years of community, Attic Trash and Treasure organization hosts three-day, Scary video: North Carolina kids nearly hit at bus, Southern University experiences power outage across, No. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. LAFAYETTE, La. The operation was done just weeks after Lafayette's City Council voted on Feb. 2 to offer $500,000 as a match to $1.5 million in state funds to get the spoil banks removed. He makes it clear that hes always promoted the use of masks while indoors and touches on the subject of the lack of vaccinations among adults. It leaves a lot of questions, especially with the $1.8 million mobilization charge., A founding editor of both The Independent and ABiz and senior editor at The Times of Acadiana in the 1990s, Leslie Turk is an award-winning investigative reporter who has worked in the newspaper business in Lafayette for more than three decades. The Corps of Engineers in New Orleans said through a spokesperson that it opened an investigation into the spoil banks' removal. Copyright "With so much of our daily life revolving around internet connectivity, we are making fiber infrastructure modernization a priority for our parish. Years ago, when there was a tax sale in the city, the property was adjudicated to the city and the parish, Parish Legal Counsel Allan Durand said. 2023 St. Martin Parish Government. This is a great day for our region, Guillory added. Vital . Candidly, the government will impose nothing. ARPA plans for St. Martin Parish leave people smiling Army Corps inspection finds no permit was needed for Lafayette spoil banks removal, removed a March lawsuit by LCG against St. Martin Parish, St. Martin Parish wants Lafayettes lawsuit thrown out for being in Lafayette, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. (AP) An off-duty St. Gabriel, Louisiana, police officer was arrested Thursday for the alleged murder of a 26-year-old man, authorities say. Public Works Director Chad Nepveaux said Thursday that LCG bought part of the land where the banks are located and removed the dirt over the course of a couple of days in February. LCG removed about 1,200 feet of the dirt levees without St. Martin Parish's knowledge in a bid to reduce flooding in Lafayette. And certainly going from $300,000 or $400,000 to $3 [million] or $4 million would be a material change in the contract. When you did not have a permit, Romero added. "We've got to do more to assist if we're gonna keep this structure in place, we've got to do more to assist those rural systems.". Patrol boats, barges, cranes, ramps and an on-call mechanic were among the charges billed to Lafayette Consolidated Government for a February operation to dig up spoil bank levees on the Vermilion River. LANDRY PARISH, La. Box 9 St. Martinville, LA 70582 (337) 394-2200 EMAIL . Attached to it was Rigids half page invoice. In other reports, the council heard from Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Executive Director Lt. Col. Billy Guidry about the projected water flow along the Bayou Teche this coming spring. St. Martin Parish Council approves new trash pickup contract We don't want anyone to be harmed, and therefore we believe that the way to mitigate that is to restore the property to its state before the removal of the spoil banks," he added. In our last feature, we exposed the fact that St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars barely let the ink get dry from him going on a 19-minute masterful performance to convince the St. Martin Parish Council (SMPC) to approve an ordinance to ban the importing of vegetative debris from other parishes into St. Martin Parish before he sued . Cedars would not say exactly what St. Martin Parish's plan is to address LCG's removal of the spoil banks but did say that he plans to give a full report on the situation at the St. Martin Parish Council's next meeting on Tuesday, March 15. St. Martin Parish Library Board of Control Tommy Romero, President,Appointment 1992, Expiration July 2027 Freda Harrison, Vice-President,Appointment 1980, Expiration July 2025 Charlene LeBlanc,Appointment 1989, Expiration July 2023 Georgie Blanchard,Appointment 1998, Expiration January 2027 Rigids quote for the St. Martin work also tacked on $1.2 million for Barges/Temporary Barges, Cranes, and Rigging, $30,000 for patrol boats and $117,000 to have a mechanic on standby for the 24-hour job. It was a very short call, Cedars said. Recognizing the best in local architecture, planning and design, we are pleased to announce 12 winning projects for The Current In Design Awards 2023. Cedars says he believes, however, more research on how it would impact their region should have been done before LCG moved forward with the project. St. Martin Parish School Board Breaux Bridge, LA 2 weeks ago Be among the first 25 applicants See who St. Martin Parish School Board has hired for this role 0:36. St. Martin Parish Chairman Tauzin's statement to Baudin on or about September 4, 2021 demonstrates the fact that a Restraining Order was filed against Petitioner based upon the false portrayal that Defendant Fatherree published in The Daily Iberian on Wednesday, August 4, 2021. Some members of the St. Landry Parish School Board say they are in favor of changes to the student dress code. The study found removing the spoil banks would have little impact on the overall water level in the swamp during storms, but Cedars has said his engineers determined the removal wasn't without risk for the people who live near Cypress Island. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This story has been edited to include Fortier's $10,000 in donations to Mayor-President Josh Guillory's campaign and to note that the original as-needed contract was limited to work "throughout the Lafayette City-Parish." Contact information. St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars says St. Martin Parish is no longer going to be one of them. Copyright 2023 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Residents and parish leaders say theyre now also concerned over the legality of removing them. And if LCG intended the arrangement to avoid bid law, thats a problem, experts say. St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars said Thursday his government is aiming to have LCG restore the spoil banks as an immediate remedy and said it may seek other remedies as the case progresses. I dont see anything else MP Guillory could have done more reasonable to finally get something accomplished to protect the interest of Lafayette residents at risk of flooding, due to changes in the landscape, beyond their control. City-Parish Attorney Greg Logan confirmed in a phone interview that work on the St. Martin project started soon after the as-needed contract was awarded in December. Rather, it seems we are more interested in protecting and advocating our individual ideologue rather than adhering to the advice of medical science and thus protecting our fellow citizens, our businesses, our employers/employees, our healthcare system, and our children.. Im just so happy were able to help both Lafayette Parish and St. Martin Parish, Guillory added. ST. MARTINVILLE, La. St. Martin Parish Government | St. Martin Clerk About Us. Turnarounds of days, rather than weeks, is atypical, according to sources. LCGs drainage projects are already costing taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars in city-parish legal fees, plus millions in re-mobilization costs. A combination of state dollars and ARPA funds, Cedars says even with the funding, it will take two to three months to get these consolidation efforts off the ground for three water systems in the parish so far: One in Catahoula, one in St. Martinville, and the St. Martin Parish water system. In an intense special council meeting attended by more than 100 angry St. Martin Parish residents, Cedars vehemently expressed his dismay toward LCG Mayor-President Josh Guillory. 337-909-2990, REPORT CHILD ABUSE: 1-855-4LA-KIDS (1-855-452-5437) "We will review the allegations and respond accordingly," Logan wrote in a message to the Daily Advertiser. Copy and paste this code into your website. Lafayette Consolidated Government removed spoil banks along the Vermilion River last week. Lafayette Parish residents deserve to know and understand this issue. Durand said the value of the individual properties was low, about $1,000 apiece. The auditors office places the facts out there. Call 337-828-4100 ext. "When I learned about this late Tuesday afternoon, we did certain things and had certain meetings, and we're developing what our course of action will be from this point forward," he said. My office and the St. Martin Parish Council recognize that business is the bulwark of our local economy, and we stand ready and willing to assist you in your ventures. St. Martinville, LA 70582 Parish president saves California woman Page 5 District I ONLY10th&11th graders will report to their respective high schools on Tuesdayto take their required ACT exam. Payment records show at least three other projects were billed to the as-needed contract, including excavation work for detention ponds on Coulee Ile Des Cannes. firefighter Brent Haynes recovering, Best athletic wear for kids joining baseball and, How to watch all the Oscar-nominated movies in style, Best smart home devices for older users, according, First look at new 13,000 sq. "I have memories growing up, we'd drink out of the hose outside, could never do that anymore, and neither can our kids," 52-year-old Boudreaux says. 'I guess I should have,' he said to me.. district5@intmartinschools.org, District VI List of Principals; State: LA; County: St Martin Parish Rigids $390,000 bid last year for the 2021 LCG as-needed excavation and disposal contract for work throughout the Lafayette City-Parish (the contract does not allow for work outside of the parish) was the lowest among five bids; four other contractors sent bids that ranged from $568,000 to $1.1 million. Redditt, who was first hired by the St. Tel: 337.394.4436, District II Interim St. Martin Parish Chester Cedars won the president seat with 73 percent of the vote tonight. Investigation begins into firings in St. Landry Parish government Parish President Chester Cedars speaks during a meeting of the St. Martin Parish Council on Tuesday, March 15, 2022. Instead, the caper was appended to a $390,000 contract awarded in December to Rigid Constructors LLC, the lowest bidder for as-needed excavation work. Flood fight:Lafayette, St. Martin parishes are arguing about a strip of dirt by the river. As for rural communities dealing with water issues in the rest of the parish, there is no word from the parish government yet as to when improvement efforts will be underway. Departments - St. Mary Parish Government LCGs drainage program is itself unusually massive in scope and speed. 2023 www.theadvertiser.com. Fiber installed in public-private broadband project | St. Mary Now UPDATE: Corps investigating work on spoil banks on Vermilion River - KATC Cormier: "Starting in, I guess, 1990, the parish Police Jury had tried in three attempts to at least bring it to a study. Although there are concerns from high water that has moved south from Cairo, Illinois, and through Jackson, Mississippi, Guidry said it is expected most of those floodwaters will remain north instead of cycling through the Teche. All rights reserved. What are spoil banks? St. Martin Parish Operations, Maintenance & Transportation 775 West Bridge Street, Breaux Bridge, LA 70517 337-909-2990. A public records request for electronic communication between Fortier and LCG officials is pending. At 3 oclock as of today, a week ago, we discovered that Lafayette Consolidated Government decided to remove the spoil banks, Cedars said, describing a phone call with Guillory that he said took place two hours after the discovery. var today = new Date() "Not . St. Martin Parish Parish President. Tel: 337.441.0229, District III St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars, who has disputed the merits and risks of removing the spoil banks, said Thursday he was given no advance notice of LCG's plans to "surreptitiously" remove the spoil banks. Departments Have a question? Cedars cites the latest COVID hospitalization data in the Acadiana Region 4 and positivity rates within the parish. Senator (Class II) U.S. Representative (District 3) 15TH JDC District ATTORNEY; 15th JDC Judge (Div. STAFF PHOTO BY LESLIE WESTBROOK BREAKING: Lafayette quietly removes spoil levee from St Martin Parish St. Martin Parish officials beginning to crack down on vandalism at