Increasingly cramped working conditions in office and administrative spaces has parish government looking for ways to expand facilities.
At the Aug. 20 council meeting, Parish President Chester Cedars said that the cheapest and best solution may be to enlarge the existing building at 301 W. Port St. Other solutions are still being contemplated but, Cedars said, cost considerations and the advantages of keeping parish functions under one roof appear to favor adding to the existing building.
Section 8 Office
Cedars reported that a building at 420 Bridge St. has been purchased for administration of the Section 8 housing program and other uses. The $125,000 purchase had been approved by the council in June.
The Section 8 program has been administered from a rented office in Breaux Bridge.
Cedars is initiating a review of all parish-owned buildings for the purpose of formulating plans to maximize their effectiveness for parish operations.
Audit Report Positive
Chip Maraist, of the Maraist & Maraist accounting firm, presented the 2017 audit findings. The audit contained an “unmodified” report, indicating that the parish is in a sound financial condition.
Maraist commented that the parish managed to come through the petroleum crash of recent years with very little loss of revenue. He said that is unusual for any governing body in this area during the downturn and indicates very resilient parish finances.
In other business, Cedars announced that two local attorneys have been selected to fill the positions of administrative hearing officers. The appointments, to be made official next month, are the result of an ordinance passed in July.
The appointees will take responsibility for hearing and ruling on nuisance property complaints in the parish. Such complaints will no longer be dealt with in council meetings as they have been.
Pontoon Bridge
A recurring problem is caused when 18-wheel trucks attempt to bypass problems on I-10 by taking the loop on Henderson Levee road to the pontoon bridge over Bayou Larose at Herman Dupuis Road, through Butte Larose to the Atchafalaya River Hwy.
18-wheelers are not able to cross the pontoon bridge, and turning around there is very difficult. On several occasions there have been major tie-ups when long lines of truck drivers find out the hard way that the route will not work.
Cedars said the parish is in search of an answer to the problem, which would seem to involve construction of a concrete bridge to replace the pontoon bridge, but that would involve millions of dollars that would probably be very difficult to secure at this time. Other options are being explored.
Bypass
The St. Martinville bypass is still under discussion. Cedars reported that meetings have been held with representatives of the Acadiana Planning Commission and the DOTD. He pointed out that there are more advantages to construction of the route than reducing truck traffic through the downtown square.
Besides the undeniable advantages of that, the bypass would provide an alternate evacuation route in the event of a hurricane and provide an avenue for new development.
