A proposal introduced at the April 17 St. Martin Parish Council meeting would allow the Henderson/Nina water system to provide water to the Butte LaRose community.
The move would involve abolishing Water District 5, which was set up in 1998 to provide safe water to families in the Butte LaRose area. Deposits to help finance a water system were collected but nearly 20 years later there is still no system. Residents rely on well water that has been determined to be contaminated.
If the deal comes to fruition, assets of the BLR water district would be transferred to the Henderson/Nina system.
“Partnering with the Henderson/Nina system is a much better, quicker and cheaper solution than for the parish to go in a build a system,” Parish President Chester Cedars told council members. An agreement making the switch appears to have the support of most Butte LaRose residents.
District 8 representative Dean LeBlanc said that only minor upgrades to the Henderson/Nina system would be needed to accommodate the expansion, but the cost of extending lines will probably be about $6 million. Cedars said that if a cooperative endeavor agreement is approved the parish will work to secure grant funding.
Animal Shelter Kudos
In other business, Cedars said St. Martin Animal Services has received a glowing review following an inspection by the Louisiana Department of Agriculture’s Animal Welfare Commission. He commended director Michelle Brignac and her staff for “excellent work,” saying “They really hit a home run.”
Brignac told the Teche News the inspection report gave the shelter positive ratings in all categories with the inspector referring to the St. Martin facility as a “model shelter.”
Also, Cedars reported that some recently overlayed roads in the parish have been damaged by heavy trucks operated by commercial businesses. He said those businesses are being identified and they will be required to pay for repairs.
Levee Road Problems
Henderson Mayor Sherbin Collette attended the meeting seeking support in trying to “get the ball rolling” on repairs to a collapsed section of Henderson Levee Road.
Collette said that, with school about to end, fishermen and visitors will be coming to the Basin and the issue will get worse.
Since last July, the road has been reduced to one lane for about a mile in the area of the collapse. A stop light system alternately allows vehicles through from one direction at a time. Collette said that, besides the inconvenience, the road continues to deteriorate.
But state DOTD engineer Bill Oliver said the road cannot be repaired until the levee collapse that caused it is fixed.
Collette said the start of hurricane season brings new worries. The road is a hurricane evacuation route and what is an inconvenience now could be a much bigger problem if a storm approaches.
