Completion of Henderson town hall pushed back to late March

The completion date for the new Henderson town hall has once again been pushed back by contractor R. S. Bernard.
At the council meeting on Jan. 10, architect Dionne Sonnier said that the new projected day for completion has changed from Feb. 1 to March 24. With no clear reason for the delay, as was the case for the two prior delays, Sonnier said it is possible that the liquidated damages clause in the construction contract will result in a
$250 per day penalty for the contractor.
If the charge is levied, it will result in a reduction of $12,000 in the contract amount, assuming the March 24 completion date is met.
A representative from R. S. Bernard was expected to attend Monday’s meeting to answer questions, but reported to Sonnier that he was experiencing symptoms that he suspects may be from the COVID virus. She will submit questions in writing from Mayor Sherbin Collette and council members.
One of those questions will certainly pertain to a lien filed against the contractor by the company that performed the welding on the steel framing. The lien is for non payment of the approximately $50,000 welding bill.
“This contractor needs to answer a lot of questions,” Sonnier said.
Poor appearance
Susan Blanchard told the council she and other Henderson residents are concerned with the blighted appearance of the town, particularly along Main Street.
“We call Henderson the ‘Gateway to the Atchafalaya’,” she complained. “It sure doesn’t look like it. People visiting from out-of-town will mostly remember the trash, unsightly properties and old junky trailers.”
With regard to blighted properties and trailers, Collette said the town is taking renewed steps to address them. “We are sending nuisance letters to property owners and citing people who continue to bring in uninspected trailers. The party is over.”
Blanchard said that some owners may be unable to clean up properties due to age or health, and suggested the town form some kind of committee to help.
Collette asked Blanchard to get together with other residents and make a list of properties to submit to the town for action. He also suggested consulting with the St. Martin Parish Tourism Committee for ideas.
Councilman Wil White added that the town could use workers sentenced to community service to accomplish some of the clean-up tasks.