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. Why? Cedars has been serving as the interim parish president since former President Guy. That's your idea of heroes? There are about two dozen of these properties, and they are causing an expense to the city because they have to keep them up.. After St. Martin Parish government held a special meeting Tuesday, Guillory said its come to his attention that the St. Martin Parish Council has given authorization to take legal action. Anytime we can be good neighbors and we can help out folks and help anybody in the region and defnitely not hurt anybody, were going to do that, Guillory said. 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. Serious allegations from St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars, against LCG over flood control. 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. Dozens of projects have been OKd by the councils with scant scrutiny, even as the administration lost expropriation cases in court. He was joined at a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday (Nov. 30) in Broussard by state and local elected officials and economic development leaders as well as SafeSource Direct President Justin Hollingsworth. Email Davide Mamone at dmamone@theadvocate.com. Senator (Class II) U.S. Representative (District 3) 15TH JDC District ATTORNEY; 15th JDC Judge (Div. U.S. President; U.S. The current modeling of the spoil bank removal project shows that there is no threat of harm to St. Martin Parish.. Mike Clay View the job description, responsibilities and qualifications for this position. Cedars spent most of his parish presidents report explaining exactly how the issues with access to Lake Martin came into being. Some members of the St. Landry Parish School Board say they are in favor of changes to the student dress code. 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. All Rights Reserved, Opening/Purchasing a Bar/Nigh Club/Lounge, RESTORE Act Multiyear Implementation Plan, RESTORE Act Multiyear Implementation Plan-Amendment #1. "They didn't listen and unfortunately unless you take someone's money out of their pocket, they won't listen," Boudreaux says. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ST. MARTINVILLE Parish President Chester Cedars said that he expects the parish should be getting an appellate ruling soon on its lawsuit against a business owner on Lake Martin. Parish President Chester Cedars speaks during a meeting of the St. Martin Parish Council on Tuesday, March 15, 2022. Three days later, on Feb. 21, before obtaining permits from either St. Martin Parish or the U.S. On Aug. 30, according to Cedars reports, the Corps advised that LCG had requested the proposed project be divided into two parts. LAFAYETTE, La. You can experience nature at its finest and tour the Parishs natural gifts such as Bayou Teche, Lake Martin, and the Atchafalaya Basin. "Not . ------------------------------------------------------------Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere. District II Wanda B. The "surreptitious" move enraged St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars, and led the St. Martin Parish Council to unanimously back Cedars' request to sue LCG over the removal this week.. LCGs drainage program is itself unusually massive in scope and speed. Lafayette-based Rigid Constructors has been paid handsomely for its role in the blitz of detention projects. ST. MARTIN PARISH, La. Follow Andrew Capps on Twitter or send an email to acapps@theadvertiser.com. But rather than bid the markedly different contract, LCG accepted a single quote from Rigid valued at $3.7 million, the sole documentation for which appears to be a half-sheet of letter-sized paper with seven line items Rigid refers to as Bid Item(s) with an eighth line it calls Total Base Bid. To be clear, there was no advertised bid. Rather, our communitys own behavior will account for any sort of lockdown,' wrote Cedars. It's not about whether the removal of the spoil banks will benefit Lafayette, as there is little to no argument there. Vital Let us know what's going on! The St. Martin Parish Council is the legislative and policy making body of the Parish. ST. MARTIN PARISH, La. 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. Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password. He can be reached at dwayne.fatherree@daily-iberian.com. But even against that backdrop, the spoil banks project stands out. Nevertheless, I cannot sit idly by and not articulate about a critical situation.. 120 East Refinery Street "We were told that additional modeling had been done and that we would get a chance to review it. (KLFY) A feud over spoil banks, levees of dirt and debris formed on either side of a river is reaching new heights and creating a major controversy between two Acadiana parishes. As the spoil banks are already gone, Cedars says theyre trying to fix this. We interviewed our tech expert, Jaime Vazquez, to learn more about accessible smart home devices. Spoil banks:St. Martin Parish wants Lafayettes lawsuit thrown out for being in Lafayette. If your child will play baseball or softball this spring, youll need to stock up on appropriate clothing and equipment. 301 West Port Street. 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. Make a Donation . "Aquaspersions is delighted to be investing in Broussard and with the welcome we have received," Bewsher said. Wick Communications. Fax N/A. Its not all that appears on its face.. All 9th and 12th graders will remain home on Tuesday and participate in their courses virtuallythrough Google Classroom using their Chromebooks. St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars listens to a discussion at Tuesday's parish council meeting. Im not frustrated as much as Im appalled, Cedars said. St. Martin Parish has made a commitment to develop and maintain this medium so that the residents of our great parish can have full, open, and up-to-date access to the affairs of Parish Government. in Breaux Bridge, will host a groundbreaking ceremony today, Tuesday, July 30 at 11:00 a.m. to celebrate the start of an $11.2 million expansion and renovation project. (AP) An off-duty St. Gabriel, Louisiana, police officer was arrested Thursday for the alleged murder of a 26-year-old man, authorities say. St. Martin Parish Federal Programs & Technology Annex 625 Corporate Boulevard, Breaux Bridge, LA 70517 337.332.3388. And experts agree there is good reason to question the scope, in large part because it increased the value of the original contract tenfold. Andre Redditt, 27, was charged with second-degree murder and obstruction of justice, the Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office said in a press release. St. Martin Sheriff's Office 400 St. Martin Street, St. Martinville (337) 394-2532 Approved by: St. Martin Parish Government Planning & Zoning Coordinator License issued by: St. Martin Sheriff's Office Parish Zoning Ordinance Click below to access the Zoning Ordinance for St. Martin Parish in its entirety. Coupons are available only to seniors who reside in St. Martin Parish. LCG letter:Army Corps inspection finds no permit was needed for Lafayette spoil banks removal. 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 accused the parish government of removing spoil banks along the Vermilion River in St.. Sign up for our free newsletter. LCGs drainage projects are already costing taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars in city-parish legal fees, plus millions in re-mobilization costs. 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. This document is available in PDF format. 500 Henry C. 'Bo' LaGrange Chief Administrative Officer Henry C. 'Bo' LaGrange, is currently the Chief Administrative Officer of St. Mary Parish Government, a position he has held since 1996. 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. Get the Android Weather app from Google Play, Acadiana Boil Advisories and Water Shutdowns, New Iberia community celebrates life of slain teen, Jury convicts Patterson man of second-degree murder, DeRidder man killed in Vernon Parish crash, Man sentenced after caught with over 3 lbs of meth, Acadiana Kidcasters Apply for your child to do the weather on KLFY-TV, Lafayette woman missing after reportedly driving customer to Texas, St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars, Injured Laf. I did not get a formal response, Cedars said. Share this page on your favorite Social network. The Guillory administration did not respond to requests for comment on this timeline. Corps of Engineers to remove the spoil banks along the Vermilion River in St. Martinville, but that request was ultimately withdrawn, according to Cedars. Lafayette City-Parish Attorney Greg Logan responded to the new lawsuit Thursday by saying he believes there are inconsistencies in St. Martin Parish's arguments and that LCG will make its response in due time. We interviewed our tech expert, Jaime Vazquez, to learn more about accessible smart home devices. In all, the as-needed contracts value alone has ballooned to approximately $5.2 million in a few short months. This might be a risk-free endeavor for Lafayette Parish, but it is not a risk-free endeavor for St. Martin Parish, Cedars said. 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." 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. It is likely a court would find, based on the facts specific to this project, how it was bid, and the quick resulting change order which appears to have changed the scope of work that LCG did not comply with Louisianas public bid law, says David Vicknair, an experienced public bid law attorney with the firm Scott Vicknair LLC in New Orleans. "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. Attorneys for St. Martin Parish Government wrote that the spoil banks were removed without a parish permit and asked a local judge for an order requiring LCG "to restore, replace and reconstruct (at [LCG]'s sole expense), the spoil bank Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government illegally removed in St. Martin Parish.". You had a 12 feet levee, and youre reducing it to 6 feet. If you are a St. Martin Parish resident, take a moment to enjoy our many recreational sites and renew your valued acquaintances. The auditors office places the facts out there. St. Martinville, LA 70582 Cedars did say he had productive conversations with members of one family about their concerns and proposed a possible compromise. Open Books 10-digit check numbers, which seem to indicate wire transfers, show Rigid as the sole contractor paid by wire transfer this fiscal year, with LCG paying via wire transfer only 11 times out of 35,000 payments made so far this year. There was hesitation. LCG removed about 1,200 feet of the dirt levees without St. Martin Parish's knowledge in a bid to reduce flooding in Lafayette. I know it took a month, and equipment came from all over the country. Site Map; Accessibility; Facebook (opens in new window/tab) Even if it tries to maintain that the work was an extension of the existing contract, LCG has so far not produced a single record to suggest that it did anything more than accept what Rigid put in front of it. Steve Fuselier According to Cedars, LCG had initiated a study for a potential project that entailed the removal of the spoil banks in April 2021. The attorney general can pursue that violation. Call 337-828-4100 ext. St. Martin Parish Parish President. But the contract terms require Rigid to document and justify those overages. Logan confirmed that it was his idea for LCG to do more as-needed contracts, which arent that unusual in public works departments. The wire transfer to Rigid came five days after LCG lost the Homewood ruling and is for work on that project. 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. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is investigating LCG's decision to do the St. Martin Parish work without a federal permit, and the Corps has also asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to investigate "flagrant, willful violations" associated with the project.Shortly after being made aware of the levee removal, the Corps told LCG to stop all activity on the project (with the . Employee Application for Summer Learning 2021, St. Martin Parish Head Start Academy Program, St. Martin Parish Early Head Start & Head Start Academy Program, St Martin Parish Type III Child Care Centers, School Based-Health Centers and School Nurse Program, St Martin Parish Virtual Learning Program, Virtual Learning Family Technology Survey, Cameras in SPED Self-Contained Classrooms - St. Martin Adopted Policy, SMPSB 2022-23 Ready to Achieve: School Reopening Plan, Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), Behavioral Health Services for Students (Act 696), Parental Access to Instructional Materials (Revised Statue 17:355). Departments Have a question? St. Martin Hospital (SMH), located at 210 Champagne Blvd. Pending the governors signature, both the spoil banks project and the catchall Bayou Vermilion Flood Control project are set to receive more state dollars in the 2022 capital outlay budget. His reasoning for writing to the community about his concerns for the parish during this COVID surge sparked after reading a local newspaper article online describing the pressure local hospitals are feeling at this time. The contract also requires LCG to give written instructions to the contractor increasing the quantity of work and/or change orders. Get it first. . This Tuesday (March 7th) is ACT Testing Day on our high school campuses. It was a very short call, Cedars said. D. Kaplovitz Louisiana Parish Attorneys Association ("LPAA"): Group Parish Attorneys Association ("LPAA") j. touzet; Negotiations stall for public access to Lake Martin boat landing, St. Martin council to seek Supreme Court review of Lake Martin lawsuit, Acadiana Regional Airport fuels up F-18's, Homicide suspect wanted after car crashes with person dead inside, Winning back-to-back Opens starts with OBriens bass-zilla, Big man, big moment: Randall-Bashay's bucket seals win for Yellow Jackets, Jordan brings experience, discipline to Athletic Director role, Louviere finds a slow approach key to nailing big bass for big W, New Iberia police searching for felon in Friday shooting incident, BERRY TALES: Stein's means another 'good-bye'. Other questions:subscriberservices@theadvocate.com. Since November, Rigid has been paid a total of $37 million from LCG for various projects, $3.7 million of that coming for the spoil banks project that took less than two days to complete. "We will review the allegations and respond accordingly," Logan wrote in a message to the Daily Advertiser. And why are Lafayette and St. Martin Parish fighting over them? The spoil banks removal is the latest in a series of fast-paced measures taken by Mayor-President Josh Guillory's administration to address drainage in Lafayette. 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 . He has been Departments Read More Cedars said he continued with a second question: 'Why didnt you tell me?' At issue is the removal of half of a 12-feet levee structure left behind from the last time the Vermilion was dredged that has for decades protected St. Martinville from flooding. Waiting for a judge to be assigned to the suit, according to public records at last check on Friday. I do not need Lafayette Parish Government telling St. Martin Parish whats best for us. 2023 www.theadvertiser.com. Something that is now possible thanks to a $14.3 million grant. "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. You have to go out and re-bid it, says former Louisiana Legislative Auditor Daryl Purpera. The St. Martin Parish Council on Tuesday unanimously voted to authorize Parish President Chester Cedars to pursue litigation against Lafayette Consolidated Government for removal of spoil. Whether the amended contract was awarded illegally hinges on if the work on the spoil banks falls within the scope of the original contract. var year = today.getFullYear() . Copyright 2023 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Public Works Committee @ 4:30 on the 3rd Tuesday; Administrative Committee Meeting follows Parish President. St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars said Tuesday evening that the administration is looking to fund several ambitious initiatives using funds from the American Rescue Plan Act: Water system consolidation $1 million Broadband expansion $3 million Water infrastructure in Water Works District 5 and along Highway 94 $3.8 million "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?". The district attorney can pursue that violation. The spoil banks are makeshift dirt levees, nearly 4,000 feet long, that follow the river's southern bank around the Cypress Island Swamp in St. Martin Parish, isolating the river from the low-lying swampland and preventing floodwaters from dumping out of the river and into the swamp during storms. Vice President: Kevin Martin. The Oscars will air on ABC and can be streamed on ABC.com and the ABC app as well as Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, AT&T TV or FuboTV. ft. skate park in Lafayette, Downtown Lafayette will soon see a new residential, Contentious California nuclear plant can keep operating,, Lafayette woman attempts to fight off purse snatcher, Ragin Cajuns Fall to App State in SBC Tournament, Spanish Moss was almost called French Moss, Prep Basketball: #1 NISH advances in thriller of, Meghan Schorman Claims Sun Belt Softball Pitcher, Ella Goodies family searching for another family, Carencro Fire Department responds to fire on Braquet, Jury convicts Louisiana man of trafficking fentanyl,, Ville Platte woman arrested for felony theft, Abbeville woman thankful to be alive after shot in, Carencro man re-arrested on child pornography charges, La. St. Martin Parish Federal Programs & Technology Annex 625 Corporate Boulevard, Breaux Bridge, LA 70517 337.332.3388. Select from these options: Breaking News, Evening News Headlines, Latest COVID-19 Headlines, Morning News Headlines, Special Offers. 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. Now, they might win it back. LCG did not turn over any construction plans for the project, saying it had no known documents responsive to our request for them. Flood fight:Lafayette, St. Martin parishes are arguing about a strip of dirt by the river. St. Martin Parish turned the tables on Lafayette Mayor-President Josh Guillory's administration Wednesday with a new lawsuit asking a local judge to order Lafayette to rebuild the Cypress Island Swamp spoil banks.