Most of the professionals contacted for this story reviewed documents The Current received from LCG and spoke on the condition of anonymity, so as not to jeopardize ongoing relationships with local government. D. Kaplovitz Louisiana Parish Attorneys Association ("LPAA"): Group Parish Attorneys Association ("LPAA") j. touzet; 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.. I asked. Over the last 25+ years various government agencies have spent many hundreds of millions of dollars on flooded homes, many of which could have been avoided by simply restoring the spoil banks to its original level, along with spot dredging and maintaining the required natural depth of the river. var today = new Date() Logan and Guillory have defended the approach and use of quick take expropriation, characterizing the suits as negotiating tactics on the part of landowners looking for a better price in the case of Homewood and Lake Farm. "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?". 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LAFAYETTE, La. {0} important information hidden . Fiber installed in public-private broadband project | St. Mary Now 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. If you are a St. Martin Parish resident, take a moment to enjoy our many recreational sites and renew your valued acquaintances. Mayor-President Josh Guillory and I also last conferred on April 13, 2021, at which time he assured me that there would be no formal action relative to this proposal until and unless St. Martin Parish can fully and completely vet the proposition and conclude that it presents no threat to our Parish, Cedars wrote. 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. 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. District I This might be a risk-free endeavor for Lafayette Parish, but it is not a risk-free endeavor for St. Martin Parish, Cedars said. About Us. Aside from the limestone used for a parking lot at the lake, which is viewed as an extension of Rookery Road, the parish cannot use resources to repair or expand improvements on private property. You cant sign a contract or pass an ordinance that allows you to ignore public bid law, says one former LCG official. Turnarounds of days, rather than weeks, is atypical, according to sources. Box 9. Many of these communities do not have the necessary funding to repair or maintain the water systems. School Board - St. Martin Parish - saintmartinschools.org 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. 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. 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. 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." 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. "That doesn't preclude any other type of actions which may occur.". Corps of Engineers, leaving a third owner out of the transaction, On Feb. 23 Rigid invoiced LCGs Public Works Department $3.7 million for the work. "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. Chester Cedars - Parish.. - St Martin Parish Government | ZoomInfo St. Martin Parish Government 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. BREAKING: Lafayette quietly removes spoil levee from St Martin Parish 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. 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. Sign up for our free newsletter. Joyce Haynes is the president of the school . "This is the most incredible, unprofessional thing that I think one governmental jurisdiction can do to the other. Guillory's administration already faces two lawsuits over a novel type of quick-take land grab used to secure properties to build major detention ponds, one of which was overturned by a local judge and is now on appeal. Broussard's attorney accuses St. Martin Parish Government & President (KLFY) St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars has signed new guidelines for COVID-19 for parish-owned and operated facilities, effective immediately. 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. 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, La. ------------------------------------------------------------Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere. 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. St. Martin council passes ordinance restricting dumping, burning 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. 625 Corporate Boulevard, Breaux Bridge, LA 70517 Initially, he said, the landings were built using parish materials and using trusty work crews from the parish jail. St. Martin Parish. Dwayne Fatherree / The Daily Iberian Buy Now Bruce Emley, division vice president for Waste Connections Bayou LLC, speaks at Tuesday's St. Martin Parish Council meeting. He was eventually taken into custody by the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff . Guillory has made clear hell do whatever it takes to push projects through faster. 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. "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. Lafayette Consolidated Government removed spoil banks along the Vermilion River last week. Project Coordinator Job Opening in Saint Martinville, LA at St. Martin 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. The only jurisdiction the parish has is through zoning, and the right to legislate the use of the land around the lake.. 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. UPDATE: Corps investigating work on spoil banks on Vermilion River - KATC 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. St. Martin Parish wants Lafayette's spoil banks lawsuit thrown out for Lafayette Mayor President Josh Guillory says LCG removed the spoil banks to help flash flooding and drainage. As the spoil banks are already gone, Cedars says theyre trying to fix this. In the days and weeks before the contract was signed, Rigid CEO Cody Fortier, Rigid itself and Fortiers CF LLC each made $2,500 donations to the mayor-presidents campaign, as did another company associated with Fortier, Sunshine Homes LLC, for a total of $10,000, according to campaign finance records. This parish is not afraid to fight in the courts to protect the publics rights.. The same cant be said for us, said Yvonne Romero, a St. Martin Parish resident who attended the meeting. St. Martin Parish President brushes off 30-year-old lifeguarding skills during NACo Annual Conference Like any good executive, Parish President Guy Cormier has to delegate to get things done, day in and day out, in St. Martin's Parish, La. Chester Cedars wins St. Martin Parish President seat The losses could substantially burden both city and parish finances. http://dss.louisiana.gov/page/109. 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. In the midst of French culture, exploration, and settlement during the late eighteenth century, St. Mary bears the distinction of being a primarily Anglo-Protestant settlement in the midst of French-Catholic Acadiana. St. Martin Parish to sue, investigate removal of spoil banks by We interviewed our tech expert, Jaime Vazquez, to learn more about accessible smart home devices. British Chemical Manufacturer to Build First U.S. Facility in Acadiana Departments - St. Mary Parish Government Vice President Lorem ipsum dolor consecteture adiciping. 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. Spoil banks:St. Martin Parish wants Lafayettes lawsuit thrown out for being in Lafayette. Flood fight:Lafayette, St. Martin parishes are arguing about a strip of dirt by the river. LCG did not turn over any construction plans for the project, saying it had no known documents responsive to our request for them. We interviewed our tech expert, Jaime Vazquez, to learn more about accessible smart home devices. No records of such documentation have been produced in our records requests, besides the half-page bid table pricing the rush-ordered work. 15th JDC Judge (Div. Thank you for the well written synopsis of this million dollar project. Guillory, says, however, a permit was not necessary. Billy Broussard sues Daily Iberian for "nothing short of journalistic Site Map; Accessibility; Facebook (opens in new window/tab) Login & subscribe to unlock. This is a great day for our region, Guillory added. 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. I do not need Lafayette Parish Government telling St. Martin Parish whats best for us. LUS Fiber expanding to Iberia, St. Martin parishes LCG sued again on St. Martin spoil banks project - The Current St. Martin Parish Government | St. Martin Clerk Interim St. Martin Parish Chester Cedars won the president seat with 73 percent of the vote tonight. The St. Martin Parish facility will employ 976 direct employees with an annual salary of $38,000, plus benefits, and will result in 793 new indirect jobs. The St. Martin Parish Council unanimously voted to give parish president Chester Cedars the authority to seek any and all legal remedies against Lafayette Consolidated Government and other parties found to be responsible for the removal of spoil banks along the Vermilion River. Normal processes for getting the project done would not have made that possible. 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. District II Wanda B. He has been Departments Read More Im pretty sure all of this was done with her permission or her approval.. 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.". 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. " Cedars said he asked. Let us know what's going on! Vicknair, who says by law the project should have been re-bid, believes the losing bidders could have standing for damages if they sued, with the runner-up bidder in the best position to succeed. Russel C. Foti 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. What's a spoil bank, and why is St. Martin Parish mad at Lafayette? St. Martin Parish accusing LCG of removing spoil banks along the 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. DENHAM SPRINGS, La. Something that is now possible thanks to a $14.3 million grant. ALLother St. MartinParishSchoolswill beopen on Tuesday, March 7th,for IN-PERSON INSTRUCTION. Salary Schedules - St. Martin Parish - saintmartinschools.org St. Martin Parish's objection the spoil bank removal could cause legal trouble for LCG, as Lafayette's local government did not get a necessary permit to remove the spoil banks from St. Martin Parish, according to Cedars. 1005 Big Apple Lane And certainly going from $300,000 or $400,000 to $3 [million] or $4 million would be a material change in the contract. St. Martin Council on Aging, Inc. accepts applications from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. The parish has no jurisdiction. Whether the amended contract was awarded illegally hinges on if the work on the spoil banks falls within the scope of the original contract. Over in Arnaudville, Paul Boudreaux shares his issues with United Water System, a service he's been a customer of since 2019 when he moved back home. 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. And the peculiar vehicle for awarding such a large contract, in effect side-stepping the transparency and cost controls required of public contracting, may itself have violated public bid law, according to interviews with a dozen contractors, engineers, lawyers and former LCG employees. You have permission to edit this article. Box 9 St. Martinville, LA 70582 (337) 394-2200 EMAIL . Why would you do that to your neighbors? His response was, 'Yes I did,' Cedars said. LCG letter:Army Corps inspection finds no permit was needed for Lafayette spoil banks removal. St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars said, however, it will not help their region and called it "an act of misconduct." "I do not need Lafayette Parish Government telling St. Martin . Check out our map of Lafayette drainage projects here. Records from LCG and Open Book reveal that Rigids invoices are typically paid within days, with one for $9.3 million for the Bayou Vermilion Flood Control project paid via wire transfer to Rigid on May 9, one working day after it was submitted. The maximum price of the projects first phase was negotiated at $30.6 million, but grew to $38 million when Rigid was forced to mobilize to another drainage project during litigation with the landowners.
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