He has also served as the Director of Planning and Zoning of St. Mary Parish. 1059 Sonny Dr. Bayou Vermilion Flood Control alone was allocated $22 million from the states windfall of one-time money. 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 When you did not have a permit, Romero added. At this point in time, there is absolutely no articulable, cogent reason most of our community should continue to refuse to wear masks in indoor setting or refuse to even consider receiving a vaccine. firefighter Brent Haynes recovering, Best athletic wear for kids joining baseball and, How to watch all the Oscar-nominated movies in style, Best smart home devices for older users, according, First look at new 13,000 sq. Dozens of projects have been OKd by the councils with scant scrutiny, even as the administration lost expropriation cases in court. On Friday, St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars levied the allegations against LCG. With multiple boil advisories in the recent past, Cedars says it's no secret the parish and others with outdated equipment and infrastructure like it have issues with the systems, especially in rural areas. LCGs drainage program is itself unusually massive in scope and speed. ST. MARTIN PARISH, La. Create a password that only you will remember. If LCG was to successfully pull off its plan to go into the Cypress Island Swamp area without St. Martins knowledge or cooperation, it needed to move quickly and quietly. One contractor interviewed by The Current defended the pricing in the contract, noting its what he would charge for the work. Attached to it was Rigids half page invoice. Many of these communities do not have the necessary funding to repair or maintain the water systems. 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. 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. The Daily Iberian 124 E Main St, New Iberia, LA 70560 | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | The DAILY IBERIAN & ACADIANA LIFESTYLE are owned by Wick Communications. 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. Vice President: Kevin Martin. "Not . Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. But the contract terms require Rigid to document and justify those overages, Cedars said he asked Guillory when the two spoke after the operation was completed, Cedars has since threatened to sue everyone involved. The district attorney can pursue that violation. "I want to give a full report to the council to the public at one time," he said. In an intense special council meeting attended by more than 100 angry St. Martin Parish residents, Cedars vehemently expressed his dismay toward LCG Mayor-President Josh Guillory. 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 . Corps of Engineers to remove the spoil banks along the Vermilion River in St. Martinville, but that request was ultimately withdrawn, according to Cedars. Martin Parish line. He also addressed rumors that some landowners might try to block Rookery Road around the lake. "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. First, to authorize Cedars to "pursue litigation against every single person, farm and entity that may be complicit in the removal of the banks," including LCG officials. Im not frustrated as much as Im appalled, Cedars said. Residents and parish leaders say theyre now also concerned over the legality of removing them. Im pretty sure all of this was done with her permission or her approval.. At 3 oclock as of today, a week ago, we discovered that Lafayette Consolidated Government decided to remove the spoil banks, Cedars said, describing a phone call with Guillory that he said took place two hours after the discovery. Army Corps inspection finds no permit was needed for Lafayette spoil banks removal, removed a March lawsuit by LCG against St. Martin Parish, St. Martin Parish wants Lafayettes lawsuit thrown out for being in Lafayette, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. There are about two dozen of these properties, and they are causing an expense to the city because they have to keep them up.. You cant sign a contract or pass an ordinance that allows you to ignore public bid law, says one former LCG official. The spoil banks have been a point of contention between LCG and the St. Martin Parish Government for months as the two have debated the drainage merits and risks of removal. "When they were telling me about the project, I said, 'Wait a minute! The parish has no jurisdiction. Phone number 337 332 2105. Cedars would not say exactly what St. Martin Parish's plan is to address LCG's removal of the spoil banks but did say that he plans to give a full report on the situation at the St. Martin Parish Council's next meeting on Tuesday, March 15. The council also discussed the potential sale of property within the city of St. Martinville that had been adjudicated as being co-owned by the city and the parish. 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. Follow Andrew Capps on Twitter or send an email to acapps@theadvertiser.com. You can experience nature at its finest and tour the Parishs natural gifts such as Bayou Teche, Lake Martin, and the Atchafalaya Basin. http://dss.louisiana.gov/page/109. Chester Cedars, the St. Martin Parish President, speaks at a Parish Council meeting, at which the council voted to pursue litigation against Lafayette Parish for the removal of a spoil bank. But even against that backdrop, the spoil banks project stands out. It was paid only $1.6 million in all of the previous fiscal year, according to online records. St. Martin Parish Federal Programs & Technology Annex 625 Corporate Boulevard, Breaux Bridge, LA 70517 337.332.3388. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. After rain storms in May 2021, Guillory advocated using an emergency ordinance to appropriate $20 million for city drainage projects, cutting red tape in part by bypassing bid requirements for a raft a projects. St. Martin Parish President has posted updates about the expected impacts for the parish from Hurricane Ida. :And why are Lafayette and St. Martin Parish fighting over them? Not only could the millions spent digging ponds and removing spoil banks be money down the drain, but the city and/or parish could be on the hook for property owners legal fees and millions in penalties to restore lands to their original conditions. If you forget it, you'll be able to recover it using your email address. President Russel C. Foti ; Vice President Mark Hebert ; District I Steve Fuselier 1059 Sonny Dr. St. Martinville, LA 70582 Tel: 337.394.4436. The losses could substantially burden both city and parish finances. One former public official is willing to give LCG the benefit of the doubt on the contract amendment. I do not need Lafayette Parish Government telling St. Martin Parish whats best for us. "With so much of our daily life revolving around internet connectivity, we are making fiber infrastructure modernization a priority for our parish. Copy and paste this code into your website. LCG letter:Army Corps inspection finds no permit was needed for Lafayette spoil banks removal. Both Homewood and the St. Martin spoil banks are part of the Bayou Vermilion Flood Control project, the centerpiece of a $106 million capital program to stop homes and businesses from flooding. St. Martin Parish Operations, Maintenance & Transportation 775 West Bridge Street, Breaux Bridge, LA 70517 337-909-2990. It's whether the law was broken (and, I THINK we can all agree, millions more spent than necessary) in doing so. But the contract terms require Rigid to document and justify those overages. 314 Elmer St Corps of Engineers, LCG quietly purchased an undivided interest in a 41-acre tract from both the Guilliot family and Blanchet Land Company for $42,000 each (leaving a third owner out of the transaction), and it had to be only hours before Rigid was working the site (the sale was not recorded with the St. Martin Parish Clerk of Court until March 9). Contact her at (337) 207-4312 or [emailprotected]. Parish President I am personally pleased that you have devoted time to view this website. So it sounds to me like theyre in violation of the bid law.. 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. Cedars cites the latest COVID hospitalization data in the Acadiana Region 4 and positivity rates within the parish. The Corps added it would determine whether a permit for this work was required or not. We interviewed our tech expert, Jaime Vazquez, to learn more about accessible smart home devices. Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox. Its parish seat is St. Martinville, and the largest city is Breaux Bridge. 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. 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. St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars has vowed to sue everyone involved in the clandestine removal of spoil banks in his parish. Jimmy "Coach" Durio Its unclear how much information the bidders were given about potential projects to come and whether they knew of LCGs plans for St. Martin Parish. St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars listens to a discussion at Tuesday's parish council meeting. The property around the lake is privately owned. 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. Morgan City Mayor; Vermilion Parish. St. Martinville, LA 70582 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. Joyce Haynes is the president of the school . Cedars spent most of his parish presidents report explaining exactly how the issues with access to Lake Martin came into being. Neither Rigids Fortier nor LCG Public Works Director Chad Nepveaux responded to requests for comment. Cedars accused the parish government of removing spoil banks along the Vermilion River in St.. 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. Why didnt you tell me? St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars said he asked Guillory when the two spoke after the operation was completed. Check out our map of Lafayette drainage projects here. TOLL-FREE,24 HOURS A DAY, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK 625 Corporate Boulevard, Breaux Bridge, LA 70517 Drainage:LCG took their land and razed it in a week. The Guillory administration did not respond to requests for comment on this timeline. I did see something that it was done in two days, but the equipment that was brought in from as far as Idaho, and a lot of that Rigid had to pre-pay I remember was going on. Lafayette Consolidated Government quietly removed the spoil banks from the southern shore of the Vermilion River in St. Martin Parish in February despite previous objections from the St. Martin Parish Government, which was not informed when the work was done. 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. Stay up to date with the latest news by downloading the BRProud App from the App Store or Google Play. Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way. (KLFY) An investigation has begun in the firings of many former employees in St. Landry Parish [] UPDATE, 3/3/2023: Milton-Fontenot said that Bellard gave her job back . Lawsuit:Despite judges ruling, LCG uses identical quick take to seize land for detention pond. 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. Dwayne Fatherree is the community editor for The Daily Iberian. Bid law trumps.. It is also my understanding, as Ms Turk mentioned, St Martin has been an obstacle to the removal of the spoil banks and restoring the natural floodway. Website And certainly going from $300,000 or $400,000 to $3 [million] or $4 million would be a material change in the contract. ST. MARTINVILLE, L.a. Aging water systems are causing issues for small municipalities across the country, state, and even here in Acadiana. The wire transfer to Rigid came five days after LCG lost the Homewood ruling and is for work on that project. St. Martin Parish Federal Programs & Technology Annex 625 Corporate Boulevard, Breaux Bridge, LA 70517 337.332.3388. Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in. There can be a myriad of violations, says Shaye, who declined to comment on whether her office has been alerted to LCGs contracts. St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars says St. Martin Parish is no longer going to be one of them. I wish to extend my sincere appreciation to the businesses who have chosen to invest in St. Martin Parish. The lake and lake bed are under control of the state through the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Cedars said. "I can give you 14.3 million additional reasons it's not just talk, and that's the $14.3 million we've committed to making this consolidation work. The Parish President is the chief administrative officer of parish government and is assisted by the administrative staff and the parish's operating departments. dwayne.fatherree@daily-iberian.com. 'I guess I should have,' he said to me.. You have permission to edit this article. The current modeling of the spoil bank removal project shows that there is no threat of harm to St. Martin Parish.. Let us know what's going on! Invalid password or account does not exist. 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 projects are already costing taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars in city-parish legal fees, plus millions in re-mobilization costs. With multiple boil advisories in the recent past, Cedars says it's no secret the. I dont see anything else MP Guillory could have done more reasonable to finally get something accomplished to protect the interest of Lafayette residents at risk of flooding, due to changes in the landscape, beyond their control. On October 14, 2021, I met with Mayor-President Guillory and several members of his staff. 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[citation needed] From 2000 to 2004, Angelle was the first parish president of St. Martin Parish and the vice president from 1998 to 2000 of the Huval Companies in Lafayette, Louisiana. Her work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Acadiana Advocate, The Daily Advertiser, Baton Rouge Business Report, Louisiana Illuminator and Gambit. Want to see more results ? Lafayettes spoil banks project in St. Martin Parish avoided public bid law and netted a contractor millions. He can be reached at dwayne.fatherree@daily-iberian.com. It is also my understanding that the USCOE recommended removing the spoil banks, back in 1994?, after the 1993 flood. What are spoil banks? This Tuesday (March 7th) is ACT Testing Day on our high school campuses. St. Martin Parish Government (SMPG) District 6 Councilman Brook Champagne, speaking at the August 3, 2021, SMPG Council meeting, makes the emphatic statement that farmer and constituent Billy Broussard is "violating the zoning ordinance, and there's no doubt about it!" Theyre speaking with regulatory agencies about imposing penalties on LCG if they find they did violate the law. Normal processes for getting the project done would not have made that possible. St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars says St. Martin Parish is no longer going to be one of them. If your child will play baseball or softball this spring, youll need to stock up on appropriate clothing and equipment. Rigid CEO Cody Fortier, Rigid itself and Fortiers CF LLC each made $2,500 donations to the mayor-presidents campaign, The contract was awarded for one year, with options to renew for two additional one-year terms, soon after the as-needed contract was awarded in December, one for $9.3 million for the Bayou Vermilion Flood Control project paid via wire transfer to Rigid on May 9, with LCG paying via wire transfer only 11 times out of 35,000 payments, Rigid-half-page-quote-for-spoil-banks-removal.pdf, On Feb. 18 LCG filed with the Lafayette Parish Clerk of Court Amendment #1, before obtaining permits from either St. Martin Parish or the U.S. The investigation could force changes to the project to blunt its impact on the Black and low-income neighborhoods that will house it. Steve Fuselier Frustrated with spending excessive time and money buying and installing water filters only for them to get clogged or stop working, he tells KATC he and his neighbors have filed a class-action lawsuit against United Water in a last-ditch effort to get assistance. Removing the spoil banks could help drainage throughout Lafayette by lowering water levels on the Vermilion by almost 8 inches in a 2- to 10-year storm, similar to the one in May 2014, and by a little over 2 inches in a storm similar to the August 2016 floods, according to a study by the University of Louisiana at Lafayettes Watershed Flood Center. Other questions:subscriberservices@theadvocate.com. ONLY10th&11th graders will report to their respective high schools on Tuesdayto take their required ACT exam. Vital var today = new Date() 301 West Port Street. Serious allegations from St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars, against LCG over flood control. "Let me just say this, St. Martin Parish is not gonna sit on their ass and allow this to go unremediated.". The three measures were approved by all nine council members. 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. Tel: 337.394.4436, District II St. Martin Parish residents who live near the area where the spoil bank once stood agree this may not benefit them. 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. Cedars said LCG removed the spoil banks without the appropriate regulatory licenses or permits required by law. 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. 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. 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. Interim St. Martin Parish Chester Cedars won the president seat with 73 percent of the vote tonight. 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. I did not get a formal response, Cedars said. Logan confirmed that it was his idea for LCG to do more as-needed contracts, which arent that unusual in public works departments. Wanda B. Sign up for our free newsletter. Cedars says he believes, however, more research on how it would impact their region should have been done before LCG moved forward with the project. Fax N/A. In February it was chosen over The Lemoine Company to negotiate pricing with LCG on the $60 million Homewood Detention Ponds project, the largest drainage undertaking in the parishs history. The contract was awarded for one year, with options to renew for two additional one-year terms. 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. "That doesn't preclude any other type of actions which may occur.". Three days later, on Feb. 21, before obtaining permits from either St. Martin Parish or the U.S. It is my understanding that the overflow of the Vermilion R to Cypress Island swamp is the natural flow of flooding relief. This would have saved many hundreds of millions of dollars of property damage, reduction in property values and tax base, not to mention the risk to public safety. "We need clean water, that's the very first thing we need because this is not a third-world country, this is America and we shouldn't have third-world water going through our pipes.". [2] St. Martin Parish is part of the Lafayette metropolitan area in the region of Acadiana, along . In all, the as-needed contracts value alone has ballooned to approximately $5.2 million in a few short months. Individuals interested in applying for positions may stop by the agency during those times. This is a great day for our region, Guillory added. Waiting for a judge to be assigned to the suit, according to public records at last check on Friday. U.S. President; U.S. Why would you do that to your neighbors? 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 . A public records request for electronic communication between Fortier and LCG officials is pending.