Monica says last-minute resolution wasn’t meant as sneaky measure
Published 12:00 am Sunday, March 19, 2000
ERIK SANZENBACH / L’Observateur / March 19, 2000
LAPLACE – Parish President Nickie Monica raised eyebrows Tuesday night when he seemed to sneak in a resolution at the end of the regular council meeting to get the council to accept his nomination of Bill Hubbard to the South Louisiana Port Commission.
The council passed a resolution asking Gov. Mike Foster to appoint Hubbardto the commission.
The resolution came at the very end of the meeting after the council re- convened from an executive session.
Monica then asked the council to suspend the rules, the council did so and Monica proposed his resolution to endorse Hubbard.
The council voted 6-1 for the resolution. Melissa Faucheux and Lester Raineywere absent from the room, and Job Boucvalt cast the only negative vote.
Former District 7 Councilman Steve Thornton was very upset at the way the whole thing was handled.
“There seem to be issues that he wants to hide from everybody,” said Thornton. “They waited until the press and the public were gone.”However, Monica assured that wasn’t the case. “There was nothing sneakygoing on,” he said. “I was supposed to bring up the resolution during thepresident’s remarks part of the agenda, and it just slipped my mind. It wasmy mistake.”This issue of Hubbard being named to the port commission has been a sore point with Thornton and several sitting council members. The first timeMonica brought Hubbard’s name up for nomination in February, the council decided to table the issue.
However, under state law, Monica has 60 days to name someone to the commission. That deadline passed last week, and Gov. Foster then had toappoint someone from St. John Parish.Monica said he had called Foster and asked him to name Hubbard. Foster saidhe would, and Monica convinced the council that endorsing Hubbard would be “in the best interest of the parish.”Thornton thinks Hubbard is a poor choice for the port commission because of an illegal bid that Hubbard, a contractor, made when bidding on playground equipment for St. John Parish. Hubbard and the state have cleared it upsaying the whole thing was a clerical mistake.
Besides, the point is moot now. Wednesday evening, Hubbard was sworn in asthe St. John Parish commissioner to the South Louisiana Port Commission.
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