ERIK SANZENBACH / L’Observateur / March 19, 2000

EDGARD – The St. John the Baptist Parish Council discussed and/or passedthe following items at its March 14 meeting:

The council gave permission to the St. Joan of Arc School to have itsannual marathon race March 18 starting at 9 a.m. The course will run fromthe school yard and around the Riverland Estates through Hackberry Drive.

Councilmen Cleveland Farlough and Allen St. Pierre introduced a resolutionasking the state Department of Transportation and Development to install right and left turning lanes at the intersection of W. Airline Highway and W.19th Street in Reserve. The resolution passed unanimously.

Bertram Madere, director of public safety, was given permission to advertise for bids to build “T-Hangars” at the St. John Parish Airport.

Chief Administrative Officer Chris Guidry asked that Highland Fabricators be accepted in the Louisiana Enterprise Zone Program. The resolution waspassed.

Cleveland Farlough got a resolution passed requiring all parish employees and contractors who have items on the council agenda to be present at council meetings to answer all questions.

Councilman Lester Rainey Jr. said he has worked out a plan with the U.S.Census Bureau to use the Roland Borne Sr. Memorial Library in Edgard asheadquarters during the 2000 census.

Parish President Nickie Monica reinstated a letter of no objection from Enron Communications allowing them to continue to lay fiber-optic cable in the parish.

Councilwoman Melissa Faucheux said she has been asked by her constituents to see if the parish can get a code enforcement officer into the Cambridge area. Faucheux asked the administration to look into thefeasibility of this and see if maybe the Retired Senior Volunteer Program could maybe help out.

Felix Dottolo addressed the council on the feasibility of starting a “Scared Straight” program in the parish. Dottolo said the program has a 20-yearrecord of an 80 percent success rate in keeping kids out of jail. The councilmoved that the administration and Dottolo get together and find a way to fund the program.

Farlough said he wants to put a deadline on agenda items for council meetings. He said this would keep things orderly and would help the councilsecretary Audrey Millet.

John Staring, engineer with GEC Co., asked the council for final approval onthe facades on the Edgard Courthouse and the Percy Hebert Building in LaPlace. Except for three small and minor items, the renovation is completeand done under budget. There is still $100, 000 left over. The council gaveits final approval.

Mitch Lebas, engineer for Shread-Kurkyndahl, asked for a change order to get more money to refurbish the water storage tank at the Lions Water Plant. The council approved the order for $79,500.

Councilman Steve Lee appointed Darrell Loque to the Aviation Advisory Board.

Faucheux asked other council members to appoint people to the Grants Committee.

Monica said he will meet with Kansas City Railroad officials to see if they can help with putting drainage culverts under their tracks on the west side of Louisiana Highway 54 near Garyville and Plantation Oaks.

Monica also reminded everybody the Experimental Airplane Association is holding an air show at the St. John Parish Airport to celebrate the airport’s10th birthday. The show is today from 9 a.m. until dusk, and the public isinvited.

Monica said he is very impressed with his new director of recreation, Errol Manuel. He told the following story to illustrate his point.Manuel, who starts work on Monday, asked how he could get a desk for his office. Monica’s secretary, Joy, told Manuel to fill out a requisition form andthe cost of the desk would be taken out of his budget.

Manuel said he didn’t want the cost of a desk to be in his budget. He askedwhere they kept all the old desks, and he found himself a slightly-used but perfectly serviceable desk to use – at no cost to his department or the taxpayer.

“I like that kind of attitude,” said Monica.

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