LEONARD GRAY / L’Observateur / November 22, 2000

HAHNVILLE – Pat Elfer of St. Rose clings to the hope of saving her ancestralhome, a cottage on River Road which faces the possibility of being torn downin a matter of weeks. At the St. Charles Parish Council meeting Monday,Elfer made an emotional plea for a letter of support from them to help herraise funds for the house’s relocation.

Elfer said that according to a letter of donation from Riverwood EstatesSubdivision developer Wayne Wandell, the house is hers until Dec. 10. If shedoes not move it by then, however, the house reverts back to the ownersand it could be destroyed.

The house, an 1890s-era cottage which was in the Elfer family forgenerations, was sold by the family to the developers on Oct. 26. Elfer, who has fought since 1983 to preserve the house, pleaded andobtained the letter of donation three weeks later, before which she could donothing. Now, the clock is ticking. On the other hand, according to Sam Wright, representing the developers,”this caught us off guard.”If the letter of support was issued by the council, he warned, the companywould face almost certain bankruptcy. “We are out almost a million dollarsnow, and the ticker’s running.”Wright called the house weatherbeaten and said it “may or may not collapse”during relocation. “We don’t think the house is structurally sound enough tomove at all,” he said.

Elfer said the house is, indeed, structurally sound, doesn’t even leak andwould make an excellent tourism information center for the east bank,especially if located on property near the new St. Rose library branch andnear the bike path on the levee.

However, that site is now state property and not yet in the hands of theparish, which cannot accept the house until that property is deeded over tothe parish. Administrative officer Timothy Vial could not say when that wouldhappen.

Elfer also displayed a model of the house, built the night before by herselfand her 10-year-old daughter, Amanda.

Elfer offered to move the house behind the St. Rose Tavern, which she owns,to safeguard it until the property does become available. It would cost anestimated $77,000 to move the house.

The council rejected her plea in a 7-2 vote, with Councilmen Lance Marino andClayton “Snookie” Faucheux voting with Elfer.

In other matters, the parish council: Approved a one-year study on releasing treated wastewater from theLuling Oxidation Pond into the adjoining marshes to replenish the plant life.

Approved the subsurfacing of the Bar None West ditch in two phases,totaling $780,555. Engineer on the project is Shread-Kuyrkendall, whichengineering will be supervised by Lee Zeringue of St. Charles Parish PublicWorks.

Approved a three-way stop signs at Sugarhouse Road and Courville Drive toslow speeding in the area and head off accidents.

Approved a change order totaling $340,205.83 on the Bayou Gauche PumpStation and Force Main project, adding work in Killona and Hahnville deletedfrom earlier jobs due to lack of servitudes.

Approved the purchase of a lot at 843 Milling Avenue, in Luling, where thenew parish health unit will be built. The site adjoins the Ellington Swim Clubpool.

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