Without funds or operator, ferry set to close Wednesday
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, July 31, 2013
By Kimberly Hopson
L’Observateur
LAPLACE – Representatives of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development have responded to recent allegations that they once again reneged on an agreement with St. John the Baptist Parish regarding the Reserve/Edgard ferry.
According to parish officials, the DOTD announced that it will cease to operate the ferry today, July 31, despite having the funding to operate the ferry through Aug. 31.
The DOTD allegedly offered this amount of time for the parish to complete the requirements for a $1 million grant and to secure an agreement with a ferry operator. Parish officials said that the full amount of time was not granted and have once again asked residents and business leaders to contact their legislative delegation and the Governor’s Office to plead for more time.
In response, Jodi Conachen, a DOTD spokesperson, released a copy of a memorandum of understanding signed by both parties on June 27. According to Conachen, the extension was just for the month of July.
The memorandum states that the parish agreed to file necessary documents to exchange one half mile of state highway in exchange for a road credit that the document said was valued at $200,000, which would fund ferry operations for one month. The parish also agreed to pay the DOTD the cost of ferry transfer operations from the dates of July 1 to July 31 and acknowledged that the DOTD would no longer operate the ferry after the cutoff date, whether the parish found a funding source or not.
Conachen said that DOTD staff were only available to run the ferry until July 31 because of the late nature of the agreement and the active layoff plan.
The parish alleged that it approved a road transfer resolution valued at $647,000, with $400,000 for operation of the ferry until Sept. 1. The parish administration has worked with the Office of Community Development to complete the application process and is currently on track for a public hearing and approval. These additional funds could continue ferry operations for an additional six months if the fare is increased and the schedule is adjusted. Utilization of these funds requires public hearings and procurement of an operator through a public bid, all of which can be somewhat lengthy processes. According to parish officials, the original deadline of Sept. 1 is the minimum amount of time needed to complete the application and procurement process to secure a private operator.