LAPLACE — St. John the Baptist Parish leaders are working to identify a backup water supply system for LaPlace.

For the past several years, the Parish Council has been floating the idea of building a third well in the Ruddock area, adjacent to the two current wells that supply water to LaPlace.

Parish Chief Administrative Officer Laverne Toombs noted the Parish’s advisors and bond attorney presented options to finance future water projects, including increasing Ad Valorem taxes, increasing sales taxes or increasing water rates.

She said the amount of the increase would be determined by the cost of the projects and the ability to repay the debt.

Councilman Marvin Perrilloux was adamant when he said he is “zero in favor in any of these.”

The majority of Council members echoed his sentiments during Tuesday’s Council meeting.

Perrilloux also raised the idea, which quickly gained traction among colleagues, to look into the possibility of redirecting certain millages, especially the library millage which has an estimated $10 million surplus, with most of the work throughout the parish library system complete.

Councilman Michael Wright said he first raised the idea about the new well in 2012, which administration opposed in favor of a new system that could cost up to $16 million. He said even if the $16 million was put in the bank “today, it would still be 11 years since we first discussed it that the project would be completed.”

— By Richard Meek