0:36. residents cited for shooting geese from moving, 30 Iberia Parish jail inmates baptized behind bars, Wanted Louisiana fugitive arrested by U.S. Rigid played a limited role in the Lake Farm Road detention project that first landed LCG in court over property rights, having been paid $61,000 to clear and burn trees on the Randol family land near Costco in May 2021. Vice President Lorem ipsum dolor consecteture adiciping. The makeshift levees isolate the river from low-lying land east of the Lafayette Regional Airport and rise several feet over the river in most areas, preventing the rivers flood waters from flowing into the low-lying land and out of the riverand adjoining coulees, during storms. Cedars has been serving as the interim parish president since former President Guy. Rather, it seems we are more interested in protecting and advocating our individual ideologue rather than adhering to the advice of medical science and thus protecting our fellow citizens, our businesses, our employers/employees, our healthcare system, and our children.. Third, an investigation by the congressional delegation on what happened, in order, Cedars said, that we are not going to let it happen again.. and last updated 8:09 PM, Feb 27, 2023. The spoil banks have been a point of contention between LCG and the St. Martin Parish Government for months as the two have debated the drainage merits and risks of removal. 337-909-2990, REPORT CHILD ABUSE: 1-855-4LA-KIDS (1-855-452-5437) The property around the lake is privately owned. St. Martin Parish residents who live near the area where the spoil bank once stood agree this may not benefit them. DENHAM SPRINGS, La. Rigid CEO Cody Fortier, Rigid itself and Fortiers CF LLC each made $2,500 donations to the mayor-presidents campaign, The contract was awarded for one year, with options to renew for two additional one-year terms, soon after the as-needed contract was awarded in December, one for $9.3 million for the Bayou Vermilion Flood Control project paid via wire transfer to Rigid on May 9, with LCG paying via wire transfer only 11 times out of 35,000 payments, Rigid-half-page-quote-for-spoil-banks-removal.pdf, On Feb. 18 LCG filed with the Lafayette Parish Clerk of Court Amendment #1, before obtaining permits from either St. Martin Parish or the U.S. Neither Rigids Fortier nor LCG Public Works Director Chad Nepveaux responded to requests for comment. As the spoil banks are already gone, Cedars says theyre trying to fix this. No records of such documentation have been produced in our records requests, besides the half-page bid table pricing the rush-ordered work. St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars, who has disputed the merits and risks of removing the spoil banks, said Thursday he was given no advance notice of LCG's plans to "surreptitiously" remove the spoil banks. Second, a public investigation on the regulations allegedly violated during the removal, including those ruled by FEMA and the Environmental Protection Agency. Payment records show at least three other projects were billed to the as-needed contract, including excavation work for detention ponds on Coulee Ile Des Cannes. Very little of what Rigid charged on the spoil banks project is related to excavation. Vital . Dwayne Fatherree / The Daily Iberian Buy Now Bruce Emley, division vice president for Waste Connections Bayou LLC, speaks at Tuesday's St. Martin Parish Council meeting. ft. skate park in Lafayette, Downtown Lafayette will soon see a new residential, Contentious California nuclear plant can keep operating,, Lafayette woman attempts to fight off purse snatcher, Ragin Cajuns Fall to App State in SBC Tournament, Spanish Moss was almost called French Moss, Prep Basketball: #1 NISH advances in thriller of, Meghan Schorman Claims Sun Belt Softball Pitcher, Ella Goodies family searching for another family, Carencro Fire Department responds to fire on Braquet, Jury convicts Louisiana man of trafficking fentanyl,, Ville Platte woman arrested for felony theft, Abbeville woman thankful to be alive after shot in, Carencro man re-arrested on child pornography charges, La. Logan and Guillory have defended the approach and use of quick take expropriation, characterizing the suits as negotiating tactics on the part of landowners looking for a better price in the case of Homewood and Lake Farm. St. Martin Parish Government (SMPG) District 6 Councilman Brook Champagne, speaking at the August 3, 2021, SMPG Council meeting, makes the emphatic statement that farmer and constituent Billy Broussard is "violating the zoning ordinance, and there's no doubt about it!" Mayor-President Josh Guillory and I also last conferred on April 13, 2021, at which time he assured me that there would be no formal action relative to this proposal until and unless St. Martin Parish can fully and completely vet the proposition and conclude that it presents no threat to our Parish, Cedars wrote. 'I guess I should have,' he said to me.. The same cant be said for us, said Yvonne Romero, a St. Martin Parish resident who attended the meeting. On Friday, St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars levied the allegations against LCG. The current modeling of the spoil bank removal project shows that there is no threat of harm to St. Martin Parish.. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. LCG did not turn over any construction plans for the project, saying it had no known documents responsive to our request for them. 600 Corporate Boulevard / PO Box 1000,Breaux Bridge, LA 70517 15 LSU Softball shuts out Minnesota, 3-0, Tigers hit four homers in 26-4 win over Central Connecticut, LSU Advances to Semifinals in SEC Tourney, Skenes tallies career-high 13 Ks in 12-2 victory, Geaux Nation Wrap: LSU advances to SEC Semifinals, Best athletic wear for kids joining baseball and, How to watch all the Oscar-nominated movies in style, Best smart home devices for older users, according, Black seniors invited to health fair in Baton Rouge, Marianne Williamson officially launches 2024 bid, Southern University celebrates 143 years of institutional, Fire at substation in St. James Parish forces road, Police up charges for man allegedly tied to deadly, Coincidence prompted Powerball winner to buy ticket, Driver dead after MD tanker explosion, fire, Ja Morant investigated by NBA over Instagram post, Mortgage rates have little reason to fall in March, Destination Louisiane: Antiques Roadshow; deadline, LSU Womens Basketball signees named Naismith All-Americans, $200K winning ticket sold at BR convenience store, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. I guess I should have, Guillory reportedly told him. Romero said that she saw the first equipment coming to St. Martinville in February, but she thought LCG had permission to do the work. All 10th & 11th graders must bring their fully charged Chromebooks to school on Tuesday for testing. "I want to give a full report to the council to the public at one time," he said. St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars said he is excited about the project, which will bring broadband connectivity to the St. Martin Economic Development Authority's SMEDA Industrial Park, which is located on the Lafayette/St. St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars has promised to hold responsible Lafayette officials and anyone connected to the secretive spoil levee removal, which he fears may send more flood water . At issue is the removal of half of a 12-feet levee structure left behind from the last time the Vermilion was dredged that has for decades protected St. Martinville from flooding. St. Martin Hospital (SMH), located at 210 Champagne Blvd. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Marshals,, Hooded man wearing sagging pants steals $9K in purses, Acadiana foster dad fighting to get children back, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. St. Martin Parish Federal Programs & Technology Annex 625 Corporate Boulevard, Breaux Bridge, LA 70517 337.332.3388. A no-trespassing sign is displayed near a blocked off area of the parking lot near the boat launch at Lake Martin Monday, November 23, 2020, in St. Martin Parish. var today = new Date() And experts agree there is good reason to question the scope, in large part because it increased the value of the original contract tenfold. Army Corps inspection finds no permit was needed for Lafayette spoil banks removal, removed a March lawsuit by LCG against St. Martin Parish, St. Martin Parish wants Lafayettes lawsuit thrown out for being in Lafayette, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. A combination of state dollars and ARPA funds, Cedars says even with the funding, it will take two to three months to get these consolidation efforts off the ground for three water systems in the parish so far: One in Catahoula, one in St. Martinville, and the St. Martin Parish water system. Nevertheless, I cannot sit idly by and not articulate about a critical situation.. 2023 www.theadvertiser.com. Lafayette Parish residents deserve to know and understand this issue. Site Map; Accessibility; Facebook (opens in new window/tab) Local experts say they are, however, typically for more focused projects, like ditch cleaning, small drainage projects, water line maintenance, asphalt overlays those with set costs and typically make changes in the thousands of dollars, not millions. Corps of Engineers to remove the spoil banks along the Vermilion River in St. Martinville, but that request was ultimately withdrawn, according to Cedars. You could argue with some validity that it is state controlled to that point.. Though LCG initially sued St. Martin Parish in Lafayette over the dispute, Wednesday's filing will put the case before 16th Judicial District Court Judge Tony Saleme, of Franklin, unless LCG tries to move the case. The wire transfer to Rigid came five days after LCG lost the Homewood ruling and is for work on that project. I know it took a month, and equipment came from all over the country. Removing the spoil banks could help drainage throughout Lafayette by lowering water levels on the Vermilion by almost 8 inches in a 2- to 10-year storm, similar to the one in May 2014, and by a little over 2 inches in a storm similar to the August 2016 floods, according to a study by the University of Louisiana at Lafayettes Watershed Flood Center. Executed and paid for in days, the spoil banks operation is emblematic of the quick pace of government the Guillory administration has bragged about but has nonetheless landed it in legal trouble. The attorney general can pursue that violation. It was a very short call, Cedars said. St. Martinville, LA 70582 All 9th and 12th graders will remain home on Tuesday and participate in their courses virtuallythrough Google Classroom using their Chromebooks. Lafayette, St. Martin parishes are arguing about a strip of dirt by the river, Five years later, Lafayette is still defined by the catastrophic 2016 flood, LCG took their land and razed it in a week. The high water mark is at Rookery Road, where the levee used to be, Cedars said. Breaux Bridge, LA 70517 Share this page on your favorite Social network. Those spoils banks were keeping areas in St. Martin Parish from flooding, parish leaders say. In our last feature, we exposed the fact that St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars barely let the ink get dry from him going on a 19-minute masterful performance to convince the St. Martin Parish Council (SMPC) to approve an ordinance to ban the importing of vegetative debris from other parishes into St. Martin Parish before he sued . City-Parish Attorney Greg Logan confirmed in a phone interview that work on the St. Martin project started soon after the as-needed contract was awarded in December. Pending the governors signature, both the spoil banks project and the catchall Bayou Vermilion Flood Control project are set to receive more state dollars in the 2022 capital outlay budget. It's whether the law was broken (and, I THINK we can all agree, millions more spent than necessary) in doing so. Contact information. ST. MARTINVILLE St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars said that efforts to negotiate a deal with landowners to allow public access to a. dwayne.fatherree@daily-iberian.com. The auditors office places the facts out there. U.S. President; U.S. St. Martin Parish Parish President. In the midst of French culture, exploration, and settlement during the late eighteenth century, St. Mary bears the distinction of being a primarily Anglo-Protestant settlement in the midst of French-Catholic Acadiana. The engineering is clear.. Box 1280 Cameron, LA 70631 (337) 775-5718 EMAIL www.cameronpj.org. St. Martin Parish Operations, Maintenance & Transportation 775 West Bridge Street, Breaux Bridge, LA 70517 337-909-2990. P. O. In all, the as-needed contracts value alone has ballooned to approximately $5.2 million in a few short months. He has also served as the Director of Planning and Zoning of St. Mary Parish. Check out our map of Lafayette drainage projects here. Whether the amended contract was awarded illegally hinges on if the work on the spoil banks falls within the scope of the original contract. At this point in time, there is absolutely no articulable, cogent reason most of our community should continue to refuse to wear masks in indoor setting or refuse to even consider receiving a vaccine. In other reports, the council heard from Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Executive Director Lt. Col. Billy Guidry about the projected water flow along the Bayou Teche this coming spring. Normal processes for getting the project done would not have made that possible. {0} important information hidden . ONLY10th&11th graders will report to their respective high schools on Tuesdayto take their required ACT exam. Cedars is accusing Lafayette Consolidated Government of removing spoil banks along the. I look forward to continuing our work with all of our neighbors, including St. Martin Parish, to combat flooding on a regional scale. ALLother St. MartinParishSchoolswill beopen on Tuesday, March 7th,for IN-PERSON INSTRUCTION. He was eventually taken into custody by the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff . "I have memories growing up, we'd drink out of the hose outside, could never do that anymore, and neither can our kids," 52-year-old Boudreaux says. Rigids $390,000 bid last year for the 2021 LCG as-needed excavation and disposal contract for work throughout the Lafayette City-Parish (the contract does not allow for work outside of the parish) was the lowest among five bids; four other contractors sent bids that ranged from $568,000 to $1.1 million. Cedars said it is the parishs stance that it has rights to the road because it has maintained it for decades. This parish is not afraid to fight in the courts to protect the publics rights.. Cedars spent most of his parish presidents report explaining exactly how the issues with access to Lake Martin came into being. St Martin parish, is the unreasonable neighbor here, not MP Guillory. On Feb. 23 Rigid invoiced LCGs Public Works Department $3.7 million for the work, billed as a change order, and was paid five days later out of the city general fund, according to LCGs Open Book, an online financial transparency tool debuted by the Guillory administration in 2020. All Rights Reserved, Opening/Purchasing a Bar/Nigh Club/Lounge, RESTORE Act Multiyear Implementation Plan, RESTORE Act Multiyear Implementation Plan-Amendment #1. The investigation could force changes to the project to blunt its impact on the Black and low-income neighborhoods that will house it. St. Martin Parish president expecting appellate ruling on lawsuit soon, Parish suing business owner on Lake Martin over blocking access for public, DWAYNE FATHERREE In February it was chosen over The Lemoine Company to negotiate pricing with LCG on the $60 million Homewood Detention Ponds project, the largest drainage undertaking in the parishs history. We have one of the best procurement lawyers in the state that works for us out of New Orleans, attorney Logan says. Lafayettes spoil banks project in St. Martin Parish avoided public bid law and netted a contractor millions. We interviewed our tech expert, Jaime Vazquez, to learn more about accessible smart home devices. Get the Android Weather app from Google Play, Workday sued on suspicion of discriminatory hiring, 86-year-old woman honored for years of community, Attic Trash and Treasure organization hosts three-day, Scary video: North Carolina kids nearly hit at bus, Southern University experiences power outage across, No. St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars told News 10, "It just disrupts the ability of the public to feel comfortable utilizing our facilities." Close Thanks for signing up! The removal will allow the river to flow into the swamp during storms. Tel: 337.409.9518, February 18, 2022 - Special Board Meeting, September 7, 2022 - Regular Board Meeting, September 1, 2021 - Regular Board Meeting, September 2, 2020 - Regular Board Meeting, December 10, 2020 - Special Board Meeting, September 4, 2019 - Regular Board Meeting, February 22, 2018 - Special Board Meeting, September 5, 2018 - Regular Board Meeting, September 6, 2018 - Special Board Meeting, September 11, 2018 - Special Board Meeting, December 19, 2018 - Special Board Meeting, September 6, 2017 - Regular Board Meeting, November 18, 2017 - Special Board Meeting, December 19, 2017 - Special Board Meeting, September 7, 2016 - Regular Board Meeting, November 16, 2016 - Special Board Meeting, February 19, 2015 - Special Board Meeting, September 2, 2015 - Regular Board Meeting, February 19, 2014 - Special Board Meeting, September 3, 2014 - Regular Board Meeting, September 10, 2014 - Special Board Meeting, September 04, 2013 - Regular Board Meeting, September 25, 2013 - Special Board Meeting, November 20, 2013 - Special Board Meeting, February 01, 2012 - Regular Board Meeting, February 08, 2012 - Special Board Meeting, February 29, 2012 - Special Board Meeting, September 05, 2012 - Regular Board Meeting, November 07, 2012 - Regular Board Meeting, December 05, 2012 - Regular Board Meeting, December 19, 2012 - Special Board Meeting, February 02, 2011 - Regular Board Meeting, February 23, 2011 - Special Board Meeting, September 7, 2011 - Regular Board Meeting, September 21, 2011 - Special Board Meeting, December 21, 2011 - Special Board Meeting, February 03, 2010 - Regular Board Meeting, February 24, 2010 - Special Board Meeting, September 1, 2010 - Regular Board Meeting, September 15, 2010 - Special Board Meeting, February 4, 2009 - Finance Committee Meeting, February 18, 2009 - Special Board Meeting, April 22, 2009 - Finance Committee Meeting, September 02, 2009 - Regular Board Meeting, September 16, 2009 - Special Board Meeting, November 04, 2009 - Regular Board Meeting, December 02, 2009 - Regular Board Meeting, February 13, 2008 - Regular Board Meeting, February 20, 2008 - Special Board Meeting, June 18, 2008 - Finance Committee Meeting, August 13, 2008 - Finance Committee Meeting, September 10, 2008 - Regular Board Meeting, September 24, 2008 - Special Board Meeting, October 29, 2008 - Finance Committee Meeting, November 05, 2008 - Regular Board Meeting, November 19, 2008 - Finance Committee Meeting, December 03, 2008 - Regular Board Meeting, December 17, 2008 - Special Board Meeting, St. Martin Parish SchoolBoard Office . 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