2023 www.theadvertiser.com. Website 301 West Port Street. After rain storms in May 2021, Guillory advocated using an emergency ordinance to appropriate $20 million for city drainage projects, cutting red tape in part by bypassing bid requirements for a raft a projects. He has been Departments Read More In all likelihood, St. Martin Parish would have gone to court to stop the work, and indeed Cedars has since threatened to sue everyone involved. Box 993 Im pretty sure all of this was done with her permission or her approval.. Tel: 337.342.2993 ST. MARTIN PARISH, La. 1844-1852: Principal, Adelphian Academy, North Bridgewater, MA: 1854-1855: Teacher, Dunbarton Academy, Washington, DC: 1855-1859: Principal, Western Academy . The landings are privately owned. St. Martin Parish School Board Breaux Bridge, LA 2 weeks ago Be among the first 25 applicants See who St. Martin Parish School Board has hired for this role LCGs drainage projects are already costing taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars in city-parish legal fees, plus millions in re-mobilization costs. Receive the digital, interactive PDF of the newspaper in your inbox. St. Martin Parish Federal Programs & Technology Annex 625 Corporate Boulevard, Breaux Bridge, LA 70517 337.332.3388. District I The operation was done just weeks after Lafayette's City Council voted on Feb. 2 to offer $500,000 as a match to $1.5 million in state funds to get the spoil banks removed. Guillory, Nepveaux, Logan, and Fortier, in my view are all heros. Moreover, I believe that under the current circumstances, there is no reason why adults should not take the vaccine except for those with medical issues which prevent them from doing so, said Cedars. If LCG was to successfully pull off its plan to go into the Cypress Island Swamp area without St. Martins knowledge or cooperation, it needed to move quickly and quietly. ST. MARTINVILLE St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars said that efforts to negotiate a deal with landowners to allow public access to a. Their clandestine removal has led to a firestorm of accusations between Lafayette and St. Martin parishes. Bid law trumps.. Theyre speaking with regulatory agencies about imposing penalties on LCG if they find they did violate the law. Vice President: Kevin Martin. Normal processes for getting the project done would not have made that possible. 600 Corporate Boulevard / PO Box 1000,Breaux Bridge, LA 70517 Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. Chester Cedars, the St. Martin Parish President, speaks at a Parish Council meeting, at which the council voted to pursue litigation against Lafayette Parish for the removal of a spoil bank along the Vermilion River in St. Martin Parish. I also trust in the science and all of the engineers who have spent years analyzing the benefits of restoring the natural hydraulic flow in this area. St. Martin Parish President has posted updates about the expected impacts for the parish from Hurricane Ida. "Aquaspersions is delighted to be investing in Broussard and with the welcome we have received," Bewsher said. Nothing was given to us to review. Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. Jimmy "Coach" Durio Breaux Bridge City Court Marshal; Parks Chief of Police; St. Mary Parish. 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. Its not all that appears on its face.. Aside from the limestone used for a parking lot at the lake, which is viewed as an extension of Rookery Road, the parish cannot use resources to repair or expand improvements on private property. Waste Connections is taking over trash pickup in St. Martin Parish. Copyright "We've got to do more to assist if we're gonna keep this structure in place, we've got to do more to assist those rural systems.". district5@intmartinschools.org, District VI Cedars accused the parish government of removing spoil banks along the Vermilion River in St.. That's your idea of heroes? firefighter Brent Haynes recovering, 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, First look at new 13,000 sq. He says it will benefit the entire region. His reasoning for writing to the community about his concerns for the parish during this COVID surge sparked after reading a local newspaper article online describing the pressure local hospitals are feeling at this time. 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. He says removing the spoil banks makes flooding much more likely for their residents. 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. After St. Martin Parish government held a special meeting Tuesday, Guillory said its come to his attention that the St. Martin Parish Council has given authorization to take legal action. In May, Cedars wrote in another memorandum that he prepared and submitted a position paper in response to LCG application for a permit from the Corps of Engineers. 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. He also said that there could be a legal argument made that the states area of control extends to the lakes high water mark which could be construed as Rookery Road. Cedars said LCG removed the spoil banks without the appropriate regulatory licenses or permits required by law. 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. The Corps added it would determine whether a permit for this work was required or not. Cedars said studies have differed on the impact and risks of removing the makeshift levees and that he found out about LCG's quiet removal of the spoil banks Tuesday afternoon, weeks after the work had been done. Both Homewood and the St. Martin spoil banks are part of the Bayou Vermilion Flood Control project, the centerpiece of a $106 million capital program to stop homes and businesses from flooding. . A public records request for electronic communication between Fortier and LCG officials is pending. 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. Cedars said he continued with a second question: 'Why didnt you tell me?' (BRPROUD) St. Martin Parish President Chester R. Cedars wrote a message addressing the community on the stark reality of this fourth surge of COVID-19. In conclusion, I welcome all, and I look forward to sharing the very special and unique resources which St. Martin Parish has to offer. Tel: 337.441.0229, District III The Daily Iberian 124 E Main St, New Iberia, LA 70560 | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | The DAILY IBERIAN & ACADIANA LIFESTYLE are owned by Wick Communications. St. Martin Sheriff's Office 400 St. Martin Street, St. Martinville (337) 394-2532 Approved by: St. Martin Parish Government Planning & Zoning Coordinator License issued by: St. Martin Sheriff's Office Parish Zoning Ordinance Click below to access the Zoning Ordinance for St. Martin Parish in its entirety. D. Kaplovitz Louisiana Parish Attorneys Association ("LPAA"): Group Parish Attorneys Association ("LPAA") j. touzet; 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. (KLFY) St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars has signed new guidelines for COVID-19 for parish-owned and operated facilities, effective immediately. It has also been corrected to reflect additional reporting confirming that LCG purchased land for the project from two property owners, intentionally leaving a third landowner out of the transaction. ONLY10th&11th graders will report to their respective high schools on Tuesdayto take their required ACT exam. Interim St. Martin Parish Chester Cedars won the president seat with 73 percent of the vote tonight. St. Martin Parish to sue, investigate removal of spoil banks by Lafayette Consolidated Government. "We had requested, and were told, that we would get a chance to review all of LCG's models upon which this proposed project was going to be based. Flooding:Five years later, Lafayette is still defined by the catastrophic 2016 flood, "We bought the property, took the dirt off the spoil banks and put it on the Chappuis (Dentention Pond project) side," he said. STAFF PHOTO BY LESLIE WESTBROOK He was joined at a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday (Nov. 30) in Broussard by state and local elected officials and economic development leaders as well as SafeSource Direct President Justin Hollingsworth. (KLFY) A feud over spoil banks, levees of dirt and debris formed on either side of a river is reaching new heights and creating a major controversy between two Acadiana parishes. And its connected to all three stormwater projects mired in lawsuits. 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!" The maximum price of the projects first phase was negotiated at $30.6 million, but grew to $38 million when Rigid was forced to mobilize to another drainage project during litigation with the landowners. We have one of the best procurement lawyers in the state that works for us out of New Orleans, attorney Logan says. Copyright 2023 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. And experts agree there is good reason to question the scope, in large part because it increased the value of the original contract tenfold. Waiting for a judge to be assigned to the suit, according to public records at last check on Friday. 775 West Bridge Street, Breaux Bridge, LA 70517 St. Martin Parish Government. What are spoil banks? [2] St. Martin Parish is part of the Lafayette metropolitan area in the region of Acadiana, along . Parish Council Meetings held @ 5:00 on the 1st Tuesday of each month. Vital All 10th & 11th graders must bring their fully charged Chromebooks to school on Tuesday for testing. Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in. P. O. 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. Some members of the St. Landry Parish School Board say they are in favor of changes to the student dress code. "I can give you 14.3 million additional reasons it's not just talk, and that's the $14.3 million we've committed to making this consolidation work. The update, which was posted at about 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, says that "as stated in. Cedars has been serving as the interim parish president since former President Guy. The St. Martin Parish facility will employ 976 direct employees with an annual salary of $38,000, plus benefits, and will result in 793 new indirect jobs. document.write(year) Site Map; Accessibility; Facebook (opens in new window/tab) Im just so happy were able to help both Lafayette Parish and St. Martin Parish, Guillory added. St. Martin Parish. 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. Lafayette Consolidated Government quietly removed the spoil banks from the southern shore of the Vermilion River in St. Martin Parish in February despite previous objections from the St. Martin Parish Government, which was not informed when the work was done. Vicknair also notes the original December bidders could go to court to enjoin the remainder of the as-needed contract, which has options to be extended another two years, if any of that work is out of scope of the original bid work. "I want to give a full report to the council to the public at one time," he said. Edna M. Johnson But rather than bid the markedly different contract, LCG accepted a single quote from Rigid valued at $3.7 million, the sole documentation for which appears to be a half-sheet of letter-sized paper with seven line items Rigid refers to as Bid Item(s) with an eighth line it calls Total Base Bid. To be clear, there was no advertised bid. He makes it clear that hes always promoted the use of masks while indoors and touches on the subject of the lack of vaccinations among adults. Share this page on your favorite Social network. St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars said Tuesday evening that the administration is looking to fund several ambitious initiatives using funds from the American Rescue Plan Act: Water system consolidation $1 million Broadband expansion $3 million Water infrastructure in Water Works District 5 and along Highway 94 $3.8 million The Corps of Engineers in New Orleans said through a spokesperson that it opened an investigation into the spoil banks' removal. Over the summer, LCG requested a permit from the U.S. Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in. The parish has no jurisdiction. St. Martin Parish Federal Programs &Technology Annex, St. Martin Parish Operations,Maintenance &Transportation. St. Martin Parish has made a commitment to develop and maintain this medium so that the residents of our great parish can have full, open, and up-to-date access to the affairs of Parish Government. Cameron P. O. There were some models that were given to us, and we looked at it and weren't satisfied with the conclusions of those 'models,'" Cedars said Thursday. Recognizing the best in local architecture, planning and design, we are pleased to announce 12 winning projects for The Current In Design Awards 2023. If you materially change the original scope of the contract, then you cant just amend it like that and be in compliance with the bid law. 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.