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 . Photo by Travis Gauthier 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. 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 . 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. 1005 Big Apple Lane 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. Cedars spent most of his parish presidents report explaining exactly how the issues with access to Lake Martin came into being. Vice President: Kevin Martin. 2023 www.theadvertiser.com. Vice President Lorem ipsum dolor consecteture adiciping. St. Martin Parish to sue, investigate removal of spoil banks by Lafayette Consolidated Government. St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars says St. Martin Parish is no longer going to be one of them. LCG has been in a tiff with the St. Martin Parish Government for months over removing the spoil banks, which LCG believes will lower water levels on the Vermilion River during storms. Public Works Committee @ 4:30 on the 3rd Tuesday; Administrative Committee Meeting follows Parish President. of our parish leaders are excited about the decision of Ochsner and Trax Development to locate this PPE facility in our parish," said St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars. ST. MARTINVILLE Parish President Chester Cedars said that he expects the parish should be getting an appellate ruling soon on its lawsuit against a business owner on Lake Martin. in Breaux Bridge, will host a groundbreaking ceremony today, Tuesday, July 30 at 11:00 a.m. to celebrate the start of an $11.2 million expansion and renovation project. "We will review the allegations and respond accordingly," Logan wrote in a message to the Daily Advertiser. var year = today.getFullYear() Since then, nothing has been done. This Tuesday (March 7th) is ACT Testing Day on our high school campuses. Rather, our communitys own behavior will account for any sort of lockdown,' wrote Cedars. Just $4,800 was spent on tree clearing and $260,000 on excavation and fill. Rigid billed $1.9 million for expedited mobilization, a sum that, according to the original contracts terms, should have been included in the contract pricing. In an intense special council meeting attended by more than 100 angry St. Martin Parish residents, Cedars vehemently expressed his dismay toward LCG Mayor-President Josh Guillory. According to St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars October 19, 2021, President's report, Josh Guillory was no longer pursuing the spoil bank removal project. document.write(year) 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. Parish President Chester Cedars speaks during a meeting of the St. Martin Parish Council on Tuesday, March 15, 2022. Theyre speaking with regulatory agencies about imposing penalties on LCG if they find they did violate the law. Why would you do that to neighbors when you don't have a permit?. Edna M. Johnson Call 337-828-4100 ext. Even if it tries to maintain that the work was an extension of the existing contract, LCG has so far not produced a single record to suggest that it did anything more than accept what Rigid put in front of it. 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. I asked. document.write(year) Their clandestine removal has led to a firestorm of accusations between Lafayette and St. Martin parishes. "This is the most incredible, unprofessional thing that I think one governmental jurisdiction can do to the other. Phone number 337 332 2105. (KLFY) St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars has signed new guidelines for COVID-19 for parish-owned and operated facilities, effective immediately. We don't want anyone to be harmed, and therefore we believe that the way to mitigate that is to restore the property to its state before the removal of the spoil banks," he added. One former public official is willing to give LCG the benefit of the doubt on the contract amendment. Delivered right as the newspaper goes to print on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. Nobody is going to block Rookery Road without a visit to the courthouse, Cedars said. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Share this page on your favorite Social network. Sign up for our free newsletter. St. Martin Parish Federal Programs & Technology Annex 625 Corporate Boulevard, Breaux Bridge, LA 70517 337.332.3388. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The high water mark is at Rookery Road, where the levee used to be, Cedars said. Three days later, on Feb. 21, before obtaining permits from either St. Martin Parish or the U.S. "When they were telling me about the project, I said, 'Wait a minute! Our restaurants offer authentic, renowned, and award winning Cajun cuisine. [2] St. Martin Parish is part of the Lafayette metropolitan area in the region of Acadiana, along . St. Martin Parish is a parish in Louisiana.The parish population is 51,767, according to the United States Census Bureau. 337.332.3388, St. Martin Parish Operations,Maintenance &Transportation LCG letter:Army Corps inspection finds no permit was needed for Lafayette spoil banks removal. Receive the digital, interactive PDF of the newspaper in your inbox. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is investigating LCG's decision to do the St. Martin Parish work without a federal permit, and the Corps has also asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to investigate "flagrant, willful violations" associated with the project.Shortly after being made aware of the levee removal, the Corps told LCG to stop all activity on the project (with the . The current modeling of the spoil bank removal project shows that there is no threat of harm to St. Martin Parish.. 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. The Oscars will air on ABC and can be streamed on ABC.com and the ABC app as well as Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, AT&T TV or FuboTV. Nothing was given to us to review. Angelle was elected at the age of twenty-five to the St. Martin Parish Police Jury, the local governing body known as the county commission in most other states. D. Kaplovitz Louisiana Parish Attorneys Association ("LPAA"): Group Parish Attorneys Association ("LPAA") j. touzet; LCGs drainage program is itself unusually massive in scope and speed. The investigation could force changes to the project to blunt its impact on the Black and low-income neighborhoods that will house it. Recognizing the best in local architecture, planning and design, we are pleased to announce 12 winning projects for The Current In Design Awards 2023. 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. 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. I dont see anything else MP Guillory could have done more reasonable to finally get something accomplished to protect the interest of Lafayette residents at risk of flooding, due to changes in the landscape, beyond their control. 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. Records from LCG and Open Book reveal that Rigids invoices are typically paid within days, with one for $9.3 million for the Bayou Vermilion Flood Control project paid via wire transfer to Rigid on May 9, one working day after it was submitted. St. Martin Parish Chairman Tauzin's statement to Baudin on or about September 4, 2021 demonstrates the fact that a Restraining Order was filed against Petitioner based upon the false portrayal that Defendant Fatherree published in The Daily Iberian on Wednesday, August 4, 2021. "We need dirt, and the (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) gave us a permit to build a levee on the other side.". 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. Dwayne Fatherree is the community editor for The Daily Iberian. 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. Individuals interested in applying for positions may stop by the agency during those times. Neither Rigids Fortier nor LCG Public Works Director Chad Nepveaux responded to requests for comment. Both local and state officials have been in support of St. Martin Hospital and its expansion efforts since . [citation needed] From 2000 to 2004, Angelle was the first parish president of St. Martin Parish and the vice president from 1998 to 2000 of the Huval Companies in Lafayette, Louisiana. Parish President I am personally pleased that you have devoted time to view this website. Website Check out our map of Lafayette drainage projects here. Should the Louisiana legislative auditor look into a municipalitys contracting practices, its role would only be to flag potential problems with contracts in an audit report, says Jenifer Schaye, general counsel for the legislative auditors office; violations can lead to restitution or, more rarely, criminal prosecution. This might be a risk-free endeavor for Lafayette Parish, but it is not a risk-free endeavor for St. Martin Parish, Cedars said. Guillory, Nepveaux, Logan, and Fortier, in my view are all heros. Stay up to date with the latest news by downloading the BRProud App from the App Store or Google Play. On Friday, St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars levied the allegations against LCG. The study found removing the spoil banks would have little impact on the overall water level in the swamp during storms, but Cedars has said his engineers determined the removal wasn't without risk for the people who live near Cypress Island. That would mean the public would have a right to access the lake even with the typical shoreline under private ownership. St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars said Thursday his government is aiming to have LCG restore the spoil banks as an immediate remedy and said it may seek other remedies as the case. Theres a process to this, and the process was definitely not followed, resident Chad Boyer said. The auditors office places the facts out there. 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. Tel: 337.441.0229, District III As for rural communities dealing with water issues in the rest of the parish, there is no word from the parish government yet as to when improvement efforts will be underway. Lafayette-based Rigid Constructors has been paid handsomely for its role in the blitz of detention projects. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. He can be reached at dwayne.fatherree@daily-iberian.com. "That doesn't preclude any other type of actions which may occur.". Want to see more results ? Guillory, says, however, a permit was not necessary. Apply for the Job in Project Coordinator at Saint Martinville, LA. And the peculiar vehicle for awarding such a large contract, in effect side-stepping the transparency and cost controls required of public contracting, may itself have violated public bid law, according to interviews with a dozen contractors, engineers, lawyers and former LCG employees. 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. While it may get around the bid law, it shouldnt get around the court of public opinion, he says. ST. MARTINVILLE Parish President Chester Cedars said that he expects the parish should be getting an appellate ruling soon on its lawsuit against a business owner on Lake Martin. Spoil banks:St. Martin Parish wants Lafayettes lawsuit thrown out for being in Lafayette. Tel: 337.342.2993 Candidly, the government will impose nothing. He also addressed rumors that some landowners might try to block Rookery Road around the lake. St. Martin Parish's objection the spoil bank removal could cause legal trouble for LCG, as Lafayette's local government did not get a necessary permit to remove the spoil banks from St. Martin Parish, according to Cedars. 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. Whether LCG devised the as-needed contract to slip the spoil banks project through unnoticed is unclear. The Army Corps of Engineers did not require a permit for this, Guillory told News Ten. But even against that backdrop, the spoil banks project stands out. 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. The "surreptitious" move enraged St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars, and led the St. Martin Parish Council to unanimously back Cedars' request to sue LCG over the removal this week.. 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. Why? Open Books 10-digit check numbers, which seem to indicate wire transfers, show Rigid as the sole contractor paid by wire transfer this fiscal year, with LCG paying via wire transfer only 11 times out of 35,000 payments made so far this year. I wish to extend my sincere appreciation to the businesses who have chosen to invest in St. Martin Parish. "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. Vital 2023 St. Martin Parish Government. Thats our job, Cedars said. "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. var year = today.getFullYear() St Martin Parish Government Location 301 W Port St, Saint Martinville, Louisiana, 70582, United States Description Industry Government It leaves a lot of questions, especially with the $1.8 million mobilization charge., A founding editor of both The Independent and ABiz and senior editor at The Times of Acadiana in the 1990s, Leslie Turk is an award-winning investigative reporter who has worked in the newspaper business in Lafayette for more than three decades.