The Evangeline Parish Police Jury, on Monday, heard from a pair of concerned residents about drainage issues in the parish.
Speaking first was Timothy Mose from the Point Blue area. He stated his mother’s house has flooded three times since 2016.
“The ditch is basically restricted,” he said, “plus the gully itself is restricted. There’s nothing flowing until enough pressure builds up enough to push everything out of the way.”
Public Works Director Chester Granger advised Mose the problem is “getting the landowner to let us on his property.”
Granger stated the property owner has a crawfish pond in the area. “We’ve made contact with him,” Granger said, “and all he would let us do is take the trees out of the gully.”
Mose responded, “I would prefer we not misinform the public on right-of-way issues. You have the right-of-way automatically as a jurisdiction. Now, access is a different thing. That’s what the sheriff is for. He gives notice to the property owner.”
Mose added, “If you damage the crawfish field, then put it back in like new condition.”
The police jury then heard from Jim Carey who resides on Rollins Road. He stated he made four trips to the police jury office before crews “removed a love seat that had been sitting in the ditch for about six years.”
However, according to Carey, “they did not remove the tires that were sitting beside it.”
He also recounted a similar occurrence in the vicinity of Harmony Road where a crews cleared a culvert but did not remove tin “that has been there for seven years.”
Carey explained he was told the reason is crews only perform what work is listed on the work order.
“If I get boogers in both my nose holes and the work order says to only clean out the right nostril,” he asked, “do I still suck and let snot run out of the left one? This is ridiculous.
Added Carey, “All I’m asking is if you come out and clean up something then let’s clean it all up. Quit wasting out damn money and the people’s time.”
No action was taken by the police jury on either Mose’s or Carey’s issues.
In other business, the police jury:
• reelected Ryan “LeDay” Williams as president and Ryan Ardoin as vice president.
• voted to hire Donald Bergeron for another two-year term as secretary-treasurer.
• approved cemetery workers for March to October 2020.
• discussed sewer and water project for an LGAP grant to be used at Crooked Creek.
• discussed adopting a resolution asking for state aid to combat crime in the parish and a cooperative endeavor agreement with EPAR on the operation of an animal shelter.
• granted a three-percent increase in salaries to the three-man Basile crew who takes care of about 120 miles of roadway.
• and set public hearings for next month’s meeting on Monday, March 2, beginning at 4:30 p.m. regarding abandoning Continental Pond Road and a lane off of Ferdie Road in Mamou.
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Tony Marks
Editor