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The latest lawsuit, filed by SMPG Wednesday in St. Martin Parish, comes a day after a federal judge removed a March lawsuit by LCG against St. Martin Parish from federal court, freeing the two to resume their fight in front of a local judge instead. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This story has been edited to include Fortier's $10,000 in donations to Mayor-President Josh Guillory's campaign and to note that the original as-needed contract was limited to work "throughout the Lafayette City-Parish." "We need dirt, and the (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) gave us a permit to build a levee on the other side.". 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(KLFY) St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars has signed new guidelines for COVID-19 for parish-owned and operated facilities, effective immediately. The investigation could force changes to the project to blunt its impact on the Black and low-income neighborhoods that will house it. The parish seat is Saint Martinville. St. Martin Parish. He has also served as the Director of Planning and Zoning of St. Mary Parish. He can be reached at dwayne.fatherree@daily-iberian.com. Public Works Director Chad Nepveaux said Thursday that LCG bought part of the land where the banks are located and removed the dirt over the course of a couple of days in February. 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. document.write(year) Attorneys for St. Martin Parish Government wrote that the spoil banks were removed without a parish permit and asked a local judge for an order requiring LCG "to restore, replace and reconstruct (at [LCG]'s sole expense), the spoil bank Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government illegally removed in St. Martin Parish.". 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. About Us. Breaux Bridge, LA 70517 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. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. 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. So it sounds to me like theyre in violation of the bid law.. The Parish President is the chief administrative officer of parish government and is assisted by the administrative staff and the parish's operating departments. St. Martin Parish Parish President. St. Martin Parish is a parish in Louisiana.The parish population is 51,767, according to the United States Census Bureau. We won't share it with anyone else. The contract was awarded for one year, with options to renew for two additional one-year terms. This document is available in PDF format. Ballotpedia provides comprehensive coverage of the 100 largest cities in America by population.This encompasses all city, county, and special district elections appearing on the ballot within those cities. Vital 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. What are spoil banks? 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. "They didn't listen and unfortunately unless you take someone's money out of their pocket, they won't listen," Boudreaux says. We interviewed our tech expert, Jaime Vazquez, to learn more about accessible smart home devices. There was hesitation. 1059 Sonny Dr. 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. District II Wanda B. 775 West Bridge Street, Breaux Bridge, LA 70517 Commenting is reserved for donors. Theyre speaking with regulatory agencies about imposing penalties on LCG if they find they did violate the law. Website "I want to give a full report to the council to the public at one time," he said. The council also discussed the potential sale of property within the city of St. Martinville that had been adjudicated as being co-owned by the city and the parish. 314 Elmer St 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. "We tried to be civil, we did, we tried to go over there and ask them good questions to try to get the solutions rolling voluntarily, but they didn't listen, so what's the next step?". This might be a risk-free endeavor for Lafayette Parish, but it is not a risk-free endeavor for St. Martin Parish, Cedars said. Research salary, company info, career paths, and top skills for Project Coordinator Corps of Engineers, leaving a third owner out of the transaction, On Feb. 23 Rigid invoiced LCGs Public Works Department $3.7 million for the work. Its unclear how much information the bidders were given about potential projects to come and whether they knew of LCGs plans for St. Martin Parish. . 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. St. Martin Parish Operations, Maintenance & Transportation 775 West Bridge Street, Breaux Bridge, LA 70517 337-909-2990. St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars said, however, it will not help their region and called it "an act of misconduct." "I do not need Lafayette Parish Government telling St. Martin . The spoil banks removal is the latest in a series of fast-paced measures taken by Mayor-President Josh Guillory's administration to address drainage in Lafayette. 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. Vital . 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. 301 West Port Street. All rights reserved. Guillory, says, however, a permit was not necessary. P.O. Cedars eventually asked council members to adopt three measures. Receive the digital, interactive PDF of the newspaper in your inbox. Why didnt you tell me? St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars said he asked Guillory when the two spoke after the operation was completed. St. Martin Council on Aging, Inc. accepts applications from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. St. Martin Parish Federal Programs & Technology Annex 625 Corporate Boulevard, Breaux Bridge, LA 70517 337.332.3388. 'Did you remove them?' 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. Morgan City Mayor; Vermilion Parish. I asked. Cedars has been serving as the interim parish president since former President Guy. That's your idea of heroes? Why would you do that to neighbors when you don't have a permit?. After the shooting, Reddit drove to a Baton Rouge hospital for a stab wound he said he sustained during the incident. 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. Most of the professionals contacted for this story reviewed documents The Current received from LCG and spoke on the condition of anonymity, so as not to jeopardize ongoing relationships with local government. He also addressed rumors that some landowners might try to block Rookery Road around the lake. Fifteenth Judicial District Judge Valerie Gotch-Garrett is presiding over the case and St. Martin Parish's request to have it dismissed on the grounds that it should have been filed in the 16th Judicial District, which covers . 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!" Theres a process to this, and the process was definitely not followed, resident Chad Boyer said. 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. Lafayette Consolidated Government may be drawing itself into a lawsuit with St. Martin Parish after quietly removingspoil banks, or makeshift levees,along the Vermilion River without St. Martin Parish's approval. ST. MARTINVILLE The St. Martin Parish government is seeking a new solid waste collection provider after a tumultuous experience over the last two years with Pelican Waste, the current St. Martin Parish turned the tables on Lafayette Mayor-President Josh Guillory's administration Wednesday with a new lawsuit asking a local judge to order Lafayette to rebuild the Cypress Island Swamp spoil banks. ST. MARTINVILLE, La. P. O. Not only could the millions spent digging ponds and removing spoil banks be money down the drain, but the city and/or parish could be on the hook for property owners legal fees and millions in penalties to restore lands to their original conditions. Second, a public investigation on the regulations allegedly violated during the removal, including those ruled by FEMA and the Environmental Protection Agency. I guess I should have, Guillory reportedly told him. 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. Check out our map of Lafayette drainage projects here. He was eventually taken into custody by the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff . Lafayettes spoil banks project in St. Martin Parish avoided public bid law and netted a contractor millions. " Cedars said he asked. Lafayette-based Rigid Constructors has been paid handsomely for its role in the blitz of detention projects. Its not all that appears on its face.. 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. Russel C. Foti Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. 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. Im pretty sure all of this was done with her permission or her approval.. The contract also requires LCG to give written instructions to the contractor increasing the quantity of work and/or change orders. I wish to extend my sincere appreciation to the businesses who have chosen to invest in St. Martin Parish. One former public official is willing to give LCG the benefit of the doubt on the contract amendment. 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. He says it will benefit the entire region. He has been Departments Read More The property around the lake is privately owned. Make a Donation . First, to authorize Cedars to "pursue litigation against every single person, farm and entity that may be complicit in the removal of the banks," including LCG officials. The same cant be said for us, said Yvonne Romero, a St. Martin Parish resident who attended the meeting. 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 Vicknair, who says by law the project should have been re-bid, believes the losing bidders could have standing for damages if they sued, with the runner-up bidder in the best position to succeed. Cedars accused the parish government of removing spoil banks along the Vermilion River in St.. Whether the amended contract was awarded illegally hinges on if the work on the spoil banks falls within the scope of the original contract. 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. The idea was proposed, however, long before. You have permission to edit this article. That would mean the public would have a right to access the lake even with the typical shoreline under private ownership. Get the Android Weather app from Google Play, Acadiana Boil Advisories and Water Shutdowns, New Iberia community celebrates life of slain teen, Jury convicts Patterson man of second-degree murder, DeRidder man killed in Vernon Parish crash, Man sentenced after caught with over 3 lbs of meth, Acadiana Kidcasters Apply for your child to do the weather on KLFY-TV, Lafayette woman missing after reportedly driving customer to Texas, St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars, Injured Laf. And surreptitiously LCG went out and removed those spoil banks and, in our opinion, has put our citizens at peril, contrary to what they may postulate.". Now, they might win it back. And if LCG intended the arrangement to avoid bid law, thats a problem, experts say. St. Martinville, LA 70582 . TOLL-FREE,24 HOURS A DAY, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK 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.. 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. 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. In the days and weeks before the contract was signed, Rigid CEO Cody Fortier, Rigid itself and Fortiers CF LLC each made $2,500 donations to the mayor-presidents campaign, as did another company associated with Fortier, Sunshine Homes LLC, for a total of $10,000, according to campaign finance records. Lafayette Consolidated Government beat St. Martin Parish to the punch Wednesday by suing over the removal of the Vermilion River spoil banks at the center of the two parishes' recent feud . Joyce Haynes is the president of the school . The attorney general can pursue that violation. The St. Martin Parish Council on Tuesday unanimously voted to authorize Parish President Chester Cedars to pursue litigation against Lafayette Consolidated Government for removal of spoil banks along the Vermilion River St. Martin leaders said happened without permission. Parish President I am personally pleased that you have devoted time to view this website. On Aug. 30, according to Cedars reports, the Corps advised that LCG had requested the proposed project be divided into two parts. 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 progresses. All 9th and 12th graders will remain home on Tuesday and participate in their courses virtuallythrough Google Classroom using their Chromebooks. St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars said, however, it will not help their region and called it an act of misconduct.. And its connected to all three stormwater projects mired in lawsuits. Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in. Frustrated with spending excessive time and money buying and installing water filters only for them to get clogged or stop working, he tells KATC he and his neighbors have filed a class-action lawsuit against United Water in a last-ditch effort to get assistance. 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.. ST. MARTINVILLE St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars said that efforts to negotiate a deal with landowners to allow public access to a. St. Martin Parish ( French: Paroisse de Saint-Martin) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana, founded in 1811. Apply for the Job in Project Coordinator at Saint Martinville, LA. Why would you do that? 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