Study or repair? IPC tables

Published 12:30 am Thursday, August 23, 2018

The Iberia Parish Council struggled to make a decision on whether to pay $50,000 for an engineering company to study Waterworks District 3 at Wednesday’s meeting. 

That indecision was compounded by the fact representatives of the water district were absent, even though they were expected to attend, as well as was a representative of Dubroc Engineering for the project. 

The money was to develop a comprehensive study of the problems with the water district in Coteau, which Councilman Marty Trahan said include issues with water pressure, water wells and other factors.

The resolution at hand would have taken $50,000 from the previously dedicated funding for the Louisiana 14 Sewerage Project, and would instead devote it to provide funding for an engineering study of the Waterworks District 3 service area. 

The issue came to a head as Waterworks District 4 is soon to be abolished, and the plan is to consolidate the service users of that district with Waterworks District 3. 

Some council members believed that money may have been better suited to paying for the repairs instead of conducting a study. 

“I’m just throwing this out there, we have talked about all the issues that’s needed in Waterworks 3. Is a study really needed?” Councilman Brian Napier asked. “Couldn’t we put that money into actually doing something?”

“Mr. Dubroc wasn’t able to attend and two members of the board were going to be here but aren’t,” Councilman Chad Maturin said. “We’re not going to get any answers there tonight.

“I think we should put the money to repairs instead of studying anything, but to get those answers, we won’t be able to tonight.”

Other council members, however, said the study was crucial if any progress was going to be made in the district. 

“I know y’all don’t want to spend the money, but if we’re going to get any kind of money to work on the water system we need to have that study done,” Councilman Marty Trahan said. “We need a shelf ready project, and we can’t repair it on our own. I don’t think we have the money or the district has the money.” 

“It’s basically what Marty just said,” Parish President Larry Richard said. “You have to have the analysis to try to apply to get the funding.”

Councilwoman Natalie Broussard said two separate issues were being presented at the same time: finding out the problems of the waterworks district and being shelf-ready for a grant project. 

Broussard added the issue at hand was to hear a representative from Dubroc in order to see if Parish Government could scale down the project to pay less than $50,000. Broussard offered a substitute motion to change the project to $25,000, and then later offered another to table the issue until representatives could address the council. 

The motion passed unanimously. 

In other business, the IPC unanimously voted to:

• Declare September as Suicide Awareness Month. 

• Execute an agreement with the 16th Judicial District Attorney’s Office for the Community Service Litter Abatement and Collection Program.