SMCC to discuss several issues Monday

Published 8:00 am Sunday, March 31, 2019

ST. MARTINVILLE — The St. Martinville City Council will meet Monday night in the light of growing dissent between members of the council and Mayor Melinda Mitchell over the handling of the city’s day-to-day business.

Aside from the routine business of city government, such as approving the payment of bills and granting permission for community groups to use parks and facilities, District 1 Councilman Mike Fuselier has requested a discussion of the handling of the city’s DARE and LACE monies, which he says have been misplaced in recent months. 

Mayor Pro Tem Craig Prosper is scheduled to discuss an impromptu livestream of Mayor Melinda Mitchell’s 10-minute interview with a local television station, the first three minutes of which she used to blast Prosper for the contentious nature of their relationship over the last 9 months.

The handling of the LACE and DARE accounts is the latest symptom of the hiring of Shedrick Berard as the city’s chief administrative officer. Burton Kolder, the city’s independent auditor, spoke against hiring Berard, saying he was not suited for the job. Kolder had been tasked with vetting the resumes and qualifications of the candidates for the position.

Since taking over a CAO, the city has bounced paychecks, issued erroneous checks, and is having issues with locating funds for individual accounts.

According to Prosper, a deposit for $18,000 in LACE funds, which are fines from traffic tickets issued in the city limits by off-duty State Police troopers, has not been accounted for. In the DARE account, Police Chief Ricky Martin said funds for the graduation ceremony of the December DARE graduates was misplaced as well.

The council is also scheduled to go into executive session to discuss the polygraph examinations that had been ordered for three Public Works employees after two of them accused former Public Works Superintendent Charles Rader of using a racial epithet during an altercation with one of the employees.

Originally, all four men agreed to take the lie detector tests. A week later, District 5 Councilman Edmond Joseph brought up the issue of Rader’s job performance on the March 18 agenda. Rader was terminated after that discussion. 

Since then, the other three employees have said they are not willing to submit to the polygraphs. The issue has council members split, with some favoring testing the employees to determine whether they lied to “set up” Rader while others said Rader’s firing eliminates the need to determine the veracity of the employees’ statements.

The council is also scheduled to:

Discuss and act on a resolution authorizing Mitchell to appoint a consultant and engineer in conjunction with the city’s Community Development Block Grant Program for 2020-2021.

Discuss purchasing an automated sampler for the city’s wastewater treatment plant.

Hear from Evangeline Mobile Home Park owner Mark Brignac, who is asking for his costs for an electrician to inspect his park’s power feeds to be reimbursed.

Discuss adjusting the city’s deposit, connection and disconnect fees for various utilities.

The St. Martinville City Council will meet at 6 p.m. Monday evening in the city council meeting room at St. Martinville City Hall, 120 New Market St.