SM museums to reopen after pandemic numbers slow

Published 8:00 am Wednesday, December 9, 2020

ST MARTINVILLE — The St. Martinville City Council will be reopening its museums along New Market Street soon, but not while the COVID-19 pandemic is still rising in the Teche Area.

Instead, Mayor Pro Tem Craig Prosper recommended Monday night that plans be made for some renovations and maintenance while the Acadian Heritage Museum and African-American Museum are closed in preparation for an opening in March.

“With the virus spreading, this is not the time to reopen,” he said. “But in a couple of months, when it is warmer and this spike has passed, we can look at it.”

Acadian Memorial Foundation President Tracy Frederick said she agreed with the council’s plan.

“I wanted to come to the meeting to make sure the need for work on the building was known,” Frederick said.

Some of the issues brought to light were damage to the fascia and soffit on the rear of the structure as well as the damage to the awning on the Acadian Memorial, which was destroyed during Hurricane Laura.

In other business, the council considered a request from St. Martinville Police Chief Ricky Martin to fire one of the town’s dispatchers for continual tardiness.

Martin said Taylore Polk was an excellent dispatcher, but because of the tardiness he would be negligent in not terminating her employment.

District 1 Councilman Mike Fuselier instead recommended a three-day suspension, with termination as a next step if her performance did not improve.

“I understand that you did not want to suspend her before, but you need to bring these things to us before it’s at this point,” Fuselier told Martin and his assistant chief, Andrew Broussard. “But this is the last chance. If this doesn’t improve, then we will be looking at termination.”

At the outset of the meeting, there was discussion over the approval of the minutes from the council’s previous meeting, during which a resolution was passed to penalize council members who missed seven or more meetings in a year by taking away half of their pay after the seventh meeting was missed.

“It’s not hard,” Fuselier said. “Seven meetings is a lot.”

Fuselier, Prosper and District 3 Councilman Dennis Paul Williams voted to approve the minutes. District 4 Councilman Juma Johnson and District 5 Councilman Edmond Joseph voted against the approval.