Council to consider change to courthouse re-roofing project

The Iberia Parish Council will consider authorizing $101,000 for a change order for the re-roofing project at the Iberia Parish Courthouse.

The change is the second addition to the contract, which was bid out last fall. The low bidder, Frisco Industrial Contractors of Franklin, bid $165,000 to accomplish the core of the project, which would put new roofing over the fourth floor roof on the rear center portion of the building and the second floor roof over the wing of the building where the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office is located.

There were two alternate bids also accepted. The first alternate includes re-roofing the center front fourth floor and the ledge around that portion of the building, for an additional $68,000. The change order for that alternate was signed on Feb. 3.

The second alternate would provide for the re-roofing of the rest of the structure, which would include the rear basement roof on either side of the building and the second floor of the left wing, where the Iberia Parish District Attorney’s Office is located.

In committee hearings on Feb. 10, the administration said the change was needed after contractors began inspecting the roof and said they could not guarantee the work on the base project or the first alternate unless the second alternate was also completed.

The total cost of the project, with all three phases of work included, will be $402,000.

The council will also hear a presentation from its bonding attorney, Jason Akers, regarding the possibility of using the parish’s Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA) revenue to float a bond issue for projects in the parish.

The idea of using GOMESA funds as seed money to secure a bond issue is not new. St. Mary Parish passed an issue in 2018 for flood control and other infrastructure projects. In St. Martin Parish, the council approved using the GOMESA funds to secure a bond issue that, among other things, is being used to replace the pontoon bridge at Butte La Rose.

Although the GOMESA funds are earmarked for coastal protection and flood control projects, the definition has been expanded to include other related infrastructure, such as repair or replacement of roadways used evacuation routes during storms or, in St. Martin Parish’s case, a bridge that is essential to the safe evacuation of part of its population.

In the plan he presented last year, Iberia Parish President Larry Richard laid out using the GOMESA money to fund work on three projects that are part of the parish’s flood control plan that has already been approved through the state’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA).

However, if the money were instead used to support a bond issue, the parish could potentially secure more funding that could go towards other infrastructure projects, as long as they serve the intended purpose of the GOMESA legislation, which is to provide money for coastal conservation, restoration and hurricane protection.

The Iberia Parish Council will meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the council meeting room on the fourth floor of the Iberia Parish Courthouse, 300 Iberia St.