St. Martinville council to go over items from previous meeting

Published 10:00 am Sunday, May 2, 2021

ST. MARTINVILLE — The St. Martinville City Council will meet Monday night with several items from its last meeting recycled forward due to Mayor Melinda Mitchell’s absence.

At the April 19 meeting, Mitchell was not present so the three items she had added to the agenda — discussion of a proposed contract for treasure hunters on city property, the hiring of a part-time maintenance laborer and a discussion of a personnel matter regarding Public Works Superintendent Brian Touchet’s departure from the council’s April 5 meeting — are scheduled to be taken up.

The last matter, although not specified on the agenda, is likely related to a meeting Mitchell and Touchet had subsequent to the April 5 meeting. After that meeting, Mitchell informed Touchet he would be suspended for one day for “disrespect” during the council meeting, a punishment Touchet disputed.

That discussion may go into executive session, as it involves an employee personnel matter.

The council will also be revisiting the electrical issues at the Evangeline Mobile Home Park, which have been the subject of ongoing negotiations since the death of the park’s owner, Mark Brignac.

Another item that has resurfaced on this week’s agenda is the repair of city vehicles. There have been several discussions in previous weeks about the balance between the city’s repairing of damaged vehicles and reporting them to its insurance company for repair. Some of the vehicles in question have a lower book value than the cost of repairs and could cause the city’s insurance rates to increase as well.

Two other discussions — one on the status of a nuisance property at 120 Resweber St. and another on the opening of the city pool — are also continuations of previous agenda items.

In fact, there are only three new items on Monday nights agenda. Mayor Pro Tem Craig Prosper requested a discussion of the weight limit for the city;s portion of Olivier Lane. District 1 Councilman Mike Fuselier requested a discussion of the buildings adjacent to the Opera House on Main Street.

Cedric Floyd with the Data Center will also make a presentation to outline the proposed redistricting of city council districts based on the 2020 Census and what that process might look like.

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