HENDERSON — The St. Martin Parish Council continued its road show of committee hearings Tuesday night, allowing residents of the Henderson area to view the government in action.

The evening began at the Henderson Recreation Center with the council’s Public Works Committee hearing. Henderson Mayor Sherbin Collette gave a report on the town’s projects using funds from the parish’s $5 million bond issue for parks and recreation.

“We’re going to put a canopy on the front of this building. Some of our elderly — elderly, not old — ladies play Pokeno in here, and when it rains they need a cover in front to get to their cars,” Collette said, drawing laughter from the crowd. “They don’t run as well as they used to.”

Collette also detailed plans for the town to add a concrete slab and pavilion for cooking at the town’s park, as well as other maintenance projects at the recreation center.

Parish President Chester Cedars thanked Collette for his cooperation and communication in getting the recreation projects underway. Cedars also discussed moves to get the state Department of Transportation and Development to start work on maintenance for Levee Road, a project that has been discussed for the last year.

“It surfaced in April of 2018,” Cedars said. “After some finger pointing, we finally realized the responsibility for the work was with the DOTD.”

Cedars detailed several meetings that took place over the last year, and said he hopes the plans for the project are ready soon.

“This is not just an issue for the people of Henderson,” Cedars said. “It’s an issue for the parish. When there is a blockage on the Basin Bridge, where does that traffic go? It comes down over the pontoon bridge at Butte La Rose and comes up Levee Road.”

The council also heard about a planned cooperative agreement with a landowner in Arnaudville to allow the parish to place a pavilion near the pier the Teche Project is installing on the Bayou Teche there.

“It fits in with our park development projects,” Cedars said.

Cedars also told council members the deadline for vendors to submit their proposals for the parish’s solid waste removal contract is today. He said the council will have a list of bids and vendors at its next meeting in April.

During his report, Cedars told council members the immediate flooding threat in lower St. Martin has passed, but the parish will continue to monitor water levels on the Bayou Teche.

“We should see it dropping slowly over the next two weeks, but we do not want to take our eye off the ball,” he said. 

“We distributed 49,549 sandbags. We ceased the distribution yesterday, but there is still a self-serve sandbag station at the park in Stephensville.”