Meeting Summary

The St. Charles Parish Council held its regular meeting on August 5, 2024, opening with several ceremonial recognitions, including youth baseball champions, two Eagle Scouts, and the RSVP volunteer program. The council also adopted its annual property tax (millage) ordinance following extended public comment and discussion about tax rates, inflation, and fire department funding, and approved a new Highway 90 Corridor Overlay Zone ordinance along with several related zoning and parks resolutions. A resolution to move forward with creating the Highway 90 Economic Development District was tabled after council members raised questions about attorney fee rates and incomplete engagement letter documentation.

Watch Items

• Highway 90 Economic Development District No. 1: The resolution authorizing publication of a notice of intent to create this district (2024-0269) was tabled. Council members asked for clarification on the special counsel's billing rates and requested missing pages from the legal engagement letter before voting again.
• Fire Department Funding: Several council members and the Hahnville Volunteer Fire Department's chief raised concerns that fire service funding has not kept pace with rising equipment and operating costs. The parish administration and fire officials indicated a funding plan is being developed and will be presented to the council in the future.
• Water Rate Study: The Department of Waterworks indicated it will present a completed water rate study to the council in the coming months, including a proposal to raise the lowest billing tier threshold from 6,000 to 8,000 gallons per month to potentially save customers money.
• Upcoming Public Hearing on Monday, August 19, 2024, 6:00 p.m., at the Council Chambers, Courthouse, Hahnville, will consider the following ordinances for final passage:

- An ordinance to amend the Code of Ordinances to revise Chapter 15, Motor Vehicles and Traffic, Section 15-9. Speed Limits (a) to provide an exception to the Twenty-five (25) Miles Per Hour Speed Limit, to lower the speed limit on Fashion Boulevard and Duhe Drive in Fashion Plantation Estates Subdivision, Hahnville, to twenty (20) miles per hour. - An ordinance to rescind Ordinance Nos. 23-5-5 and 24-3-12 and to approve a purchase and/or expropriation of a 1.501 acre servitude designated as Parcel B-3 and an 8,687 square foot/0.199 acre servitude designated as P-106 over property owned by Kristi Gerstner Smith, for the Montz Pump Station and Drainage Modification Project. - An ordinance approving and authorizing the execution of a Lease Agreement between D.J.V., LLC and St. Charles Parish for the River Parishes Workforce Development Board office space in St. Charles Parish. - An ordinance approving and authorizing the execution of a Wetlands Mitigation Agreement by and between St. Charles Parish and Delta Land Services, L.L.C., for wetlands mitigation for the Montz Pump Station (Parish Project No. P210301), Montz Pump Station No. 2 (Parish Project No. P210806) and drainage improvements along Highway 61 permitted under the Montz Pump Stations and Drainage Improvement Project in the amount of $175,800.00.