Meeting Summary

The St. Charles Parish Council met to honor longtime piano teacher Mrs. Frozine Ross Francis and to proclaim September as Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, then moved through routine departmental reports before taking up a full slate of ordinances and resolutions. The most consequential actions were unanimous approvals of a rescinded-and-renewed property acquisition for the Montz Pump Station and Drainage Modification Project, a new wetlands mitigation agreement tied to the Montz Pump Stations permit, a renewed office lease for the River Parishes Workforce Development Board, and the first procedural step toward creating a Highway 90 Economic Development District. The council also introduced several new ordinances that will move to a public hearing next month.

Watch Items

• Public hearing set for Monday, September 9, 2024, 6:00 p.m., Council Chambers, Courthouse, Hahnville, will consider the following ordinances:

- An ordinance to levy an assessment on delinquent 2023 ad valorem tax bills for unpaid weed/grass removal and unsafe structure/trash/debris removal charges under Parish Code Chapter 16. - An ordinance approving a Special Permit Use for a bingo hall in a C-3 district on a portion of Lot 31, Ellington Plantation, Luling, as requested by Abdel R. Ennabut for Nabut Brothers, LLC. - An ordinance changing zoning from R-1A and R-1M to R-1A(M) on Lot C, Block 5, Hahnville Subdivision, between 163 and 147 Hahn Street, Hahnville, as requested by Marvin and Enica Singleton. - An ordinance authorizing Change Order No. 1 for the Willowdale Turn Lane project, increasing the contract amount by $87,641.69 and extending the contract time by 44 days. - An ordinance authorizing Change Order No. 1 for the Engineer's Canal Phase 1 Bank Stabilization project, decreasing the contract amount by $52,995.00 and reducing the contract time by 44 days. - An ordinance changing zoning from R-1A, R-3, and C-3 to O-L and M-1 on roughly 250 acres at Tract L, Davis Plantation, Luling, as requested by Traci L. Johnson for Luling Exchange, LLC.

• The Highway 90 Economic Development District remains in its early stages. The council's approval only authorizes publication of a notice of intent; a follow-up ordinance will be needed to formally create the district, and additional legal agreements or special counsel needs tied to future districts may come back before the council.

• A second property acquisition tied to the Montz Pump Station project, involving the Christine O'Sullivan property, is still unresolved and expected to come before the council separately.

• Residents are being asked to complete an online hazard mitigation survey to help update the parish's five-year hazard mitigation plan before the plan's main review meeting.

• The Clerk of Court's office is recruiting election commissioners ahead of the fall general election; interested residents can call 985-783-6632 or email [email protected].

• Budget hearings for the proposed 2025 Capital and Consolidated Operating Budgets are scheduled for Tuesday, October 29, 2024, at 9 a.m.; Thursday, October 31, 2024, at 1 p.m.; and Monday, November 4, 2024, at 6 p.m.