Meeting Summary

The St. Charles Parish Council met to honor community groups and first responders, hear detailed reports from the Departments of Public Works and Wastewater, and take action on a slate of property and infrastructure ordinances tied to the Ormond Area Flood Mitigation project. The council also approved the purchase of the former Family Dollar building on River Road in Hahnville for future parish administrative use, and heard a resident's concerns about fees charged by CivicSource on adjudicated properties.

Watch Items

• A resident, Ms. Tanza Robertson, raised concerns that CivicSource is charging far higher fees than the underlying property tax owed on adjudicated properties (one example cited was $2,800 in fees versus $858 in taxes owed). Parish Planning and Zoning staff, through Michael Albert, agreed to set up a follow-up meeting to explain the CivicSource contract and whether any cap exists on those fees. Residents should watch for how this is resolved.
• Council Member Michelle O'Daniels raised concerns that Public Works' work-order data for District 5 does not match what she is seeing on the ground, and asked for better district-by-district reporting. Parish President Matthew Jewell and Public Works Director Miles B. Bingham agreed to work on producing clearer monthly work-order breakdowns by council district.
• A public hearing is scheduled for Monday, November 4, 2024, 6:00 p.m., at the Council Chambers, Courthouse, Hahnville, on the following ordinances:

- An ordinance to approve and adopt the appropriation of Funds for the St. Charles Parish Consolidated Operating and Capital Budget for Fiscal Year 2025. - An ordinance to approve and authorize the execution of a Professional Services Agreement by and between St. Charles Parish and Hunt, Guillot & Associates, LLC, to perform Program Administrative/Management Services in the implementation of the St. Charles Parish CDBG - Disaster Recovery Program in the amount of $185,000.00. - An ordinance approving and authorizing the execution of Change Order No. 2 for the Willowdale Turn Lane (Project No. P230804), to increase the contract amount by $45,876.93. - An ordinance approving and authorizing the execution of a Professional Services Agreement with Professional Engineering Consultants to perform engineering services for West Bank D Plant Clarifier Upgrade (Project No. WWKS 114), in the amount of $317,066.00. - An ordinance to amend the St. Charles Parish Zoning Ordinance of 1981, to change the zoning classification from R-1A to R-1A(M) on property designated as the Stephen Kinler Lot, 11001 River Road, Ama, as requested by Michael Ezimuo and Kristen Guilford.

• Wastewater Director David deGeneres flagged several ongoing projects residents should track for progress updates, including the Norco lift station (delayed by levee-district permitting issues), the Kindler lift station (awaiting servitude acquisition), and the New Sarpy Transfer Station (delayed by property acquisition).
• Council Member Walter Pilié noted that additional Ormond-area drainage culvert sites (referred to as Sites 5 and 6) have not yet come before the council and will need to be addressed in the future.