Area legislators reflect on 2016, achievements

Last year was tough in Baton Rouge.
Lawmakers and the new governor were blindsided by a multi-billion dollar deficit that demanded multiple legislative sessions to address.
Despite the financial toils, Rep. Sam Jones and Sen. Bret Allain said they managed to secure funding for some projects in west St. Mary and beyond.
Jones noted that a $53 million interchange at La. 318, Sorrell, has been sought for years. “Now it’s probably 20 percent along the way,” he said. “It’s going to be the last interchange between Youngsville and the Calumet Cut that’s controlled access. Once it’s finished, all the crossroads go away, and we’ll have interstate-grade quality road.”
“And when they finish the upgrades (into Lafayette) it’ll be almost from the airport to the Calumet Cut,” Allain added.
Both also noted that La. 182 has been resurfaced from the parish line at Jeanerette to the Adeline bridge for nearly $4 million. “That part of La. 182 was obviously the worst,” Allain said. “Sam and I agree our next concentration will be to get on the agenda from Franklin back to Centerville” on La. 182.
Chitimacha Trail from the Adeline Bridge to the Chitimacha reservation will be resurfaced this year, Jones said, as a St. Mary Parish Government project. Both legislators hope to have Flattown Road included in capital outlay soon.
“We’ve got a ton more help in this parish per capita than probably almost anywhere in the state,” Jones said. “I know that sounds like bragging, but if you get somebody to look at the numbers.”
La. 87 is set for rehab from Oxford to Oaklawn is slated for June, and the Oaklawn Bridge will be replaced, Jones said.
Allain also noted that La. 87 from Adeline to the parish line is in the capital outlay queue.
The “j-turns” on US 90 are being constructed in the Patterson area, also part of the I-49 development plan. There will also be a maintenance overlay from the Calumet Cut to the Atchafalaya River at $16 million. Also coming is $14 million in repairs and maintenance for the Morgan City bridges over the Atchafalaya River.
Canal Street in Jeanerette was upgraded to three-lane, Jones said, at $8.5 million.
“I think when we wrap up these roads…we will probably be about 90 percent in good shape (in west St. Mary),” Jones said.
Allain agreed. “We will be in as good a shape as most of the parishes around us. It’s a shame that we had to use most of our capital outlay clout to get infrastructure, but at the time there was no other path to get it done. The queue on the highway priority projects was just too slow…our constituents were saying that infrastructure was one of the largest concerns.”
Flood protection remains a priority for both legislators. At a recent meeting with official from the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana, found Allain and Jones fighting to keep the Bayou Chene project near Morgan City in the master plan. “For whatever reason, the scientists don’t see that Bayou Chene fits into their little box,” Allain said. “We had to use all our political clout to expand their box and make them understand…along with raising Chatsworth (levees) and looking at a structure in Bayou Teche. Also we mentioned trying to push the Corps of Engineers to replace the gate at the end of the Charenton Canal (at Grand Lake.)”
Baldwin received funding for beautification of the boulevard between La. 182 and the US 90 overpass, Allain noted.
Jones noted that after many years, the industrial park site on the Charenton Navigation and Drainage Canal is nearing fruition.
Allain said other businesses have located along the canal, fabricators who are doing well.
“There’s no doubt west St. Mary has the land that they don’t have in the east,” he said. “We have the rail access that Houma doesn’t. We have port access, although not as deep as in Houma. We have it all here, including raw land here that could be developed. We’ve just never put it together here. I see a greater potential for development into the future if we can get past this slump than in any of the surrounding parishes…one of the hold-backs has been housing and land availability. I think the partnership with the Chitimacha Tribe have shown that we now have land for development. I think west St. Mary is prime for exploding. But we have to take advantage of opportunities as they come along.
“But in my opinion, one of the biggest deterrents to that happening is the high millage in west St. Mary as opposed to in the east. At some point in time we have to address that. We could have lower millages on this end, with more businesses paying in…a broader-based, but lower millage rate…and actually collect more money than we’re collecting now. But we’ve got to get everybody to look beyond the trees to see where the forest is.”
Both are concerned with the local economy, and hoping for resurgence of the energy sector, and both cited the need to diversify the economy. “West St. Mary has actually been more stable, it’s just never been as prolific as the east end because of the oil and gas industry,” Jones said. He cited the numbers employed at the two sugar mills, carbon black plants, fabrication and more.
“A lot of the boatbuilding you see on the Charenton Canal is not related to oilfield,” Allain said, noting military and other types vessels under construction.
Jones applauded efforts by the St. Mary Levee District and other local agencies in flood protection efforts.
Tourism “needs to be more robust that it is now,” Jones said.
“We have a lot of aspects that aren’t being exploited, Allain added.
“And we’ve allocated money toward that,” Jones said.
Allain said more signage is a must. “We have the Basin sitting right there, and really no way for people to get in the basin unless they buy a boat and live here. I think (Cajun Coast director) does a good job with her group over there, but more could be done. We have a great center over there (in Morgan City) and we need to improve the ones on this end. And look for some kind of interaction here on the west end to have an outlet for people to get into the Basin and enjoying what we enjoy.”
“Also, selling (promoting) Burns Point,” Jones said. “Cypremort Point. People don’t want to be in Minnesota right now in below-zero weather…there are 150 (RV homes) spending a week or two. We have a climate for that. That’s the sale that needs to be made in a well thought out plan.
“We try to allocate dollars to our local governments…there’s not been as much of it as usual…to keep the downtowns alive and spruced up. The minute you start looking like you’ve given up, people really start giving up. Part of that is cosmetics and some is just rethinking the world’s changing economy and how it’s changed people’s buying habits.”