Councilman: Improve disaster communication

During Wednesday’s St. Mary Parish Council meeting it was business as usual for the most part, until an issue was brought up by one councilman concerning what he described as a lapse in communication regarding a recent environmental incident in the parish.
And while Councilman Rev. Craig Mathews was assured by officials in the parish administration that the communication issues would be resolved and that the environmental incident posed no danger to the public, he apparently wanted it on the record that, as his district was the one affected, he should have been notified so he could communicate effectively to his constituents.
The environmental incident in question was an oil spill that occurred on Bayou Teche near the Sorrell and Adeline bridges off of La. 182 and La. 87. The spill was reported on March 28 after nearly 200 barrels of oil spilled from a tank near the bayou.
According to St. Mary Parish Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Duval Arthur, the spill was quickly contained and over the course of the recovery effort, over 200 barrels of oil and water were recovered.
“We had approximately 60 workers out there working around the clock,” Arthur said. “We recommended people shelter in place when it happened but because it was crude oil, it wasn’t really a threat to people in the area.”
Councilman Paul Naquin Jr., who was also on the scene of the spill and in communication with local property owners, assured Mathews that at no time was the public in any danger.
Mathews said while he appreciated the efforts of local officials and the clean-up crews in mitigating the effects of the spill, his issue was that he should’ve been notified at some point in the operation about the spill. Mathews said he was unable to answer questions from members of the public who reached out to him for information.
“People were contacting me and asking questions about something I had no knowledge of and was not able to adequately respond to them in a manner that would put them at ease,” Mathews said. “If I had facts to go by, then I’m at a greater advantage to respond appropriately. I think we need to have a better system of communication in our parish where information flows from administration to this body of individuals (parish council) so we can respond to people’s concerns and requests. I don’t like being put at a disadvantage like that. There is a way that we can handle these situations better.”
St. Mary Parish President David Hanagriff said he agreed that, in the future, lines of communication should and would be improved.
“We will get some sort of protocol in place so we can send out that email to let everyone know what is going on,” Hanagriff said. “We will have something put in place that will be a better situation that will notify everybody. If there was any danger whatsoever, we would have notified everyone. But, communication is important and we will do a better job with that.”
Among new business conducted during the meeting was the reception of over a dozen financial statements from various entities across the parish.
Included in the annual and routine disclosure of financial statements were those from two fire districts, several recreation districts, three sewer districts and a few other entities that serve parish needs.
Addressing the upcoming weekend festivities in Franklin, including the annual Bayou Teche Black Bear Festival and the Bayou Teche Wooden Boat Show, St. Mary Parish President David Hanagriff urged council members, parish staff and audience members to attend and enjoy the cultural offerings of the community.
“We think the weather is going to hold up so we hope everyone can make their way out there,” Hanagriff said. “There is a floating dock that was manufactured out there to help the boats which came out really well. We are going to dedicate the docks at 1 p.m. (Saturday).”
Other business included the adoption of five rezoning ordinances as well as the introduction of one rezoning ordinance. Also introduced was an ordinance creating the Atchafalaya Golf Course Commission which also designated the selection of the commission, responsibilities and powers of said commission.
The last ordinance introduced was a refinancing effort on the part of the parish.
Resolutions passed by the council included one proclaiming April ‘Fair Housing Month’ and another declaring April ‘Autism Awareness Month.’
Other resolutions included one authorizing the parish president to execute a certificate of completion to the recreational and infrastructure to the Centerville Park Project. Other resolutions passed included one concerning mosquito control efforts in the parish and one authorizing the parish president to execute an agreement with the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness in relation to a pump station and drainage project.