Lake End Parkway cabin restrictions proposed

Parties of up to 200 people at the Lake End Parkway cabins have led Morgan City officials to consider placing restrictions on the number of visitors allowed at each cabin.
At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Recreation and Culture Director Dwayne Barbier asked the council to approve regulations for the Lake End Parkway cabins. The city doesn’t currently have any rules on how many people renters can invite to each cabin.
The council approved accepting the intent of the proposed rules contingent on City Attorney Paul Landry’s review.
Officials would allow renters to hold an event with up to 25 people at one cabin, if they ask permission, Barbier said. Barbier also wants to start asking potential renters what they plan to use the cabins for, he said.
“I don’t think when we built these cabins they were intended for party houses. And that’s pretty much what they’ve turned into,” Barbier said. The city built the cabins using state capital outlay money and has plans to build a total of 18 cabins.
Large wedding parties, receptions and other events with 100 to 200 people are causing parking problems and complaints from neighboring renters, he said. Authorities had to shut down a party at one of the cabins Monday night “because it got so big,” Barbier said.
The maximum occupancy of the cabins is supposed to be 16 people, with the exception of one with a 14-person maximum capacity, he said. But many people don’t actually go inside the cabins and stay under canopies that visitors bring, he said.
Renting three cabins for a large party would be more appropriate than renting one cabin and having 100 people show up, Barbier said.
The recreation department rents the cabins up to six months ahead of time. So officials may have to give renters the option to cancel their reservations if they’re not comfortable with the new rules.
Morgan City resident Woodrow Parker, a past recreation board member, suggested building a couple of cabins just to be used for parties.
Also at the meeting, City Court Judge Kim Stansbury asked the council to appoint a member to the newly created Morgan City Indigent Defender Board at the July City Council meeting. The parish council and legislative delegation will also appoint one member each to the board.
Gov. John Bel Edwards has signed House Bill 689 into law, which requires city courts in the 16th Judicial District, including Morgan City, to deposit 30 percent of the fees they collect into a special fund to pay an indigent defender attorney. The law goes into effect Aug. 1.
Stansbury asked state Rep. Sam Jones, D-Franklin, to file the bill after receiving a letter in March saying that the district public defender’s office wouldn’t be able to provide an attorney to city courts in the district starting March 31.
Stansbury didn’t want to be at risk of not being able to hold court, so legislation was the solution, he said. City court collects adequate funds to hire its own public defender attorney. The defender would represent defendants in adult and juvenile court, Stansbury said.
After the bill passed the House, Stansbury was told that the state public defender board did have the funding to provide a defender to city court. However, Stansbury didn’t want to be at the mercy of the state board every time it has to restrict services.
Members of the Morgan City Indigent Defender Board will be responsible for making sure the public defender attorney is qualified and working enough hours, Stansbury said.
In other business, the council
—Approved locations and times of events for the 81st Louisiana Shrimp & Petroleum Festival to be held Sept. 1-5. The Blessing of the Fleet will be held on the Berwick side because of the wharf reconstruction in Morgan City.
—Approved a bid tabulation to purchase two 15kV outdoor vacuum circuit breakers at a cost of $31,960.
—Discussed investigating the city’s options to allow for the sale of private property that sits on non-essential public property, such as an alley that the city hasn’t used in a long time, Mayor Frank “Boo” Grizzaffi said.