Land O’Lakes looking to operate here

A deal to import and export grain and salt for a Fortune 500 company through the Port of Morgan City came one step closer to fruition during Tuesday’s Berwick Town Council meeting.
Land O’Lakes, a brand primarily known for the butter it produces, is working toward a deal to import sea salt from Mexico and export grain to the Caribbean. Roughly every 20 days, the 350-foot long Tatita is expected to enter Morgan City and stay for three to four days starting near the end of June, according to Raymond “Mac” Wade, Port of Morgan City executive director.
With annual sales exceeding $14 billion, Land O’Lakes is 194th on the Fortune 500, according to the company’s website.
The matter came before the Berwick council because D&S Marine Transport, a contractor working for Land O’Lakes, is seeking to lease 522 feet of riverfront property there to support operations. The lease must be approved by ordinance, according to Berwick laws.
Two-hundred-foot hopper barges used to load and unload the Tatita will be stored and cleaned on the Berwick riverfront. The additional space was necessary because there was not enough water frontage at the port to accommodate both the ocean-going barge and the 10 to 15 hopper barges at the same time, Wade said.
Two ordinances to approve the lease were introduced Tuesday and must lay over for 30 days before a public hearing and final approval. One ordinance would lease waterfront parcels 1, 4 and 5 to D&S Marine. The other extends a lease already in place for parcels 2 and 3 to Mathilde Wilson Person and Three Brothers Properties.
Councilman Troy Lombardo expressed a desire to table the second ordinance for 30 days to discuss terms Person and Three Brothers desired, which he did not disclose. Town Attorney Allen McElroy said the council could amend the introduced ordinance after the public hearing next month; however, he said he did not believe the changes sought were legal.
Lee Babin, representing the companies that will offload the Tatita, said if the ordinance were tabled the company would have to look elsewhere, despite Berwick being the best option, because of the timeframe involved.
The council voted unanimously to introduce the D&S ordinance and voted 4-1 with Lombardo dissenting to introduce the Person and Three Brothers ordinance.
“This is a major thing getting this property over in Berwick. Before the Tatita gets here, they have to have the barges they’re going to load into and the grain already here. Between June 20 and the end of the month, the big boat will be here. The hopper barges will already be here,” Wade said this morning.
Wade said the impact to the area will be more than the money being brought by the single barge.
“This is going to create economic impact to the area,” he said, adding that there will be additional jobs created, equipment rentals, towing operations contracted, groceries bought and additional taxes paid.
“There’s a lot of economic impact … it’s very good for us,” Wade said.
In other action Tuesday, the council:
—Held public hearings on and passed ordinances setting millage rates and drainage fees for 2014.
—Held a public hearing for a zoning variance to allow a church in a residential zone on Fourth Street. Gerald McGuire is applying for the variance to turn the old Bayou Industrial Maintenance Service building on Fourth Street into a church. The variance was approved.
—Designated Berwick Chief Administrative Officer Newell “Bubba” Slaughter as the point of contact for a $300,000 grant for the planning stages of a sewer system upgrade affecting the western end of the town near Cameron.
—Received the annual audit report from Gerald Thibodeaux representing Kolder, Champagne, Slaven & Company.
—Approved a liquor license for Hollywood Casino, pending state approval, due to an ownership change.
—Received a check from the Berwick Housing Authority for $23,000, the equivalent of the authority’s taxes or fees to the town.
—Introduced an ordinance clarifying the town’s laws regarding consumption of alcohol in public places.
—Approved an application to hold a 5K race benefitting the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Benevolent Association.