Parish council hears litter survey report

Members of the St. Mary Parish Council heard the results of a recent litter index survey Wednesday compiled by the Keep St. Mary Beautiful committee.
Committee chairman Rodney Grogan said communities from Amelia to Sorrell were ranked on a scale of 1 to 4 with 1 meaning no litter and 4 extremely littered.
Grogan said the litter index is part of the Keep America Beautiful criteria.
“We found some strengths, we found some weaknesses,” he said.
The best ranked areas were Berwick and the Chitimacha Reservation.
He noted that in some areas, trash on the ground left behind during garbage collection was found and in others such as Patterson abandoned trucks and trailers were found.
“Berwick was found to be one of the (best) areas … and on the Franklin end Eastwood was found to be real clean and we found the Chitimacha Reservation to be basically litter free,” he said.
He said in the unincorporated areas of Amelia and Glencoe there was evidence of “community pride.”
He added that the area of St. Joseph is in need of assistance by the parish to deal with abandoned houses.
Grogan said the committee has received $15,000 in tourism monies from the state to use on improvements.
Grogan said Conrad Industries has joined forces with the committee and adopted Marcel Boat Landing in Amelia as a part of its environmental program.
“They actually in the month of June put out $6,000 and they’ve been going out there every month,” to paint and make repairs along with litter cleanup, Grogan said.
“We encourage you as leaders within your community to get the school kids involved,” by picking up litter in and around their school yards, he said.
He said other businesses such as McDermott are active in adopting certain areas to keep litter free. On the other hand, he said, there’s a sign declaring an unnamed organization as having adopted La. 182 between Franklin and Baldwin that is not being kept up.
He noted that the Don’t Trash Franklin group is out once a month to pick up litter on Main Street.
Parish President Paul Naquin said he has talked to Sheriff Mark Hebert about enlisting inmates for litter patrol especially along La. 182 between Franklin and Centerville.
In other discussions Wednesday the council heard from Beverly Domengeaux, executive director of the Council on Aging who reported that in the past year the council provided $500,000 to senior citizens that make up 14 percent of the parish population. She added that the council’s annual meeting with food, music and door prizes will be on Sept. 19 at the Patterson Civic Center from 6-10 p.m.
The council also heard from Courtney Long, founder of the Hoodstock, who said the goal of the grassroots group is to restore morals and values back into the community. This year’s event will be held Oct. 11 in the Brownell Homes area. The council approved a $1,500 contribution to the organization.
In other business the council:
—Adopted ordinances on a zoning map amendment at 122 Polaris Road in Bayou Vista from a mixed residential zone to light industrial and amendment of the 2014 budget.
—Met behind closed doors in executive session for 45 minutes to discuss legal proceedings against the parish by Garden City Apartments LLC and developer Lloyd Harris who is fighting the council’s decision to deny him approval for the development. Upon conclusion, council Chairman Steve Bierhorst said, “We have met with our attorneys and are still negotiating.” Harris told the council that the only reason he has not yet taken his case to federal court is because the Department of Housing and Urban Development has asked him to wait until it has completed its investigation into his claim of violation of the Fair Housing Act.
—Passed resolutions updating the Hazard Mitigation Plan and adjusting solid waste disposal fees and declaring Oct. 5-11 as 4-H Week.
—Appointed Shirley Purvey to Fire Protection District 11 and Helsema A. Pinho to Sewer District 8.