Patterson finds funding for road repairs

PATTERSON — The Patterson city government may soon begin repairing some of the streets city officials say are in dire need of resurfacing.
The City Council passed a resolution during Tuesday’s council meeting giving preliminary approval for the city to issue up to $1 million in limited tax bonds to resurface city streets.
The bonds will be secured by a property tax that is already being levied in the city of Patterson and has been levied since 1974, said Jason Akers, bond attorney for Foley & Judell. That property tax already in place is 8.2 mills, according to the resolution.
After the resolution receives approval from the State Bond Commission, the council will be able to introduce an ordinance to issue the bonds at the September council meeting and adopt the ordinance at the October meeting, Akers said.
“In mid-November, we expect to have the money available for you to spend on road and street projects,” Akers said.
The bonds will be issued at an interest rate not exceeding 4 percent and shall mature over a 12-year period. Foley & Judell is looking for a local bank to issue the bonds and is trying to get the best interest rate possible, Akers said.
In July, the city received bids to repair and resurface five streets including First Street from Railroad Avenue to Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, Grout Street from Main Street to Washington Street, Park Street from Main Street to Third Street, Third Street from Park Street to Taft Street, and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue from Main Street to Cherry Street, Mayor Rodney Grogan said.
“The roads are just getting worse day by day,” Grogan said.
The low bid to resurface those five streets came in at $505,829.63, Grogan said. The city also received an alternate bid to include Hickory Street from Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue to Park Street for $232,124, the mayor said.
The streets in the bids haven’t been resurfaced since the 1970s, Grogan said.
The $1 million in bonds to be issued will provide for the streets in the bids, but will not solve the 18 other streets in need of repairs, Grogan said.
During the meeting, the council introduced an ordinance to enter into a contract for garbage collection with Pelican Waste & Debris, which is the company that the St. Mary Parish Council recently approved a contract with to begin collecting garbage in the unincorporated areas of the parish on Nov. 1.
Patterson residents will save about $4 per month on garbage collection compared to what they were paying with Progressive Waste Solutions and will continue getting twice-a-week pickup, Grogan said.
The contract would include new garbage cans, and Progressive will use “brand new” garbage trucks, Grogan said.
Roddie Matherne, co-owner of Pelican Waste & Debris in Houma, said the only thing that may change, as far as the garbage collection schedule goes, is that Pelican plans to pick up all the bear-proof cans on the same day.
Councilman John Rentrop said he sees the fact that Pelican is based in Houma as a positive compared to Progressive’s home office being in Canada.
Matherne used to work for Progressive before starting Pelican with co-owner Corey Callais.
Pelican’s proposed contract is for five years, Matherne said.
Patterson Public Works Director Steve Bierhorst said the proposed contract includes an option for Pelican to pick up trash in the city, which means items that don’t fit into garbage cans. The city currently provides trash service itself.
Also at Tuesday’s meeting, the council introduced an ordinance to require certain businesses in the city to install video camera systems.
The ordinance was originally proposed about two years ago but was “snubbed” by some members of the business community, Grogan said. The ordinance is aimed at recording footage in an effort to solve crimes, Grogan said.
Under the ordinance, cameras would be placed at businesses deemed “high risk,” meaning that the potential exists for criminal activity, City Attorney Russel Cremaldi said.
Those types of businesses include ones that sell alcohol, pharmacies, pawn shops and check cashing businesses.
“For the protection of those businesses in the city, the law enforcement officials feel that this is a good way to reduce those risks,” Cremaldi said.

This story was written by Zachary Fitzgerald of The Daily Review staff. Reach him at zfitzgerald@daily-review.com.