West St. Mary Port moves on industrial park bulkhead

West St. Mary Port commissioners Tuesday agreed to funding the construction of a bulkhead at the industrial site on the Charenton Navigation and Drainage Canal.
Executive Director David Allain said bids for 120-feet of bulkhead were opened in March, and the low qualifying bidder was $1.13 million. St. Mary Parish Government has approximately $857,000 in state facility planning funds available. An approximate $275,000 balance remained, which the port commission agreed to pay from its own coffers.
There was a lower-cost open that would have meant reducing the length of the bulkhead significantly. Commissioner Calvin Deshotel preferred the cheaper option, and voted against the final motion.
Also Tuesday, the commission voted to renew its millage rate of 2.72 mills representing no change.
In other business, Cleco representative Jude Hebert noted that the sale of the utility has been finalized and promised no changes would be noticed by customers. Hebert said the investment group led by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets, British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, John Hancock Financial and other infrastructure investors, has also donated $7 million to the state for economic development purposes.