DANIEL TYLER GOODEN / L’Observateur / May 9, 2000

CONVENT – Mobile phone users in St. James Parish will see an additional 85cents on their monthly statements.

The St. James Parish Council recently passed an ordinance for the amount tobe added in order to upgrade and sustain 911 mobile phone emergency equipment.

The Federal Communications Commission requires the equipment in all parishes. The equipment makes sure cellular 911 calls are directed to theemergency services in the parish that the calls are made.

Currently 911 calls are directed to the parish in which the receiving station picks up the cellular phones transmissions, said director of the Emergency Operations Center Gerald Falgoust. So if a 911 call is made close to the St.John Parish border, St. John emergency operators receive the call then routeit through to St. James operators. “We routinely do this, but the newequipment will straighten out the calls” and improve response time, said Falgoust.

The council also passed an ordinance authorizing $275,000 of certificates of indebtedness in order to pay for new radio upgrades. A third ordinancedeclared St. James Parish a member of the South Central Louisiana SolidWaste District. Gramercy and Lutcher must also pass ordinances if theydesire to join the SCLSWD. The deadline for admission is June 1, after whichany one requesting to join must be voted in by existing members.

In another matter, Parish President Dale Hymel Jr. reported in hispresident’s report that the parish libraries will be closed through May 12 for automated system upgrades.

Also, utilities fees for hookups, connections and disconnections will be discussed at a public hearing before the May 17 council meeting, Hymel said.

He also informed the council the taskforce on local parks is still working toward finalizing a uniform set of rules for renting park facilities. Thetaskforce was created after various parties erupted into violence requiring multiple law enforcement officers to quell the disturbances.

Hymel also briefed the council on the water system shutdown during the chemical spill May 1. Jody Chenier, director of operations, passed out aformal report on the event including detailed steps the parish had taken during the incident.

District 7 Councilman Jimmy Brazan asked why the outdoor warning system was not used to alert the public.

“At no time was there any contaminated water in the system,” Hymel assured.

“Our policies for the outdoor warning system allow only notification of serious life-threatening emergencies, such as tornados, to be broadcast through the system. If we use it to much we get a ‘crying wolf’ problem andnobody pays attention. Shutting down the water systems was just aninconvenience,” said Falgoust.

The councilmen requested that in the event of any other such emergency actions they be notified as soon as possible. The councilmen reported thatmany citizens were calling complaining of no water, but at the time the parish officers didn’t know what was going on either. Falgoust and Hymelassured that they could find a way to notify them during an emergency.

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