By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – St. John Parish Council members were told Tuesday night that the parish’s Mississippi River ferry is one step closer to returning to operation.

Council Chairman Ronnie Smith announced toward the end of the regular meeting that Entergy Louisiana has gotten a permit to place a power pole near the Edgard Ferry landing, a critical piece to getting the ferry back on line.

The announcement produced a smattering of applause among the council and members of the audience inside the council chambers.

Parish legal counsel Kerry Brown, who has been handling litigation tied to the ferry’s return, said Entergy is in the process of assembling a work crew and that work could begin on getting the pole in place within the next couple of weeks. He also said the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development is currently looking for an engineer to regularly pilot the ferry.

“We are on schedule to getting the ferry back on line by late April or early May,” Brown said.

In other action from Tuesday’s meeting, the council approved authorization for the parish to enter into negotiations with the state to place farmer’s markets on both sides of the river.

The parish will be allowed to begin land surveys and prepare proposals with DOTD for a market to be placed on a 3-acre parcel of land near the Veterans Memorial Bridge in Wallace. The Council also approved a $200,000 grant from the Delta Regional Authority for construction of a seafood market on the east bank.

In the finance committee meeting, the council approved authorization for the parish to go out for bids to overlay a pair of streets on the east bank. The roughly $1.1 million project, which will repave portions of Historic East Street in Garyville and N.W. Second Street in Reserve, will be funded through the 2009 National Economic Stimulus Package.