By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – Acadian Ambulance will continue to be the emergency medical transportation provider for St. John the Baptist Parish after earning approval from the St. John Council.

During a finance committee meeting Tuesday, the council voted to approve a three-year contract with the Lafayette ambulance company. St. John Director of Purchasing Brenda Labat said Acadian was the only company to respond to the parish’s request for proposals for ambulance service.

Labat said the contract calls for a first-year rate of $297,213, with a 3-percent increase for the following two years. Labat said the contract includes an optional one-year extension at the end of the third year.

The parish is currently paying $293,000 for the service, which offers at least three ambulances stationed throughout the parish. Although the council approved the contract unanimously, there were questions about what is being done to assist with funding for coverage of incidents on the interstate system, which St. John is responsible for.

Labat said the parish is looking into grants to help out with coverage on the interstate.

In other action, the council received an update on bids received for drainage work in the Riverlands subdivision of LaPlace, which were considered at the previous council meeting.

Parish engineer Chuck Savoie said the parish had decided to reject all six bids submitted because all came in well above the estimated $1.2 million budget. He said the parish had scheduled meetings with contractors to assist them with changes to the contract that could bring them closer to the budget number. He expected the project to be rebid within the next two weeks.

“The changes will not do anything to impede what we are trying to do in that area,” Savoie said. “We didn’t want to do anything that could alter the flow of water.”

The council also accepted a letter of substantial completion for renovations to the 40th Judicial District Juvenile Services Building in Reserve.

The renovations, which included installation of new sewer links, an expanded parking area and new meeting rooms, were completed at an estimated cost of $325,000. The building, which houses juvenile probation officers and judge chambers, had not been upgraded since it was constructed in 1975.