By Richard Meek
Contributing Writer

LAPLACE – Major improvements appear to have eased some of the drainage issues that have plagued the Homewood subdivision in the past, but not all agree the problem is corrected.
The disagreement regarding the effectiveness of the pumps surfaced during the St. John the Baptist Parish Council meeting Wednesday night when council members were informed that a $1 million project targeted at improving drainage in the Reserve subdivision was coming in $23,251 under budget. District III Councilman Lennix Madere initially inquired about the possibility of keeping the money in his district and improving culverts in the area.
But the conversation quickly shifted when Councilman Lucien Gauff III asked parish CAO Theresa Rodgers about utilizing the excess funds to clear the pipes of debris that constantly impede water flow from the subdivision to a nearby reservoir, which eventually empties the water into Lake Maurepas.
Rodgers endorsed the idea, and then responding to Cheryl Millet’s question if the new pump works, the CAO said it does, adding crews “make sure they are working properly, and they are.”
But Madere disagreed, saying the area still had problems.
“I give it 40 percent at best operating and doing what it’s supposed to do,” Madere said. “I want to take that $23,000 and find out what is the problem that is holding up that water from getting to the reservoir.”
He cited a recent rain event when the subdivision had no water on the streets at 2 p.m. but five hours later at 7 p.m. when he returned the water was so high he could not even open the door of his SUV.
“It was that deep,” he said,
Madere said the pumps were operating, but the reservoir was low and water was  still backing up in the streets. Public Works Director Brian Nunes said a temporary pump had to be used when one of the two major pumps went down and admitted “we got some water” in the area.
“We got (the major) pump back, and it’s all online,” he said. “As evidenced by our last major rain event we had a lot of water in many streets but nothing in the roads in Homewood.”
But Madere remained skeptical, saying “one rain episode where (the pump) did its job is not enough to consider it to be a success. I have to have multiple rain episodes and watch it perform.
“I’m not ready to say it’s a success.”
Part of the blame, parish officials said, lies with the residents themselves who continue to dump debris, such as lumber and even sofas, into the drains that block the water flow out of the Reserve neighborhood. Nunes said his crews respond when there is a blockage, but officials have repeatedly bemoaned the fact the problem is parishwide.
“I’m not naïve to the fact that we have trash being dumped in (the drains) and causing some of the flow problems,” he said. “But we need to find out exactly what it is to get it done.”
Civil Construction Contractors of Hahnville was the contractor for the drainage project, which involved moving an existing pump on the Reserve Relief Canal to the north, converting it from electric to diesel power, adding a second pump station and boring a second drainage culvert under Airline Highway.
The original estimate for the work was $1.072 million. Rodgers said the money has to be used for some type of drainage work. The change order approved by council members delayed the completion date by 96 days, although the new pump is operational. The original completion date was scheduled to be April 3.
In other action, council members also approved renewing the contract for two years of the Reserve firm of Guidry Associates LLC to “perform the consultative services for the parish for state and federal representation.”
Guidry is to be paid a combined $6,333 for the work at both levels. Former St. John Parish CAO Chris Guidry is listed as the founding partner on the firm’s website.  
Guidry Associates was also awarded a two-year contract to serve as the legislative liaison for the River Region Caucus, which was created by an act of the Legislature in 2012 and includes St. John the Baptist, St. Charles and St. James parishes.