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LAPLACE — Lift stations, the St. John Community Center and even a utilities warehouse appear next in line for ongoing Hurricane Ida repairs.

St. John the Baptist Parish Council members approved the parish to solicit bids for four separate projects for repairs on facility damage incurred during Ida that could ultimately total a combined $2 million.

Two bids are being solicited for repairs on parish lift stations damaged during the storm. The first bid is estimated to check in at approximately $615,000 and will include repairs to  lift stations in the LaPlace area.

A second bid, estimated at $355,000, would include repairs to 27 lift stations through other areas of the parish. The scope of work on both projects includes fencing, electrical repairs, control panel replacement and lighting repairs, said Director of Purchasing Peter Montz.

Work at the community center is estimated to be about $1 million and will include addressing the building’s exterior as well as repairs to the lobby and atrium areas.

Montz and Parish President Jaclyn Hotard said the repairs will be paid through the IDA fund with FEMA reimbursement.

Also approved was soliciting bids for repairs to the street light warehouse. When questioned, Montz said the warehouse is currently being utilized to store supplies for the utilities department, such as meters and boxes.

Council members also approved two janitorial contracts, one to All the Time Janitorial in Franklinton and another to Titian Cleaning of Gramercy. Each company has a specific list of the buildings they will be responsible for cleaning.

In other developments Pittsburgh Tank and Tower Co. of Henderson, Kentucky, was awarded a $2.8 million contract for the elevated water tower and tank project. Montz said the project includes repairs to the elevated water tanks in Garyville, Lucy and Walnut and exterior and interior repairs for towers in Belle Terre and the courthouse. Additionally, ground storage tanks at the Lyons plant and Ruddock are included.

Rob Delaune of Digital Engineering & Imaging said each tank will be out of service when interior repairs are being completed, so the utilities department will have to coordinate its schedule so multiple tanks will not be down at the same time.

Council members also awarded a $585,000 contract to J. Caldarera and Co., Inc. of LaPlace for parish wide canal improvements that include clearing, snagging, dredging and excavation.

Parish engineering consultant Joseph Savoie said the first priority is to finish the Woodland Canal cleaning, which was interrupted by Hurricane Ida.

He said the cleaning of the canals will be an ongoing project and will be completed as funding and permits allow.

“Our goal is to continuously renew these permits and turn this into annual maintenance so we can keep these canals clean,” he said.

He also pointed out that many of the canals on the list were cleared during Ida, so he will reprioritize the original list. He will then submit a final list to the parish administration for approval.

Hotard said the parish has permits to dredge on six of the canals and permits to clean, snag and excavate on the other 36 canals.