By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – St. John Parish officials on Tuesday will seek authorization from the council to begin looking for a contractor to handle drainage excavation projects parishwide.

St. John Acting Chief Administrative Officer Buddy Boe said the contract would call for one company to handle nearly all of the ditch digging and canal excavation throughout the parish.

“It will give us the freedom to delegate excavation work as needed instead of bidding out each individual project, “ Boe said. “We are still going to have to go out for bids on certain special projects, but we have the funding now to handle smaller drainage projects that can be done immediately. It’s going to save us a great deal of time.”

Boe said although the parish has scaled back funding for drainage in the 2010 budget, the differences will be made up with money from the 2009 bond issue. He said the parish intends to use an as yet undetermined portion of the $9.7 million in bond revenue, designated for drainage and hurricane protection, to fund excavation work.

The contract will help the parish clean out ditches and canals that, Boe said, have not been touched in more than 15 years. The contractor will also be responsible work tied to excavation of major drainage canals that run through protected wetlands areas.

“We are still awaiting permits from the Army Corps of Engineers to begin work on those canals,” Boe said. “We have secured seven of the 28 permits we need.”

The contract will replace a similar agreement the parish once head with Pipeworks Plumbing & Demolition of River Ridge. The parish voided that contract in the wake of the bribery scandal involving former St. John Parish President Bill Hubbard.

“The previous contract also included general maintenance work parishwide,” Boe said. “The new version will only include aspects pertaining to drainage.”

Also on the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting, the council and parish officials will discuss a comprehensive drainage plan to correct issues in the Homewood neighborhood of Reserve.

Boe said administrators recently wrapped up a series of meetings with directors and parish legal counsel representatives to formulate a plan to combat persistent drainage problems in the old Reserve neighborhood. Several council members expressed the need for immediate action at the last council meeting.

The council meets Tuesday at the St. John Parish Courthouse in Edgard at 6 p.m.