Despite best efforts of company to relocate, other options still not panning out

BY DREW HINSHAW

Staff Reporter

LAPLACE – Over three months after the Solid Waste Disposal Company (SWDI) agreed to relocate a proposed garbage storage facility along Highway 51, a company official says SWDI is down to their last options, and they may be forced back to their originally planned location.

&#8220We’re working on a piece right now that, if we got it, we could stay in the parish,” SWDI General Manager Roddie Matherne said. &#8220If that doesn’t work, we’ll have to look outside the parish or possibly build back where we intended.”

But Councilman Sean Roussel, whose constituents have widely protested the site, says SWDI promised not to settle there. &#8220As far as I’m concerned, they gave me their commitment that they were not going to build there,” Roussel said.

Since agreeing to relocate, SWDI has faced highly overvalued property rates and limited choices. Matherne believes property owners hiked their negotiating price after learning SWDI was being chased from their present site.

&#8220We’ve looked at property we looked at before that’s gone from one to four dollars a square foot,” Matherne said. &#8220I know they’re blaming it on Hurricane Katrina, but they were selling some of this land three years ago, and it’s still not for sale. You don’t go up on the property if it’s not selling.”

If current negotiations fall through, SWDI will have to consider two options: settling in the original location, or moving out of St. John Parish, which they don’t want to do for a variety of reasons.

&#8220It would be so much better if we could be in the parish,” Matherne said. &#8220If someone had a missed pick-up we could just jump in the truck and go get it. And if you move out of the parish, you deal with employees having to drive long distances, which they might not be willing to do.”

&#8220It would be less expensive and a whole lot easier for them to be in St. John,” Councilman Allen St. Pierre said.

Whatever the case, the council seems to have limited say over

SWDI’s final decision. &#8220I really don’t think they can stop it, because it’s industrial-zoned property,” Matherne said. &#8220We spent half a million dollars buying it. The only people we could catch hell from are the residents.”

Yet Roussel remains optimistic that the council can offer SWDI the right incentives to convince them to move. &#8220We’ll go to the extent that we can to help SWDI move to a less contentious location,” he said. &#8220We’ll swap the land if we need to. We’ll find a way.”

Roussel also said that the working relationship has been terrific. &#8220They’ve been a real pleasure to work with,” he said.

&#8220We’ve been dealing with this for five years and it’s time for them to find a new location,” St. Pierre said. &#8220All they’re doing is playing tic-tac-toe. In other words, they’re moving around, but wherever they go, it’s upsetting to the district. The next step is SWDI’s got to make the call”

&#8220I’ll probably know in a month what choice we’re going to make,” Matherne said.