By LEONARD GRAY

HAHNVILLE – Two engineering firms were hired Monday to provide consulting services for public works and wastewater programs in St. Charles Parish.

Each firm will have an annual cap of $200,000, according to Greg Bush, director for both departments.

“It would allow me to do the work by task order for quick response,” he said.

The separate ordinances each passed by 6-2 votes, but opposition was fierce from council members Dee Abadie and G. “Ram” Ramchandran.

“There’s too much we can manipulate with this,” Abadie said. “It’s very political.”

Ramchandran added, “It’s not a question of trust but a question of procedure.”

Abadie pushed through with unanimous votes amendments to give the council members notice within five days of any work done and also to forbid any assigning or subcontracting work, so the council knows who is working on what under their authority. Councilman Barry Minnich was absent from Monday’s meeting.

Approval of the dedication of Lakewood East Phase II subdivision in Luling was granted as well. The 81-lot subdivision will have an entrance on West Heather Street near Lakewood Elementary School. Likewise, a letter of no objection was granted to McCracken Enterprises toward wetlands reclamation at the planned 350-lot Avalon Phase 3 Subdivision in Hahnville.

Developer Luther McCracken intends no railroad crossing to link the new development to the current Avalon Subdivision on River Road, with access to come instead from Louisiana Highway 3127.

Also, 12 homes in the Cajun Paradise Subdivision near Paradis will finally be linked to the parish water system with funds from the Governor’s Rural Development Fund, if it is approved.

The subdivision is located off Old Spanish Trail near Paradis, beyond the railroad tracks and accessed by a privately-owned crossing.

The homes will be linked to a water main, placed centrally along the road, with homes linking to it, rather than individual lines, according to parish grants officer Henry Wolfe.

In the same grant application, funds are being sought for improvement of the Bayou Gauche park for construction of a 2,043-foot walking path.

In other discussion, the parish council approved deletion of a requirement that subdivision developers or homeowners association buy liability insurance in Fashion Plantation Estates.

That policy purchase, which would cost the homeowners association $1,100 per year, is not required in any other subdivision in the parish, homeowner association president Steven Myers pointed out.

Ramchandran asked developer Dr. Ray Matherne why it was done in the first place, and Matherne responded he did it during the last administration at the recommendation of then-parish attorney Randy Lewis.

In other activity, the council:

• Voted to retain Sarah Whalen as the legislative liaison, in conjunction with St. John the Baptist, St. James and Assumption parishes.

• Voted to approve extending the hours of operation for the Louisiana Catfish Festival to 11 p.m. that Friday and Saturday, as an exception to the parish noise ordinance, which dictates closing at 10 p.m.

The festival is scheduled July 12-14 at St. Gertrude Catholic Church in Des Allemands.

• Voted to support applying for state funds for a teen pregnancy prevention program. Wolfe said the program is expected to start in June and work to educate 150 students per year.

• Recognized the contributions of the late John W. Woodiel Jr., founder of the Republican Party of St. Charles Parish.