LEONARD GRAY / L’Observateur / September 22, 1999

HAHNVILLE – It could be three to five years before permits are received for the West Bank hurricane protection levee, St. Charles Parish PresidentChris Tregre reported to the Parish Council at its Monday meeting.

This followed in the wake of an ordinance passed to end Tregre’s pursuit of an alignment for the levee behind Luling, Boutte and Paradis, following already-donated rights-of-way.

That ordinance, authored by Councilman G. “Ram” Ramchandran, calledinstead for acceptance of a wetlands-nonwetlands alignment which, Tregre commented, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers does not haveanywhere on paper and for which rights-of-way would have to be bought or expropriated.

Tregre vetoed the ordinance and the council overrode that veto.

Tregre said he met with agency representatives of the Corps and the Environmental Protection Agency on Sept. 16. “We are expediting this application and will develop a project timeline and get it all in writing,” he pledged.

The report came in response to Hubert Cato Jr., who addressed the councilto congratulate them for the veto override and to call for rapid development of the levee.

In another matter and following up on earlier citizen complaints of a crumbling canal bank behind Ormond Trace Subdivision in Destrehan, Parish Councilman Dickie Duhe called for the emergency spending of $300,000 to stabilize the canal bank.

Public works director Richard Wright said his study indicated the entire canal needed to be stabilized, but the cost for that stabilization would be $1.2 million.Duhe was unable to attend the meeting due to illness, but Council chairman Terry Authement said Duhe intended this money to be the first of a phased-in project to address the problem as a whole.

Tregre pointed out that as a councilman in March 1991, he and then- councilman Patrick Danford did not vote to accept that subdivision, foreseeing the problem.

The subdivision was developed by Ormond Trace Partnership, with Joel Chaisson II the managing partner, according to parish records.

“We never got the servitude at the time, and I feel the developer should be made to pay for it,” Tregre said. “We never should have accepted it.”The parish president added there are no emergency funds available for the project and said he failed to see the “emergency” nature of it. “We don’thave an unlimited barrel of money,” Tregre added.

Council member Dee Abadie added, “I would like to support this for Mr.

Duhe, but I have erosion problems in my area.”Abadie suggested the development of a long-range erosion program, similar to road overlay programs on a prioritized basis. Parish attorneyRandy Lewis agreed, and added a minimum servitude size, based on canal size, should be added to the parish’s subdivision regulations.

“I see the problem as a recurring one,” Lewis said.

Ramchandran argued for the ordinance and said the canal should be redesigned so as not to erode the bank.

“It should be built so the water velocity is no more than 5 feet per second.

That’s basic civil engineering,” he said.

Tregre urged, “The taxpayers should not have to be paying this tab.”The matter was sent to committee by a 6-1 vote, with Duhe and Bill Sirmon absent.

Also at the meeting, Rodney Greenup of the Corps of Engineers presented an update report on the Geographical Information System (GIS) project for the parish. Using aerial photographs of the parish loaded onto a computerprogram, the system organizes data on every property in the parish.

The project is three years along and a completed version is anticipated in November, Greenup said.

The data includes ownership, current zoning, drainage, utilities, developers, fire district, school district, voting wards, crime statistics, and more – “Anything that can be linked to an address,” he said.

In another matter, Steve Finnegan from the Corps also presented a report on the bicycle paths along the levees.

Made possible through the Regional Planning Authority’s Ring Around the Lake project, finalized plans for the first phases on each side of the river should be complete in November.

On the East Bank, Phase 1 would run 8.5 miles from the Jefferson Parishline to Ormond Boulevard. It would cost $1.3 million, or $148,000 per mile.Access ramps would be placed at Charlestowne Estates, St. Rose Avenue,Destrehan Plantation and at Ormond Boulevard. A bicycle park with picnictables, restrooms, parking and water, would be located at the Charlestowne ramp.

Phase 2 would run 9.04 miles from Ormond Boulevard to the St. Johnparish line. It would cost $1.7 million, or $187,000 per mile. Access ramps would be placed at Harding Street, Apple Street, Evangeline Road, Hollywood Park Drive and the parish line.

Finnegan said project cost could be reduced by $300,000 or more if the bike path is permitted to run alongside the Spillway road.

On the West Bank, Phase 1 would run 8.5 miles from Hahnville to Luling. Itwould cost $1.12 million, or $132,000 per mile.Access ramps would be placed at Elm Street, Lowe Street, Sugarhouse Road, Davis Drive and the Westbank Bridge Park, where a scenic overlook park would be added to the levee.

Phase 2 would run 3.4 miles from the Jefferson Parish line to Luling, withaccess ramps at the parish line and at Bernard Avenue. Also, 5.76 milesfrom Hahnville to St. John parish would include access ramps at KillonaAvenue and the parish line. Cost would be $1.3 million, or $144,000 permile.

The bicycle paths would be 10-feet wide asphalt on a crushed-stone base.

Abadie suggested a scenic overlook park at Brown’s Curve near Ormond Plantation.

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