Our last few Council meetings have been crowded with action items.

One of the more important, recent changes is solid waste collection. At our first meeting in July, the St. John the Baptist Parish Council voted to award the contract for garbage collection to Metro Service Group after many complaints were received from residents.

The existing contract with Progressive Waste is set to expire Aug. 1.

Metro Service Group has served portions of St. John Parish for many years, which makes them very familiar with our area. Metro Service Group has provided solid waste collection services throughout the Southeastern Region of the United States for 36 years.

Metro will have an office within the parish and maintain a 24-hour phone line for residents to call for complaints.

Continue to check the parish website for more information at sjbparish.com.

A Certificate of Substantial Completion was approved for the Foxwood Levee Project.

This substantial project was constructed to alleviate flooding in the Foxwood Subdivision, which consisted of a seven-foot levee from the LaPlace Plantation Canal to the existing LaPlace Park Levee, attached to a pumping station.

This project was funded through multiple funding sources including the Gustav/Ike Development Block Grant and the 2009 Bond Issue.

The Parish Council also authorized a Memorandum of Understanding with the South Louisiana Region of the American Red Cross for disaster response.

This agreement includes sheltering, feeding, health services, spiritual care services and distribution of relief supplies and information upon activation in emergency situations.

Last but certainly not least, I want to welcome to the Council once more, Mrs. Raj Pannu. She is officially serving as the interim Council member for District 7, previously held by Buddy Boe, but was vacated by him after accepting a position with the Lieutenant Governor’s Office.

The Council has called the election for District 7, which is set for March of 2017.

Michael P. Wright is St. John the Baptist Parish Council District 5 representative. Contact him at District5@sjbparish.com or m.wright@sjbparish.com.