After over a month of threats of a mandamus against President Billy Nungesser for not putting a trailer at the parish seat of Pointe-a-la-Hache, the PPC finally got the answer they wanted to hear at the May 10 council meeting.

“We will move the trailer,” Nungesser affirmed. “The reason we didn’t want to move it initially and we asked the council to consider meeting in the Griffin Community Center was after we took a tour of the parish with the state emergency manager and his team, they asked us to move all trailers that the Parish Government has under its control before hurricane season and to have the permits department go through all the trailers and modular homes in the parish to make sure they are properly fixed to the ground.”

Nungesser further explained that there were three trailers available and he would like guidance from the council on which they would prefer. Nungesser apologized for the delay and explained that “we were just trying to listen to what the state was telling us to do.”

Councilchair Byron Marinovich further reiterated that although the Percy Griffin Community Center was a beautiful facility, it was not located in the parish seat, and that is the primary reason why the council has been so adamant about getting a trailer in Pointe-a-la Hache.  

Director of Public Works Byron Williams said that the three available trailers were located in Home Place, and once the council selected the trailer that best suits their needs it could be moved across the river. 

CCC Toll resolution

District 4 Councilman Stuart Guey, suspended the rules and introduced a resolution that supports a proposed November referendum on whether bridge tolls for the Crescent City Connection should be suspended or renewed, and if passed would specify certain Plaquemines road infrastructure projects would be included for funding.

Guey made it clear to the council and to the audience that the resolution neither supports nor opposes the tolls. 

The resolution states that should the voters approval the tolls’ renewal, then the remainder of collected funds that does not go to the public safety services, would go to the Department of Transportation and Development for operations, maintenance and capital projects. 

Guey said the resolution is not a guarantee that the projects will be included under the project funding umbrella should the tolls be renewed, but he feels it is better to have the request out there instead of sitting by idly and waiting it out. 

“There are capital projects being proposed from I-10 and Broad over the bridge to Nine-Mile Point, and the intersection of Highway 23 and Highway 90 down to Peters Road back to Highway 90,” Guey explained. “Because there’s no question that once completed, that section will have an impact on New Orleans, Jefferson and Plaquemines.”

The resolution was passed by a 7 − 0 vote. Councilmen Anthony Buras and Jeff Edgecombe were absent. 

It has not yet been determined whether Plaquemines residents would be eligible to vote in this proposed referendum. 

Plaquemines Recreation Advisory Committee

The council unanimously approved a resolution, introduced by District 9 Councilwoman Marla Cooper, that creates a nine-member Recreation Advisory Committee.

The goal of the committee, explained Cooper, is to advise the Council of the needs and concerns of the Parish recreation programs and departments. 

Councilchair Byron Marinovich, explained that the intention is to create a liaison between kids and parents, and the recreation department so we can “get feedback to work out any issues and do it a little more amicably.”