'GOVERNMENT REPORTER' can be seen every other week in the
St. Charles Herald-Guide newspaper, which publishes weekly on Thursdays. It is written by Renee C. Allemand, St. Charles Parish's Public Information Officer, to keep citizens informed of important happenings within local government that affects their everyday lives.

JULY 29, 2008

MILLAGE RATES. St. Charles Parish administration is gearing up to offer its proposal on property tax millage rates at the Aug. 18 council meeting. Council members will vote to approve or change the plan.

Based on early estimates of total assessed property value in the parish, Parish President V.J. St. Pierre Jr. expects to roll millages back this year.

Parish government controls only 16 percent of the total millages charged on property owned by residents and industry alike. That money is dedicated to certain parish agencies and departments, including the Council on Aging, 911, Recreation Department, health unit and fire departments.

Other taxing bodies include the St. Charles Parish School Board, which receives 51 percent of parish property taxes, and the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Department.

Government Access Channel 6 will premiere a new segment explaining millage rates and their usage Aug. 13.

INFRASTRUCTURE UPDATE. A new culvert installed July 16 will help alleviate drainage concerns near Charlestowne and River Road in St. Rose.

The work will increase the capacity of the subsurface drainage system near the St. Rose Branch Library.

A water line running along River Road had to be moved to make way for the new culverts, so the job required intensive cooperation between Wastewater and Public Works crews, officials said.

The fix will keep water off the road during rain events and will provide protection for business and homes in the area along Charlestowne, Riverview Drive and Almedia Road. Runoff will be redirected through the parish’s drainage ditches behind Charlestowne.

For more information about infrastructure projects across St. Charles Parish, tune in to the St. Charles Parish Government Access Channel (Cox Cable Channel 6) or visit www.stcharlesgov.net.

PARISH VEHICLE POLICY UPDATE. St. Pierre has implemented a new policy dictating employee use of parish-owned and personal vehicles while conducting parish business.

The policy went into effect May 1 and has been phased-in over the last two months, Chief Operating Officer Rusty Walker said.

While the rules address all on-the-job transportation, they also spell out criteria for the use of take-home vehicles in all government departments. Previously, individual departments determined which workers were assigned a parish-owned vehicle to take to and from work.

According to the policy, vehicles are assigned on the basis of functional requirements of the employee’s position. Take-home vehicles are assigned to employees whose responsibilities require routine and regular conduct of parish business before or after normal working hours, emergency use on a routine or regular basis or if it is to the convenience of the parish to assign a vehicle.

Employees assigned take-home vehicles are taxed each pay check for their use.

All other employees have access to parish vehicle pools or can be reimbursed for mileage in their personal vehicles. The current reimbursement rate is 58 cents per mile.

The new criteria have eliminated approximately 15 take-home vehicles in the Department of Planning and Zoning, four in Workforce Investment and two in the Department of Parks and Recreation. The parish previously authorized 80 take-home vehicles.

MAKE WATER BILL PAYMENTS ONLINE. St. Charles Parish residents can now enjoy the convenience of paying their water bills online or by phone via credit card.

To pay a water bill online, visit www.stcharlesgov.net and click the payment link on the homepage. Payments are processed by Official Payments Corp., which charges a $3 fee per transaction. Transactions are limited to $200, not including the convenience fee.

Phone payments are being accepted through Official Payments Corp. at 1-877-309-4919. Online payments can be processed much more quickly than cash or check payments made at the Waterworks Department, located at 301 Third St. in Luling, said Robert Brou, the parish’s Department of Waterworks director. This can help customers avoid late fees.

Customers must have their 13-digit customer number to make payments. The number can be found on any previous water bills. ••• St. Charles Parish Public Information Officer Renee C. Allemand can be reached at (985) 783-5000 or rallemand@stcharlesgov.net.

JULY 14, 2008

BE PREPARED. As the summer of 2008 continues to drag on, we’re getting that much closer to the peak of hurricane season. We’ve been watching hurricane Bertha, and while it’s not headed toward the U.S. coast, it serves as a reminder of just how unpredictable hurricanes can be.

The parish hurricane preparedness and evacuation guide has been available online for a few weeks now at www.stcharlesgov.net/hurricane. You’ll soon be receiving the guide in the mail. Please hold on to it. It includes parish contact and other critical information if we find ourselves facing a storm threat.

The Web site includes information on how to get flood insurance, prepare your pets for a storm and sign up for the parish’s alert system via phone and e-mail.

VOLUNTEER VETS. A group of more than 20 volunteers with the American Veterinary Medical Foundation will complete much-needed repairs at the St. Charles Parish animal shelter this week as part of its Shelter Rehab Project.

The group will be made up of veterinarians in town for the AVMF convention. Volunteers are set to paint and reorganize the shelter’s surgery room, make repairs to the dog runs and pressure wash the building’s exterior.

St. Charles Parish Animal Control Director Angela Robert said a contact with the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals helped secure the work.

“The AVMF was really looking to help shelters in need that assisted in the pet rescue effort after Katrina,” she said. “The shelter will benefit so much from this group’s willingness to help.”

Volunteers will work both days from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at three other area shelters as well, including the Plaquemines Animal Welfare Society, Jefferson Parish West Bank and St. John the Baptist shelters. Robert said representatives with AVMF have already visited the Luling shelter to make plans for the upcoming project.

AVMF raises and distributes funds for charitable programs that veterinarians value as important for animal well-being, now and in the future. For more information, visit www.avmf.org.

NEW PARISH FINANCE DIRECTOR. St. Charles Parish President V.J. St. Pierre Jr. has appointed Grant M. Dussom as the parish’s new finance director.

Dussom, a certified public accountant, was unanimously confirmed July 7 by the parish council at its regular meeting.

A native of New Orleans, Dussom was previously an audit consultant with Deloitte & Touche LLP of New Orleans, an Audit and Enterprise Risk Services firm. There he gained auditing experience working with energy, manufacturing, banking and governmental related companies. He also was responsible for all aspects of the financial statement auditing process for private and public entities, including scheduling, budgeting, planning, fieldwork and reporting. That work included the supervision of audit teams.

“Mr. Dussom will certainly be an asset in making sure parish monies are spent responsibly and in a fiscally-sound manner,” St. Pierre said. “His background in auditing will help during annual legislative audits within the finance department.”

Dussom is an accounting and finance graduate of Loyola University New Orleans and a member of both the Louisiana Society of Certified Public Accountants and American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SALES TAX HOLIDAY. The St. Charles Parish Council recently passed a resolution to suspend its 2-percent sales tax on Aug. 1 and 2 following similar measures from the St. Charles Parish School Board and State Legislature.

District III Councilwoman Wendy Benedetto sponsored the resolution.

The adoption of this latest measure means residents will pay no sales tax for all consumer purchases of tangible property up to $2,500. The waiver does not apply to fuel, meals, vehicles or sales to businesses.

The school board suspended its 3-percent sales tax on July 2, and the state legislature suspended its 4-percent tax earlier this year.

Parish officials are urging residents to use the savings to stock up on school supplies and hurricane preparedness items.

CHANNEL WILL GET FACELIFT. As you flip past the Government Access Channel next week you may notice a few differences in how the parish presents its news.

We are now showing full-screen video, and all the slides will be redesigned to be legible and more cohesive.

To view the programming schedule and video news segments on YouTube, visit www.stcharlesgov.net/channel6.

JUNE 30

COME OUT AND CELEBRATE. It’s July 3. If you’re reading this column, I’m most likely out at the West Bank Bridge Park helping to set up for our annual Independence Day Celebration.

Please come join me and thousands of your friends and neighbors tonight from 6 to 9 p.m. Fireworks begin at 9, and there’ll be entertainment, food and patriotic observances throughout the night.

WEST NILE WOES. Mosquito Control Inc. has been spraying around the Bridge Park in anticipation of tonight’s event, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take extra precautions to protect yourself from mosquito bites.

West Nile Virus has been found in mosquito samples on the East Bank and now on the West Bank in Boutte. Though the virus is common during the summertime, there have been no human cases in St. Charles Parish so far. We’d all like to make sure it stays that way.

Entomologist Steven G. Pavlovich, of Mosquito Control Inc., urges limiting outdoor exposure during dusk and dawn hours, covering up with light-colored clothing and using mosquito repellent that contains DEET. Perfumes and colognes can also attract the bugs; so residents should avoid their use during peak mosquito activity.

For more information on West Nile Virus, visit http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile.

INFRASTRUCTURE UPDATE. St. Charles Parish Public Works crews Monday repaired a jack and bore culvert underneath the railroad tracks at the end of Annex Street.

The fix will improve drainage outflow in the neighborhood bounded by River Road and the tracks, Public Works East Bank Superintendent Steve Truitt said.

The railroad’s limestone rocks as well as pieces of reinforced concrete from the damaged culvert had clogged the structure, which is 36 inches in circumference.

Truitt said he made an emergency call to the railroad Thursday to secure permission to complete the project. Railroad workers assisted Public Works employees to marry the pipe back together and remove blockages from within the culvert.

“This shows what can be done in a short length of time when everyone works together,” St. Charles Public Works Director Sam Scholle said. “It’s been a great example of team work in fixing a very important outfall drainage problem.”

PRESERVES CONTEST AT THE FARMER'S MARKET. The German Coast Farmers' Market's "The Best of Preserves Contest" is scheduled for July 12.

Information booklets are available at both markets provided by the LSU AgCenter.

Judging criteria includes quality and appearance of the product, and contestants are allowed to enter more than one canned item. Products must be labeled to include the name of the preserve along with the month and year the preserve was made.

Entries are to be self-preserved by the contestant, and participants are to sign up at the market prior to the contest date.

The East Bank Market is located on River Road in Destrehan on the grounds of Ormond Plantation. Market hours are from 8 a.m. to noon every Saturday. The West Bank market is open from 3 to 6:30 p.m. every Wednesday on River Road in Luling, only 0.7 miles from the I-310 exit ramp onto River Road.

Produce includes fresh fruits and vegetables, freshly baked pastries, Italian bread and pastries, snowballs, fresh meats, hogshead cheese, fresh sausage, rotisserie meats, fresh seafood, specialty dishes prepared with local seafood, gourmet rice, pepper jelly, pesto, hot plate lunches, soy candles, goat milk soap and lotions, kettle corn, cracklin, local wines and jellies, bedding plants, herbs and much more.

Live music is scheduled every Saturday throughout the summer .

JUNE 16

SUMMER IS TIME TO BEAUTIFY, EDUCATE, CELEBRATE. Crews around the parish are working hard this summer on some new beautification projects, they’re also getting a fringe benefit.

You’ve already read about local college and high school students who have been tasked with repainting the parish’s 2,216 fire hydrants. It’s a win-win situation for the parish and the students, who are using the extra cash to help fund their educations.

The job isn’t only making the hydrants a bright fire engine red. It’s also making these important components of our infrastructure more visible. And as crews make their way to each hydrant, they’re able to inspect them for any mechanical or other problems.

The St. Charles Parish Department of Community Services is getting into the act as well by helping administer a federal Green Space Grant along with St. James and St. John parishes.

The grant funds the nationally recognized Tri Parish Youth Restoration Program, according to Maurya Glaude, Community Services director. The program and its crews will complete beautification projects around the parish, but education is another aim.

Within in the last three weeks, workers have toured the parish to learn about household energy conservation. They’ve also drawn up plans for their projects, including safety strategies and horticultural planning. Crews will also be studying how light and certain insects affect the plants they are planning to work with. They’ll be developing partnerships with local businesses as well as learning life skills such as self-development and mentoring.

RELAY RE-DO. The second time’s the charm for St. Charles’ Relay for Life event. Participants originally gathered at the West Bank Bridge Park on March 29 to pay tribute to those who have battled cancer and raise money for the American Cancer Society.

But a late afternoon rainstorm changed those plans.

Now, organizers are planning a shortened, indoor do-over Saturday from 6 p.m. to midnight at the Landry School gym, located at 108 Tiger Circle off River Road in Hahnville. The public is invited to attend.

Activities will include "Deal or No Deal" competitions, "Don't Forget the Lyrics," a potato relay and a hula-hoop contest, and winners will receive various prizes. The event will also include the previously cancelled luminary and survivor ceremonies.

All are encouraged to enter the Salad Toss and Sweet Arts competitions. Salads will be judged at 8:30 p.m. and cakes or sweets will be auctioned off in a silent auction that ends at 10 p.m.

Parish President V.J. St. Pierre, Jr. serves as honorary chair of this year's Relay for Life event.

For more information on the St. Charles Relay, visit www.events.cancer.org/rflstcharlesla or contact Joey Rando, American Cancer Society Development Representative, at (504) 219-2294 or Joey.Rando@cancer.org.

CHALLENGER BASEBALL ON CHANNEL 6. Challenger Baseball players will be the stars of the show on Government Access Channel 6 starting this week. Tune in to see video of the league’s final game of the season, featuring our parish’s most special athletes and their buddies.

The three-and-a-half minute video is available anytime on the St. Charles Parish You Tube channel, www.youtube.com/stcharlesgov.

INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATION. Don’t forget about this year’s Independence Day Celebration to be held at the West Bank Bridge Park July 3 from 6 to 9 p.m. Fireworks begin at dark, and they’ll be food, fun and music for all to enjoy.

JUNE 2, 2008

HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS. Believe it or not, we’re already five days in to Hurricane Season 2008.

There’s been a lot said and written about how you should prepare for a storm threat. But up until now there’s never been a hurricane preparedness brochure specifically for St. Charles Parish residents.

That will change late next week when the parish publishes its own brochure.

Usually the parish gets more comprehensive booklets through storm preparedness organization TRAC. We found out last week those booklets will not be printed due to a lack of grant funding.

The new brochure will feature the usual lists of preparedness items and tips on how to stay safe before, during and after a storm. But it will also have local and statewide evacuation maps, as well as step-by-step information for those signed up for the parish’s assisted evacuation plan, all in a short, easy-to-use format.

A wealth of information can be found at the parish’s hurricane Web page at www.stcharlesgov.net/hurricane.

The brochure will be available at all government offices, parish libraries and by request. It will also be available for downloaded at the above Web address.

INFRASTRUCTURE UPDATE. St. Charles Parish Public Works employees last Wednesday replaced a collapsed culvert at Maryland Drive in Mimosa, Assistant Director Bob Dublan said.

The work will ease drainage along the Primrose Canal. The new culvert is a temporary fix at the location, he said.

Public Works planned the project the week of May 19. The permanent replacement of the crossing, of which engineering is almost complete, will be accomplished by use of a “con-span” bridge.

To see pictures of the project, log on to www.stcharlesgov.net.

ST. CHARLES PARISH ON YOUTUBE. Channel 6 programming has made its way to the leading streaming video site on the Internet. All the local segments produced for the channel are now available at www.youtube.com/stcharlesgov. Check out our weekly calendars, ‘Around the Parish’ segments and biweekly Parish President’s reports.

YouTube is a free service, so there are limitations on what the parish can display. All videos must be under 10 minutes, so unfortunately we are not able to stream entire council meetings.

The Web site is now also featuring photo galleries of events happening around the parish. Many times I play photographer for parish events, and other times I am e-mailed pictures from parish employees or members of the public.

Featured now are pictures from recent Challenger Baseball games, the Memorial Day ceremony and Police Memorial center held recently at the courthouse.

SUMMER FOOD SERVICE PROGRAM BEGINS. Students ages 18 and under are invited to participate in the 19th annual Summer Food Service Program sponsored by St. Charles Parish and the Department of Education.

Lunches will be distributed at St. Rose Elementary School in St. Rose, Eual J. Landry Alternative Center in Hahnville and Luling Elementary School in Luling. The services are from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and run from June 9 through July 17, excluding the week of July 4, from Monday through Thursday.

Children may be dropped off at any of the sites or picked up at bus stops in Des Allemands, Paradis, Hwy. 90, Ama, Luling, Hwy. 18, Hahnville and Killona.

The program is more than just lunch, according to St. Charles Parish Community Services Director Maurya Glaude. There will be fun activities for the children along with motivational and educational speakers, including volunteers from the Retired Senior Volunteer Program and St. Charles Parish police officers.

Summer Camps sponsored by the St. Charles Parish Department of Parks and Recreation will be ongoing from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each weekday at all locations except Landry Alternative Center.

The Summer Food Service Program was created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help low-income children receive nutritious meals during the summer.

For more information, contact the Department of Community Services (985) 764-7994.

Renee C. Allemand may be reached at (985) 783-5000 or rallemand@stcharlesgov.net.

MAY 19, 2008

PARISH HOPPING WITH ACTIVITY, INFRASTRUCTURE AND OTHERWISE. Activity levels at St. Charles Parish government offices are revving up just in time for the beginning of summer.

NEW WEB SITE. I’d like to thank everyone who has contacted my office to offer suggestions for the parish’s new Web site. You want the site to be informative and constantly updated during emergencies. Those things are and have been in our plans.

Keeping the Web site up-to-date will be one of my responsibilities during times of emergency.

You also want to view the government access channel online, and I am working on solutions that will make all the information on Channel 6 available to online readers. Many residents are switching to satellite television, and others get TV over the air, making Channel 6 inaccessible.

The Web site committee has finished accepting proposals for the new parish Web site. Look for information about its progress in upcoming columns.

For now, be sure to check the Web site for parish news updated daily at www.stcharlesgov.net.

PUBLIC WORKS LONG-RANGE PLAN. Infrastructure needs are the focus of a new long-range plan compiled by the St. Charles Parish Public Works Department.

Critical projects include fixing gaps in the levee protecting Boutte’s Magnolia Ridge, completing repair work at the East Bank wastewater treatment plant and upgrading a sewage lift station at Laurel Court and Beaupre Drive in Luling.

The list also includes projects slated for the town of Montz included in a 2005 drainage study. Each project is accompanied by a cost estimate, totaling $157 million.

Public Works Director Sam Scholle and his staff created the list through interviews with employees and residents, who are familiar with the parish’s infrastructure needs on a street-by-street basis.

Parish council members were asked to help update the list at a recent committee meeting. You can download the plan at www.stcharlesgov.net.

STORMREADY. The parish has achieved StormReady status with the National Weather Service.

St. Charles officials recently toured the offices of the National Weather Service in Slidell to fulfill a final requirement of the certification. NWS officials said the status could lower flood insurance rates for citizens of St. Charles Parish.

To qualify for the program, St. Charles Parish fulfilled these basic requirements.

• Establish a 24-hour warning point and emergency operations center
  
  
• Have more than one way to receive severe weather warnings and forecasts and to alert the public
  
  
• Create a system that monitors weather conditions locally
  
  
• Promote the importance of public readiness through community seminars
  
  
• Develop a formal hazardous weather plan, which includes training severe weather spotters and holding emergency exercises. For more information on the program, visit http://www.stormready.noaa.gov/