Council invites Holy Cross to move to parish

Storm-damaged school seeking relocation; the question is where?

Introduced by Councilman Dickie Duhe, a resolution passed requesting the Parish President Albert Laque, along with St. Charles Economic Development and Tourism Director Corey Faucheux, to pursue and invite Holy Cross High School to relocate its campus from the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans to St. Charles Parish.

The icon of Lower Ninth Ward is seeking relocation, as it was severely damaged during Hurricane Katrina after the breach of the Industrial Canal.
"Our board of directors has worked tirelessly to locate and evaluate every possible site in the metropolitan area, recognizing that our task is to find a home that will meet Holy Cross' needs for the next 50 to 100 years," according to a statement by Headmaster Charles DiGrange on the school's website.

While the parish council may actively pursue Holy Cross' relocation, school officials in New Orleans are not giving the impression that St. Charles Parish would be an option. "The board remains focused on locations on the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain and the east bank of the Mississippi River," Headmaster DiGrange stated on the school website.

Regardless of Holy Cross' intentions, the measure passed unanimously.

 

Water service fees increased

An ordinance was introduced by President Laque to adjust the fees of water service charges. Those affected would be residents that are getting new water meters. Also included in the raise would be meter deposits. The price of the increase would be affected by the size of the meter.

"None of the regular monthly fees would be affected," said Waterworks Director Robert Brou. "All that we are looking to do is to break even. We've been losing money for years on these services."

The raise will only affect new water users Brou said, adding that current users are subsidizing the old rates for water meters and deposits.

The measure passed unanimously, with Councilman Ganesier "Ram" Ramchandran absent.

Now, new water meters at 5/8 by 3/4-inch lines will pay $370, up from $225. 1-inch lines will increase from $300 to $525. 2-inch lines will increases from $1,000 to $1,650.

New deposit rates will range from $115 to $2,415 depending on size of the lines.

Parish to auction nearly 500 properties

The parish unanimously passed an ordinance allowing Gilmore Auction & Realty Company to execute a sale of adjudicated properties that the parish has accumulated over the past several years. Councilman Ramchadran was absent during the vote.

Parish Attorney Robert Raymond said that sale will be marketed and announced so that residents will be informed of the date of the sale; it will also be advertised what properties are for sale.

Previously, Public Information Officer Steve Sirmon said that parish has been looking to unload the burden of maintaining the properties.

Once the list is finalized, Raymond said that the list will be available at the parish libraries. All told, there are nearly 500 parcels up for sale.

 
Cable wars continue


Fees for cable television continue to perturb council members, especially Councilman Clayton “Snookie” Faucheux.

Faucheux introduced a resolution requesting Cox Communication of St. Charles Parish to reduce the standard rate for analog service due to cuts in service over the last few months.

The removal of the TV Guide Channel and moving religious programming channels to digital cable were two such instances that had upset residents and council members.

The measure passed unanimously.