St. Mary Parish Council snubs local contractor

Five St. Mary Parish Councilmen agree they want to renew the parish
mosquito contract with a New Iberia company instead of awarding the work to a parish owned business that boasts a payroll of 14 St. Mary Parish residents.

However they’ll have to wait for the next St. Mary Parish Council meeting, which is next week, in order to gain the sixth vote needed to fulfill their desire.

St. Mary Parish Council Chairman Gary Duhon along with Councilmen Chuck Walters, Ken Singleton, Albert Foulcard, and Steve Bierhorst voted to renew the parish mosquito contract with Mosquito Control Contractors, Inc, for the most part, because it featured a $70 to $90,000 per year decrease in costs over the next two years. MCCI Inc is owned by Glenn Stokes of New Iberia.

Councilmen Glen Hidalgo, David Hanagriff, Charles “Butch” Middleton and Rev. Craig Matthews voted in favor of awarding the contract to Cajun Mosquito Control LCC of Franklin, owed by local man Jessie Boudreaux. Their reasons include: the business is local, and it employs 14 local residents. These councilmen also charged that MCCI’s proposal was suspiciously low, and some doubted how the work could be performed at such low prices.

However, the mosquito vote isn’t official according to Parish President Paul Naquin, who said contracts need a majority vote of the council in order to pass, and not a majority of those councilmen who are present. Councilmen Kevin Voisin and Logan Fromenthal were absent from the meeting, and did not vote.

Still, the vote last night came from a recommendation by Parish Chief Administrative Officer Henry “Bo” LaGrange, who said the quotes by MCCI provided the lowest quotes for surveillance, larvicide, and adulticide activities.

The councilmen who voted to renew the parish contract with MCCI, also noted other cuts to the parish 2010 fiscal year budget as reasons for their vote. The parish budget next year calls for $33.5 million in revenues and $36.2 million in expenditures. However, the parish will have to borrow $2.67 million from its reserves in order to balance its funds, leaving a projected $20 million in the parish’s coffers at the end of 2010.

Also, LaGrange said he based his recommendation on a previous council finance committee recommendation which capped mosquito control expenses at $250,000, in lieu of the 2010 budget.

MCCI has held the parish contract for the past six years, and has also worked for the City of Patterson. However, in October, the Patterson City Council gave them the boot and hired Cajun Mosquito, who provides services for the City of Franklin, and all of Terrebonne Parish.

Bierhorst, who voted for Stokes, said, “I have concerns about how low this was. I have questions about why it is so low. But I want to make sure that this contractor is going to do the job. But we’re looking now at trimming the budget to make ends meet. This is the first time that I have been on the council that we have had a lack of funds to do the things we need to do.”

Matthews, who voted for Boudreaux, asked, “Are we so heavily weighing our decision on the price of this contract. Particularly since Mr. Boudreaux’s previous proposals in years past have come in lower than Mr. Stokes’ yet, that issue - price was not factored in at that time?”

Matthews also noted issues with Stokes’ present contract, where he did not fulfill certain requirements. “Are we willing to comprise the issue of price with personal integrity?”

Hanagriff, who voted for Boudreaux asked, “We have eight point something percent unemployment in St. Mary Parish. I don’t believe we’re giving a contractor who lives in our parish the benefit of the doubt. Consideration was not given here. This price is too low. I’ve talked to numerous experts who say this is too low, and in the end we’re going to pay for what we get.”

Bierhorst said, “Regardless. There is a $100,000 difference between these two contracts.”

Hidalgo questioned, “Well if we’re getting a discount in year seven of our contract with Mr. Stokes, where was he during the past six years. Why didn’t we get one then? If he has been doing the job for the past six years, how all of a sudden, can he save us money?”

Walters, who voted for Stokes, admitted that “Spraying here in this parish has been out of hand.”

It should be noted that at the end of 2008, Stokes’ bill exceeded $300,000 to the parish. The Finance Committee of the St. Mary Parish Council alluded to the fact last month that this was one of the reasons why they agreed to cap the expenditures to $250,000.

Stokes was not present at Wednesday’s council meeting, however, Boudreaux commented afterward. “I’d like to thank the council members who were willing to support local businesses and keep St. Mary Parish tax dollars inside of its walls.”