Cointment coup: New River Pump station into the Mississippi gains steam

Parish President Clint Cointment has argued for a New River Pump Station, depositing potential flood waters into the Mississippi River, for most of his five-year tenure (and long before anyone else thought it was doable).  Initially going it alone (we do not recall any other elected/appointed official joining the Cointment crusade until recently), Ascension’s chief executive took his fight to a newly constituted (and formerly feckless) Amite River Basin Commission where it finally received some backing.  In fact, the commission comprised of designees from seven parishes and another nine seats has gotten behind the project.

Presented at ARBC’s July meeting…

 

the allocation of $100 million earmarked through Louisiana Watershed Initiative’s (LWI) second round of appropriations lists the New River Pump project as the biggest single recipient.

Still, $40 million will not suffice to complete the job.  That’s where another coup pulled off by President Cointment looks to fill the budgetary shortfall.

On the Ascension Parish Council Finance Committee’s meeting agenda for Tuesday:

Approval of Resolution to approve funding for the New River Stormwater Management Pump Station Project by allocation of funds from the Mega (Infrastructure) Fund in the amount of $15,000,000.00 (Clint Cointment, Parish President)

The item is explained in the corresponding meeting packet:

• The Amite River Basin Commission has been provided a grant of $100,000,000.00 (One Hundred Million and Zero/Hundredths Dollars) to be divided among four different projects.
• $40,000,000.00 (Forty Million and Zero/Hundredths Dollars) of these grant funds have been allocated to the New River Stormwater Management Pump Station Project.
• The project budget is $61,000,000.00 (Sixty-One Million and Zero/Hundredths Dollars).
• To make up the difference, Ascension Parish Government will agree to allocate funds from the Mega Fund in the amount of $15,000,000.00 (Fifteen Million and Zero/Hundredths Dollars)
  towards the project

What, exactly, is the Mega-Infrastructure Fund?  The ordinance directing sewer sale proceeds, unanimously adopted by the Parish Council on July 1, 2021, reads:

“Upon the sale of the East Bank Sewer utility assets, all proceeds from sale will be deposited into the Mega-Infrastructure Fund. The Mega-Infrastructure Fund was created for the purpose of improving the infrastructure and capital assets of the Parish as it relates to transportation, drainage, and recreational needs. As such, the funds of the Mega-Infrastructure Fund shall only be used in the construction of capital assets and infrastructure projects including, but not limited to Recreation Parks, Transportation and for the safety widening of roads, intersection improvements, bridge construction/upgrade, Federal Highway Interchanges, transfer into the Ascension Parish MOVE ASCENSION Program, and Drainage for the dredging of canals, improvement and/or addition of Ascension Parish Levee Protection Systems, or construction of regional detention areas. However, the funds can only be used for construction items considered direct costs such as labor, material, equipment and land which are incorporated into the capital asset or infrastructure. No funds are to be used for professional services, such as engineering services, feasibility studies, architectural services unless such professional services or studies can qualify as matching funds for any project. No funds are to be used for the construction of parish owned buildings designed for administrative functions, salaries of current or future parish employees nor any costs incidental, indirect or general and administrative in nature. The funds may also be used as matching funds to any State or Federal funds for Parish projects which involve construction of capital assets or infrastructure. The funds shall not be moved out of the Mega-Infrastructure Fund without a majority approval of the Ascension Parish Governing Authority.”

The PEOPLE won on Friday; Sewer deal DENIED, rescheduled for January 23 | Pelican Post – Online Newspaper (pelicanpostonline.com)

Had then President-Elect Clint Cointment not intervened at the end of 2019, Ascension Parish would have been stuck with the bankruptcy plan originally proposed by the Jim Bernhard-created consortium to implement regional sewer treatment.  The product of intense negotiations that included Councilman-Elect Chase Melancon…

that horrific deal was killed and the eventual sale of all parish “wastewater treatment assets” was introduced.

Voters would approve the sale on April 24, 2021 though it would be three more years before Louisiana’s Public Service Commission would sign off.  The sale agreement was inked in April…

with all monies going into the Mega-Infrastructure Fund.  With the cash infusion from that sale the fund has $16,923,144 according to Ascension’s current Budget Book.

 

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