Parish Council begins search for new registrar

Parish Council members on Oct. 12 began the process of selecting a new registrar of voters for the second time in a year.

Also Oct. 12, the council got a look at a new proposal designed to overcome the main obstacle to redrawing the council’s districts: who will represent Berwick and how much of Berwick.

The council heard from Pelican Waste & Debris about missed trash pickups.

Registrar

A letter from the Secretary of State’s Office noted that state law gives the council until Dec. 22 — 90 days from the start of the vacancy — to make an appointment to replace Registrar of Voters Byron Stelly.

Stelly resigned after being appointed to be registrar in St. Landry, his home parish, last month.

Stelly, 28, and an Auburn University grad, was appointed St. Mary’s top election official in October 2021, succeeding Jolene Holcombe, who retired after more than 40 years in the Registrar’s Office and serving as registrar since 1998.

Terry Foulcard is serving as interim registrar, and she made a pitch for the permanent position.

She has served as Stelly’s chief deputy and has managed the registrar’s offices in Franklin and Morgan City in his absence.

“We are fully prepared and ready to proceed with the election process in this voting cycle,” Foulcard said.

A primary election with local, state and congressional candidates on the ballot is scheduled for Nov. 8.

Foulcard is African American, and the lack of full-time Black employees in the Registrar’s Office before Stelly was appointed became an issue after a complaint from Alfreida Edwards.

“Here is the opportunity,” Edwards told the council Wednesday.

Councilman J Ina of Franklin said appointing Foulcard shouldn’t be about race.

“I think she’s earned it,” Ina said.

The parish government will advertise for applicants with an eye toward conducting interviews in mid-November.

In another election-related matter, the council heard from the Secretary of State’s Office that it has received the council’s resolution calling for a Dec. 10 charter amendment election.

The amendment would change the parish charter to allow any member of the council to be elected to either of the two leadership positions, chair and vice chair. The charter currently limits those positions to members elected from the three at-large districts.

Remapping

The council must redraw its election districts based on the 2020 Census before next year’s elections.

The council has hired the South Central Regional Planning and Development Commission staff to develop proposals. The council has focused on one of four previous alternatives as a working plan.

The biggest source of contention is in Berwick, much of which is represented now by Councilmen Patrick Hebert of District 6 and Mark Duhon of District 7.

Hebert would like to see District 6, which also takes in land east of the Atchafalaya, changed to take in more of Berwick. Duhon’s current district comes across the river from Amelia and Morgan City into southern Berwick, and he’d like to see more of Berwick in his district.

The alternative on which the council has focused so far favors Duhon’s point of view.
Josh Manning of South Central presented a new alternative Wednesday. In that map, Hebert’s District 6 would wrap around Morgan City and pick up Lakeside Subdivision.

Duhon’s District 7 would come south into the downtown Morgan City area.
No action was taken Wednesday.

Trash pickup

The council has received complaints about missed residential trash pickups. CEO Roddie Matherne of Pelican Waste & Debris came to Wednesday’s meeting
to talk about the complaints.

The loss of a key employee has hampered pickup recently, Matherne said. He also said many of the complaints come from the ends of routes that can’t be finished at the end of the day.

Pelican is required to come back for pickups within 24 hours of the time they’re missed, said Chief Administrative Officer Henry C. “Bo” LaGrange. Pelican has been fulfilling that obligation.

But Councilman James Bennett didn’t accept the explanation about the missing employee.

“That’s inexcusable,” Bennett said. “Everybody’s got labor problems. My business has labor problems. ... I’m not trying to bash you, but you’ve got to get it right.”

Council members agreed that Pelican has responded quickly to complaints.

Residential trash pickup may soon become more complicated. LaGrange said bear-proof trash cans, the lids of which must be unlatched before they’re emptied, may soon be required in the area south of U.S. 90 and west of the Charenton Canal.

Meeting dates

The council voted to change its November and December meeting schedule to accommodate the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday.

The council normally meets each second and fourth Wednesday. But it will meet Nov. 9 and 17 and Dec. 7 and 14.