Monday Nov 29 2021 Lafayette LA
TVFD Board Meeting
DTV Board members Ms. Karen Hail and Mr. Dave Dixon attended the TVFD Board Meeting this morning. Mr. Dixon introduced himself as a member and Board President of DTV. Ms. Hail introduced herself as a board member of both DTV and Bayou Vermilion District (BVD). She said that she would be looking forward for BVD and TVFD to work together to improve the river. Also note Ms. Hail was appointed by MP Josh Guillory to the board of BVD and was elected as chair of their Finance Committee. Link to story – Dredge the Vermilion Board Member Karen Hail Selected to Bayou Vermilion District Board of Directors – Dredge The Vermilion
All TVFD Board Members were present except St. Landry Parish member Mr. Bradley Grimmet. Also attending were TVFD’s legal council, TVFD’s CPA, and two of their consulting engineers from Sellers and Associates.
The DTV representatives were invited to address the TVFD Board. Mr. Dixon asked the following on behalf of DTV:
- That TVFD assist with clearing and snagging operations in the Vermilion River and Bayou Teche in areas other than Lafayette Parish where Lafayette Consolidated Government(LCG) was presently clearing and snagging the river.
- That TVFD evaluate the feasibility of operating Courtableau pool stage at 15.65 year round instead of just the month of December.
Mr. Dixon noted that on a boat trip down the Teche about 2 years ago many trees were obstructing the channel and that the recent hurricanes had probably made it even worse. Mr. Dixon reported that DTV had meet with some St. Landry Parish farmers who claimed that the 17.65 operating pool stage for Bayou Courtableau during most of the year was and has been causing them harm. The farmers asked if Bayou Courtableau could be operated at a lower stage thereby reducing the risk to their crops. Mr. Dixon noted downstream communities including St Martin, Lafayette, and Vermilion Parish’s would also benefit from reduced flooding risk by maintaining an additional 2ft of retention in the Bayou Courtableau and some related overflow swamps connected to the bayou in the Courtableau watershed.
TVFD said they will look at and evaluate the requests. They noted that the USACE plan to review their operating guidelines.
Ms. Hail asked about TVFD finances. There were questions regarding their $30M+ accruals on their books and their ad valorem tax receipts, operating expenses, and capital outlays. TVFD Executive Director Donald Segrera sent Ms. Hail a copy of their financial report. Regarding their accruals they pointed to frugal and efficient operation by previous TVFD boards and how this accrual had helped TVFD in not having to issue bonds for capital improvement projects. They also noted that they had been advised to maintain an accrual balance for future equipment replacements.
Other News
Clearing and Snagging the River
LCG has resumed clearing and snagging operations on the river. The current pass objective is to remove submerged tree debris in the river channel identified and mapped during the last river survey. The contractor. Below is a picture of some of the debris removed from the river. Upon closer examination it is evident that this material has been in the river for a long time. The contractor advised that they had to bypass certain areas due to shoals and low water levels and would return to them when river rises.
Coulee Ill des Cannes (CIDC) Channel Improvements
Several DTV board members noted that the last remaining unimproved sections of CIDC between Old Spanish Trail in Scott and the Vermilion River east and north of Maurice had went out for bid. This section is a half mile between Fenetre Street and Dulles Drive. DTV believes that the planned retention ponds along CIFC need to be operational before this section is enlarged to minimize flooding risks. DTV sent a letter to LCG and other interested parties noting that improving this section before completion of retention is not acceptable and could add flooding risks to the river and properties along CIDC.
