The regular meeting of the Livingston Parish Council on July 9th was a swift affair that was abruptly met with a volatile episode as a community member wound up cursing out the council regarding a pulled agenda item that concerned a waiver.
To begin the meeting, Melody Lockwood, President and CEO of the Livingston Economic Development Council, announced to the Council the candidates chosen by Parish President Randy Delatte, Sheriff Jason Ard, and Livingston Parish School Board Superintendent Jody Purvis to fill three positions on the Industrial Development Board (IDB).
The Parish President’s recommended candidate is Kylie Sparks with Pipe and Steel Industrial, the Sheriff’s candidate is Attorney Todd Caruso, and the Superintendent's candidate is Professor Leah Smith.
Out of a score of 100 in a survey measuring industry expertise, legal background, governance experience, economic development familiarity, community involvement, and references and endorsements, Leah Smith had a score of 95, Todd Caruso had a score of 100, and Kylie Sparks had a score of 100 as well.
The council unanimously approved the recommended candidates for their positions on the IDB. Leah Smith and Todd Caruso were in attendance at the meeting and expressed their thanks for the opportunity to serve the community.
Following this, the council heard a resolution to execute a contract between the council and the Springfield Police Department to distribute and use opioid litigation funds. Glenn Lemoine, Opioid Director for the Livingston Parish Government, told the council that the $65,000 will be used for a salary for one officer strictly dedicated towards opioid outreach and prevention, a partial vehicle wrap on a unit, and educational outreach materials.
The council unanimously approved the proposal for the contract.
The most shocking event of the night happened in relation to an item that had been pulled from the agenda and, as such, was not going to be discussed or have action taken by the council during this meeting. This item concerned the review, discussion, and possible action against a waiver authorized for Brian Claverie on Joel Ott Drive for a set of three parcels. The request, which was most recently acted on during the council meeting on March 26th, had Claverie request a waiver from the council in order to subdivide his six acre tract into two, separate three acre tracts on which he planned to build homes for his children.
During that past meeting, the council, having received the water drainage study that they had requested from Claverie previously, granted the waiver with little fanfare.
However, during the July 9 meeting Garry Talbert, neighbor to Brian Claverie and former District 2 parish councilman, approached the council when the subject of the item was set to be dismissed and began his address with a series of accusations and pointed questions directed towards the board.
Talbert was concerned as to what shady deals were made “behind the scenes” to lead to the rescinding of Gravity Drainage District 2’s approval of the waiver for the lot and Calverie’s request to pull the waiver’s discussion from the meeting agenda.
Councilman Ryan Chavers explained that Talbert was correct in noting that a letter of no objection was never obtained in regards to the original request for the waiver, something that is important to have in order to abide by the parish’s ordinances. However, the Gravity Drainage District 2’s attorney did send a letter addressing that there were no drainage features or drainage issues at the property in question which ultimately resulted in the waiver’s approval.
This explanation was not satisfactory for Talbert, who told the council “I can promise you, I’m getting ready to go buy twenty acres. I’m gonna subdivide it into twenty [seperate] one acre lots. I’m gonna bring the waiver back to the council and if you reject it, you can explain to the 21st JDC [Judicial District Court] why Mr. Claverie has more rights than I do.”
“Why did you grant the waiver without them having the proper stuff?” Talbert then asked the council. “You did not get a letter of no objection from Gravity Drainage District Two!”
Councilman Ricky Goff then took over trying to explain the situation. After doing some digging, Councilman Goff discovered that clearance for the land’s drainage was, in fact, given by Gravity Drainage District 2 by email. Additionally, Councilman Goff added that it’s true that no letter of objection or no objection was sent in regards to the waiver request. He described the entire process as a “misunderstanding” at first of who actually gave the authority for the clearance for the drainage. Additionally, everything that the council had originally asked Claverie to provide for their agreement for the waiver was brought to them and appeared to be in order, leading to their decision to grant it back in March.
“All the i’s was dotted and all the t’s were crossed for that gentleman and the waiver is perfect,” Councilman Goff told Talbert at the end of his explanation. “I take very personal that you challenge that we have something done behind the scenes.”
Councilman Goff then stated that, going forward, there will be more strict enforcement of having letters of objection or no objection before the council grants waivers for property subdivision “so we don’t have this confusion in the future.”
“Y’all keep granting waivers on unengineered dirt and fight engineered dirt every day. It makes absolutely no sense,” Talbert then exclaimed as he left the stand. “Do away with the darn ordinance if you’re not going to enforce it!”
Brian Clemmons of the Livingston Parish Planning and Zoning Commission then approached the council to note that the waiver did not come before the commission, adding that “we really like to see these things come by planning and zoning. It’s another step, I understand, but it gives people an opportunity to talk about it and know what’s coming down the pipe.”
In less tense news, the council was set to hold a discussion concerning possible action on traffic violation issues in Woodland Crossing Subdivision causing safety issues, property damage, and danger to wildlife. However, no individuals who were slated to speak on the topic were present, leading to the council pulling the item from the agenda.
Afterwards, the council unanimously approved a resolution to accept the bids for the Livingston Parish Better Roads Project 2025 in French Settlement. The lowest bidder was Barber Brothers Contracting Co. LLC in the amount of $4,975,672.00. The project will include roughly 11 miles of road spanning over 14 roads and the winning bid came in under a million dollars less than what the engineer’s original estimate was for the project.
“Man, I love when y’all save money,” Council President Billy Taylor added good-humouredly before the meeting was adjourned.
