The Parish Council continues its efforts to find a solution to the train blocking Brick Yard Road. That was one of the most-discussed subjects at the Council meeting Monday.
Brick Yard Road residents have asked the Council for help in getting the Union Pacific train cars to stop blocking the road when they load and unload freight at the Weyerhaeuser Co plant. At last month’s meeting, residents said the train cars often block the road and delays them for important dates such as doctors’ appointments. While the trains are not supposed to block the road for longer than 15 minutes, it is often 30 minutes or more.
Council Chairman Bill Allen said he and a group of residents have formed a committee to look for a solution. He spoke with a Union Pacific official in the Alexandria office who told Allen he would “do all he could” to mitigate the waits.
Allen said the first day after the initial meeting with the committee, the road was not blocked. But after that, the road was blocked twice.
Madeline Vallery, a Brick Yard Road resident, said the blockages are still happening as they did Sept. 19, 14 and 16. Vallery said the area where the people live was once rural and some of the residents are of third, fourth and fifth generations who inherited the land and lived there before the first plant that uses the trains was built there in the 1960s. “The problem still exists. We expect something to be done.” Vallery said.
Council member Chris Paige said it was not wrong to expect the Weyerhaeuser plant to help with the problem since they ask the Council is for tax exemptions. “Don’t say nothing can be done,” Paige said.
The Parish Council has purchased a deer trail camera that EPICTOUCH will mount near the tracks. Allen can use the photographs to present to Union Pacific to document the times the trains block the road.
Parish President John Richmond said he believed the Council was close to an answer and expected the camera to be delivered this week.
Allen said the camera was the first phase but he had a second phase that he would not disclose.
But purchase of the camera may be a duplication of effort.
In response to a statement made at the Council meeting that the Sheriff ’s Office had installed a camera, Sheriff Stuart Wright Wednesday said Natchitoches Parish Sheriff ’s Office has recently purchased a new standalone camera system to monitor and address the railroad crossing blockage.
Wright said, “Recently, the Natchitoches Parish Sheriff ’s Office and the Natchitoches Parish government have received numerous complaints of trains blocking the crossing preventing citizen’s access to their homes for extended periods of time.
“This camera will allow Parish Government to monitor the railroad crossing where trains have been blocking traffic. Union Pacific has agreed to also work together to resolve the issue. A local Internet company has been contacted to install the camera system. The camera will be installed on Brickyard Road near the railroad tracks to monitor for blockages.”
This information will be used by the Parish Government to update Union Pacific of any observed violations in the future. The camera will be installed on Brickyard Road near the railroad tracks to monitor for blockages.”
In other business, the council adopted resolutions confirming the reappointments of the following board members:
•Herman Tatum and Jesse Rachal to the Fire District 2 board
•Juliette Moffett to the Parish library board
•Jimmy Atherton to the Saline Lake Game and Fish Preserve Commission
•Justin Martin to Fire District 8 Board
•Billy Shugart Jr. and E. Marc Custis to the Fire District 4 board
•Greg Duggan and Ralph Hernandez to Fire District 5 board
•Monty Rachel, Aubry Graves and Troy Gardner to Fire District 9 board •Joseph Jones, DeWayne Colston, Lamarr McGaskey, Travis Brossette and Ricky Sanders to Fire District 1 board
•Carol O’Quinn and Carletta Jones to Waterworks District 2 board The Council introduced two ordinances that will be voted on at the next meeting.
The first was to dedicate gaming revenue from the State to the Parish highway fund. According to Parish Treasurer Julie Lockhart, Parish Government has received $43,877 that is revenue for 2022 and 2023 from the Sports Wagering Allocation Fund created by the State Treasury.
The distribution from mobile betting will be proportionate to the population percentage of each parish that approved a proposition to allow sports wagering compared to the total population of such parishes based on the latest federal decennial census.
The second was a request from Richard Salley to rezone 11 acres to B-3 so he can start a short-term, or Airb&b rental, near Louis Stephens Road.
Those two introductions will be voted on at the October meeting.
After a public hearing on ordinances introduced at the August meeting, the Council took the following action:
•Tabled an ordinance adding the Levy Taylor Road to the road maintenance system; members did not know who made the request and wanted more information. The Parish ordinance says that any road taken into the maintenance system must be up to Parish standards as determined by the public works director. That has not been done.
•Adopted the 2023-24 operating and capital budgets
•Adopted budget amendments to distribute revenue to the General Fund for $1,00500; Criminal Court $98,000; and Coroner’s fund $33,000.
•Adopted amendment to the personnel manual by deleting that employees can be terminated “at will” that is in conflict with “must have cause” for termination.
•Adopted four ordinances to modify boundaries of Economic Development Districts •Approved Tax Assessor’s assessed value levied in 2023 In other agenda items, the Council tabled a request from the Robeline Heritage Society Inc. to use a parish building that is near the old water building. There was a question about whether there was a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement between Parish Government and the Society. The Council attorney will determine if the Council can donate the building to the Society.
The Council granted a request from Geotechnical Testing Laboratory Inc. of Alexandria to perform soil boring and testing associated with the design of LCDBG improvement project for the resurfacing of American Way and Independence Street. The streets are in a mobile home park near La. Hwy. 494.
The Council removed an item from the agenda related to Parish Government owing $142,303 in IRS penalty and interest on non-filing of 1095 forms in 2017. Lockhart said the IRS has waived the entire amount.
The final action was to authorize the Parish President to sign an agreement and financial plan with the USDA, Forest Service and Kisatchie National Forest to improve a road in the forest costing $101,536.