Chataignier PD promotes safe driving; adds additional patrol

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By: TONY MARKS
Associate Editor

During the December meeting of the Chataignier Village Council, Police Chief Clint Brasseaux reported that his department has partnered with a local grocer to promote safe driving and reported the need to add a patrolman to the insurance.
Brasseaux said, “Myself and Cajun Smoked Meats teamed up to promote safe driving.” He added, “I bought, with my last pay check, a bunch of gift certificates, and Mrs. Christina (Darbonne) bought a bunch, too, to give out to people passing through.”
The project is designed to remind drivers to obey speed limits, stop signs, seat belts, school zones, and to stay aware and courteous when driving. Safe drivers will be stopped and given gift certificates to be redeemed at Cajun Smoke Meats.
“It’s just something to promote safe driving,” Brasseaux said. “We gave a few out already, but I have several more to give out.”
Brasseaux also requested the council add Caleb Aymond to the insurance. According to the chief, “he wants to help us out for free. He wants to help the community, so he would like to come out and write tickets for us and respond to calls when I’m not around or when Kalinsky (Ardoin) is not around.”
The chief added that adding Aymond to the insurance would not increase the rates for the village. However, Mayor Jackie Thomas expressed her reservations. “We have three people working, and we only had nine tickets for a long time,” she said. “I’m not telling you how many tickets to write, but we need to have patrol up to date and make sure somebody is patrolling at all times because we have so few tickets. It all seems like we’re not having a lot of added patrol. I know there’s a lot of speeding through Chataignier, and that’s a big part of our income.”
To which Brasseaux replied, it is not just the job of the police department to write tickets either. “We’ve been responding to a lot of stuff,” he added. “That’s why Caleb has offered to come help us write tickets. The more people we can get to help out, I think it’ll be safer for the community.”
After hearing both sides of the issue, the council voted to add Aymond to the insurance to write tickets for the village.
The council further heard from Todd Deville with Village Engineer Ronnie Landreneau’s office about the status of a grant application through the Louisiana Community Development Block Grant (LCDBG) for work on the sewer project.
“We only received one bid,” Deville said. “It was in budget; however, when we sent the bid into LCDBG, they informed us the feds have a rule that you have to receive more than one bid. So, we have to readvertise for the process of receiving bids over again.”
Mayor Thomas questioned why the bids were closed with only one bid. Deville replied, “according to state bid law, all you need is one bid. However, (LCDGB) is quoting a federal statute that says you have to have at least two bids.”
“We didn’t close the bids,” he continued. “It was open to however many people wanted to bid, but only one person chose to turn in a bid.”
After more back-and-forth on the issue, the council voted to rebid at the village’s cost.
In other business, the council:
• voted to approve a pay raise for Councilwoman Debra Fontenot after she previously denied it
• and changed the date of the January meeting to January 22 because of the Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday.