Police jurors renew engineering contract despite committee recommending another firm

On a split vote Aug. 4, the East Feliciana Parish Police Jury elected to renew a contract with its engineering firm, although a committee had recommended another company.

The jury chose Forte and Tablada Inc. on a 6-2 vote over Quality Engineering and Surveying, which the Finance Committee had recommended.

Jurors Dexter Armstead, Kristin Chasteen, Michael Cheatham, Jason McCray, Chrissie O’Quin and Keith Mills supported Forte and Tablada on a substitute motion. Kyle Fleniken and Richard Oliveaux dissented, and jury President Louis Kent did not vote.

Using the same criteria, Fleniken, Oliveaux and O’Quin scored three firms that submitted proposals for the role of parish engineer, with Quality having the most points.

But when the committee presented its recommendation, O’Quin said she was having second thoughts, noting that only a few points separated the two firms but Forte and Tablada had been doing good work for the jury.

She also said the company had continued to respond to jury requests for its services, although the company was not being paid in a timely manner.

O’Quin was referring to a period of time when David Amrhein was parish manager and had expressed his desire to use a different engineering firm, Professional Engineering Consultants (PEC).

Forte and Tablada has since purchased PEC.

“We need to consider that we had a company that when we were not paying their invoices they were still doing the work we requested,” O’Quin said.

The move angered Oliveaux, who has complained that Forte and Tablada’s inspection of a new subdivision in his district has led to drainage problems that are hurting his constituents who live upstream of the development.

Road concerns

On another matter, three residents of Lawrence Williams Road, in the northeast corner of the parish, hammered jurors about the condition of the road, which they said is seldom graded and has no ditches.

Felicia Garig said past grading work has pushed gravel, limbs and other debris into the ditches to the point the road acts as a ditch.

“The road has to be brought up to sea level,” Garig said.

The jury could not give the residents a timetable on when improvements will be made, other than a closed bridge on the road is next on the schedule for repairs.

Planning & zoning issue

The jury also learned that the Planning and Zoning Commission has turned down its first subdivision request because it did not meet the jury’s new land development ordinance.