Citing concerns over the way business was being handled, the St. Mary Parish Council voted 8-3 to remove the Board of Commissioners of St. Mary Parish Consolidated Gravity Drainage District No. 2A which serves the City of Morgan City. Chief Administrative Officer Paul Governale will immediately assume the responsibilities of operating the drainage district.
Parish Councilman Patrick Hebert offered the resolution which was referred from the February 11, 2025 meeting when Councilman Jimmy Davis was originally planning to present the resolution. The resolution was then tabled at the February meeting. Hebert said he studied many hours of the board’s meetings and had concerns about handling of the district’s finances. He said the district had leased an excavator and when the lease was up, the piece of equipment was returned due to the district not having an operator at the time. He added the district then received a $27,000 bill for repairs on the excavator. Hebert argued that it would have been more cost-effective for the district to purchase the excavator at the end of the term, but the district eventually leased a second excavator for a four-year term.
In a Facebook Live video posted Wednesday afternoon, Morgan City Mayor Lee Dragna, who was on a cruise ship at the time, argued against the removal of the board members and said the decision would leave the City of Morgan City venerable to flooding. He said there is a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement between the city and the drainage district for the city to pump the water during the day and cut the grass in the ditches. Dragna added that the city’s Chief Admnistrative Officer Charlie Solar was also the president of the drainage district which was an advantage to the city, however Solar was one of the board members removed by council Wednesday night. Dragna said after the legally required notice of either 45 – 60 days, the city will turnover responsibilities of pumping the water back to the parish, essentially canceling the Cooperative Endeavor Agreement. Dragna also took issue with the council putting the resolution on Wednesday’s agenda while he was on vacation and was not able to voice his opposition at the meeting.
The debate lasted just over one hour and included comments from Don Hicks, who was a board member of the drainage district and submitted his resignation prior to the meeting. Hicks stated his concerns over the way the district’s business was being handled.
Voting in favor of removing the board members were council members Patrick Hebert, Jimmy Davis, Mark Duhon, Gwen Hidalgo, Rev. Craig Mathews, Jay Ina, Rodney Olander and David Hill. Voting against the resolution were Dean Adams, Dr. Kristi Rink and Les Rulf.
In response to the council’s decision, Dragna has called for a Public Meeting to be held Tuesday, May 20 beginning at 6:00 pm at the Morgan City Municipal Auditorum. The Public Notice states that city officials will answer question’s to the best of their knowledge. Members of the public who wish to submit questions, may email them to info@cityofmc.com before 3:00 pm on Tuesday, May 20.
You may watch the discussion and vote regarding the drainage district from Wednesday’s meeting below.
