Abita River flooding less than feared, mayor says; Gustav damage minimal

Abita Springs Mayor Louis Fitzmorris admitted at the town’s Board of Aldermen meeting Tuesday evening that on the Saturday night before Hurricane Gustav made landfall he was scared.

He was scared that with the right amount of storm surge and too much rain, the Abita River would rise higher than it did during Hurricane Katrina and higher than it did in May of 1995, when the river flooded some homes and left the town an island for three days.

But, he said, he was relieved to announce the storm’s damage was not nearly as severe as he had feared.

He said the river rose, but not to the levels he was expecting, and no homes flooded.

He said he was also relieved at the speed the water went down.

He added that only a few homes were damaged by falling trees, and the amount of debris on the streets and in yards after Hurricane Gustav was no way near the amount left behind by Katrina.

Crews began picking up debris from the side of the roadway Tuesday.

Brad Nobles with Kyle and Associates, the town’s engineering firm, said three trucks are running through the town, and he anticipates debris pickup to be completed by the middle of next week. The crews completed passes on seven streets Tuesday and had picked up six truckloads.

He said unlike after Hurricane Katrina, where every home had piles of debris lining both sides of the street, the piles of debris are “spotty” and “scattered throughout the town.”

Fitzmorris estimates there are 5 tons of debris to be picked up, a stark difference to the more than 200,000 tons the town had cleared after Katrina.

“This isn’t going to be some eight-month-long cleanup effort,” he said, adding that if anyone has debris he or she needs picked up, he or she needs to have it out to the road immediately.

As of Thursday morning the federal government had not approved funding for debris pickup in St. Tammany Parish, but Fitzmorris remains hopeful that will change.

The storm did cause damage to the newly constructed playground.

A very large pine tree snapped and fell, crushing part of the boat in the toddler area and one art bench.

Alderman Greg Lemons, who is also on the board for the Friends of the Park, said St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office trusties were already in the park repairing the damage, and he anticipates it to be completely repaired by the end of the week.

The group will begin working on the fencing around the playground in approximately two weeks.

“A tree fell, which is bad news,” he said, “but good news, it did very little damage.”

An Indian princess statue, donated by architect Ron Blitch, is set to arrive in the next week or two. The statue, which is being shipped from Italy, will be placed in the center of the pavilion.

The first ever Abita River Chili Cook-off will be held in the park Oct. 11 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. It will cost $100 to enter a team in the competition or $20 to enter the people’s choice competition.

Prizes will be awarded, and the group is looking for sponsors. All money raised from this event will go toward expanding and maintaining the park.

See the Web site, www.abitariverchilicookoff.com for more information.

The board was set to hold a public hearing and vote on a millage adjustment.

However, the town had not received the necessary assessment estimates to make a decision, and both the public hearing and vote were postponed. Fitzmorris hopes to have the information in time to vote on the matter at the town’s Oct. 21 meeting.

He said there has been an increase in homes and in property values since the last reassessment year in 2004, so he anticipates there will be a change.

The town can either reduce its millages or ask voters for permission to sell off more bonds and use the extra money coming in to complete other projects. In 2004, the town chose the latter and used the money to complete some street projects.

The board did approve a video taping ordinance, which will allow people to video tape the public meetings but allows the person presiding over said meetings to dictate where the person operating the camera can stand and what lighting can be used.

The board also passed a resolution supporting proposition No. 2 on the Oct. 4 ballot. The proposition, if approved, would renew a 2-mill tax.

One mill goes toward the Council on Aging for St. Tammany Parish and the other goes toward the St. Tammany Association for Retard Citizens.