PUBLIC NOTICE
St. Mary Parish Wards 5 & 8 Joint Sewer Commission
P. O. Box 181
Berwick, La 70342
MINUTES
January 5, 2026
The meeting was called to order by Mr. Stewart at 6:00 PM.
Present: Karen Sehon, Tim Kyle, Chris Cooper, Brandon Monceaux, Calvin San-ders, Sr., Johnny Olivier, Michael Stewart, Billy Dan Morgan (Morgan’s Construction), Pam and Larry Fromenthal (Fromental Plumbing), and Howard Cas-tay (Daily Review).
Mr. Stewart ask-ed if anyone had a public comment. No comment.
The board went over the minutes of the previous month’s meeting. Mr. Cooper moved to disburse the reading of the minutes and accept. Mr. Kyle seconded the motion. All in favor – I.
The board then went over the treasurer’s report. Mr. Monceaux motion-ed to approve the treasurer’s report and sign checks if all are in order. Mr. Cooper seconded the motion. All in favor – I.
No representative for Providence Engineering present.
Mr. Sanders re- ported on the monthly maintenance. The quarterly test passed. HOH daily is in compliance. The reports are up to date. The sludge in the pond is good. On 11/25/25 the aerators were turned off at the plant pond. This will have approximately $2,000 in monthly savings. They talked about the devices at other locations. The pond water is clear. The Patterson Pond aerator is down. It needs a gearbox. He recommended putting another aerator in the Patterson pond. The board gave the go ahead to get this done this month. Station 6, walking trail is awaiting quotes prior to installation from Fromenthal. The track is down at the station; he needs more information on the trolley system for repair. Per Mr. Cooper get the engineer or crane repair company to look at it for repairs etc. The trolley system just fell one night. He will need to address other stations that have trolley systems. Mr. Kyle can contact EEC to go out to look at the system for repairs. Mr. Stewart no- ticed the A-frame on the truck finally. We need to have testing done. Mr. Cooper recommends taking it off and having it scraped. No one else can use it or be used. He can use the trailer to haul off stuff and load stuff instead. Mr. Sanders re- ported continued clean up at the plant. He is looking for recommendations for Conex boxes or such to house the unused equipment. Mr. Cooper suggested installing a timer on the lighting in the warehouse to help with spiders, bugs, etc. There are places to purchase some new ones approximately $3,200.00 per Connex box. There is a company out of New Orleans. Mr. Sanders and Mr. Kidder are still working on completing setup of Starlink internet at the plant. This should be completed soon. Mr. Sanders recommended upgrading the Mission Communication equipment. Our equipment is obsolete. Mr. Stewart asked about pricing. Mr. Cooper recommended replacing it 4 per month. There are 14 total units. The board agreed to upgrade 3-4 units per month to get completed. He will check on a discount since we will be replacing them all. It will be approximately $21,000.00 for the units and approximately $10,000.00 for the installation. He will check on a discount if purchased at one time. He will re- port next meeting. Mr. Olivier’s training is going well. He is getting the plant down first then will extend out to the stations. Mr. Sanders is working on getting daily procedures written down with a checklist for daily vs. weekly. The generators at the ponds test start at 8am – 10 am. The generator at the plant test on Tuesday mornings. Annual maintenance/service on generators is due in May. Thibodaux Electric will be able to manage the regular maintenance/servicing. He will be able to manage the re- pairs in a timely manner.
Old/New business – Previously discussed about getting another operator hired on. Mr. Sanders has someone in mind. They are willing to go to school for certification. They will also do clerical work. He will see if they can attend the next meeting so the board can interview etc.
Mr. Kyle is working on asset assessment with LRWA. They will need some employee information and other data as needed. Mrs. Sehon will get the data needed from her. The rate study is for March last we heard.
Mr. Stewart mentioned the last meeting we discussed the employee pay rate for Mr. Sanders. It was suggested $5/hr. this year and then $5/hr. next year. When checking with Mr. Booker, St. Mary Parish, he said his information is outdated. Mr. Monceaux called around for pay rates. It ranged from $27/hr. to $33/hr. for class 2 operators. Mr. Sanders is currently a Class 4 operator. Mr. Cooper does not have an issue with the $5/hr. raise this year. Then we can check for next year for information on the next raise per documentation. Mr. Kyle asked if in the last 2 years Mr. Sanders has gotten any raise? He has not gotten any raise in the last 2 years. Mr. Monceaux is ok with the 1st raise. We can re-evaluate before the second raise next year. Mr. Cooper motion-ed to give Mr. Sanders the $5/hr. raise with re-evaluation next year. Mr. Kyle seconded the motion. All in favor – I. Mr. Monceaux motioned to make Mr. Sanders raise retroactive to Dec. 1st when he took over the new position as supervisor. Mr. Kyle seconded the motion. All in favor -I.
Next meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 2, 2026.
Having no further business, Mr. Cooper has motion-ed to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Monceaux seconded the motion.
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Chairperson
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Secretary/Treasurer
Adv. Feb. 6, 2026