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Mayor Charles “Chuck” Robichaux told members of the city council Monday night that he is reluctant to sign the final agreement with the state Department of Transportation and Development accepting Zaunbrecher Road into the city street system.
Besides a large crack that has appeared in the road surface in front of Hebert Machine Shop, Robichaux said there is a concern that the city may not receive the $313,000 it was promised as part of the deal.
That “deal” had DOTD repairing and upgrading Zaunbrecher Road from Second Street to U.S. Hwy. 90. In return, the city would accept that portion of Zaunbrecher Road that is within the corporate limits into the city system and would henceforth be responsible for it’s maintenance.
Part of the agreement, according to Robichaux, is that the city would receive $313,000 from the state that could be used for road maintenance where needed.
The parish would “take over” that section of the roadway outside the city limits.
The council voted a couple of months ago to authorize the mayor to sign the agreement and “they want us to sign off really bad,” the mayor said.
Robichaux said he has been “going back and forth” with DOTD District Engineer Administrator via emails concerning both the fault in the road and the city’s promised funding.
Concerning the fault, Robichaux said he was informed by Oliver that “there is no warranty on the contractor’s work.”
In other words, he continued, “if we accept it, we have to fix it.”
Concerning the promised $313,000, Robichaux said that, while Oliver never came right out and admitted it, “I kind of read between the lines and, flat out, the state is broke and we may not see that money for a long time ... if ever.”
The mayor said that funding was earmarked for any of a number of road repair projects including:
• West Jeff Davis from its intersection with The Boulevard to the waste water treatment plant;
• Oak Street and Reynolds Extension in the area of the youth baseball fields;
• East E Street from Polk to Windsor streets;
• Edgewood, where Robichaux said he was told by engineers that “if we don’t repair that road in the next two years, we’re going to have to totally reconstruct it,” a project he said would triple the cost.
“Any of these projects would be something we would already have done in 2021 when we finish paying off the bonds for the last major street overlay and begin again,” he said.
Councilman Jimmy Fontenot explained, “When we voted to authorized you to sign the agreement with DOTD, it was giving you the authority to sign or not to sign, as you see fit.”
“I feel that as long as we don’t sign, as long as the road is technically their’s, we hold the cards,” Robichaux said. “Fix the road and show me the money and I’ll sign.”
Robichaux said he is scheduled to meet with Oliver Friday and will report back to the council following that meeting.
In other action, the council set a public hearing for March 13 to hear comments on a plan to sell property not needed for public use.
The property is located adjacent to and west of Landry’s Feed Store on U.S. Highway 90.
Robichaux was authorized to sign and submit a cooperative endeavor agreement between the state and the city for the Martin Luther King Community Center Improvements Project.
Robichaux said the state funding — which the city must match on a 10 percent basis — “is moving up in levels” and “it looks good, getting better.”
The city already has more than the projected 10 percent match “set aside” for the project, according to the mayor.
The council also upheld the recommendation of the Planning and Zoning Committee concerning the building at 810 W. South First, upholding the “stop work” order and mandating that the owner obtain all necessary permits before continuing any work on the structure.
More on the February city council meeting will be carried in the Feb. 23 edition.

Father Samuel Fontana, associate pastor at St. Joseph Catholic Church, was named an “Honorary Fireman” by Fire Chief Allen “Noochie” Credeur during Monday night’s annual installation banquet for the Rayne Volunteer Fire Department.
Credeur said that Fontana had expressed an interest in becoming a volunteer fireman but feared that his duties and responsibilities at the church might hinder his ability to “give 100 percent” and he “didn’t want to take someone else’s place on the roster.”
“This is the highest honor we can bestow on someone that’s not a volunteer fireman,” Credeur explained. “Father Fontana, whose family boasts a number of firefighters, is always there for us to lend a hand and for spiritual guidance when anyone in the department needs.
“It is an honor for us to have Father Fontana as an ‘Honorary Fireman’ for the Rayne Volunteer Fire Department.”
In ceremonies before the banquet meeting, Fontana blessed the department’s newest piece of firefighting equipment, a new pumper/tanker fire truck.
In a brief address before the formal swearing-in ceremonies were conducted, Credeur said the volunteer department answered a total of 224 calls during 2016 — or an average of one call every day and a half.
Of all the calls, however, the 19 water rescues performed by the department during the August “historic flood” here stood out most in the chief’s memory.
“We had never handled anything like that before,” he said. “But we got together and we did what we had to do.”
Breaking down the calls for the year in addition to the water rescues, the department responded to nine house fires, four grass fires, seven vehicle fires, two dryer fires, two carbon monoxide alarms, two mutual aid calls with other departments, 13 natural gas leaks, one oil leak, three downed power lines, six fire alarms, 13 smoke scares, 12 electrical shorts, 43 vehicle accidents / extrications and nine Air-Med calls.
There were also 77 false alarms, Credeur said.
City Judge James “Jim” Cunningham administered the oath to the officers, those including Joseph “Wa” Credeur, president and first captain; Eric Menard, vice president; Michael Cormier secretary-treasurer and second assistant chief; Allen “Noochie” Credeur, fire chief; Phil Hebert, first assistant chief; Justin Granger, second captain; Toby Credeur and Jeremy LaBauve, lieutenants; and Jake Venable, Chad Credeur and Jonathan Hebert, judges.
Welcomed as new volunteer firefighters were Dylan Broussard, Caneon Dupuis, Josh Foreman, John Guillory and Matthew Scott.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 18, at Our Mother of Mercy Catholic Church in Rayne celebrating the life of Mr. JayVe Montgomery Sr, 57, of Rayne.
Father Richard Wagner, SSJ, will serve as celebrant. Interment will follow in Our Mother of Mercy Cemetery.
The family requests that visitation be observed at Duhon Funeral Home - Rayne Chapel, 900 E. Texas Ave., beginning at 8 a.m. with a Rosary and concluding at 10:15 a.m.
Mr. Montgomery passed away on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017, at his residence.
Mr. Montgomery was a 1977 graduate of Rayne High School and served in the United States Army for several years before working for Hewlett-Packard, Apple Computer, Sunnyvale Ford, and Rayne Sign Company. He then served as the primary care-taker for his mother.
Survivors include his mother, Mrs. Ida Mae Montgomery of Rayne; one sister, Zona M. Larry of Rayne; two brothers, Dr. James Montgomery Jr. of La Marque, Texas, and Cordell Edmond of Rayne; one daughter, Destiny T. Yokum-Reed of Rayne; and three sons, JayVe J. Montgomery Jr. of Hendersonville, Tennessee, Damien V. Montgomery of Columbia, South Carolina, and Trevor Yokum of Rayne.
Preceding Mr. Montgomery in death was his father, James Montgomery Sr.
Condolences may be expressed online at www.duhonfuneralhome.com.
Duhon Funeral Home, LLC, - Rayne, (337) 334-3600, 900 E. Texas Ave., is in charge of all of the arrangements.

The 2017 Beta Sigma Phi Annual Sweetheart Ball was held Saturday, Feb. 11, at the Rayne Civic Center by the local Beta Sigma Phi chapters.
Each year, Beta Sigma Phi honors young ladies and gentlemen who are high school seniors and have achieved community, academic and athletic excellence. These outstanding young people comprise the junior court, while the senior court consists of two members of each BSP chapter (Sweetheart and Girl of the Year) as they are voted upon by their peers.
Since the founding in 1931, Beta Sigma Phi has grown to be the largest social, service and cultural organization in the world. In Rayne, there are four active chapters, Laureate Lambda, Preceptor Alpha Iota, Preceptor Alpha Chi, and Gamma Kappa.
Young ladies honored on the junior court were Natalie Alleman, daughter of Troy and Connie Alleman; Shelby Bordes, daughter of Pat and Jessica Bordes; Jada Castille, daughter of Nick and Mia Castille; Whitney Comeaux, daughter of Chris and Eva Comeaux; Corinne Doucet, daughter of Patrick and Desirée Doucet; Ashton Dupuis, daughter of Christopher and Jennifer Dupuis; Madeline Gautreaux, daughter of Judd and Jamie Gautreaux; Ashley Claire Istre, daughter of John and Rachel Istre; Sarah LeBlanc, daughter of David and Tammy LeBlanc; Brooklyn Mire, daughter of Jackie and Becky Prejean and Jody and Nancy Mire; Gabrielle Peltier, daughter of Philip and Kristi Peltier; Emily Savoy, daughter of Gaynal and Ann Savoy; Madison Terro, daughter of Eric Wade Terro and Randee Reneé Vasseur; Emma Wagar, daughter of John and Angie Wagar; and Remi Winchester, daughter of Monte and Missy Winchester.
The slate of young gentlemen included Eric Bedel, son of Danny and Cathleen Bedel; Timmi Bruce, son of Danette Meaux Bruce and Eddie Bruce; Reid DeJean, son of Chad and Mary Kay DeJean; David Frank, son of Kevin and Kate Frank; Nicholas Hanks, son of Bobby and Mollie Hanks; Colin Hebert, son of Brett Hebert and Amy Woodward; Hunter Meche, son of Shane and Shannon Meche; Dexter Miller, son of David and Judy Miller; Alex Pellerin, son of Patrick and Tara Pellerin; Martin Petitjean IV, son of Martin Petitjean III and Lisa George; Jaylon Reed, son of Jade and Brian Durio and Josh Reed; Jake Richard, son of Geoffrey and Patricia Richard; Logan Schexnaider, son of Neil and Stacy Schexnaider; Huey Touchet II, son of Huey and Kim Touchet; and and Evan Whatley, son of Bobby and Amy Whatley.
Ladies honored as Sweethearts from their respective BSP chapter were Jeanne Dupont (Gamma Kappa), Yvonne Menard (Preceptor Alpha Chi) and Sue Zaunbrecher (Preceptor Alpha Iota).
Girls of the Year honored during the introductions were the following BSP members: Ginger Comeaux (Gamma Kappa), Pebbles Mire (Preceptor Alpha Chi) and JoAnn Meche (Preceptor Alpha Iota).
Special thanks are extended to all who assisted BSP in making the ball a success, with a special thanks to the parents and families of the junior court for being so supportive. Treasured Memories Photography ball pictures, and the Rayne Lions Club donated their service at the cash bar for the evening.