Mansura hears good news, bad news

Some things are looking brighter for Mansura, but some problems appear to be here to stay, the Town Council heard at its May 14 meeting.

Several new small businesses opening in town, Kerotest Manufacturing’s expansion in the Industrial Park, and the contracting with a collection agency to recover unpaid tickets, taxes and fees all gave council members reason to smile.

A report by financial consultant Aloysia Ducote indicating the town’s past audit issues will remain in the past and not be repeated in the future was also good news.

The rain clouds in the otherwise blue sky were about water quality and cell phone/internet/cable service in town.

Amanda Stucker, of American Municipal Services (AMS), convinced the council to contract with the debt resolution company to collect debts owed.

She said the company can go back 12 years to collect tickets, bills, fees and taxes owed the town.

AMS uses skip trace techniques to find the debtors and then either collects the debt or enters into a payment agreement with them.

In the case of unpaid tickets, the company promises any outstanding warrant will be lifted while they are in the payment plan.

The company makes its money with a 30 percent fee added to the original debt.

TOWER NOT LIKELY

Maria Trichell, of State Rep. Robert Johnson’s office, said all indications are that nothing can be done in the near future to improve cell phone and internet service in Mansura.

Town officials have been asking AT&T to erect a tower in Mansura for several years, but the company has said it has no plans to do that.

“Vidalia took seven years to get a tower,” Trichell said.

She said other internet providers to compete with Media3 are not likely to come into the town without the presence of existing fiberoptic systems.

Several people complained about the poor service of Media3, which provides cable TV and internet service in the town.

Trichell also asked the council to adopt a resolution of support for Kerotest’s proposed expansion project.

The council unanimously adopted that resolution.

AUDIT WOES FIXED

Ducote told the council that auditors had cited the town for a few things in past audits. The most serious was running afoul of the “5-percent rule” which requires the actual expenses and revenue at the end of the year to be within five percent of the amounts in the budget.

The key thing to be aware of from this point forward is that the state has implemented a “three strikes” rule.

“After three strikes, they will hold up your funding,” Ducote said. “You don’t want that to happen.”

She said the town is still in sound financial condition, but it has reduced its accumulated reserve to cover annual deficits in the past few years.

To avoid a “5-percent” problem, Ducote recommended amendments that would remove a grant the town ended up not receiving and a few more adjustments.

The result still shows a projected deficit of $67,000.

Ducote said the town has $192,000 available in its “carry over” account, but added that the town cannot continue indefinitely to dip into that reserve to cover a recurring deficit.

“You should be within the five percent guideline and have no findings in your audit this year,” she said.

LAWCO ISSUES

In another matter, Mansura resident Merrill Rush asked the council to contact LAWCO about problems with the quality of the town’s drinking water.

She also asked why LAWCO has not followed through on the council’s request that the company consider buying the town’s water from Avoyelles Water Commission (AWC) instead of the Town of Cottonport.

Mayor Kenneth Pickett said he received a letter from LAWCO stating they would continue to deal with Cottonport. He said LAWCO also asked the town to support a future rate increase.

Pickett said LAWCO’s decision to ignore the council’s request to change water providers “is a breach of contract.”

“Our fight is not with Cottonport,” Pickett said. “It’s with LAWCO, and it’s time we put our foot down.”

AWC Commissioner Al Lemoine said LAWCO contacted AWC about providing water to Mansura.

“It is feasible to hook up to Avoyelles Water Commission, but it would be more expensive,” Lemoine said. “We told them they would pay the same rate as Marksville, Ward 3 and Moreauville.”

Lemoine did not have figures indicating how much more it would be.

Rush noted that the additional cost would probably be less than what she pays for bottled water because she cannot drink the water coming out of her household tap.

NEW BUSINESSES

New business owners coming before the council included Terry Bonnette, who is moving his Trinity Construction Co. to Mansura, and Maria Williamson, owner of Lilian’s Wings Shop restaurant, which is expected to open in the near future.

Jamie McCaleb and Jody Chenevert, owners of two new businesses in the Industrial Park, were on the agenda but unable to attend the May 14 meeting.

In other business, the council:

-- Accepted the Train Depot Museum project as “substantially complete,” subject to a final inspection.

-- Adopted a resolution of support for the Legislature to fund the juvenile detention center in Bunkie in light of an increasing problem with juvenile criminals.