ST. CHARLES PARISH, La. — One by one, folks in St. Charles Parish flooded the parish council with frustrations Monday night.
“Take a pause, do something right,” said one man during the public comment period.
“It’s a bit frustrating to say the least,” said a woman who spoke next.
Those frustrations come after flooded homes and streets seem to always follow heavy rains, the most recent being over the weekend when 14 homes reported flooding.
“Everybody has the long drawn out plan on what needs to be done or how long it’s going to take place, but this requires some drastic measures,” said Will Matthews.
Will and Lynette Matthews’ home was flooded back in May and they’re still not able to live in it.
They’re staying with family in the meantime.
“It’s totally frustrating,” said Lynette Matthews
RELATED: '3rd time in less than two years': Destrehan homes and streets flood after heavy rain Sunday
Parish president Matthew Jewell says rapid development in the parish combined with outdated infrastructure is part of the problem.
“When you add old infrastructure to new growth, you get the problems we’re seeing,” Jewell said.
One of the most impacted areas is in Destrehan near and along Ormond Boulevard, where some folks have flooded multiple times in recent years. Parish Jewell says there are 9-million dollars’ worth of projects in that area, some of which still need to be paid for.
“I will not let funding be an issue,” Jewell said.
The Matthews say it’s past the time for talk to turn into action and to no longer live in fear of water.
“Every time it rains you just think water is going to come in the house, we’re going to have to start all over again,” said Lynette Matthews.
Part of Monday night’s agenda also included a moratorium, putting a stop to any new subdivision developments so the parish can have time to create a master plan. After some heated debate between council members, that moratorium was tabled.
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