Parish President Jewell details park upgrades, boat launch repairs and community programs

Parish President Jewell announced a series of infrastructure and community events during the St. Charles Parish president’s report, including a ribbon cutting at Eastbank Bridge Park scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 30 at 5 p.m., drainage improvements tied to a culvert installation along the I‑310 exit ramp, the reopening and extension of the Hornville Boat Launch, and completion of a second chiller at the Edward A. Dufresne Community Center.

The ribbon cutting will highlight park upgrades that Jewell said include two new turf fields, an updated basketball court, newly constructed pickleball and tennis courts, a fully paved parking lot and drainage and ground improvements. Jewell said Valero donated $500,000 toward the project and invited the public and council members to the event.

Jewell described a drainage project connected to the park: she said Public Works is installing drainage pipes along the I‑310 exit ramp so the park will no longer drain directly onto the roadway. She said recent work tied an existing pipe behind Harry Hurst Middle School into a larger canal before the wetlands, which should improve drainage, maintenance and aesthetics at the park.

The Hornville Boat Launch, Jewell said, has reopened after repairs and was lengthened to reduce a safety risk caused when trailers were driven too far onto the launch. She said the parish is working with the state and nearby property owners on longer-term agreements to support future improvements and maintenance.

At the Edward A. Dufresne Community Center, Jewell said crews installed a second chiller to restore the facility’s originally intended redundant system. The new chiller will alternate operation with the existing unit to spread load and allow maintenance without full shutdown. The parish procurement department sold the old unit at auction for $10,000, Jewell said, and the new unit is expected to be commissioned after HVAC testing before year’s end.

Jewell also thanked Destrehan High School for hosting a Parks and Recreation night that paired parish youth with the high school’s teams and acknowledged community services offerings: weekly workout classes at the Boutiques at St. Rose and Kenner (Kelowna in transcript) community centers led by Anytime Fitness and Destrehan staff, and weekly lunch-and-learn programs for residents. She provided a parish website for more information (www.saintcharlesparish.gov/communityservices).

Jewell recounted a site visit by planning and zoning, the zoning board of adjustments and the Coastal Zone Advisory Committee to the Davis Pond Freshwater Diversion Project, led by the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA). She said attendees reviewed CPRA’s monitoring of salinity, vegetation and sediment deposits and toured ponding areas by airboat, noting about 500 acres of new land building near the diversion.

On veterans and community events, Jewell invited parish veterans and their spouses to a veterans luncheon on Thursday, Nov. 6 at the Edward A. Dufresne Community Center and asked for photos and service details to be submitted to publicinfo@saintcharlesgov.net by Saturday, Nov. 1. She provided a parish phone number for assistance: (985) 783-5000.

Marking National Manufacturing Month, Jewell said the petrochemical sector generates $267,000,000 in annual wages within St. Charles Parish, that since 2022 more than $4,000,000,000 in new investments have been authorized creating 250 new jobs and $21,000,000 in new payroll, and that manufacturers pay $229,000,000 in property taxes annually. A percentage figure mentioned in the meeting to describe the share of parish property tax revenue was unclear in the transcript and is not specified here.

David Cresson, identified by Jewell as the president and CEO of the Louisiana Chemical Association, thanked the parish and its partners for recognizing the manufacturing sector’s role in local employment, wages and community programs.

Jewell closed her report by thanking parish departments and partners, including Public Works, Parks and Recreation, CPRA, local schools and the Louisiana Chemical Association, for their roles in the projects she described.