Parish staff told the St. Tammany Parish Council that two DOTD Transportation Alternatives Program sidewalk projects were ready to proceed to construction but are structured so the parish must sign contracts and fund 100% of construction up front; DOTD will reimburse approximately 80% as invoices are submitted.

Annie, a parish staff member in the planning/finance team, said DOTD informed staff in December that the state had put the projects to bid and required parish execution of the construction contracts. “They are required to fund 100% of the construction upfront, and then they are going to reimburse us the 80%,” Annie said.

Key amounts and scope: Annie said the combined DOTD grant award is about $2.5 million. The council introduced two capital ordinances allocating $1,000,095 for the Ochsner Boulevard sidewalk project and $1,000,080 for Bootlegger Road sidewalk phase 2, and it introduced a transfer of about $629,170 to cover an increased match requirement. Staff estimated the parish’s net match obligation would total roughly $500,000 over the projects’ construction timelines.

Why it matters: Under DOTD’s structure for these federally linked grants, the parish must advance construction payments to meet federal contracting and reimbursement rules. Staff said the projects are at the point of contract execution and risk delay if the council does not budget the full construction amounts now.

Council action: The council introduced the two capital ordinances and the funding transfer so contracts can be signed; staff said invoices will be submitted to DOTD and the parish will be reimbursed according to the grant’s reimbursement schedule.

Next steps: Because the ordinances were introduced off the floor, they will return for adoption at the next scheduled council meeting. Staff said they would execute contract documents with the contractor(s) once funds are legally budgeted.

Reporting note: The parish advised that the DOTD process for TAP projects differs from other state grants and requires earlier cash-flow commitment; staff and engineers described the reimbursement process as invoice-by-invoice.