East Ascension drainage board approves land purchases, contract renewals and $1 million engineering increase

The East Ascension Consolidated Drainage District No. 1 approved a slate of land purchases, contract renewals and an increase to its engineering contract pool at its March 10 meeting at the Gonzalez Parish Courthouse in Ascension Parish.

The board voted to add $1,000,000 to its drainage engineering support contract pool, bringing the new not-to-exceed total to $2,000,000. The amendment covers a roster of prequalified firms listed by staff for on-call engineering support for district projects; the motion was made by Mr. Cullen and seconded by Mr. Varnado and passed with no objections recorded.

The board approved Resolution EACGDD No. 1 to allocate $36,366 to purchase approximately 1.35 acres of drainage servitude from Paul and Kimberly Leblon Living Trust for the Fno Road outfall dredging project. It also approved a separate resolution to allocate $10,948 to purchase roughly 41 acres of drainage servitude from Linet L. Jarvis for the Fontau Road outfall dredging project. Both motions passed on voice consent after movers and seconders were announced.

Separately, the board approved an option to purchase and a right of first refusal for Tract 12A, Section 22, T9S-R2E in Ascension Parish — 127.961 acres — at $20,000 per acre, for a total purchase price of $2,559,220. The motion for the option was made by Mr. Roar and seconded by Miss Alonzo and passed without recorded objection.

On contracts, the board renewed a one-year agreement with Elios Environmental LLC for wetland delineation services beginning April 1, 2026, with an option to renew for an additional year and a not-to-exceed amount of $300,000. The board approved a similar one-year renewal with GEO Engineers Inc. for up to $300,000 under a task-order arrangement that permits multiple providers. The motions to renew each contract carried with no objections recorded.

The board also approved a contract with RLJ Construction LLC to install approximately 1,700 feet of 2-inch HDP gas line related to the New River Regional Detention Project. That motion was moved by Miss Alonzo and seconded by Mr. Heelings and passed on voice consent.

The board voted to convene in executive session on a staff motion and, after returning to open session, moved to approve the action discussed in executive session. The chair called for objections at each point and none were recorded; the transcript records the executive-session motion passed on a roll-call vote.

Votes at a glance

• Amendment to engineering support contracts (add $1,000,000; new cap $2,000,000) — mover: Mr. Cullen; second: Mr. Varnado — outcome: approved (no recorded objection).

• Purchase of 1.35 acres from Paul and Kimberly Leblon Living Trust ($36,366) for Fno Road outfall — mover: Mr. Roar; second: Mr. Varnado — outcome: approved (no recorded objection).

• Purchase of approximately 41 acres from Linet L. Jarvis ($10,948) for Fontau Road outfall — mover: Mr. Varnado; second: Mr. Roar — outcome: approved (no recorded objection).

• Option/right of first refusal for Tract 12A, 127.961 acres ($2,559,220) — mover: Mr. Roar; second: Miss Alonzo — outcome: approved (no recorded objection).

• Elios Environmental LLC contract renewal (wetland/delineation) — mover: Mr. Roar; second: Mr. Heelings — outcome: approved (no recorded objection). Not-to-exceed: $300,000; term begins April 1, 2026.

• GEO Engineers Inc. contract renewal (wetland/delineation) — mover: Mr. Varnado; second: Mr. Cullen — outcome: approved (no recorded objection). Not-to-exceed: $300,000; term begins April 1, 2026.

• Contract with RLJ Construction LLC to install ~1,700 ft of 2" HDP gas line — mover: Miss Alonzo; second: Mr. Heelings — outcome: approved (no recorded objection).

• Motion to enter executive session and subsequent approval of the executive-session action — mover to enter: Mr. Roar; outcome: approved by roll-call vote; executive-session action approved on return to open session.

What this means

The approvals move forward several drainage-related projects, including outfall dredging and the New River Regional Detention Project, by securing land access and on-call professional and construction services. Contract renewals keep wetland-delineation capacity in place for upcoming work. The board approved an action following an executive session; the transcript records the board approved that action but does not provide details of the executive-session discussion.

Next steps

Staff will proceed with executing the contracts and purchase/option documents and with project implementation tasks tied to the outfall dredging and detention project work. The transcript indicates the board moved toward adjournment after completing the agenda.