Sorrento seeks sewer work probe

SORRENTO — The Town Council voted during a special meeting Tuesday night to send documents relating to Sorrento’s troubled sewer system to the 23rd Judicial District Attorney’s Office, the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office and the FBI.

Councilman Randy Anny, leading the meeting as mayor pro tem in the absence of Mayor Wilson Longanecker Jr., said it was the council’s intention to ask for an investigation into the problems that for years have plagued the sewer system.

Anny said he believes construction of the sewer system deviated from the original plans.

What actually was installed, such as too-small discharge pipes and pumps, may have played a role in sewage backups into residents’ homes last year, he said.

“This is not a witch hunt,” Anny said. “We just want to get this all sorted out.”

The council also voted, for the second time in two weeks, to pay an outstanding legal bill submitted by Karl Scott, the town attorney, but Anny said Longanecker had so far refused to sign a check to cover Scott’s services.

At a meeting last week that ended in a shouting match between Longanecker and Anny, Longanecker said he felt obligated to request an itemized accounting of the bill before releasing the town’s funds to paythe bill.

“I don’t know when it will happen,” Anny said of getting the attorney’s bill paid, “but I’m working on it.”

He added the town likely would need legal counsel to help sort out the sewer issues.

Anny promised to set aside his differences with Longanecker, and meet with him, Scott and the other councilmen to come up with a working plan for fixing the sewer system and
making up losses suffered by at least 14 residents whose homes were damaged by sewage backups.

“We will have something in place by the next meeting,” Anny said, which will be Tuesday.