St. Martin Parish now ‘StormReady’

ST. MARTINVILLE — The St. Martin Parish Council was told Tuesday the parish has been named a “StormReady Community.”

The announcement was made by parish Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Director Terry Guidry and Andy Patrick, of the National Weather Service.

Guidry told the council his office was looking for a way to better involve the community in storm preparedness when Stacey Eddy, assistant director of the parish Homeland Security office, found the program.

To complete the program, Guidry said his department took several steps to involve the parish, including addressing civic groups on storm preparedness and offering storm watcher classes where residents were taught to identify dangerous weather without the benefit of meteorology reports.

“This is a proactive program for the public,” Guidry said. “It is something parish residents can be involved in to help themselves.”

Patrick said the award was a special achievement, particularly because St. Martin is only the 13th parish to achieve the status.

“This reaffirms the parish’s commitment to safety, including the protection of life and property,” he said.

Patrick said U.S. residents live in the most severe weather-prone country on Earth, and 90 percent of all presidentially-declared disasters are weather related, leading to around 500 deaths per year and nearly $14 billion in damage.

Patrick said the program assists the parish in becoming prepared for the next storm or tornado by educating the public on how to react as quickly and appropriately as possible.

“Just since I have been in office, we have had four hurricanes, three tornados and several high-water events,” Parish President Guy Cormier said. “Our constituents can rest at ease knowing we are as ready as possible for the next event.”

In other business, the council:

SETS ELECTION: The council unanimously agreed to hold an election April 21 to allow residents of Stephensville to vote on a $1.1 million bond issue for infrastructure improvements.

Bond attorney Jason Akers said the measure would benefit St. Martin Parish Water and Sewer District 1 as it attempts to raise funds to upgrade the district’s old water and sewer infrastructure.

“This community has not done capital improvements in a number of years,” Akers said.

The council agreed to the measure with the understanding that the millage rate of 4.75 mills would remain the same if the measure passes and the council would be responsible if the district could not repay the debt.