?PROCEEDINGS
Parish of Cameron
April 15 ,2024
The Cameron Parish School Board met at its regular meeting on this date at 5:00 p.m. and meeting was called to order, members in attendance were: Vickie Kiffe, Marsha Trahan, Sharon Picou, Mitchel Kelley and Telesha Bertrand
Absent: Joseph Delcambre, Christi Labove and Randall Faulk
The prayer and the pledge were led by Mrs. Trahan and Mr. Kelley.
On the motion of Mrs. Bertrand, seconded by Ms. Kiffe, the Board approved the agenda.
On the motion of Mrs. Trahan, seconded by Mr. Kelley, the Board approved the minutes of the March 18, 2024 regular meeting and the March 26, 2024 special called meeting of the Cameron Parish School Board, as presented by the Superintendent.
On the motion of Mrs. Bertrand, seconded by Mrs. Kiffe, the Board approved payment of the bills, as presented by the Superintendent.
The Board received Financial Statement and Reports of Current Investments, as presented by the Superintendent.
The Board received information on the monthly report on property income, as prepared by Mr. Mike Cassidy- Cameron Parish District Attorney office.
The Board received information receiving information on a carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) injection project proposal, as presented by Mr. Mike Cassidy – Cameron Parish District Attorney office.
On the motion of Mrs. Bertrand, seconded by Mr. Kelley, the Board approved to allow RES to withdraw previous bid submitted for the purchase of the BP Property in Johnson Bayou and for RES to reimburse Cameron Parish School Board cost incurred of $144, as presented by Mr. Mike Cassidy – Cameron Parish District Attorney office, with letter stating such below:
RES
303 Rue Louis XIV, Suite 204 Lafayette LA 70508
Corporate Headquarters 6575 West Loop South, Suite 300
Bellaire TX 77401
Main: 713-520-5400
April 9, 2024
Cameron Parish School Board
Attn: Mr. Charley Lemons
Via Hand Delivery:
510 Marshall Street
Cameron, LA 70631
Re: Bid for property located near Johnson’s Bayou, LA located in T14S R15W: SEC 21: S/2 SEC 22: S/2 SEC 23: SW/4; W/2 OF SE/ 4; NE/4 SEC 26: W/2; N/2 OF NW/4 OF NE/4 SEC 27: N/2; N/2 OF sn SEC 28: NE/4 (#330392 DONATION FROM BP AMERICA PRODUCTION CO), containing a minimum 1564 acres and a maximum 2020 acres. By law, said bids shall be at least the appraised value or higher as per the Appraisal Report by Leonard P. Pauley, dated January 9, 2024.
Dear Mr. Lemons:
Pursuant to the telephone conversation held on April 8, 2024, among HGS, LLC — RES Environmental Operating (RES), yourself, and Assistant District Attorney Michael Cassidy regarding the above reference bid awarded to RES by the Cameron Parish School Board on March 1 8, 2024, I hereby present the following information for review by the Cameron Parish School Board.
Following the bid award on March 18, RES received, reviewed, and prepared comments on two drafts of the Purchase Agreement for the property provided by ADA Cassidy. On April 4, 2024, just as RES was preparing to send a revised draft Purchase Agreement back to ADA Cassidy, RES received extremely unexpected notice from its client for whom the property was intended to be restored as compensatory wetland mitigation.
The client advised RES that all regulatory permitting activity for the client’s planned project had been halted to provide the client opportunity to consider refinements, improvements, and/or modifications to its project. Furthermore, and most consequential to RES’ acquisition of the School Board property, the client advised RES that those refinements, improvements, and/or modifications had the potential to result in a project that would not require any compensatory wetland mitigation.
Considering (a) the length of time the client had been in development of the project (initial regulatory filings were prepared and submitted in late 2022), (b) the urgency with which the regulatory process was being executed by the client (advanced regulatory filings were prepared and submitted in late 2023 and early 2024), and (c) the extents to which the client had prioritized RES’ diligence of the School Board property for use as compensatory wetland mitigation for its project (RES had been in very frequent communication with the School Board and had been conducting myriad diligence, survey, modeling, and design tasks on the site since July 2023), the notice received by RES on April 4 was an overwhelming surprise that could not have been reasonably forecast to occur based upon RES’ sixteen years of highly relevant experience.
As communicated in our April 8 telephone conversation, RES unfortunately has no choice but to withdraw its bid for the School Board property and cease all further efforts to execute the Purchase Agreement for the property. At this time, there is no identified alternative use of the property’s wetland restoration potential that would allow RES to consider moving forward with such a substantial monetary investment. RES’ pursuit of property acquisition was strictly related to the needs of its client’s planned project. I assure you on RES’ behalf that the basis for our decision to submit a bid on March 18 was very sound and remained so until our receipt of this notice from our client on April 4. This outcome is as unexpected as it is disappointing.
While I do not wish to portray confidence in or likelihood of the following, it is possible that our client’s modification process results in a project that does indeed require use of the School Board property. The timing of that clarity is unknown at this point. Furthermore, given the substantial work RES has conducted on the property to date, we are positioned to act quickly and effectively in the event an alternate restoration opportunity for the property presents itself. We are actively searching for such opportunities and will continue doing so moving forward. If either scenario (existing client or alternate use) is deemed feasible, we can only hope the School Board would be willing to reconsider a sale of the property to RES at that time on terms that are amenable to the School Board.
RES sincerely appreciates all the coordination and cooperation afforded to us by the School Board in this process, and we regret having reached anything short of a successful outcome from our combined efforts.
With best regards,
Frankie Savoy I
Vice President,
Sales Vendor Name:
HGS, LLC c— RES
Environmental Operating
fsavoy@res.us |
337-580-2781
Cc: ADA Michael Cassidy
Jordan Templet,
RES Land Representative
The Board received information regarding donation of artifacts from Alligator Mound to State of Louisiana Archeology Dept., as presented by Mr. Mike Cassidy – Cameron Parish District Attorney office.
On the motion of Mrs. Trahan, seconded by Mr. Kelley, the Board approved accepting the one bid received from Tommy Stoddard for collection of approximately 1750 alligator eggs on School Board property (West of the Calcasieu River to the Sabine River) property (West of the Calcasieu River to the Sabine River) at the price of $8.00 per egg, as presented by Mr. Mike Cassidy- Cameron Parish District Attorney office.
On the motion of Mrs. Bertrand, seconded by Ms. Kiffe, the Board approved to renew the current following policies and renew the disaster management policy with adding a cyber defense policy, as presented by Mrs. Nancy Sylvester, Arthur Gallagher Insurance CO.: Renewal of the following coverages
Pollution (includes mold)
Boiler & Machinery
Property
Violent Malicious Acts
Disaster Management Services
Terrorism – both Liability and Property
Cyber Liability (Covers the school district’s exposure related to privacy breach, digital restoration, security liability, release of student records, etc.)
The Board received reports on current construction bid activities, as presented by Mr. James Hoffpauir, Hoffpauir Project Management Team:
A. Projects to be bid/quotes James Hoffpauir, Project Management
Pending Insurance and FEMA Review
South Cameron High School – Various Final Restoration Repairs – Miscellaneous Repairs to Athletic Field Structures (Stadium Light Poles and Bleachers)- in FEMA review
South Cameron High School – Men’s Restroom, Women’s Restroom and Concession Stand- in FEMA review
South Cameron High School New Gym Complex –Project was obligated by FEMA on December 21, 2023 for $12,825,812.80 which is 90% of the eligible obligated amount after insurance reduction. Schematic design was submitted to FEMA and GOHSEP on March 18, 2024, for review and approval. Once approval is received the project can move forward. FEMA estimates completion of the SCHS gym by February 28, 2026.
B. Projects out for bid/quotes – James Hoffpauir, Project Management
None at this time
C. Approval of bid and quote awards – Superintendent
None at this time
The Board received updates on current FEMA, CDBG and General Fund Construction, Repairs, and Renovations to permanent and temporary sites’ projects from Hoffpauir Architects, LLC, Cameron Parish School Board’s Project Management Firm, as presented by Hoffpauir Architects, LLC and Project Architects.
On the motion of Mrs. Trahan, seconded by Ms. Kiffe, the Board approved South Cameron High School Out of State travel request for Yearbook Class to travel to The Houston Zoo and lunch at the Aquarium Restaurant, in Houston, Texas on May 7, 2024 departing at 7:45 AM and returning to school around 7:30 PM, as presented by the Superintendent.
On the motion of Mr. Kelley, seconded by providing funding for four Grand Lake High School students to attend National FBLA Conference being held in Orlando, FL June 25th through July 3rd in accordance with policy IDE at $500 per student, as presented by the Superintendent.
On the motion of Mrs. Bertrand, seconded by Ms. Kiffe, the Board approved 13th check allocation at a percentage rate of 4.5% for the 2023-2024 fiscal year, as presented by the Superintendent.
The Board received the Superintendent’s Report, as presented by the Superintendent:
Superintendent’s Report
April 15, 2024
Please accept this report regarding my efforts to meet the following Performance Objectives as outlined in Exhibit A of my employment contract:
1. Human Resource Management
a. Prepared and planned for staffing process on March 28th with Mr. Wainwright
b. Met with HHS admin on 3/25 regarding school threat
c. Met with school nurses on 3/5 & 3/26 regarding reorganization of nurse duties due to Mrs. Dupont’s departure
2. District Operations and Financial Management
a. Met with Mr. Hoffpauir, Mr. Brossett, Mr. Moreau, and Mr. Gates to discuss remaining issues at HHS Vo-Ag on March 27th
b. Met with Mr. Hoffpauir and Mr. Gauthreux on 3/14 regarding SCHS Gym
c. Participated in call with RES on 3/13 regarding BP property
3. Student Growth and Achievement
a. Visited various campuses at various times through the month to meet with administration regarding any issues and also visited various classrooms and teachers
b. Participated as a member of the Cameron LNG scholarship review committee 3/14-3/15
4. Communication and Community Relations
a. Attended Lighthouse Bend grand opening on 3/27
b. Mrs. Rogers attended DARE graduations on 3/19 and 3/25
c. Attended HHS softball game on 3/28
d. Due to scheduling conflict, had Mrs. Rogers attend Cameron LNG CAC meeting for me on 3/19
5. Organizational Leadership
a. Participated in System Leaders call w/LDOE on 4/1
b. Attended the LSBA conference 3/11-3/12
c. Participated in Legislative Call with LASS on 3/22
On the motion of Mrs. Bertrand, seconded by Ms. Kiffe, the Board adjourned the regular school board meeting at 6:00 p.m.
Sharon Picou
Date: April 15, 2024
APPROVED:
Sharon Picou – President
CAMERON PARISH SCHOOL BOARD
Charley Lemons,
Superintendent
CAMERON PARISH SCHOOL BOARD
RUN: June 13 (Ju 21)