After almost a year into a new administration, Iberia Parish Public Works Director Kevin Hagerich says the department is continuing its move toward long-term project plans and repairs despite a staff shortage and complaints from various Iberia Parish Council members.

Recent efforts to improve the department include a new excavator for digging and a possible new material for parish roads that is not petroleum-based, which Hagerich said will not deteriorate in the same way as asphalt or “slurry seal.”

Friday, the company that manufactures the road overlay material gave a demonstration at Hangar Drive near the Acadiana Regional Airport, where representatives resurfaced 500 feet with the new material.

Workers from Polycon Manufacturing in Madison, Miss., overlay 500 feet of road on Hangar Drive near the Acadiana Regional Airport Friday as a demonstration of a possible new road material for Iberia Parish Public Works Department. Submitted Photo Advertisement

“We will evaluate the product as an alternative and take things from there,” Hagerich said. “More research is needed, but it appears this product is a viable option for many of our roads, more importantly, for future roads maintenance.”

The excavator, valued at a little more than $200,000, will be used for deep digging projects, and Hagerich said the current work schedule includes several roads damaged by hurricanes Gustav and Ike, preparing for a large roads project and trying to “play catch-up” on cutting roadside and field ditches.

Hurricane debris clean-up is nearly complete, Hagerich said, and added things in the department are moving on schedule.

“Our long-term plan is to get away from a reactive mode of people calling in problems to one of proactiveness, normal scheduled maintenance,” Hagerich said.

In October, the Parish Council called a special meeting to discuss drainage and maintenance problems that council members said they were experiencing in their districts, to which they concluded a lack of qualified workers was largely to blame.

Since the meeting, some council members still have complaints but agreed the council will have to be patient and give the administration more time to implement the long-term plan.

“I really haven’t seen improvements, but they’re working on it and it will get better,” said Council Vice Chairman Roger Duncan. “I don’t like (Hagerich’s) work schedule. I don’t think it’s effective. But that’s my opinion. We’ll just have to give it more time and see if it will work for us.”

Councilman Jerome Fitch said he has not experienced problems in his district regarding public works projects, but said the department cannot operate at full capacity until it is fully staffed.

“I think it’s a little too early to see improvements,” Fitch said. “Until we get those jobs filled and get a full staff, things will be a little slow, but the activity will start to pick up a lot after the staff is full.”

Department heads interviewed four possible employees for staffing last week, Hagerich said, but the department is awaiting the results of drug screens from the potential employees.

Hagerich said before he took over this year, drainage work was being done sporadically and inefficiently at various locations. His plan calls for work to be done district by district, which could take time, but will overall help the drainage conditions throughout the parish.

“People, to include council members, will always complain about things not being done,” Hagerich said, adding the work schedule is developed three to four weeks in advance. “Stopping our planned work to do something unplanned directly impacts the information provided to others as to when to expect our service.

“The better we can all move toward a long-term plan, the more accurate and timely we can perform our prioritized missions.”