> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.wbrindependent.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Port Allen sewer repairs will dig up streets as city plans to annex plant site - URL: https://www.wbrindependent.com/port-allen-sewer-repairs-will-dig-up-streets-as-city-plans-to-annex-plant-site/ - Published: 2026-10-21T18:39:49.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-21T19:07:52.000Z - Description: Port Allen's engineer says crews will start digging up some city streets for sewer repairs within weeks. The city's attorney also laid out how the city plans to buy land for a new wastewater plant and annex it. - Author: John Summers - Tags: #save-the-heads, Meeting Coverage Some Port Allen streets are about to be dug up. City Engineer Tony Arikol told the City Council on Oct. 14 that crews have finished most of the smoke testing and camera inspections on the city's sewer lines. His team is reviewing the results and may run a few more tests. Next comes fixing the problem spots in the lines. Arikol said that work should start within about three weeks. "Unfortunately, of course, in most cases is gonna require them to dig up the road," he said. Crews will fill each hole with temporary gravel, let it settle, then repave with asphalt. Arikol asked council members to send him the addresses of residents who have had sewer problems in the past. They can pass them through the mayor or email him directly. He wants crews to check those areas while they're already working. "I don't want to let one slide while we have this opportunity," he said. ## New blowers in, final payment approved The council approved two payments to Grady Crawford for replacing the blowers at the city's wastewater treatment plant. One was $71,550\. The other, the final payment, was $270,000\. The council awarded the $379,500 contract in March. Arikol said the new blowers are in and working. He said they run quietly, which helps because the plant sits close to a neighborhood. He also said the contractor finished two weeks ahead of its deadline. The city is holding back the last $37,950 as a guarantee on the work. That's called retainage. Arikol said the city won't pay it until two things happen. First, the city has to sign off that the job is essentially finished. Then a 45-day waiting period has to pass, which gives subcontractors and suppliers time to file claims for any unpaid bills. He estimated that will take two to three months. He expects the contractor to ask for that sign-off at the council's November meeting, after 30 days of testing. The one-year warranty starts then. Councilwoman Adrain Joseph made the motion. Councilwoman April King seconded. ## Studying the plant site Arikol also updated the council on the land the city wants to buy for a new wastewater treatment plant. The city signed a purchase agreement in September at $45,000 an acre, about $1.4 million for the 31-acre tract. That gave it 120 days to study the land. If the studies turn up problems, the city can walk away. Arikol said three draft reports were due that week: a property survey, a Phase I environmental site assessment and a wetlands delineation. The environmental assessment checks for contamination. The wetlands report maps any wetlands on the site. He said he would review the drafts and have them ready for the council's next meeting. A cultural resources study is due in about two weeks. Arikol said that one will take longer to finalize because the state historic preservation office has to approve it. Pipelines also cross the property and cut it nearly in two, Arikol said. He plans to meet with the pipeline companies to find out what they require. ## The annexation plan The land sits outside city limits, under parish jurisdiction. A council member asked whether the city has talked with the parish. Mayor Terecita Pattan said she gave Parish President Jason Manola a heads-up when the city first started looking at the property. She said the city’s legal team told her the city can annex the land because the city’s new subdivision borders the property. Evan Alvarez, an attorney with Hammonds Sills, the law firm that represents the city, explained how that would work. He said the land already touches city limits because of an earlier annexation along Court Street. The city is now focused on one tract. That tract is a long, narrow strip running north from Court Street, one parcel west of the Westview Crossing subdivision. Parish assessor records list it as 31 acres at 2452 Court St., owned by Cohn Associates II LLC. An April 2026 map from PEC, the city's engineering firm, labels it "Option 2" for the new plant. Assessor records show another parcel, owned by Sophie Properties II LLC, sits between the site and the subdivision. The site touches city limits at its Court Street end. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/51/6a511428-8a9f-41ee-af8a-da977e82f00e/content/images/2026/10/port-allen-sewer-site-map-1.png) The proposed sewer plant site, shaded, sits north of Court Street just west of the Westview Crossing subdivision. Map: West Baton Rouge Parish GIS "A city can buy property outside the city limits," Alvarez said. His recommendation: if the studies come back clean and the council decides to move forward, the city buys the land first. Then it petitions itself to annex the land, bringing it inside city limits. "I don't see any issues with that," he said. Alvarez said he talked with the parish early on and planned to talk with parish officials again the next day. He said the parish hadn't given the city any feedback yet. But he said the parish knows the city is looking at the land and plans to annex the tract it buys. ## Meter readers back to pen and paper The council also let Pattan sign a service agreement for new meter reading software. Finance Director Adrian Daigle said the software costs $6,000 a year. The council set aside $70,000 for meter reading software and equipment in this year's budget. That includes four new handheld devices for the meter readers at $4,800 each, or $19,200 total. Daigle said the city's current handhelds reached the end of their supported life on Dec. 31, 2021\. He said the previous administration never replaced them. For the two months before the meeting, Daigle said, readers had been writing meter numbers on paper. Staff then typed them into the billing system by hand. "So the less manual inputting, less room for human error," he said. The old reading software runs on a Windows 7 computer, Daigle said. The new software is cloud-based, and the vendor handles the data backups. He said the new handhelds are waterproof. They can also take a picture of a meter when a customer questions a reading. The upgrade does not include digital meters that let customers track their use online. Daigle said the city had about 3,200 water and gas meters as of January. Replacing all of them would cost far more. Councilman Garry Hubble made the motion. Councilwoman Charlene Gordon seconded. ## Other business - **Harry Brown Street demolition:** The council voted unanimously to take the lowest quote to tear down the condemned house at 451 Harry Brown St. The quote covers demolition and hauling off the debris. The concrete slab stays. Gordon made the motion and Councilman Gregory Payne seconded. - **November meeting moved:** Veterans Day stays a city holiday on Wednesday, Nov. 11\. The council voted unanimously to move its November meeting to Thursday, Nov. 12, at 5:30 p.m. - **Sales tax on track:** Daigle said sales tax, the city's biggest source of money, is "more or less on budget." At this time last year, collections were running well below projections. - **Audit questionnaire:** The council adopted the 2025-2026 Louisiana Compliance Questionnaire required by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor. - **Volunteer honored:** The city recognized Booker T. Washington for more than 20 years as a volunteer on the Planning and Zoning Commission. ## Coming up - **Saturday, Oct. 24, 8 a.m.:** Shiloh Cancer Walk. - **Saturday, Oct. 24, 9 a.m.:** Firefighter statue unveiling at the pavilion by City Hall. - **Saturday, Oct. 31, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.:** Shiloh Mission Ministries Sister and Brotherhood community feeding at three spots: Seventh Street, Louisiana Avenue near the barbershop on North Alexander Avenue, and William and Lee Park near 14th Street. - **Sunday, Nov. 8, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.:** Veterans Day celebration and antique car show at the West Baton Rouge Museum. - **Thursday, Nov. 12, 5:30 p.m.:** Port Allen City Council meeting.