Thursday, August 24, 2006
Thompson, almost ready for Reservoir Permit
In Allen Parish, a rare occurrence of a public notice in a Newspaper states there will be a meeting of the Reservoir Commission in Oberlin, La. on Wed August 23 at 5:30pm.
Michael Thompson, the $100,000 a year Consultant, and his buddy Randy Denmon the $800,000 a year engineer are present. Thompson said, "we are almost ready to start talking with the Corp of Engineers about applying for a permit."
In the last 14 months while still getting paid, not much has been done, but Thompson says, there were Hurricanes and the Corp seemed to be very busy.
Thompson starts to spin, when asked by Commission Chairman Phil Beard how long will it take, and when will you apply for the permit? Thompson says, need to locate property owners, do a 1000-acre mitigation on wetlands, everything is a lengthy process, and therefore never gives an answer.
Randy Denmon says, we have done more tests, and Mill Creek is a perfect site for the Reservoir. The water quality is great, and will produce 30 million gallons a day. Commission member Rollin Hollins said, we made the right choice after all.
Sept 23, 2004 at Commission site selection, Randy Denmon's father Terry Denmon said, his "reputation was on the line" and this was not his first lake study, and the 3,700-acre Mill Creek site is the perfect site. The commissioners also approved to start the application process with the Army Corps of Engineers.
On Sept 9, 2004 the Community Preservation Alliance Alleges Wrong-doing of Rep. Francis C. Thompson, Mike Thompson, and Terry Denmon creating 14 Reservoirs statewide. The Alliance, consisting of residents of 3 of the 4 sites have said they were concerned that Mill Creek was contaminated years ago by a paper mill and unfit to serve as a feeder for a Reservoir.
On July 1, 2004, at a Emotionally charged Reservoir meeting, Roland Hollins also Police Jury Vice President said, it is in my heart, these are my people, and it's not right to take the homes of the residents of my district for a pleasure lake or fishing hole.
Hollins attempt to eliminate all other sites except Mill Creek failed, but a motion was passed to see if Denmon could raise the height of the Dam to achieve an average water depth of 8 feet and make Mill Creek a feasible site.
Rep. Herman Ray Hill and Sen. Don Hines urged the Reservoir Commission not to approve a site that would claim scenic rivers or homes, and said, "We should abandon the project if anything other than Mill Creek was selected." Mill Creek, located in the center of the West Bay Game Preserve, is the only site where homes would not be compromised.
Commission member Gary Pelican said, I am concerned that we are still on the same page, and the site will not take any homes or Cemeteries, and is there a detailed map of Dam location and property owners available? Thompson says no, but Randy should be able to draw one up. Secretary Adagria Haddock, paid $9,000.00 a year to keep the minutes was not present.
What a Waste, Money continues to flow like water year after year for unwanted and unneeded foolish pork barrel reservoirs to make Politicians, their brothers, family, and friends wealthy?
Also see: We saw that Allen Parish Reservoir hi-jinx
and We saw that reservoir series links page