ST. MARTIN PARISH — A potential annexation of a section of Lower St. Martin Parish has sparked conversations and raised questions among local residents. This topic was up for discussion at Tuesday's St. Martin Parish Council meeting, where the impact of such a move was considered.
The conversation first gained momentum at last Wednesday’s St. Mary Parish Council meeting, where St. Mary Parish President Sam Jones shared that he was approached by St. Martin Parish President Pete Delcambre about the idea of annexing Lower St. Martin Parish. While uncertain about the full annexation process, Jones revealed in the previous meeting:
“I asked our attorney to check this out for the future. I believe it takes a two-thirds vote of each parish to make this happen, so if the people in Lower St. Martin Parish would vote to join us, St. Mary would have to vote by two-thirds to accept it,” Jones explained.
Jones emphasized the importance of engaging the public in the discussion before moving forward with any decision. He suggested holding informational meetings to gather feedback. If the residents of Lower St. Martin Parish oppose the idea, the matter would be dropped. However, if they express support, the next steps in the process would be considered.
“We need to have some meetings, we need to have the people informed about this as a possibility. If we find out that they don’t want to do it, then that’s just the end of it, and if we do want to do it, then we can go further. But we talked about this a couple of times, and I feel like this is the best time to go forward,” Jones added.
The St. Martin Parish Council meeting served as an opportunity for residents to voice their opinions about the proposed annexation. One vocal critic, Carroll Anglle, a resident of Stevensville in Lower St. Martin Parish, expressed his disagreement with the idea of joining St. Mary Parish.
“It’s ridiculous. I mean, nobody’s gonna vote for us to go to St. Mary Parish; I can promise you that. We’re happy where we’re at. Our little town is perfect where it’s at,” Anglle said.
Anglle offered further insight into his objections, stating that he believes the annexation would be motivated by financial reasons.
“I bet you St. Mary would like us to be there because of all the revenue we get and all the taxes and everything, and that means that we’d have to change schools and all that. So, it’s not worth it,” Anglle added.
For more than 150 years, Lower St. Martin Parish has remained separated from Upper St. Martin Parish due to a surveying error. This longstanding division means that when Lower St. Martin Parish requires local services, workers must travel up to an hour to reach them, while St. Mary Parish is only minutes away.
Andrew Babineaux, who lives in Upper St. Martin Parish and would not be directly impacted by the decision, expressed concern for the residents of Lower St. Martin Parish.“Something of that nature would need to be put on a ballot, on a voting ballot, and let the people vote on it. It’s not just taking a phone call, text message, or email; that would need to be on a ballot,” Babineaux said.
While Babineaux acknowledges that the decision will not affect him personally, he insists that the people of Lower St. Martin Parish deserve to be involved in the decision-making process.
“They need to be able to be involved and be on the ballot and vote for it because they’re the ones that’s gonna feel the impact any way it goes,” Babineaux added.
Although a decision on the annexation was not made at the meeting, the council's efforts to engage the public serve as a key step in educating residents about the potential change.
