St. Joseph residents’ gas choice now rests on mayor’s decision

The fate of yet another basic need for residents in St. Joseph is in the hands of local officials.  

At 4 p.m. on June 8, the mayor and board of aldermen will make a choice as to whether or not citizens will be allowed to purchase and use propane in municipal limits. 

An informal hearing to receive public comments was held on May 26, at which no board members were present, and only a couple of residents were in attendance.

Proposed Ordinance #15-326, introduced by the board previously on May 11, would permit the use of propane for basic needs such as heating, cooking and sanitation. 

The proposal states that natural gas is the current source of fuel, however flow was interrupted by court order causing hardships to town citizens and business customers.

The Town of St. Joseph wishes to give residential and business customers an alternative source of fuel.  

It would allow residents and local business owners the right to contract with licensed providers of propane, and that connections would have to be reviewed and approved prior to tank connection.

According to Mayor Edward Brown, previous town administrations had not allowed propane for residential use in town because of the “revenue factor” as most of the town’s funding comes from that revenue, and that it was a public safety issue.

The question was asked as to which is more cost effective, natural gas or propane.  

Currently, the cost of natural gas service is the Henry Hub index price plus $2.25 with an additional  cost for transportation and maintenance.  As of April 2015 the natural gas price was $2.61 per million BTU. 

Switching to propane would require converting appliances from natural gas to propane.  

The initial cost of conversion would include bringing supply piping and valves to code, and then converting appliances.  Gas water heaters and furnaces are more difficult to convert than appliances such as stoves and ranges.  

Also included would be the installation and rent charge of using a propane tank.  Ultimately, conversion cost would vary on a house to house basis.

St. Joseph receives payment from the gas company for use of the line, as it is jointly owned by both Newellton and St. Joe.  If the volume of gas being transported through the line decreases, so does revenue for the town.

The Town of St. Joseph entered into a new contract with Locust Ridge Gas, however a deposit of approximately $35,000 was required up front.  The mayor disagreed with the deposit, stating that the town had “never been late” paying the bill.  

In Sixth Judicial District Court on May 5, William McDonald of Locust Ridge Gas stated that payments from St. Joseph were late every month since January 2014.

Mayor Brown has said that he is not in favor of Proposed Ordinance #15-326.  He has to approve or veto the ordinance before it is made law, and stated that he does not have to “just give over to the board.”

Residents have several options in regards to providers of propane, with cost varying amongst different companies.

The first step is approval by the board of aldermen.

Also discussed were Proposed Ordinances #15-327 and #15-328 which deal with franchise fees allowed  to be charged by the town to cable and video service providers. 

The existing fee is 3%, however the State allows as much as 5% to be charged according to the Consumer Choice for Television Act of 2008.

The 2% increase would be collected quarterly, and the revenue would go toward various town needs.    Brown stated that there are no mandates as to where this revenue is to be used, but could funds things such as police department or board of aldermen’s salaries.

“You don’t see the police department running around giving a lot of tickets or citations.  You go to other places ... these small places generate thousands and millions for the city, but it doesn’t happen here.  I spoke with some of the parish level people here, and I don’t intend for that to happen, even with the annexation of Highway 65,” stated the mayor.  “You don’t see our officers out there trying to give tickets, and that wasn’t the plan when the annexation happened.”  

According to the Lawrason Act, which governs Louisiana municipalities, the authority granted the appointed chief of police is restricted to the territorial limits of the municipality. 

In order to be vested with police powers outside his jurisdiction, the chief of police must obtain a special commission from the sheriff. 

Ordinance #15-328 would permit the town to collect Public, Educational, and Governmental (PEG) programming support costs  from cable providers.

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