VIDALIA — Concordia Parish residents have complained about drainage issues for decades. The solution — a $4.5-million project — may be at hand, but may require a tax increase.

The tax increase is not to pay for the immediate drainage needs, but to cover the expected costs five decades into the future.

Concordia Parish Police Jury

Secretary-Treasurer Kevin Friloux said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has asked the jury to place $175,000 annually in an escrow account for 50 years to rebuild a gated box culvert system to be added to the Tensas levee.

The Corps request aims to ensure money will be available in 50 years to rebuild the box drain system when engineers expect the current drainage project to need replacement.

The drainage project aims to relieve the parish’s primary drainage site Bayou Cocodrie, which cannot be dredged due to it being placed in the Scenic River system.

The parish has received a Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management grant of $4.5 million to cover costs and design to place the gated box culvert system in Brushy Bayou.

Friloux said the jury would place the $175,000 annually in an escrow account to get the greatest interest rate possible. By the end of the 50-year period, the escrow account is estimated to be worth approximately $31.2 million, which is what Jordan Kaiser & Sessions engineer Doug Wimberly calculated rebuilding the culvert system would cost in 50 years.

Jury finance committee chair Whest Shirley said the plan would stop the parish’s flash flooding impacting residents, but a $175,000 annual financial commitment “throws a monkey into the wrench.”

“I can’t see a parish of our size being able to do that without asking for another tax,” Shirley said. “I’m just one member of the jury, but I don’t know how many corners we would have to cut to escrow that much money.”

Shirley said if the jury did ask for a tax, it would have to be more than 1 mill because that would only get the parish halfway to $175,000.

Shirley said the jury plans to meet with Wimberly again to make sure the $175,000 figure is a hard number.

Approximately $695,000 has been spent on design work for this project, with approximately $80,000 to go, Friloux said.  Friloux said the parish itself has spent “virtually nothing,” as the grant covered the design work.

Additionally, the jury will be required to pay $15,000 for geotechnical services and $30,000 to $50,000 to contract another engineering firm to review Jordan Kaiser & Sessions figures.