Pointe Coupee Parish was awarded a $750,000.00 grant through the Louisiana Community Development Block Grant– Coronavirus Love Louisiana Outdoors Program (LCDBG-CV LLOP) for outdoor fitness and recreational park improvements. The project was designed to benefit Low to Moderate Income Areas and provide suitable space for activities to encourage physical distancing and support social distancing guidance.
This grant provided funding to upgrade two parks in the Parish which included the existing False River Park located in New Roads, LA and also construction of a new park in Batchelor, LA on cleared existing property owned by the Parish.
- False River Park – upgrade the existing park located in New Roads, LAÂ by providing outdoor fitness areas, playgrounds, a new pickle ball court, rehabilitation of tennis courts and other amenities.
- Batchelor Park – construct a completely new park on existing Parish owned property which included a walking trail, workout stations, fitness playground, covered picnic area, parking lot, fencing, and other amenities.
Both project locations included ADA compliant ramps, sidewalks, and/or rails to allow for any handicap/disabled needs. The playground equipment was purchased from the Louisiana State Contract and the remaining improvements were issued for public bid.
Forte and Tablada, Inc. (formerly PEC) provided full Grant Administration services to the Parish which consisted of application preparation, grant award and contracting, labor compliance and monitoring, and close out as indicated below:
- Application Preparation
- Assisted the Owner with Citizen Participation requirements. This includes, but is not limited to, assisting in public hearings, preparing public notices, etc.
- Established project files in the local government’s office to demonstrate compliance with all applicable State, local, and Federal regulations.
- Prepared an Environmental Review Record.
- Submitted the Request to Release Funds.
- Provided guidance to the Parish’s Engineer in all bid documents and supervised the bidding process consistent with State and Federal regulations.
- Secured the Secretary of Labor’s wage decision from the State and include it in the bid documents.
- Obtained contractor and subcontractor clearance from the State.
- Checked weekly payrolls to ensure compliance with wage decisions. Conducted on-site interviews and compare the results with appropriate payrolls.
- Maintained Civil Rights compliance documentation for the Parish, Contractor and Subcontractors in regards to Section 3, EEO, Fair Housing, etc.
- Monitored construction to ensure compliance with equal opportunity and labor standard provisions.
- Prepared the Requests for Payment to ensure consistency with the procedures established for the CDBG Program.
- Attended and assisted the Parish during the State’s monitoring visit(s).
- Prepare Owner’s response to any monitoring findings.
- Prepared close-out documents.
