Babin appointed parish Public Works director

After months of deliberation, the Lafourche Parish Council has appointed a new director of Public Works.

Kerry Babin will take the job closing a five-month opening on the heels of a 6-1 vote.

“I feel that with my experience, I will help bring stability and focus to this department,” said Babin. “I look forward to working with the administration to help make Lafourche Parish a better place to live.”

Babin previously worked for Lafourche Parish Department of Public Works as a compliance officer from January to November 2009. According to Councilman Lindel Toups, he resigned after a dispute over direction of the program.

“But now he’s the boss,” said Toups. “So it’ll be his way or the highway, and that’s the way it should be.”

Among the majority who voted for Babin, Councilman Phillip Gouaux said he did a great job in his first stint with the parish.

“I saw the performance and the type of person he was,” said Gouaux. “Because of his background in working with the same people, he is going to do an excellent job.”

However, Councilman Joseph Fertitta stood as the only vote opposing Babin’s appointment.

“He doesn’t have the qualifications that we advertised for,” Fertitta explained. “We wanted someone with a bachelor’s degree in engineering with some experience in drainage.”

However, Toups said Babin was nominated because the parish lacked qualified applicants.

“I wish we could have gotten somebody with an engineering background, but we weren’t getting any applications because the job could only last two years,” said Toups. “A new parish president might come in at that time and change everything around.”

Babin is the second candidate nominated for this job. Two weeks ago Parish President Charlotte Randolph nominated Office of Emergency Preparedness Director Chris Boudreaux with the idea that he could do both jobs simultaneously.

The council voted against his nomination, and the job remained open.

“The Department of Public Works is too time consuming and too important for someone to share themselves with another job,” said Geaux.

Even without an engineering background, many council members are optimistic about Babin’s future with the parish.

“He’s lacking a bit in the actual knowledge of building levees and drainage, but I’m sure the parish workers have enough knowledge to take care of that and assist him with decisions,” said Gouaux. “He’s intelligent, and he’s a motivated guy. He’s going to demand accountability, and he’s going to demand that the guys working under him assist him with drainage and issues.”