Harahan council approves Reazor Avenue grant despite heated debate over $200,000 engineering requirement

The Harahan City Council on Jan. 15 approved a cooperative endeavor agreement to fund roadway improvements on Reazor Avenue, even as several council members criticized a funding requirement that they said forces the city to spend as much as $200,000 on engineering and testing.

The resolution (Proposed Resolution 2026-1) authorizes the mayor to enter a cooperative agreement with Linfield Hunter and Junius Incorporated for an FPNC project to improve Reazor Avenue. Councilman Chatelaine introduced the measure; Councilman Asbill moved to approve and the motion passed by voice vote, recorded as 5–0 in favor.

Why it matters: Council members said the state funding tied to the grant requires engineering tasks — topographical surveys, bore samples and other preliminary work — that would reduce the money available for actual paving. During the discussion Council members cited a roughly $1.5 million total contract figure for the overall project and said the city’s share or match was about 25 percent; staff said about $500,000 was allocated to Reazor and roughly $200,000 would be earmarked for engineering and related inspections.

Council criticism and staff response: Several council members called the engineering requirement “ridiculous” and said spending tens or hundreds of thousands on engineering for a modest overlay felt wasteful. Mayor Bode and staff repeatedly replied that the engineering work is mandated by the funding agency and that without it the city could not receive the state funds. As the mayor put it during the discussion, “Because it's state funding and this is what they require.”

Next steps: With the resolution approved, staff said they will finalize the cooperative agreement and proceed with the required engineering work so the city can receive the state grant and move to contracting and construction. Councilmembers said they would follow up with staff to get a clearer cost breakdown of the engineering scope and the inspection fees that are included in the contract estimates.