WBRZ - Baton Rouge

The Sorrento Town Council held a special meeting Friday night to discuss the town's ongoing sewer problems and behavior issues during council meetings.

On Tuesday, a meeting was shut down early because of shouting between council members and people in the audience.  Police Chief Earl Theriot said there was cussing involved and things got so out of hand his officers had to escort people out of the meeting. 

Thursday night, an incident at town hall between Councilman Lionel Melancon and Councilman John Braud escalated to the point that both were considering pressing charges of public intimidation against each other.  Police Chief Theriot said all parties involved gave police statements and he is forwarding the information to the district attorney.

At Friday's special meeting, Theriot had six officers in place for security.  He said he also had Gonzales Police and the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office on standby in case things got out of hand.

However, the meeting ran smoothly.  Mayor Blake LeBlanc addressed behavior problems and emphasized that he would not tolerate outbursts.  He said anyone that broke the rules would be thrown out of the meeting.

The council also discussed how to fix a blockage in the sewer system that is forcing sewage into people's homes.  The town plans to hire a company to clean out the blocked line.  Town leaders are also working with Ascension Parish officials to get a $500,000 grant to eventually clean sludge out of the town's sewer ponds.