A proposal denied by the Madisonville planning and zoning commission to re-zone a house at 109 Covington St. for commercial purposes was discussed at length at a public hearing prior to the Madisonville Town Council meeting Wednesday night.

Dr. Tom Drake, a dentist, wants to relocate his office from Louisiana Highway 22 to the Madisonville address.

Madisonville has no provision in their zoning code for professional offices and concern was expressed that if Drake were to close his office, any sort of commercial endeavor could then occupy the address currently in a residential area. The code also does not currently allow “spot” or “conditional use” zoning.

Concerns expressed by some citizens included increased traffic and future plans for the area.

The case was tabled and will be considered at the Town Council meeting next month after investigating the implications of changing the zoning to include only a professional office or conditional use that would apply only for occupancy by Drake’s office.

Surveying for the new bulkhead on the river has begun and the engineers are also looking at other projects in the city, including drainage, cold planing and resurfacing of parts of Pine Street near St. Anselm Catholic Church and the ball fields.

There is also concern about the intersection of Pine and St. Mary streets that are showing signs of sinking that will be studied as well.

The lack of fire hydrants on Mabel Drive will be considered by the town.

Dry hydrants from the river stationed at various points along the street would be beneficial not only to homeowners, but to the future library that will be positioned across from the Maritime Museum.

Since only one easement is currently established, permission from homeowners must be obtained to run the pipe that would service the system. In the event of a fire, the fire truck would be able to hook up to the hydrant and literally vacuum water from the Tchefuncte River to be used directly in fighting the fire.

Tanker trucks simply do not carry enough water to do the job, agreed Mayor Peter Gitz. The situation would be a win-win situation for homeowners and once the pipe is laid, the only inconvenience would be hydrant placement near the home.