Marshall Simien was sworn in as the interim District A councilman at the start of Wednesday’s Lake Charles City Council meeting.

Simien is temporarily representing the district following the Aug. 8 death of Mary Morris. Morris, who was sworn in for her third term as District A councilwoman in July, died from complications of COVID-19, according to a statement from her family.

The council later unanimously passed a resolution and proclamation calling for a special election March 26, 2022, to fill the District A seat. Qualifying is set for Jan. 26-28. A runoff will take place April 30, if necessary.

Simien, who served two terms as District A councilman before losing to Morris in a May 2013 election, said he will not run for the seat in the special election.

The council also voted unanimously to enter into an agreement with the engineering firm CSRS Inc. as the program manager for the city’s Critical Drainage Improvement Program.

Mayor Nic Hunter said the process began roughly two months ago and is a new one for the city. He said the program manager will help the city coordinate to ensure that it, Calcasieu Parish and the two gravity drainage districts are moving in the same direction.

“I think this is desperately needed (and) a good move,” he said.

Hunter also thanked the council for taking the first step in authorizing the city to borrow up to $20 million to expedite drainage work. The clearing of underground drain lines using closed circuit television video, or CCTV, began three years ago, with the goal being to tackle 8-10 percent of the city. However, the damage from Hurricanes Laura and Delta have made that pace impossible, Hunter said.

“So, borrowing this additional revenue will help us to double, if not triple, that speed,” he said. “We are being more proactive and aggressive with drainage today than we have been at least in a generation.”

Hunter said the city plans to seek reimbursement from FEMA on the fees associated with contracting the program manager.

The council also voted unanimously on a resolution to rename the Riverside Complex at Riverside Park as the Mary Morris Activity Center. District B Councilwoman Luvertha August said she didn’t oppose renaming the activity center after Morris but said she would like to see at some point the park renamed after Marshall Simien for his work in getting the project secured.