Sarah Street Wellness Center has filed a lawsuit against Drainage District 6

Sarah Street Wellness Center in Beaumont July 2, 2024

Megan Zapalac/The Enterprise

Sarah Street Wellness Center has filed a lawsuit against Jefferson County Drainage District 6 after safety concerns have arisen regarding a detention basin planned for the area.

The lawsuit comes after Center CEO Troy Marsaw was contacted by District representatives, who asked to swap land with him to build a detention basin nearby.

He declined the swap, because the Center already has plans for the land proposed to be traded. However, he’s now filed a lawsuit against such construction anywhere in the area, citing safety concerns.

Marsaw said he wants to restore the land to a baseball field, as was its previous use. It even already has lighting needed for the field, Marsaw said.

“It keeps the kids out of trouble off the street and a place to go it’s a safe haven,” he said.

Sarah Street Wellness Center attorney Sarah Doezema expressed concern that a detention basin nearby could bring in snakes, poses a drowning risk for children playing at the field and can become polluted if not maintained properly.

Marsaw also questioned the need for such a basin nearby, as former YMCA building has been there for 52 years, and it has never flooded.

While Sarah Street Wellness Center has never flooded, District Chief Operating Officer Doug Canant said it “does not take much” to flood the area nearby. The Center itself likely hasn’t flooded because it’s at a higher elevation than the surrounding area. 

Canant said the idea of a land swap came up because the Center already is using part of the land the District planned to use for the detention basin. The swap would allow the Center to continue using that part of the land, and the District could construct the basin on an equal portion of land.

District Attorney Thad Heartfield said they’re weighing their options — either moving what the wellness center has on the District’s property or pursuing “other legal remedies.”

Canant said that the detention basin will be a large, fenced hole in the ground. It will be dry most of the time but hold storm runoff during major rain events to help keep nearby homes and streets from flooding.

The basin would not hold water constantly like a retention basin, but when full, it will hold enough water that would otherwise flood 22 acres 1 foot deep, Canant said.