BATON ROUGE — Overgrown grass and weeds along Interstates 10 and 12 in East Baton Rouge Parish are the result of a failed Metro Council contract renewal, according to city-parish officials.

The city-parish maintains rights-of-way along the interstates and gets reimbursed about $418,000 a year, under a cooperative agreement with the state Department of Transportation and Development. Mowing and cleaning costs more than $1.1 million, leaving local taxpayers covering a gap of around $700,000 every year.

That financial gap prompted the Metro Council to vote against renewing the contract. The substitute motion to approve the item failed, and the original motion to delete it passed, leaving the grass to keep growing.

Councilman Darryl Hurst, who voted against the contract, says the maintenance of the interstate system is a state responsibility. Baton Rouge cannot afford to take on obligations that belong to the state, especially as the city continues to recover from budget challenges tied to the formation of St. George and the loss of a portion of its tax base, he says.

In a statement sent to WBRZ, Mayor Pro Tem Brandon Noel said, "We want these areas maintained, but the financial burden should not fall disproportionately on city parish residents."

In the meantime, the parish is relying on temporary contracts and staffing organizations to get the grass cut.

"There was one of our contracts expired, and so now we are working to put new contracts together to get them to get more grass cutters out on the street," says William Daniels, assistant chief administrative officer.

"We have certain monetary limits on contracts that we can execute without having to go to council," Daniels says. "And we have done that to the extent that we can. We are preparing some new contracts to go to council so that we can continue to get the grass cut regularly."

One of the groups helping is Pivot Workforce, a staffing agency that hires people in recovery and gives them a chance to get back on their feet. James Foster, who recently finished a 28-day program at the Grove Recovery Center and is now staying in sober living in Baton Rouge, is among those out trimming and cleaning the roadways.

"I have an opportunity to be around people who are trying to do something different with their life, to get on the right track," Foster said.

DOTD officials say they will work with the city-parish to keep the grass mowed through this year and into the future. New contracts are being prepared for council approval so that regular mowing can resume for the remainder of the growing season.