Creswell Shopping Costing More?
BOBBY ARDOIN
St. Landry Now.com
Customers making purchases at major retail stores in Opelousas will soon need to carry an extra penny for each dollar spent down Creswell Lane.
The Downtown Development District is prepared to introduce an ordinance which will give the district the authority to expand the district boundaries and charge an additional one percent to help provide more funding to help pay off bonded indebtedness for Donald Gardner Stadium expenses and revenues for potential downtown catalyst endeavors, according to ODD chair person Lena Charles.
Introduction of the ordinance was included on the original Friday morning ODD meeting agenda, but the members who attended voted instead to delay the matter until a demographics problem involving a Creswell Lane business address could be researched further, Charles said during an after meeting interview.
Charles indicated that the ODD will probably convene a special meeting in order to introduce the expanded boundary ordinance.
Normally public bodies such as the ODD require a hearing before adopting new or amending ordinances.
Creswell Lane, Charles said, presents a natural conduit for entering Donald Gardner Stadium, so including the extra one percent for district expansion down that roadway should seem logical.
A state-funded project to repave and improve Creswell was completed in 2025 along with another small area that stops at the intersection of Union Street at the stadium entrance.
At times the ODD has voted to provide additional revenue for the City of Opelousas.
Included in city funding requests have been revenue for assisting with the City Hall renovation and $147,000 that requested by Opelousas Mayor Julius Alsandor.
Last month the ODD voted to give the city $153,000 for an environmental study and possible demolition for the Bordelon Motors building in the downtown area.
Charles said ODD is spending about $5 million annually to pay off the 10-year bond and interest for the stadium project, which also has funding assistance from parish government, the city and state.
The current ODD boundaries include an extra penny for franchise or” big box” stores located on the south side of Opelousas.
Another special taxing district — the Central St. Landry Economic District – or CSLED collects an extra one cent on items bought at businesses along the Interstate 49 service roads.
CSLED members voted last month to expand its taxing district further down I-49.
In June the ODD collected $120,403 in sales tax revenues, while CSLED received $147,712 for the additional 1-cent charge in TIF sales taxes.
The June monthly sales tax revenue report from the Tax Commission shows the city shoppers buying outside the two TIF districts paid $1.02 million.
