Ordinances Introduced
BOBBY ARDOIN
St. Landry Now.com Editor
The St. Landry Parish Council agreed unanimously to introduce two ordinances during a special Tuesday night meeting, including one ordinance which if approved, would allow the parish to apply for a maximum $4.65 million line of credit.
Also introduced without opposition was an ordinance which prohibits mobile homes, house trailers and manufactured homes from locating on designated areas of Compress Road.
However the Council delayed approving another ordinance which proposes to abandon an undeveloped area of Pecan Road.
None of the ordinances introduced or discussed during the 12-minute meeting will be considered for final approval until public hearings are held for each one.
Four council members – Nancy Carriere, Harold Taylor, Wayne Ardoin and Ken Marks did not attend the special meeting.
Bond Approval
Parish president Jessie Bellard said during a Council meeting last week that the parish intends to make a state bond commission application in order to obtain the line of credit.
During the meeting last week and again on Tuesday night, Bellard pointed out that the parish will probably need the line of credit in order to guarantee parish match funding for already awarded state and federal grants.
Parish revenue streams, Bellard said, are not always sufficient enough to pay for state mandated expenses in addition to grant matches.
Bellard explained last week that although grants are allocated to the parish during one fiscal year, the actual grant funding for projects isn’t always received until the following year.
“I plan to use (from the $4.65 million) only what is needed,” Bellard said during an interview following the Tuesday meeting.
Last year the parish received a $2 million line of credit. Taylor, the Administrative and Finance Committee chairman, said that the 2025 operating budget indicates the parish also plans to borrow another $1.5 million.
Taylor said he has “serious problems” about whether the parish will be able to eventually pay back the money the parish plans to borrow.
Bellard said the parish expects to eventually receive about $5 million in funding from a solar project.
Carriere, Taylor and Marks voted last week against moving the bond application resolution forward.
During the Tuesday night interview, Bellard said many parishes statewide apply for similar lines of credit.
“There’s just not enough revenue for the matches (that parishes receive). Everyone is fighting the same battle. I just didn’t realize it,” Bellard said.
Pecan Road
Council member Timothy LeJeune said a portion of Pecan Road was recently blacktopped by the parish and a portion of the road contains residences.
Garrett Duplechain, the parish attorney, said Pecan Road should be considered a public road and is being used.
However Duplechain said after studying a plat map, it appears one section of Pecan Road is undeveloped.
LeJeune said there are still too many questions about Pecan Road to allow the Council to consider an ordinance introduction.
The Council, LeJeune said, should delay any consideration to approve any abandonment of Pecan Road until individuals making the request appear before the Council and provide explanations.
