Gonsoulin seeks re-election to D-8 seat on Parish Council

The Daily Iberian asked candidates for Iberia Parish Council five questions. Below are the answers as written by Ricky Gonsoulin, candidate for District 8:

Q: What is the biggest issue in the district for which you are running and what would you do to address it?

A: As the northern most part of Iberia Parish that consist of a majority of residential establishments and some business entities, my district’s needs are primary infrastructure in nature and services that are provided.

Roads and bridges are the single most request that I receive as the current councilman. The solution is not a very simple one with no dedicated funding for roads in Iberia Parish. A long range plan has to be developed and the cost associated with implementing it should be established so Iberia Parish Government can secure the necessary dollars for repairs. Making investments to improve our roads and bridges is a sound economic policy.

Drainage is the second most requested problem that occurs in District 8. As one of the nine coastal parishes in the State of Louisiana, we face significantly different challenges than others. With 70% of our parish attached to a flood zone classification, we need to continue our efforts of cleaning and maintaining out parish watersheds and be persistent in our approach with FEMA on a redetermination of our base elevation to remove residences from flood zone classifications.

Roadside debris is ever so obvious in not only District 8 but the entire parish. With a new long term contract that was signed 3 years ago, there needs to be some adjustments made as reoccurring problems continue to surface. I believe that improved monitoring by the administration and more accountability on performance clause of the contract will result in major improvements. I also believe that our public works department needs to provide additional support in the form of additional people and equipment to collect debris that does not fit into the contact requirements. Keeping Iberia Parish clean will continue be an issue of importance moving forward.

Q: Cities like Broussard and Youngsville have become economic hubs and Lafayette Parish is exemplary in growth while population in Iberia has been stagnant. What specific things can parish government do to attract people and business to Iberia?

A: Our neighboring parishes do not face the same set of challenges that Iberia Parish does being a coastal parish. With that being said, there is still several initiatives that we are currently doing and will continue to do to increase growth. One factor that has a significant impact is the allocation of TIFF funding. Parish government needs to continue to spend TIFF dollars in areas of high potential growth. So that businesses do not have to request the necessary infrastructure that is already in place for development. We also need to streamline our planning and zoning department to better fit the needs of businesses and residences that intend to setup in Iberia Parish. Another factor the will enhance growth locally is to promote and to continue to invest in the quality of education and healthcare that Iberia Parish School Board and Iberia Medical Center offers to our residence. With this effort not only from government but local residences we will achieve the growth potential we all come to expect.

Q: What are the best ways to attract businesses to set up and stay in Iberia Parish?

A: We all have ideas on how to attract businesses and get them to stay in Iberia Parish but some of my thoughts are as follows: creating safer roadways by supporting local and regional transportation projects that will impact Iberia Parish.

Work with the city of New Iberia on roadway concerns, implementing a faster way to work plan with improved road conditions.

Improve drainage and flood protection by dramatically increasing our routine drainage canal and ditch dredging maintenance cycle, continuous monitoring of ditches for blockage to be proactive instead of reactive and continuing to implement major drainage construction projects.

Improve recreation and our quality of life by continuing to improve our local parks with diverse recreation opportunities for our kids and foster and encourage community events.

Planning better communities through smart development. Protecting your most important investment, your home and its value, with strong requirements for zoning, ensuring that new growth pays for itself and is coordinated with planned improvements and get aggressive with enforcement on abandoned properties and litter.

Q: Debris and recycling pickup in the parish has been a sore spot for many residents. What can the Parish Council do to address the issue?

A: Addressing issues with debris and recycling in the parish is a topic of concern for our residences. It needs to be addressed and corrected to improve this service to our constituents. Whether it is collecting the raw material from the thousands of residences, unloading the product from the fleet of company trucks or transporting the finished products to its final destination, Iberia Parish Government and its contractor has to assure its taxpayers and the environment that care has been taken to get it done right. We will need to address the current contract with our provider and determine what deficiencies are occurring on a continuous basis and hold them accountable for their actions. We also need to determine what type of debris does not fall within our contract stipulations and require public works to address those needs on a case by case basis. By achieving these goals, we can protect a future for the environment and parish, by consistent quality checks of service, get it done and get it done right.

Q: If consolidating service with other local governments in Iberia Parish could be beneficial, what sorts of services should be consolidated and how would you go about achieving it?

A:One thing seems abundantly clear to me, although there is a lot of discussion about the idea that consolidating will improve the quality of the services themselves, sometimes that line of argument seems crafted to help sell the idea. The real impetus for this trend has far less to do with the quality of the services and much more to do with our budgets. My experience on these questions of consolidation is that they are often motivated by cost savings, practically every local government is asking, “How do we squeeze another dollar out of our budget?” It’s my though process that if we truly want to compete with the neighboring parishes, there is no way we can avoid to facilitate discussion with the City of New Iberia on consolidating of parish wide services. There is a great opportunity for our parish and city to discuss and consider consolidation of services. We need to become a leaner, smarter and more efficient government. Consolidation efforts in Iberia Parish should continue to be led by local government representatives and citizens. Further, local officials should consider and pursue such opportunities. Consolidation of services is a step in the right direction. Several areas that can be considered are parks and recreation, waste collection and planning and zoning to name a few. The ultimate goal as an elected official is to make sure we are good stewards of the taxpayers hard earned money. Its going to take an innovative approach to make the most of our limited funding but consolidation of services can create a government with greater efficiency that can better serve the constituents of Iberia Parish.