N.I. City Council to decide on budget Tuesday

The city of New Iberia has been a member of the Acadiana Metropolitan Planning Organization for several years and will continue being part of the AMPO.

The City Council approved the annual $19,000 in dues for the organization at Tuesday night’s council meeting with the hope that a very big project could be making its way to the city.

The MPO works in conjunction with several parishes and cities in Acadiana to acquire funds for transportation planning projects. 

As some City Council members said, putting up money for participation in the MPO is somewhat of a gamble because there’s no definite possibility that a project will come to a municipality for that year.

“We joined the MPO and we pay a fee,” New Iberia Mayor Freddie DeCourt said at the meeting. “It’s expensive, it’s ($19,000) in the hopes that we get projects. If we’re not a member, we have no chance to get DOTD (state Department of Transportation and Development) funding.

“We have been a member a few years and we haven’t gotten any yet,” DeCourt said. “We have two projects that are the reason we’re doing this. We have the funding for a project and we have a safety striping project.”

New Iberia Planning and Zoning Director Jane Braud and Public Works Director Leroy Landry, who are the two New Iberia representatives for the MPO, explained the projects. One project provides safety striping and signage for New Iberia but is without a funding match with the MPO.

The other project would be a brand new construction from the end of Frontage Road on Louisiana 14 that would cross the Avery Island railroad track into Avery Island Road, which would allow drivers to take Frontage Road to Center Street.

“Basically it connects Frontage Road to Center Street,” Braud said.

Landry said the project cost would be approximately $1.2 million. With the MPO, New Iberia would only have to pay a 20-percent match, or $200,000 of that amount. Landry said that amount includes engineering fees.

“I am a Frontage Road traveler, and it is aggravating,” Councilwoman Natalie Lopez said. “That area is where everyone pools into the city, so why wouldn’t we have a Frontage Road connect right there?”

There are business perks to the construction. DeCourt said he’s talked to one national chain that was interested in a location there, but wouldn’t consider unless there was a connector to the Frontage Road.  

“To me that’s a win-win,” Councilman Dustin Suire said. “We’re talking about development infrastructure and we should make a return that with sales tax. If this was just a toss up again, I don’t think we should keep putting in every year.”

The council unanimously voted to approve $19,000 for continued participation into the MPO.

“If we don’t get anything, we’re going to have to get out at some point,” DeCourt said. “But if this project comes through, we’re getting good money with the bad.”