Talking points

Published 8:00 am Friday, November 30, 2018

Iberia Parish Council members from District 6, 7 and 8 held another of their periodic town hall meetings at the Sliman Theater Thursday night to a small but very informed and vocal crowd.

The evening kicked off with each council member — District 6 Councilwoman Natalie Broussard, District 7 Councilman Paul Landry, and District 8 Councilman Ricky Gonsoulin — taking turns talking about upcoming projects, successes over the last few months and legislation they are proposing in the coming year.

At the top of Broussard’s list was the roundabout for Louisiana 3212 near the Acadiana Regional Airport, to allow easier access for commercial traffic. She also touted the contracts recently signed for two replacement libraries, one in Coteau and one in Loreauville, as well as the contract agreed to for the parish’s new Communication District building.

“What sold me on it is that we currently do not have a single building in the parish built to withstand a Category 5 hurricane,” Broussard said. “When this is finished, it will be the best emergency communication center in the state.”

Landry pointed to his efforts to bring an updated Iberia Home Rule Charter to a vote. He said the original charter, adopted in 1984, has conflicts with changing state laws, and even with itself, as well as portions that are no longer relevant.

“Some portions are so wordy you can’t even figure out what they are trying to say,” Landry said.

The challenges facing a full rewrite, he said, are large. Reducing the number of council districts or the pay structure for the parish president, he said, could not even get the 10 votes needed to bring a charter change to the people for a vote.

He also talked about the plan to post the parish’s budget on its website, updated throughout the year, so constituents could follow the parish’s spending.

“It’s about transparency,” he said.

All three council members lamented the defeat of a sales tax earlier this month to pay for road maintenance. They collectively pointed out that, because of the years of a flush royalty fund that covered expenses, the needed millages for roads, jail maintenance and other parish responsibilities were never passed.

“We have the lowest taxes,” Landry said. “If anyone tells you they are paying too much in taxes, they are lying.”

“We are lower than all of our neighboring parishes,” Gonsoulin added.

Gonsoulin also discussed a plan to bring in more air traffic through a sound variance, to allow non-muffled jets to use Acadiana Regional as a destination and turnaround point.

“It would be a real boon for the airport,” Gonsoulin said.

The longest debate of the evening, between audience member Charlie Rader and the council members, dealt with the process for the parish’s purchase of the Dutch Gosnell building last year for use as the new Public Works yard.

“Did you see a business analysis before making a decision on the sale?” Rader asked. “How could it be purchased? How was the decision made?”

Broussard said there was no formal analysis, but that there were long discussions amongst the council members and several site inspections to inspect the building and property.

“Did we see a letter from an architect giving us a recommendation? No,” Broussard said. “But we all went to the building and after discussions decided that we were comfortable with spending an additional $1.5 million on it.”

So far, the parish has spent approximately $415,000 for the property, $50,000 on a DEQ inspection and remediation, and $100,000 on architects and engineers to prepare plans for renovations. The initial budget for the renovations was set at $1.24 million, but all of the bids came in high. A second scaled-down renovation is out for bid now, with bids to be opened Dec. 10.