The New Iberia City Council voted to adopt the approval of the citizen participation plan for a Louisiana Community Development Block Grant currently being pursued by Mayor Freddie DeCourt’s administration.

DeCourt said the LCDBG grant is a new one for the state and would be specifically geared for blighted property removal.

“We’re applying a grant that we would use for the demolition of houses and commercial property,” DeCourt said. “There are hurdles we’ll have to jump through.”

DeCourt said the administration had a meeting about the new grant with state officials earlier this week, and with the approval Tuesday night the mayor said he could begin the application process.

If approved, municipalities eligible could have up to $500,000 in funds for property demolition, and would be a considerable boost for New Iberia’s continuing effort to demolish or restore the many properties around the city that have become a public safety hazard.

“We’re not going after people’s houses, we’re trying to tear down things that are not safe and nobody is dealing with,” Councilwoman Deedy Johnson-Reid said. “We give people lots of chances but if they don’t do something it’s our responsibility from a safety and health standards standpoint.”

Mayor Pro Tem Ricky Gonsoulin said blighted property is one of the problems most often cited by local residents, and the problem extends outside of Iberia Parish.

“Every community needs this,” Gonsoulin said. “It’s a problem we have to address and any way we can solve it, we need to be on board with it.”

In other business, the council approved providing funding for information related to public information regarding a millage renewal that would go toward road maintenance.

The redirection of funds that will be on the ballot later in the year will be the second attempt that DeCourt and the City Council will make in trying to establish a permanent fund for road maintenance, which is one of the most cited complaints from local residents.

The initiative, which would redirect a millage to provide for road funding, was narrowly voted down by local voters during last year’s election.