Mamou council gets good news about jobs

After the monthly meeting of the Mamou Town Council Wednesday, May 14, Mayor Ricky Fontenot said “Jobs, jobs and more jobs are coming to Mamou.”
During the meeting, the mayor and council members voted to approve of the sale of the town’s old sewer plant to Service Fabricators LLC, which is next to the old plant.
The council’s attorney, Peter Savoy, said state law allows for a municipality to sell property it owns. Based on an estimate by a property appraiser, he said the town should sell the property for $500.
Steve Tate, the council’s engineer, said the sewer plant has not been used for about 15 years and there are no contaminants or hazardous materials on the property.
Selling the property “is a good thing for the town,” Mayor Fontenot said, because Service Fabricators plans to add about 15 jobs -- several months from now -- as it expands its operations. The company plans to use the property for parking and storage.
After the council meeting, Mayor Fontenot said construction on a Wal-Mart Express across from the Dollar General store -- on the corner of Poinciana Ave. and Old Highway 13 -- is expected to begin by the end of June. He said the store should open in time for the holiday season at the end of the year. The store will employ about 25 employees.
The mayor said the smaller, convenience-type store will offer prescriptions, household items and will have a gas station -- similar to what is offered at the larger Wal-Mart stores. The Mamou store will have about 12,000 square feet of floor space.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., after an assessment of sales during the past holiday season, found that sales and foot traffic at their larger stores were down while sales at their Wal-Mart Express Stores, and similar Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets, were up.
After studying the market, the corporation determined that because of economic conditions, shoppers are doing less weekly shopping at the larger stores and are picking up items during the week as needed at smaller stores.
Also during the meeting Wednesday, the mayor and council heard from a leader of a local concerned citizens group that has been trying to curb drinking by underage people. Other members of the group attended the council meeting.
Jessica Fontenot, chairwoman of Parents Against Underage Drinking, said the group first met in the Teen Center after parents became concerned about underage drinking at the homecoming dance last year at the town’s skating rink. Underage drinking also occurred at the prom, she said.
She said 25 concerned parents have joined Parents Against Underage Drinking, and some 100 are involved in the organization on Facebook.
Fontenot said the organization is trying to raise awareness about the problem of underage drinking in the community. One of their first attempts to raise awareness was having a float in the town’s Christmas parade. Parents Against Underage Drinking also has created a logo and plans to have it on a banner and T-shirts.
The group hopes to attract more concerned parents and to organize alcohol-free events for young people in the community.
Fontenot said the organization wants to have alcohol banned from events young people attend at the town’s recreation area, including the parking lot.
Mayor Ricky Fontenot asked why homecoming, proms and other events for students were not being held at the school, as they are in other parts of the parish. One of the members of Parents Against Underage Drinking in the meeting room audience said there were no air conditioned areas at the school large enough to have a homecoming dance or prom, such as the gym. The mayor said that issue may have to be addressed by the parish school board.
Fontenot, the Parents Against Underage Drinking chairwoman, said adults have been drinking in the parking lot at school events held at the town’s facilities and have been providing alcoholic beverages to underage people. She asked if the town’s contract that people renting the facilities sign could specify that no alcohol will be permitted in the facility and in the parking lot and other areas outside the facility.
Council members were unsure if the town was able to do that, but Savoy, the town’s consulting attorney, will research the law and provide the mayor and council with a legal opinion later.