Proposed restaurant draws crowd at Ville Platte City Council meeting

A passionate discussion about a proposed restaurant and alcohol drew great interest at the Ville Platte City Council earlier this week. The council voted to hold a public meeting on the subject before the regular May meeting to allow more public input on the matter.
At issue is the proposed building of a new restaurant at the corner of Dr. Martin Luther King Drive and Dr. Carver Street. The new establishment, described as a “poor man’s Buffalo Wild Wings,” is a renovation project by J.C. Ceasar, who is planning on applying for an alcohol permit for the restaurant.
Mayor Jennifer Vidrine and some people who live near the proposed site said that they were concerned about the negative effects that selling alcohol would have on the neighborhood.
Vidrine said that she has spoken with many concerned citizens about the project.
“They asked me to convey their sentiments. I have their names. They want me to speak up,” Vidrine said. “The public is okay with selling food and having televisions to watch games, but not with selling alcohol.
“They are concerned with the history of that section of town when there were clubs and alcohol,” Vidrine continued.
Joyce Thomas, who lives right across the street from the proposed site, spoke to the council.
“For the last 12 years (since the clubs have closed), I finally have some peace. I can sleep at night,” she said. “Alcohol will be the greatest disturbance in the neighborhood.”
Rufus Seraille voiced a concern about the crime that could return to the area.
“In that area, when there was alcohol,” Seraille said, “we sold drugs there. There were stabbings. There were shootings.”
However, Ceasar sought to calm the fears about what his proposed restaurant would be like. He said that it would be a business that would close early, where people could gather to eat and watch a sporting event.
“We’ll have crawfish, and food,” he said. “At 11 p.m., people will button-up and go home. It won’t be a club with a DJ. I’m from this community. I would never attach my name to anything to bring my community down.”
Ceasar noted that he, too, spoke with the residents in the area. They told him that they supported the endeavor. He said that he spoke with the pastors of nearby churches, and they also support the proposition. The pastor of the closest church even gave him a signed letter stating that there was no opposition.
There were residents who spoke in favor of the project, including Wanda Skinner.
“It’s a great idea,” Skinner said. “I’m tired of driving across town just to get some food. I have to deal with L&V Superette. They sell alcohol there, and children go into it. Mr. JC has class. He won’t have it (the restaurant) just any old way.”
Joyce Lartigue echoed support for Ceasar’s proposal.
“Give this man a chance,” she said. “I like to go to restaurants and eat and have a drink. But that doesn’t mean that I’m going to get drunk.”
Considering that there was support for the food aspect of the business, councilman C.J. Dardeau asked Caesar if he considered building the restaurant without an alcohol permit.
“I wouldn’t try to fight for an alcohol permit if I didn’t think it was needed” from a profitability point of view, Caesar said. He also indicated that if he didn’t get the alcohol permit, he would not continue to pursue building the restaurant.
The biggest supporter of the project was newly-elected councilman Bryant Riggs, who said that he personally walked the neighborhood to talk to residents about the project.
Saying that he was familiar with the unsavory history of the area, Riggs said, “I can’t look at the past. I’ve got to look at the future. JC is putting his blood, sweat and tears in this community. He’s trying to take a piece of crap and make it into something.”
Riggs did provide a word of warning to Ceasar, an old high school classmate.
“I believe in giving someone a chance,” he said, “but I will be the first person to sign a petition to get rid of it if it’s not what you say it will be.”
Donald Sam, who serves as councilman for the district where the business is proposed, said that he supports the restaurant after talking to his constituents.
Complicating matters is a city ordinance concerning the issuance of alcohol permits. According to the ordinance, permits for selling alcohol cannot be issued to businesses whose “principal function” is the sale of alcohol. However, the ordinance is vague, leaving it entirely up to the discretion of the council to determine what the “principal function of a business” is.
According to state law – but not the city ordinance – a business must derive more than 50 percent of its gross income from non-alcohol related sales. The city, however, could determine a different percentage.
At this point, Ceasar believes that alcohol will account for just 40 percent of his gross. One option, city attorney Eric LaFleur suggested, is to issue a 90 or 120-day temporary permit to allow the city to examine receipts to determine what the principal function of the business is. If alcohol is a majority of the sales, then the council could decide not to issue a permanent permit.
Because of the lengthy, passionate discussion, Vidrine suggested that the council hold a public hearing on the topic before the May meeting. At that point, Caesar said he will have officially applied for an alcohol permit. The hearing will be at 4:30 p.m. on May 12.
In a related action, the council voted to begin the process for creating a Planning and Zoning Commission to oversee the development and growth of business in the city. Next month, the council will hear more information about that from LaFleur.
The council will also hold a public hearing on May 12, about the adoption of a drinking water protection ordinance. This hearing will be held at 4:45 p.m.
The ordinance, submitted by Tiffani Barth, is designed to protect water wells from new potential contaminants. Right now, Ville Platte has four wells operating in the city limits. Barth said that there are no zoning laws that would protect these drinking water wells from contaminants, such as oil or gasoline leaks.
“Without water, the city cannot do anything else,” Barth said. “If those wells become contaminated, it will be a very expensive cost to the city to clean it up, if it could be cleaned up.”
The council agreed to hold a public hearing next month and then vote on the ordinance.
The council granted a permit to Guy Stout, president of Stout and Company, to build a 195 foot communications tower at the south end of the city, off of Hickory Street.
Stout said that the new tower, which could host up to four telecommunications companies, would “complete the city’s communication needs for the foreseeable and extended future.” It will enable telecommunications and internet carriers to expand and improve their service.
In other business, Vidrine told the council that the city has submitted an application for a $5 million grant for the redevelopment/revitalization of the southwest end of town (the Woods). This would allow the building of 30 affordable brick homes in the neighborhood.
The city will also submit a grant for $200,000 to build a sidewalk down MLK Dr. to Harvey Lebas Street (from the James Stephens Montessori School to VPHS).
Vidrine told the council that she is awaiting a permit from the state to allow the placement of a half-moon shaped Welcome To Ville Platte display of flagpoles at the east entrance of town. The city is in the process of creating a special City of Ville Platte flag to accompany the USA, Louisiana, and other flags that would be part of the display. She is also seeking a grant to build a water feature to beautify the city’s entrance.
In international news, Vidrine was recently able to meet with Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, France. Vidrine gave one of the new Ville Platte street signs written in French and English to Hidalgo, who said she will hang it in the Paris Mayor’s Office. Hidalgo was in Louisiana for a conference of French-speaking mayors of the world.