Run-down homes, crime cameras discussed at VP Council meeting

By: NICK JAGNEAUX
Staff Reporter

“Criminals need to be on alert that they are being watched,” announced Mayor Jennifer Vidrine at the regular monthly meeting of the Ville Platte City Council Tuesday evening.
Vidrine informed the Council that the first set of Community Crime Cameras are up-and-running in the city at an undisclosed location. Plus, Vidrine said, the cameras are mobile and will be moved around the city periodically.
“I’m not divulging their location,” Vidrine said.
The cameras send a real-time feed to the police station, allowing law enforcement to monitor all activity in the area of the cameras.
Vidrine intends to add more cameras as more grant money becomes available.
“Our goal is to cover the city of Ville Platte with cameras,” Vidrine said. “We are steadily and continuously on a mission to protect the citizens of the city. Hopefully, people will feel safer here.”
Vidrine also announced that the clock is ticking for owners of abandoned and blighted property. They will now have 30 days to clean up their property. After 30 days, Vidrine said, the City will clean the property, the costs of which will be tacked onto the property tax bill in December.
“By clean up,” Vidrine emphasized, “I mean tear down abandoned houses.”
Vidrine said that the City was awaiting the arrival of a Kubota excavator before enforcing the ordinance giving it the power to clear the abandoned property. The piece of heavy equipment will be in the City’s possession tomorrow morning.
Property owners who are affected by this ordinance have already been contacted by the City informing them of the impending consequences, said Vidrine.
“We’ve tried to be as friendly, as understanding, as possible,” Vidrine noted, “giving people notice and a chance to take care of it themselves. But some people are not taking care of it.
“It’s not fair to neighbors,” she continued, “bringing down property values. Plus, it’s ugly and hurts attracting new industry to Ville Platte.”
Paul Stanbrough, a resident of Ville Platte, spoke to the mayor and the Council. He told the Council that he is very concerned with the amount of blighted property and trash in the city. He complimented the mayor on attempting to fix the situation, but said that much more needs to be done.
Brothers Greg and Mitch Arnaud also touched on the issue of trash in the city, as they addressed the Council about drainage problems. They said that some of the flooding and drainage problems come from clogged drains and trash being thrown in the drainage canals.
“The canals were cleaned up just before the last elections,” Greg Arnaud said, “and the water flows pretty good now, but it needs to be addressed on a consistent basis.”
He also said that the City should urge the Police Jury to “do its job” of keeping the coulees and bayous clean. If the coulees are not maintained and they back up, Arnaud said, that will cause Ville Platte’s drainage to back up, too.
Vidrine told the Arnauds that the City is in the process of getting quotes from independent contractors to clean the canals two times per year. She also reminded people that there is a No Dumping Ordinance in Evangeline Parish, carrying a $500 fine.
“We are tired of Ville Platte being a dumping ground,” Vidrine said. “We urge the public, if you see someone dumping trash, report it. You can report it anonymously. We need to get back some civic pride.”
In other business, the Council approved a resolution setting millage rates for the 2015 tax roll. It approved Alimony at 6.98 mills; Street and Drainage Maintenance at 9.98 mills; Fire and Police at 4.0 mills; and Water Improvement at 14.94 mills.
The Council will decide to set an election date for the renewal of the Streets and Drainage mills at the next regular meeting.
The board of aldermen adopted two new ordinances at the meeting. The first ordinance prohibits theft, tampering, or destruction of utility meters and transmission devices.
According to Vidrine, this ordinance was spurred by reports of people stealing water from residences. The ordinance carries up to a $500 fine or 60 days in jail.
The second ordinance will allow the City to assess a collection fee on debts referred to a collection agency.
Vidrine said that there is nearly $500,000 in outstanding debts owed to the City. An independent collection agency will be handling the process of contacting the debtors. They will go back up to 15 years to collect the debt.
The collection fee will be up to 30 percent of the debt, regardless of the age of the debt.
The Council accepted Chief of Police Neil Lartigue’s recommendations for officer hirings. It hired four full-time officers: Nicole Price, Jaquin Anderson, Rodney Daigle, and Davion Griffin. It hired on part-time officer: Keisha Evans.
The Mayor and Council also honored two employees who recently retired: Charlotte LaFleur, who retired in March after serving 25 years with the City as revenue clerk; and longtime Fire Chief Ted Demourelle, who retired at the beginning of the month with 28 years of service.
Vidrine congratulated two Ville Platte all-star teams for their success and wished them good luck. The Ville Platte 8U softball all-stars will be playing in the Pony National Tournament in Highland, Tx, this week. Also, the 12-year-old Dixie Major all-stars will be playing in the regional tournament in Pontchatoula this weekend.