Mayor Vidrine promotes latest safety measures to City Council

By: ELIZABETH WEST
Associate Editor

At the Ville Platte City Council special meeting Thursday night, council members discussed changes being made in the city to provide a safer place for the residents.
The Ville Platte Police Department will be receiving new body cameras for new police officers. Ville Platte Mayor Jennifer Vidrine said, “Since we began having our police officers wear body cameras two years ago the city has only faced two law suites.”  
The mayor also reported that the crime cameras that have been set up around town are successfully working. “These cameras are helping us prevent, deter and solve crimes,” said Vidrine. She continued with an example stating, “Recently there was a fight that broke out on a street and the VPPD were able to see it on the camera, respond to it and get the situation under control before a call had even been made to report the fight.”
At the meeting Vidrine also informed everyone of the progress that has been made on having the 18 canals in Ville Platte cleaned. Each canal has been visited and now the city is waiting to receive the bid for what it will cost to have them cleaned.
Vidrine feels that when it comes to cleaning the canals, the city should not be left to pay the entire bill.
“We need to ask the Policy Jury to help with the cost of cleaning the canals because having them cleaned is a part of their duties,” Vidrine said. “We should speak with them about splitting the cost 50/50.”
The city has also looked into what it would cost to seal cracked streets in Ville Platte. They will be sealing them according to Vidrine but they will have to “repair streets where the water project is complete” first. “We will hit the worse areas first,” said Vidrine.
Along with these changes to the city, Ville Platte has also been put on the Department of Transportation’s list to receive two new red lights in town. No word yet on where the proposed new lights will be located.
For the business owners in the town, they can expect to begin paying a one percent state utility tax. The city will collect the tax and then must deliver it to the state. This is a tax that the state is making business owners pay, not the city.
All items on the agenda unanimously were approved. By having the special meeting on Thursday, the council will not meet on Tuesday, August 11 as previously scheduled. The next scheduled Ville Platte City Council meeting is slated for Tuesday, September 8.