EPPJ discusses potential leasing of Crook Creek

On motion of Sidney Fontenot, the Evangeline Parish Police Jury approved a measure at its monthly meeting Monday night to explore all options for leasing Crooked Creek.
Secretary-Treasurer Donald Bergeron expressed that he wanted to bring the matter before the jurors to see what their wishes are. “We’re had a couple of people talk to us about it,” he said. “It kind of went from them leasing a certain area to put up an attraction to bring more people into the park, and it went all the way to leasing the whole park.”
Juror Lamar Johnson, whose district encompasses the park, felt that the jury needs to get all the information it has so that it can be made available for everybody to bid on it.
He expressed his concerns on the matter. “Everybody up there is concerned as to what may take place,” he stated. “I think we need to decide first of all what we will be willing to lease. In my opinion the campground is too much easy money to do that, but if we lease a piece inside the park, then we need to make it available for everybody to bid on it and cast their opinions to say what they think.”
Johnson went on to discuss any legal ramifications about leasing the park. “Legally we have to find out if we are allowed to lease anything up there,” he stated. “The only thing that Evangeline Parish paid for was 300 acres of land which is the park and the land where the levee is at. The rest of that was all done by state and federal money. They gave it over to the parish to run.”
“When we know what we’re going to do, it will all be out there for the public to look at,” assured Johnson.
The jury also Monday night heard from Registrar of Voters Lucas Buller about the possibility of consolidating and exempting five voting precincts in the parish that have less than 300 voters.
“Each year I have to do these surveys after canvassing and report all the precincts under 300,” he said. “For a cost saving measure, we have to merge, consolidate, or absorb that cost and pay to keep the precinct in its current location.”
The five precincts in question are Lake Cove, Faubourg Fire Station, Chauncey Pitre Building, Veteran’s Home, and Lincoln Road Fire Station. The jury decided to claim a special exemption on the precinct in Lake Cove and to leave in place and absorb the costs of the remaining four precincts.
Buller also requested the jury move two precincts from the Ville Platte Civic Center because the election in October is again the same weekend as the Cotton Festival. “It’s a habitual problem,” he claimed. “Last year we moved both precincts to the courthouse, but it’s an even bigger problem because campaigns want to rent the Civic Center and have victory parties.”
He added, “I’d like to see the Civic Center eliminated as a polling place but to be moved temporarily for this election in the Fall because we always have problems with parking and accessibility” during the Cotton Festival.
Juror Ryan “Leday” Williams expressed his reservations about permanently eliminating the Civic Center, and the jury approved moving one precinct to the courthouse and the other precinct to the Village de Memoire for the October election.
In other business, the police jury:
• approved the purchase of property for the Chataignier Branch Library.
• appointed Sandra Jacobs to the Library Board of Review to replace Mayor Jennifer Vidrine who resigned.
• reappointed Charles Benny Fontenot and Wendell Brunet to the Vidrine Drainage Board for a four year term.
• reappointed Darrell McGee to the Prairie Mamou Drainage Board for a four year term.
• reappointed Clem Manuel and Paul Berzas to the Duralde Gravity Drainage Board for a four year term.
• appointed Pam Hall and reappointed Ralph Celestine to the Mamou Drainage Board for a four year term.
• tabled the reappointment of Bryan Bieber to the Prairie Mamou Drainage Board and the reappointments of Lynn Gooden and Nathaniel Thomas to the Evangeline Parish Communications District.
• approved the attendance to LHC Conference for Anna Frank and Vonetta Toussaint.
• and approved salary awards from 2017 EMPG grant for OEP employees.