Avoyelles Police Jury discusses need for economic development ‘master plan’

What started out as a dust-weary resident’s plea for more attention to her gravel road ended as a call for political, business, education and community leaders to come together to develop a plan to solve Avoyelles Parish’s major issues to ensure its economic growth and prosperity.

Carol Gauthier addressed the Police Jury under the “5-minute delegation” item on the June 11 agenda, complaining of the condition of Babineaux Road. The gravel road is off La. Hwy 1188, between Hessmer and Belledeau.

“What plans are there to have that road maintained properly,” Gauthier asked.

She didn’t realize it then, but that question started wheels turning in some minds at the meeting about the need for an overall plan for the parish.

Gauthier did not hear an answer she wanted, but did get the one she expected and had received before: no money, over 400 miles of road with about 35 percent gravel, about 125 bridges that includes 40 high-maintenance timber structures, drainage canals that would stretch to Chicago if laid end-to-end, topped off by the voters’ repeated refusal to approve taxes to fund infrastructure improvements.

ROAD DISTRICT 2 MODEL

The exception is Road District 2 (RD2), which includes most of Police Jury districts 7 and 9 in east Avoyelles. It is considered a model for the rest of the parish on how to spend tax dollars as close to the taxpayers as possible.

In December 2016, RD2 voters approved a 30-mill property tax to maintain and improve roads in that road district -- over and above parishwide road maintenance provided from non-district funds.

Parish Engineer Ron Bordelon suggested the jury consider calling property tax elections in the remaining three parish road districts that rejected them in 2016.

RD2 has completed several major road improvement projects in the unincorporated areas and in municipalities within the district. The tax proposition was written to provide authority to work on municipal streets as well as parish roads.

If wheels were spinning after Gauthier’s question, they were in overdrive after hearing the answer.

MOBILIZE COMMUNITY

“I would like to offer to host a planning session to mobilize the community and discuss the need to invest in Avoyelles Parish,” Tunica-Biloxi Tribal Chairman Marshall Pierite said.

Pierite said the parish cannot prosper and grow “if we do not address the needs of this parish with a long-term master plan.

“We need to address those needs today so we can resolve those needs for tomorrow,” he added.

“I am ready to start that dialogue,” Police Jury President Charles Jones said.

“So am I,” Juror Marsha Wiley, the jury’s Economic Development Committee chair, added.

“Maybe we can re-energize the community so the public will see how important this is,” Jones continued. “We need to get the conversation going again and come to grips with these problems. We need to ask the question, ‘Is it important to us, our families and our grandchildren?’”

From the Police Jury’s perspective, the key concern is maintaining and improving the parish’s infrastructure -- roads, bridges and drainage.

“Without infrastructure, all of the young people will leave and we’ll just have old people in Avoyelles Parish,” Jones said. I would think we all want our children and grandchildren to stay here.”

Pierite, who was at the meeting to present an additional $25,000 donation to the Police Jury to support the parish’s public works program, said the “long-term solution is to expand the parish tax base. You do that by creating jobs and increasing housing.”

A master plan would look at several aspects of the community with the overall goal of improving economic development in the parish.

Creating a modern and well-maintained infrastructure, improving public education, developing a well-trained work force and enhancing quality of life factors such as access to health care, affordable housing and improved public safety are primary ingredients in any recipe for progress.

No “master plan” meeting was scheduled at the June 11 meeting, but discussion on that item ended with a clear intent to begin the process in the near future.

LARUE SUMMIT

The issue of economic development was already on Pierite’s mind prior to the meeting because the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe and Southern University are co-hosting the Louisiana Rural and Economic (LaRuE) Development Summit on July 7-9 at the Paragon Casino Resort.

Tuesday’s discussion prompted him to bring the matter closer to home.

The conference will include discussions on workforce development, rural community development, expanding cellphone/ broadband services, rural health care access, entrepreneurship, agricultural marketing, financial services, small businesses, creating/improving economic and business relationships with Native American governments and business development opportunities with Louisiana tribes.

The conference is open to local government officials, business owners, farmers, educators and economic development professionals. Registration is $100 and can be done online at www.sulc.edu/ larue or by calling (318) 597-8981.