Council Preview: Nurse raises proposed, City Court move revisited

Parish Council

Final Adoption

No significant items.

Introduction

Nurse raises. The Parish Council will consider raises for a handful of nurses at the parish’s Public Health Unit Tuesday that would raise their pay by an average of about $13,750 a year to between $74,000 and $82,000. The move comes after the council failed to reverse Mayor-President Josh Guillory’s veto of a plan to slightly raise the public health property tax despite urging from Public Health Director Dr. Tina Stefanski to use the additional funds to raise nurse pay. Instead, the raises are coming from a small pool of funding for services related to COVID-19.

ACA equipment. The Parish Council will also give an introductory review to plans to use $300,000 from the now-rededicated CREATE millage to replace aging LCG equipment at the Acadiana Center for the Arts. The CREATE millage was rededicated by voters in 2020 to instead fund fire protection in rural parts of the parish, and the $300,000 on deck to go to the ACA would wipe out the remaining funds that were collected before the rededication.

City Council

Reports

City Court move. City Councilwoman Nanette Cook is asking the Guillory administration for another update on the proposed relocation of City Court to the Lemoine building Downtown after LCG’s appraisal came back at $2.2 million more than the $6.4 million list price that the building sat at for months. The proposed relocation is part of Guillory’s push to see through a deal with Rock ‘N’ Bowl owner Johnny Blancher to turn the existing City Court site into a 200-unit mixed-use development at a key Downtown location, though the council has been skeptical of the deal. 

Heymann Park. City Council Chairman Glenn Lazard is asking the Guillory administration for an update on the Heymann Park overhaul that has been in the works for more than a year. Initial plans for the park’s revamping included new housing units and an amphitheater, both of which were questioned by residents when they were unveiled. The overhaul made waves when it was announced in spring 2022, but news about the project has been sparse since then. 

Final Adoption

New signal. The City Council will vote Tuesday on Councilman Andy Naquin’s plan to spend up to $250,000 to add a traffic signal to the intersection of Congress and Marie Antoinette streets near Lafayette High School. Marie Antoinette is frequently used as a connection between Congress and Johnston streets, and its intersection with Congress is a regular choke point for traffic, particularly during congested school arrival and departure times. The council’s vote on this item was deferred on Nov. 27 to Tuesday’s meeting. 

Moore Park. The council will also vote on the Guillory administration’s request to declare the overhaul of Moore Park near University Avenue a public necessity, which would allow Guillory to make agreements, spend money and even expropriate property. Plans include renovating nine of the park’s soccer fields and adding parking in currently-vacant areas in a $15 million bid to increase Lafayette’s sport tourism industry. Guillory’s administration said at the council’s Nov. 27 meeting that the measure was needed to acquire land from LUS, but the council asked for more info and rescheduled the vote to Dec. 5.

Introduction

No significant items. 

Joint Items

Final Adoption

No items. 

Introduction

No significant items.

Property

Vacancies

Appointments