Here is a selection of items on the agendas for this week’s meetings of the City and Parish councils. To see the full agendas, check out the links below:
- Parish Agenda (Public Comment Time!)
- City Agenda
Lafayette 101
Public necessity
Public bodies in Louisiana have the power to take private property for certain public purposes, called expropriation. In Lafayette, that requires either the City or Parish council to declare the project a public necessity, giving the mayor-president broad power to buy or seize private property for those projects.
Parish Council
Final Adoption
Parish ARPA shuffle. The Parish Council will vote Tuesday on a leftover plan from former Mayor-President Josh Guillory’s administration to shuffle about $10 million in federal coronavirus stimulus funds ahead of a Dec. 31 federal deadline to effectively spend the money. The move would generally take time-sensitive stimulus funds away from larger infrastructure projects and put them toward more routine maintenance costs, replacing local tax dollars in the process. The funding shift would cut about $850,000 from the Chappuis Detention Pond project and $375,000 from enhanced modeling of the Vermilion River, plus smaller cuts to other projects. The council initially deferred the leftover plan but reintroduced it in a special Jan. 23 meeting, setting it up for a final vote Tuesday.
Introduction
Parish surplus auction. Both councils are set to introduce separate surplus property auction ordinances Tuesday, plus a joint plan, after new City Councilman Thomas Hooks asked to divide a joint surplus ordinance for the city and parish property that was presented to the councils in January. The Parish Council and Mayor-President Monique Blanco Boulet’s administration were quick to accommodate the request. The difference is largely superficial in this instance, but it represents a change in approach that could place more value on either council’s independence.
Public necessity. Both councils are also set Tuesday to introduce their first public necessity ordinances, which became a point of contention under Guillory as his administration used them to controversially expropriate land for major projects. The Parish Council’s ordinance deals with the replacement of a bridge on Giselle Place near Milton. Such ordinances declare certain projects to be public necessities and authorize the mayor-president to acquire the property for them either amicably or by expropriation and to settle any problems with them however she sees fit, giving the M-P broad latitude to take land.
City Council
Final Adoption
No significant items.
Introduction
City ARPA shuffle. The City Council is also reconsidering a plan left over from Guillory to shuffle about $18 million in federal coronavirus relief funds between projects and maintenance costs Tuesday. But the city’s reconsideration is a matter of scheduling, and isn’t likely to move forward as is. That’s in contrast to the parish’s reconsideration of its plan, which the Parish Council pointedly held a special meeting to expedite in January. Thoughtfully reallocating the federal funding ahead of the Dec. 31 deadline to effectively spend it is an urgent priority for Boulet, whose administration in January asked both councils to defer Guillory’s leftover plans to Tuesday’s meeting, where the City Council is likely to defer or amend the leftover plan.
Public necessities. The City Council is also set Tuesday to introduce its first public necessity ordinances. The City Council’s ordinances deal with overhauls to 12th Street and Congress Street, plus the Failla Road bridge replacement.
City surplus auction. The City Council is also set to introduce separate surplus property auction ordinances Tuesday, plus a joint plan, after City Councilman Hooks asked to divide a joint surplus ordinance for the city and parish property that was presented to the councils in January.
Joint Items
Final Adoption
No significant items.
Introduction
New cabinet. Mayor-President Boulet has largely reorganized the top brass at Lafayette Consolidated Government, which she deemed her primary goal for her first 100 days in office. But she’ll need approval from both councils to officially change the positions and salaries within the mayor-president’s office. Both councils are set to give initial consideration Tuesday to Boulet’s plan, which would replace the Chief of Minority Affairs position with Municipal and Constituent Services Advisor Vincent Pierre, a former state representative, and would replace the Deputy Chief of Staff job previously held by Jamie Angelle with a Policy Advisor Yancy LeGrande, among other changes that net a total increase of about $1,800 a year in personnel costs.
Joint surplus. Both councils are set to introduce separate surplus property auction ordinances Tuesday, plus a joint plan, after new City Councilman Thomas Hooks asked to divide a joint surplus ordinance for the city and parish property that was presented to the councils in January.
Property
| Address | Approval | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 4800 block W Congress St. | City Council | Rezoning from Residential Singe-Family (RS-1) to Residential Mixed (RM-1) [Final] |
| 406 N Sterling St. | City Council | Rezoning from from Residential Single-Family (RS-1) to Residential Mixed (RM-1) [Intro] |
| 420, 422 & 430 Eraste Landry Road; 804, 806, 808 & 812 Cajundome Blvd. | City Council | Rezoning from Industrial-Light (IL) to Commercial Mixed (CM-1) [Intro] |
| 500 block Tolson Road | City Council | Annexation and assignment of Residential Single-Family (RS-2) zoning [Intro] |
| 408, 410 & 412 N Domingue Ave. | City Council | Annexation and assignment of Residential Mixed (RM-1) [Intro] |
| 1117 E Butcher Switch Road | City Council | Annexation and assignment of Residential Single-Family (RS-1) [Intro] |
Vacancies
| Board | Approval | Qualifications |
|---|---|---|
| Lafayette Parish Waterworks District North Board | Parish Council | Must reside in district |
| Lafayette Public Innovation Alliance Board (three seats) | Parish Council | None listed |
| Lafayette Parish Waterworks District South Board | Parish Council | Must reside in district |
Appointments
| Board | Approval | Applicants |
|---|---|---|
| Lafayette Parish Planning and Zoning Commission | Parish Council | Jennifer Bullard, David W. Laughlin |
| Keep Lafayette Beautiful Committee | Parish Council | Amanda Anderson (incumbent), Sydney C. Renard |
| Industrial Development Board (two seats) | Parish Council | Landon M. Boudreaux, Joseph L. Gordon-Wiltz |
| Lafayette Convention & Visitor’s Commission | Mayor-President | Jessica C. Leger |
| Downtown Development Authority Board | City Council | Miles Matt (incumbent) |
| Evangeline Thruway Redevelopment Team | SMILE | Craig Matthews (SMILE CEO) |