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!)
- Special Joint Meeting
- City Agenda
Special Joint Meeting
Reports
Annual Audit. Auditors from Kolder, Slaven and Co. will present their findings from Lafayette Consolidated Government’s annual financial report to the City and Parish councils in a special joint meeting Tuesday. The councils aren’t set to take action, but will hear from auditors about a number of issues identified in the fiscal year 2023 report, which was released in April.
Lafayette 101
ACFR (Annual Comprehensive Financial Report)
When it comes to LCG’s finances, most public attention is on the budget. Don’t overlook the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR), which is an audited annual record of LCG’s income and expenses. The budget is a plan. The ACFR is what happened. Check out all of LCG’s annual reports here.
Parish Council
Final Adoption
Juvenile Justice. The Parish Council will vote Tuesday on an ordinance allowing the Office of Juvenile Justice to lease some 8,700 square feet of office space at LCG’s War Memorial Building on Jefferson Street and Pinhook Road for the OJJ’s Louisiana Multi-Agency Resource Center, which aims to divert at-risk youth from the juvenile justice system.
Introduction
No significant items.
City Council
Reports & Discussions
Panhandling. Councilman Kenneth Boudreaux is asking the City Council to discuss local law enforcement’s approach to panhandling in the city, which was a recurring issue under former Mayor-President Josh Guillory. Last year, LCG paid $42,000 to settle a federal lawsuit against the city police department over arrests made for panhandling, which is protected by the Constitution.
Storm Outages. Councilwoman Liz Hebert is requesting an update on power outages from LUS after recent storms pushed through the area impacting local power distribution.
Final Adoption
No significant items.
Introduction
Webb Coulee detention. Mayor-President Monique Blanco Boulet’s administration is asking the City Council to make a public necessity declaration for a detention pond along the Webb Coulee by Pa Davis Park on land in a floodway. The ordinance would allow LCG to buy the land or expropriate it, if necessary, from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette.
Spoil banks money. Boulet’s administration is also asking the City Council to accept defeat on getting $1.5 million in state reimbursements for Guillory’s 2022 Vermilion River spoil banks removal. The funds have long been seen as a lost cause as the $3.7 million caper ran afoul of federal, state and local laws, prompting multiple lawsuits that Boulet’s administration has largely resolved.
Joint Items
Final Adoption
Uninsured losses. After closing the books on the past fiscal year, LCG is accounting for an extra $1.1 million in uninsured losses, typically through lawsuits, settlements and other non-budgeted expenses. City coffers will take the bulk of the hit, about $850,000, largely thanks to workers compensation and car accident claims.
Environmental center. Boulet’s administration is asking the City and Parish councils to approve an additional $1.4 million for Lafayette Consolidated Government’s new Environmental Quality Convenience Center (debris drop off facility) after nixing a $1.7 million request in April. Bids for the Dugas Road project came back higher than expected last year, and the new move would raise the project’s budget from $1.2 million to $2.7 million, all of which would come from LCG’s environmental quality fund, which relies on revenue from garbage collection fees in the city and parish.
Introduction
No significant items.
Property
| Address | Approval | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 521 Cedar Crest Court | City Council | Rezoning from Residential Single-Family (RS-1) to Residential Mixed (RM-1) for a short-term rental [Intro] |
| 226 Irene Circle | City Council | Rezoning from Residential Single-Family (RS-1) to Residential Mixed (RM-1) for a short-term rental [Intro] |
| 515 Cedar Crest Court | City Council | Rezoning from Residential Single-Family (RS-1) to Residential Mixed (RM-1) for a short-term rental [Intro] |
| 1803 W University Ave. | City Council | Conditional Use Permit for a convenience store with gas in a Commercial Mixed (CM-1) zone [Intro] |
| 700 Block Acadian Hills Lane | City Council | Rezoning from Commercial-Heavy (CH) to Industrial-Light (IL) [Intro] |
| 108 Dua Lane | City Council | Rezoning from Commercial- Heavy (CH) to Commercial Mixed (CM-1) [Intro] |
| 107 Susan St. | City Council | Rezoning from Residential Single- Family (RS-1) to Public/Institutional Light (PI-L) [Intro] |
| 2416 N University Ave. | City Council | Rezoning from Agricultural and Commercial Mixed (CM-1) to Residential Single-Family (RS-1) [Intro] |
| 200 Peter St. | City Council | Condemnation [Intro] |
| 200 Byron St. | City Council | Condemnation [Intro] |
| 226 Anne St. | City Council | Condemnation [Intro] |
| 408 Saint John St. | City Council | Condemnation [Intro] |
Vacancies
| Board | Approval | Qualifications |
|---|---|---|
| Lafayette Parish Waterworks District South Board | Parish Council | Must reside within district boundaries |
| Teche-Vermilion Freshwater District | Parish Council | None listed |
| Industrial Development Board | Parish Council | None listed |
| Lafayette Airport Commission | Parish Council | Must reside in Lafayette Parish’s unincorporated area |
| Board of Zoning Adjustment | City Council | None listed |
| Fire and Police Civil Service Board | City Council | None listed |
| Heymann Performing Arts Center and Frem F. Boustany Convention Center Board | City Council | None listed |
| City Planning and Zoning Commission | City Council | None listed |
| Lafayette Metropolitan Expressway Commission | Joint councils | None listed |
Appointments
| Board | Approval | Applicants |
|---|---|---|
| Parish Planning and Zoning Commission | Parish Council | Benjamin J. Richard |
| City Planning and Zoning Commission | City Council | Roger D. Lehman, Michael J. Matte, Olivia Pontiff & Diamond Williams |
| Evangeline Thruway Redevelopment Team | City Council | Ji Y. Daily |
| Recreation Advisory Commission | City Councilman Thomas Hooks (District 4) | Judy Placer |