![City Council member Glenn Lazard](https://media.thecurrentla.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/14161743/glenn-lazard--scaled.jpg)
Councils take control of Lafayette’s rescue money. Now what?
Much of the spending in Guillory’s plan was of questionable eligibility, and the administration struggled to make the case for moving ahead now with so much uncertainty.
Much of the spending in Guillory’s plan was of questionable eligibility, and the administration struggled to make the case for moving ahead now with so much uncertainty.
Too many of the proposed projects deliver questionable returns, create unfunded maintenance liabilities, and inexplicably use parish dollars to pay for city responsibilities.
It’s clear most locals think stormwater management is our most pressing need. But do you think we’re on the right track? Is Lafayette tackling rising waters the right way?
Here’s a selection of items on the agendas for this week’s meetings of the City and Parish councils.
Catholic Charities has joined six other local housing organizations in asking Lafayette Consolidated Government for a more permanent solution to homelessness — $6.5 million to purchase an out-of-use hotel that would be retrofitted into a permanent, low-barrier, non-congregate shelter.
Just over a mile northwest of the Cajundome is a 5-acre plot of land flanked by neighborhoods of single-family homes and a commercial area to the north — not the type of zone one would normally expect to see a power plant — yet there one is, silently generating enough electricity to run 250 homes without a hint of pollution, waste or human traffic. It is UL Lafayette’s solar farm.
Mayor-President Guillory wants the City Council to approve a $406 million five year capital improvement program that would saddle the city with $180 million in new debt. Yet he hasn’t revealed plans, garnered public input, or addressed long-term maintenance liabilities for most of these projects. The City Council should tread carefully.
Due to invasive and stigmatizing policy hurdles already codified in LHSAA’s handbook, virtually nothing has changed for transgender students, despite the Legislature’s failure to override the governor’s veto of a bill discriminating against them.
As homelessness rises, panhandlers have been caught up in a months-long police dragnet that critics say is ineffective and inhumane. Soon, the Louisiana Supreme Court will weigh whether it’s constitutional.
Some controversial items are up for consideration this week, like declaring a new Willow Street jail a public necessity and calling a charter commission to examine further changes to Lafayette’s home rule charter.
Readers want to see ARPA funds go toward keeping the city afloat (literally) and its residents housed.
The Lafayette Economic Development Authority has turned over the full list of applicants who met the July 14 application deadline for the agency’s top job, by far the highest paid position for a public official — potentially worth an estimated $450,000 in salary and benefits.
Get it first. Sign up for our free newsletters. Learn more »