PUBLIC HEARING
It was announced by the President, that notice had been given that the Acadia Parish Police Jury would hold a public forum on March 19, 2002, at 6:30 P.M., Police Jury Meeting Room, Courthouse Building, Crowley, Louisiana, for the purpose of receiving comments after the completion of LCDBG 2000 Fire, Lyons Point Substation to facilitate the closeout.
The Parish President convened the referenced hearing as advertised and explained the purpose of the hearing.
Mrs. Paula Fuselier stated the project cost totaled $346,450.00 leaving approximately $10,000 in the Grant, some of which would be used for administration.
No additional comments were offered and the hearing was concluded.
THERE BEING NO FURTHER COMMENTS TO COME BEFORE THE JURY, THE PRESIDENT ADJOURNED THE PUBLIC HEARING.
CROWLEY, LOUISIANA
MARCH 19, 2002
THE ACADIA PARISH POLICE JURY met on the above date at 6:30 p.m., in the Police Jury Meeting Room, Courthouse Building, Crowley, Louisiana, in regular session with the President, Claude Courville, presiding. At the request of the President, a moment of silence was offered and the Pledge to the Flag was recited in unison. The roll was called and final attendance was recorded as follows:
ALTON STEVENSON
CATHERINE LACOMBE
JOHN HUMBLE SR
CECELIA BROUSSARD
JIMMIE PELLERIN
JOHN BEARD
PAT DAIGLE
CLAUDE COURVILLE
A motion was offered by Mr. Jimmie Pellerin, seconded by Mr. John Beard, to approve the Minutes of the March 5, 2002, Regular Police Jury Meeting. Motion carried.
APPOINTMENTS
RESOLUTION
BY: MR ALTON STEVENSON AND MRS CATHERINE LACOMBE
BE IT RESOLVED: by the Acadia Parish Police Jury in regular session duly convened this 19th day of March, 2002, does hereby appoint to the Acadia Parish Tourist Commission MRS. ALICE WHITING for a one year term effective March, 2002.
ADOPTED: MARCH 19, 2002
ATTEST:
/s/ Katry Martin /s/ Claude J. Courville
KATRY MARTIN CLAUDE J. COURVILLE
SECRETARY-TREASURER PRESIDENT
FINANCE
A motion was offered by Mr. Alton Stevenson, to increase the monthly retirement pay to retired Judge Edmond Reggie by $200.00. Motion died for lack of a second.
LEGISLATION
* * * PROCLAMATION * * *
WHEREAS, the State-administered Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program has operated since 1982 to provide local governments with the resources required to meet the needs of persons of low-and moderate income; and
WHEREAS, the State-administered Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program has had a significant impact on our local economy through job creation and retention, public infrastructure improvements and improved housing; and
WHEREAS, the Acadia Parish Police Jury and other local governments have clearly demonstrated the capacity to administer the CDBG program to identify, prioritize and resolve pressing local problems, such as housing rehabilitation and relocation, neighborhood centers, job creation and retention, and public infrastructure; and
THEREFORE, I, Claude J. Courville, by virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the Acadia Parish Police Jury, do hereby proclaim the week of April 1 - April 7, 2002, as
STATE-ADMINISTERED COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT WEEK
within the Parish of Acadia, and urge all citizens to join us in recognizing the State-administered Community Development Block Grant Program and the important role it plays in our community.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused to be affixed the seal of the Parish of Acadia, LA on this 19th day of March, 2002.
/s/ Claude J Courville
PRESIDENT
ATTEST:
/s/ Katry Martin
SECRETARY-TREASURER
RESOLUTION
BY: MRS CECELIA BROUSSARD AND MR JOHN HUMBLE SR
WHEREAS, the week of April 1 - April 7, 2002 has been designated as National Community Development Week. The Acadia Parish Police Jury is a participant in the State-administered Community Development Block Grant program which funds public infrastructure, economic development, and housing programs in this community, and
WHEREAS, in this community and communities throughout the nation, twenty years of State-administered Community Development Block Grant program funding has developed a strong relationship between this local government and it residents, principally those of low-to-moderate income, and
WHEREAS, this community recognizes that the State-administered Community Development Block Grant program is a partnership of federal, state, and local government and community and business efforts, and that the services funded by the State-administered CDBG program relies heavily on the dedication and good will of our combined efforts.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Acadia Parish Police Jury duly convened this 19th day of March, 2002, does hereby concur that during National Community Development Week 2002, this community will give special thanks and recognition to all participants whose hard work and devotion to the neighborhoods and their low-and moderate-income residents help ensure the quality and effectiveness of the State-administered Community Development Block Grant program.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this community, along with the service providers and others whose names are appended to this Resolution, hereby petition the U.S. Congress and Administration to recognize the outstanding work being done locally and nationally by the State-administered Community Development Block Grant program, and of its vital importance to the community and to the people who live in its lower income neighborhoods.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this Resolution be conveyed to the appropriate elected and appointed officials of the federal government and that this community‘s name be added to the roll of those committed to the preservation and full funding of the State-administered Community Development Block Grant program and maintenance of its essential features over the course of the next session of Congress.
ADOPTED: MARCH 19, 2002
ATTEST:
/s/ Katry Martin /s/ Claude J. Courville
KATRY MARTIN CLAUDE J. COURVILLE
SECRETARY-TREASURER PRESIDENT
RESOLUTION
BY: MRS CATHERINE LACOMBE AND MR PAT DAIGLE
WHEREAS, the Louisiana Constitution requires that twenty percent (20%) of all general severance taxes collected by Louisiana State Government be returned to the Parishes where the resource was produced, and
WHEREAS, the drafters of the Louisiana Constitution put this provision into the law to insure that local governments would receive at least some revenues raised as a result of mineral production in their parishes to compensate them for the additional demands that the natural resource industry activities place on local services and local infrastructures, such as roads, bridges, drainage and the like; and
WHEREAS, the Constitution further provides that local governments are prohibited from levying severance taxes; and
WHEREAS, the severance tax distribution to the parishes is further limited by an annual cap or ceiling which, for several years, was set at $500,000 per year, but which recently was raised to $750,000 per year; and
WHEREAS, as a result of the combined effects of these caps and the corrosive effective of inflation, the effective value of the parishes’ portions of this dedication has diminished and will continue to diminish until appropriate reforms are instituted; and
WHEREAS, the State of Louisiana collected approximately $437 million in 2001 from this severance tax and returned $20 million to Parish governments affected; and
WHEREAS, increasing the cap from $750,000 to $1,750,000 annually would increase the amount returned to Parish governments affected from $20 million to $26 million per year; and
WHEREAS, the Acadia Parish Police Jury would receive the full cap from the State of Louisiana derived from this severance tax; and
WHEREAS, the proposed increase in the cap to be distributed to Parish governments would result in additional revenues to the Acadia Parish Police Jury in the amount of $1 million annually and could provide much-needed assistance in the operation, maintenance and improvements of the Parish’s infrastructure.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Acadia Parish Police Jury does hereby request and urge the Louisiana Legislature to sponsor legislation amending the Louisiana Constitution to insure that Parish governments receive a more equitable distribution of the taxes produced by the severance of minerals mined or produced from lands within their respective jurisdictions.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Acadia Parish Police Jury does hereby further request and urge that said proposed legislation provide that the annual cap or ceiling of severance tax allocations to be distributed to Parish governments be increased from $750,000 to at least $1,750,000 annually and further that this cap be indexed to inflation so that, as the cost of living, increases and the value of the dollar decreases, the Parishes’ funds would automatically increase to take into account such changes.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this Resolution shall be forwarded to the Acadia Parish Legislative Delegation and the Police Jury Association of Louisiana requesting their support and assistance with this position.
ADOPTED: MARCH 19, 2002
ATTEST:
/s/ Katry Martin /s/ Claude J. Courville
KATRY MARTIN CLAUDE J. COURVILLE
SECRETARY-TREASURER PRESIDENT
The Resolution was offered by Mr. Alton Stevenson and seconded by Mrs. Cecelia Broussard:
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF AN AMENDMENT TO THE
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
RESTORING OUR FREEDOM TO PRAY, AND TO OTHERWISE
PROVIDE WITH RESPECT THERETO
WHEREAS, our country was founded on the precepts of freedom, liberty, diversity and the right of people to acknowledge God according to the dictates of conscience; and
WHEREAS, neither the United States nor any state shall establish any official religion, but the people’s right to pray and to recognize their religious beliefs, heritage and traditions on public property, including schools, shall not be infringed; and
WHEREAS, the United States and the states shall not compose school prayers, nor require any person to join in prayer or other religious activity; and
WHEREAS, the Acadia Parish Police Jury urges all cities and countries across the United States to join in an effort to reinstate prayer in the public schools by passing similar resolutions and uniting in a “grass roots” movement for that purpose.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Acadia Parish Police Jury in regular session duly convened this 19th day of March, 2002, does hereby support House Joint Resolution 81 introduced in the 107th Congress, 1st Session on December 20, 2001, proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States restoring religious freedom to pray.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that if any provision or item of this resolution or the application thereof is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions, items or applications which can be given effect without the invalid provisions, items or applications, and to this end, the provisions of this Resolution are hereby declared severable.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this Resolution shall take effect upon its adoption.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all Resolutions or parts thereof in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.
ADOPTED: MARCH 19, 2002
ATTEST:
/s/ Katry Martin /s/ Claude J. Courville
KATRY MARTIN CLAUDE J. COURVILLE
SECRETARY-TREASURER PRESIDENT
PUBLIC WORKS/ROAD & BRIDGE
Parish Bridge Inspector John Quebodeaux updated the Jury on the condition of Parish Bridges noting that the number of structures in critical condition has decreased greatly since 1998.
RESOLUTION
BY: MRS CECELIA BROUSSARD AND MR ALTON STEVENSON
WHEREAS, the intersection of LA 35 South of the City of Rayne and Standard Mill Road in Acadia Parish, Louisiana, has been met with an increase in traffic volume and both serious and fatal accidents, and
WHEREAS, the Police Jury is of the opinion that upgrades to the traffic control devices would aid in the overall safety of the intersection.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Acadia Parish Police Jury in regular session duly convened on this the 19th day of March, 2002, does hereby request the LA DOTD conduct a detailed traffic analysis of LA 35 South of the City of Rayne at the intersection of Standard Mill Road, Acadia Parish, Louisiana.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the LA DOTD implement any and all recommendations resulting from the study in an expedient manner.
ADOPTED: MARCH 19, 2002
ATTEST:
/s/ Katry Martin /s/ Claude J. Courville
KATRY MARTIN CLAUDE J. COURVILLE
SECRETARY-TREASURER PRESIDENT
The Sales Tax Report was presented for the month of February, 2002. The report indicated a gross receipt of $381,447.30, a decrease of $316,541.21 from February, 2001.
COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC
The President extended thanks from I-Acadia for the recent funding assistance granted.
Juror John Humble, Sr., suggested the Mosquito Control Proposition, as it appeared in November of 2001, be returned to the ballot in July and asked the Secretary to notify Bond Counsel prior to the next meeting.
Mr. Bowden Miller requested an opportunity to present information at a future date on farm income and federal regulations.
Juror Catherine LaCombe reported on plans for the upcoming NACO Conference to be held in New Orleans this summer.
THERE BEING NO FURTHER BUSINESS TO COME BEFORE THE MEETING, THE MOTION WAS OFFERED DULY SECONDED, THAT THE MEETING ADJOURN UNTIL THE NEXT REGULARLY SCHEDULED MEETING OF APRIL 2, 2002, AT THE HOUR OF 6:30 P.M.
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