During the executive committee hearing Monday which preceded the regular meeting of the Evangeline Parish Police Jury, the committee members heard from Chief Building Official Blake Steiner with Rapides Area Planning Commission on an update of building permits in the parish.
“The big number I’m really excited about is $9.5 million in total development in Evangeline Parish to start the year off,” Steiner said. “That’s a lot of growth and a lot of development in five months.”
Steiner then reported to the committee there were a total of 587 permits issues so far this year. “Forty of those were new residential houses which is completely outstanding,” he said. “Forty new houses in five months is really a good number for this part of the year.”
Steiner went on to report there were 41 new manufactured homes, 11 new shops, 104 trade permits, and one new commercial project.”
He further reported on the number of inspections across the parish.
“We did a total of 519 inspections so far to date,” Steiner said. “Of those 454 passed, and 65 failed to put our fail rate at about 13-percent which is really good because most of our jurisdictions tend to be around an 18-percent fail rate. That means the contractors are doing a good job over here.”
Upon request of Secretary-Treasurer Donald Bergeron, Steiner and another representative from Rapides Area Planning Commission told the committee they can produce “a breakdown to show which parts of the parish are growing” by using the GIS (geographic information system) which the police jury is installing.
Once the regular meeting went into session, Public Works Director Chester Granger reported to the jurors on the status of chip seal projects in the parish because of limestone supply.
“The chip seal project is still very slow and may be that way for a couple of months due to the height of the rivers and not seeing a crest any time soon,” Granger said. “Watching the forecast with the tropical depression in the lower part of the Gulf, the forecast brings it up through Texas and into Arkansas. If it does what they say it will do, I don’t know when we’ll get to the project.”
Granger explained the problem lies with the fact that the limestone is sent by barge. “Everything is barged down from north to south, and barge traffic is down to nothing,” he said. “We can barely get enough to keep on our gravel roads right now. We’re not getting any extra.”
In other business, the jury:
• appointed the Ville Platte Gazette as the official journal with the minutes to be also reflected in The Basile Weekly.
• announced the July committee and regular meetings will be on July 8.
• announced the upcoming 2019 millages which will be adopted at the July meeting.
• and passed a resolution calling for a tax renewal election of a special tax for the Duralde Gravity District No. 9 for the November 16 ballot.
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By: TONY MARKS Editor