The Ville Platte City Council approved the application for the sale of more than $2 million in bonds to help pay for street overlays and repairs. The bond issuance still needs to be approved at the next council meeting on Feb. 12.
Mayor Jennifer Vidrine said that although this bond sale was not included in the budget, it will not affect the budget. There is still room in the debt service already included in the budget to handle this bond issuance.
Because the bond issuance was not included in the fiscal budget approved last summer, an ordinance will be needed to amend the budget. There will be a public hearing before the February meeting at 4:45 pm to discuss the amendment to the budget. The council meeting will begin at 5 pm.
Last year the city was approved for an $800,000 grant for street repairs. The money raised from this bond issuance will be used in addition to the grant money. The repair work will begin as soon as Phase III of the water line project is complete.
In other council business, Todd Morein, owner of Universal Communication, asked permission to place a high-speed internet antenna on one of the city’s water towers.
“We’ve been getting a lot of calls recently with people complaining about their internet service,” Morein explained. “They say that they have to call an 800 number and talk to someone out of state.”
“Our office is on Tate Cove Road, and people can call and talk to someone from right here,” Morein said. “We’re a local business, and we’re on top of our game.”
“Normally, we provide internet service to people in rural areas,” he explained. “Currently, we provide service in Palmetto, Bunkie, and Grand Prairie. We would like to provide an alternative in Ville Platte, too.”
Morein said that the antenna would be attached to the water tower, but that it would not interfere with the operation of the tower. It would broadcast an internet signal to customers who have a receiver, which his company would provide.
Morein said that Universal Communication would have internet speeds up to 15 mbps, with three different speed packages available, starting at $59/month.
The Council decided to have City Engineer Ronnie Landreneau get with Morein to make sure that the installation of the antenna would not cause any problems. It would consider giving approval at the next meeting following a report from Landreneau.
A liquor permit for the Non-Blonde Café was approved. The new business was recently opened at the west end of town, at the corner of Main Street and Hwy. 167.
The Council changed the date of its February and March meetings. Normally, council meetings are the second Tuesday of each month. However, because of Mardi Gras, the Council voted to move the February meeting to Monday, Feb. 12. The March meeting was rescheduled to Tuesday, March 20, due to a conflict with the National League of Cities conference. Both meetings will start at the regular time of 5 pm.
Vidrine honored several employees who recently retired. Marcus Johnson, Donna Veillon, Kenneth Green, Carroll Duos, and Joseph Matt were given plaques for their service. Both Johnson and Veillon retired after 37 years of service.
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NICK JAGNEAUX