EPPJ: Approves sale of Industrial Park property for nearly half of appraised value

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The sale of property inside the Industrial Park was approved to go forward at half of the appraised value after a vote of the Evangeline Parish Police Jury Monday night.
The property between the National Guard Armory and Jeanmard’s is roughly 1.47 acres and was appraised at $36,750. The police jury voted to set a sale price of $18,000.
The issue of the property sale first came up during the executive committee meeting. Executive Committee Chairman and Police Jury President Ryan Williams said a local business currently employs about 10 people and is looking to purchase the property because it is wanting to expand.
“This particular business wants to retain the current jobs and expand to create more jobs,” he said.”
When the issue came up during the regular meeting, Juror Bryan Vidrine made the motion to set the offered price of $18,000 which prompted Juror Eric Soileau to ask if it was a normal situation.
“I wouldn’t say this is a normal situation because this piece of property has been vacant,” replied Williams.
Secretary-Treasurer Donald Bergeron explained, “The appraisal came in higher than what some opinions thought it would be valued.”
Bergeron went on to explain he had to talked to Assistant District Attorney Marcus Fontenot, the jury’s legal advisor, about being able to sell the property under the appraised value.
“The rough opinion is there is precedence for selling it for less than the appraised value due to the fact it’s in an industrial park and if we use it for job retention or to attract industry or jobs,” Bergeron said.
Soileau expressed he is fully in favor of selling the property but questioned if legal knew the difference between the appraised value and the proposed negotiated price.
Bergeron replied, “He does.”
The motion to set the sale price passed unopposed.
Also during the executive committee meeting, Industrial Development Board Chairman Dr. William “Tojo” Ward gave an update on activity at the Industrial Park.
Schlumberger has closed three of its plants, including the one in Little Rock, and is sending that line of products here to Ville Platte. “One of them is going to be a valve that they do not make here,” Dr. Ward said, “so they’re going to bring 30 of the guys from Little Rock here.”
He went on to report the board received initial interest from a company looking to relocate to the Industrial Park. As Dr. Ward explained, the company manufactures 400 thousand tons of steel pipe a year. It would employ 300 people at $85,000 a year and have capital expenditures of $1.1 billion. The company would be on 50 to 100 acres.
“We have everything they need,” said Dr. Ward. “This by far does not put us in the final three. It’s just a regional submission, but we have some skin in the game.”
Dr. Ward also reported Cleco is working to receive some funding from the federal CARES Act in order to install a sewage treatment center at the Industrial Park.
In other business, the police jury:
• approved the purchase of five rail cars using parish transportation funds to repair/replace two bridges in District 2.
• voted to raise the price of ice at Crooked Creek to $2 a bag.
• approved moving three voting locations: one in Basile to the Willie Belton Center, one from the Chateau Des Amis to the Voting Machine Warehouse, and one from the Veteran’s Home to American Auto Salvage contingent upon the sale of the Veteran’s Home.
• reappointed Tommy Jones, Cristal Messer, and Ray Forman to the Evangeline Parish Solid Waste Commission.
• approved the appointment of Roger Fontenot to replace Michelle Messer on the Ward 4 Fire Protection District Board of Commissioners.
• approved the replacement of tourism board members Darryl LeJeune of Basile with Haley Ortego and Hattie Johnson of Pine Prairie with Elizabeth West.
• appointed the Ville Platte Gazette as its official journal.