VP Council continues effort to rid city of abandoned buildings

The City of Ville Platte’s mayor, Jennifer Vidrine, said they “are on a mission to help keep Ville Platte clean.” Her declaration was made at the city’s recent council meeting on Tuesday when abandoned properties became the topic of discussion.
During the meeting, the mayor reported that she had provided council members with a list of 32 addresses that according to Mayor Vidrine, have “dangerous buildings.” According to the Mayor, some of these abandoned buildings are being used for “harboring criminals and drugs, and have illegal things going on inside the homes.”
Mayor Vidrine went on to say that “all of these property owners will be sent a letter with their 30 day notice” to remove the structure from the property.
The Mayor also shared that letters are being sent out for overgrown grass as well and that property owners will only have 10 days to address overgrown grass on their property.
Eldridge Hickerson, Jr., who received a letter from the city, was in attendance at the meeting to request that he be given more than 30 days to tear down the abandoned home on his mother’s property located on W. Beech Street. Hickerson’s reason why, was due to the fact that he would be having surgery soon. He requested an additional six months to get the home torn down, which the council granted.
Also in attendance at the meeting were Debbie Clark, Landy Thompson and Paula Deville with Chateau Des Ami to sign a proclamation declaring May as Older Americans Month.
Clark said, “May is Older Americans Month where we celebrate our seniors who have donated so much to our community, and who have taught us everything we know about living.”
The council, on Tuesday, also received their engineer’s report from Todd Deville, with Landreneau and Associates.
In regards to the water project underway in the city, Deville shared that concrete should begin to be poured soon in the areas where roads were busted up to be able to replace water lines. Deville said, “You should see some of that concrete being poured before your next meeting.”
During his report, Faye Lemoine asked to address Deville and the council and mayor about drainage work she said she has been waiting to see done for “almost two years.”
Lemoine asked when the contractors will start digging the ditches that in Shady Acres subdivision.
According to Deville, the contractor said the ground needs to be drier before they are able to get equipment to the area where the ditch will be dug.
Although, Lemoine, was not satisfied with Deville’s response, the Mayor said, “We are waiting on the contractors, and that is all that we can do.”
Before closing the meeting, Mayor Vidrine shared that registration for an all summer long basketball camp will take place from May 9th - May 31st. at city hall.
The camp will be for children seven - 14 years old. The cost to participate for seven and eight year old children is $50, and for children ages nine - 14 the cost is $75.
Other items approved were:
Monthly report, which showed that the city spent $40,626.69 less in the month of April of 2018 than it did in March of 2018. For March, the city spent a total of $246,321.42, while it spent $205,694.73 during the month of April.