DANIEL TYLER GOODEN / L’Observateur / February 19, 2000

VACHERIE – Something needs to be done with the St. James Youth Center.That’s what St. James Parish councilmen Elwyn Bocz, Wilson Malbrough Jr.and James Mitchell, Parish President Dale J. Hymel Jr, and detention centerDirector John Lubrano have come to realize.

Wednesday, they gathered as a committee Wednesday to discuss the mater.

The detention center, home to delinquent juveniles from across the state, has been making money, said Lubrano. The other parishes, 45-50 in the lastyear, according to Lubrano, are paying $89 a day per youth, covering the center’s expenses. The center easily affords it’s utilities and payroll – about$850,000 to a million a year – but so far has not been about to pay off the bill for the building itself. As the building ages, maintenance problems alsoare a concern, drawing more money away from the budget surplus.

A millage is being considered as a way to pay of the expense, but the councilmen aren’t too excited about that option. With only a few youths beingsent to the facility, St. James Parish is unfairly “supporting the otherparishes,” said Bocz.

Raising the $89 fee is an option, but may not be a good one. The fact thatthe center is averaging at over 80 percent capacity keeps the facility’s books in the black. If the fee is raised, other parishes may take theirbusiness elsewhere, said Lubrano.

The committee came to no conclusion Wednesday and will meet again before the next St. James Parish Council meeting. The president’s staff is workingto draw together the financial standings of the facility in order to better predict when action must be taken.

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