DANIEL TYLER GOODEN / L’Observateur / September 25, 2000

VACHERIE – A presentation by St. James Parish Housing Authority Committeemember Janet Johnson sparked another heated discussion over public housing conditions at Wednesday’s St. James Parish Council meeting.Johnson urged the councilmen to ride around and look at the conditions of the developments.

“We need to do something. It’s very bad if the parish council and the housingauthority board lets (these conditions) happen,” said Johnson. Deterioratingapartments, trash and high grass in the yards have been of increasing concern for developments.

Most councilmen said they had recently seen the conditions of the developments and they are waiting for a report from NelRod, an independent consulting company. Councilman Ralph Patin vehemently stated that waitingwas not an option and the council is “turning their backs” on the residents of the developments. Chairman Elton Aubert agreed that it is “time to starttaking care of St. James Parish in house and to stand up to what we feel isright not what somebody else says.”Councilmen Timmy Roussel and Wilson Malbrough said the best course of action is to wait for the NelRod report, as was the Department of Housing and Urban Development in Memphis, Tenn., to clearly see what directionshould be taken. Grayling Brown, chairmen of the St. James Parish HousingAuthority committee, is waiting for the report before taking action, said Roussel.

“That’s the way to handle this. We put faith and trust in the board, and Iapplaud Grayling Brown for his decisions,” said Roussel.

Patin said the council is responsible for the developments and can’t turn their backs on the residents.

Malbrough agreed that the situation is deplorable, both the housing authority’s upkeep and the residents’ upkeep. He reminded that the conditionis “not only what the housing authority has allowed to happen, but what the residents have allowed to happen.

Brown, who attended the council meeting, stated that as advised by HUD in Memphis, the board would wait for the NelRod report, which was promised within a week.

Though some thought it was best to wait on the report for direction and others felt immediate action was required, all councilmen agreed that the conditions of the developments are deplorable and have to be rectified very soon. The council passed a resolution requesting the housing authority toinitiate action toward improving conditions in the St. James Public Housingareas.

In another matter, Glen Waguespack, parish assessor, brought the contest of property assessment by Glen and Sharon Louque of Lutcher before the council. As required by law, the council is required to hear the reasons theassessor set the property value and vote in favor or against the sum.

Waguespack explained the assessment is correct and gave proof of other similar assessments in the surrounding Woods Subdivision. The council votedin favor of Waguespack’s assessment. The Louques can now appeal to theLouisiana Tax Commission if they desire to have the council’s decision overturned.

Also during the meeting the council passed a resolution appropriating $25,000 to the Louisiana Airport Authority. Patin and Malbrough votedagainst the resolution. Malbrough said many of his constituents are againstan airport in St. James Parish.St. John, St. Charles and Ascension parishes have all voted to appropriate$25,000 each for the airport authority, which will use the money to build an office in St. John and pursue a risk assessment study for the proposedintermodal airport, using state money. The $25,000 provided by St. JamesParish will not go toward any construction of an airport in the River Parishes.

Parish President Dale Hymel also informed the council during his report that the Lights on the Levee Christmas live broadcast and program had been canceled. The program, being designed for broadcasting on public televisionby independent producer Stephen Doiron, had not received enough funding to continue with the project.

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