Population welcome in St. John
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, March 14, 2001
AMY SZPARA
LAPLACE – Population growth in LaPlace means positive things for the area, said St. John the Baptist Parish administration after United States 2000 Census data was released Friday. The 14.4 percent increase in population in LaPlace between 1990 and 2000 is a welcomed expansion, said Parish President Nickie Monica. “I’m real pleased we had the increase we did. It was higher than anyone expected,” he said. “Our administration will make sure we can handle this growth and be able to serve the St. John area.” According to Chris Guidry, chief administrative assistant for St. John Parish, higher priced homes are being built in the area, which has contributed to the recent rise in people. It also means there will be a higher tax base. “We’re becoming more attractive as a metro region of New Orleans,” said Guidry. “Now we have the full range of housing, from lower income to higher.” Business is also growing, said Guidry, to accommodate the ever-growing population. “The more people that come to live in St. John, the more businesses we’ll have to provide.” Guidry said the population has really boosted in the past five years. “Most of LaPlace land was tied up in the savings and loan problem,” he said. A large amount of land owned by Landmark Land Co., which declared bankruptcy in 1992 because it was a subsidiary of the unsuccessful Oak Tree Savings Bank, was tied up for a couple of years. When that land became available, construction boomed. “If we looked at just the last five years, growth was probably higher than 10 percent a year,” said Guidry. “The last few years have been like gangbusters.” Reserve has also grown slightly, showing a 3 percent increase in the past decade. Edgard has seen a small decrease of 4.2 percent, and Garyville has decreased by 12.8 percent. According to Guidry, the decrease in population in Garyville is an old trend; however, a new residential area is going up in the town and is expected to increase growth. He presumes that growth will be experienced throughout the parish in the years to come. The population increase means that services in the area must grow, as well. The new library in LaPlace, expected to be completed in about a year, and a federally funded park that will sit next to the library are being erected to accommodate the community. Along with population growth comes other concerns for the area. The slight rise in crime has been attributed to this growth, but Chief Harold Klibert of the St. John Sheriff’s Office recently stated that the problem is being remedied. Robberies, which have gone up in the past year, have occurred more at construction sites which are popping up due to the booming real estate market. Klibert said more officers have been hired to accommodate population. Another consideration is school expansion. With increasing population, the possibility of larger schools being built comes up. However, according to St. John Parish Public Schools Superintendent Chris Donaldson, for seven years in a row the public school system has lost enrollment by a couple hundred a year. “Funding has decreased. It’s a statewide problem,” he said, and added, “Either a lot of people are moving to St. John who don’t have kids, or older people are moving in.”