Inside Report for April 16, 2008
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The West Feliciana Parish Courthouse Annex is a beautiful building that architecturally complements the adjacent courthouse that has been around since 1903.
But the annex, which opened in July 2005, has been the subject of several controversies since it was in the talking stage.
Most recently, air quality problems rendered it vacant for several weeks, created friction among some parish officials and led to lawsuits.
When the River Bend nuclear power plant’s property tax exemptions expired in 1996, resulting in a revenue windfall, police jurors and other elected officials began talking about the need for a governmental complex.
At the time, the sheriff, clerk of court and assessor were operating out of the courthouse’s first floor and an adjoining building, while the Police Jury, registrar of voters and driver’s license examiners were in an old house on the courthouse grounds.
St. Francisville’s historic district lies on a narrow ridge that extends into the river bottom, and nearly every inch of land is in use. While many courthouses across the nation sit on spacious square city blocks, West Feliciana’s courthouse shared a space on the block, in 1996, with a small law office, an antebellum town home and another residence.
At one time, the St. Francisville courthouse square also was the site of a hotel, as local residents were reminded when construction excavations started turning up relics.
Some officials wanted to buy land on the east side of town and erect a large governmental building.
Others, including historic preservationists, wanted a building next to the 1903 courthouse, fearing it would no longer be a focus of activity if parish government moved elsewhere.
The historic district proponents won that argument, and the jury made plans to build on the square, although it moved its own operations to a renovated building in another part of town.
The decision resulted in two compromises of sorts: no additional parking would be available and the jury would have to build one of the annex’s three stories below ground level to prevent it from diminishing the old courthouse’s grandeur.
Not all of the historic preservationists were happy with the location, however. Some Royal Street property owners objected vociferously, if not somewhat late, to having a large building erected in close proximity to their historic homes.
One of the opponents, Lea Williams, won a seat on the Police Jury in last fall’s elections.
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