W. Feliciana Police Jury OKs buying 19 acres
Print
Email
Save
Twitter
Social Media
Del.icio.us
Digg
Facebook
Reddit
ST. FRANCISVILLE — West Feliciana Parish police jurors voted 4-3 after a contentious debate Tuesday to buy nearly 19 acres for an Independence community sewage treatment plant.
Jurors Randy Stevens, Ken Dawson, John Roach and jury President Bill Shoemake voted for the purchase from Ray Dreher, while Jurors Otis Wilson, Lea Willams and John Cobb voted against it.
The vote was the opposite of the tally on Wilson’s earlier motion to buy 4 acres from Lula London for the plant.
The purchase price is $18,000 per acre.
London’s property had been the intended site when the sewer project began in 2002, but the deal fell through over major differences in the jury’s appraisal of the property value and the appraisal London submitted.
Early in the discussion, Parish Manager Ambrose Sims told the jury the Dreher property actually is a better buy because it is more centrally located in what is expected to be a high-growth area.
It also would allow for expansion and require fewer pumping stations, he said.
“We are going to do what is best for the whole parish,” Sims said.
Wilson, Williams and Cobb tried for some time to persuade the jury to purchase the
original site from London, who said she is willing to sell more land.
Sims also told the jurors that the system should be in operation between July and September 2010.
On another matter, the jury voted to cancel a planned 1-cent sales tax election on Oct. 4 and reschedule it Nov. 4 with proposed projects including water and sewer improvements, drainage and road and bridge work.
Projects dropped from the list include a new jail and new library building.
Jurors Randy Stevens, Ken Dawson, John Roach and jury President Bill Shoemake voted for the purchase from Ray Dreher, while Jurors Otis Wilson, Lea Willams and John Cobb voted against it.
The vote was the opposite of the tally on Wilson’s earlier motion to buy 4 acres from Lula London for the plant.
The purchase price is $18,000 per acre.
London’s property had been the intended site when the sewer project began in 2002, but the deal fell through over major differences in the jury’s appraisal of the property value and the appraisal London submitted.
Early in the discussion, Parish Manager Ambrose Sims told the jury the Dreher property actually is a better buy because it is more centrally located in what is expected to be a high-growth area.
It also would allow for expansion and require fewer pumping stations, he said.
“We are going to do what is best for the whole parish,” Sims said.
Wilson, Williams and Cobb tried for some time to persuade the jury to purchase the
original site from London, who said she is willing to sell more land.
Sims also told the jurors that the system should be in operation between July and September 2010.
On another matter, the jury voted to cancel a planned 1-cent sales tax election on Oct. 4 and reschedule it Nov. 4 with proposed projects including water and sewer improvements, drainage and road and bridge work.
Projects dropped from the list include a new jail and new library building.
 | ||||
| Most Popular | Most Emailed | Hot Topics | ||
