Council sets Lamar-Dixon fees

• By DAVID J. MITCHELL
• River Parishes bureau
• Published: Nov 8, 2009

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GONZALES — Ascension Parish government took steps this past week to button up its administration of the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center since the recent departure of management firm SMG.

But a parish spokesman said Friday officials are considering whether the center’s long-term management should remain entirely in-house and be overseen by a general manager or should be handled through a different management firm.

For at least the next several months, however, management of the equestrian and events center off La. 30 will remain directly under control of parish government, spokesman Scott Rabalais said.

He said parish officials want to see how effective that management is and then will look at the issue next year.

“It’s really all to be determined,” Rabalais said.

Parish officials allowed SMG’s contract to expire Oct. 31, hired much of the facility’s event staff and assigned Carla Bourgeois, executive assistant to Chief Administrative Officer Cedric Grant, to serve as the center’s interim general manager.

SMG began managing the facility for parish government shortly after the parish agreed to lease the facility from the Lamar-Dixon Expo Foundation in late June 2005. The parish bought the center for $7.5 million earlier this year.

During a Thursday meeting in Donaldsonville, the Parish Council unanimously adopted two ordinances related to administration of the center.

One ordinance set forth a schedule of fees parish government charges for services. The other granted the administration authority to enter into short-term rental or lease agreements.

Without separate council authorization, rental agreements cannot be longer than six months and cannot encompass the entire center, the ordinance says.

Portions of the facility that may be rented include livestock stalls, booths, rooms, buildings and RV or camping spots, the ordinance says.

Grant said Thursday night that the fees — which range from RV hookup rates to the hourly rate for ticket takers —do not include increases over what SMG had charged.

Parish government also has sought the necessary permits and licenses so alcoholic beverages can continue to be sold at the center, as they could under SMG management, Rabalais said. SMG had held the required permits.