LSUE students experience economic development first-hand

To some watching economic development may be akin to monitoring the growth of grass in December, but seven college students said the St. Landry Parish Economic Development board meeting was, at the least, interesting.
The Louisiana State University Eunice students attended Tuesday’s meeting of the economic board in Opelousas along with Madelaine Landry, executive director of the LSUE Foundation and director of Institutional Development.
Landry leads the students in Civic Engagement, a project of the foundation intended to get students involved in community service and engagement.
“The roads don’t just appear. The sewerage just doesn’t happen. The Internet cables don’t just grow out of the ground. How does that happens? What is the process,” Landry said.
The board showed how some of that happens.
On Tuesday, the board authorized its executive director, Bill Rodier, to negotiate to buy 95 to 105 acres for an event center off Interstate 49 and Harry Guilbeau Road.
The board also approved a draft policy on taxing districts. The districts would be able to have up to a 2-cent sales tax that would fund infrastructure. A portion of the tax, 0.025 percent would be dedicated to fund to St. Landry Economic Development.
And, a resolution was approved to buy the district’s office property on 2.75 acres from Greater Opelousas Economic Industrial Council.
But it was the event center that caught the attention of the students.
Stephanie Cooper of Kaplan said, “It is cool. We got to see how things happen. They actually got things done today. It wasn’t just discussion and procrastination. They actually passed things we are going to see in the future.”
The event center is planned to be a 6,000-seat venue for activities such as horse shows, car shows and concerts. A 200 slot recreational vehicle park is planned along with retail and residential areas.
Catlyn Lauret, a student from Grand Prairie, went to an economic district board meeting last year.
“They were just talking about it,” she said. “It just shows how long its takes to get things done. They were just talking about an idea.”
Kyle Kaamil of Rayne said, “I really like the event center.”
Kaamil thought the event center would offer an alternative to the Cajundome in Lafayette.
“I’m not going to lie, it is interesting,” Kaamil said of the meeting.
“I thought it was really interesting,” Erilyn Adams of New Iberia said. “I’ve never been to a meeting like this. I’ve never been to anything like this. I thought they asked the right questions at the right time.”
Kaliyah Edwards of Baton Rouge said, “There are lot of things I wasn’t aware of that was going on in St. Landry Parish. I feel like some of the things discussed in this meeting they couldn’t help but benefit the parish as well as the different communities inside the parish.”
Travontae Robinson, also of Baton Rouge, said, “There are lot things that go into it,” of economic development.
Laura Reed of Eunice said, “I thought it was interesting. It was eye-opening to see what is going on around in the community.”
Landry said she hopes a class evolves from the group that is now an extra-curricular activity.
“For students to understand how a community develops they need to understand economic development,” she said.
Rodier spoke to the students before and after the meeting, she said.
Landry said there are other reasons for exposing students to a public meeting.
“One of the things I stress to my students is you never know at what point in your life you are going to have advocate for a cause,” he said.
Landry said after Hurricane Katrina many people found themselves working as advocates for the neighborhoods.
“If they didn’t know how to advocate for their neighborhood at the city council meeting or state meeting their neighborhood could get marginalized,” Landry said. “You have to know how that process works. My hope for the students is they see how government, business, private industry all have to work together and collaborate to get things done.”
The parish economic group has established a $1,500 scholarship for an LSUE and T.H. Harris student.
The first LSUE recipient was Lauret.