Parish president touts road program

St. Landry Parish President Bill Fontenot cited the ongoing Smooth Ride Home program as he told Eunice Kiwanis Club members he is seeking re-election this year.
In 2013, voters approved the road program for St. Landry Parish’s 800 miles of rural roads, which is funded by a 2 cent sales tax.
“When I came into this job there were probably 700 (miles) that needed work,” he said Thursday.
“It was just not getting done,” he said. “We never had a program here in St. Landry Parish in the history of the parish.”
Fontenot pointed to the former police jury system for the lack of road work and deterioration of parish government, which at one point was placed under state management.
“Each district had their own little bucket of money,” Fontenot said. “There was never enough and there were 13 bosses. It was very inefficient.”
St. Landry Parish had the reputation of having the worst roads in the state, “which means they were the worst in the country.”
The 15-year, 2-cent sales tax generates $7 million to $7.5 million a year, he said.
About $42 million in contracts have been awarded for 200 miles of roads of which 80 miles is complete, he said. The road upgrades are costing about $200,000 a mile.
“This is the first time in the history of St. Landry Parish, and I’m talking in the life of the parish, as far back as beginning of time, that St. Landry Parish has had a road program,” he said. “If renewed in 15 years it will be a better program than the state had on a state level and the federal.”
Fontenot said, “This is all in our hands. We depend on no state, no federal and we are going to catch up in 15 years.”
Even after eight years of the home rule system, parish government continued to be operated like a police jury system, he said.
Following his election Fontenot won court rulings that defined the parish president and council relationship.
In another matter, Fontenot said a dispute over the location of Acadiana Addiction Center near Sunset pointed out the need for a land use plan.
When residents learned about the center, they mounted opposition, he said. The Parish Council approved an ordinance pertaining to the center, but it was after the fact, he said.
“That’s just the tip of the iceberg that can happen,” he said.
Development is coming to St. Landry Parish, he said.
“You want to put in place some land use management so you can have the best smart growth that is the least intrusive to your private lives,” he said.
A land use plan would have be subjected to a vote either on the council or to voters, he said.
The starting point would be to hire experts to come up with a plan, he said.