Renovated school now houses sheriff’s offices

Sheriff Bobby Guidroz conducted a tour of the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office Public Safety Complex Tuesday for the hundreds of visitors attending a grand opening ceremony.
The center, built at a cost of $2.1 million, replaces a scattered array of offices previously used by the sheriff’s office.
“This is a one-stop shop,” Guidroz said. “Within, hopefully three years, we’ll have the other 2 percent, which is our civil department and my fleet operations.”
The civil department is located in the courthouse.
“Once they move it here it will be a big load off the parish courthouse,” he said. “It will free up parking. It will free up office space for parish government.”
Guidroz envisioned consolidating sheirff’s office operations even before he was elected eight years ago, a news release stated.
Money was set aside toward the new facility since Guidroz took office in 2006.
“Eventually, it was planned, completed and paid for in cash… the citizens of St. Landry Parish were never asked for a ‘special tax’ or a ‘temporary revenue allocation,’ There is no note on this facility,” the news release stated.
The facility, built in the late 1960s at 1592 E. Prudhomme Lane, was once home to Belmont Academy and Acadiana Preparatory schools.
Don D’Avy, president of D’Avy & Associates, said the vacant school, located on 5 acres, was purchased for about $900,000, the gutted for the renovation.
“The building would have cost twice as much to start from scratch,” he said.
Marshall Moreau, sheriff’s office administrative officer, said employees began moving into the , 24,000-square-foot, 50-office building over several weeks.
The building was substantially completed on Feb. 19, D’Avy said.
The renovation took about two years to complete.
Lynn Lejeune, former Eunice mayor and president of the St. Landry Parish Chamber of Commerce, congratulated the sheriff on fulfilling a vision. 
“I think it is wonderful,” she said of the restoration.
Opelousas Mayor Reggie Tatum said his city is working with the sheriff’s office. “We are all working together not only for the betterment of Opelousas, but for St. Landry Parish.”
District Judge Gerard Casswell said, “This is a fabulous facility. I’m very happy for them because they needed the space and now they have it. I think anybody is more productive in more comfortable surroundings.”
District Attorney Earl Taylor’s office is in the renovated former federal building in Opelousas.
“We were given that building by the federal government to used for law enforcement and prosecution,” he said. “It has worked out really well. I hope the sheriff’s office works out as well here as our’s has.”
Taylor and Guidroz clashed during fall elections when Ellis Daigle ran for district attorney. Guidroz backed Daigle in that election.
“The reason I’m here here is I want to make sure the people know the sheriff and I are working together. We need to do that for the people of St. Landry Parish.”
Departments in the complex include
administration, public iInformation, patrol division, criminal detectives, juvenile detectives, narcotics detectives, evidence administration, records, information technology, maintenance, training division, SWAT, internal affairs, elderly affairs, search and rescue and DARE.