Ville Platte to move some offices into old nursing home

The offices for Ville Platte’s public utilities and public works will be moving in the future, Mayor Jennifer Vidrine announced at the regular monthly City Council meeting Tuesday evening.
Pathway Management, which manages Heritage Manor nursing home, has offered to donate the old facility to the City once it moves into its new campus on the west end of Ville Platte.
As of Tuesday’s meeting, Vidrine had not formally accepted the donation, pending legal advice from City Attorney Eric Lafleur; but Vidrine was clearly excited about the opportunities this would offer.
“This is going to be great,” Vidrine said. “All of our public works facilities will be in one place.”
In other news, Vidrine urged citizens to be on the lookout for their property tax bills which will be mailed in the upcoming months. She asked property owners to verify that the tax assessor’s office has their correct address and that they have a mail receptacle that meets US Post Office requirements. She doesn’t want anyone to miss paying their tax bill on time.
“We have a high delinquency fee, higher than in the past,” Vidrine said. “The late fee is $51.50” if the tax bill is not paid before Feb. 1.
Roseanna Johnson addressed the Council about abandoned property owned by City Marshall Ronald Doucet at the corner of Jackson and North Reed.
“In April he said that something was going to be done” to clear out the property,” Johnson said. “It’s still there.”
Johnson said that there is a dumpster on the property, and that people were using it to dump trash into it.
“I’m concerned about children playing in the abandoned trailer and getting hurt,” Johnson added.
She also complained that a partially burned down house on N. Reed Street has not been cleared for the last four months. The owners, she said, are waiting to hear from their insurance company.
“Thank you very much for bringing this to our attention,” Vidrine told Johnson. “We want citizens to let us know about abandoned property that needs to be cleaned up. Please report it to city hall.”
Vidrine said that the City will look into Doucet’s property. She also said that the City allows six months for property owners to hear from insurance companies.
Once the City issues a letter to clean up the property, Vidrine said, the owner has 15 days to get it rectified. If it is not cleaned, the City will clean the property and add the cost to the tax bill.
In connection to cleaning up abandoned property, Vidrine said that the City has been cutting trees and branches along the streets.
“We want the streets cleared for school buses to be able to pass,” Vidrine said. “We also want them clear for our crime cameras.”
City Councilman Mike Perron asked about cleaning out canals. Vidrine told him that a company has been engaged to clean out the city’s 13 drainage canals. However, she said that it will take the company three months to get back with quotes on the project.
“It’s in the works,” she said.
Vidrine bragged about the sales tax collection in Ville Platte.
“Ville Platte is one of just two cities in the parish to have sales tax revenue in the black, not the red,” she said. “And, we’re the only one of nine in the parish that has seen tax revenue increase every year since 2011.
“I want to thank people for shopping in Ville Platte,” she continued. “And I want to thank our merchants for making people want to stay in town to shop.”
Vidrine announced that five new businesses opened up the Ville Platte in the last month.
She also recounted the popularity of Ville Platte products during the recent Democrat National Convention in Philadelphia. Vidrine attended the convention as a party delegate, achieving national notoriety for her enthusiastic cheering.
While at the convention, Vidrine brought Ville Platte food products, including seasoning and boudin. She said that she made boudin sandwiches with Jack Miller barbeque sauce, handing it out to delegates from other states. A couple of days after she returned, she found out that an order for 1,000 bottles of the sauce was made from New York.
“They love our food,” she said.
In other business, Councilman Bryant Riggs described a home improvement grant/loan program through the US Dept. of Agriculture. The program gives grants to home owners 62-years-old and older. Younger home owners can receive loans of just one per cent interest.
“I would love to have representatives of the USDA come to Ville Platte to explain the program and how we can benefit from it,” Riggs said. “The money’s there. The paperwork just needs to be done correctly.”
Riggs asked anyone who is interested in attending a meeting explaining the program to call him so that he can set it up. He can be reached at 337-831-7725.
The Council unanimously voted to hire four new fulltime police officers. This brings the Ville Platte Police Department up to 31 officers, just two shy of Chief Neil Lartigue’s target of 33 officers.
Vidrine presented portraits of three Ville Platte pastors who also serve as moderators for their Baptist church associations. The photographs will hang in City Hall.
“This is one of the highest honors you can get,” Vidrine explained. “They represent over 96 churches in Louisiana. That’s a lot of work leading and guiding a lot of people.”
The three moderators are Rev. Freddie Jack (who is also a city councilman), of the Seventh District Missionary Baptist Association; Rev. Matthew Alfred, Jr, of the Eastern Seventh District Association; and Rev. Herman Arvie, of Southwest Missionary Baptist Association.