Ville Platte City Council Meeting

December 9, 2014

The Ville Platte City Council held its monthly meeting tonight (Tuesday) at City Hall.  

City Hall and the Council Room are beautifully decorated for the holidays.  Mayor, Jennifer Vidrine, reported her staff was responsible for the gorgeous Christmas decorating and as of tonight, there are 55 Christmas trees throughout City Hall.  She invited everyone to bring the family and come and walk through.  Feel free to take pictures for the holidays.  It is well worth the trip!

The Mayor was happy to report that November expenditures came in at $189,013.58, and that is down $21,038.37 from the month of October, when expenditures were $210,051.95.  

She was also pleased to announce that the Sales Tax Comparison is UP 19.2% from this time last year.  The Mayor thanked everyone for shopping locally and especially thanked business owners for having the type of businesses that make people want to stay in our area and shop.

More good news from the meeting…Helping Hands made a donation and presented a check to Mayor Vidrine for the Boys & Girls Club in the amount of $1,000.00; and Reverend Matthew Alfred, Jr. and members of his congregation at the Eastern Seventh District Baptist Association presented the mayor with a donation to the Boys & Girls Club for $1,225.00.  City Engineer reports that modified plans have been submitted to the Fire Marshall’s office in hopes that they will be able to open the Boys & Girls Club soon.

Councilman, Taranza Arvie, was recognized for his 8 years on the council and his service to the people of his district and Ville Platte.  Councilman Arvie commented saying “I never considered myself a politician, only a public servant.  I will continue to work in the community, and I thank you for allowing me to serve.”

The council approved a resolution to approach the Evangeline Parish School Board about “studying and exploring” having a French Immersion program put into our schools.  The mayor reported they have been working with Codofil to help promote French Immersion in Ville Platte.  She said “We are doing this to help keep our French culture going.”

Also, the council voted to approve a $50,000 application for a LGAP grant to move forward with the Master Plan at the Northside Civic Center.  This grant would be used for basketball courts and then they will move onto other aspects such as walking trail, water park splash pad and playground equipment.  They should know something about the approval sometime around the beginning of the legislative session.

It was announced that the new Mayor Pro-Temp will now be Councilman, Jerry Joseph.

The council approved the hiring of two full-time and two part-time police officers for the Ville Platte City Police Department.  They also approved the painting of a new mural inside the MLK Center reflecting black history makers.  They hope to have the mural finished by February, which is Black History Month.

Phase II of the Water Project is finishing up.  They are currently “killing old lines that are still leaking”, and dressing up areas from earlier projects.  

The Mayor announced there will be an Ethics meeting on Monday, December 15th at 10:00 a.m.  City Hall will be closed from 9:30 a.m. until Noon so employees can attend.   The mayor invites any governmental employee in the parish to attend and reminds employees ethics training is mandatory every year.  You can contact City Hall for more information.

The Mayor said on behalf of herself and the City Council, “Merry Christmas, and we hope you all pass a good time!”