The Rotary Club of Ville Platte today (Tuesday) heard from Ville Platte Mayor Jennifer Vidrine give a status report on projects going on in the city.

    Mayor Jennifer said work crews are continuing to clean drainage in Shady Acres, LaSalle and Chataignier streets to prevent future flooding events. She said there was no street flooding last week with Hurricane Harvey.

    She reported that a new software system will detect water leaks anywhere inside the city limits. Every week, homeowners will be notified if the software finds there is a leak on the home owners property instead of waiting until the end of the month when the water bill could be considerable.

   The city of Ville Platte will be getting a $1.6 million dollar grant for the Ville Platte Recreation complex for four additional fields.

   Work is progressing on cleaning up abandoned property and abandoned vehicles. She reported that in the last two weeks, 14 abandoned homes were torn down. The mayor said homeowners have 30 days to clean up their property once they have been notified by the city. For abandoned cars, they have three days.

   The city is building 10 single family homes on city owned property along Dossman Street using grant funds for rent or purchase.

   Also the city is looking at erecting a new welcome sign on East Main next Tobacco Plus with a fountain and flags.

   Mayor Jennifer said a group of citizens is urging the city to remove the reflective gear ordinance. The mayor feels it is a good ordinance to protect the safety of motorists and pedestrians walking at night.

   In other rotary business, Rotarian Dr. Willie Buller was named fund raising chairman to raise funds for flood relief victims. Already, $3,000 have been collected. An additional $1000 was given by an anonymous rotarian challenging fellow club members.