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VIDALIA, La. — Concordia Parish has an opportunity to receive a new 30-foot weather tower for better weather monitoring in the parish at no cost. The catch is finding a spot to build the tower.

“The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has secured funding through U.S. Congress and is working in collaboration with the University of Louisiana at Monroe to build 50 weather towers” in strategic locations throughout the state, Concordia Parish Office of Emergency Preparedness Director Timothy Vanier announced during Monday’s regular scheduled meeting of the Concordia Parish Police Jury.

Vanier told police jurors that all they needed to do to have a tower built in the parish was find a property owner to donate 36 square feet of land with an access road on which the tower could be built or donate the land themselves if the parish owns any in the right location.

Vanier said the ideal location for the tower is in Acme, a rural unincorporated community in the southwestern portion of the parish.

Police jurors said there is enough land in Acme to build two or three towers if needed but most is privately owned apart from a wildlife reserve that is owned by the state.

The tower would have a 36 square-foot concrete foundation and would monitor radiation, temperature, soil moisture at different levels, wind direction and wind speed, and have a camera to monitor weather in the sky, he said.

Live data would be archived and stored 24 hours, seven days a week for public information.

The tower would also maintained and monitored all at no cost to the parish, Vanier said.

The police jury took no action on the matter on Monday but some said they would contact property owners to see if they would consider it.

Interested property owners may contact Vanier at 318-414-1678.