FERRIDAY &045; Concordia Parish fared well in the capital outlay bill passed on the final day of the legislative session last week, Rep. Bryant Hammett said.

&uot;It’s never enough,&uot; Hammett said. &uot;Local needs are more than the state is able to provide for, unfortunately. But I think Concordia Parish fared very well for this session given the limited amount of money available. We get about $2 billion in requests and only fund about $230 million. That gives you some idea how Concordia Parish is doing and has done.&uot;

Concordia received $10.5 million in total monies, though much of that may not be approved by the state bond commission.

Concordia Parish had $1,725,000 in Priority 1 funds in the bill, much of which has already been spent on projects, Hammett said. Priority 1 funds have already been cleared to receive a cash credit line, though the state has not yet sold bonds for those monies.

Those funds include $500,000 for Ferriday’s downtown revitalization, $650,000 for Vidalia’s industrial park and $475,000 for the Louisiana Delta Music Museum.

Priority 2 funds, of which Concordia had $490,000, are eligible to get a cash line of credit but bonds have not yet been obtained. Priority 5 funds are eligible for a non-case line of credit, meaning contracts can be entered into though the funds aren’t actually available. Concordia had $4,195,000 in Priority 5 money.

&uot;I wish we didn’t have to do it this way because it’s confusing to just about everybody,&uot; Hammett said. &uot;But it’s basically just a cash-flow management tool. Most state projects take a number of years, so this allows local governments to go ahead and make contracts.&uot;

The state waits to sell large blocks of bonds &045; often between $400 and $700 million &045; when bond rates are favorable.

Concordia Parish also received $350,000 for the Boggy Bayou Road reconstruction directly from the state’s general fund.

The Black River Lake Commission, set up several years ago to help manage the Black River drainage area, also known as the Horseshoe Complex, received $100,000 in Priority 1 funds for a feasibility study on ways to control water levels and fluctuations in the Black River Complex, which includes three bayous, two lakes and a river in southern Concordia Parish near Monterey.

&uot;They’ve hired an engineer to see what can be done to help control the water level,&uot; Hammett said. &uot;It fluctuates as much as 12-14 feet depending on rain in the parish. With the levee system, things don’t flow naturally like they used to and it creates sediment problems and erosion problems. I think it’s one of the more interesting projects in the parish right now.&uot;