Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

VIDALIA, La. — Louisiana Rep. C. Travis Johnson, D-Ferriday, urged the Concordia Parish Police Jury — with a raised voice — during its Monday meeting to take action on HR 9 and engage in starting a committee to explore a Home Rule Charter government type that includes a parish president or parish manager acting as the new head of government for the entire parish.

Johnson said he is “neither for nor against” Concordia Parish adopting a Home Rule Charter.

“What I am for is good governance,” he said. “What we’re doing currently is not working.”

Citing some issues in Concordia Parish Johnson said, “We have major drainage issues around here. … Our roads are in disrepair. … Our police jury used to use its own machinery to fix little potholes. Now you guys are completely relying on the state for little potholes.”

The parish president would be a person elected to a seat representing the entire parish as opposed to being elected in one district, he said. Of the 64 Louisiana Parishes, 26 of them operate with a form of Home Rule Charter since its creation in 1974.

Of HR 9 — which Johnson authored — he said, “That resolution was simply for you guys to engage in starting a committee. … That committee would then get together and identify pros and cons” of a Home Rule Charter government.

Johnson said this committee would be a volunteer-type committee with each member appointed by a member of the police jury.

Johnson urged the police jury to act because of a drastic change he anticipates after 2030 when the Sidney A. Murray Jr. Hydroelectric Station — located 40 miles south of Vidalia — changes ownership. Per a deal struck between the Town of Vidalia and project investors before it was built and turned on in 1990, Vidalia will have the option to buy the hydroelectric station for $1,000 and remain a co-licensee until then. The town is receiving royalty payments off of the power sold from the hydroelectric station, which capped out in 2020 at 20 percent.

“In 2031, this parish will go through a very drastic change in our budget once that tax is cut,” Johnson said. “The school board and police jury are going to lose a drastic amount of money. These kind of plans don’t happen overnight. You got to have real serious people addressing real serious problems. … We have a serious emergency. We got a real issue coming up right before us and the government takes a long time to move.”

Of the six parishes that Johnson represents, Concordia is the only parish he made the resolution for to explore a Home Rule Charter. As for the other five parishes, Johnson said, “Concordia Parish is my home parish. … This system is said to not be good for a very small parish. … The parishes that have gone to a Home Rule Charter are very successful and populations have grown. Some of the rural parishes that are just getting into it and are learning in the central part of the state. It started down south and it’s working its way up.”

As of the 2020 Decennial Census, the population of the Concordia Parish was recorded as 18,687. The population is down from 20,822 in the 2010 Census. The smallest parish in Louisiana with a Home Rule Charter and a parish president government type, Johnson said, is Pointe Coupee parish with a population of around 21,000.

The police jury previously voted down Johnson’s resolution during its Aug. 26 meeting.

“We didn’t have this information when we voted,” Police Juror Maurice Bachus said.

However, Police Juror Cornell Lewis said “we’re all well aware” of the hydroelectric station and what it does for the parish. “Vidalia has got to do their due diligence,” he said. As for the issues of drainage and roads, Lewis said, “This board came into some tough decision-making left to us by a previous board but we’re going to make a valiant effort to get things done. As far as saying we don’t have a plan, we’ve got a project ongoing right now and that is Brushy Bayou. … This project is going to help the entire parish. … It don’t take a parish president to get stuff done. It takes the individuals on this board to move stuff forward.”

To this, Johnson said both himself and the police jury are “going to be held accountable” for the issues going on in Concordia Parish.

“Please, do not threat,” Lewis said to Johnson.

The police jury took no action in regard to Johnson’s presentation on Monday.

Police Jury President Collin Edwards and Police Juror Red Tiffee were both absent and Vice President Adam Probst acted as the chairman of the meeting.

In other matters during Monday’s meeting of the Concordia Parish Police Jury, the board:

Approved an emergency purchase of five culverts for Crestview and Robert Webber drives for $18,308.48 from Coastal Culverts. Road Superintendent Tony Guillory said the reason for an emergency purchase instead of requesting proposals for the culverts is because the roads are about to receive new pavement and the culverts needed to have already been installed.

“You don’t want new asphalt over bad culverts that are 40 years old,” Guillory said.

The board also approved authorization of Bryant Hammett & Associates to prepare and submit Capital Outlay Requests on the police jury’s behalf, as they do each year.

The police jury also moved to advertise a public hearing to adopt an ordinance that would allow the parish to conduct a live auction to sell its first adjudicated property facilitated with the help of E&P Consulting. With the consulting agency, all of the adjudicated properties are listed at louisianalandsolutions.com. An auction is to be held on Sept. 19 at the Concordia Parish Courthouse regarding 136 Trading Post Road.

Additionally, the police jury heard a presentation from Cassandra Lynch, president of the Vidalia Beautification Committee, who had a few requests for an upcoming Christmas festival at the old Concordia Parish courthouse.

“You think last year was good, this year is going to be great,” Lynch said.

Her requests included portable toilets for the festival goers to use, the grass to be cut so that extension cords would be visible on the ground used to light the decorations and benches for those who don’t or can’t bring their own chairs.

“I know you all have your procedures you have to follow. If you can’t do it, make a donation,” Lynch said.