Lafayette Mayor-President Josh Guillory, in a video news release Monday evening, announced the potential for building a new parish jail through a public-private partnership, our media partners at The Advocate report.
The announcement was short on details, the Advocate reports. But if the property previously discuss is used, the new prison would be a block or so from J. Wallace James Elementary School on Willow Street.
Guillory said he is asking the Parish Council to approve a resolution supporting a plan to replace the aging Lafayette Parish Correctional Center without raising taxes.
He is proposing a "public-private partnership model" which "does not call for the privatization of the jail. This will not be a private prison."
To read the Advocate's complete story, which includes all the details, background and history of the issue, click here.
Here's the video:
In the parish council meeting held on Tuesday, the "procedural resolution" was introduced to the board on what the partnership means.
Attorneys Gregory Logan and Jason Akers confirmed that a partner has not been chosen at this time, but explained the benefits of the proposition. They explained that risks such as designing a new facility (jail and/or juvenile detention center), building, responsibilities and maintaining mostly everything falls on the partner chosen.
