At tonight's regular meeting, the Lafayette City-Parish Council will hear an update on its trash contract, and consider a loan to the developer of a proposed apartment complex.
The update on Republic Services is scheduled as a discussion item, meaning no action is anticipated.
The apartment item would loan $1.5 million to the developer planning to renovate the notorious former LessPay Motel and a neighboring historic property, our media partners at The Advocate report.
According to the newspaper, it wasn’t clear on Tuesday morning where the money would come from. Approval of the loan is contingent on “availability of appropriate funds in the City of Lafayette’s University Avenue Initiative Activity.” The adopted budget for the 2020 fiscal year shows a $0 budget for the University Avenue Initiative, which refers to outgoing Mayor-President Joel Robideaux’s redevelopment efforts along the northern end of that corridor.
To read the Advocate's whole story, click here.
Also on Tuesday, the council is set to discuss a plan to transfer $5 million in money collected for parish libraries, parks and recreation centers to a project that would dredge the Vermilion River.
The jury is out on whether dredging the river would have a lasting, significant impact on flooding issues in Lafayette. Whether or not the river is dredged, and how extensively it will be dredged, is not up to the council. It's up to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Back in August, the council asked the corps to study the issue and issue a finding on the subject.
Engineers and scientists are not solidly behind dredging as a solution for flooding in Lafayette; even if it was a silver bullet, communities downstream are worried about the impact on their water issues.
