ABBEVILLE, LA - A packed room filled the Vermilion Parish Police Jury meeting Wednesday evening as residents voiced concerns over the future of a beloved cultural and historical center in downtown Abbeville.
The jury had planned to discuss the potential relocation or repurposing of the center, a key tourism hub and home to several community organizations, but ultimately voted to table the decision for another six months.
“This is all materializing fast,” said Police Jury President Mark Poché. “We, just as jurors have really been involved for the last three or four days of knowing this. The solution for the jury now is we don’t know what our answer is. It’s the best answer for us today.”
At the heart of the issue is a growing financial dilemma. The jury is legally required to provide a facility for the Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office, whose current evidence-storage building is in need of repairs estimated at $500,000. Jurors are now considering whether the cultural center, which the police jury owns, could serve as an alternative location for the sheriff’s department.
“We are in a financial dilemma on the police jury,” said District 8 Police Juror Errol J. Domingues.
The possibility of repurposing the building sparked strong opposition from community members who say the center plays a vital cultural role.
“Moving out of this building would truly destroy everything that hundreds of us civic people, civic citizens of the city of Abbeville and parish have worked towards,” said resident Elray Schexnaider.
For the past two decades, the center has provided space for local artists, housed exhibits showcasing the parish’s history, and served as headquarters for several nonprofit groups, including the Egg Omelette Incorp., which helps organize the town’s well-known omelette festival.
“It would be devastating to the omelette festival,” said Meg Hebert, treasurer of the organization.
Hebert noted the group maintains a permanent collection of memorabilia in the building and stores key supplies for the festival there.
“The organizations that are in there presently belong where they are and use the building,” she said. “They’ve contributed to the renovation of the building over time. It’s just not a good idea to put the sheriff’s office in that building.”
Moving forward, the police jury plans to meet with Abbeville Mayor Roslyn White to explore alternative solutions, including the possibility of a building exchange.
