Moving Forward Archive

Commissioners of an Opelousas downtown development authority that has been expanded in both size and in scope have begun the work of rebuilding and revitalizing the heart of a town poised both literally and figuratively at a crossroads.

At its first meeting, members of the Opelousas Downtown Development Authority Keith Broussard, Ken Cochran, Donald D’Avy, Pat Fontenot, Ogden Pitre, and Mike Thibodeaux unanimously selected community leader Lena Charles as its president.

The seven commission members are appointed for staggered terms ranging from two to six years by legislators, the parish president, the Opelousas mayor, the city council, and the St. Landry Economic and Industrial Development District.

Legislation passed in the last regular session of the legislature expanded the old district, which was essentially midtown Opelousas, to include segments of the major highways coming into it. Those highways, I-49 and U.S. 190, put the community at a physical crossroads that is growing in economic importance.

In a figurative sense, members were told, they have the power and potential to play an important role in the economic and cultural history of the town, but that they will have to overcome significant challenges to do so.

When the legislation creating the new district was passed, Sen.  Gerald Boudreaux, its sponsor in the state Senate, called it “a tangible demonstration that we have the political will and civic vision to move all of our communities 

and the entire parish forward.” House sponsor Dustin Miller pointed out that Opelousas, one of the oldest cities in the state, “has so much history and so much potential.”

That sentiment was echoed by parish president Bill Fontenot, who said that “downtown Opelousas is the heart of St. Landry Parish, it must reflect the health and vitality of the parish as a whole.”

Former State Sen. Nick Gautreaux, legislative liaison for the St. Landry economic development agency, told commission members that the new law gives them tools that the old district did not have.

Bill Rodier, St. Landry economic development director, will serve as interim director of the authority until it gets itself established and can hire its own director. Since the new DDA does not currently have a dedication funding source, St. Landry Economic Development will also temporarily cover all the authority’s administrative expenses.

SB 250 does give the board the ability to create funding for infrastructure and related improvements in the district. The establishment of this funding will be a transparent process that carries on through 2018.

“This is a long-term initiative that plays an essential role in the future of this parish” he told the board. “We have a large parish with a lot of assets, but Downtown Opelousas sits as the heart so is important that we make it healthy.”