Mayors meet with members of Vermilion Chamber

MAURICE — Each municipality in Vermilion Parish has its own set of successes and challenges.
There are threads that tie the areas together, too.
On Monday, Vermilion Chamber of Commerce members heard from mayors from those cities and towns during Business Over Breakfast - “State of our Municipalities.”
Abbeville Mayor Roslyn White, Delcambre Mayor Pam Blakely, Erath Mayor Taylor Mencacci, Kaplan Mayor Mike Kloesel and Maurice Mayor Neil Arsement shared some insight into their respective municipalities. Gueydan Mayor Jude Reese could not make it due to a scheduling conflict.
Pinchers Seafood Restaurant in Maurice played host to the event.
“I want to thank the mayors for being here,” Vermilion Chamber Executive Director Lynn Guillory said. “We’ve been trying to find a date for the longest time. With their busy schedules, we finally made it work.”
White’s schedule has been busy. She highlighted several projects and other efforts that have taken place in Abbeville since she took office in July of 2022.
“I have focused on understanding what we need in our infrastructure and putting some funding in place to deal with that,” White said. “In my first 16 months, we have successfully aligned $11.2 million in outside investments for improvements in the city.”
That includes numerous street overlays and improvements in the downtown area. Graceland Avenue will also see sidewalk upgrades. An accessible fishing pier is being constructed at Lafitte Drive-In Park. The city also secured $2.3 from the state and $500,000 from Delta Regional Authority (DRA) to improve the city’s water plant.
While outside funds are great, people remain the greatest asset. White said she has and will continue to listen to people in the community.
“I have been studying and working with the community to see how we can improve where we are going,” White said. “What can we do? One way is to be better at community outreach. Listen to people when they talk. Try to figure out how to work on some of their ideas. I don’t have all the answers, but our community does.”
Delcambre is a unique community.
“We’re half Vermilion and half Iberia,” Blakely said of the split between the two parishes. “That’s kind of a different thing.”
Blakely said Delcambre has made infrastructure improvements along the same lines as Abbeville.
“We have been working on it and have a new water system,” Blakely said. “We are now working on getting a new sewer system. We’re trying to reach out and buy some property to get a new sewer system. Being a small community, we don’t have much money, but we’re working on that.”
Voters in Delcambre recently passed a 1-cent sales tax that will benefit public safety.
“I’m happy to say we just passed a tax that will help our police department,” Blakely said.
Like Abbeville, outside funds have been a benefit to Erath.
“Grants are a big opportunity for our community,” Mencacci said. “We capitalize through partnerships with VEDA (Vermilion Economic Development) and the Twin Parish Ports Commission. Through the years, we’ve got a lot of funding for our project through grants.”
The town’s water and sewage system on the La. Hwy. 14 Bypass is a recent example.
“The Twin Parish Ports help with a grant to put gravity sewage and water on the north side of the Bypass a few years ago,” Mencacci said. “Along with QSA (Quality Sports Authority), we’re seeing some development now.”
Mencacci said the town is currently working on a USDA grant to bring gravity sewage to the south side of the Bypass.
“That will be to the Skip & Ria’s and the Grub Lot area,” Mencacci said.
Erath capitalized on its portion of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
“What you can do with ARPA funds changed over time,” Mencacci said. “We needed a new water tower and a generator for one of our (sewer) lift stations. That would have eaten up all of our $750,000 of ARPA funds. The state came in, and we applied for grants. Our matching money for the grants came from the federal ARPA funds. Through that, we freed up cash and bought four new police cars. I have an officer who has been here 18 years, and it’s the first time he’s been in a brand-new police car.
“Grants have been a tremendous attribute for our town.”
Kloesel said Kaplan has seen the value in going after grants, even if it is an effort to “go after” the funding.
“It is our money coming back,” Kloesel said, “but we do have to sometimes beg for it.”
Kloesel thanked local members of the Louisiana Legislators, including Sen. Bob Hensgens and Rep. Ryan Bourriaque, for helping to make that process smoother. The other mayors offered a similar sentiment.
“They do go to bat for us,” Kloesel said.
Financially, Kloesel said the city is in good shape.
“We’re probably in the best financial shape that Kaplan has ever been in,” he said. “With that said, there are real challenges. Everything we do costs us two to three times what it cost us a short while ago. Our revenue has remained stagnant. We have to watch that closely to ensure we don’t overspend.”
The city recently completed road improvements.
“We didn’t just overlay two major thoroughfares through Kaplan,” Kloesel said. “We ground up the roadway and put in a brand-new road. The best part is that we could do that without going into debt a single nickel. We also completed a $1.2 million water sector project without going into debt.
“We were able to use ARPA money, and it helped a whole lot.”
Lots continue to fill up in Maurice, especially residentially. Arsement said that continued growth is vital.
“With that is already approved,” Arsement said, “we’re looking at about 700 homes in the next two years. There are hundreds more that could be coming up in the next few years. People say we don’t need more subdivisions. For me, on the business side of it, we need the residents here to support our businesses and eventually get more businesses.
“If the roof counts are not there, businesses are not coming.”
Arsement, nearing the end of his first year as mayor, said one of his goals was to have a grocery store come into Maurice. That is now happening with NuNu’s coming up on U.S. Hwy 167.
“They are up to 40-something acres,” Arsement said. “The store’s going to be 35,000 square feet. That is going to be great for the town’s tax revenue.”
Arsement said the town is working on plans for a new city hall building as well as a second water tower, which will be on the south side near Beau
Road. Improvements at the park are also a top priority.
There’s plenty of work to be done. Arsement said he has been asked numerous times what made him seek the public office. He answered with an enthusiasm shared by his peers at the table.
“I get asked pretty often if I regret taking this job,” Arsement said. “People ask if I get tired of the phone calls. I love it. I like building and being part of the process.
“I want to be at the table to ensure we’re planning and building in the right direction.”