By William Midkiff
Last night, the Lincoln Parish Police Jury held its monthly meeting, during which the jurors discussed and passed several items, including approval of a contract that will ensure the continuation of the parish’s plans to construct a “Health Hub.”
This Health Hub will be located next to the Northern Louisiana Medical Center in Ruston and is currently being designed by Ruston architect Mike Walpole.
The discussed contract addresses the need for additional surveying and engineering services in order to prepare the site for construction. According to the contract, Riley Company of LA, Inc., will be providing these services under a budget of $40,000.
The item was passed unanimously, so the contract between Riley Company of LA, Inc., and the city of Ruston has been approved.
Also, Lindsay Gouedy, education coordinator at Louisiana Sparta Ground Water Commission, gave a report on Sparta’s continued efforts to monitor and manage the parish’s water supply.
Gouedy reported that, because of Lincoln Parish and the city of Ruston’s support, Sparta recently received a $500,000 grant through the Economic Development Administration. This grant allowed Sparta to create a three-phase project, which will put in place a data collection program.
The project will also update the existing groundwater model and create a water budget for sixteen of Louisiana’s parishes, including Lincoln Parish.
Also during this meeting, two Lincoln Parish employees were reappointed in their respective positions.
Ronnie Rodriguez, commissioner of Waterworks District No. 1, was successfully reappointed as commissioner for five additional years.
Kip Franklin, member of the Fire Training Center Board, was also successfully reappointed in his position. He will be serving as a member on the board for an additional three years.
Several other items were discussed and voted upon during this meeting. All items that were put to a vote passed unanimously.
The full meeting agenda can be found on Lincoln Parish’s official website.
