by T. Scott Boatright
The Lincoln Parish Police Jury discussed proposed budgets and the future of property near the Lincoln Parish Courthouse during its November meeting Tuesday, ultimately agreeing to pursue $2 million in state funding for the Lincoln Greenspace Project.
Jurors also reviewed the parish’s amended 2026 and proposed 2027 budgets, setting a public hearing for 6 p.m. Dec. 8 before considering final adoption during their regular monthly meeting.
Much of Tuesday’s discussion centered on the Lincoln Greenspace Project, which involves the potential demolition of buildings located across the street from the courthouse extending toward East Arizona Avenue.
Jurors voted to move forward with requesting a $2 million forgivable loan from the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality while leaving decisions about the property’s ultimate use for a later date.
“I just want to get it looking good and leaving options open,” LPPJ President Glenn Scriber said.
Parish Treasurer Laura Hartt explained that the funding comes from state rather than federal sources, giving the parish greater flexibility in determining how to proceed.
“That pot that we got the funds from, some years it’s federal and some years it’s state money left over from the previous year,” Hartt said. “This $2 million is state money, so it does not have the strings tied to it like real (federal Environmental Protection Agency) funding would.”
Juror Chris “Moose” Garriga expressed reservations about demolishing the existing building, pointing to its red-iron steel construction as a potentially valuable structural asset.
Red-iron buildings use heavy structural steel beams coated with a rust-inhibiting primer. Such construction is known for its durability and ability to withstand significant environmental stresses.
“That building has good bones,” Garriga said. “It’s red-iron. That building really has good bones. Yes, the mechanical is crap. The roof is crap. The insides need to be ripped out. But that building right there, to build, is probably a 30-40 million dollar building.”
Juror Logan Hunt disagreed, saying he believes the building should be demolished before the parish determines the best use for the property.
Options discussed included selling the land, developing a greenspace or potentially constructing a new courthouse, although Hunt made clear he does not support the latter.
“I think the question is, does the building need to come down? Yes, I think so,” Hunt said. “Most of us can agree that the building needs to come down. Do we need to get it to grade and get it looking decent? Yes.
“We may not all agree on whether we should build a new courthouse. I don’t think we should ever build a new courthouse. But that’s another conversation.”
Ultimately, jurors agreed to move forward with transmitting a letter requesting the available state funding while continuing to study the property’s future.
The jury also addressed its amended 2026 and proposed 2027 budgets, with Hartt emphasizing that the documents remain preliminary pending further discussion and the December public hearing.
One significant consideration involved a request for additional funding from the Lincoln Parish District Attorney’s Office.
However, jurors agreed to allow employees of the district attorney’s office to participate in the same health insurance plan available to parish employees, reducing the need for additional funding.
Hartt said she had presented the proposed budget in detail to the Finance Committee, although the committee could not make a formal recommendation because it lacked a quorum. Jurors Linda Henderson and Diane Richards were absent from the committee meetings.
“I presented the budget in great detail to the Finance Committee,” Hartt said. “So this placeholder is a reminder that this is just a draft budget that will be discussed and adopted after the Dec. 8 public hearing.”
Ruston-Lincoln Convention and Visitors Bureau President and CEO Tori Ward Davis also presented the bureau’s amended 2026 and proposed 2027 budgets, both of which received Police Jury approval.
“We have pretty drastically rearranged and restructured this budget from what you saw last year just to provide more transparency,” Davis said. “Just a cleaner budget for everyone makes more sense for everyone.”
In other business, the Police Jury authorized Scriber to execute a cooperative endeavor agreement involving the parish’s GIS and IT offices, approved the renewal of health and property insurance coverage through Forth Insurance and adopted ordinances authorizing the sale of two adjudicated properties.
Those properties are located at 203 Simpson Road in Dubach and 504 Jackson Road in Simsboro.
