by Malcolm Butler
Approval of the Long-Range Transportation Plan for Lincoln Parish was one of the main items accomplished during Tuesday night’s Lincoln Parish Police Jury meeting.
By a vote of 9-0, the jury formally adopted a resolution approving the plan (Lynda Henderson, Greg Williams and Diane Richards were absent from Tuesday night’s meeting).
For the past year, the Lincoln Parish Police Jury, City of Ruston, and Hunt, Guillot & Associates have been teaming up on a process to develop a new Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) for the parish.
The goals of a new LRTP are:
- to provide a safe and secure transportation system
- to maintain a high-quality and dependable transportation system
- to support economic development and regional competitiveness
- to improve connectivity and mobility across Lincoln Parish
Other agenda items Tuesday included an update from Wesley Johnson of E&P Consulting Services, LLC on new tax laws involving adjudicated property. Johnson provided additional options during her 10-minute presentation, while stating that what the LPPJ was currently doing was still within its right.
The LPPJ opted for additional discussion before voting on whether to adopt a new ordinance that would include some of the new options.
Other items included:
- Bobby Jackson was appointed to the Waterworks District 3 Board for a 5-year term.
- The jury went into executive session for 15 minutes to hear a “Crochet Litigation Update.”
Prior to the main meeting, the Public Works Committee chaired by Milton Melton met and proceeded with the following items:
- Authorized a changer order (the second) in the amount of $20,916.00 for the Lincoln Parish Detention Center HVAC project
- Authorized substantial completion for the LP Detention Center HVAC project
- Awarded a bid to Womack & Sons for $881,843 for Wastewater Treatment & Collection System renovations dealing with the collection side, rebuilding lift stations and replacing piping
- Awarded a bid to BLD Services, LLC of $550,610 for Wastewater Treatment & Collection System renovations, dealing with storm water intrusion, running cameras through the system searching for problems and then repairing said problems.
- Awarded the annual bid for asphalt materials for the capitol improvements program to Asphalt Products Unlimited
During the public comments portion of the meeting, Lincoln Parish resident Dennis Woods spoke about concerns of the progress of replacing a portion of Longstraw Road which at one time led to St. Peter’s Missionary Baptist Church.
The road was “disrupted” in 2020 when the City of Ruston purchased land by the airport and then annexed it for the extension of the Ruston Airport runway.
Although there is still access to the church from another road, Woods respectfully addressed frustration with the fact that a new road hasn’t been built to replace Longstraw, citing issues with safety as well as difficulties finding the church.
“It’s been a couple of years, and we haven’t heard anything back from the board,” said Woods. “We have been waiting patiently. I wanted to see if you could get something done; some type of roadway back down to the church.”
Although Woods said he knew that the new road was part of the long-range transportation plan, he requested the ability to separate it from that in order to get something done sooner.
“I know when you ask for a lot of money for bigger projects, it’s hard to get that,” said Woods. “But this is (not as much). We aren’t asking for anything special. This is about correcting a wrong. When you cut off a road from a church, it’s like cutting off a road from a hospital.”
Woods also addressed concerns about it impacting a nearby volunteer fire station.
“We just want you to get us something so people can get to the church,” said Woods.
District 3 representative Dan Lord agreed that a fix needs to occur, but he addressed the concerns and tried to explain the challenges involved.
“We do understand,” said Lord. “We have processes we have to go through. We have the long-range transportation (plan). There are processes we have to go through. There is more to it than just getting a little bit of money or a lot of money.
“Since we now have (the transportation plan approved), we can start to work on (getting funding). We don’t have (the money) to go build the road. We understand your frustration.”
Part of the long-range transportation plan includes a southeast Ruston loop that would include a “fix” for the issue with Longstraw Road. The idea of spending what is believed to be in excess of $1 million for a temporary road that would then possibly be replaced with the loop project isn’t deemed fiscally responsible.
“This is a process. It takes time, and it takes money,” said Kevin Klepzig, Director of Operations for the LPPJ. “We don’t want to be irresponsible with the public’s money and spend it twice for two different roads that lead to the same destination.”
In other public comments, Elizabeth Hunt spoke about concerns about the “small plastic advertising signs scattered around the parish”.
“I personally think these signs make the area look unprofessional,” said Hunt. “I think a solution would be to make a designated area for these signs to promote business within our community.”
