Land purchase stirs criticism
LUTCHER — The St. James Parish School Board’s recent decision to buy a 54-acre tract in the north Vacherie area for $1 million as a site for a new football stadium has angered some taxpayers and one of the board’s seven members.
“I feel you all are hiding something from us, and that’s not fair,” Yvette Malancon told the School Board on Tuesday night, adding that as a taxpayer, she felt she was left out of the land-selection process.
Malancon questioned why the board did not hold public meetings on the matter and then asked for the name of the appraisal company and information on the other tracts of land that were considered for purchase.
“I think as taxpayers we are being left out,” Malancon said.
In a 6-1 vote on Jan. 10 during a retreat in New Orleans, School Board members Carol Lambert, George Nassar Jr., Charles Nailor, Kenneth Foret, Diana Cantillo and Richard Reulet Jr. voted to approve the $1 million purchase of the Webre-Steib Plantation property to be used as the site for St. James High School’s new football stadium.
Board member Patricia Schexnayder voted against the action and on Tuesday said she was unhappy with the land-selection process because there was no public meeting for the people of the west bank.
“It was not done fairly, and I go on record saying it,” Schexnayder said.
Luce said the School Board has had several public committee meetings on the land-selection process and has spoken about it with community leaders at prayer breakfasts and other public meetings.
State open meetings law requires governing bodies to publicly post agendas for regular or special meetings at least 24 hours prior to such meetings. The board posted the retreat agenda the week before the meeting.
All of the information about the land appraisals except the names of the property owners is on the school district’s website, Luce said.
Due to encroaching industrial development near the current St. James High School campus, the School Board has been exploring the possibility of building not only a new stadium but also a new high school in a different location instead of constructing a new stadium at the current site.
Although the selected tract was appraised at $1.35 million, the Webre-Steib property owners agreed to sell it to the School Board for $1 million, Luce said.
The board considered buying three other vacant tracts also near La. 20 and La. 3127, but two of the landowners would not accept the appraised value of their properties. The third tract would be unsuitable for a stadium site because it has both a high-pressure natural gas pipeline and an oil pipeline running through it, Luce said.
The School Board also opted for the selected tract of land because a nearby property owner offered to donate land to the school district to construct a road connecting the stadium property to La. 3127, Luce said.
Other action taken by the board included:
BOND REFINANCING: The board agreed to issue and sell $2.3 million in general obligation school refunding bonds at an interest rate of 1.03 percent.
By refinancing bond debt, the board saves taxpayers an estimated $95,668 in interest payments, bond attorney Hugh Martin said.