Improving infrastructure for the Oil Center

LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) – The Oil Center Association’s Lunch & Learn series featured a fireside chat on the “State of the Oil Center.”

The event on Tuesday engaged with key local leaders, including Mayor-President Monique Blanco Boulet, Lafayette City Council Members Thomas Hooks (District 4) Kenneth Boudreaux (District 5), and State Representative Brach Myers (District 45). The event was from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM at the Petroleum Club of Lafayette. It was the first of many discussions the association would like to do to bring knowledge, improvements, and expansion to the oil center.

“We’re here in the oil center, visiting with local stakeholders, business owners, people who work and live in and around the oil center and it’s important to understand where they are as a smaller community within our bigger community, what their ambitions are,” said Lafayette’s Mayor-President Monique Blanco Boulet to news 10 before the discussion started. “They want to understand what we’re doing over the city. But we’re here for public input to share what’s going on in the city and to learn what they want to see out of us.”

Councilman Kenneth Boudreaux of District 5, said “I think this is the critical piece where the government meets the people; being accessible, being transparent, being available.” He adds, “The oil center is a very significant part of our community. It’s one of our economic drivers and we’ve got to make sure that we sustain it, and find out what the needs are. Where we come in, infrastructure issues, making sure that we are still appealing and attractive to business.”

Boulet expressed that the Oil Center has the ‘bones’ to turn into something even bigger and better. However, with funding being tight this year she said Lafayette Consolidated Government is in the middle of cutting the budget massively.

“We’ve been accustomed to LCG having a lot of cash because of all the federal funds. We’re not getting any new federal funds this year. There’s no more ARPA so it’s going to go back to being the traditional tight belt that it was. Sadly, I wish we had another injection of another $80 million, but we don’t,” she said. “I’ve told everybody I want it to be the fix that year so that we’re not so dire for four years. Let’s just put it all back in place this year and then we go forward from a healthy perspective.”

Boulet said there are a lot of options with individual areas of town. “I’m trying to figure out, where’s the most critical area to put our money? I won’t have the luxury of a lot of money to disperse. I will have to be very targeted. So I would love to see some big investment here [the Oil Center]. It would take an outside grant but the first thing you do is put a plan together and I do think it has to be based on feedback. I think you have to sit down with all the stakeholders here,” she said.

Kristin Bodin, who is a board member asked where the oil center stood on priority. The Mayor-President replied, “There are a lot of ideas, Kristin, but what direction do we take? I think it needs more formal conversation from the people who work here and the people who own businesses here.”

Another woman brought up the importance of improving infrastructure. She said, “We have a beautiful, perfect link to the university through Girard Park. We also have a beautiful perfect link once St. Mary becomes walkable for the university to downtown via crossing right over Johnston Street and if we don’t make the oil center walkable we will become obsolete because what people want is to go somewhere to get ice cream after they get lunch, after they shop all in this area.”

She continued, “If you don’t have the accessibility for people to do those things, our community will continue to be aging because people want to stay in Lafayette and people have kids, and a stroller doesn’t work on a broken sidewalk. If you don’t have your money invested in infrastructure, then you don’t have your money invested in your community.”

Councilman Boudreaux replied, “How that happens is tricky because who’s going to pay for it?”

However, he said if they are successful in getting some type of development district where money is generated then it becomes relatively easy to pay for sidewalks because it becomes part of their plan.

“That’s why we got to do the whole piece together,” he said.

Denise Lanclos, Preservation Alliance of Lafayette adds the oil center is the hub of a lot of beauty in the community. She also would love to see sidewalks enhanced. Banners are put up on lamp posts again and an open house every year in March when those Azalea are in bloom.

What is the importance of the oil center and how are you going to weave it in your administration?

The Mayor-President talked about the Heymann Center and discussed what they want to do with it. She shared that the connectivity needed for the community is sidewalks, walking paths, and bike paths.

Another question asked to the panel: Do you think it’s possible to create an oil center authority that would advocate for the oil center? Being that the Oil Center Association is funded by members paying membership fees.

Councilman Boudreaux supported it. State Representative Brach Myers of District 45 was asked what are the highlights of his first session and what he believes will benefit the oil center and its members. 

He shared his input and the audience cheered and thanked him for putting the oil center first in his efforts.

Another conversation point was discussed if strategically LCG could take some of that burden off of the oil center association with water bill obligation for the maintenance of the azalea. Closing remarks were discussing having lunch in the oil center where there are arts and music in the district so that people won’t have to leave the oil center to get entertainment.

Latest Stories