Lafourche Parish President Looks Back at 2020 and Toward a Promising New Year

By Lafourche Parish Government

“There is a renewed focus with 2021 kicking off quickly.  While 2020 was definitely a year that most were happy to put behind them, we learned that our Lafourche Parish community is resilient no matter the challenges thrown our way,” said Lafourche Parish President Archie Chaisson.

When President Chaisson assumed office, he set goals that resonated with residents and businesses.  Despite the pandemic and active hurricane season, the work to move the needle on those goals continued quietly in the background.  The five pillars he set as a foundation to move Lafourche Parish forward included local tax reform, economic diversification, drainage and infrastructure improvements, coastal restoration, and recreation expansion.

“Local tax reform has never been more important than it is now,” emphasized President Chaisson. 

The tax reform process has entered the second phase of its evolution towards actionable legislation. An extensive report, produced by the research of Dr. James Richardson, analyzed the overall tax and spending activities of the parish.  Additionally, in the report, Dr. Richardson submitted his recommendations that will be considered by a committee designed to decide the forward measures.

As a part of the economic diversification strategy, the Lafourche Parish Grants and Economic Development department announced that a newly created Industrial Development Board (IDB) had been established in mid-November, 2020.  This board was noted as the first of its kind parish-wide and would be responsible for crafting agreements with new and existing businesses to help them locate or expand in Lafourche Parish.  At the same time, a $25 million dollar expansion of Performance Foodservice – Caro was announced which entailed a multi-million dollar capital expenditure and created approximately twenty full-time jobs.

An active hurricane season tested the drainage and infrastructure improvements completed in 2020.  With seven named storms, Lafourche as a whole fared well.  However, preparation for the next season always drives more improvements. 

“For the year ahead, we’ve budgeted over $10 million dollars toward drainage and infrastructure improvements,” noted President Chaisson.  “The budget is a combination of grant dollars secured for pump station improvements as well as dedicated tax dollars.”

As with drainage infrastructure, coastal restoration is paramount to protection.  Lafourche Parish Government, Nicholls State University, and the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) announced the beginning of the development of the Coastal Center at Nicholls State University.  Lafourche Parish Government dedicated $500,000 of the parish’s Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA) funds towards development.  

“In addition to this partnership, we have identified the Grand Bayou Freshwater Reintroduction project as a priority restoration project as a way to increase the freshwater flow from the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) into the marshes adjacent to Grand Bayou,” said President Chaisson. 

Funds to complete construction have been allocated from the parish’s GOMESA funds, as well as through a commitment from CPRA to construct this project.

“While every effort to move Lafourche forward is important, recreation seems to be the topic most people want to discuss because it’s fun and brings families and communities together. We were excited to unveil our state-of-the-art community center in Lockport this past year, and plan to expand in other districts,” said President Chaisson.  

Projects slated for this year include boat launch upgrades parish-wide, new facilities for the Chackbay, Choupic, and Choctaw areas, partnerships with the Visitor’s Center in Raceland, and repairing the Leeville launch following damages during Hurricane Zeta.

“None of our accomplishments thus far or future goals could be met without the support of the entire community. When I said it would take us moving forward together, those words have never rung truer than they do today,” expressed President Chaisson. •