Steve Bandy /Crowley Post-Signal
By all indications, things are looking up for Acadia Parish.
That seemed to be the general consensus of three parish officials who addressed a capacity crowd for the Acadia Parish Chamber of Commerce’s State of the Parish meeting on Friday.
Acadia Parish Police Jury President David Savoy, Superintendent of Schools Scott Richard and Acadia Parish Sheriff K.P. Gibson each reviewed the accomplishments of their respective entities and offered a bit of insight to the future.
Melinda Malmay, chairman of the Acadia Chamber board of directors served as mistress of ceremonies for the event held in the main banquet room at The Crowley Town Club.
Savoy was first to speak, saying, “This has been a year of progress for the Acadia Parish Police Jury.”
He noted the ongoing work and improvements at the Acadia Parish Landfill before turning his attention to parish roads.
“It’s been kinda rough for our road crews because of the conditions,” he said before ticking off a number of bridges that have been repaired or replaced in recent months.
“We do have some road problems, but we’re slowly working down the list,” he said.
Turning to the Rice Arena, Savoy mentioned the renewal tax that failed at the end of 2017 and urged those present to support the second renewal attempt coming up at the end of the year.
“We have one of the best arenas in the area and it’s something the children can enjoy,” he said. “I’ve heard some people say, ‘My kids are all grown.’ Well my kids are grown, too. But I think that’s a pretty selfish way of thinking about things.”
After talking briefly about improvements at LeGros Memorial Airport, the two-term juror touched briefly on animal control.
“We have three times the number of dogs in Acadia Parish as we do people,” he said. “Just ask our Animal Control officers. They do a tremendous job with a very small staff.”
In closing, Savoy touted the work of the parish administrative staff. “They all work very hard and are always on top of things.”
Richard, who was appointed superintendent here in June, 2018, noted that the Acadia Parish School Board is “far and away the largest employer in the parish.”
He said, as superintendent, he is responsible for more than 1,300 employees, 27 schools, four Head Start centers, eight day cares, over 9,300 students and about 180 buildings, “the vast majority of which are 50 years old or older.”
The superintendent lauded the efforts of the parish’s eight school board members who, he said, “oversee our policy and our budget and keep me in line.”
Speaking of budget, Richard explained that the parish operates on an annual budget of about $109 million, of which 84 percent goes directly to salaries and benefits.
Of that $109 million, about 70 percent comes from state coffers. The remaining 30 percent is from federal and local funding.
Richard said he feels the strength of the local school system is its 90 percent graduation rates — “90 percent of students entering ninth grade go on to earn a diploma.”
The weakness, he continued, is in the state assessment test performance, which he warned is coming up in April.
He said the system enjoys a strong relationship with LSUE, a relationship he hopes to develop further through dual enrollment and associate degree programs.
He added that he hopes to establish a strong working relationship with SLCC in the coming year.
Gibson, a 27-year veteran of law enforcement who was elected sheriff in 2016, said he sold his department three years ago on change — “change in a good way.”
Concentrating on establishing more patrols and improving response times, Gibson said he shuffled personnel until he had doubled the patrols from when he took office.
In 2018, he said calls for service are down 17 percent; cases assigned for investigation are down 30 percent; response time has dropped from an average of 30 minutes to between 14 and 15 minutes; and training is up 54 percent.
“On the down side,” he continued, “narcotics arrests are up 44 percent and the number of narcotics cases assigned are up 80 percent.”
Touching briefly on the parish jail, Gibson noted that, of the 180 beds “almost always fully occupied,” about 25 percent of the prisoners are there on charges of murder or attempted murder.
Looking forward, the sheriff said the conversion of the old detention center to a fleet maintenance shop is nearing completion and he hopes to advertise for bids for the construction of a new firing range in three or four months, “although that probably won’t be completed this year.”
Following the three addresses, a brief question-and-answer period was held.