Harlan Kirgan
Eunice aldermen drew the line for three properties in the city to either be repaired or demolished at a meeting Tuesday at the Eunice Municipal Complex.
The owner of one of the properties, Geneyla Dantley, was present and said she would begin the process to repair her fire-damaged house at 1050 Faris Avenue.
Dantley is to provide the aldermen proof she is making repairs at the July 11 board meeting.
Also on the list are properties at 120 and 130 W. Bacciochi Street and 530 S. Martin Luther King Drive.
Vernon McManus, city attorney, said the Bacciochi property is not new on the city’s radar.
The property was in the condemnation process several years ago, he said. “Here it is back on the council’s agenda.”
City action on the Bacciochi property had been dismissed in 2013 by the building inspector.
The dismissal prompted Jack Burson, alderman at-large, to urge the board to amend its ordinance to allow only the Board of Aldermen the power to dismiss action on a property in the condemnation process.
The board was thanked for its action by Donna Baltakis, director of Keep Eunice Beautiful. She spoke about her group’s success in cleaning up property on Martin Luther King Drive.
The organization does an annual survey of litter in Eunice, she said.
“After five years we decided we’ve got a lot of litter cleanups going on ...” she said.
The next step is what she called “neighbors helping neighbors.”
“We picked one of the properties that has been a problem area in our litter index for quite a few years,” she said.
Volunteers have removed 37 tires, seven cars, a truck, school bus, scrap metal, wood, hot water tanks and toilets from the property, she said.
“This took us months to prepare for,” she said.
“We decided that once a quarter we would like to do this,” she said.
“Once we got into a neighborhood we are not coming back. Our hope is that the people in that neighborhood will see what we are doing,” she said.
Baltakis said she was encouraged to see the property listed on the agenda by code enforcement.
“We have gone too long with looking the other way,” she said.
Other business included:
— Approved an amended current budget and the budget for the next fiscal year that begin in July.
— Mayor Scott Fontenot announced fireworks are permitted in the city from 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. June 25 to July 5. Also announced was the fireworks display at the Eunice Recreation Complex.
— The parish sales tax collection office is receiving sales tax from Amazon and Walmart online sales.
— Fontenot named members of the Eunice Economic Development Committee. They are Jacob Bergeron, Holly Bertrand, Launey Patton Griffith, Drake Kelly, Broch Leger, Jerrod Prather, Ezekiel Thomas and Brent Vidrine.
— Appointed The Eunice News as its legal journal.
— Introduced a franchise agreement with water company LAWCO for 20 years.
— Introduced Miss Eunice Madison DeVillier and Miss Teen Eunice Lillian Ashford.