Council Preview: Updates on schools, Northside development

Here is a selection of items on the agendas for this week's meetings of the Lafayette City and Parish councils. To see the full agendas, check out the links below: Parish Council Reports School System. Superintendent Francis Touchet will be providing his regular and general update on the state of the Lafayette Parish School System. One possible topic Touchet may raise is the recent withdrawal of an application for $46 million in sales tax revenue bonds that would have been directed to opening a new career center at the former Ovey Comeaux High School campus. Final Adoption Public auction. The Lafayette Parish Council is looking to sell off laptops, desktop computers and a trailer, along with other items, at a public auction. The auction is expected to bring in $1,665 that would go mostly toward the Parish General and Library Fund. Safety Improvements. An ordinance that would decide whether to use $187,749 from the Juvenile Detention Facility Fund's balance to pay for safety improvements at Lafayette's Juvenile Detention Home is up for a final vote. Joint Final Adoption More auctions. Both councils are looking to sell off even more laptops and desktop computers, along with other items, at a public auction. The auction is expected to generate under $1,000 that would be spread evenly across the city's and parish's general funds. Public arts. Lafayette's Chief Administrative Office's International Trade Division would receive a $194,000 transfer from a public art capital projects fund, after the division took over responsibility for public arts projects from the parks department. Additionally, LCG is looking to eliminate one International Trade and Culture Manager position. The International Trade Division works to boost global commerce, tourism and cultural ties for Lafayette. Roads and bridges. Several projects, including Prejean Road improvements and funding for a second phase of a Vermilion River project, would see $300,000 of their capital outlay funding transferred to a newly created project account within the Road and Bridge Maintenance Fund. Runoff agreement. Under a state-required agreement, UL Lafayette would agree to LCG regulating pollutant discharges and construction-related runoff into stormwater drains. UL would notify LCG of any suspected violations and be subject to fines if violations are found. Looping back: Proposal for 'loop' regional expressway revived A long-dormant commission to study an alternative I-49 connector, a semicircular 'loop' that would flank rural west Lafayette, is back. Vacancy and Appointment Vacancies. Vacancies exist on the following boards and committees: Keep Lafayette Beautiful, Lafayette Mayor-President's Awareness Committee on Citizens with Disabilities, Lafayette Waterworks District North, Lafayette Waterworks District South. Appointments. The parish council will decide whether to appoint applicants to the following boards and commissions: Lafayette Bayou Vermilion District, Lafayette Parish Waterworks District South and Parish Planning and Zoning. Additionally, Parish Councilmember John Guilbeau will appoint Patti Carter to the Lafayette Recreation Advisory Commission. Introduction Crime cameras. The parish is receiving $40,000 from the state treasury department that would be given to the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office to install crime cameras in Picard Park in Milton. The cameras would tie into LPSO's Real Time Crime Center. Joint Introduction Housing funds. Both councils are scheduled to vote on accepting $200,000 in federal Community Development Block Grants to be used toward first-time homebuyer loans and other block grant eligible loans. Block grants are funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and are often used for housing rehabilitation and demolitions of blighted properties along with other housing-related activities. City Council Executive Session Possible lawsuit. LCG is looking to settle with a man who was involved in an incident with a Lafayette Transit bus back in April 2025. Councils are allowed to go into executive session when discussing pending and possible lawsuits. Presentations Northside redevelopment. Lafayette Economic Development Authority CEO Mandi Mitchell will provide an update to the council on the Northside Redevelopment Authority. The organization aims to revitalize the Northside, primarily by purchasing blighted properties through the adjudication process and bringing them back into use. Final Adoption Right of way. The city council would declare the S. Meyers Drive/Huntington Park Outfall Improvement Project a public necessity and allow the city to obtain property through agreements with property owners or through expropriation. The project would provide erosion-control structures to prevent roadway and coulee embankment failures caused by stormwater runoff. The project is located on S. Meyers Drive, between Paddington Drive and Britain Circle in South Lafayette. Appeals Violations. The TRUTH club located at 114 McKinley St. is appealing three alcohol related violations issued by the city's Office of Alcohol and Noise Control. There are no details on exactly what the violations were. Vacancy and Appointment Vacancies. A vacancy exists on the following boards and committees: two spots on Keep Lafayette Beautiful and one spot on the Lafayette Airport Commission, the Lafayette Parish Bayou Vermilion District and the Board of Zoning Adjustment. Appointments. The city council will decide whether to appoint several applicants to the following boards and commissions: the Lafayette Parish Bayou Vermilion District and the Lafayette Public Trust Financing Authority. Additionally, Mayor-President Monique Boulet is appointing local realtor Joel Bacque to the Board of Zoning Adjustment. Introduction ARPA funds. The city council is looking to move $223,00 in leftover federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars from completed projects to the City General Fund in an effort to spend the money before an ARPA spending deadline of Dec. 31, 2026. Otherwise, the funds would have to be returned to the federal government. Around $223,000 is being moved from a fund for Sun Wellness Center and Vermilion Street design. The city received $86 million in APRA funding following the COVID-19 pandemic. Boulet inherited $28 million of those funds when she entered office back in late 2023. As of July 2025, LCG had $4.8 million left to spend, with the most recent budget showing roughly $1.6 million remaining. K9 training & more. The city is receiving $220,000 from the state, which will then be routed to the Lafayette Police Department to develop a new canine training facility. Funds will be used to purchase and survey land, put up site fencing and assessing the overall project cost. Additionally, the city marshal's office would receive $100,000 for metal detectors, a trailer and defibrillators. Health screenings. The city is receiving a $177,954 FEMA grant to conduct cancer screenings for Lafayette firefighters. The city is matching the grant with $17,795 transferred from the Lafayette Fire Department's capital outlay funds.