Avoyelles Police Jury discuss status of new library branches

Establishing a new library branch in Effie and a new home for the branch in Mansura has taken a little longer than had been expected, but it appears both libraries will be open early next year.

The Avoyelles Parish Police Jury discussed the library projects at its agenda-setting committee meeting on Dec. 5.

There were some concerns expressed that shelves for the Mansura branch have apparently still not been made. The branch will be located in the historic Train Depot Museum.

The Town of Mansura and the parish will have a cooperative endeavor agreement whereby the library will provide personnel to be on hand to assist museum visitors in exchange for the town providing the space to house the expanded library branch.

Parish Engineer Ron Bordelon told jurors he had received an update on the Effie library branch project earlier that day and it is moving forward.

He said Cottonport Bank, which is providing the land and other work to support the branch, has agreed to allow the parish to use a different builder for the modular structure as long as it looks like the new bank building that will be adjacent to the library branch.

Bordelon said the other builder is considerably less expensive and will comply with the bank’s requirements.

In other business, jurors were told that Parish Civil Works Director Kevin Bordelon would not be able to do the appraisal of the Wayside Bridge as part of the surplus property process because the parish’s ordinance requires the appraisal be by an engineer.

The state law is less restrictive.

Jury President Charles Jones said the process to amend the ordinance would delay the jury’s ability to sell the old bridge.

However, he said the jury will need to address the wording of its ordinance early next year to allow appraisals to be done by qualified individuals who are not necessarily engineers or certified appraisers.

It was pointed out that Bordelon has many years of experience in construction and is qualified to do the appraisal. If he can do the job, it would save the parish the cost of contracting with a private appraiser.