Nathan Bordelon provides an update on a proposal to convert the closed Fifth Ward High School complex into a community center. Bordelon and others are forming a non-profit organization that will seek to lease the property from the Avoyelles School Board in exchange for in-kind services such as providing maintenance of the site.
Fifth Ward group holds informational meeting
Approximately 50 Fifth Ward residents turned out for an informational meeting at the old high school gym on Oct. 19 to hear an update on plans to turn the former school into a community center.
Nathan Bordelon, a leader in the Fifth Ward Community Center (FWCC) organization, said those attending the meeting were excited about the prospects of reopening the school building for use as a community center.
An effort by the Fifth Ward Volunteer Fire Department to purchase the building ran into financial obstacles.
Bordelon, who was also involved in that proposal, said the new approach is to create a non-profit organization and sign a long-term lease with the Avoyelles School Board.
need ‘in-kind’ services
Such an agreement would need sufficient “in-kind” services to be provided by the organization to offset the market value of the per-month rental.
Bordelon said that would not be a problem, once FWCC receives its federal IRS designation as a non-profit organization.
The organization is currently selling raffle tickets for a roast pig for $3 for one ticket, $5 for two and $25 for 10.
Among those attending the informational meeting were School Board member Darrell Wiley, his challenger Lynn Deloach, School Board member-elect Robin Moreau and Police Juror Marsha Wiley.
“I believe, after what I saw at that meeting, that people are in full support,” Bordelon said. “It will not just be for Fifth Ward, but for all of the small communities that don’t have a place to hold their events. It will be for the whole parish, really.
“We will be having more meetings to provide updates on our progress,” he added.