Police Jury elects officers

For only the second time in it’s history, the Acadia Parish Police Jury has a female as its president.

Julie Borill of Estherwood was elected without opposition to succeed David Savoy as president when the full jury met here Tuesday night.

The last time a woman was president of the police jury was in 2004 when Cecelia Broussard was president.

Robert Guidry was re-elected, also without opposition, to serve another year as vice president.

Richard “Dickie” Latiolais will remain as secretary-treasurer of the police jury, an appointed position with a two-year term.

Fire protection, both for parish-owned properties and for residents living outside the corporate limits of Crowley, occupied much of Tuesday night’s session.

Chad Monceaux, fire chief of Fire Protection District No. 11, explained to jurors that, although the parish courthouse is located directly across the street from the Crowley Fire Department’s main station, it is the responsibility of FPD 11 to respond in the event of a fire.

“That’s because this is parish property. It’s not technically ‘in the city limits’,” he explained.

Monceaux added that other occupied parish facilities, including the Health Unit, the sheriff’s office and the parish detention center, also are outside the city limits and, thus, are the responsibility of FPD 11.

He went on to say that FPD 11 and the Crowley Fire Department currently have an agreement for “automatic aid” which covers some areas outside the city limits but more than 7 road miles from the district’s fire station on Louisiana Hwy.13.

Under “automatic aid,” if a fire is reported in that area, both fire departments are dispatched by 911.

“The only thing is, Crowley charges us for the call,” he said, adding that an “automatic aid” call is different from a “mutual aid” call, the latter of which is made by the responding department when additional manpower or equipment is needed.

“Every fire department in the parish — and I think there are 17 of them — has a mutual aid agreement with every other department,” Monceaux said. “There’s no billing involved with mutual aid.”

Monceaux explained that an “automatic aid” agreement could be worked out between FPD 11 and the Crowley department to include the parish facilities mentioned earlier.

However, he continued, “it’s going to cost the district for CFD to respond to those calls.

“What we need to know is whether or not the police jury will reimburse the district for those charges should there be a fire or an emergency call.”

The question was referred to the jury’s Legislative Committee.

In somewhat related matters, a number of appointments — or reappointments — to some of the parish’s fire protection districts were approved by the jury, including:

• Reappoint Charles Bellard and Michael Cormier to Fire Protection District No. 1. 

• Reappoint Guy Cuccio, Jeffery Murrell and Blaine Lacombe to Fire Protection District No. 2.

• Reappoint Joshua Thibodeaux, George Hebert and April Simon to Fire Protection District No. 3.

• Reappoint Richard Rupert and Stephen Miller and appoint Robert Fontenot to replace John Kurta in Fire Protection District No. 4. 

• Reappoint Cory Abshire to Fire Protection District No. 5. 

• Reappoint Pat Kirsch to Fire Protection District No. 6. 

• Reappoint Jackie Prejean and Charles Terro to Fire Protection District No. 7.

• Reappoint Terry Romero, Melvin Leger and Gerald Sonnier to Fire Protection District No. 8. 

• Reappoint Allen “Noochie” Credeur Jr., to Fire Protection District No. 9.