Rayne City Council to allow Guest Home expansion

Rayne Guest Home got the go-ahead to move forward with expansion plans Monday night, but refused to give up claims to recover money spent as a prelude to that expansion.
An ordnance introduced by the city council would dissolve all rights to a portion of Amelia Street.
Ricky Bonin, administrator of Rayne Guest Home, explained the expansion plans to members of the Rayne City Council, saying the plans would both meet the goals set by the Guest Home’s board of directors in 2009 to improve the quality of life for residents and keep the facility in the city limits.
Bonin said three options were examined by the board: remodeling the existing facility, expand the existing facility or move to a new location north of Interstate 10, outside the city’s corporate limits.
Though there were a number of incentives to moving the facility — lower insurance premiums, no city property tax, cheaper utilities, no force evacuation in the event of hurricanes — the decision was made to remain at its present site.
The administrator went on to explain that Amelia Street, which runs along the front of the Guest Home and intersects with Robert Street, was originally built by the Guest home and adjacent property owners, though it has been maintained by the city ever since.
The expansion plans involves crossing the western portion of Amelia Street and building a 49,00-square-foot wing on land there, forming a sort of “U-shaped” building. To accomplish this, the Guest Home, in 2010, purchased nearly 400 feet of Amelia Street from the city at a cost of $33,400.
“We were two weeks from signing the contract (for the $8.5 million expansion project) when our attorney pointed out that Amelia Street was not the city’s to sell,” Bonin said.
While the city maintained the road for over 41 years, as soon as it ceases to be used as a roadway, the ownership reverts to the original property owners.
Therefore, as soon as the city would dissolve servitude, the Guest Home would face the task of “re-purchasing” that property from the original landowner.
“Then it’s not a matter of $33,000,” said Bonin. “Now it’s $66,000.”
Though Mayor Charles “Chuck” Robichaux said he, personally, had “no problem giving up servitude,”
Larry Richard, city attorney, recommended cautioned.
There’s the matter of the improvements the city has made to the property over the last 41 years, Richard pointed out.
“My concern is that public funds have been spent on this road in excess of the amount of purchase,” he said.
At Robichaux’s request, Tim Mader, engineer, estimated that the city has spent about $84,700 on the road since it was constructed in 1969.
Then, there the possibility of opening the city to a potential lawsuit should the Guest Home board attempt to recoup the money spent in the original purchase.
Robichaux asked if the board would agree to release the city from future liability concerning the purchase, to which Bonin answered, “No.”
He said the board has “taken a stand” on the matter and would opt to move outside the city limits if that became an issue.
As the talk of potential lawsuit escalated, Richard recommended that the council adjourn into executive (closed) session to “discuss pending litigation.”
Upon returning to open session about 10 minutes later, the council voted to dissolve servitude “with the position that a judge is going to have to tell us to give the money back.”
The vote was unanimous with Councilman James “Jimmy” Fontenot abstaining because of family ties to the property owners.
Richard pointed out that it will take an ordinance to dissolve servitude so such an ordinance was introduced. A public hearing and action on the proposal will be held as soon as possible, according to the mayor.