Funding for Rayne MLK Center project said ‘looking good’

The long-awaited upgrade of the Martin Luther King Community Center may be moving closer to fruition.
Mayor Charles “Chuck” Robichaux was authorized during the Feb. 13 meeting of the Rayne City Council to sign and submit the cooperative endeavor agreement between the State of Louisiana and the City of Rayne for the project.
This project would demolish the existing building and construct a brand new building in its place. The application for state help with funding the project was first submitted in October 2013.
Robichaux told council members that the funding has been moving up in “levels” on the state side and that “it looks good, and is getting better” for the grant to come through.
The city must match the grant with $104,000, but that amount and more, according to Robichaux, already has been set aside.
In other business to come before the council at its monthly meeting, a total of 10 demolition projects were decided upon.
• 508 N. Arenas St.: Mark Daigle, city inspector, said he had been contacted that afternoon by the homeowner, asking for 30 days to negotiate the sale of the structure.
Daigle pointed out that the buyer would have to abide by whatever the council decided.
The council voted to allow 90 days for demolition of the structure.
• 310 Sixth St.: Owners were given 30 days to demolish the garage.
• 612 East E St.: 408 N. Bradford St.: Owner was given 120 days to fix a hole in the roof and clear the vines from the side of the building and one year to begin repairs on the house.
• 609 East A School St.: Homeowner was present and told the council that she plans to demolish the building. She was given 90 days to complete the work.
• 611 East A School St.: Homeowner reported that the home is occupied and agreed to “do some cosmetic work” on the exterior. No council action was taken.
• 804 East A School St.: Homeowner asked, and the council granted 90 days to demolish the structure.
• 802 East A School St.: Owners were given 60 days to demolish the structure.
• 705 East A School St.: Owner was granted 90 days to complete plans for the reconstruction of the home.
In what was probably a first for a city council meeting, a landlord and prospective renter were brought together.
The residents at 612 East E St. were told that the mobile home in which they were living “would cost more to repair than it is worth” and were given 120 days to demolish it.
In the meantime, Robichaux said the city would work with the couple to suitable housing elsewhere in Rayne.
Just a few minutes later, the owner of 505 N. McGown St. told the council that she planned to repair that structure and rent it.
She and the E Street residents “exchanged numbers” and planned a walk-through of the McGown Street building.
Finally, a pair of liquor licenses for the two Dollar General locations in Rayne were approved by the council.
With the licenses, the stores — one at 101 E. Louisiana Ave. and one at 1140 Church Point Hwy. — will be eligible to sell beverages of low and high alcohol content.
One resident, Mike Conroy, objected to the licenses.
“I’m from Chicago,” he said. “We had way too many liquor stores there and you see what has happened. I don’t think we need them here.”
Only Councilman Kenneth Guidry voted against the permits.