Broussard Mayor Says He Is Withdrawing Lawsuit Against The City Of Lafayette
An announcement has come from Broussard Mayor Charles Langlinais in regards to the City's lawsuit against the City of Lafayette. Langlinais has said that he will withdraw the lawsuit over the annexation of Vieux Chenes Golf Course and the property on Ambassador Caffery leading to it. The mayor has shared with KPEL News the following statement:
"I have instructed the attorneys for the City of Broussard to withdraw our objection to the efforts by the City of Lafayette to annex its golf course and the two and a half miles of Ambassador Caffery Parkway leading to the golf course. We objected to that annexation only because we felt that inclusion of any portion of the Ambassador Caffery roadbed was both unnecessary and unreasonable. Nevertheless, we will end our opposition to that annexation as a sign of good faith in the hope that Lafayette will respond in kind. We will continue to oppose the annexation of citizens that petitioned to come into the City of Broussard.
Langlinais has also called on Lafayette City-Parish President Joey Durel to make a similar showing of good faith. He says he would like to sit down with Durel, along with Broussard's representatives and a neutral mediator, to resolve any remaining disputes that stand between Broussard and the City of Lafayette.
Langlinais also said,
Pending Lafayette’s response to this offer, we will continue to protect the safety of our families in their homes, children in school, elderly in nursing homes, businesses, and all others who depend upon the binding water contract signed by the parish government, and the emergency services funded by our taxpayers."
At question was the timing of Langlinais' announcement. Just a week ago on KPEL's "Lafayette Live," Durel had threatened to suspend fire dispatch services for Broussard if the smaller city didn't drop the lawsuit. Amy Jones, a spokesperson for the city of Broussard, said Langlinais wanted to make sure that such services for citizens would remain uninterrupted.
"We're hopeful that we'll be able to go to mediation and get all these other issues resolved and then move forward as good neighbors to one another," Jones said.
On several occasions on "Lafayette Live," Durel has implored Langlinais to sit down with a mediator to resolve their issues. Jones said Broussard has repeatedly requested such mediation, but those requests were ignored by Lafayette.
Jones said,
Until earlier this week was the first time that they've agreed to do so. So it has been months of Broussard saying, 'Let's go to mediation. Let's get these issues resolved.' And really, until earlier this week, that was the first time that there has been any talk of going to mediation to get these things resolved.
KPEL contacted Durel, and he issued the following statement in response,
I have not seen the press release, and once again Mayor Langlinais has decided to do this through the media instead of contacting me directly. It's a move in the right direction. They have taken one step and now they have to take the other step."