Growth and infrastructure improvement are the goals for 2024 in St. Landry Parish, as Parish President Jessie Bellard begins work in a new term in office.

ST. LANDRY PARISH, La. (KLFY) -- Growth and infrastructure improvement are the goals for 2024 in St. Landry Parish, as Parish President Jessie Bellard begins work in the new year and a new term in office.

One of Bellard's main goals for 2024 is to bring in funding for major projects across the parish. This includes applying for grants that can lead to $20 million in roadway projects, and another $5 million for drainage projects that will ultimately lead to a parish wide drainage system.

"In the next two months we're going to have something to roll out to the people and say this is what our plan is, to get the water from the north part of the parish all the way down south," Bellard said. "We have a parish-wide road plan; we need a parish-wide drainage plan."

Another $1.8 million grant will provide new body cams and equipment to the sheriff's office and police departments across the parish.

Bellard also plans to implement in-depth training programs for parish employees, to ensure every employee can easily do their job or transition to another.

"I come from the fire and police service where you weren't just given a task, you were trained for that task," Bellard said. "That's what I want to do here. Whenever we move you from one position to another and expect you to do something, we have to provide the training."

Finally, with help from the USDA, new programs will be created to help families have affordable housing and create a good impact on the youth of the parish.

"People who live in the housing projects, they pay rent based off of what they bring in and what they make," Bellard said. "So, you have some people paying $500-$600 dollars a month for rent in the projects. You get the parents out of the projects, put them in their own homes, paying a note. Then these kids who live with them see it and learn and live by example."

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