The Lafayette Public Trust Financing Authority is poised to purchase the vacant Greyhound Bus terminal on the 300 block of Lee Avenue - a location city officials are considering as a possible police substation in the future.
The Lafayette Public Trust Financing Authority is poised to purchase the vacant Greyhound Bus terminal on the 300 block of Lee Avenue - a location city officials are considering as a possible police substation in the future. But first, the City-Parish Council must approve at Tuesday night's meeting a resolution relinquishing the city's right of first refusal on the property - a right that was granted by Greyhound to the city as part of the $540,000 settlement in favor of the bus line after the council voted in 2008 to block Greyhound from moving into a vacant bank building on Moss Street. That settlement stemming from a Greyhound lawsuit against the city also included Lafayette Consolidated Government purchasing the Moss Street bank building from Greyhound and giving Greyhound space in the Rosa Parks transportation center downtown.
The sale price on the property is $157,000, according to LPTFA Chairman John Arceneaux. The LPTFA would hang onto the property while police and city officials determine the feasibility of placing law-enforcement operations in the location.
A lot of variables are at play, however, including the fact that a substation is being installed in the aforementioned building on Moss Street, practically within shouting distance of an existing substation in the Clifton Chenier Center off West Willow Street. The Chenier substation, we're told, will likely be closed once the Moss Street substation is in operation, freeing up resources and manpower for the downtown substation - if the Lee Avenue site is deemed viable.
In other council action Tuesday, the panel will vote on an ordinance for final adoption that would create an amnesty period for residents who have received SafeLight/SafeSpeed tickets, allowing them to pay overdue citations without having to pay late fees. The ordinance also stipulates that once the amnesty period has expired, the city-parish attorney's office can pursue outstanding tickets in court.