Farmerville – Grants and Special Projects

There is no shortage of need for funding within the Town of Farmerville. The Gazette’s last two editions addressed the critical need for renovation of the town sewage system which daily contaminates Lake D’Arbonne with substances such as fecal coliform, from inadequately treated raw sewage. Most substances exceed the permitted allowances by more than 150%. There is no apparent effort by the town to address this conduct which violates environmental laws and puts the lake at risk.
Instead of rectifying this problem, which is reaching “critical mass”, the town is focused on encumbering the towns future sales tax stream with another boat ramp within a stone’s throw of two existing boat ramps. As reported last week, the mayor kicked over to his friends a quarter million dollars in funding for scarcely more than a ditch with no idea of whether permits can be obtained and with no warranty of title and no title insurance policy nor title opinion, much less a feasibility study. Apparently, the town council is good with that. These funds were taken from the town sales tax account. The mayor is determined to send millions more in that direction, since the ramp project requires another $2,225,000.00 in local match, the only apparent source of which is future sales tax revenue.
If there is any effort to address the lake contamination issue caused by the town, such is not discernable. Could it be there are no “friends” standing by to benefit from a sewer plant renovation which will undoubtedly cost millions, according to the town’s consultant. See the Gazette for the last two weeks. It is not clear if the town has made any effort to address the needed sewage plant upgrades to stop the continuous contamination of property downstream from the plant and the lake.
The Gazette requested interviews with the council members last Friday. When no responses were forthcoming, the Gazette reiterated that request Saturday morning. Still, not one response was received. On Tuesday the mayor also refused to respond to two efforts by the Gazette to seek information from him.

In light of the affiliated persons financial transactions of the developers selling the land for the ramp on the one side and public officials and employees sending the money for the land on the other side, as outlined in the last two editions of the Gazette, the Gazette, on behalf of the taxpaying public demands that every council member and the mayor and his consultants make immediate and full disclosure to the public of all financial transactions between any of them and/or their affiliated entities and those selling the land for the ramp. This would include past and present loans by any of the landowners or their affiliates to public officials voting to send public money to the landowners or affiliated parties of landowners. If there is a conflict of interest, the public has a right to know.
Asking for more tax dollars is not a problem for this mayor and council. And let’s be clear, federal grants are funded with tax dollars. It should come as no surprise then that in November 2023 the town applied for a grant [more tax dollars] to remediate three specific pieces of property within the town of Farmerville. What is a surprise though are the pieces of property to be remediated for fuel contamination: Hill Oil Company on Ward Chapel Road, owned by a sitting council person; The Budget Inn Motel [aka Metz Motel] owned by a local businessman; and Roy Allen Station on La.2 – all owned by friends and supporters of Mayor Crow.
The Hill Oil location, at 1031 Ward Chapel Road, is owned by Kerry Hill, a member of the town council. That location is said to be 11 acres and is located across from an assisted living facility and according to the grant application is contaminated with dangerous chemicals, including some carcinogens. Specifically, the grant application stated: “Established in 1946, Hill Oil manufactured petroleum products for decades, exposing our sensitive populations living in close proximity to hazardous substances and petroleum products, which contained volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).”
The Metz Motel is described in the grant as an older site being an eyesore and containing asbestos, the primary cause of the incurable condition of mesothelioma, a horribly painful life ending condition caused by microscopic fibers being inhaled eventually preventing the proper function of the respiratory system. Latency period for this condition can be decades. Nevertheless, Mayor Crow – without any remediation and against the pleas of some citizens and without EPA clearance or permits – invaded the site last year with town workers, prisoners and equipment and didn’t stop until he had leveled the site to the ground. Where he sent the highly dangerous asbestos is a mystery. If it went to the parish land field, then the police jury should let the public know. If Mayor Crow disappeared the asbestos into underground holes around town, he should let the public know. The town was ordered to stop the practice of digging holes in town to put the town debris in like it did next to the TOF recreational center a few months ago. Noteworthy is the fact that Mayor Crow purchased the lot next to Popeyes Chicken last year and it too is only a stone’s throw from the now disappeared Metz Motel.
The final cleanup site requested was the Roy Allen Station, a property on La 2, near Railroad Avenue, owned by another of Mayor Crow’s friends.
The Grant request was in the amount of $396,000. Of that amount two people [presumably from the town] were budgeted to attend two conferences at a cost of $30,200.00, including air fare, lodging, travel and food allowance. That could be a pretty good gig.
It is past time for the town to reprioritize its fiscal management to address this sewage and lake contamination issue and quit trying to enrich cronies and insiders. Mayor Crow knows how critical this sewage issue is for sure because the town has paid some $70,000.00 to keep a temporary pump running to drain the sewage from the trailer park he owns on Camp Road. That park has some seventy plus trailers in it and the occupants report their lot rent is $100 per month per site with reports that rents will double in August of this year, going to $200 per site. Although even at $100 per month per site that is more than $7,000 per month or $84,000 per year income from a passive investment property “spaghettied” into the town limits so the town could run sewer and water there for the mayor before he took office. The town also ran sewer to Dozer Creek, Councilman Kerry Hill’s development; yet, the town will not provide sewage to Eagle Point but has no problem running everyone else’s untreated sewage across Eagle Point on its way to contaminate the lake.
A copy of the Grant request referred to in this article, along with the detailed public record support for the Gazette’s last two editions, may be viewed at fgazette.com.

Portable sewage pump at Mayor Crow’s Peaceful Acres trailer park. Gazette Staff Photo 7-16-24

Mayor Crow’s Peaceful Acres mobile home park on Camp Road. Gazette Staff Photo 7-16-24