Ouachita Parish Vying for Millions in Federal Grants

Officials in Ouachita Parish say they need the federal government to survive the economic storm. President Barack Obama is offering $150 million in grants to help communities grow. Today officials met in Monroe hoping to bring millions to our area. The state of Louisiana is facing a $3 billion deficit next year. That’s why officials in Ouachita Parish say we need federal funding for improvement projects, but they're hoping for a million dollars. Today only a small group showed up to support the plan. Only a small crowd of government leaders from Ouachita Parish showed up to talk about how to plan for the future. Monroe Grant Coordinator “Rod” Guy says the parish needs to prepare for the state’s upcoming $3 billion deficit "Hardly any grants out of the state of Louisiana in this coming year,” said Guy. Guy says only $150 million are out there from the federal government under an urban and housing development grant. He hopes Ouachita Parish gets a million dollars for improving roads and drainage, but he says more people need to participate. "If the community doesn't participate in public meetings in numerous public meetings then the feds will not give us a dollar for this plan,” said Guy. Pat Moore is a parish police juror in District F and she says her area in Tanglewood needs help dealing with flooding issues and bad roads. "And see what actually causes the flooding problems. We know we cannot fix unless we Guy says the community needs to put up at least $200 thousand dollars to stay competitive for the grant,” said Moore. Police Juror Charles Jackson from District A isn't so sure that's the answer to the problem. "If it takes cash to be completive, I mean that's a lot of cash,” said Jackson. Moore says the money doesn't have to come from the local government. "It can come from non-profit organizations and other sources,” said Moore. Still Guy says he'll move forward to hopefully get dollars flowing to Ouachita parish. Guy says the grant application for a million dollars must be complete by August 23rd, but he says it could take up to three years to actually see any money. He says $200 thousand of local funding will be committed to the grant if the money is actually received. Guy says all area agencies have committed to his grant, but there is no clear plan who will pay for Ouachita’s end of the bargain.