Foulcard proposes affordable housing development

Franklin City Council passed a resolution Tuesday for developing affordable housing in Franklin with the Louisiana Housing Corporation State Plan.
Franklin Mayor Eugene Foulcard disclosed at the regular city council meeting that he has invited Louisiana Housing Corporation Executive Director Keith Cunningham to visit Franklin in November to discuss “new safe and affordable housing opportunities in Franklin.”
The visit, scheduled for Nov. 10, is said to be one of many comprising LHC’s upcoming state-wide tour in which they reportedly intend to engage with municipalities and “stakeholders” to develop concepts to address community housing needs across Louisiana.
Foulcard said he and LHC Board Member and Finance Committee Chairman Willie Rack drove to Baton Rouge to meet with Cunningham on Oct. 8, “to develop strategies and concepts to address housing needs, so we can begin to repopulate our community by having accessibility to Louisiana Housing Corporation, to begin rehab work on many of our homes in Franklin.”
Foulcard went on to say that on Nov. 10, attending representatives intend to interact with “community stakeholders and potential developers” in an effort to “educate them on bringing housing opportunities to Franklin.”
Foulcard closed his executive report by saying, “My main intent is to attempt to repopulate (Franklin), get our water sales up, and have people coming back into our city.
“I feel like we can make this happen. We just need to be positive and upbeat about how we approach this.”
In addition to the introduction of Foulcard’s possible housing initiative, the council adopted two ordinances declaring structures on properties at 517 Third St. and Broussard-Harris Park as “no longer needed for public purpose,” and ordered the structures to be demolished.
A resolution was also passed to temporarily suspend the collection/imposition of the demolition building permit fee, until April 15, 2019, in connection with the city’s Blighted Structure Mitigation project.
Apart from structure development and demolition, the council also passed a resolution to request non-state Capital Outlay funding; and they passed a resolution appointing Reverend Carl F. Lewis as Chaplain for the City of Franklin, Revrend Deondre Johnson as Franklin’s Co-Chaplin “and all other members of Franklin’s community clergy as ex-officio members.”
In other news, the annual budget report for 2017-2018 was submitted and accepted, and Director of Recreation Chris Barrilleaux reported on the city’s Summer Feeding programs for last summer as having served 4,476 breakfasts and 9,558 lunches to the children who participated.