Municipal Assocation magazine puts Baldwin on the cover

Baldwin made the cover of the October issue of the Louisiana Municipal Review.

The magazine of the Louisiana Municipal Association devotes three pages to Baldwin, “Small in Size; Big in What it Stands For.”

The story focuses on an interview with Baldwin Mayor Clarence Vappie, starting with his advocacy of the for the Small Town Mayors’ Alliance at this year’s Municipal Association convention.

“I realized that I could not have been the only mayor of a small town that was having trouble getting things done,” the story quotes Vappie as saying. “The voices of small-town and village mayors were going unheard.”

Vappie took office in 2023, when Baldwin, population 1,762, was trying to cope with a dysfunctional water system and an outbreak of violent crime.

“We, as small towns, must rely on federal funding or state grants,” Vappie says in the story. “Most small towns and villages don’t have the monetary resources to take care of problems that arise. The tax bases just aren’t enough for infrastructure improvements, let alone day-to-day maintenance.”

The story lists recent funding awards: a $3.1 million Railroad Crossing Elimination, Enhancement and Access grant; a $250,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture Sewer Repair and Enhancement grant; $2.3 million in state capital outlay funding for sewer infrastructure; $152,000 in capital outlay funding for a basketball court; and $40,000 in beautification grants for Main Street enhancements.