An ordinance was introduced at Monday night’s City Council meeting, June 10, proposing the levying of a 1% sales and use tax in the Natchitoches Economic Development District C for the purpose of paying the costs of acquiring, constructing, equipping, operating and maintaining the recreational facilities for Parc Natchitoches, the new sports complex currently under construction on University Parkway. The Council will meet July 8 at 5:30 pm at the municipal building on Second Street (next door to the Fire Department) to hear any objections to the levy of this sales and use tax. This would raise the current 9.45% to 10.45%. Plans are to start collecting in the last quarter of this year (October, November, December).
The reoccurring budgets in the recreation department will not be able to afford the general operation and maintenance of the sports park. Mayor Lee Posey said he visited businesses out on the interstate and received positive feedback. Also, starting Jan. 15, 2020 there are tournaments being scheduled every weekend.
“This is good for Natchitoches,” he said. “This will help us.”
Other agenda items included:
ORDINANCES – FINAL:
Approve The Acquisition Of A Tract Of Land Situated At 732 Martin Luther King Drive, From Natch Heirs Of Rosetta Stone, L.L.C., For The Cash Consideration Of $15,000
RESOLUTIONS:
Fix The Time, Day, Date And Place Of Regular Meetings Of The City Council Of The City Of Natchitoches For The Next Twelve Months. Meetings will be held on the second and fourth Monday of the month at 5:30 pm at the Arts Center on Second Street, unless provided otherwise by the mayor upon public notice.
Establish Meeting Times And Places Of: Natchitoches Planning Commission (first Tuesday of each month at 5 pm at the Arts Center), Historic District Commission (first Monday of the month at 5 pm at the Arts Center), Airport Advisory Commission (third Monday of the month at the Airport Terminal), and Waterworks District No.1 (third Monday of the month at 5:30 pm at the downtown City Bank location).
Appoint Members To The City Planning Commission: Charles Whitehead III, Rev. Bobby Claiborne, Michael D. Lewis, Rickey McCalister, Jamie Flanagan, Isaac Lewis, Jacob Cooper, and Ron Brown.
Appoint Members To The Natchitoches Historic District Commission: Jared Dunahoe, Dr. Virginia Crossno, Sharon Gahagan, Dr. Steve Horton, Melissa Robinson, and Marion Salter.
Appoint Stacy McQueary As Clerk Of The Council
Appoint The City Attorney (Ronald E. Corkern Jr.) And Assistant City Attorneys (Daniel T. Murchison Jr., Cloyd Benjamin Jr., J. Chris Guillet, Lisa V. Johnson, and Steve Oxenhandler).
Appoint The Auditor For The City (Johnson, Thomas and Cunningham).
Appoint the Fiscal Agent For The City (Sabine State Bank).
Designate The Natchitoches Times As the Official Legal Journal For The City.
Enter Into A Contract With Hub International Gulf South For The One
Beacon Insurance Group Casualty Package Insurance Renewal Effective June 30, 2019 Through June 30, 2020.
Approve A Utility Easement And Right Of Way For Placement Of Electrical Utilities Along The Eastern Side Of Property Of Charles W. Waters.
Approve A Utility Easement And Right Of Way For Placement Of Electrical Utilities Along The Western Side Of Property Of Martha Calk Waters.
Execute Change Order No. 1 To The Contract Between The City Of Natchitoches And David Lawler Construction, Inc., For The East Natchitoches Water Main Replacement, Phase I in the amount of $133,005 for a revised contract total of $941,780.
Execute A Certificate Of Substantial Completion To The Contract Between The City Of Natchitoches And David Lawler Construction, Inc. For East Natchitoches Water Main Replacement, Phase I
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
The next scheduled City Council meeting will be June 24 at 5:30 pm at the Municipal Building on Second Street (next to the Fire Department).
if everyone would vote things could be changed. Just like how little money there is for road upkeep yet look at the library budget.
https://natchitochesparishjournal.com/2019/06/14/proposed-tax-letter-from-mayor-lee-posey/
More sports facilities?!?! Ever wonder why we keep getting them? Guess what business the mayor used to have and now his family runs? Posey’s Sports on Keyser Ave. think that’s a coincidence?
great point and I forgot about that.I don’t know why we need such a huge complex and I will not vote yes on this .But like its been said before the council and city could give two _ _ _ _ _ !! about what the people want
they are fed by ego and greed….
No coincidence. Maybe the Attorney General should investigate for possible maleficence in office.
Posey got to go…we do not need his brainstorm stupid project…needs to come to a halt.
Who’s gonna run against him? Incumbents win in Natchitoches always. He’s there until he retires.
Yeah, I can think of a person or two who would do a great job for Natchitoches, but the very qualities that would make them a great mayor (leader), makes it impossible for them to win an election, they are not political. As much as we voters complain about politicians, it’s all we ever vote for. Who has the most yard signs, who can recruit enough “power people” and then be beholden to them, that’s who wins elections. Sad, but true.
I say we call in outside media like ksla,ktbs,kalb surely someone wants to
hear about our issues,or would help on a slow news day.
I do hope all of you realize there will not be a vote, except by the city council. I suggest if you oppose this 1% tax that you go to the special council meeting to be held next door to the fire department slated for July 8 and voice your opinion.
If the ballpark brings in so much money why do they need a new tax for up keep. Same old song, pay for it with tax money so the same few can profit from it.
The Economic Development District C is around I-49. No car dealerships there, just fast food, motels, and gas stations. Why do you think they built them there? To get those travelers’ dollars. Most of those people are just stopping for gas or food, not visiting our city.
Think about this: The sports complex is booked every weekend in 2020. These are parents and their kids playing baseball, softball, or soccer. Plus coaches, referees, and fans. They all need food, a motel to stay in, and gas to drive home. If you know anything about sports tournaments, you know there are loads of money to be made from all those people.
They want a nice field to play on, with nice amenities like clean bathrooms, concession stands, maybe even shaded bleachers. Sorry, folks, but the parks around Weaver aren’t going to appeal to them. Besides they’d have to drive pretty far into town, possibly getting lost (look at how many turns they have to make to get to the Weaver fields), Then they get frustrated, vowing never to bother with traveling to Natchitoches again.
And stop dissing soccer. It’s a fast-paced, exciting sport, requiring great athleticism and stamina. Plus girls and boys can play on the same teams. It’s time sports became coed, and that includes baseball. Girls are tough enough to play alongside boys. If you don’t think so, watch “A League of Their Own” sometime.
I like soccer, it’s a good sport. Go US Women’s Soccer team, win the World Cup!
But girls(women) in general have no business on the field with guys, in any sport. Yes, at early ages, up to about age 12 or 13, it doesn’t matter much, after that boys grow too big, strong, fast and mean for girls to be out there with them.
As for the complex, I have no problem with it, in fact, I support it. What I didn’t support, and still don’t, is the source of the funding. Posey robbed something like $10 million from the water department fund. Now we have more problems in our water system.
You think girls can’t be big, strong, fast, and mean? Watch a girls’ softball game. Those young women are every bit as strong, fast, and mean as their male counterparts. Yes, football isn’t something the girls and boys should play together. That said, there are high school teams with girls as punters (is that the right word?) In sports that don’t require violent contact, let them play together.
Looks like the people here are not for the plan. Anybody want to bet they do it anyway? You know like the bike project that nobody want! REMEMBER THIS AT VOTING TIME!
heads need to roll ! and we all need to remember who to vote
out .Think of someone who cares about the people and not they’re
ego or legacy.
So, let me see if I understand this. They approved, and proceeded to build, a sports complex that they either did not consider operating expenses at all, or they knew the money was not there to operate yet proceeded to build it anyway. Either way sounds like dereliction of duty at a minimum, if not outright fraud perpetrated upon the citizens of Natchitoches.
Ya know how I’m gonna vote? By NOT shopping here. This is a ridiculous burden on an impoverished community with low paying jobs. Never have I seen such rampant “classism” as I see here and it disgusts me.
I’m also gonna vote my opinion by actually voting the mayor and this city council out!
Someone mentioned where this money came from, a surplus in the water department. I’ve posted before about some low cost water treatment options out there, and that will deliver good water for drinking. The mayor and council better do something quick to save their jobs.
The only tax that I will support is a tax for the Fire Department to help the city restore the Class 2 fire rating that we had from 2005 to about the 2017 time period. Because of low pay the department is a revolving door. Think about what you as a citizen will need the most, fire, rescue, EMS or the ballparks. The passage of a tax for the Fire Department could also help fund an expanded EMS program (transport) in the city instead of what we currently have.
Well said.
Everyone is right we don’t need a new walking track or ballpark there r like five parks over by Weaver n u got a pool at the complex
What is going to become of the ball parks and walking paths that already exist. Why is it that every time you turn around taxes come up. Think about the cost of all this before you start. Also, why is the city buying up all these properties. You impose taxes on the citizens and they can’t even enjoy them unless they pay. Heck, every time you turn around there are fire works for the visitors but then the citizens have to pay to go on front street. We want more for our money than what we are getting. Maybe if all the funds weren’t being used for Front St. the citizens wouldn’t complain. Try using some of your time and our money to bring industries in for our young people and stop worrying about a retirement city. If you don’t try to keep the younger generation here you won’t have a city at all. You have a major university here but you don’t try to do any thing to keep them here when they retire. Educate them, send them away to work and retire and then come back, REALLY.
they would rather have new and shiny stuff to feed ego and legacy
then to fix the old worn out i.e roads,parks etc.This is all an ego boost for current mayor and council.Why do they need to remodel a building to have a meeting in ? and used to be you didn’t have to pay to get on riverbank for a festival and isn’t the river bank public property ? so how can they charge to use it ?I haven’t been to a Christmas festival since 88 and would never go again the only good one is Jazz and that’s ruined by being inside.
Amen, Rosa.
Didn’t the city take money from the sewer fund to build the ball park then raise our sewer rates? Now a permanent tax for upkeep. Someone sure fed the residents of the city a bunch of BS. How long can this go on before people have had enough? What happens to the money teams pay to play there?
I don’t remember the idea of a sales tax to build and support the Rec. Center, when they brought it up and passed it. I agree if its a choice of a 1% sales tax added to the current taxes, or the Rec. Center
I say no Rec. Center. We have enough sales taxes here, I will be contacting my councilman/person
J.C. R.
Don’t want to bring it before the people for a vote. WELL THAT’S OK BECAUSE THERE WILL BE AN ELECTION THE PEOPLE WILL HAVE A SAY IN!
CLEAN HOUSE!
Natchitoches Sales Tax Calculator
Purchase Amount
35000.00
Sales Tax Rate
10.45
%
Sales Tax:
$3657.50
Purchase Price + Tax:
$38657.50
Calculated 10.45% sales tax rate on a $35000.00 purchase
That on a car,scared to figure it on a new 65000.00 Ford pickup!
Where are you going to be buying a new vehicle in Economic Development District C? There are no dealerships in that area. This proposed tax is ONLY for Economic Development District C. Which is out by the Interstate as shown in the map within this article.
You must not understand. Anywhere in the City of Natchitoches that you purchase anything, you will pay the tax!!
Holy crap, you spent $35,000 on a car? And you’re willing to spend $65,000 on a truck? Do they drive themselves?
And then spend $hundreds more to put on loud, illegal pipes. It’s one of those “what are you compensating for?” things.
When the state lowered their rate and brought us back under the 10% rate, I predicted at that time that a local entity would try to take what the state had given up.
When I moved here in 1986 to attend NSU, the sales tax rate was 6.25%, roads were decent in the city and parish at that time.
Why can’t we do more… with more….
I saw this coming from day one. The so called mayor and his misfit Democrats under his wing is why this community is in such shambles. They no more work for the people than I do for the queen of England. Mayor POSEY your Legecy will go down in history as a complete waste of money and before it is over said and done it will be no more than a run down ball park that we are having to pay for it twice.
That 19 million dollars would have gone a long way in bringing better roads around our country side for folks to get a full view of the oldest settlement in the Louisiana purchase. That’s what we should be known for but our history and culture are being erased by you liberals.
If you build it, they will come. They will come to the voting booths and vote no, that is. To build a complex like this and then spring on the public a one-cent sales tax to maintain it is almost inconceivably poor planning. This proposal may go down in history as the most one-sided rejection of any tax proposition I’ve ever heard of.
I say we call in a news station….KSLA,KTBS,KALB etc…
But how much will the new tax actually impact the citizens of the parish? It’s really going to impact tourists, not us. How many parish residents spend their dollars at the businesses in Econ. Dist. C versus how many people just passing thru on I-49? Why would any of us residents need to stay at one of the motels? Sure, some of us buy gas at the stations around the interstate, but this new tax doesn’t apply to gasoline. And if you live here, you know 4 of the fast food restaurants at that exit can be found closer into town (There are a Popeye’s, Subway, Burger King, and McDonald’s within a mile radius of each other on Keyser Avenue and South Drive).
BTW, shouldn’t we call I-49 an intrastate instead of an interstate because it only exists within one state?….
Saw this coming. Just like the water pumping from red river to cane river. It was obvious it wasn’t going to work like they were telling us it would. (At least I thought it was obvious)
there are more potholes then pavement on our high ways so why would
you visit Louisiana ?
If you don’t have the money to maintain these places then STOP BUILDING them and wasting the tax money you have!
Natchitoches continues to rely on tourism and visitors to sustain our city all the while continuing to raise taxes on its citizens. Our infrastructure is crumbling. Why, why, why are we not trying to encourage more industry to build here? I want nice walking tracks, public pools, bike lanes, sports complexes, shopping, restaurants, festivals, etc.(who doesn’t) ,but we can’t depend on our Quaint little riverbank to bring in the bucks.
What is Natchitoches economic development district C. Terrible waste of our money from the start and now the waste will never end.
https://www.natchitochesla.gov/content/economic-development-district
I’m pretty sure that at 10.45% we would be the city with the highest sales tax in the country. THE COUNTRY!!! I would be all for it if we didn’t live in an absolute $hithole, but this city is going down quick. Sure downtown is nice, but the rest of the city is a dump. Trash everywhere (both literally and figuratively), highly non-educated citizens, dilapidated structures everywhere, daily shootings, crime off the charts…should I go on? Now because of poor planning, you just slap another tax hike on us. Insane!
that tax rate sound like your talking about Los Angeles or Manhattan and your not,its right here in pot hole city and all over a soccer field ? Hell it you google highest sales tax in US we come in second .
I thought ours was bad at 6% here in Pa . 10.45% is crazy .
ENOUGH!!!!!! You are already taxing us to death. I find it hilarious that we keep hearing how Natchitoches is the best little city in La. and how its considered a great RETIREMENT city (Wrong). Someone should have done their homework when they started building all these things and how they was going to pay for them. I know when I buy something I have to know I can pay for it, I will be voting NO!! on the tax increase. Before building to bring people in I would advise you to figure out where you are going to PARK in this city.
The way I read it no one gets to vote on anything except for the City Council.
Unreal. Who couldn’t see this boondoggle coming? This was sold as self sufficient and bring in a ton of money for the town. You cleared all those old spring fed woods to make a bottomless pit of fiscal irresponsibility. Theres your legacy.
exactly right .Built on ego and legacy and now in scramble to pay for the ugliness.Why not scrap the whole thing and make it a mini mall or a Target.
I will be voting No ! you got yourself in this bind and its not the publics problem.
forget soccer that’s so south America….try to bring in a Target or Sams Club trying growing this city not keep rasing taxes.
If you Google highest sales taxes in the US,Tenessee is number one and Louisiana is number two.Thats crazy over New York and California .
Tennessee’s overall tax burden on residents is the third lowest in the country. Louisiana ranks 24th. Texas ranks 33rd but percentage-wise, they are only slightly lower than us, with an 8.18% overall tax rate vs our 8.51%. New York’s is 12.97%. This new tax is still silly, though.
Why did we need another walking park again? Didn’t yall know building extra things will come with consequences I say yall pay the difference out of the councils budget maybe next time yall would consider such things.
So the clown parade that is the City Council, lead by the top clown Posey, has built a complex they don’t have the equipment to maintain nor the budget to operate? How is this possible? Do these idiots every think about the consequences of their decisions or just about how good it feels when they do something?
Tax and charge for use of the new walking park!
Geez they wonder why we go out of town to shop.
lol now we have have to pay to walk ? think I will stick to the streets or a local school.
Carry a big stick. Seems like if the pit bulls don’t get you the gang bangers will.
City needs revenue…what a shock! who couldn’t see this train wreck coming? They diverted a surplus from the water department to build the complex, and now they can’t even maintain the water system. For the record I voted against tapping into the water surplus money to build the complex. Unfortunately we have too many uninformed voters.
So, Posey, you need money? Start by enforcing existing laws, such as your own noise ordinances. Loud, and ILLEGAL, pipes on trucks, motorcycles, any vehicles brings a $500 fine, I’m told. Heck, just sit out on Keyser. The city could make many $thousands every day!
Try ticketing people for operating illegal vehicles, 4-wheelers, golf carts, and also, OMG! enforce red light laws! I suggest the Hwy 6 – Bypass intersection for starters.
Then, stop wasting tax payer money on fireworks, in other words, Posey, tighten your belt and do your job!
I’m voting NO on this tax at least until such time the city employs these other measures first.
Another sales tax increase? It seems to me that the city wants to pass on this tax to ihe consumers of goods and not necessarily to those who will use this proposed sports complex. This proposed increase will make Natchitoches’s sales tax one of the highest in this part of the state. If this passes, the city of Natchitoches will not need to worry about me ever buying a new car or a new motorcycle in this town again. I will look for areas with a cheaper sales tax before I purchase a new motorcycle or new car.. And who knows, I might just find that I like shopping in the new venue.
that’s why most the people in this city go to Alexandria or Shreveport and even Texas to shop and buy cars.They can get a much better deal and more places to eat .
You pay the tax based on your address not where you purchase the vehicle.
How do people become adults and not know this kind of information?
MOTOR VEHICLE SALES TAX
Motor vehicle sales tax applies to both motorized and non-motorized property subject to the Vehicle Registration License Tax Law of the
State of Louisiana. Motor vehicles include, but are not limited to, automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, motor homes, mobile homes, trailers
(boat and utility), campers, and off-road vehicles. In addition to the 5 percent state sales tax, most parishes and many municipalities
have a local sales tax ranging from 1.85 percent to 7 percent. The rate of tax is based upon the domicile of the purchaser, not the location of the seller. The state and local sales taxes are paid by the purchaser to the Office of Motor Vehicles, Department of Public Safety
at the time the vehicles are registered or titled, along with applicable fees for registration. The documents required to register a motor
vehicle are (1) a manufacturer’s statement of origin or previous owner’s title, (2) a notarized bill of sale or dealer’s invoice containing a
description of vehicle being sold and any trade-in, (3) if financed, a certified copy of the chattel mortgage agreement, and (4) proof of
insurance. A certificate of title in the purchaser’s name will not be issued until all taxes and fees have been paid and required documents
have been furnished.
sports complex to feed the mayors ego good for the city,plus tax increase.Are you high ? And making the TImes the official journal of the city ? The times is awful and sports complex won’t save the city,we need better restaraunts and places to shop this is why everyone does business out of town.
Well, if you have to meet a legal obligation to post announcements and you really don’t want anyone to actually see them, what better outlet than the Natchitoches Times!