The City of Ruston has a new economic development district, the city’s fourth, after action taken by its Board of Aldermen Monday evening during their June City Council meeting at City Hall.
Ruston’s City Council adopted an ordinance creating the (Ruston Post Office) Economic Development District at the site of the Old Ruston Post Office, which later became known as The Federal Building.
Joe Holyfield, a builder out of Monroe. plans to renovate the property and open a restaurant there.
Creating the new economic development district was only another step in that process. Ruston’s City Council will eventually levy an additional sales tax in that district to go toward the process of the work to renovate the building and open a restaurant there.
Ruston’s City Council also approved a motion to set a Nov. 15 special election asking voters to approve a 10-year renewal of a 2.58-mill property tax to help fund and maintain Ruston’s Parks and Recreation Department.
That tax, which is more than 20 years old, generated $734,558 in 2024 to support RPAR.
Mayor Ronny Walker told the Council a report is being put together to show the financial good the Ruston Sports Complex has done for the city.
“We’ve already put some numbers together, (Ruston Sports Complex and RPAR Director) Matt Cotton is heading that, and we’ll mass blast those on social media and send to the newspapers and television stations because this is an incredible tax that keeps our parks open and running and the numbers, as you will see when it comes out, have increased dramatically over the last four or five years,” Walker said.
The City Council also introduced an ordinance that will now be discussed and likely voted on during their July meeting that if passed, that ordinance will require spaying or neutering, vaccinating and microchipping all animals at the city animal shelter.
Also approved as a request to accept Ruston’s portion of the proposed 2025/26 budget for the Lincoln Parish Sales and Use Tax Commission and a resolution requesting the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development to accept the Ruston Downtown Revitalization — Phase XI project as part of the DOTD’s Transportation Development Program.
If agreed to by the DOTD, Phase XI of the project will build new sidewalks and relocate utilities along a two-block section of East Mississippi Street from Bonner Street to Memorial Drive to tie that area to the same look as previous phases have done to downtown Ruston.
Also, during the meeting, Nicholas Courville, Audit Manager at Heard, McElroy & Vestal, LLC., presented the city’s audit report for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2024.
Courville said the city’s audit was clean, with no findings.
“It’s kind of a ho-hum report, which is what we want,” Courville said. “We found no material weakness in internal controls. And no findings is a good thing.”
Ruston’s City Council passed three other resolutions involving the Public Works Department in addition to the Ruston Downtown Revitalization — Phase XI project.
The first authorized the city to enter into a contract released to water improvements in the Jones, Oakdale and Larson streets area, the second authorized the city to enter in a contract relating to the 2025 Street Overlay Project for an area in front of Ruston Elementary School, the third authorized the city to enter into a Professional Services Agreement with Ardaman & Associates, Inc., for testing and inspection services related to Tarbutton Road at I-20 project.
Ruston’s Board of Aldermen also approved the start of the condemnation process for four city properties — 1610 Branscome St., 1200 Martin Luther King Drive, 304 West Carolina Avenue and 104/110 East Railroad Ave./104 South Bonner Street.
