It's time to rebuild and revitalize the city of Ville Platte.
Several residents are raising concerns about the abandoned properties in the area and Mayor Ryan Williams said he has a plan.
Lydia Ellis recently moved out of Ville Platte to live in Lake Charles.
While she visits the area frequently to see family, she told KATC she's frustrated with the living conditions near her mother's home.
"It’s a lot of abandoned properties," Ellis said. "[There's] a lot of violence...You can see they have a lot of people staying in those abandoned properties."
Ellis said there's two homes near North East Railroad Street that attract crime in the neighborhood.
"[It's] drug addicts," Ellis said. "That’s all you see. Drug addicts...You don’t see the burning? Half of them are burned. That’s [from] cooking dope!"
Mayor Williams said with the help of a $500-thousand-dollar grant from the Louisiana Community Development Block Grant (LCDBG) program, he plans to help clean up the city one property at a time.
"The blighted properties are kind of in different spots throughout the city, but a lot of it is in District E and District D," Williams said.
Williams told KATC he was raised on a farm and values the opportunity to maintain his land and the land throughout his community.
However, he also believes tackling blight will be a team effort.
"It’s not like it was back in the old days when everybody would take care of their own property," Williams said. "To me, it’s just a sense of pride."
If you own blighted property or have spotted some in your neighborhood, you're encouraged to contact the Ville Platte City Hall for more information about the Clearance Grant.
