Constituents from across Opelousas gathered at the Delta Grand Theatre on Tuesday for the second, annual 'State of the Parish.'
The event, hosted by Parish President, Jessie Bellard was designed to inform attendees on how federal funds will be spent for the new year.
"In 2023, we were approved for a 3.4 million dollars from the federal government," Bellard said. "So, our airport is going to get a brand, new face-lift, runways and a new hanger is going to be built."
Bellard said he hopes the added hangers will help generate more planes and business to the region.
"This one, right here is going to be built by the parish," Bellard said. "All of the safety issues that they had at the airport will be resolves. We're going to be striping the runways and then hopefully, in the near future, we're going to extend the runways, but for right now, we're preparing for that to take place."
Chad Boyer was one of the 'State of the Parish' attendees. He said, it's important to know what's happening in your community.
"You come out and see what the goals are and what the plans are and no matter what, for St. Landry parish, you want to see growth and improvement," Boyer said.
Boyer said he believes the airport upgrades will boost the economy.
"Anything that you can do, economic growth wise or anything that you can do to improve infrastructure, things like that, will always benefit the parish," Boyer said.
According to the Parish President, renovations to the St. Landry Parish Airport are expected to take place over the next two to three years.
