The Acadia Police Jury this week voted to abolish the Rice Arena Board, which has been in existence for nearly 40 years.
The board, which was created by the jury in the early 1980s to oversee operations of the arena, was abolished with a 5-2 vote.
The action follows some controversy among board members and police jury members. Last fall, after concerns were raised by board members about the handling of money raised by a tax for the arena and raised by rents and other activities at the facility, an audit was conducted on the funding operations.
Also last fall, board members asked that the jury begin paying them a per diem for their work, which is laid out in the state law that creates such boards.
