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Jeanerette family concerned over abandoned, unkept lot

Posted at 7:01 PM, Aug 17, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-17 21:12:03-04

A family in Jeanerette is concerned about an empty, unkept lot adjacent to their home on Martin Luther King Drive. They say the grass hasn’t been cut in two summers.

“This lot has been like this for almost two years now. We’ve reported it to ‘Jeanerette City,’ and they act like they haven’t been able to do anything about it,” said Sharice Richard.

The grass and the weeds on this property on Martin Luther King Dr. are around six feet tall.

Family members say they’ve called the mayor, council and police to clean up the property, but nothing has been done.

“They have snakes, rats, bobcats and everything in there. And, when we call we talk to the mayor, she said she was going to talk to him, but we never got a call back,” said Keia Richard, who also lives in the home.

In a written response, the city’s fiscal administrator tells KATC that the city will be working a new environmental compliance program to address blighted properties in the city.

But for now, the family is hoping something will be done so they and their children can be safe.

“I would like to see it cut. I’m having my baby soon. I don’t want my baby around none of that. I don’t want no animals coming into my house around that – none of that,” said Sharice Richard.