Baldwin on record against tribal trust land proposal

Baldwin aldermen passed a resolution Thursday asking the US Bureau of Indian Affairs not to allow the Chitimacha Tribe to annex some 67 acres along Ralph Darden Memorial Parkway.
The vote was unanimous.
The tribe owns the land it seeks to convert from its business arm to tribal property, or trust land. The property includes the Raintree Market plot and another behind it, but excludes the bank branch and the subdivision. It also includes part of the parkway and adjacent roads.
Trust land is land the federal government holds legal title to, but the beneficial interest remains with the tribe or individual, depending on the circumstances.
In other business:
—Alderman Herbert Bell reported that the Louisiana fire marshal noted several needs at the old Baldwin fire station, which is being converted into a youth center, and those items should not be difficult to take care of.
—Alderman Clarence Vappie said $1 million in federal funds and $200,000 in state funds are approved to complete the Bayou Choupique area flood protection initiative. Vappie said rights-of-way will also be purchased from those funds.
—Alderwoman Margaret Coleman said the town is addressing abandoned properties and legal notification letters are going out. She said that there are demolition services available if an owner needs such a service, and she can put them in touch.
—A fire substation under the US 90 overpass at Baldwin may soon be a reality. State and federal approval is nearly in the bag, a survey map of the property is in the works, then the only step remaining is obtaining the funding, Alderman Gene St. Germain said.
—The board approved hiring Stella Stewart, a former police department employee, as a part-time dispatcher.
—Mayor Donna Lewis Lanceslin asked the board’s personnel committee to review the town’s employee vacation and sick leave policies. She did not specify what areas.