The Cypress Lake Wire

By Avery Sturgis
Feb. 22, 2026

The Lafayette Parish Council of Governments opened its first meeting of 2026 on Feb. 19 with a slate of officer elections and a warning from parish leadership regarding the pace of regional growth.

In a series of swift nominations, Scott Mayor Jan-Scott Richard was re-elected as COG president, and Youngsville Mayor Ken Ritter was re-elected as vice president. Joseph Gordon-Wiltz, the Lafayette Consolidated Government clerk of council, retained his role as secretary-treasurer.

The COG, a parish-wide organization that meets quarterly, serves as a networking and reporting hub for LCG divisions, municipal representatives, and state officials.

During the session, Mayor-President Monique B. Boulet told the council that LCG must prioritize “intentional growth” over organic expansion. She questioned whether development resources should be concentrated in the parish’s six major cities or its unincorporated areas, noting that the parish is “burdened with mandates from the state.”

The discussion comes as aging infrastructure struggles to keep pace with a 5.2 percent population increase across the parish between 2020 and 2024. The city of Broussard alone has added approximately 4,100 residents since the 2020 census.

To address the strain, several municipalities reported progress on major utility and safety projects:

• Duson: Officials reported that a $5 million water enrichment project is 75 percent complete. The project is designed to support 500 new homes in the area.
• Carencro: Candyce Tompkins, assistant to the mayor, announced the city broke ground Thursday on the Tee Ma Road sidewalk and drainage improvement project to increase pedestrian safety.
• Youngsville: Efforts remain focused on road construction and a modernization of the local sewer plant to accommodate new residential developments.

While much of the meeting focused on “pipes and pavement,” Scott Mayor Jan-Scott Richard highlighted a community-driven initiative: a new “fridge pantry” project. Partnering with Envision Scott and Lafayette Foodies, the pantry will be located across from Scott City Hall.

“We want to ensure that people from the community—from Scott, Carencro, Mire—will have a place to come and grab food,” Richard said.

The meeting concluded with a legislative push from Broussard Mayor Ray Bourque. Serving as president of the Lafayette Municipal Association, Bourque is advocating for a bill that would mandate training for incoming mayors.

While voluntary training exists for cybersecurity and ethics, Bourque is seeking a required 16-hour orientation for new mayors, followed by annual continuing education on fiscal responsibilities.

“This is fundamental; it just makes your community run well,” Bourque said. He noted that while there are currently no state requirements for such education, the goal is to improve municipal governance across Lafayette Parish and the rest of Louisiana.