St. Charles Parish School Board member Ellis Alexander believes he’s finally pulled the pieces together for a project he’s long worked on achieving.
Alexander said he’s going to ask the board at their Sept. 16 quarterly retreat to dedicate land once used for the area’s school buildings for a library.
“I’m trying to do everything in the right way,” he said of getting the project done. “I’ve been working on this 20 years.”
Killona residents’ closest library is nine miles away in St. John the Baptist Parish, which he said is too far.
In 2007, the School Board discussed saving or demolishing the old school buildings, but voted to demolish them. Repair costs, the buildings containing asbestos and additional damage caused by Hurricane Katrina were factors in the decision.
Alexander was one of the people who pressed for the move, saying something should be done about the deteriorating structures. Soon after, they were gone.
Nearly nine years later, he’s seeking support to use the land for a library but needs board approval to initiate the project.
As far as planning the project, Alexander said he’s gotten figures from the Parish Council on what it spent on the Paradis Library. He intends to propose a similar project in scope and cost for Killona.
With approval, he also proposes to approach local industries like Dow and Entergy for library funding.
Alexander has also spoken to Louisiana Congressman Gary Graves’ aide, who advised federal funding could be available for the project through the U.S. National Parks Service
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