Chicken houses continue to be an issue for the Webster Parish Police Jury with Greene Road and Pilgrim Rest Road.
“We redid this [Pilgrim Rest] road a year and half ago. Fifteen chicken houses down there bringing truck traffic has destroyed it,” Police juror Dustin Moseley said in the Roads Committee Meeting.
Moseley asked if there was was a way to receive compensation from the company owning the chicken houses to repair the road.
“One way would be to post a weight limit and repair it to a level that you all feel comfortable continuing to operate then send Pete down there to interdict whatever trucks are coming through citations. Or we can do a direct communication with them to say if you want to continue to use this road in the manner you’ve been using it, you need to repair it,” Parish attorney Patrick Jackson said.
“It went from a good road to trash in a matter of weeks with just the volume of trucks,” Moseley said.
Police Juror treasurer Rhonda Carnahan said the trucks need to have a permit depending on the weight of the truck.
“The issue is all of these rural roads, whether in Webster or anywhere else, are really only designed and built to a standard that supports the occasional trash truck, the occasional school bus and residential traffic,” Jackson said, “Anytime you have an intense use of that road with heavy trucks, it’s just going to tear them to shreds.”
President Jim Bonsall suggested setting a monetary threshold on permits to have to meet to discuss the impact the business will have on parish roads.
“There ought to be some kind of flag that comes up where we can understand there’s going to be a lot of traffic there and we might need to treat it like a well site or timber,” Bonsall said.
There are already procedures in place to receive money from timber companies and well-sites for road repairs.
“I think that’s something we really need to talk about and get through this,” Bonsall said.
Regular patrolling by the Sheriff’s Office has also been added to the Greene Road location. There has been concerns voiced by residents that some of the employees building the chicken houses are illegal aliens.
Sheriff deputy Jason Parker says he has contacts with federal agents if the need is presented.
“Why check on the people that are working and you don’t check on the people that hire,” police juror Bernard Hudson said.
“People just need to stop hating on each other, we need to learn to love each other,” Hudson said of the issue of the chicken houses in his district.
Further discussion is expected on new policies through the police jury.