Parish board revived for Lacassine site
The Jeff Davis Parish Industrial Board is being brought back to oversee negotiations for development at a rail facility located in Lacassine.
The state-of-the-art Rail Logix Lacassine Industrial Park will accommodate 800 rail cars, with capabilities to expand to 2,350, and a track with more than 350 rail car spots of interchange. There are 10 miles of railway, along with another 6.5 miles in the park.
“The whole point of the board is to bring more companies in the parish to provide more jobs,” Jeff Davis Parish Economic Development Executive Director Marion “Butch” Fox said. “This is a golden opportunity for Jeff Davis Parish to diversify and create more quality jobs for citizens.”
The park is expected to offer unique synergies in the coordination and delivery of cars to rail-served tenants. On-site service providers will coordinate the loading of product, and the cleaning, maintenance and staging of outbound railcars as a turnkey service.
The police jury authorized the board to take title and lease back property currently owned by Rail Logix and to negotiate pay for the lease.
The jury appointed five members to oversee the board. The board members will serve staggered terms through 2023, then will serve six-year terms moving forward. The terms are staggered because the board members must finish out the terms from the parish’s former industrial development board that went defunct around 2007, Fox said.
The board members selected include Sheriff Ivy Woods, Ronnie Petree of Welsh, Jerry Theunissen of Jennings, Mike Moreau of Lacassine and Timothy Guinn of Jennings. Police jurors and parish employees will be ineligible to sit on the board, though the police jury president will serve as an ex-officio nonvoting member.
Fox said Rail Logix has been operating since April and has already spent over $30 million on infrastructure and developing the property.
“Everything is computer-driven,” Fox said. “They can monitor every car remotely using technology.”
She said there are similar parks established in Texas that are currently seeing success.
“This is going to help lure new businesses and create more high-quality jobs in the parish,” Fox said. “This is such a great opportunity and it never would have happened if not for the joint efforts of the police jury and so many others in the parish who worked tirelessly to make this project come to fruition.”
Westlake Chemicals is at the facility and serves as Rail Logix’s anchor tenant, according to Fox. Rail Logix is currently working with several other companies who have shown interest in using the rail system.
The first meeting of the board will be held at 5 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 17, and is open to the public. Woods said the meeting is being held to organize the board, elect officers and take any necessary appropriate action.