City Of Scott Celebrates Recent Recognition + Crime Decrease + Comprehensive Plan

There was quite a bit to be excited about on Thursday as Scott Mayor Purvis Morrison led a meeting highlighting everything that's going right in the city and what's being done moving forward.

Mayor Morrison began the meeting by highlighting a recent honor that was given to Scott by Movoto.com, an online real estate brokerage that recognized the city as the number two place to live in Louisiana. Scott's strong median income, which Mayor Morrison points out is over $48,000, as well as its low cost of living, low taxes, a low unemployment of 4.7%, good weather and a family-friendly Mardi Gras parade.

"Of course, we know about how great Scott is to live in, but it's nice to get that recognition from others as well," says Mayor Morrison.

Another factor that led to the honor was the city's low crime rate. Scott Police Chief Chad Leger pointed out that there has been a 3% decrease in crime from 2012 to 2013. The city also saw a 13% decrease in call volume over the last year, as well as a 12% decrease in Adult arrest and 21% decrease in Juvenile arrest. Chief Leger attributed this to the proactive stance that his department takes in dealing with crime. He says because of this, the Scott Police Department was able to increase drug and OWI arrests by a very large margin. Chief Leger adds a majority of those drug arrests were during traffic stops on vehicles that were traveling through the city.

Speaking of driving through the city of Scott, the only statistic that continues to climb is the amount of crashes that happen within the city. 686 crashes occured in the city last year, which is up by 31%. "While the Mayor and City Council continue to work on new roads and infrastructure for our future, the City of Scott is the gateway for Lafayette Parish on the western side of the parish," says Chief Leger. There are people driving through our great city from Jeff Davis Parish, Acadia Parish and St. Landry Parish to shop in Scott or just passing through to go into Lafayette for shopping, work or recreational events. During 2013, the Scott Police Department worked two fatal crashes and this is two too many."

Chief Leger also highlighted that of the 118 cases being investigated by their Criminal Investigation Division, 64% of them have been closed out with an arrest or a restitution made back to the victims. CID still has 12 pending cases that have been sent to the DA's office and are waiting acceptance of charges.

In the meeting, the Comprehensive Plan for the city was also addressed. It's a plan that's expected to contribute to the smart growth and beautification of the city. Land use descriptions and specific functions are now being reviewed as well as the accompanying land use map. Planning Commission recommendation on these documents are expected to be final by spring 2014, with City Council Action to take place shortly thereafter.

Highlighted in the announcement was the Apollo Road Corridor plan, which has been reviewed by the Planning Commission and the City Council and will be adopted as part of the final land use code as a special district. It was completed through a tri-lateral effort between The City, the Lafayette Economic Development Authority and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Officials say the plan not only looks out for landowners by securing the highest and best use for their property, but also providing economic development and improved traffic flow for the community.

In closing, Mayor Morrison credited the teamwork between he, the Scott Police and Fire Departments, the Scott City Council and Lafayette officials such as Vice President of Community Development for the Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce Bruce Conque, Lafayette Convention and Visitor's Commission Executive Director Ben Berthelot and Upper Lafayette Economic Development Foundation Executive Director Jan Swift in being able to make today's announcements.