Lafayette Residents Demand Transparency on Proposed Parish Jail

Highlights:

✅ Lafayette residents are demanding transparency on a proposed parish jail three years after it was announced.

✅ The project lacks public details on design, cost, location logic, and programming.

✅ The proposed site on Willow Street is near homes and schools, raising concerns over fairness and impact.

✅ Residents and organizers are calling for more public meetings and community input before construction begins.

Three years after its announcement, Lafayette’s new parish jail project still hasn’t cleared the air—and local residents are getting tired of waiting.

LAFAYETTE, La. (KPEL News) —  At a public earlier this week, members of the Lafayette community packed a meeting room with one big question for their local officials: What's really going on?

A proposed Lafayette Parish jail, first announced in 2021 as a public-private partnership under then-Mayor-President Josh Guillory, has seen little progress and even less transparency. And now, folks want answers—on the location, the funding, the design, and even the purpose behind it.

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“This isn’t just about building a jail,” said Consuela Gaines with VOTE (Voice of the Experienced), one of the community groups hosting the meeting. “It’s about what happens inside that jail. Are we trying to make people better, or just locking them up and forgetting about them?”

Three Years, Still No Details

The proposed site is on Willow Street, not far from homes, schools, and the Sheriff’s Office’s Transitional Housing Unit. Residents at the meeting weren’t shy about questioning why that location was chosen—and whether it had more to do with development deals than public safety.

FLASHBACK: Lafayette Council Moves Forward With Proposed Jail Plans

“They’re putting it in our neighborhood because they think we don’t matter,” one resident said. “So they can keep downtown clean and ready for hotels. It’s not about justice—it’s about real estate.”

According to KATC, no public designs have been shared. No confirmed cost estimates. No updates on capacity. Just a plot of land that’s already been purchased, and a community left in the dark.

Who’s Responsible?

Dr. Chris Williams, one of the meeting’s organizers, said this lack of information isn’t just frustrating—it’s unacceptable.

“We’ve been asking the same questions for three years," Williams said. "Where’s the transparency? Where’s the plan?”

Even city officials seemed to be distancing themselves from the project. Councilman Kenneth Boudreaux clarified that the City Council isn’t funding the jail and hasn’t been looped in on key decisions. A pending state allocation may play a role in moving things forward, but right now, there’s no clear path or timeline.

What Happens Next?

Organizers say this won’t be the last meeting. Community members plan to keep pushing for answers and accountability. They want public engagement before construction begins—not after it’s a done deal.

If Lafayette is going to build a new jail, residents want to make sure it’s done right—and done in the open. Because at this point, it’s not just about where the jail goes. It’s about who gets a say in what kind of community we want to build.