Progress is continuing on improvement projects in Kinder, including efforts to remove blighted property, upgrade wastewater treatment operations and improve drainage to alleviate flooding.

Among those projects, the town is working to secure $250,000 through the Louisiana Community Development Block Grant’s Clearance Program to help remove blighted properties.

Mayor Wayland Lafargue said the town is applying for a clearance grant to help clear and demolish the dilapidated structures. The town has until Dec. 16 to apply for the grant.

“We have 33 structures on the list to do, but we will work until the money runs out,” Lafargue said. “We want to do as many as we can if we get the grant because it is very costly. Without the grant the town couldn’t afford to do this.”

Lafargue and the town superintendent surveyed the town to add structures to the list.

“These structures haven’t been lived in in many years,” he said. “They are all vacant and some of the owners live out-of-state now.”

At least 17 of the structures are located in the Nixon Addition area with the others scattered throughout the town, he said.

To date the town has demolished more than 40 structures with more structures targeted.

“Removing these blighted structures will improve our community dramatically,” he said.

The town is also moving forward on a nearly $5 million project to upgrade its aging wastewater treatment facility to meet Department of Environmental Quality regulations.

The project will be funded by a $3.7 million water sector grant and a $3.3 million DEQ loan. Ten percent of the loan will be forgiven, but the town will need to match the remaining cost.

Among the items included in the project is a new filter system, canopy and new aerators.

It is expected to take about a year to complete.

Other projects that are currently underway include a $3.5 million drainage improvement project to alleviate flooding in the Nixon Addition.  The project is currently in the initial planning stages, according to Lafargue.

Funding for the project, which could include a retention pond and clearing and widening of drainage ditches, is being provided by the watershed initiative program.

“This project will improve the drainage in one of the lowest areas in Kinder where we have a lot of flooding,” Lafargue said.

The railroad recently installed three large culverts to help improve drainage in the area.

The project is expected to be put out for bid next year and will take a year to complete.

The town has also secured $900,000 in state capital outlay funds from Sen. Heather Cloud and Rep. Dewith Carrier to widen and install a new bridge on Park Road.

The project is a joint effort between the town and the Allen Parish Police Jury. Work is expected to begin in December.

During construction, Park Road will be closed for about three months. Traffic will be rerouted  to Nelson to U.S. 165 or Guillory Road.

“It will be a little inconvenience, but it won’t be a terrible problem,” Lafargue said of the street closure.

The bridge was targeted for closure by the state due to faulty pilings which support the foundation.

The town has also been approved for a $500,000 grant for a sidewalk between Market Basket and the Veterans Park.