May 3, 2026

Taking Flight: Delia Taylor on Louisiana’s First New Airport in Nearly 40 Years

Taking Flight: Delia Taylor on Louisiana’s First New Airport in Nearly 40 Years
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Local Leaders The Podcast #224
In this episode, Jim Chapman sits down with Delia Taylor, Chairwoman of the Livingston Parish Airport District, for an in-depth look at the Livingston Executive Airport — Louisiana’s first new airfield in nearly 40 years. Delia walks us through the current construction progress, the state-of-the-art 4,200-foot runway and supporting facilities designed for corporate jets, private pilots, and emergency services, and how the airport will connect Livingston Parish to the rest of the region and beyond.
Delia also addresses community questions, the development timeline, and the long-term vision for turning this infrastructure project into an economic engine for years to come. Whether you’re a business owner, aviation enthusiast, local resident, or simply curious about growth in Livingston Parish, this conversation delivers the inside scoop on one of the most significant infrastructure developments happening in Louisiana right now. Tune in for this optimistic, forward-looking discussion about progress, opportunity, and the future taking flight in our own backyard.

You can learn more about Livingston Executive Airport by visiting:
https://goflylea.com

Timestamps:
01:33 Airport Construction Updates
04:00 Federal Application for FAA System
07:42 Economic Impact of the Airport
14:36 The History of Livingston Airport
17:25 Location Matters for Economic Growth
21:39 Potential for Future Events
25:20 Innovations in Delivery Services
26:15 Infrastructure Improvements from the Airport
28:55 Future Plans for the Airport Project
33:07 Community Support and Vision for the Future
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WEBVTT

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Hey everyone, and welcome back to local leaders of the podcast.

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And today we have a returning guest to the show.

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And it's interesting, y'all. I went back and looked it

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was two years ago today that me and Miss Delia

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Taylor sat down and did a podcast about the Livingston

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Parish Executive Airport. So you're gonna catch us up today.

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You're gonna give us all the current details and progress

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on this project. And first, before we get into it,

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I want to welcome you to the show.

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Well, Jim, thank you so glad to be back. And

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that's kind of cool that it's two years to the day.

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Blew my mind.

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We did not plan that, y'all now, not at all.

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But boy, we've done a lot in the last two years.

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So again, thank you for bringing me on, for the

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chance to let the public know where we are and

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what all we've been doing for the last two years

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and obviously what's ahead in the future.

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Absolutely, and uh, the last time we talked, I think

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it was just a groundbreaking ceremony that you had just

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completed and since then you've had some some movement. So

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let's get into it.

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Well, that's right, So you know, over this time I

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guess it was two years ago that we had a

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groundbreaking for the site UH that allowed us to begin

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doing basic construction, basically clearing the land, UH, doing a

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drainage type work, mobilizing dirt, building building basically the foundation

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for the assets that we want to do there. And

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we've done a lot. In fact, I think we had

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told you we have two hundred and forty two acres

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that are there. We've done environmental assessments, We've looked at

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our airspace that's recognized by the state, by the Federal

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Aviation Administration as well. We've held public meetings, we have

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the full engineering design. We've now cleared the land and

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done all of that prep. So that's what we've been

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doing today. If you could see the site, and you're

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really not going to be able to drive up on

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it unless our construction grade road is open, but if

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you flew over it from a bird's eye view, you

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would be able to see what is basically a foundation

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for the forty two hundred foot runway. We've put turnarounds

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at the ends of those runways. The plane when they

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land can obviously turn around. There'll be a taxiway then

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that goes from the runway connecting to a very small

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airport that will sit on the east. So where are

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we today, That's what's been done today and where we're

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going to go tomorrow.

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Right.

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We felt like there should have been fireworks back in

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February at our little small airport board meeting because we

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actually approved and let out the contracts to actually begin

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construction on the runway to actually begin laying asphalt, so

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it will begin to look exactly what we envision.

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Yes, and that's a big deal. I mean it's a

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huge deal. Yeah.

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So we're expecting construction crews to be on site by

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the middle of May, is what we're hoping. Actually, they're

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waiting on some conduit to come in that's being affected

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a little bit by the tariffs from what I understand,

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but that'll allow us when we get ready to put

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in electrical and the lights that will go around the runway.

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Obviously we want all of that laid down into the

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ground before we start pouring the sub base and the asphalt.

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But we anticipate those construction crews to be on site

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this next month and and to do that. I want

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to also share with you, Jim that not only are

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we getting ready for construction. But another key point, or

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a key aspect of our growth and development is doing

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a federal application that we need to do to be

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in the FAA system. Right now, we will open as

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a state airport, state mandated, state funded, state operated airport,

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but we also want to be in the federal system

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and we have to actually apply for that, and so

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we have begun that application process. There's a lot of

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planning work, analytical work that has to be done, and

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so we've done kind of, if you will, chapter one

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of that application. And what that is that chapter one

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is the forecast and so let me just share with

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you why that's important. FAA wants to know. Okay, if

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you're going to be an airport, we want to know

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do do you have all the makings to be a

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successful airport? Can you make it? Can you sustain yourself?

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Is this something that is going to benefit your community

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and the aviation community overall. And so the very first

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part of that is a forecast study and we have

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completed that and this is a great news, and not

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just for our airport, but great news for Livingston overall.

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There were three things in particular that they looked at.

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Population are we are growing area or are we losing people?

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I think we all know the answer to that one.

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We're definitely growing and have been for the last thirty years.

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And by no surprise, the study came back and said

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none on are you're growing, but you're outgrowing the average

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growth rate in Louisiana by far and even across South

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Louisiana by far. So check that box right. Then the

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next one was employment. Are your people working those who

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live in your area are they do they have meaningful employment?

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And the study came back and said, yes, not only

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does Livingson Parish have a population, a growing population that

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is meaningfully employed, but you exceed the state and the

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national average for an area that has folks who are working.

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So again a great check on the second box. And

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then that third box is median income. What is your

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average income? Again, Livingson scored very well. We exceed the

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state's average considerably and we are right under the national

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average from median income. So what does all of that

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mean If we're going to support an aviation interest in

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our area. We need people who are working and have

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an income to support aviation, to participate in aviation. So

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the good news is Livyson has the base to support

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this and to grow this type of industry into the future.

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Yeah, and you know, we mentioned this the first time around,

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but I think it's worth bringing up. There's only two

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parishes currently in the entire state of Louisiana that don't

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have some form of airport in their community, Livingston Pairs

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being one, Saint Helena being the other. Correct.

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Correct, and again no insult to Saint Helena, but when

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you look at the economic base, that's not someone we

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want to be grouped with. We want to be grouped

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with the growing progressive parishes around our state and across

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the region. And Livyson has been one of the fastest

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growing again for the last thirty years, but we've missed

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this opportunity. I think it's interesting, Jim, to think about

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the airports that exists in this state. There are many

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that grew out of the military. There are a lot

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of airports here that were originally military bases. Okay, even

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Baton Route is based goes back into military. Then after that,

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when you look into the rural areas, a lot of

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them grew out of agriculture. They needed crop dusters, so

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they created these runways and in some of those areas

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they were able to develop them into a little bit

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larger airports. And then I would say in Louisiana, the

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other industry that may have driven some airport construction would

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have been oil and gas. As we look south from here,

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we might argue that Livingston may be the first airport

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GA airport that has developed out of a just true

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economic interest. It's not driven by any one economy, any

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one industry in our state. But rather, we're not here

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to support an existing industry. We're here to grow to

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grow industry in our area. And I think we're unique

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in that fashion.

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Yeah, I think so. When I want to talk just

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for a second about investment, because there's two different words

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that I use that I consider not interchangeable. There's cost

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and there's investment. Rarely do you sing in government investment

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or in even the private spectrum. This is an investment.

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It is something that you're going to see a return on.

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But in this case, and we kind of discussed a

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little bit of this off camera, there's a significant return already,

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and let's talk about that.

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Yeah. You know, again, government invests in services or project

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like this, which is a service in an effort to

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grow and support our quality of life here, right, So

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the question might be, yeah, I really don't care about airports,

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this is not my thing. Yeah it's going to grow

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one day, but well, I ever see that day. I

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understand all those questions. I understan down all of those

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doubts if you're not familiar with the industry. But here

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is the great news. Already we do not yet have

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an airport. We do not even yet have asphalt. That's

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what's going to happen this summer. But to date, the

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amount of investment that this project has already brought into

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Livingston is phenomenal and it is unmatched by anything else

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in this parish. Let me share a few numbers with

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our listeners. The parish as of this year, will have

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given this project over a ten year period, three hundred

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and eighty thousand dollars to pay for administrative costs. That's attorneys, accountants,

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all the sorts of things that we just have to

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have to function. Okay, three hundred and eighty thousand over

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a ten year period not a small number in some respects,

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I understand. So what have we done with that money

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to date, not in the future. Just todate first of all,

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that three hundred and eighty thousand since that the parish

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has invested has allowed us, in turn to generate seventeen

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million dollars directly into jobs and improvements in Livyson Parish.

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Seventeen million dollars that's gone toward contractors, engineers, surveyors, environmental engineers,

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all sorts of workers. Seventeen million dollars directly. That is

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a forty five to one return on your so or

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every dollar that the parish has put up, we've directly

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received forty five dollars. But it gets better. So I

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went to doctor Lauren Scott. Some of you may know

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that name. He is the state's leading economist, has headed

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up the LSU Department of Economics for years, does annual

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events and looks at the state's economy and everything. I

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asked my said, doc, would you look at what Livings

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and Parish has put up and what we received not

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only directly but indirectly, meaning those jobs, and how that

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money is further reinvested into our economy. So he did,

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and so what he has shown is that we have

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received an economic value from the money that the parish

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has given our project over thirty six million dollars.

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Wow.

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In impact thirty six million. What that means is of that,

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he said, more than eight million dollars of that is

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new household earnings in living someome parish.

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That's jobs.

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Those are the salaries that have been paid through the

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dollars that we generated. And then on top of that,

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or within that, if you will, those expenditures have brought

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in over four hundred and forty something thousand dollars in

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sales taxes. So those sales tax dollars that have come

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back to pot already. Wow, So what are we doing.

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We've invested in an airport that's brought in directly seventeen

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million dollars, has created jobs and spending and earnings upwards

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of thirty six million. Eight of that eight million of

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that being just direct household earnings, and nearly half a

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million of that in sales taxes. That what where does

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that go? Jim? It goes right back into roads, into

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our schools, into our police department. So already before we've

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even poured asphalt, that's been the return on our dollars.

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So look, that's almost a one hundred to one return.

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And I would challenge you that there is not another

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government funded project in this parish now or to date

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that brings in that type of impact to our parents.

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And we're not even open yet.

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Not even open yet. That's the mind blower of it.

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Doll and folks. You think about it this way. If

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someone said, you know, I need you to give me

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a dollar and I'm going to give you back a hundred,

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would you everybody? It's no burner, Sure we do that.

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That's investment. That's an uncanny investment in a very high return.

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And it shows that Look, this occurred in two thousand

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and seven. That's when was it around that date that

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this first became a thought an airport?

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So the thought well precedes me. Right, there were some

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business men here in Dental Springs in Walker and Livson

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area who said, we need an airport. I mean we

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just this was over twenty years ago. They said we

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need an airport. We're lacking and they started looking to

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see could we sustain one, could we support one? Where

231
00:14:53.360 --> 00:14:56.480
would we put it? And it took some time to

232
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finally get some of the government leaders to get on board,

233
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and obviously have to work through the red tape that

234
00:15:01.440 --> 00:15:04.080
they have to work through to actually do a master

235
00:15:04.200 --> 00:15:08.559
planned site study. And that's when they actually looked around

236
00:15:08.559 --> 00:15:10.759
in Livingston Parish and said, well, do we have a

237
00:15:10.840 --> 00:15:13.600
location that we could even put it, you know, that

238
00:15:13.679 --> 00:15:17.919
would fit between Hammond and Baton Rouge and Gonzales And

239
00:15:18.360 --> 00:15:20.559
do we have the land or is there anything that

240
00:15:20.919 --> 00:15:24.399
would prohibit us from doing this? And so they found

241
00:15:24.600 --> 00:15:28.559
three potential sites and as they really started looking at

242
00:15:28.559 --> 00:15:33.720
those sites further, one was too close Toligo and they said, no,

243
00:15:34.120 --> 00:15:36.840
we don't want to do that. The other was too

244
00:15:36.919 --> 00:15:41.600
close to the huge Waste Management landfill and they didn't

245
00:15:41.600 --> 00:15:44.519
want to do that, and that is because landfills often

246
00:15:45.720 --> 00:15:49.279
can generate bird activity and we don't want bird activity

247
00:15:49.720 --> 00:15:53.000
to that degree around airplanes. And so the third site

248
00:15:53.080 --> 00:15:56.559
was South Setsuma and that's where we are now. And

249
00:15:56.600 --> 00:15:59.360
so it came back and they said, here would be

250
00:15:59.440 --> 00:16:02.720
the best side. This would work. And at the time,

251
00:16:03.240 --> 00:16:08.759
Warehouser owned that property, and the parish certainly didn't have

252
00:16:08.759 --> 00:16:10.879
the money to go buy it from Warehouser. They were

253
00:16:10.919 --> 00:16:14.799
actively cultivating it for Timber. So we just sat and

254
00:16:14.840 --> 00:16:17.639
then as time went on around I don't know twenty

255
00:16:17.679 --> 00:16:22.519
fourteen fifteen, somewhere in there, a local developer purchased it.

256
00:16:23.320 --> 00:16:26.240
He heard the rumors. He happens to have been an

257
00:16:26.279 --> 00:16:29.399
aviator and he said, well, I might be interested in that.

258
00:16:30.159 --> 00:16:34.080
And so then come twenty sixteen, the parish council, hearing that,

259
00:16:34.799 --> 00:16:38.159
said well, let's create the Livingston Parish Airport District. Let's

260
00:16:38.159 --> 00:16:41.279
get some volunteers on board and see if they can

261
00:16:41.320 --> 00:16:44.440
make this happen. And so literally the board was created.

262
00:16:44.840 --> 00:16:47.440
Those of us Drew short Straws you know, ended up

263
00:16:47.440 --> 00:16:51.399
on the on the board and basically said, hey, all right,

264
00:16:52.279 --> 00:16:54.879
this guy wants to give us land. Go figure it out.

265
00:16:55.519 --> 00:16:56.480
And that's how it started.

266
00:16:57.600 --> 00:17:02.000
And you know, I know, y'all, it sounds like a

267
00:17:02.000 --> 00:17:04.559
bunch of fun, but I'm sure there's a lot of

268
00:17:04.799 --> 00:17:09.119
red tape involved in that and all of that leading

269
00:17:09.200 --> 00:17:12.680
up to now and finally we're going to have some

270
00:17:12.720 --> 00:17:16.119
asphalt poured. All of those sorts of things. And you

271
00:17:16.160 --> 00:17:18.720
mentioned location. I was kind of leading you into that,

272
00:17:18.839 --> 00:17:23.720
because location matters for things outside of I've got a

273
00:17:23.759 --> 00:17:27.039
plane and I want to fly it in, or a

274
00:17:27.160 --> 00:17:30.039
business person coming in here maybe to look at a

275
00:17:30.079 --> 00:17:33.240
project in Livingston Pairs. Maybe they want to build something

276
00:17:33.319 --> 00:17:36.240
here that's going to be an economic generator. But also

277
00:17:36.400 --> 00:17:40.519
let's talk sporting events because this is something that's very interesting,

278
00:17:40.599 --> 00:17:44.079
and I'm leading you into the Super Bowl year and

279
00:17:44.519 --> 00:17:47.319
everybody's familiar with that. So you made a good point

280
00:17:47.359 --> 00:17:49.559
to me about the super Bowl. Let's talk about that.

281
00:17:49.720 --> 00:17:54.480
Well, I think we've talked about you don't know what

282
00:17:54.640 --> 00:17:59.240
you don't know, and for forever Livston has never even

283
00:17:59.279 --> 00:18:02.920
discussed a because it we didn't have it, you know.

284
00:18:03.400 --> 00:18:06.680
And so we've talked about how the things that we've

285
00:18:06.720 --> 00:18:08.920
missed out on, we didn't even know we missed out

286
00:18:08.960 --> 00:18:11.480
on them, because it's not like there were going to

287
00:18:11.559 --> 00:18:13.359
call us if they knew we didn't have an airport.

288
00:18:13.839 --> 00:18:16.079
They weren't even calling us. And as I explained to you,

289
00:18:16.880 --> 00:18:19.200
it's not like you have to call the local chamber

290
00:18:19.599 --> 00:18:22.200
or the parish president to find out whether or not

291
00:18:22.200 --> 00:18:26.160
you have an airport. Trust me, there's multiple resources out

292
00:18:26.160 --> 00:18:30.359
there at fingertips of pilots and anyone who's interested in

293
00:18:30.440 --> 00:18:34.720
aviation to know exactly where the airports are located, the size,

294
00:18:34.839 --> 00:18:38.079
the length of the runway, fuel cost, you name it.

295
00:18:38.079 --> 00:18:40.319
It'll tell you if they have lights or not. It'll

296
00:18:40.319 --> 00:18:43.200
tell you what type of weather systems they have. That

297
00:18:43.240 --> 00:18:47.400
information is available immediately, so you would never have to

298
00:18:47.480 --> 00:18:51.079
just come ask right right, so there would know, you

299
00:18:51.079 --> 00:18:53.680
would never know. We never knew, and so we don't

300
00:18:53.720 --> 00:18:56.880
really understand then the impact of what aviation can have

301
00:18:57.000 --> 00:18:59.200
because we've just never looked at it. And I will

302
00:18:59.240 --> 00:19:02.039
tell you, since we've at our groundbreaking, the parish has

303
00:19:02.079 --> 00:19:06.319
received numerous calls from businesses that are looking at that area.

304
00:19:07.519 --> 00:19:09.440
They've not been able to disclose it because they have

305
00:19:09.559 --> 00:19:12.079
NDA's and they can't do that. But I will tell

306
00:19:12.119 --> 00:19:15.519
you we've received numerous calls from pilots who are interested,

307
00:19:15.799 --> 00:19:19.319
from investors who want to build hangars or other types

308
00:19:19.359 --> 00:19:21.680
of services, so we'll be talking more to them in

309
00:19:21.720 --> 00:19:25.200
the future. And then we found out just recently again

310
00:19:25.599 --> 00:19:29.160
those are kind of the obvious, you know, type of

311
00:19:29.200 --> 00:19:32.240
responses or the impacts that we can make. But a

312
00:19:32.240 --> 00:19:34.559
couple of months ago, was meeting with the Governor's office

313
00:19:34.559 --> 00:19:38.720
talking about funding, and the Commissarier administration shared with me

314
00:19:38.839 --> 00:19:44.599
that he and the governor recently traveled with Miss Gail Benson,

315
00:19:44.720 --> 00:19:47.640
the owner of the Saints, to the NFL headquarters to

316
00:19:47.880 --> 00:19:51.079
pitch for the Super Bowl to come back to New

317
00:19:51.240 --> 00:19:54.960
Orleans in twenty thirty one. And you know, we think, well,

318
00:19:54.960 --> 00:19:56.920
why wouldn't you have the Super Bowl in the New Orleans.

319
00:19:56.920 --> 00:20:01.240
That's a no brainer. The NFL loves it. People love it,

320
00:20:01.240 --> 00:20:06.079
it benefits us. We'd have it every year if we could. Right. Well,

321
00:20:06.400 --> 00:20:09.720
what the NFL told the governor and Misspenson at that time,

322
00:20:09.799 --> 00:20:12.359
they said, New Orleans has two problems to bring the

323
00:20:12.400 --> 00:20:16.000
Super Bowl back. You're like, whoa, there's a this may

324
00:20:16.039 --> 00:20:20.319
not happen. Two problems. One, you don't have enough high

325
00:20:20.400 --> 00:20:24.200
end hotels. So I guess the Sheridan and the Marriette

326
00:20:24.200 --> 00:20:26.599
are not cutting it anymore. So the state is actually

327
00:20:26.599 --> 00:20:30.119
working with OMNI to develop a high end airport around

328
00:20:30.119 --> 00:20:33.440
the convention Center. And then the second problem, they said

329
00:20:33.519 --> 00:20:37.599
is you do not have enough FBOs or flight based operations,

330
00:20:37.920 --> 00:20:40.799
that is the aviation, that's the airspace, the airport space

331
00:20:41.119 --> 00:20:45.920
for charter flights, for those private flights to come in,

332
00:20:45.960 --> 00:20:50.519
for those NFL owners and those fans that want to

333
00:20:50.559 --> 00:20:53.599
come in for a Super Bowl, that level of activity.

334
00:20:53.759 --> 00:20:56.960
They said, you don't have enough. And when the commissioner

335
00:20:57.039 --> 00:21:00.640
told me that, I could feel the grin my face

336
00:21:01.480 --> 00:21:06.079
and I said, you know, Commissioner, we're within that circle.

337
00:21:06.119 --> 00:21:08.759
And he said, yes, I know, and he said Livingston

338
00:21:09.079 --> 00:21:11.720
was part of our discussion while we were there.

339
00:21:11.880 --> 00:21:14.559
Wow, so who would have thought that?

340
00:21:14.640 --> 00:21:16.720
Who would have thought? Again, if you don't know, you

341
00:21:16.759 --> 00:21:20.480
don't know. But not only are we now standing to

342
00:21:20.720 --> 00:21:24.759
impact Livingston and already have sure that we can help

343
00:21:24.880 --> 00:21:30.200
grow an aviation industry in our area, but we're part

344
00:21:30.240 --> 00:21:33.440
of a piece of a puzzle that can help to

345
00:21:33.480 --> 00:21:39.519
contribute to a billion plus dollar event that would come

346
00:21:39.559 --> 00:21:44.279
to our state. So it's just the potential is huge.

347
00:21:44.640 --> 00:21:46.839
Yeah, and I think I think you just nailed it.

348
00:21:46.839 --> 00:21:47.200
It is.

349
00:21:47.279 --> 00:21:50.200
It's the potential that you don't even know you're missing

350
00:21:50.480 --> 00:21:56.039
out on if it doesn't exist. And so we discussed

351
00:21:56.079 --> 00:21:59.319
a little bit about like Amazon. Something that's been in

352
00:21:59.359 --> 00:22:03.400
the news and last week is the Amazon doing these

353
00:22:03.599 --> 00:22:06.839
drone deliveries. It's right, and I know that sounds crazy

354
00:22:06.880 --> 00:22:08.480
to a lot of people, but it's coming.

355
00:22:08.960 --> 00:22:12.319
It's not coming, it's here. Yeah's look, it's already in Arizona.

356
00:22:12.359 --> 00:22:15.319
They we're not the pilot. They've already done this in

357
00:22:15.400 --> 00:22:18.480
numerous states. They started in Arizona. But yeah, if the

358
00:22:18.480 --> 00:22:21.680
folks have read the paper the last few weeks, Amazon

359
00:22:22.119 --> 00:22:25.440
their distribution center there at the old Cortana or I

360
00:22:25.440 --> 00:22:28.599
guess still at Cortana is where they're going to be headquartered,

361
00:22:29.000 --> 00:22:34.119
and they will start doing drone delivery to the homes

362
00:22:34.160 --> 00:22:38.880
within a seven mile area, and they're telling us that

363
00:22:39.160 --> 00:22:43.039
eighty percent of what is ordered through Amazon can qualify

364
00:22:43.319 --> 00:22:46.160
for this. It has to be less than five pounds

365
00:22:47.119 --> 00:22:49.559
and they'll be able to deliver it to the home.

366
00:22:49.599 --> 00:22:51.880
They will literally come in and drop it from like

367
00:22:52.119 --> 00:22:57.279
twelve feet and by the being you have it. So

368
00:22:56.279 --> 00:22:59.680
so I'm sitting in this meeting wanting to know more

369
00:22:59.680 --> 00:23:03.119
about it because obviously it's aviation, and how may it

370
00:23:03.160 --> 00:23:07.880
impact our area? I asked. I said, well, they're going

371
00:23:07.920 --> 00:23:10.839
to start out with about one hundred to two hundred

372
00:23:10.880 --> 00:23:15.640
deliveries per day and they anticipate growing to upwards of

373
00:23:15.759 --> 00:23:21.400
four to five hundred deliveries per day. And I said, well,

374
00:23:21.440 --> 00:23:25.759
if you grow beyond that, or would you expand the

375
00:23:25.839 --> 00:23:29.279
radius from seven miles to something wider or how would

376
00:23:29.319 --> 00:23:32.519
you do this? And he says they could possibly, but

377
00:23:32.599 --> 00:23:37.279
it really that radius is dependent upon the battery duration,

378
00:23:39.000 --> 00:23:41.440
so he said it's more likely that they would build

379
00:23:41.519 --> 00:23:46.559
other distribution centers beyond that radius. So it's very interesting

380
00:23:46.680 --> 00:23:49.119
that if obviously this is successful, you would think that

381
00:23:49.160 --> 00:23:54.480
they would move further out into more populated areas. Again,

382
00:23:54.839 --> 00:23:56.960
did I share with you earlier how we have one

383
00:23:57.039 --> 00:24:03.759
of the largest population growth areas in the state. It's

384
00:24:03.799 --> 00:24:06.839
it's so you could see the potential of moving towards

385
00:24:06.880 --> 00:24:10.519
south southeast Baton Rouge to you know, maybe connect into

386
00:24:10.559 --> 00:24:14.839
Ascension and Livingston as well. So again, what seems like,

387
00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:18.279
you know, the Jetsons to you and I Jim is

388
00:24:18.359 --> 00:24:24.119
reality today? And uh and then one other you know

389
00:24:24.319 --> 00:24:28.079
techno fact here is that not only are we having that,

390
00:24:28.200 --> 00:24:34.319
but in Homa, Holma is about to venture into unmanned

391
00:24:35.599 --> 00:24:39.480
helicopter type transportation. Maybe it's a large drone. I don't

392
00:24:39.480 --> 00:24:43.279
know they what name they would give it, but it's

393
00:24:43.279 --> 00:24:47.200
to transport workers from the main one to the rigs.

394
00:24:47.240 --> 00:24:50.799
And right now that's being done if you're not on

395
00:24:50.839 --> 00:24:53.839
the ship or the barge or whatever, it's being done

396
00:24:53.880 --> 00:24:57.119
by helicopter, by a manned helicopter. Where they're now looking

397
00:24:57.160 --> 00:25:02.240
at doing this almost an unmanned taxi service for the rigs.

398
00:25:02.640 --> 00:25:05.799
It's here, it's real, it's happening one hundred percent.

399
00:25:05.960 --> 00:25:06.960
And you know the.

400
00:25:08.519 --> 00:25:12.000
I have a good friend that actually went to California

401
00:25:12.319 --> 00:25:15.680
and said they got in a car that had no driver,

402
00:25:16.440 --> 00:25:19.519
Like what And look, y'all, I'm pretty savvy on the

403
00:25:19.559 --> 00:25:22.640
tech stuff. I stay up on it, and I knew

404
00:25:22.640 --> 00:25:24.839
that existed, but I didn't know it was as common

405
00:25:24.920 --> 00:25:27.119
in other areas as it is. And they're like, they

406
00:25:27.519 --> 00:25:30.039
went to San Francisco and they said, yeah, San Francisco,

407
00:25:30.079 --> 00:25:33.680
there ain't no drivers all the ubers if you will,

408
00:25:33.759 --> 00:25:39.680
or driverless. So that's coming at some point. You know,

409
00:25:39.720 --> 00:25:41.839
it may be a little ways off for this area,

410
00:25:41.920 --> 00:25:46.279
but Livingston Parish is growing, and I would imagine, especially

411
00:25:46.279 --> 00:25:49.359
in Amazon's case, they're going to look at where their

412
00:25:49.400 --> 00:25:53.240
deliveries are going and are we having just a ton

413
00:25:53.279 --> 00:25:56.720
of deliveries to Livingston Parish and would benefit us to

414
00:25:56.839 --> 00:25:59.839
put a distribution center there so that we can do

415
00:25:59.880 --> 00:26:04.359
these drone deliveries And and I foresee that's going to

416
00:26:04.400 --> 00:26:06.319
be something maybe look very hard.

417
00:26:06.599 --> 00:26:08.799
Well, I would say, if it's based on my daughter's

418
00:26:09.119 --> 00:26:13.400
shopping habits, that they're already looking at it, right, they're.

419
00:26:13.240 --> 00:26:15.440
Gonna put one right in your backyards exactly.

420
00:26:17.599 --> 00:26:23.680
Yeah, you know, Jim, one of the things about investing

421
00:26:23.720 --> 00:26:26.200
in the airport where we're investing there off the Setsuma

422
00:26:26.240 --> 00:26:29.599
area and the investment that's already come in to us.

423
00:26:31.319 --> 00:26:36.079
By doing what we've done, we've also hardened the infrastructure

424
00:26:36.119 --> 00:26:38.440
around us. And what do I mean by that? So

425
00:26:38.880 --> 00:26:43.279
as part of our development, we have already run closed

426
00:26:43.440 --> 00:26:47.759
sewer from the town of Livingston to our site. What

427
00:26:47.799 --> 00:26:51.519
that means is along that line, that whole area now

428
00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:55.359
has access to closed sewer instead of open sewer and

429
00:26:55.400 --> 00:26:58.799
the ditches they can access closed sewer between us and

430
00:26:58.880 --> 00:27:04.160
the town of Livingston and that's cleaner, healthier, safer, better period.

431
00:27:04.839 --> 00:27:11.200
Then we have Demco that has expanded their three phase electricity.

432
00:27:11.279 --> 00:27:14.440
I can't tell you all the technicalities about what that means,

433
00:27:14.480 --> 00:27:17.880
but it's good. That's the right, that's the bigger portion

434
00:27:17.960 --> 00:27:21.680
of their electricity. They can handle bigger things, bigger, bigger

435
00:27:21.759 --> 00:27:26.839
loads that they have already begun uh extending that service

436
00:27:27.000 --> 00:27:30.960
from I twelve south. It will likely extend beyond us.

437
00:27:31.799 --> 00:27:35.440
And and we've seen expansion and connection in the water

438
00:27:35.519 --> 00:27:39.119
systems where Koyel and Livingston are are kind of merging

439
00:27:39.200 --> 00:27:42.200
and coming together. While they're two different systems, they've done

440
00:27:42.240 --> 00:27:47.799
some improvements for redundancy and and and emergency situations there again,

441
00:27:49.079 --> 00:27:50.839
you know, these water systems you're going to be able

442
00:27:50.839 --> 00:27:53.799
to connect. So what does that mean for a business

443
00:27:53.799 --> 00:27:56.279
that may want to come to Livingston Parish? They look

444
00:27:56.319 --> 00:27:59.160
out at Satsuma where there's a lot of land, a

445
00:27:59.200 --> 00:28:02.440
lot of the area to invest and they're like, wait,

446
00:28:02.480 --> 00:28:06.759
we already have water, sewer and electricity. We don't have

447
00:28:06.839 --> 00:28:10.279
to pay for that ourselves to bring it miles to

448
00:28:10.400 --> 00:28:13.880
our area. We just have to pay for our connections. Yeah,

449
00:28:13.960 --> 00:28:18.279
like everyone else. Sure, that's way more affordable, way more attractive.

450
00:28:19.599 --> 00:28:22.920
And the airport has helped to lead that and create

451
00:28:23.319 --> 00:28:25.880
that hardening of the infrastructure in that area.

452
00:28:25.960 --> 00:28:29.880
Yeah, And I think that's the unforeseen or the benefits

453
00:28:29.960 --> 00:28:32.519
that people don't necessarily think about when they you know,

454
00:28:32.839 --> 00:28:36.839
are things like laying sewer system where you wouldn't have

455
00:28:36.880 --> 00:28:42.039
normally done that had an airport not was not going

456
00:28:42.079 --> 00:28:44.319
to be put there, wouldn't it It just wouldn't exist.

457
00:28:44.759 --> 00:28:49.240
Heavier loads on an electrical system very important, but something

458
00:28:49.279 --> 00:28:51.440
that's not going to be done unless there's a need,

459
00:28:52.000 --> 00:28:54.759
and this this kind of forms that need for that

460
00:28:54.839 --> 00:29:00.799
to become a reality. I guess what is the future

461
00:29:00.920 --> 00:29:04.960
now as far as this project's concerned. How we look

462
00:29:05.000 --> 00:29:06.519
in going outward.

463
00:29:06.839 --> 00:29:09.480
As far as the timeframe, sure, well, you know, as

464
00:29:09.519 --> 00:29:12.640
we've always said, time and money, you know, to that

465
00:29:12.720 --> 00:29:17.960
I can't control control this project. So we will begin

466
00:29:18.079 --> 00:29:21.359
this construction this spring, you know, starting next week. That's

467
00:29:21.400 --> 00:29:24.480
a four million dollar project. By the way, we have

468
00:29:24.559 --> 00:29:27.960
already asked the state for additional funds to continue that

469
00:29:28.079 --> 00:29:32.160
process so that we can expand the runway excuse me,

470
00:29:32.200 --> 00:29:35.880
not the runway, expand the apron to. We still have

471
00:29:35.920 --> 00:29:39.079
to clear some trees. There's some trees in the approach ways.

472
00:29:39.079 --> 00:29:41.200
As you can imagine at the end of our runway,

473
00:29:41.599 --> 00:29:43.680
we've got to get few, get rid of some more

474
00:29:43.720 --> 00:29:45.880
trees that are around there, so it's safer to come

475
00:29:45.920 --> 00:29:49.319
in and we've created a nice lane, and then we

476
00:29:49.359 --> 00:29:51.799
will want to add lights, We'll want to add a

477
00:29:51.839 --> 00:29:56.160
fuel station, we will want to add weather devices there

478
00:29:56.240 --> 00:29:59.160
that exist. So still a lot to come, not to

479
00:29:59.200 --> 00:30:03.960
mention hang where an airplane can be stored, or where

480
00:30:04.240 --> 00:30:07.400
a larger hangar where maybe an aviation mechanic or a

481
00:30:07.400 --> 00:30:11.960
flight station, flight operating station could be there. So still

482
00:30:12.000 --> 00:30:15.480
a lot to come. Sure, you know, we've we've thrown

483
00:30:15.519 --> 00:30:18.200
out some dollars to the fourth floor, uh to the

484
00:30:18.240 --> 00:30:20.319
governor and said, hey, if you can give us all this,

485
00:30:20.720 --> 00:30:23.759
uh we we we might could do this sooner than later.

486
00:30:23.799 --> 00:30:24.799
So we'll just wait to see.

487
00:30:24.880 --> 00:30:27.079
I mean, I'm we're not the only ones asking for

488
00:30:27.119 --> 00:30:31.039
money at the capitol. I understand it. So we'll but

489
00:30:31.039 --> 00:30:33.839
but they have been wonderfully supportive that this governor has

490
00:30:33.880 --> 00:30:37.599
been wonderfully supportive of living to Parish and this project.

491
00:30:37.680 --> 00:30:41.759
And he understands our need and desire to have greater

492
00:30:41.839 --> 00:30:44.680
economic development out here so that we can keep our

493
00:30:44.799 --> 00:30:47.480
kids here, that we can give our kids high paying jobs,

494
00:30:47.759 --> 00:30:51.920
that we can bring in clean industry to our area.

495
00:30:52.240 --> 00:30:55.559
And we're not relying upon driving the baton rouge or

496
00:30:55.599 --> 00:30:59.119
to the industrial plants in Ascension to make a paycheck.

497
00:30:59.279 --> 00:31:02.200
So so he understands that, and he's and he's helping

498
00:31:02.279 --> 00:31:04.079
us with that, and we certainly appreciate it.

499
00:31:04.519 --> 00:31:05.880
And so we'll see.

500
00:31:05.920 --> 00:31:07.960
We'll just see what happens this session. And as we

501
00:31:08.039 --> 00:31:10.440
go forth, and like I said, how quickly we can

502
00:31:10.480 --> 00:31:13.559
cut some trees, because there are some environmental hurdles we

503
00:31:13.559 --> 00:31:18.400
still have to get over. But you know it's it's

504
00:31:18.440 --> 00:31:21.480
now coming into shape. You know, it's it's uh, it's

505
00:31:21.519 --> 00:31:23.720
not this big anymore. It's starting to get this big

506
00:31:23.759 --> 00:31:25.240
as we as we get closer to it.

507
00:31:25.359 --> 00:31:29.000
I love it. And uh, you know a dare I say,

508
00:31:29.359 --> 00:31:34.440
genius assessor one time told me why not Livingstone, why not?

509
00:31:34.599 --> 00:31:37.279
And I couldn't agree with it more. This is just

510
00:31:37.440 --> 00:31:40.440
something that uh is going to put us in line

511
00:31:40.519 --> 00:31:43.119
with where we deserve to go. And I want to

512
00:31:43.160 --> 00:31:46.480
thank you. I know this is no easy task. That

513
00:31:46.599 --> 00:31:48.920
thank you and everybody else on that board for your

514
00:31:48.960 --> 00:31:49.640
hard work.

515
00:31:50.359 --> 00:31:50.640
Uh.

516
00:31:50.839 --> 00:31:54.480
This is this is extra this These are things you

517
00:31:54.559 --> 00:31:57.279
do because you love your community and and you want

518
00:31:57.319 --> 00:32:00.440
to see it grow. And me, as a regular citizen,

519
00:32:00.480 --> 00:32:03.079
I can't tell you how much I appreciate that. I know,

520
00:32:03.519 --> 00:32:05.680
I can only imagine the amount of work that is

521
00:32:06.480 --> 00:32:08.559
in the amount of brain power it takes to come

522
00:32:08.599 --> 00:32:11.759
together and really find solutions for this. So thank you very.

523
00:32:11.720 --> 00:32:12.200
Much for that.

524
00:32:12.680 --> 00:32:15.759
Thank you, Jim. And look, this takes a village. Anything

525
00:32:15.759 --> 00:32:19.599
that matters takes a village. Okay. So from the support

526
00:32:20.119 --> 00:32:23.039
from our president, you know, Randy de Latt, to those

527
00:32:23.079 --> 00:32:26.799
councilmen who have voted for us and supported us and

528
00:32:26.839 --> 00:32:29.400
giving us the funding that we talked about earlier, I

529
00:32:29.440 --> 00:32:32.279
have a board. I'm one of nine. You know, those

530
00:32:32.319 --> 00:32:35.079
folks are diligent and all that they do and they

531
00:32:35.119 --> 00:32:39.079
care about this are engineers. Look, we have there is

532
00:32:39.160 --> 00:32:41.640
no question that we have some local engineers who are

533
00:32:41.640 --> 00:32:45.119
involved in this project that they go the extra mile.

534
00:32:45.720 --> 00:32:47.759
I know, they go back out and check our property.

535
00:32:47.799 --> 00:32:49.599
We're not paying them to do that. They're doing it

536
00:32:49.640 --> 00:32:52.519
because they care. They understand the value of this project.

537
00:32:52.720 --> 00:32:56.200
They want Libbyston to move forward. So it takes a

538
00:32:56.319 --> 00:32:59.359
village and it's taken a lot of work and a

539
00:32:59.359 --> 00:33:01.839
lot of support from a lot of people. And that's

540
00:33:01.920 --> 00:33:04.759
why we're here today, is because a lot of people

541
00:33:04.960 --> 00:33:07.160
have seen the value in this and they understand the

542
00:33:07.240 --> 00:33:10.839
value of this. You know, I read a quote not

543
00:33:10.960 --> 00:33:16.960
long ago and it says a society thrives when old

544
00:33:17.039 --> 00:33:21.799
men plant trees for which they'll never sit in the

545
00:33:21.839 --> 00:33:22.960
shape of that tree.

546
00:33:23.160 --> 00:33:23.559
Amen.

547
00:33:24.839 --> 00:33:29.000
We have people who understand that this project, while it

548
00:33:29.079 --> 00:33:31.200
is about today and it's going to impact us today,

549
00:33:31.480 --> 00:33:34.960
it's about building a future for our children, and they

550
00:33:35.039 --> 00:33:38.000
understand it. So a lot of things to a lot

551
00:33:38.000 --> 00:33:41.839
of people who are planting those trees. They may never

552
00:33:41.960 --> 00:33:45.880
enjoy the shade of that tree, but they're providing it

553
00:33:45.920 --> 00:33:48.480
for others and it means a lot.

554
00:33:48.759 --> 00:33:51.160
Thank you very much, and anytime you want to come

555
00:33:51.160 --> 00:33:54.519
back and update us, we will. Hopefully it won't be

556
00:33:54.519 --> 00:33:55.480
two years next time.

557
00:33:55.599 --> 00:33:58.160
Hopefully that would be going well, we'll.

558
00:33:57.960 --> 00:33:59.759
Do an update on it. Be happy to do that.

559
00:34:00.079 --> 00:34:02.119
All the listeners out there, look at the end of

560
00:34:02.160 --> 00:34:06.400
this video or in the description of this video, there's

561
00:34:06.440 --> 00:34:08.840
going to be a link. If you're listening to the

562
00:34:08.920 --> 00:34:11.920
audio version, click that. It's going to bring you to

563
00:34:11.960 --> 00:34:15.320
the video version, because I'm going to show a two

564
00:34:15.440 --> 00:34:21.639
minute generation of what this completed project is going to

565
00:34:21.679 --> 00:34:23.960
look like. It's really cool, trust me, you got to

566
00:34:24.039 --> 00:34:26.400
check it out. Just click the link. It'll bring you

567
00:34:26.480 --> 00:34:29.559
to the video version of this podcast and you can

568
00:34:29.639 --> 00:34:33.159
actually see it in action from start to finish, or

569
00:34:33.199 --> 00:34:35.199
as close a rendition as we can come to it

570
00:34:35.199 --> 00:34:38.519
at this point. So I appreciate all of y'all listening,

571
00:34:38.519 --> 00:34:41.159
and until next time, I'm Jim Chapman reminding you love

572
00:34:41.199 --> 00:34:44.559
your community, support local business, and keep leading.

573
00:34:44.599 --> 00:35:11.119
Thank you very much.

574
00:35:01.079 --> 00:35:32.079
The ELM.

575
00:36:00.920 --> 00:36:15.079
You are now clear to land