Council votes to reestablish Disability Advisory Committee after public appeal

The Terrebonne Parish Council voted to reestablish its Disability Advisory Committee following public testimony from local advocates on Tuesday. Councilmember Mr. Waza moved to reestablish the committee and directed the council clerk to contact affiliated agencies and advertise vacancies; the motion was seconded and then approved, with the chair announcing the motion passed.

Why it matters: Advocates told the council the parish lacks focused representation for residents with disabilities and urged the council to restore the panel to coordinate services and accessibility initiatives across schools, human services and transit providers.

At the meeting, Tiffany Alamo of 419 Tanglewood Drive said she had emailed the council and, "based on the 2023 US Census Bureau, we have a 103,000 people here, which puts about 13,000 disabled citizens" and noted an estimated 12.7% disability share of the parish population. Bridal Lambert of 122 Slate Lane described long-running special-education engagement and partnerships with TARC, saying such local programs "give them a place. That gives them a purpose." Erica Pellegren, identified as a director at Terrebonne Arc and a former committee member, said the agency and the school district have been working together and called the timing right to bring the committee back.

The council discussion was brief; following the public comments the chair called the roll and announced the motion passed. The resolution directs the clerk to contact agencies associated with the advisory committee and begin advertising for vacancies. The meeting record shows the chair announced the motion passed and elsewhere the clerk recorded nine ayes for the item.

Next steps: The council directed staff to begin outreach and advertising for committee vacancies; a timeline for appointments was not specified in the meeting record.