Commission approves CEA to reimburse developer for I‑49 interchange work in 11–1 vote

The Caddo Parish Commission on April 9 voted 11–1 to approve resolution 29, authorizing the execution of a cooperative endeavor agreement (CEA) to reimburse Edgemont Holdings LLC for infrastructure improvements for a travel center project at the I‑49/LA‑2 interchange.

Stormy Gage Watts, who moved the resolution, and administration staff described the action as a follow‑up to a prior decision to enact a sales tax within the I‑49 TIF district. Under the plan described to commissioners, additional sales tax collections generated by the district would be used to reimburse the developer for work on a road that benefits the TIF area; collections have been held pending execution of the agreements.

Administration told commissioners the sales tax collections had been authorized in a prior vote and that the current resolution is intended to "close the loop" and put cooperative‑agreement language in place to permit reimbursements.

The vote carried with 11 in favor and 1 opposed. Commissioners later considered and adopted related resolution 1, acting in the commission’s capacity as the governing authority for the I‑49 North Corridor Economic Development District; that motion carried 10–1 with one commissioner recorded as out of the chamber at the time of the vote.

Supporters said the measures finalize prior policy decisions and enable the parish to reimburse infrastructure work performed to serve the TIF district. Opponents raised procedural questions about state involvement and the broader trend of shifting local control to state actors, but administration characterized the action as routine contract‑execution work to implement previously authorized tax collections.