The questions I am asked most frequently is "Why are you involved" and "how did you get involved in this boundary issue?".
In March of 2000, I was traveling from Lafayette Parish to Vermilion Parish on Hwy 339 from the Youngsville area to Abbeville. I noticed that the Parish Boundary marker had been moved a quarter of a mile farther north than I had ever seen it, and this goes back more than 30 years. I stopped and noticed that at the base of the sign was an "X" painted in flourescent spray paint with the initials P. L. . Across the road a family was sitting on their porch so I pulled into their drive and spoke with them. What they told me was inconceivable.
A week or so before my arrival at that very site, someone had moved the sign and placed the painted reference on the roadway. I asked if a surveyors had been out with the crew, and was told, "NO, they just moved the sign and painted an "X" on the ground.
As a landman, I knew there are specific laws and regulations regarding boundaries, and although it is not always an exact science, care must be taken when determining boundaries and specific locations on the ground. I was curious, so I began what was to be a four year research project. What I have found, is that a plan was in action to "RE-ESTABLISH" the boundary between Lafayette and Vermilion Parishes, and that the change was based on an abstract dated 1944, by Gervis Lombard, Engineer with the then State Office of Public Works and a 1931 Survey by Merril Bernard, a Surveyor contracted by Vermilion Parish in 1929. Was it "politically motivated"? Was the new boundary in the best interest of the residents and taxpayers of Lafayette Parish?
I began to contact Parish officials in both Lafayette and Vermilion and began interviews which did not pass the smell test. I beleive this relocation of the boundary, while guised to settle a question that has endured over 100 years regarding the precise boundary on the southern most part of Lafayette Parish, appeared to be an opportunity to punish a few people for political reasons, while allowing hundreds if not thousands of acres of property to be given away to a willing, complicit and anxious group of officials from Vermilion Parish.
I began building this information site onto the Bertrand Land Service site and will continue to add to it as I have the time and information to post. If you have questions, or information you may email me at donb@bertrandlandservice.com.
|
