Rails To Trails opposition to attend railroad board meeting in Abbeville

Many people are expected to attend the Vermilion and Iberia Railroad Development District Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday, July 24.
The meeting is from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. inside the LSU Ag Center Building in Abbeville.
The meeting is expected to be well attended because of what is expected to be discussed.
A group of parish citizens is expected to speak out against the Rails to Trails plan to convert the old railroad tracks into a bike and walking trail.
The trail would be built from Abbeville to Delcambre.
Larry Campisi, the former mayor of Abbeville, is one of a handful of citizens leading the charge to prevent the Rails to Trails from happening in the parish. He said he has been requesting this meeting since June, and it has been canceled three times.
Campisi said he plans to ask the commissioners if they support or are against the Rails To Trails.
“I also plan to inform them that the rails are not abandoned, as reported,” said Campisi. 
The Iberia and Vermilion parishes railroad commissioners look to be familiar with Rails To Trails based on the minutes of its meetings, dating back to October of 2023.
The minutes of the  Vermilion and Iberia Railroad Development District Board of Commissioners are located on the state’s Board and Commissioners website.
The minutes of its Oct. 15, 2023 meeting show that a “group from Vermilion Parish is asking for the plans of a walking/bicycle trail.”
The minutes of another meeting, held on Dec. 11, 2023, the minutes state, “The trail group came back for any updates.”
The railroad commissioners had its first and only meeting of 2024 on March 24. 
The minutes of the March 24 meeting state, “The Trail Group, along with the Mayor of Abbeville, w asking about setting up a meeting with the R/R Company.”
That was the last time the railroad commissioners met.
Commissioners on the railroad board are Homer Stelly, David Broussard, Elbert Dawson, and Joseph Hebert.
Stelly is the chairman of the board, which has existed since 2010.
Stelly went on record as saying the board is not for or against the rails to trails.