Vermilion and Iberia Parish Railroad Development District Board and Commissioners vote illegally to not support removing the railroad tracks

The Vermilion and Iberia Parish Railroad Development District Board and Commissioners illegally voted Tuesday afternoon after hearing objections from parish residents about Rails to Trails’ proposed location in the parish.
There were 60 people, around 56 were against Rails To Trails, at the railroad meeting to voice their objections to turning nine miles of railroad tracks from Abbeville to Delcambre into a walking and biking trail.  When the meeting was almost over, someone from the crowd asked the board members if they favored removing the tracks to create a Rails To Trails pathway.
Board Members Elbert Dawson, Joseph Hebert, and chairman Homer Stelly told the crowd they were against the railroad company removing the rails from Abbeville to Delcambre.
Dawson and Hebert said removing the rails would kill the chance of any new business opening next to the rails.
But Stelly, who lives in Delcambre across the street from the railroad,  said removing the rails would cause more flooding on the north side of Erath and Delcambre. 
“I am against it because I live on the north side of the tracks in Delcambre,” said Stelly in front of the crowd. “The rails serve as a little dam.”
After each board member spoke, they voted, and it was a 3-0 vote against the railroad company removing the rails to create Rails To Trails.
However, the vote does not mean anything because the board members did not put “voting for or against Rails to Trails” on the meeting’s agenda and did not amend the agenda before voting.