By KEVIN CHIRI

Publisher

LAPLACE – It was like an intimate get together among friends.

And that is just what St. John Parish President Nickie Monica, and the Parish Council, are hoping there are many gatherings like in the coming years.

Monica hosted a private gathering of parish officials and Parish Council members at the new St. John Community Center on Monday evening, giving the group a close-up tour of the recently completed facility.

And like Monica, parish officials are hoping the center provides an economic boost to the region like many other similar centers haven’t been able to do.

&#8220Look at St. Charles Parish. They have three times the money to support the people they have, and they don’t have a civic center,” Councilman Steve Lee said. &#8220And that’s because these facilities are difficult to work. It costs a lot of money to maintain them, so many smaller communities just can’t do it.”

The center cost $6.5 million to build, and as Monica ran the tour of the beautiful inside, he noted that &#8220this is the largest investment ever made in St. John Parish.”

The parish president said that his main hope is that the expected $3 million to $4 million in annual economic impact to St. John, from the Community Center hosting events, will just grow over the years.

&#8220We are not interested in making money with the center,” he said. &#8220But we expect an impact to the local economy of close to $4 million a year. That’s going to help all the small businesses here, and that’s why we’re excited about this.”

A catered meal was served to the group in the foyer, then a tour was given of the massive main hall, along with a smaller, secondary hall.

The parish has already agreed to a $15,000 a month lease of the main hall to a movie production company, and Parish Chief Administrator Natalie Robottom said that will pay for the monthly maintenance of the building. The company is setting up for its first production this week.