FERRIDAY, La. &045; Town Council members on Tuesday approved plans to build a community center on the site where the Pasternack Building burned in October 2002.

The work is being done with $684,000 in U.S. Department of Agriculture grants and Community Development Block Grant funds.

The building will include a senior citizens’ meeting room and a business incubator, or place where fledgling businesses can rent space and get additional assistance when starting out.

The next phase, for which no timeline was set Tuesday, will be to seek bids for the project itself, said Teresa Dennis, executive director of the Concordia Economic and Industrial Development District.

Councilman Jerome Harris asked if the vote could be postponed until the council’s May meeting in order to give new council members &045; who will be sworn in before that meeting &045; a chance to vote.

&uot;Time is of the essence,&uot; Dennis said. &uot;You could lose $684,000 if you don’t act on this.&uot;

Although the original grant agreements call for the project to be finished by June, Dennis said she’s confident the town will receive extensions it has requested.

Also in Tuesday’s meeting:

4The board voted to allow Concordia Fire District No. 2 to use town water for its upcoming training sessions.

4Council members agreed to solicit additional quotes for the installation of safety glass for the front window and a gate system for the side parking lot entrance at the Ferriday Police Department.

4Harris asked that the rotation of wrecker service use by the Police Department, which the council recently voted to start, be started immediately.

Police Chief Ron Davis told Harris during the meeting the rotation had not yet been started.

4The board voted to give former Councilman Billy Rucker, interim Councilman Alan Cupit and outgoing council members Dorothy Johnson and Sammy Davis Jr. plaques recognizing their service on the council.

4Council members voted to purchase error and omission insurance for the mayor as required by law.

4The council voted to ask Town Attorney Derrick Carson to research the possibility of extending the one-year lease on property the town owns on Poole Road.

4Council members directed Carson to renegotiate with the Concordia Parish School Board the town’s lease on the Ferriday Education Center building.