VIDALIA &045; If the Department of Motor Vehicles is going to build a new building in Concordia Parish, they are going to have to do it without taxpayer money from the Police Jury.

The Concordia Parish Police Jury denied authorization Monday night of a $1 to $3 service fee on DMV transactions to fund a new building.

&uot;We have beat this thing to death,&uot; Jury President Melvin Ferrington said. &uot;I’m not going to be in favor of it because I don’t think the state should be imposing a tax on local people.&uot;

Louisiana law allows the state Office of Motor Vehicles to request levying the service fee from local governments. Due to space constraints and location, the local DMV approached the jury in early April requesting the service fee.

DMV representatives have said the current U.S. 84 office is too small and located in a dangerous location for new drivers.

At the April Police Jury meeting, jurors discussed the matter in length but agreed to delay a vote on the matter.

Monday night’s motion to deny the request made by Juror Cathy Darden and seconded by Randy Temple was unanimous.

Juror Jimmy Jernigan said he was against the service fee because he didn’t think the jury had money to worry about the upkeep of the building in the future.

If the service fee had passed, the money would have been used to build the building and additional revenues would be used to cover yearly costs. The jury would have owned the building.

At the April meeting, OMV District Supervisor Brenda Cook said a new building was a necessity and if the jury did not approve the request, the OMV would make the same request of Vidalia and Ferriday until they found the money.

In other business, the jury approved the use of a $50,000 airport grant to fund repairs to the roof of the old terminal and to seal the new terminal. From the same grant, $30,000 to $35,000 will go to the fuel system.

4 The jury agreed to sell a 50-feet by 49-feet lot in Clayton for $492 to the Department of Transportation for right of way on Louisiana 15.