Since 2021, the Community Infrastructure Team at Communities Unlimited (CU) has worked alongside Village of Chataignier, a rural community of 364 people in south-central Louisiana’s Evangeline Parish, helping local leaders overcome infrastructure, financial, and capacity challenges.

Early efforts focused on securing equipment to reduce operating costs for the village’s water and sewer systems. CU initially pursued funding for a tracked excavator, but the project did not move forward. In 2023, CU Management Specialist Stacey Scarce wrote a USDA Community Facilities (CF) application on behalf of Chataignier Village, which was later awarded funding to purchase a mini excavator and dump trailer — equipment the village had never owned before.

That momentum carried into 2025, when Scarce helped the village secure a second USDA CF award — this time to support public safety with a new police vehicle. Scarce also presented a rate study to the village council and later introduced an asset inventory she completed in collaboration with the system operator, giving the village tools it previously lacked to plan for long-term sustainability.

For Village Clerk Anna Mosbroker, the support addressed a fundamental constraint: capacity.

“One of the biggest challenges was the cost of engineers,” Mosbroker said. “They’re expensive, and we don’t have a large income source. On top of that, it’s just me here.”

Chataignier operates with entirely part-time staff, and Mosbroker said the administrative burden alone can be overwhelming.

“There are mountains of paperwork,” she said. “Having Communities Unlimited come in was beneficial, not only financially, but in terms of time. It saved me from having to take on work that I honestly wouldn’t have been able to manage.”

Beyond grants, CU’s technical assistance helped the village confront chronic financial strain within its sewer system. According to Mosbroker, the rate study showed the department had been operating at a loss for years.

“The rate study helped us determine how much we needed to increase sewer rates,” she said. “I’m thankful for that work because it’s not something I would have had time to do myself.”

Mosbroker emphasized that without CU’s support, these projects simply would not have happened.

“Without Stacey, I wouldn’t have been able to take on these projects at all,” she said.

The equipment investments have already paid off. After a fiber installation recently damaged approximately $13,000 worth of pipe, the village was able to complete repairs in-house using the new excavator.

“Without that equipment, it could have cost us three times as much,” Mosbroker said.

Public safety improvements brought similar relief. Before the CF-funded police vehicle, Chief WillTee Gallow relied on aging, unreliable patrol cars.

“One vehicle had a transmission going out,” Chief Gallow said. “The other one had close to 200,000 miles on it, and it was giving us problems.”

When he learned the village would receive funding for a replacement, Chief Gallow said the moment was overwhelming.

“I almost passed out,” he said. “It was such a wonderful feeling.”

The difference, he noted, has been immediate.

“I can make traffic stops now without the engine dying,” Chief Gallow said. “I can get out and do more — respond to calls, work with officers, just do the job the way it’s supposed to be done.”

Both Mosbroker and Gallow described the projects as investments that strengthen the village’s ability to serve residents and respond to emergencies.

For Gallow, the impact is deeply personal.