What’s on the Mind of Members

Of the New Central City Council?

 

On the last Saturday in March five longtime Central residents were elected to four-year terms on the Central City Council.   Three will begin serving their second consecutive terms when the new Council convenes in July and two are brand new members.

 

One of the repeaters is Louis DeJohn of Louis Mechanical Contractors.   He has doubled (or tripled) as chairman of the annual Cooking for Central fund raiser for the past five years.   “The big challenge for Council members in the years just ahead is the budget,” he said.   “We are spending nearly $6 million per year on city services and the challenge is to make sure we are taking care of our citizens.”

 

We have to provide better service while using conservative methods to keep the budget in line, according to DeJohn.   A sustainable budget is a must.

 

Economic Development

“We need economic development to make it work, and that is why we are hiring an economic development director to help us with a coordinated development plan,” said DeJohn.   “We need to encourage businesses to locate in Central so we can buy our clothes and entertainment right here at home.   You can depend on it: New community development activity is coming and our tax base will grow.”  

 

One thing that is needed very badly right now is for more young people to begin building and buying moderately priced homes in Central, according to DeJohn.  

 

“Of course, while I am looking forward to serving on the City Council with our new members, Dr. Tony LoBue and Wayne Messina, I will miss Lucky Ross and Joan Lansing,” he said. “Those two have made major contributions to the City of Central.”

 

Appointed to the City Council five years ago, then elected to a four-year term, and now a second four-year term is Ralph Washington of Red Stick Cleaners.   “We learned a lot during the election,” he said.   “We are going to be taking a look at certain things we are doing such as permit fees, our code of ethics for public officials, and we need to decide on the matter of private versus public.   We need to know what is private and what is public.”

 

Comprehensive Master Plan

Washington said more public involvement and input is needed at City Council meetings.   He said the Comprehensive Master Plan that is in the works is badly needed and that it must be very comprehensive because Central is growing fast.   “People want to have their own councilman, so districting is on the horizon,” he said.

 

Looking ahead ten years Washington said many of the major arteries will have four-lanes so they can handle a lot more traffic.   “I think our population will grow from 27,000 to probably a little more than 37,000 people.   That will put tremendous pressure on our infrastructure,” he said.   “I really think we need infrastructure improvements now because I cannot see how we are going to be able to grow without them.”

 

He noted that the Central Thruway is going to be a major improvement but he does not feel it goes far enough.   “Where are you going when the Thruway is complete unless you widen Sullivan and O’Neal and extend O’Neal to I-10?   Don’t get me wrong, it will help, but we need more.”

 

Let the People Decide

City Councilman Arron Moak of Computer Evolutions and the AT&T Store in Central will also begin a new four-year term in July.   He said the matter of districting and whether the police chief is elected or appointed needs to be left for the people to decide.   “Our business base is expanding with a lot of medical and professional jobs and our retail will grow just because of that,” he said.   “We need to find a middle ground with housing and use our master plan to find areas where we can develop sensibly affordable homes for our young people.”  

 

Moak said he sees a lot of home-based businesses growing into retail shops.   “We need to work hard on our infrastructure improvements such as widening Hooper, Joor, Sullivan which is being done already,” he said.   “Then we need to four-lane Magnolia Bridge Road into Livingston Parish and extend Hooper into Denham Springs which would alleviate a lot of the congestion going into Livingston.”

 

The Councilman said we need to forget the Loop right now because there are too many internal items that need to be taken care of before the Loop.   “Maybe 50 years from now we will look back and say ‘How were they against it?’ but not right now.   It does not make sense today.”

 

Helping People

“I ran for the Council because I like helping people,” said new City Wayne Messina Security Chief for the East Baton Rouge Parish School System.   “I have already had an opportunity to assist someone who was having a problem getting his trash and recyclables picked up because he lived in a cul-de-sac.   I made a couple of calls and the problem was solved.” Councilman

 

Messina said the next five to ten years will see many street improvements in Central.   He said Sullivan Road will be four lanes as will Greenwell Springs Road to Hooper and Hooper will be four lanes all the way to Denham Springs.   “This is imperative because our city will continue to grow,” he said.   “We are going to continue to have growing pains, but an improved traffic flow will help.”

 

Unfortunately, according to Messina, an increase in crime will come right along with the growth.   “Down the road we are going to need extra help for our police department and that has to be paid for somehow,” he said.   “The question is how are we going to pay for it?   The property tax goes for the schools and the sales tax is what we have to run the city.”

 

The only thing you can do is an assessment similar to the $35 a year we pay for our excellent fire protection.   Our top fire rating saves us more on our homeowner’s policy each year than it costs.   “When you put pencil to paper you find that four part time deputies will run approximately $222,000 per year if they work 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.”

 

Four Deputies Patrolling

Messina said most home break-ins in Central occur when the homeowners are at work.   Four deputies patrolling would definitely curb that activity, he said.   The city can be broken into zones and the deputies can just rotate through a regular schedule of patrols.   

 

Dr. Tony LoBue of Crossroads Animal Hospital thanked the people of Central for their vote of confidence. Since moving to Central in 2003 he has been involved in many community activities.   He was a member of CABA and he has served two terms as president of the Central Chamber in its earliest days.  

 

“I have always wanted to be involved in community service,” he said.   “I look forward to playing a role in the governmental process.   When we stand back we let one percent of the people make all of the decisions.   But government affects each of us and our children, so I want to help.   I want to be involved.”

 

Dr. LoBue said the big issue right now for Council members seems to be privatization and what it means.   “It was a good way to go starting out, but we need to understand it better,” he said.   “We need to make it more transparent.”

 

Good Service

Using companies to do things we used to hire employees to do is the trend, according to Dr. LoBue.   “I think it is going to work out fine,” he said.   “We just need to make sure we do things the right way and that way is the way that gives the people the best service.   In government as in any business, if you don’t give good service you won’t be in business long.”

 

Other hot items on the City Council agenda are matters such as term limits, the home rule charter and districting, according to Dr. LoBue. “And we have to continue to work and complete the comprehensive plan.   Most important we have to encourage people to stay involved by emailing the council members and staying up to date on happenings in their city government.”

 

So, Central has a new City Council that will take over in July.   Between now and then would be a good time for Central residents to make sure City Councilmen know what is on the mind of the folks they represent.  

 

They really do not represent you if they don’t know you.   Now is the perfect time to remedy that situation.