FROM THE MAYOR’S DESK

September 2, 2010

MOVING FORWARD!

          Friends we are fast approaching the anniversary of the attack on our World Trade Center.  This September 11 we will certainly reflect on the happenings of that day with great sadness. But our nation, from that moment on, has moved forward with the remarkable stamina that has clearly defined the United States of America!

          As your Mayor, I am asking that you display your American Flag, whether on your home, in your yard or on your mailbox.

Take the time to thank a Veteran or a Soldier.  By the grace of God this nation was founded and by the grace of God she will stand!

CH2MHILL NEGOTIATIONS:

          I have been in on-going negotiations with CH2MHILL since February to improve services and reduce costs to the City of Central.  The first result of these negotiations was the $150,000.00 rate reduction which took effect in July.  Our talks have again come to fruition this week.  CH2MHILL will be expanding their internal ability to administer the permit and building inspections operations. As a result, effective September 12, 2010, CH2MHILL will no longer be utilizing the services of SafeBuilt,  the company currently providing these services on a contract basis. 

          The change is part of CH2MHILL’s ongoing efforts to optimize processes and streamline the services they provide to the City.  As a result, in the next few weeks I will be finalizing a change in the permit fee split. This should result in the City’s General Fund receiving a greater share of Central’s permit fees.  There will be no decrease in the permitting services provided and I expect it will be a very smooth transition.

          This is just the first of many areas that CH2MHILL will be reviewing for continued improvement and savings, as we look to deliver the highest quality of services which our citizens expect and deserve, while doing so in the most cost-efficient way possible.

CH2MHILL

ACTIVITY PERIOD:  July 1, 2010 – July 31, 2010

PUBLIC WORKS:

Litter Control:   total of 6  work orders      All complete

Roadside Mowing:  total of 44  work requests   40 complete;  4 pending

Drainage Maintenance:  total of 53  work request;  23 Complete;

30  Pending

Pothole (Patching) Maintenance:  Total of 16 work requests;

13Complete; 3 Pending

Traffic Sign Maintenance:  Total of 9 work requests; 7 Complete;

2Pending

Pavement Marking Maintenance:  Not applicable for the month of July.

Miscellaneous:  Not applicable for the month of July

Of the 128 total work requests:

          89 are Completed Work Orders, which is 70% of total work requests

         39 are Pending, which is 30% of total work requests

PERMITS:

There were 99 Building Permits issued.

Planning & Zoning:

There were 30 P&Z requests processed.

Occupational Licenses:

There were 24 Occupational Licenses processed.

Building Inspections:

There were 297 Inspections, which included:

   258 Residential Inspections

     39  Commercial Inspections

Code Enforcement:

There were 18 Code Violations investigated and 10 letters of Violation issued

OCCUPATIONAL LICENSE ISSUED 2010

TOTAL ISSUED IN 2010:   633

TOTAL DELIQUENT ACCOUNTS:  164

PLEASE CHECK YOUR OCCUPATIONAL LICENSE STATUS TO MAKE SURE THEY ARE CURRENT.

You may contact City Services at 262-5000

GRANTS/APPROPRIATIONS

ACTS OF 2010 STATE LEGISLATURE

Listed below you will find the Grants and Appropriations the Mayor’s Office along with our State Legislators, Bodi White and Clif Richardson, have worked on to bring to Central:

ACT 21:  CAPITAL OUTLAY

1)  Hooper RoadExtension study:

Amount: $1,000,000.00 (Priority 2: $100,000.00)

                                       (Priority 5: $900,000.00)

2)  LA. 3034 (Sullivan Road) Improvements:

Amount: $5,090,000.00 (Priority 1: $2,090,000.00)

                                        (Priority 2: $1,500,000.00)

                                        (Priority 5: $1,500,000.00)  (1347)

3)  Hooper RoadSewer Improvements:

Amount:  $600,000.00 (East Baton Rouge Parish) (Priority 1)

4)  Administration Building: 

Amount:  $50,000.00 (Priority 1)  50/MW8

ACT 41:  DIRECT APPROPRIATIONS:

5)  DOTD 07-276:  Environmental Studies and Plans for Hooper Road extension to LA. 16.

Amount:  $100,000.00

6)  Economic Development City of Central.  20-945

Amount: $25,000.00

7)  Central Historic Society and development of Greenwell Springs

HospitalPark.

Amount:  $50,000.00

8)  Cheneyville Fire District: 

Amount:  $25,000.00

9)  Central Fire Department:

Amount:  $20,000.00

GO WILDCATS!!!!

GO REBELS!!!!!

          Friday nights in Central are an ingrained part of our heritage.  The athletic programs of the schools located here are outstanding.  Take a couple of hours off Friday night and attend the high school game of your choice and support our students and their schools.  You won’t be disappointed

          Folks, I serve a community that is as much a part of my life as my family. I am YOUR Mayor.  TOGETHER we will continue to move this city forward.  I am promising the constituents of this community that I will continue to focus my efforts toward the building of our city to see it sustain our lifestyle and maintain our core values that we are so proud of. 

We are CENTRAL PROUD and CENTRAL STRONG!!!

Thank you and God Bless Central!

Mac Watts

Mayor

www.mayormacwatts.com

The purpose of “FROM THE MAYOR’S DESK” is to disseminate public information to as many citizens as possible.  The author grants permission to third parties to forward and/or publish the entire text of this edition of “FROM THE MAYOR’S DESK” including this statement.  Forwarding or publication of any edited version of said document is not authorized by the author.

Submitted by David Barrow

New Home Construction for August 2010 in Central:
 
  The city of Central continues to experience a steady stream of new residential construction in the city.  In the month of August, a total of 11 new residential building permits were issued.  The total construction valuation of these new homes is $2,496,490.00.
 
   Through August 31, 2010, the year-to-date number of new residential building permits issued is 94.   The total construction valuation of all of these permits is $26,023,686.00.

Submitted by David Barrow

The State Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) is currently in the process of replacing the striping and pavement markers on Greenwell Springs Rd (LA37) from Oak Villa Blvd to Sullivan Rd as well as on Hooper Rd (LA408) from Plank Rd to just east of Blackwater Rd.  This work involves removing the old markings and replacing them with thermoplastic striping.  This work is being done at night to avoid traffic congestion.  DOTD asks for your patience and safety around work crews while this is being done.

By Dave Freneaux

Steven Stockstill is the attorney doing the final review of the City's legal bills in response to a public records request by Mike Mannino.  However, he was not "hired" by the Mayor as has been reported.  He is doing this review at the request of the Mayor's office and is doing it pro-bono, meaining "for the public good", at no charge.
 
It has also been reported that Mr. Mannino is still waiting for a response to his public records request of the emails of Russell Starns.  Mr. Starns, a private citizen and a member of the Central Community School Board, was not mentioned in any public records request for city records, and as a private citizen his personal emails by themselves are not subject to a "Public Records Request".  However, as a good faith gesture and a show of complete transparency, Mr. Starns has written the Mayor and asked for all e-mails between he and any official or employee of the City of Central and any employee or official of the company CH2M Hill be copied and made available at City Hall for public inspection by any citizen.

Being immersed in the Council meetings sometimes causes us to forget that not everyone sees the positions our Council has over a period of time.  Everyone who has been at recent Council meetings knows that Wayne Messina and Ralph Washington are in support of the formation of an ethics committee.  In the 3-2 vote at the last Council meeting to address the ethics issue through an open Council workshop, their "no" votes were an indication that they preferred to stay with the concept of an appointed committee and not try to accomplish this through a workshop.  I am fairly confident that they will support whatever steps forward the council makes through a workshop.  CentralSpeaks.com has notified the Mayor and each Council Member that the 3-2 vote, while accurately reported, could be misunderstood.  This will also be printed in next Thursday's print edition of the CentralSpeaks.com newspaper.

Submitted by David Barrow, Photo by Rodney Bonvillain

Phase 1 Paving project includes the concrete paving of the Central Thruway from Florida Blvd to the south approach slab of the Sullivan Bayou Bridge.
 
The project also will provide new turning lanes and signal improvements at Florida Blvd and Central Thruway.
 
The project also includes the re-alignment of the existing S. Choctaw to relocate the intersection to tie into the Central Thruway instead of Florida Blvd.
 
This paving project includes 20,500 square yards of new concrete pavement and the associated drainage structures.
 
Construction cost:  $3.6 million.
 
Anticipated completion of this Phase 1 Paving project:  January 2011.
 
Contractor:  James Construction Group, LLC
 
Photo:  Bryan Harman, Chief Engineer DPW; Jim Ferguson, DPW Engineer; David Barrow, Executive Assistant, City of Central; Scott Wilson, Metro 4 Councilman; EBR Mayor-President Kip Holden; Melissa Glascock, DPW Engineer; Pete Newkirk, EBR DPW Director; James Construction Group representative; Jose Alvarez, DPW Engineer

Remember to votee this Saturday in the primary election for our U.S. Senators and Representatives.  This is a primary, so no one will be elected for a Congressional office through this election.  It will simply narrow down the number of candidates to one person from each party running for each office.  Visit the Secretary of State's website, www.sos.louisiana.gov, to learn more about this election and the candidates.

By Dave Freneaux

The Central City Council stood by its previous motion, allowing City Attorney Sheri Morris to provide legal bills and a sumary of potential litigation to Attorney Steven Stockstill.  The process had halted when Council Members LoBue and Washington expressed concerns to Ms. Morris over the selection of Mr. Stockstill to review the records.  Those concerns have now apparently been satisfied.  Mr. Stockstill has again been asked to redact any information that could put the City at a legal disadvantage and turn the records over to Mike Mannino prsuant to his public records request.  Mr. Stockstill has not reviewed all of the legal billing records, but stated that in the records he has reviewed he has seen nothing requiring redaction.
 
Council member Aaron Moak, following through with Mayor Watts' request for the establishment of ethics guidelines, submitted a resolution outlining how a committee could be formed to accomplish this.  After much heated discussion and a lack of consensus Council Member Louis DeJohn offered an alternate approach to the issue.  DeJohn moved to hold a City Council workshop open to all citizens as a first step in establishing ethics guidelines.  The motion passed 3-2 with Council Members DeJohn, LoBue and Moak in favor and Messina and Washington against.

By Dave Freneaux

Sheri Morris "is a tribute to the finest tradition of the legal profession".  Sheri Morris, in the creation of the City of Central, "guided Northeast Baton Rouge Citizens for Incorporation through a legal maze that might have challenged an entire team of older, more experienced lawyers who knew it couldn't be done."  Quotes from Woody Jenkins, Editor, Central City News.  Indeed most would agree that Mr. Jenkins has correctly assessed the talent and expertise of Ms. Morris.  The question these days seems to be whether Central gets its money's worth from the law firm Ms. Morris works for.  It would seem, based on her undefeated record in defending and prosecuting lawsuits for the Central Community and the glowing comments above, that Ms. Morris is eminently qualified and successful.
 
So now the $665,000 question, a figure that has been referred to no less than seven times in recent weeks to describe the work Ms. Morris has done in the Central Community.  First, understand that in this body of work M. Morris has represented not only the City of Central, but the Central Community School Board and the Central Transition District.  In all, this represents at least 10 combined years of legal representation involving three major lawsuits.  On average, Ms. Morris has represented these Central entities for less than $66,000 per year each.
 
To give perspective to this cost, CentralSpeaks.com contacted the Louisiana cities of New Iberia, Slidell, and Ruston.  The average populations of these cities is 26,288, which is smaller than Central's 27,000+.  The budget or actual expense for legal services, per year, in these cities is: Ruston $175,000, Slidell $398,756 and New Iberia $123,810, for an average of $232,522.  While no two cities can actually be a completely "apples to apples" comparison, Central's $66,000 annual average, compared to $232,522 per year in similarly sized cities, seems to be quite a bargain for a City Attorney who is, according to Mr. Jenkins, "a tribute to the finest tradition of the legal profession."

AGENDA

CITY OF CENTRAL BOARD OF ADJUSTMENTS

Thursday, August 26, 2010 5:00pm

Kristenwood Building

14025 Greenwell Springs Rd.

Central, LA 70739

1. Call to Order

2. Recitation of Rules

3. Approval of Minutes from July 22, 2010 Meeting

4. Consent Agenda

None

PUBLIC HEARING CASES (NEW BUSINESS):

5. BOA-19-10

13746 Blackwater Road Lot 6-A, Ivy Q. Aucoin Subdivision

Applicant: Tracy L. Watts Rural

The applicant requests the Board of Adjustments grant a waiver of Section 8.105 of the Unified Development Code in accordance with Section 3.2(B)(5)(b)(1) to allow a hardship in conjunction with the housing of aged, ill or otherwise incapacitated, or handicapped family members, or wards for which the existing residents are or may become responsible.

PUBLIC HEARING CASES (OLD BUSINESS):

6. BOA-07-09 Extension

11567 Core Lane Lot 1-A, Ulla Watts Tract

Applicant: Carney Watts Rural

The applicant requests the Board of Adjustments grant an extension of a waiver, granted on April l, 2009, of Section 8.213 (C)(5)(c) of the Unified Development Code in accordance with Section 3.2(B)(5)(b)(1) to allow a hardship in conjunction with the housing of aged, ill or otherwise incapacitated, or handicapped family members, or wards for which the existing residents are or may become responsible.

7. BOA-22-08 Extension

12021 Sullivan Road Lot X-1-A, E.R. Ellerbee Property

Applicant: Travis G. McBride Rural

The applicant requests the Board of Adjustments grant an extension of a waiver, granted on June 26, 2008, of Section 8.105 of the Unified Development Code in accordance with 2 Section 3.2(B)(5)(b)(1) to allow a hardship in conjunction with the housing of aged, ill or otherwise incapacitated, or handicapped family members, or wards for which the existing residents are or may become responsible.

8. BOA-19-07 Extension

15136 Woodrow Kerr Lane Tract X-2-A-1-A-1, Ramie D. Smith Property

Applicant: Darlene Efferson Rural

The applicant requests the Board of Adjustments grant an extension of a waiver, granted October 25, 2007, of Section 8.213(C)(5)(c) of the Unified Development Code in accordance with Section 3.2(B)(5)(b)(1) to allow a hardship in conjunction with the housing of aged, ill or otherwise incapacitated, or handicapped family members, or wards for which the existing residents are or may become responsible.

9. BOA-02-05 Extension

20451 Greenwell Springs Road Tract KC-A, K.C. Shilling Property

Applicant: Donnie & Zelda Courtney Rural

The applicant requests the Board of Adjustments grant an extension of a waiver, granted on September 29, 2005, of Section 8.105 of the Unified Development Code in accordance with Section 3.2 (B)(5)(b)(1) to allow a hardship in conjunction with the housing of aged, ill or otherwise incapacitated, or handicapped family members, or wards for which the existing residents are or may become responsible. A waiver of Section 8.213(C)(5)(a) is also requested so as to allow a reduction of the side yard setback.

10. Announcements

11. Adjourn