Submitted by David Barrow

EBR Sheriff’s Deputies will increase radar patrols to catch speeders in the wake of two serious accidents on Old Wax Rd over the weekend.  Speeding was a contributing factor in both accidents.

Currently, Old Wax Rd between Magnolia Bridge and Greenwell Springs Rd is under construction as part of the city’s street rehabilitation work.  The overlay and shoulder work have been completed, but the striping replacement has not been completed.  Due to the ongoing construction, the regular 40 mph speed limit was reduced at the start of the construction project to 30 mph for safety reasons until all work is completed. 

Both accidents occurred Saturday evening on November 27.  In one of the accidents, a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed ran off the road and struck a single family residence.  In the other accident, speeding was a factor as well.  

The city will be installing additional curve warning signs in the curves along the roadway, and the striping will be replaced as soon as all remaining road work is completed.  In the meantime, the Sheriff’s Office Traffic Division will have deputies stationed with radar along the street at various times of the day.

From the City of Central Facebook page

Greenwell Springs Rd (LA37) has some lane closures in Central this week.  Northbound and Southbound LA 37 in Baton Rouge from Sullivan Rd. to S.JCT. LA 64 will both be affected.  One lane may be closed from Monday night, November 29th to Thursday night, December 2.  Lane closures will be allowed from 7:00 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. the following day in both the Northbound & Southbound directions while crews work on Asphaltic Concrete patch, mill work, and overlay work. One lane will remain open to traffic at all times.

This lane closure has no vehicle restrictions and no detour is necessary.
This lane closure is subject to change depending on adverse weather conditions.
DOTD appreciates your patience and reminds you to please drive with caution through the construction site and be on the lookout for work crews and their equipment.

By Dave Freneaux

CentralSpeaks.com was able to sit with Council Member Washington this week and discuss the comments made by Economic Development Foundation President Wade Giles in last week's newspaper.  Mr. Washington agrees that the City has been supportive of Economic Development initiatives prior to this fiscal year, but asserts that the new Council is supportive as well.  Washington readily acknowledges that the Foundation is made up entirely of volunteers and he recognizes the need to have a motivated group spearheading this effort in Central.  His disagreement with Mr. Giles is that Washington feels that the $150,000 City of Central budget for economic development expenditures is a show of support for the Foundation.  The funds are not donated to the Foundation, rather they are authorized to be spent by the Mayor in behalf of the City for purposes related to Development.
 
The major difference between Mr. Washington and Mr. Giles seems to come down to the definition of "support".  Mr. Washington maintains that a City budget, including funds to hire an Economic Development Consultant to work directly for the Mayor, and a willingness for Council members to attend Foundation meetings is a show of support.  Mr. Giles indicated that "support" has little to do with money and much to do with the negative reaction of the Council and the efforts of the Council to influence policy within the Foundation.  Mr. Washington, recognizing the differing views of the two parties, has committed to working with Mayor Watts and the Council to come up with an approach to bring the parties back together and resume Economic Development efforts in Central.

By Dave Freneaux

In a special called meeting Monday morning the Central City Council voted unanimously to waive attorney-client privilege for most of the information contained in the City Attorney's July & August invoices.  The invoices, asked for last week in a Public Records Request, contained two references which, if released, might have jeopardized Central's legal position in potential litigation.  Council Members Washington, Moak, LoBue and DeJohn all voted to "redact", or black out, these two references, which was done to protect the City's Attorney-Client Privilege.
 
The 10 AM meeting in the conference room at City Hall was packed to overflowing, with almost 40 officials and citizens in attendance.  The discussion, which was heated at times, included many public comments, most of which encouraged the Council to provide any records which would not put Central in jeopardy in future litigation or violate the privacy of an individual.  The original request for the 16 pages of legal bills was made under the legal requirement to provide the information within 72 hours.  As a result, City Attorney Sheri Morris redacted all information which is protected under Attorney-Client Privilege, resulting in most of the descriptions in the bills being blacked out.  Since only the client, in this case the City of Central as represented by the Council, can waive privilege and release the information, the meeting was called.  The Council recognized its right to protect the information, but saw only two references requiring redaction and voted to release the rest of the information to the public.

By Dave Freneaux

In the Monday called meeting of the City Council, PEC Engineers reported on its findings concerning road repair problems in Bellingrath Lakes subdivision.  Soil samples taken over the past week indicate the need to do more extensive work, adding lime to the soil in the roadbeds in order to continue the work.  The Council voted to approve the additional expense, expected to be near $177,000, giving the roads a better chance of remaining in good condition for at least 7 to 10 years.  The engineers do not feel this measure will give the roads the 10 to 20 year life most roads of this type have, but alternative solutions such as concrete roads or changing the water levels in the lakes are either too costly or can't be done without further study as to how this might affect the foundations of homes.
 
It is suspected that the level of the water in the lakes throughout the subdivision is causing the premature failure of the roads.  While the Council seemed hesitant to spend tax dollars on less than a permanent solution, the current condition of the roads and the amount of work already done left no other apparent solution.  Discussion by Council members indicated a desire to relieve the current crisis for the residents of Bellingrath Lakes, but emphasized the need to find a long term solution to the problem.

Submitted by David Barrow

Six people were arrested early Friday morning, November 19 for DWI during a sobriety checkpoint.
125 cars were screened at the checkpoint on Hooper Road, leading to nine sobriety checks.
Officers also handed out 7 traffic tickets and arrested one person for drinking in a vehicle.

Everyone please remember to buckle up. There were two separate accidents in Central on Thursday during the day that involved cars being flipped upside down.  One was in the 9300 block of Sullivan Rd around 8 a.m.  The other was at Hooper & Joor around 4:30 p.m.  Alcohol was not suspected in either accident.

Sullivan Road Accident:

Hooper Road Accident:

Photo by Dave Freneaux

    On Veterans Day, the city held a flag raising ceremony at City Hall on Hooper Road.  The flag was brought by Rep. Bill Cassidy from its original location flying over our nation’s capitol in Washington D.C.  Rep. Bodi White and Cassidy’s Assistant Ron McNabb presented the flag, which has been raised at City Hall in honor of our veterans.  In the photo above, veterans Richard Stoewer and Fred Rogers raise the flag.

Submitted by Rep. Richardson's office

The project site has been cleared for construction. The work crews are currently working on a haul road, which is the road that the crews use to access the construction site. They are also driving test piles.
 
For questions or to sign up to receive periodic e-mail updates about the project, contact DOTD’s Customer Service Center at 1-877-4LA-DOTD (1-877-452-3683) or by e-mail at dotdcs@la.gov. The center is open 7:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
 
Learn more about the job by visiting our project webpage. You can also follow the La. 64 Magnolia Bridge Replacement project on Facebook.
 
The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) is committed to delivering transportation and public works systems that enhance the quality of life. In addition to more than 16,600 miles of roadway, including over 890 miles of interstate, DOTD supports the development of the state’s aviation, marine and rail infrastructures. Through this work, we are able to facilitate economic development, create job opportunities, improve vital evacuation routes, and make critical freight corridors safer and more efficient.
 
            Motorists can access up-to-date travel information by dialing 511 or by visiting www.511la.org. Out-of-state travelers can call 1-888-ROAD-511 (1-888-762-3511).

There will be a special City Council meeting this Monday, November 22nd at 10:00 a.m. at City Hall.  The items on the agenda include the redaction of legal bills and a change order for Bellingrath Lakes.  The meeting is open to the public.

By Dave Freneaux

    A great deal of controversy has arisen recently over Public Records Requests.  Indeed Louisiana State Law does provide a mechanism for any citizen to ask for and receive a copy of almost all records maintained by the City of Central.  The recent disagreement in the issue is whether ALL records are subject to this Public Records Law.  The Public records law in RS 44:4.1 states "The legislature further recognizes that there exist exceptions, exemptions, and limitations to the laws pertaining to public records".  One such exception is "Attorney-Client Privilege".  Thus, any information relating to discussions between the client, in this case the City of Central, and the attorney, in this case Central's City Attorney, are exempt from Public Records Requests.

    At recent City Council meetings Central's Council voted to waive that attorney-client privilege for certain records requested on July 28th by Mike Mannino.  This is the only circumstance under which the City Attorney would be allowed to release these documents.  As a result, these documents were produced for inspection by Mr. Mannino.

    Eight days ago Woody Jenkins made a public records request for legal bills to the City of Central for July and August, 2010.  The City of Central has provided the requested records, with privileged information blacked out to protect the City under attorney-client privilege, as is appropriate under the Louisiana Public Records Law.  The City has further advised Jenkins that in order to provide privileged information the City Council would have to vote to waive privilege and instruct the City Attorney to release the privileged information.

Claim:In a letter delivered to the City of Central on Wednesday Jenkins claims that not providing unredacted legal bills is "contrary to law".

Fact:Louisiana RS44:4.1 recognizes attorney-client privilege as an exception to the Public Records Law, and Central's City Attorney has instructed Jenkins to approach the Council if he is seeking to have the City waive attorney-client privilege.

Claim:In the same letter Jenkins claims that protecting attorney-client privilege is a violation of "the direction of the Council".

Fact:  The Central City Council voted to waive privilege on legal bills requested on July 28th by Mike Mannino, not on the latest request by Jenkins.  It would likely be malpractice for the City Attorney to release privileged information without the consent of the client, the City of Central.