From Rep. White's Office

Area legislators including Rep. Clif Richardson, Rep. Bodi White, Sen. Sharron Broome and Sen. Dale Erdey will hold a Community Meeting about the Comite River Diversion Canal Project
 
Tuesday, May 3rd 7pm
The Rock Church
20810 Plank Road
Zachary, Louisiana

This meeting is IN ADDITION to the other meeting mentioned in a previous article.

Agenda for City Council Meeting: Tonight at 6 PM at Kristenwood 

 I. Preliminary Business

(1) Call to Order

(2) Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance

(3) Roll Call

(4) Approval of minutes from the April 12, 2011 council meeting.

II. Unfinished Business

None

III. New Business

1) Mayor’s report and presentations.

2) Report from CH2MHill on services provided to the City of Central.

3) Introduction of the following item (with public hearing to be held at the May 10, 2011 council meeting)

None

4) Public Hearing and action regarding the following instrument(s):

a) A resolution to content to representation of city regarding request for qualifications and proposals for city services in the event Shaw Environmental and Infrastructure submits a proposal and to provide for related matters. (By Councilman DeJohn)

b) Moving the May 24, 2011 council meeting to another date due to the Mayor and Mayor Pro Temp each being out of town on May 24, 2011. (By Councilman Washington)

5) Other items for discussion by council:

a) Update and timeline concerning Request for Proposals, Request for Qualifications and Contract for City Services. (By councilman LoBue)

IV. Zoning Cases

(1) Introduction of the following item(s) (with Public Hearing to be held at the May 10, 2011 council meeting):

None

(2) Discussion and Action regarding the following case(s):

None

V. Other Business

(1) Public Comment

* Restricted to items not on the agenda. A Public Comment Request to Speak Card must

be turned in to the City Clerk prior to the start of the meeting in order to be considered. Public comment is limited to 10 speakers with three minutes each.

(2) Announcements

(3) Adjournment

Submitted by Rep. Clif Richardson's Office

Northbound and Southbound LA 37 in Baton Rouge from Sullivan Rd. to S.JCT. LA 64. One lane may be closed from Monday night, April 25 to Friday night, April 29. These closures will be allowed from 7:00 pm to 5:30 am the following day while crews work on guardrail installation and related 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

    In August of 2010 hundreds of pages of legal billing records were given by Mayor Mac Watts to attorney Steven Stockstill for review when considering what records could be released to the public.  How is this different from the confidential records given by Council Member LoBue to private citizens serving as members of the Legal Services Research committee?  The answer is simple.  Mr. Stockstill had offered his legal services in this matter to the Mayor of Central, and he offered to do the work "pro-bono", which means "for the public good", and at no  charge to the City of Central.

    In a Lawrason Act Community such as Central, engaging legal counsel is within the authority of the Mayor so long as it does not call for the expenditure of unappropriated city funds.  Since the work was done free, and since it was done for the Mayor's office by an attorney, the records review was both appropriate and above board.  Further, the entire process was disclosed and discussed at several City Council meetings with large crowds of citizens in attendance.  Any attempt to characterize the generous work done by Mr. Stockstill as either improper or in any way the same as last week's release of records simply does not hold up under honest scrutiny. Just the Facts.

By Dave Freneaux

    There is much chatter around Central as to who did what and why regarding the Mayor's Committee on Legal Services chaired by Council Member LoBue.  The following information is offered as a simple summary of the events.  On Monday, April 11, Council Member LoBue handed unredacted legal bills to the six citizens in attendance at the meeting.  There were items in the billing records that the City Council had previously voted to retain as confidential due to potential or pending litigation.  LoBue was able to retrieve all of the originals of these doicuments from the committee members by the following day.  LoBue's action against the vote of the City Council and against the advice of the City Attorney prompted Mayor Watts to ask LoBue to resign as chairman of the committee.  LoBue has not, as of April 20th, responded to the Mayor's request.  However, LoBue did cancel the next scheduled meeting of the committee, which was to be earlier this week.

    The committee was formed by the Mayor for the purpose of gathering research on options for the provision of legal services to the City of Central.  The Mayor has formally suspended any further meeting of the committee until the legal issues raised over this event are settled.  Mayor Watts listed his reasons for requesting Mr. LoBue to step down, which included going against the specific vote of the City Council and City Attorney, and ignoring the disclaimer printed on every page of every legal bill stating that the documents can not be released without Client permission.  The Client, in this case, is the City of Central.  Council Member Louis DeJohn had previously weighed in on the matter by emailing a letter to the Mayor and LoBue encouraging the Mayor to request LoBue's removal from the committe.

From the City of Central

   The City-Parish and State DOTD will close the Lovett Rd bridge over Shoe Creek for approximately three months this summer to replace the wooden structure.  This bridge has been rated as one of the most structurally deficient bridges in need of repair in East Baton Rouge Parish. 

    Bids were opened on the bridge replacement on February 23, 2011.  The low-bidder was Industrial Enterprises, Inc.   Work is being delayed until the end of May after school lets out for the summer.  This closure will necessitate a long detour for residents who use Lovett Rd on a daily basis.  Lovett Rd will be closed between Bronco Lane and Joor Rd during this period.  The bridge will be completely dismantled and replaced with large concrete box culverts.

By Beth Fussell

    This past Sunday afternoon, the Mayor's committee tasked with researching how Central's Council seats are elected as well as the concept of term limits met for the third and final time.  The committee was charged by Mayor Mac Watts with the responsibility to research Term Limits as well as the advantages and disadvantages of Central's current "At Large" election process and alternative options such as Districts and Divisions.  Committee chair Council Member Wayne Messina shared on Wednesday that he anticipates having a report containing the committee's research findings in the hands of the Mayor "shortly".

    Sunday's meeting can be viewed on video at www.CentralSpeaks.com by clicking on the CentralSpeaksTV icon at the top of any page.  At the meeting, a final pass around the table was made to allow the committee members an opportunity to summarize their opinions on both term limits and districts vs at large elections.  A popular option according to all committee members was a set of term limits for the Mayor, Police Chief, and Council.  Mrs. Lansing, a committee member, suggested 2 terms per council member and 3 for the Mayor and Police Chief.  The committee unanimously agreed that they thought this was a good idea. 

    The committee did not reach a unanimous agreement on districts vs at large Council seats, but all members were of the opinion that the 5 at large seats that we currently have are not the best option.  Chairman Wayne Messina had proposed at the first committee meeting that 5 district seats and 2 at large seats be instituted for the Council.  At the final meeting, a slight majority were in agreement with Councilman Messina, while the remaining committee members were of the opinion that dividing into districts with no at large seats was a better plan.

Letter to the Editors of CentralSpeaks.com and Central City News:

    I have prepared this letter in an effort to share with the citizens of Central and the individuals who have graciously volunteered their time to serve on several Mayor’s committees, some background about the committees.  I hope that the local press will assist me in my efforts to communicate this information to the people of Central by printing this letter.

    Over the past six years as your Mayor, I have been impressed with the willingness of our citizens to volunteer their time, energy and expertise to help others and to improve our city.  I take very seriously the responsibility of the Mayor’s office to administer all of the daily activities of the City of Central.  I am also convinced of the value of involving citizens on Mayor’s advisory committees to work together and study important information on issues affecting Central.  It is my intention to continue to enlist the help and support of interested citizens to offer their unique expertise and to gather information so that I can make the best possible decisions for our city.

   The City Services Committee worked diligently for months preparing a Request for Qualifications and Proposals and bid documents for City Services.  The work of this committee is complete and has resulted in an impressive number of firms expressing interest in providing our city services.  The City Services Selection Committee is working to meet deadlines that coincide with the expiration of the current City Services contract.

    The Mayor’s committee on Districts and Term Limits Committee chaired by Council Member Messina held its final meeting on Sunday.  The committee was commissioned to compile research on the advantages and disadvantages of Council Districts, Divisions, and our current At-Large election system, as well as the concept of Term Limits.  I look forward to receiving a report detailing the research findings from this committee in the near future.

    The Mayor’s Committee on Legal Services, chaired by Council Member LoBue, was formed to study the advantages, disadvantages and costs associated with hiring a full time City Attorney versus the current process of contracting with law firms.  Due to the legal issues which have been raised about this committee’s activities in local print and internet media, I am temporarily suspending the activities of this committee.  Once all legal issues are resolved I will likely request this committee to resume its research.

    I am thankful to all of the citizens who have volunteered their time and expertise to serve on these committees, and to the citizens who have attended the meetings and given their valuable input.  I appreciate your patience as we work together to continue moving the City of Central forward.

Shelton “Mac” Wattts, Mayor
City of Central – A Community that Cares

Submitted by Betsy Otken Barnes

SECRETARY OF STATE TOM SCHEDLER SPEAKING AT REPUBLICAN WOMEN OF CENTRAL MEMBERSHIP LUNCHEON APRIL 20, 11:30a.m. 
 
Secretary of State  J. Thomas “Tom” Schedler, will be the special guest speaker for the April 20 Membership Meeting and Luncheon of the Republican Women of Central (RWC). The meeting will be held at Sammy’s Grill in Central. Doors open 11:30a.m., meeting starts promptly 12 to 1p.m.  Cost per person lunch is $15.
 
Schedler has expertise in the process of re-drawing district lines having been a state representative for three terms and during the last census of 2000 and redistricting that followed. Not an easy task, and now he is responsible for implementing the many pivotal changes in upcoming November elections for district and state officials. Demographics will likely change. Based on 2010 Census results, Central may potentially receive an additional senator if their challenge on accuracy of population is successful.
 
Schedler is known for being comfortable with the details, understanding the mechanics of the task. He was sworn in as Secretary of State on Monday, Nov. 22, 2010, when then-Secretary of State Jay Dardenne was sworn in as Lieutenant Governor. Schedler was appointed first assistant secretary of state in December of 2007 by Dardenne.
 
He plans to run for his first statewide election in November seeking to keep his job for the next four years.
 
All registered Republicans are invited to join. For membership and sponsorship information, please email republicanwomenofcentral@yahoo.com or visit Facebook page, our website at www.lfrw.org/republicanwomenofcentral.

Submitted by Toni Guitrau

The Amite River Basin Drainage and Water Conservation District (ARBC) will hold a public meeting in Central with the purpose to inform the public on the status and future plan of action towards the implementation of this project, especially land acquisitions for mitigation purposes.

The ARBC and Louisiana DOTD have taken over the acquisition of all property for the project from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  Rietschier, the Executive Director for the project, said, “We believe this change will result in substantial progress in the acquisition of the right of way for the project.”  ARBC is holding this meeting to answer any questions of citizens in the project area.

The Central meeting will be held on May 4^th at the DEMCO Training Facility (16262 Wax Road) at 6:30 p.m.