COOKING IN CENTRAL 2011:

    My sincerest gratitude goes out to all the many volunteers that worked throughout the year to make this “Cooking In Central” event such a tremendous success!

With so many people coming together for the betterment of this community, we experienced the most successful event ever.  We brought in over $220,000.00 this year! 

    Congratulations to our $10,000.00 Raffle winner: Mr. Gary Henderson!
    To all that donated auction items, food, time and your love for this community: THANK YOU!! 
    Looking forward to next year’s event.  As always, we need volunteers to make this happen.  We would welcome you aboard anytime!

BUILDING TO A HIGHER STANDARD IN CENTRAL

    The primary reason that so many citizens joined forces in the incorporation of Central as a municipality was to “control our own destiny.”  We wanted Central to be a unique place where people would want to live and raise their children without fear of crime; substandard schools; a declining job market; and stagnant or decreasing property values.  In addition we wanted Central (and its 66 square miles) to become an “island of opportunity” for Louisiana residents who want the very best for themselves and their families.  In just five short years, we believe we have already laid the foundation correctly to accomplish most of this.

    Let’s turn our attention to the areas of Economic Development.  We are focusing our efforts currently on retail development and service sector jobs that complement our community’s workforce needs.  This is not to say that we’re disinterested in blue collar (manufacturing or light assembly) jobs, but our primary focus in March 2011 was to ‘slow down’ our sales leakage in order that we can grow our sales tax base and prevent citizens from having to leave Central to purchase essential items.

    We have a tremendous opportunity to bring in another “big box”; more clothing and apparel stores; and a wealth of specialty shops to meet the needs of our citizenry and its per capita income.  Based upon a 2009 Feasibility Study we had done, the City of Central is poised to add between $30M and $90M in additional retail spending and between 40-71 new retail stores and restaurants.  This will result in an additional $1.5M to $4.5M in city sales tax revenues as well as create 234-522 new jobs in construction activities alone.  The longer term effect is the creation of 436-867 new jobs as a direct result of new retail and food services.  Central also has the potential to add between 530-3,700 new jobs based on expected regional growth through 2020 which could produce 440,000 square feet in industrial and office space.

    In order to reach a ‘higher standard’ for a community, you must also reach a ‘higher standard’ in your economic development program.  We believe we are on the right track here, based upon a number of good decisions made over the past 3 years.

KIDS TIME WITH THE MAYOR

    We are holding our second annual “Kids Time with the Mayor” Saturday, May 21, 2011, 10:00 A.M. – 2:00 P.M., at Village at Magnolia Square.  There will hotdogs, cotton candy, spacewalks, Kleinpeter Ice Cream, Kenny Acosta’s wonderful music and lots more!  Each child will be appointed “Honorary Mayor of Central” for the day and will receive a certificate from the Mayor.

   Please make plans to come by and join us!

And as always;
God Bless Central,
Mac Watts
Mayor

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.

By Dave Freneaux

   In November and December Central’s City Council voted unanimously to protect the legal interests of the city.  The vote was to keep certain entries in legal invoices confidential and not release them to the public.  Against the unanimous vote of the City Council and against advice of legal counsel, Council Member Tony LoBue handed these records, unredacted, to six private citizens at a committee meeting on Monday.  A video of the meeting can be seen online at www.CentralSpeaks.com by clicking on the CentralSpeaksTV logo at the top of any page.

    On Monday, April 11th, the committee chaired by Council Member Tony LoBue to study the feasibility of hiring a full time city attorney met at City Hall.  During the course of the meeting Council Member LoBue handed out all legal bills to the City of Central from July 1, 2010 through February 28, 2011.  The July through October bills had previously been released with certain items redacted which pertained to current or potential litigation.  The copies handed out by LoBue on Monday were not redacted, meaning that the confidential information was available for these citizens to review without approval of the City Council, the Mayor or the City Attorney.  The billing records for November of 2010 through February of 2011 have never been reviewed by the Council or the City Attorney to determine if there were items in these bills which needed to remain confidential.

   After the 12:30 PM Monday meeting, Council Member LoBue consulted with City Attorney Sheri Morris and was advised that LoBue should have gone before the council for their approval before passing out the records.  LoBue then was able to get the billing records back from several committee members immediately, but at least three of the committee members had already left with the confidential information.  LoBue stated Monday after 5:00 PM that he was going to pick up the records from the committee members, and on Tuesday morning he reported that he had retrieved all seven copies of the records.  If these billing records are consistent with other legal bills received by the city, there is a note printed at the top of each page of the records stating that the records are confidential and are not to be released or distributed without permission.

    The July and August legal billing records were brought before the City Council in a called meeting on November 22, 2010.  The minutes of the meeting reflect: “Councilman DeJohn made a motion, seconded by Councilman Washington to waive the attorney/client and attorney work product privileges with the exception of two items with the recommendation from Sheri Morris applicable to the July and August 2010 invoices in regards to a public records request. No objections. Motion passed by unanimous consent.” – The two items which the Council voted to protect were handed by LoBue to the citizens, unredacted, on Monday.

    At that same November 22nd meeting Council Member DeJohn asked the question, “We can go get a copy of the invoice just because we are Council Members?”  To which the City Attorney stated to all in attendance, including Mr. LoBue, “We have allowed Council Members to obtain copies so that they can review them outside of normal business hours but you are not allowed to release them.”  Mr. DeJohn added, “As long as everbody understands that, because I would hate to have somebody take something out of there that I might think is a sensitive matter and they not think is sensitive.”

At the December 14th regular City Council meeting the legal bills for September and October were reviewed.  The minutes of the meeting reflect: “A motion was made by Councilman Moak to waive the attorney/client and attorney work product privileges with the exception of three items with the recommendation from Sheri Morris applicable to the September and October 2010 invoices in regards to a public records request. No objections. Motion passed by unanimous consent.” Again, the three items which the Council voted to protect were handed to the citizens, unredacted, on Monday by LoBue.

    The Mayor’s Office has started a series of meetings with homeowner’s associations across the city in order to provide personal lines of communication between the city and neighborhoods.   The first meeting was held on March 16, 2011 at city hall and was attended by 22 citizens representing 15 homeowner’s associations across the city.  The city had placed a public notice asking for contact information for neighborhood associations, and all homeowners associations who responded were invited to the meeting.

    Homeowner’s association representatives from the following subdivisions were in attendance:  Bellingrath Lakes, Bridlewood, Carmel Acres, Comite Hills, Comite Hills West, Crystal Place,  Geo-je’s Country Estates, Hampton Village, Indian Mound, Magnolia Lakes Estates,  Morgan Place, Morgan Place West,  Northwoods, Tanglewood, and Village at Magnolia Square.

    The representatives were able to have an open discussion about matters affecting their neighborhoods and to ask questions about general city services and Central city government in general. They were asked for input in how to make the city better and what types of programs/services they would like to see started or continued in the city.  One topic of discussion involved code enforcement pertaining to neighborhood restrictions.  It was pointed out that the city has no authority over private neighborhood restrictions and the Attorney General’s office has issued an opinion that cities cannot and should not enforce private neighborhood restrictions.

    The representatives had plenty of good information about the city to bring back to their neighborhoods.  It was decided during the meeting to have these meetings continue quarterly.  Everyone in attendance was glad to see this new line of communication open up.   Anyone representing a homeowners association or a certain neighborhood who would like to attend these meetings may call David Barrow in the Mayor’s Office at 261-5255 to be added to the list.

From the Central government website

 AGENDA: CITY OF CENTRAL PLANNING COMMISSION

Thursday, April 28, 2011 6:00pm

14025 Greenwell Springs Road

Central, LA  70739

1.         Call to Order

2.         Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance

3.         Roll Call

4.         Recitation of Rules

5.         Approval of Minutes (March 24 Planning Commission Meeting)

6.         Amendments and Consent Agenda

PUBLIC HEARING CASES (NEW BUSINESS):

7.   SS-3-11     Subdivision of Tract A-1-A-2 of the George H. and Zelica B Chanove Property This property is located at the west end of Chanove Avenue of the Geo-Je’s Country Estate Subdivision near Frenchtown Road in Section 43, T-6-S, R-2-E, GLD, EBR, LA.  The applicant is proposing to subdivide one tract into three and improve an existing private servitude of access up to Unified Development Code standards.   (Applicant:  Charlie St. Romain)         

PUBLIC HEARING CASES (OLD BUSINESS):

8.         Announcements

9.         Adjourn          

The item(s) on this Agenda will be heard by the Central City Council on May 10, 2011 at this same time and location, unless the item(s) is deferred by the Commission.

AGENDA: CITY OF CENTRAL ZONING COMMISSION

1.   Call to Order

2.         Roll Call

3.         Recitation of Rules

4.         Approval of Minutes (March 24th , 2011 Zoning Meeting)

5.         Amendments and Consent Agenda

PUBLIC HEARING CASES (NEW BUSINESS):

6.         PUD-1-11 PUD Concept Plan Lakeside Commons This property is located southwest of the Sparkle Drive and Sullivan Road intersection on Tracts E-1, E-2, D, C, and B-1 in Section 69, T-6-S, R-2-E, GLD, EBR, LA. The applicant is proposing a Planned Unit Development Concept Plan consisting of commercial, retail, and residential land uses. (Applicant: Kathryn Witty)

7.         CUP-1-11        Conditional Use Permit Voice of Pentecost This property is located at 14754 Frenchtown Road between the Central Thruway and Richardson Drive intersections on Tract B of the Alton R. Ashford Property in Sections 43 and 51, T-6-S, R-2-E, GLD, EBR, LA. The applicant is proposing a 34,000 square foot church and community center as a conditional use in the Rural Zoning District.(Applicant: Joshua L. Hoffpaur)

8.         Amending Unified Development Code
An Ordinance To Amend and Re-Enact Section 13.6 (I)(4) relating to private servitude of passage construction standards of Title 7, of the Unified Development Code and to Provide for Related Matters (Councilman Moak)

PUBLIC HEARING CASES (OLD BUSINESS):

9.         Amending Unified Development Code
a.         An Ordinance To Amend and Re-Enact Chapter 4 (Permits and Final Plat Approval) of Title 7, the Unified Development Code and to Provide for Related Matters (Councilman LoBue)
b..         An Ordinance To Amend and Re-Enact Chapter 19 (Amendments) of Title 7, the Unified Development Code and to Provide for Related Matters. (Councilman LoBue)

10.       Announcements

11.         Adjourn

From the City of Central

    The city of Central reminds all businesses that advertising banners and changeable message signs are not allowed by both the city of Central sign ordinance and the East Baton Rouge Parish sign ordinance except when a temporary permit is requested.

    Banners and changeable message signs are prohibited under city of Central sign ordinance Section 16.7 (3) and East Baton Rouge Parish sign ordinance UDC Ch. 16 Section 10.   However, a permit can be requested to allow a temporary banner sign relating to a new business opening or for a temporary sale or new product for periods not to exceed 30 days and 14 days respectively.   Any temporary sign placed without a permit is deemed to be illegal and can be removed without notice.  All temporary signs permitted by the city will receive a sticker with an expiration date which must be attached to the sign.

    This is also a reminder to all businesses that any permanent sign must receive a permit from the city to make sure that the sign is in compliance with all ordinances and setbacks from street rights-of-way.  A complete copy of the sign ordinance is available on the city website, www.centralgov.com, under “City Documents”.   Violations of the sign ordinance can result in fines and court action.

    Unpermitted signs placed along state highways are subject to the removal by DOTD crews without notice. 

Submitted by Rep. Richardson’s Office

    BATON ROUGE, March 18, 2011 — Louisiana legislators joined with Junior Achievement and AT&T this week to help high school students make the connection between success in the classroom and in the workplace.

    More than 30 students from Scotlandville and Central High Schools spent part of the day shadowing the legislators, touring the House and Senate chambers, and learning about the legislative process.  Legislators leading the job shadow programs were State Senators Dale Erdey and Danny Martiny and State Representatives Dalton Honoré, Erich Ponti, and Clif Richardson.

    The event was part of a multimillion dollar, multiyear job shadow program funded by AT&T in conjunction with Junior Achievement to help combat the nation’s alarming dropout rate. More than 1.2 million American students drop out of high school every year, with many saying they simply don’t see the relevance between school work and life success.

    “When students are able to participate in job shadowing programs, they are exposed to role models and invaluable workplace experience,” said Paula C. Bradley, Sr. Education Manager, Junior Achievement of Greater Baton Rouge “We're so thankful to these legislators for contributing their time to ensure these students are able to see the many possibilities and options for their futures.”

    “I’m pleased to have had the opportunity to join these students from Scotlandville and Central High Schools today as they think about their futures,” said State Senator Dale Erdey. “For some, it might be a new determination to graduate rather than dropping out. For others, it might be a potential new career.”

    “These students and their classmates around the state are our state’s future,” said State Senator Danny Martiny. “Each of them has dreams, hopes and skills which are vital to Louisiana and which we must encourage and nurture. Job Shadowing helps students to see new possibilities and to challenge themselves to achieve their full potential.”

    “These young people represent the future,” said State Representative Dalton Honoré. “Their dreams, hopes and minds are among Louisiana’s most precious resources. That is why it is so important that all young people complete their education and reach their fullest potential.”

    “Education is the foundation upon which our future is built,” said State Representative Erich Ponti. “Job Shadowing helps expand students’ horizons for potential career paths, while also reminding them that each of those paths includes educational milestones, beginning with high school graduation.”

    “Fulfilling a dream begins with education and preparation for the future,” said State Representative Clif Richardson. “I am pleased the Legislature could reaffirm that in a very personal way today and encourage these students as they pursue their education and plan for their futures.”

    AT&T’s job shadow campaign is part of AT&T Aspire, a $100 million initiative to address high school success and workforce readiness.  Aspire is AT&T’s most significant education initiative to date, and one of the largest ever corporate commitments to address the specific issues of high school success and workforce readiness.

    For more information about the AT&T/JA Worldwide Job Shadow Initiative, please visit www.att.com/jobshadow.

City Council Meeting Agenda
Tuesday, April 12, 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 March 22, 2011 council meeting 

II.        Unfinished Business 
            None

III.       New Business

1. Mayor’s report and presentations.
2.  Earth Day Proclamation
3. Report  from City Attorney concerning legal services provided to the City.  (By Councilman Washington)
4. Introduction of the following item (with public hearing to be held at the April 26, 2011council meeting)
   None
5. Public Hearing and action regarding the following instrument(s): 
6. An ordinance to amend and re-enact the definition of minor subdivision in Chapter 2 of Title 7, the Unified Development Code and to provide for related matters. (By Councilman LoBue)
   P & Z Action: A motion to approve this ordinance was made by Mr. Bonvillain and seconded by Mr. Burns.  MOTION PASSED. 7 Yeas, 0 Nays.
7. A resolution supporting LED’S Louisiana Development Ready Communities Program. (By Councilman Moak)
8. Other items for discussion by council:
   None 

IV.       Zoning Cases

1. Introduction of the following item(s) (with Public Hearing to be held at the April 26, 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

By Dave Freneaux

Last Friday, twelve companies sent representatives to the mandatory Pre-Bid Conference for Central's City Srevices Contract.  Any company wishing to bid on the July 1 contract was required to send a representative to this meeting held at Kristenwood.  In attendance were city officials and the selection committee which will ultimately make a recommendation to the Mayor as to the awarding of the contract.  Twelve companies attended the meeting, but only eight specifically expressed interest in bidding for the "All-Inclusive" contract.  In this process, "All-Inclusive" bids will be compared to bids received for individual services and a decision will be made based on overall price, qualifications and other criteria set forth by the selection committee.
 
It will ultimately be the City Council's role to approve the City's 2011/2012 budget which will, in part, fund the City Services Contract.  Mayor Watts has stated that while the ultimate authority to select the contractor rests with the Mayor's office, it is his intention to follow the recommendation of the selection committee.  The following companies attended the Pre-Bid Conference: Burk Kleinpeter, CH2M Hill, Chem Spray South, CSRS dba Central Municipal Services Group, Institute for Building Technology & Safety, Neel-Shaffer, PEC, Planning & Design, Severn Trent Services, Shaw Environmental & Infrastructure, Task Force, and Wharton Smith Construction.

Submitted by Betsy Otkin Barnes

One of our state’s most  seasoned and experienced elected officials, 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 from 11:30a.m. to 1p.m.

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.

Redistricting plans, changes in voting precincts, legislative issues related to bills on voting are among the topics to be addressed by Sec. Schedler. His expansive department  oversees all voting machines, working with the Clerks of Court and Commissioner of Elections across the state.

Simultaneously, he continues streamlining of functions of the Secretary’s office, overseeing a myriad of state activities, corporation division, UCC filings, maintaining and managing state museums and state archives.

Schedler was a keynote speaker at the Louisiana Federation of Republican Women Biennial Convention held in Monroe March 25-27.

Schedler was first elected to the Louisiana State Senate in 1996 and served three terms representing Senate District 11 which covers parts of St. Tammany and Tangipahoa parishes.

His governmental experience consists of serving on the Slidell City Council from July 1990 to January 1996, having been elected president and vice president of that body during his terms of office. He was also the president of the St. Tammany Municipal Association in 1995 and served as chairman of the Slidell Board of Zoning and Adjustment from 1984 to 1990.

He received numerous awards and honors during his legislative career, including Legislator of the Year from numerous health care related groups in the state such as the Rural Hospital Coalition, the Louisiana Hospital Association, and the Metro Hospital Council

of New Orleans, State Hospice Organization, several mental health associations and the nursing home industry. He has also been honored as a champion of business several times over.

He was named Legislator of the Year by the Alliance for Good Government in 2000 and Republican of the Year in 2006 at the Annual Lincoln/Reagan Banquet. He was elected to two terms as a member of the Republican State Central Committee; by his peers in the Senate to serve as chairman of the Republican Delegation; and attended the 2000 Republican National Convention in Philadelphia as a George W. Bush delegate.

Professionally, he is a licensed Louisiana real estate broker, serves on the Board of Trustees of a 156-bed regional hospital and medical center and serves on the advisory board of Whitney National Bank of New Orleans. He held the position as director of a hospital health foundation and was the director of managed care services and business development for a 172-bed St. Tammany Parish hospital. He served as president/chief executive officer and a member of the board of directors of a local savings bank, board member of an $800 million regional national bank and president of the Rotary Club of Slidell and is a Paul Harris Fellow. He was also a member of numerous civic organizations and is a CASA trained court appointee. 

Schedler was born and raised in New Orleans. He graduated from De La Salle High School in 1967 prior to receiving his Bachelor of Science in marketing from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 1971. In 1999, he was honored by his high school as one of De La Salle High School’s 125 outstanding graduates over the school’s first 50 years. In 1991, he graduated from the Leadership Louisiana program sponsored by the Council for a Better Louisiana. In that same year, he was also honored as Slidell’s Citizen of the Year and Slidell’s Employer of the Year. He and his family were also nominated for the Slidell Family of the Year.

Schedler is married to his wife of 39 years, the former Stephanie Gelé of Lafayette. She owns and operates hospice programs in Louisiana and Mississippi. They have three daughters and two grandchildren. He and his family are Roman Catholic and members of Our Lady of the Lake Church in Mandeville. He resides during the week in Baton Rouge with his primary residence in Mandeville.

RWC members and guest are invited to attend. Cost for the meeting including lunch and free door prize ticket $15. Annual active and associate membership is $35, and all registered Republicans are welcome to attend.  

An RWC Raffle started at the last meeting on March 14th will be drawn at the May 18th meeting. Raffle tickets are $3 each or 4 for $10. Fabulous raffle prizes include a gorgeous framed tiger print from Ashley Furniture valued at $400; a Mike Anderson’s Seafood Gift Basket from Mike Anderson valued at $250 and a gold and silver necklace and earrings from the RWC valued at $75. Tickets can be delivered in the Central and Baton Rouge areas. Prizes can be seen on www.facebook.com/republicanwomenofcentral.

For reservations, more information about membership, sponsorship, donations, raffle tickets and upcoming events, please email RepbulicanWomenOfCentral@yahoo.com or visit our website at www.lfrw.org/republicanwomenofcentral.

City of Central (“Central”) is accepting sealed bids for Road Maintenance for a period of five (5) years beginning on July 1, 2011. Copies of the specifications are available at www.centralgov.com and at City Hall located at 13421 Hooper Road, Suite 8, Central, LA 70818-9200.

Sealed bids must be received by 2:00 p.m. CST on Friday, April 29, 2011 at:

City of Central
ATTN: Road Maintenance
13421 Hooper Road, Suite 8
Central, Louisiana 70818-9200

A MANDATORY PRE-BID CONFERENCE WILL BE HELD
10:00 a.m. on April 14, 2011 at
Central City Hall
13421 Hooper Road, Suite 7
Central, LA 70818-9200

Central reserves the right to reject any and/or all bids.

Shelton “Mac” Watts, Mayor
City of Central