OPPJ Eyes “Road Districts”

A plan that would divide Ouachita Parish into “road districts,” thereby allowing property taxes to be voted in within the districts to pay for parish road construction and maintenance, was mentioned at last night’s meeting of the Ouachita Parish Police Jury (OPPJ).

The discussion took place during the Finance Committee, chaired by District C’s Walt Caldwell.

Treasurer Brad Cammack noted that the Public Works Fund is scheduled to spend about $1.3 million more than is coming in. That fund – which funds road and drainage maintenance – is funded via a parish-wide one cent sales tax collected outside the municipalities of Monroe and West Monroe.

Any tax elections within a district would have to specify for what the money was to be spent.

The public works fund was but one of the several funds discussed that are at present spending at a rate more than the corresponding income would allow.

See here the memo with budgets.

See here the public works fund that shows how all the money is allocated.

About 48% of the budget goes toward general and administrative, and personnel costs.

Ouachita Parish Police Jury Monday

The Ouachita Parish Police Jury (OPPJ) will meet Monday, May 21, 5:30 PM, Ouachita parish courthouse, second floor.

Here is the agenda.

Ouachita Parish Police Jury Monday

The Ouachita Parish Police Jury (OPPJ) will meet in regular session, Monday, May 7, 2012, 5:30 PM, Ouachita parish courthouse, second floor.

Here is the agenda.

Quiet OPPJ Meeting

The big news at last night’s meeting of the Ouachita Parish Police Jury (OPPJ) was how routine it all was.

Perhaps the most newsworthy item was the impending retirement of Green Oaks Juvenile Detention Center director Mike Rhodes, and discussion about advertising for his replacement. Rhodes is set to retire in October.

Also at the meeting was Ed Johnson, who was representing Huntington Park Subdivision. The issue was sidewalks that had settled because of sewer collapse. There was a bit of discussion of who actually owns the sidewalks and who would be responsible for repair.

Jury legal adviser Jay Mitchell promised to research the issue further and report back to the jury.

Ouachita Police Jury Monday

The Ouachita Parish Police Jury (OPPJ) will meet in regular session Monday, April 16, 5:30 PM, Ouachita Parish court house, second floor.

See the agenda here.

Ouachita Parish Police Jury Monday

The Ouachita Parish Police Jury (OPPJ) will meet in regular session, Monday, April 2, 5:30 PM, parish court house, second floor.

See here the agenda.

Tonight’s OPPJ Meeting

The Ouachita Parish Police Jury (OPPJ) tonight heard from several District A (Scotty Robinson) residents concerned about drainage issues.

Jan Mercer spoke about the issue to the group. “When we have a heavy rain, it has no where to drain to,” said Mercer.

Robinson said he would try to get the area included into the parish’s comprehensive drainage plan.

Johnny Pace of Wall Williams Road also voiced concerns about his drainage issues. He’s said he’s been a resident of the area for over fifty years, and noted that the issue gets worse as the area continues to develop.

“I would like to put our area in the comprehensive plan,” said Pace.

Also at the meeting was the Richwood High School boys basketball team. They were presented a proclamation on behalf of the jury for their Louisiana High School Athletic Association (LHSAA) Class 3A state championship win.

District B’s Mack Calhoun spoke about his efforts to obtain a Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant for improvements to Caples Road between West Ouachita High School and Cheniere Dam Road.

Calhoun said the road needed improvements as it was narrow, hilly and accident prone. The road is a major traffic artery for the school.

Said Calhoun, “Lots of young people have had accidents on Caples and improvements would help that situation.”

Calhoun noted that improvements on Caples could tie in to long-range plans for a Ouachita Parish Loop around the West Monroe/Monroe metropolitan area.

The jury unanimously passed a resolution approving efforts to obtain the grant.

Of note is that the meeting clocked in at about one hour in length, which is one of the shortest OPPJ meetings we’ve attended over the past three years.

Ouachita Parish Police Jury Monday

The Ouachita Parish Police Jury (OPPJ) will meet in regular session, Monday, March 19, 5:30 PM, Ouachita Parish Court House, second floor.

See here the agenda.

Ouachita Parish Police Jury Monday

The Ouachita Parish Police Jury (OPPJ) will meet in regular session Monday, March 5, 5:30 PM, Ouachita parish courthouse, second floor.

See here the agenda.

Uneventful OPPJ Meeting – Relatively Speaking

Last night’s meeting of the Ouachita Parish Police Jury (OPPJ) was relatively uneventful – and also short – compared to some the marathons of three plus hours that we’ve covered the last 2 1/2 years. This one clocked in at less that 1 1/2 hours.

There was a bit of discussion concerning parish roadways and the cost of maintenance of concrete roads compared to asphalt. At least one juror has suggested that construction concrete roadways be discontinued, as they are very expensive to repair once they begin to deteriorate. On hand with the engineering report was Kevin Crosby of Lazenby & Associates, Inc.

Crosby said that concrete paving needed to remain as an option for roads.

“I don’t think you should consider deleting concrete as one of the options for roads,” said Crosby. He suggested that design criteria needed to be addressed to make sure the sub-base was properly constructed. That process could take place during the design phase of upcoming projects, rather than with a specific study, Crosby said.

In other business, the jury rejected preliminary subdivision approval of Westfields Duplex Subdivision, on recommendation of Crosby. Several issues – drainage among them – needed to be addressed first, Crosby said.

During the public comments section of the meeting, a couple of residents addressed the body about drainage issues in their neighborhood. The jury agreed to see what could be done to help.

The Finance Committee heard from Treasurer Brad Cammack that about 78% of the refunds for the ill-fated V-Vehicle/Next Autoworks project tax had been accomplished.

Of note is the upcoming 2012 Great American Cleanup for Ouachita parish, scheduled for Saturday, March 3, 8-11:30 AM.

See here a memo and volunteer application.