Mayors holding steady

It’s been a tough year for local governments; but that doesn’t mean they’ve stopped working on progress.
Mayor Raymond Harris Jr. said Franklin’s South Willow Street Drainage Project has topped the list for 2016.
“It’s been a long time coming,” he said. “Every time there’s have heavy rain there’s flooding…hopefully this will relieve that, and it also increases our pumping capacity on the Franklin Canal.”
This is in addition to the floodgate and already installed two pumps, increasing capacity by at least 50 percent, Harris said.
“I think this is going to make a difference between rain events and if a there is a storm surge,” Harris said. “It gives me a better feeling about that part of town.”
Otherwise, it’s been “a year of hanging on, and holding what we’ve got. There’s been some improvements in City Court, we invested in some equipment and the judge is doing a great job over there. We’ve had to become more efficient in the operation of all our departments. We’ve maintained. This year we didn’t buy any new Christmas lights. It’s been that kind of year. We’re not able to go out and spend millions of dollars on new projects, but we can maintain what we have. That’s really the storyline for this year, unfortunately.”
With 2017 an unknown element, the city is budgeting conservatively and searching for new revenue streams.
Harris his wish for the New Year is “a lot more revenue. Other than that, I wish that everyone has a healthy and happy New Year.”
Baldwin Mayor Donna Lewis Lanceslin said the town received a grant from the state for beautification of the boulevard on La. 83, secured by Rep. Sam Jones and Sen. Bret Allain. They’ll be planting shrubs soon, she said.
Lanceslin said UMCOR Sager Brown made and donated welcome signs that have been placed at the town limits, with the help of resident Benny Druilhet.
The town had to begin getting water from Water and Sewer District 4 because of natural ammonia levels. “It’s extremely expensive to get rid of it,” Lanceslin said. “We don’t have the funds to get the work done, it’s about $200,000, and that’s both wells.”
She said the town had to raise rates to meet the W&S4 rates as well as add-on rates.
Seniors in Baldwin helped raise funds along with the town’s Beautification Club to purchase Christmas lights. “The oldest male, 97 years old, was my date,” she said. “When it was over with, and the music started again, he started dancing!”
Lanceslin said flood control along Bayou Choupique, after nine years of planning and work, is nearing completion. That system will tie in with the parish levee board’s existing levees. Most of the rights-of-way have been obtained.