Franklin candidates meet at FSHS in election forum

Candidates for Franklin mayor and city council gathered Monday in the Franklin Senior High School auditorium for a public forum in advance of Saturday’s election.
The event was sponsored by 100 Black Men of St. Mary Parish Inc.; Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., Franklin-Jeanerette Alumnae Chapter; Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., Iota Eta Omega Chapter; NAACP, St. Mary Branch Unit 6091; Martin Luther King Committee of St. Mary Parish; and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., Phi Rho Omega Chapter.
After brief opening statements, moderator Danika Foley asked 10 pre-selected questions that were given to the candidates in advance.
“What issue would you like to resolve and how to you plan to accomplish your goal?” Foley asked the candidates, with Mayor Raymond Harris answering first.
Harris said FEMA flood elevation requirements have concerned him lately, with property owners required to build up property to meet the agency’s elevation requirements before construction. He said persons or businesses interested in coming to Franklin are discouraged by those requirements.
Harris said the new flood control structure on the Franklin Canal has prompted him to request that FEMA rescind those requirements.
Mayoral candidate Kenny Scelfo said he will aggressively attract new businesses to the city. He said the last company “that purchased property here in Franklin the city never got in touch with him, he came on his own. He heard from one person, and that was me.”
Scelfo said the city should “go door-to-door” to consult with unemployed persons and determine what jobs they might be qualified for, get trained and make connections with employers.
He said a population with good-paying jobs lowers crime rates. Enticing new businesses means the city must provide infrastructure to aid their location.
Scelfo said a mayor must be “compassionate and put yourself in the other person’s shoes.”
Councilman At-Large Lester Levine said safe streets, clean water and things for youth to do, as well as visibility of city officials are important. He said work continues to provide good water, overlay of streets and he plans to continue those efforts.
At-Large council candidate Kerry Martin said more transparency in city government can be achieved by “posting all city affairs on the city web page, and a more functional city website would allow citizens of Franklin to access all meeting agendas and the city budget.”
Martin said the website could also list crime locations to aid public safety.
Candidate for council District B Brandan Trahan said the relationship between the community and city government needs an improved avenue of communication “not only during the election.”
He said the city needs to restore its sense of community, pointing out that young people leave Franklin after school. Trahan also said major roadways are in need of repair and active measures should be taken to eliminate further problems.
Candidates were asked how to address abandoned and uninhabitable structures.
Scelfo said there is a city ordinance in place to address that and he will enforce or adjust it as necessary. He said he would work with owners of such properties and “find a solution. If it’s a money problem let’s see if we can get some grants, let’s see if we can bring back the revolving loan fund. Let’s try to help them.”
He said many property owners cannot afford to repair or demolish a structure.
Levine said the city has demolished several homes and that the city isn’t “just going out there and tearing houses down just because somebody called us.”
He said he consults with City Hall and the city inspector when he receives a complaint of derelict property. Levine said owners are given time to address a structure’s issues and if not addressed the council reviews information on the condition of the house and vote on whether it will be demolished.
Martin said dealing compassionately with property owners is important but so also is the hazards a derelict structure may present, as well as their effect on appearances to new residents and businesses.
He said the city should enforce its ordinances and take each case individually.
Trahan said a structure can be salvaged of usable materials then destroyed by the police and fire departments in controlled burns. He said they can also be remodeled if cost-effective.
Harris said he has a problem “when government mandates you to do something but then doesn’t give you the resources to do it.” He said city officials have worked with property owners patiently and if they show an effort to revitalize or at least secure a property officials continue to work with them.
Thirteen structures have been torn down in the last five years, mostly due to public safety issues, Harris said. He said state law, which the city’s ordinance is based on, is “long and drawn out” and a time-consuming process.
Foley asked the candidates to name three challenges facing Franklin.
Levine said youth, jobs, economic development and overlay of streets are his choices.
Martin said the dwindling population is one challenge, saying there are homes for sale throughout the city. This “exodus from Franklin is also costing Franklin it’s future generation as mostly young people move out of the community for better opportunity.”
He said crime in the city makes residents feel unsafe, with “an alarming rate of home burglaries and an epidemic drug problem” in Franklin.
Third, Martin said quality of the city water supply is a concern to citizens.
Trahan said his three choices are the relationship between citizens and government; the sense of community; and the city’s roads.
Harris said he is proud that the city brought in Walgreens, Gulf Craft and Sunrise Marine to the city limits. That was possible because the city put infrastructure into place to accommodate those businesses. “We created jobs,” he said.
He said drainage issues in Pecan Acres have been corrected and another is in the works for lower Willow Street, and the Yokely Canal basin project will provide better drainage for that area.
Harris said the city must remain attractive to business and industry, and repeated his commitment to attempting lowering of FEMA elevation requirements. He mentioned that the city revolving loan fund Scelfo referred to was not intended for home repair but rather to help small businesses get started at a low interest rate.
Scelfo said public safety is an issue, with more trained police officers on the road needed. He said “when a firearm is discharged at somebody we need to deal with it, we can’t just give somebody five days off then come back to work.”
He said police shouldn’t “shoot somebody in the back.”
Fire protection isolation valves throughout the city do not work due to poor maintenance, he said.
Scelfo said almost $4 million has been spent on the water system and the water is inadequate.
He said drainage issues include clogged catch basins and culverts, noting “you can have the best levees in the world but if we’re not doing our job as a city we’re still going to flood.” He said there would be a regular maintenance program.
Scelfo promised improvements in the area of recreation and programs at the city recreation centers and elsewhere. He said recreations centers remind him of “a third world country.”
Foley asked what characteristics candidates, if elected, would seek in persons for appointments and other positions.
Martin said he would seek “honest, hard-working people who cared about Franklin and want to work to make it a better place.”
Diversity provides multiple viewpoints that serves “all of the citizens not just one group over the other.”
Trahan said “proven leadership, dependability and accessibility are the key components to any good leader.” He said choices for positions within city government should be “chosen with prejudice, whether you’re white, black, rich or poor.”
Harris said every committee he has formed has “at least two blacks and two whites; I have never had a committee that was four-to-one or five-to-zero.”
He said his staff is competent and racially balanced. Persons he considers for city service must be persons that are reasonable and not cause turmoil and persons that put Franklin before their own personal interests.
Scelfo said he prefers persons who know the community and its needs. “We got to get it done,” he said. “We’re running out of time in Franklin, we need to be energetic and do what it takes.”
He said he will seek people to serve the city and every person with respect. He also cited honesty as a characteristic and that respect must be given to receive back. Persons must take responsibility for their actions as well, Scelfo said.
He mentioned that water plant safety is critical because “not everybody can afford bottled water.” He said a study would be in order to research cancer rates to “find out if we do have a problem here … it could be chemicals sprayed for agriculture.”
Levine said he looks for a “people person” to serve the city. Appointees must attend meetings, he said, and must be hard workers that are committed to the people of Franklin.
(To be continued Wednesday.)