Charter Commission implodes: No quorum, just a catfight.
Plus — New details on Shed Rd. military training complex. City Council: Sunday hard liquor sales and road improvements discussed.
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Charter Commission implodes: No quorum, just a catfight.
Only Roberts Rules of Order fans would have been interested in Tuesday's Charter Commission meeting. Strike that. No one would have been interested in this meeting.
Only three of the nine members of the Commission attended: Chairman Preston Friedley (appointed by Councilman Chris Smith), Lee Jeter, Sr. (appointed by Mayor Tommy Chandler), and David Johnson (appointed by Councilman Brian Hammons).
Without a quorum, the discussion was mostly a catfight between Friedley and City assistant attorney Richard Ray, with occasional interjections by citizen-activist David Crockett.
While it was of no matter, the heated debate was about the agenda for a meeting that was never called and something Friedley apparently said on a local radio station that chapped Ray's seat cushion.
This was painful to watch. The handful of citizens in the audience should get one-year rebates on their City taxes.
Even City Councilmember Brian Hammons disavowed his attendance, saying he was there as an embarrassed citizen rather than a city leader. He asked everyone to adjourn and "go get a cup of coffee" and talk things over.
The Charter Commission has been a slow-motion train wreck since it went off the rails at its first meeting. The commission will meet again Thursday at 6 pm in the Bossier City Civic Center.
New details on the proposed Bossier Schools military training complex on Shed Rd.
As previously reported by BossierNow, the Bossier Parish School Board is working with local governments to develop an $18 million military training facility in Bossier City.
On Tuesday, the City Council authorized Mayor Tommy Chandler to sign a letter of support for $1.4 million in matching funds for the project, contingent on the Bossier Parish Police Jury committing an identical amount.
Based on a Defense Community Infrastructure Program grant being awarded to the project, it would be the Bossier Parish School Leadership Readiness Training Complex.
The proposed location is 55 acres and comprises two tracts of land off I-220 and Shed Road. One part has been undeveloped, and the other was the site of the now-closed Northwest Louisiana State School.
Lisa Johnson, president of the Bossier Chamber of Commerce, has been collaborating with the groups involved in the effort and described how the project came about.
"This grant proposal came from whenever we did our D.C. fly-in in the fall," Johnson said. "We learned that there was a specific grant for community improvement grants, and that would help to support Barksdale Air Force Base and our military families. They encouraged us to look at something that we could do for community improvements that would not only be good for the community but also for Barksdale."
The Defense Community Infrastructure Program is a competitive grant and requires matching dollars from local and state governments and, likely, some private support.
The Bossier Parish School Board is working on the grant, and Johnson said it will take until the fall to learn if it is awarded locally.
"We'll have an ROTC, JROTC training facility — and many other things that I'm not at liberty to talk about just yet — that will help not only with retention of our military families but also secure our number one economic [engine] in Bossier City and Bossier Parish, and make sure that we maintain and sustain those missions here with Barksdale Air Force Base."
City Council considers Sunday hard liquor sales and gets an update on road projects.
The Bossier City Council introduced an ordinance adding the sale of hard liquor for off-premise consumption on Sundays during designated hours to the City's existing policy of the sale of low alcoholic content.
"There are so many tax dollars out there that we are not collecting," said District 1 councilmember Brian Hammons, who sponsored the ordinance. "We're leveling the playing field. We have so many tax dollars that are going over the bridge and being spent in other municipalities where we could be collecting those tax dollars right here in Bossier City."
Councilmember Vince Maggio was the only one to vote against the matter. The ordinance will be up for a final vote at the Council's next meeting.
In other business, the council approved the retail sale of high and low-content alcohol for on-premise consumption and extended the operational hours until 2:00 am for a proposed pool hall and bar called the Pool Hub located at 2790 Shed Road, Suite E.
Street repairs and drainage issues
City engineer Ben Rauschenbach also gave an update on a few in-progress capital projects. The state has allocated $175,000 for panel (precast concrete pavement) repairs on Benton Road, with another $1.5 million specifically budgeted by the state for additional repairs on Benton Road. $50,000 for some miscellaneous panel repairs for the Sunflower Boulevard area.
$245,000 of state funding is available for additional street lighting in Bossier City, Rauschenbach said.
"We have observed what we believe to be some drainage issues that are DOTD-related, specifically on Murphy," Rauschenbach added. "It's a stormwater problem — a stormwater pipe that's very shallow in that area. And that's not Bossier City's, that's DOTD's."
However, Rauschenbach says the state doesn't have the funding to fix the problem, "so we're gonna have to come up with an interim plan to get that done."
He also estimated that the Walter O. Bigby Carriageway would be completed by the end of July.
Something up with the water in Haughton? No worries.
You might see some yellow-tinted water in Haughton this week. What's up with that? No worries. It's just time for summer fire hydrant flushing.
Fire hydrants in the Town of Haughton are being flushed this week, and during the process, you might see intermittent pressure fluctuations and occasional yellow-tinted water. Haughton authorities say the yellow color in the water is due to the presence of iron.
Juneteenth reminders
U.S. Postal Service offices will be closed for Juneteenth, and there will be no mail delivery.
State offices will also be closed. Gov. Jeff Landry Landry issued an executive order at the end of last month directing the heads of state agencies and institutions to honor the day off in conjunction with the federal government.
Juneteenth honors June 19, 1865, the day enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, learned from Union soldiers that they were free. The news reached them two months after the end of the Civil War and 2 ½ years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued.
Some banks may be closed Wednesday, but restaurants, grocery stores, and retail establishments will be open.
East Bank District to hold Food Truck Festival Saturday
It's always a treat when the food trucks roll into the East Bank District. And it's happening again this Saturday. From noon until 7 p.m. the EBD's Food Truck Festival will give you maximum flavor variety and a chance to hang with new friends while you bounce from truck to truck.
The Shreveport Bossier Food Trucks Coalition has wrangled a crowd of meals on wheels, including:
Hot Dawg Hut
Farley BBQ
Keto Cravings
T&T Italian Ice
318 Food Co
Yeero-Yeero
Good Cravings
CCs Kitchen
Masshole Lobster
Taqueria el Eden
It's all happening in the 600 block of Barksdale Blvd. this Saturday, June 22.
Bossier City free time calendar
Live music in Bossier City and other notable events in the area for your free time consideration.
June 29: The Steel Woods return after previously selling out the Louisiana Grandstand.
July 13: Pro Football Hall of Famer and Shreveport native Terry Bradshaw at the Paradise Theatre in the Margaritaville Casino.
July 26: Fan favorite Dan Smalley returns to put on another incredible performance in the legendary listening room at Louisiana Grandstand. If you've never seen this Shreveport native perform, plan to see what you've been missing.
August 31: Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Elle King at the Paradise Theatre in the Margaritaville Casino.
September 7: The Cleverlys, a one-of-a-kind, unique comedy and music experience at the Louisiana Grandstand. "If Dolly Parton, Earl Scruggs, and Spinal Tap spawned a litter of puppies, it would be The Cleverlys," says the New York Times.
September 13: Comedian Rodney Carrington at the Paradise Theatre in the Margaritaville Casino.
September 14: Cody Johnson, The Leather Tour at the BGA.
October 18: Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Darrell Scott at the Louisiana Grandstand.
October 20: Jelly Roll, The Beautifully Broken Tour, with Warren Zeiders and Alexandra Kay at the BGA.
October 26: Daughtry at the Paradise Theatre in the Margaritaville Casino.
November 1-3: Disney On Ice presents Frozen & Encanto at the BGA.
November 16: Creed, Are You Ready? Tour at the BGA with 3 Doors Down and Mammoth WVH.
November 23: William Clark Green brings his "Whole Lotta Lubbock" tour to his debut appearance at the Louisiana Grandstand. Green is tearing up Texas dance halls and filling venues all over the country with his hits like "She Likes The Beatles" and "West Texas in My Eye."
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