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By 4:30 pm Friday (July 20), all the Shreveport city council wannabes will be known.

In the meantime, some are definitely in, others are definitely out, and some on the fence.

Currently, four council members can seek re-election. 

Three council members are finishing a second term and can not run again this year. 

Willie Bradford currently represents District A for north and northwest Shreveport. He will seek re-election.

Lloyd Anderson has announced he will run for the District A seat.

Shreveport attorney Jeremy Babers may also enter this race. 

Bradford, Anderson, and Babers are black male Democrats. 

Jeff Everson is the District B councilman. Everson is termed out and cannot seek re-election to represent the district for a portion of northeast Shreveport that includes downtown.

The names currently in the District B mix are Wendy Vance, Laura McLemore, Levette Fuller and Craig Lee. 

Vance is a Republican. Fuller is a black female Democrat and Lee a black male Democrat. McLemore is a white Democrat.

Councilman Oliver Jenkins currently represents District C in east-central Shreveport that includes the Broadmoor neighborhood. He is finishing his second term.

The two candidates who will qualify are both white male Republicans— Patrick Kirton and John Nichelson.

Rob Broussard, the president of the Broadmoor Neighborhood Association, has been mentioned although he probably will not run.

Mike Corbin is the District D in southeast Shreveport council member. Like Everson and Jenkins, he is termed out.

Keith Hanson, Versa Clark, Joey Hester, Dana Cawthon and Grayson Boucher have all said they will qualify.

All of these candidates are white, with the exception of Clark.

Hanson and Clark are Democrats. 

The others are Republican. 

Cawthon is the only female in the group.

James Flurry currently represents District E in south-central Shreveport. Flurry is seeking re-election. He is a white Republican.

Quinton Aught is also said to be running. Aught is a black Democrat. 

Stephanie Lynch is the District F in far south Shreveport council representative. Lynch is seeking a second term. She is a black female Democrat.

Reverend James Green will probably run again for this seat. Green and Lynch squared off in 2014. Green is a black male Democrat.

Jerry Bowman Jr. represents District G in west and southwest Shreveport. He is a black male Democrat. Currently, no opponents have surfaced in his race.

A crowd can be expected in the Caddo Clerk’s office Friday afternoon as the filing deadline approaches. And no doubt there will be some last minute decisions by those seeking fame and fortune as a political candidate.

It’s every entrepreneur’s dream.

Plan a business event with a guaranteed profit.

And that is exactly what the vote of the Shreveport City Council did on Tuesday.

A film festival has been planned for months. 

The event organizer advised the Council that all the expenses have been covered by private funds, donations, and sponsorships.

There will be 2 showings of the films.

The tickets go for $20 bucks and she said the Crystal Stairs restaurant has a fire capacity of 124. Reportedly the event is totally sold out.

And all she wanted was to be reimbursed her expenses.

No mention was made of any offset of the expenses by ticket sales, private donations, sponsorships or other income sources for the film festival.

The Council voted to reimburse up to $10 grand of this lady’s documented expenses.

How legal is the guarantee of a profit for this private venture by the Council?

It’s a good question.
Another is the funding of a person who does not have a non-profit tax-exempt status.

Lastly is the issue of public dollars expended for a minority exclusive event.

Entrants in the festival could only be African American directors or African American screenwriters.

Maybe the city attorney’s office will skate on this issue by saying that the ticket sales are not limited to black individuals.

The Council needs to revisit this vote. 

If nothing more to discuss the guarantee of a profit.

In the meantime, they can expect a big line of citizens who want to have a gig or start a business with no risk of loss.

For those that believe in Santa Clause, the next Council meeting is July 23 at 3 pm in Government Plaza.

 

Well, it could have been worse.

Maybe.

Thankfully the vote was not to sponsor a hog calling contest limited to white bubba males.

But the sponsorship of a film festival is just as bad on the basis of public policy. 

And it probably is illegal.

By a 4-2 vote on Tuesday, the Shreveport City Council voted to reimbursement up to $10,000 of expenses incurred by a black lady for a film festival.

The festival is limited to African American movie directors and African American screenwriters.

Of the 17 short films selected, only 2 were filmed locally. (Compare that to the requirement of the Gregory Kallenberg’s festivals that require all films be shot in this area.)

The event sponsor advised the Council that she had all of the festival’s expenses covered but just hoped the city would reimburse her costs.

And yes, this young lady obviously still believes in Santa Clause!

The vote is more questionable for several reasons.

Initially, the event is sponsored by an individual, not a corporation or a limited liability company (LLC).

Secondly, there is no tax exempt status for this event.

Thirdly, the virtually last-minute application for city money does not follow the established procedure to apply for event funding.

Voting to approve this very questionable funding were council members Stephanie Lynch, Willie Bradford, James Flurry and Jeff Everson. Oliver Jenkins and Mike Corbin voted “no.” Jerry Bowman abstained from the vote.

The Council vote does require that the standard Cooperative Endeavor Agreement be executed with the City. Also, the requirement of a third party fiscal agent to disburse the funds on the basis of bona fide receipts was added.

Needless to say, this vote violates all standards of good government.

It also sets a terrible precedent that will most likely lead to further fiscal abuse if in fact any funds are paid.

Litigation can be expected to stop the funding until a court decides if the same meets the requirements of the Louisiana Constitution.

In the meantime, maybe a white bubba hog calling contest should be scheduled and funding from the Council requested.

On July 6 Caddo Shreveport Metropolitan Planning Commission (MPC) Executive Director Mark Sweeney emailed the MPC Board announcing his resignation, effective August 15.

He advised that he had accepted a “once in a lifetime” career and financial prospect. He stated that the knowledge and experience he had gained as Executive Director prepared him to take on the leadership responsibilities of a larger organization.

The next day, in the local media, Sweeney trashed Shreveport. He blamed a “hidden agenda” and an “old broken system” that lead to a pressure cooker environment. 

To say the least, Sweeney’s comments reflect unprofessionalism. And they will further undermine any real influence he has in his job during the next 35 days.

The MPC Board meets tomorrow—Wednesday at 3 pm. They should vote to send Sweeney home—keeping him on the payroll but away from the MPC.

Sweeney’s goals of preparing budgets for 2019 to be presented to the Shreveport City Council and 5th Caddo Commission can be handled by other personnel. The proposed UDC amendments to be presented tomorrow and on August 1 to the MPC Board can also be delegated.

A basic principle of good business management is to remove top executives from their job as soon as a resignation is received. There is no logical reason to have Sweeney at the MPC after tomorrow’s meeting.

Unfortunately good logic and business acumen has not been a trademark of the majority of the nine-member board but there is always hope.

It’s time the Shreveport City Council and the Caddo Commission look at the facts when determining the performance of the Shreveport Caddo Metropolitan Planning Commission (MPC).

Let’s leave all the hubbub about lame duck MPC Executive Director Mark Sweeney either being as planning pioneer who has unfairly taken too many arrows in the back or an autocratic, inflexible development killer who has more spin than substance. Sweeney has resigned and his last day is Aug. 15.

So let’s review documented facts.

1.    The MPC is a government entity with no accountability to taxpayers. The nine MPC board members are not elected by the public. Neither is the executive director.

2.    Shreveport’s 2018 funding of the MPC is $800,000. The Caddo Commission funds $200,000 to the MPC. This is $1 million of public funding.

3.    The MPC also derives funding from permit applications for any development, plot plans, variances, and rezoning.

4.    The MPC has jurisdiction over all of Shreveport and 4 miles into the parish adjacent to the city limits.

5.    The MPC has a primary responsibility to implement the Unified Development Code (UDC) of Shreveport enacted in May 2017 and the Caddo UDC (which has minor variations from Shreveport’s) in December.

6.    The Bossier MPC, which is a joint parish city agency, is funded 50/50 by the city and the parish.

7.    The funding split for the Shreveport/Caddo MPC is 80/20 by city and parish. The city also provides office space and accounting services to the MPC at no charge—the value of which is probably in excess of $100,000.

8.    The Bossier MPC has six full time and one part-time employee. The 2018 staff payroll will be less than $332,000.

9.    The Shreveport Caddo MPC has 16 full-time employees and its projected 2018 payroll costs are over $900,000.

10.    The Bossier MPC processed 127 cases in 2017, and in 2016. Through June of this year, it processed 71 cases.

11.     Since the adoption of the Shreveport and Caddo UCDs last year, the MPC has processed fewer than 70 cases.

12.    So, doing the math: Assume that June-December 2107, Bossier MPC processed 70 cases. That is 10 a month, lower than the 12 months 2017 average, and does not factor in the warm months conducive to construction. 

13.    Add to that 71 for 2018 for a total of 141 cases in the 12 months since June 2017. Compare that to Shreveport/Caddo number of 70 for the same time period.

14.    As for staffing costs, the Bossier MPC payroll budget is 36 percent of Shreveport/Caddo MPC’s. Yet it processed twice as many cases in the 12 months ending June 30.

15.    The Shreveport Chamber mediated, with a limited success, complaints with the MPC. The proposed changes must be approved by the MPC board, then sent to the council and the commission for approval for their respective UDC’s. 

16.    Unfortunately, Sweeney has elected to split the changes into two groups—the first to be considered on July 11 and the second group on Aug.1. This means that it will be September, at the earliest, before the respective changes will be fully implemented.

17.    Sweeney could have and still can call a special MPC Board meeting to fast-track the approval of all the amendments.

18.     The MPC board hired Sweeney four years ago.

19.     Sweeney is directly responsible for both the Shreveport and Caddo UDCs. The city-funded $350,000 and the parish $250,000 for the Chicago consulting firm that he selected to develop the UDC’s.

20.    He did not contact the firm that developed the Bossier UDC which has been in effect for several years. The Bossier MPC has proven to be very, very practical for this area and especially user-friendly.

21.     The Shreveport-Caddo UDC had many requirements that were totally not applicable to this area. A good example is a requirement that buildings facing the Red River and any inland waterways (think Cross Bayou) must have 60 percent windows on the side facing the water.

22.     Additionally, the landscape requirements are excessive and considerably more encompassing than any other codes in the state.

23.    The list of cumbersome and unnecessary requirements could go on and on. Suffice it to say, the Shreveport-Caddo UDC’s have not leveled the playing field for development in Shreveport and Caddo as compared to east of the river. 

24.    In fact, the new codes have even tilted further in Bossier’s favor as the easy choice to build and develop. This reality can not be ignored by even the most dedicated Sweeney-UDC supporters

25.     Shreveport City Councilman James Flurry introduced several months ago an ordinance to establish an internal city planning office. This ordinance should be voted on either July 10 or 24. 

26.    Flurry strongly believes that an internal office would save Shreveport substantial money and provide more accountability to elected officials. The facts support his logic.

27.     The Caddo Commission is also dissatisfied with the MPC. It probably will reduce MPC funding for 2019. If Shreveport establishes an internal planning office, the Commission would contract for planning services. Because of the low volume of cases in the parish, the commission is unlikely to create a Caddo planning office.

28.    Many commissioners favor reducing the planning jurisdictional limits from four miles to one mile outside city limits. This change would reduce the number of parish cases even more.

29.     An economic feasibility study prepared for the MPC recommended that the funding ratios for the city and parish should be 60/40. It’s unlikely that the parish is going to increase its 20 percent funding ratio.

30.     Substantial sentiment on the city council holds that if the joint MPC board is to continue, then representation on the MPC board should reflect funding percentages. The council and parish each currently appoint four members, and a ninth member is jointly appointed by city and parish. Based on 2018 funding, the city should have at least six appointments.

31.     The current MPC board is totally dysfunctional. The June meeting was an example, as seen on publicity available video. Board members encountered substantial difficulties in adding items to the agenda. The board chairman, Theron Jackson, behaved as if he were a dictator. Not pleasant viewing. 

32.     And then there is the potential conflict of interest by two board members. Chairman Jackson and board member Curtis Joseph are two of the three principals in the proposed $1 billion Cross Bayou project. They have said they will recuse themselves from any board votes on the project. Yet they are part of the five-person board majority that votes in lockstep with Sweeney and his staff. Their board membership presents a veiled threat to the MPC office that affects staff decisions on the gigantic project. 

33.    Additionally, their presence can subjectively influence any other proposed MPC development actions that could compete directly, or indirectly, with their development plans.

34.     Another example of conflict is the proposal for a $240 million planned unit development to be considered by the MPC Board July 11 for the old Shreveport Country Club. Board member Joseph is the local pitchman for the project. Even though Joseph will recuse himself from any votes, his participation again compromises the integrity of the MPC board.

35.    The arguments against an internal planning office lack substance. They are also reflective of planning principles that are no longer applicable to the economic reality of Shreveport and Caddo Parish.

36.     One argument is against the expansion of city hall departments. Council members Stephanie Lynch and Willie Bradford question the effectiveness and efficiency of the existing city departments and are against adding another. They overlook developers who could provide jobs to both districts suffering from high unemployment.

37.     Councilman Jeff Everson has a planning background. He can be credited with bringing the long-needed overhaul of Shreveport’s building and zoning requirements. But Everson has failed to accept that the Shreveport UDC imposes too many requirements that are time-consuming, complex, onerous, and expensive.

38.     Councilman Mike Corbin, who like Everson will reach his term limit this year, has also opposed an internal planning office. Corbin says the MPC board should take care of its own business. In his new position at SWEPCO/AEP, Corbin should confidentially consult with company officials. They can share their difficulties working with Sweeney for reasonable adjustments to the UDC before enacted.

39.     The other argument against an internal office by the planning gurus is that the independent agency removes politics from the planning process. This argument sounds good in academia but does not reflect the real world. Funding of the MPC is political. Appointment of Board members is political. Appeals MPC decisions to the city council and commission are political.

40.     Here’s an example. Earlier this year the MPC Board voted unanimously to allow a former Circle K on the southeast corner of East Kings Highway and Gilbert Drive to sell hard alcohol. The Circle K had moved across the street. Beer was allowed for sale at both locations. On appeal, neighbors opposed the expansion of hard liquor sales in their neighborhood. Their appeal failed on a 3-3 vote. Litigation has stopped the rezoning. A deep pocketbook will probably prevail in stopping the rezoning requested by a successful minority businessman.

41.     Another example. The council heard an appeal from a unanimous MPC board to allow the expansion of the parking lot at Superior Mexican restaurant. The expansion would back up to houses behind the restaurant. This appeal was granted on a 7-1 vote.

42.    Councilman Michael Corbin and Jeff Everson voted to grant the appeal against hard liquor at the old Circle K location, but they split on the Superior parking lot — with Everson voting to stop the parking lot and Corbin to permit it. Thus, Corbin voted in one instance to stop hard alcohol sales and in another to assist a local restaurant known for its ‘killer” margaritas. Seems like politics at work. 

The MPC office and its implementation of the UDC is not working well for development in Shreveport. Pinning magical hope on a turnaround by a new executive director is not realistic.

The upcoming vote on a city internal planning office is crutial — one of the most decisive the council will take this year. Council members should put aside their dissatisfaction with Mayor Ollie Tyler when deciding. Additionally, they should leave personal pride, prejudices, payback in the back room and not display them on the council dais for this vote. 

Without change, expectations of real development progress can be dismissed. The facts are there.
 

The last time it was a billion dollar Cross Bayou dream.

This time it’s a $240 million mirage for the abandoned Shreveport Country Club.

Local attorney Curtis Joseph has seemingly embarked on a new career as a real estate developer.

It all started when Joseph was appointed by Shreveport Mayor Ollie Tyler to the Shreveport Caddo Metropolitan Planning Commission (MPC).

Actually his road to fame and riches began with Tyler took office as mayor. In her first few weeks, she moved substantial legal work from Ron Lattier to Joseph and his law partner Mary Winchell.

After his MPC appointment Joseph aligned himself with MPC President Theron Jackson on key votes.

And then Jackson and Joseph teamed up with Paul Pratt to form Gateway Development Consortium.

Gateway presented the latest Cross Bayou folly to the Shreveport City Council a few months back.

After some back room politics the Council voted 5 to 4 vote for a resolution urging Tyler to execute a much discussed, and cussed, Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

As expected, the MOU is gathering dust on Tyler’s desk.

The new project that Joseph is now pushing is as ambitious, or foolhardy, as the Cross Bayou dream.

This time Joseph has teamed up with Chariot Companies. Chariot has a contract to purchase the golf course, swimming pool, tennis courts, and country club building lock, stock and barrel.

For starters, part of the golf course will be salvaged for a golf academy.

Add to that a hotel, restaurant and event center, an office building, single family housing and multifamily apartment complex. 

Joseph’s presentation to a neighborhood gathering had many unanswered questions.

One was if the apartment complex was designed to be Section 8 housing.

Another was where would the people relocate from for all the housing development.

And then what is the economic viability of a hotel off the beaten path—that being Greenwood Road

Joseph will make a pitch to the MPC Board on Wednesday 11 July for approval of a zoning change for a planned unit development (PUD). Joseph should recuse himself from the Board vote.

Any zoning change must then be approved by the Council.

A question that will certainly be asked by the Council will be what participation if any is expected from the City of Shreveport to make this project happen.

If no public bucks involved, then no problem and best wishes for success.

But if the City will be required to develop infrastructure, one can expect a battle as heated as the two Cross Bayou projects.
 

A special meeting of the board of the directors of The Shreveport Caddo Metropolitan Planning Commission (MPC) was held on Monday, June 25 in the MPC conference room.

The only agenda item was to review the employment contract with MPC Executive Director Mark Sweeney.

Sweeney’s current contract expires this year on September 30. The contract has an automatic “roll over” clause for another year unless a vote was taken by June 30 to void this provision.

Good public policy principles are for public employees to be “at will”, and not to be under contract.

This means termination can be made at any time by the employer.

Shreveport Chief Administrative Officer Brian Crawford and Caddo Administrator Dr. Woodrow Wilson do not have employment contracts. Neither do their counterparts in Bossier City and Bossier Parish.

Sweeney is the only public employee in north Louisiana with an employment agreement. 

Since the contract involved a personnel matter, the MPC board went into executive session for two hours. 

When the executive session ended and the regular meeting resumed, the MPC Board voted 5-4 to not allow the employment contract to roll over. Theron Jackson, Curtis Joseph, Ronnie Remedies, Dale Colvin and Alan Young voted in the majority. The other Board members—Les Desmarteau, Nancy Cooper, Winzer Andrews and Bessie Smith—voted against termination of the contract.

This Board also voted for the Executive Committee to negotiate with Sweeney and render a report by the November meeting on a new contract. This was a contested vote that passed 6-3. Colvin, Remedies and Young voted against this proposal.

Obviously Desmarteau and her sidekick Cooper, who is an attorney, do not understand the law of an “at will” employee. At the open meeting, they insisted that Sweeney is an “at will” employee under his current contract. 

This is totally incorrect because the contract sets forth various actions that constitute the basis for employment termination. The contract also has provisions concerning payment to Sweeney upon early termination.

An “at will” employee does not need a contract. This employee can be terminated at any time by the employer for any reason. 

And an “at will” employee is only paid salary and benefits through the date of termination. Unless the termination is based upon race, sex, or age, the employee can only recover unemployment compensation.

It’s apparent that many of the MPC Board have not considered the funding challenges the MPC will have in its 2018 budget. Both the Shreveport City Council and the Caddo Commission cut the MPC funding in 2017. 

Dissatisfaction with the MPC has increased this year as its case load dwindles. If the MPC votes in November to enter into a new contract with Sweeney, drastic funding cuts by the Council and the Commission can be expected.

The MPC is a separate legal entity. This year the City funded approximately $800 thousand and the Parish $200 thousand for its operations. 

The MPC Board, in theory, supervises Sweeney and his staff. The Board consists of 4 appointees from the City and 4 from the Parish. The last member is a joint appointee.

The MPC is a public agency that has no accountability to the electorate, or for that matter, to elected officials. The Board members have 4 year terms and they also have no accountability to the public. This is a classic example of government gone amok.

Yes, Shreveport Police Chief Alan Crump did show up for the commission committee meeting on crime this time.

So did a lot of law enforcement heavyweights.

Mayor Ollie Tyler, Chief Administrative Officer Brian Crawford and City Attorney Will Bradford also attended.

And what was accomplished?

Absolutely nothing on the agenda item “city/parish crime agenda.”

Give credit to committee chairman, Caddo Parish Commissioner Mario Chavez, for getting a big crowd at the Wednesday meeting.

The commander of Troop G of the Louisiana State Police along with two officers, Caddo Sheriff Steve Prator and his two top deputies, a representative from the Shreveport City Marshal’s office and Assistant Police Chief Bill Goodin attended.

Also in the conference room were Caddo Commissioners Lyndon Johnson, Mike Middleton, Louis Johnson, John Atkins and Steven Jackson, along with parish officials.

Unfortunately Chavez failed to ask either Crump or Tyler the needed question: “Do you want help from any of these law enforcement agencies?”

Crump did explain in great detail the various task forces that had been created while the was chief and the cooperative efforts city police have undertaken with the sheriff’s deputies and deputy city marshals. He also stressed that crime is actually down in the city.

Although it was not explicitly stated by Crump or Tyler, it was obvious that no additional help was wanted from the other law enforcement agencies.

Being an election year, no one really expected Tyler or Crump to ask for assistance. And the fact that declared mayoral candidate Jackson was in the room only further limited constructive dialogue.

As usual, Jackson spoke more than any other commissioner. And as his practice, he used a lot of oxygen to say very little.

At his mayor announcement and in previous interviews, Jackson has touted an expensive, outdated computer program, ShotSpotter, as the solution for crime detection. The agenda included this program. Jackson mysteriously pulled it from discussion at the meeting.

Now that crime assistance is no longer a parish commission issue, maybe more attention can be focused on constituent challenges working with the Shreveport Caddo Metropolitan Planning Commission, the need for an additional pod at the Caddo Juvenile Justice Center and ways to stop over spending their income and operating in the red.
 

If anyone does not believe that the Shreveport Caddo Metropolitan Planning Commission (MPC) delays construction and runs up costs for developers, than you need look no further than District One Fire Chief Dan Cotten.

Cotten appeared before the Caddo Commission last week to give update on the reconstruction of a heavy volume fire station located behind the KCS Railyards. The Commission passed a resolution authoring the fire district to pursue $1 million dollar bond funding for this station.

When asked about progress on the plans to replace the station, which has excessive moisture and mold problems, Cotten shared his MPC experience.

And the news was NOT good—for Cotten, his firefighters and the tax paying public.

The MPC has imposed strict requirements for landscaping , removal of gravel from a parking lot and replacement with asphalt or concrete, and other ‘ice cream” standards. Bottom line, complying with the MPC demands will run up the costs approximately $60 grand.

And this is for a fire station in the parish. On one side of the station is an over grown junkyard. On the other side is an empty lot that the firemen mow.

Cotten explained that he (and his architect) have been required to attend several non productive meetings with the MPC staff. And in an effort to eliminate the onerous costs, an application for a variance on some of the “add ons” has been filed.

But guess how long before the variance hearing? Think October or November.

The Caddo Commission has discussed the many problems with the MPC and the Unified Development Code (UDC). Needless to say, the news from Cotten went over like a lead balloon.

Earlier this year the Commission decreased it’s budgeted contribution to the MPC. Currently there is discussion of reducing the jurisdiction of the MPC in the parish and further decreasing its budget.

And in the meantime, taxpayers will pay more for a fire station and wait longer for the reconstruction to be completed thanks to MPC Executive Director Mark Sweeney. 

How much longer the Commission will allow Sweeney to delay construction and increase unnecessary expenses is an open question. But, it is a ticking time bomb.
 

Today at 4pm a special MPC Board meeting will be held in the MPC conference room at Government Plaza. 

The Board will open the meeting and then go into executive session to discuss the contract. The Board will reconvene “to consider any actions to be taken by the MPC Board pertaining to discussions conducted during the executive session.”

On the July 11 MPC Board agenda is a rezoning request for the Shreveport County Club.

Chariot Companies, an out of state group, hopes to buy this property and develop houses on the golf course. A prior request to rezone this property for a drug rehab facility met stiff neighbor opposition and it was withdrawn.

At a recent meeting with the neighborhood group, both MPC Board chairman Theron Jackson and board member Curtis Joseph were in attendance. Reportedly, they both made presentations to this group on behalf of Chariot Companies.

Jackson and Joseph are members of Gateway Development along with Paul Pratt. This is the group spearheading the Cross Bayou development project. What relationship Gateway, Jackson, and the other Gateway partner Paul Pratt have with Chariot Companies is unknown.

However it does appear that Jackson and Joseph have conflict of interest in voting on Sweeney’s contract today. (Reportedly an inquiry has been made to the Louisiana Ethics Board)