NEWS ADVISORY--City-Parish Announces Storm Clean-up Procedures

March 27, 2009
For release: IMMEDIATELY
For more information contact: Susan Boudreaux, 225-389-5100 or sboudreaux@brgov.com


Emergency storm debris cleanup in Baton Rouge following Wednesday and Thursday's thunderstorms began at 6 a.m. today as a result of the City-Parish enacting the emergency provisions in the Allied Waste Garbage and Trash Collection contract.

The emergency clause of the contract was enacted immediately following yesterday's filing of the Emergency Declaration by the City-Parish.

This collection, necessitated by the damage sustained as a result of the weather events of March 25th and 26th, will not mirror the Hurricane Gustav collection. Crews will focus on removal of debris from the Wednesday and Thursday thunderstorms ONLY, for a two week period. During this timeframe, the rules that govern normal trash collection will be suspended, but will be reinstated at the end of the collection period.

Crews began work in the Southdowns-Glenmore area and are branching out from there. This area, along with the E. Lakeshore area, suffered the greatest impact from these weather related events. All debris from the storms will be taken to the NRR Recycling centers on Pecue Lane and Scenic Highway for processing.

The City-Parish will be collecting trees downed as a result of this storm activity, and we would like to remind citizens that only a licensed tree service should be used on private property. The ordinance that dictates that tree removal companies should haul away the trees that were taken down will be suspended for this two week period only. Care should be taken to check for insurance and bonding. The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry licenses arborists, and can be reached at 925-4500 to check on whether a business is licensed or not. Their website at www.ldaf.state.la.us has a current listing of all licensed arborists in the State. Out of state arborists are required to be licensed in Louisiana.

In placing the material at curbside, care should be taken not to block the visibility at the residential driveway. Maximum height of the material near the driveway should not exceed 3 feet. The material should not be closer to the driveway than 10 feet on both sides. The maximum length of the material should not exceed 10 feet. The suggested maximum weight is 500 pounds.

This material should not be placed under low hanging power lines, or near any other utility that might be disturbed during the collection process. This would include underground domestic water and gas lines and meters, storm drains, sewer lines, mail boxes, and fire hydrants. Avoid placing the materials under low hanging tree limbs or other landscaping, as such could be damaged during the collection process. A sheet of plywood or similar material can be used to prevent damage to grass if desired.



# # #

SLCA Meeting Minutes - March 1, 2009

Staring Lane Community Association
Meeting Minutes – March 1, 2009, 5 p.m.
Magnolia Woods Racquet Club House

A general welcome and introductions were given. City Councilman Rodney "Smokie" Bourgeois was present. Reps from other area associations were also present.

Minutes from Jan. 27, 2008, meeting, were read by Pamela Labbe, Secretary of the Association, and approved. No full membership meeting were held in a year; however, numerous executive and other meetings were held during the year.

Comments from members: How do we ask for a stoplight at Boone and Staring?
John, another one of our members, said it is already in the works.

As the meeting moved through the committees, no reports could be made. Most have been waiting for the city to make its next move before doing anything further.

Representation agreement: a group wants to represent the Staring Lane group for a class action suit. We had our two attorney members review the paperwork, and they said it looked suspicious because the firm was not a Louisiana firm and there were too many additional fees that could be added. We may look at this further at another date.

Regarding the association’s finances, Dr. Shamlin (Association President) said that the association had originally agreed to collect $25 from each family for membership. We will collect checks or cash. Checks are to be written to Staring Lane Community Association.
A nominating committee was requested. Brunetta Shamlin, Patty Herke and Bobby Crighton will be members of this committee. We will need three board members in addition to the regular officers (President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer).

Dr. Pete Teritto, Vice President of the Association, took the floor providing a report on his meeting with Pete Newkirk. He listed a number of issues that was discussed:
Powerline placement: Entergy was waiting for AT&T before they could finalize their plans
Clearing of the right away was the first thing that needed to be done

Homeowners haven’t heard anything more from the city of Baton Rouge since October 2008; however, some have recently been approached to sign paperwork
Staring Lane Community Association is still waiting to receive the actual construction plan / print. Pete is working toward acquiring this.
Set back for commercial property is 15 feet; residential set back is 25 feet.
Speed limit – the Department of Public Works will decide if it is to increase
Light at Menlo and Staring Lane has to be purchased by the city / parish; Entergy only installs
Storm debris – some still remains; but a crew cut grass the weekend prior to March 1
What is the hold up on the Staring Lane portion of the Green Light Plan? The city is still developing the final plans with CSR.
Perkins Lane’s new addition is extremely wide. Will the expanded Staring Lane look like Perkins or like Bluebonnet (south)?
It makes better sense to dig up a blvd. center if that is where the sewage pipes and water pipes are.
Green Light Plan says only 12 homes are being affected instead of the 39 that originally were going to be demolished.
The minute the final plans come out, the Staring Lane Community Association will call an emergency meeting and will notify all residents.
A new bridge will be build on the East side of Dawson Creek Bridge
Mr. Parent’s Question: Why is a 32 feet median needed? It was done on Bluebonnet already and now a precedent has been set.

Issues we want:
Powerlines
Median decreased
Sidewalks?
Basically, we want to try to pull the rightaway in as narrowly as possible. Sewage lines seem to pose the greatest problems.

Comments from Smokey Bourgeois:
The city seems to have a helter skelter plan. Changes were made until the last second with the Staring Lane Extension. Calousness by the city: is it on purpose, or they just unaware?
Time frame to start project: Baton Rouge has no idea when they will start work on our road. Smokey says that you must make calls and be relentless. The original push was Pinacle, but that has slowed down. Deanna is still his assistant (she was the assistant for Mickey Skyring as well). Best to reach Smokey via telephone, not e-mail.

John’s comments:
Possible decrease in property value: what can we do? Possible situation: city buys land then later rezones as commercial, which is at a higher value.
He suggests that we suggest limited commercial zoning (example: multiple-use zoning) to the city. This way we can try to protect the value of our homes.

Brunetta Shamlin said that this is a quality of life issue.

Patty Herke said the city doesn’t care about emotions or about the fact that the residents are too old to uproot.

Dr. Shamline suggested that we try to get as much as possible for homes in a residential zoning.

Do we need a committee to study this issue?
Dr. Shamlin stressed the importance of paying dues in case we need to file for legal action.

Next general meeting: the last Sunday in May (Sunday, May 31)
Next executive board meeting: the last Sunday in April (Sunday, April 26) -

Meeting: Sunday, March 1 - 5pm

The Staring Lane Community Association will have its next meeting Sunday, March 1, 2009, at 5 p.m. at the Magnolia Woods Racquet Club on Magnolia Wood Blvd.