Message from CRNA President

Posted on March 29, 2011 by bgbmo

Friends and Neighbors:

If you pay attention to the news at all, you know that the Legislature is in session and is drawing new district boundaries for state representatives, senators and congresspersons. 

For the past ten years, those of us in the four precincts closest to the river have been represented by Rep. Cameron Henry, whose district is primarily in Jefferson Parish.  Nothing against Mr. Henry personally, but many of us have been seeking to have the district boundaries changed so that we would be represented by a person with an Orleans parish base—and that our Carrollton/Riverbend neighborhood and Carrollton generally would be not be divided up in such a way that no one has our part of Orleans as a base (and, therefore, no one feels responsible to “speak for Carrollton.”)

In a bill that now seems to have considerable impetus, the situation could be even worse.  Marshall Hevron, an attorney and former CRNA board member, has been following this process fairly closely.

He sent me the following a little earlier and suggested that I might send it to our CRNA membership:

Dear Neighbors,

            As you may know, the State Legislature is in the middle of its once a decade re-districting session. During this session, lawmakers use census data to draw new districts for the State House, State Senate, and Congress.

            The Jefferson Parish legislative delegation is pushing a plan that would place Carrollton and parts of Uptown in the legislative districts of Jefferson Parish representatives John Labruzzo and Cameron Henry (see the attached map). Under this plan, known as Amendment 248 to House Bill 1, residents of Bucktown and Uptown would be in the same district. Additionally, the Carrollton neighborhood would be carved up and represented by two different Jefferson Parish politicians. The result is less representation for the Carrollton, University, and Uptown neighborhoods. The plan may come up for a vote as early as Tuesday afternoon (March 29) and appears to have Governor Jindal’s support.

            Please call or e-mail Speaker Jim Tucker at: larep086@legis.state.la.us  or (504)393-5646. Let him know that you want our neighborhoods united in the legislature and that you oppose Amendment 248 to House Bill 1.

            Also, please call State Rep Nick Larusso (R-Lakeview). Rep. Larusso is the only State House member from Orleans Parish to support the plan. Rep. Larusso can be contacted at larep094@legis.state.la.us or (504)483-4711.

 

This is Jerry again:  If you look at the attached map, you will see that TWO Jefferson-based districts would now divide up Carrollton (and parts of Uptown) and another that is heavily Lakefront-based would also take in several of our precincts.

If you care, the information for taking action appears above.  Re-districting of the state senate and of Congress, where similar issues affect us, remain more up in the air at the moment.  We’ll try to keep you informed.

General Meeting

We are also planning a General Meeting of the neighborhood association for Thursday evening, April 14 at 6:30, at St. Andrew’s, Carrollton and Zimpel.  More info on speakers and guests (city agencies, etc) — and food — to follow.  Please mark your calendars and plan to join us.  

Best, Jerry

Jerry Speir, President

Carrollton/Riverbend N’hood Assn.

jerryspeir@gmail.com

 Amdt 248 Map

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Crime Perception Survey

Posted on November 4, 2010 by bgbmo

Crime Perception Survey 2010

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Spring 2010 CRNA Newsletter

Posted on October 13, 2010 by bgbmo

CRNA 2010 Spring Newsletter

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Recent improvement district developments

Posted on April 11, 2008 by Jim S

In the continuing evolution of discussions about security and/or improvement districts, our CRNA board voted unanimously last night to:
1. support a single district with the same boundaries as CRNA (Claiborne to the river and Carrollton to the parish line)
2. support an IMPROVEMENT district within those boundaries, rather than simply a security district. (Security districts are generally limited to spending their resources on security; an improvement district can spend its resources on anything that serves the ‘overall betterment’ of the community, including security
3. support a governing board for the district made of 3 representatives from CRNA, 3 from Palmer Park, 3 from Pensiontown, 1 from Oak St. Assn., 1 from Riverbend merchants, and the 4 appointees by elected officials.
4. support naming the district the ‘West Carrollton Improvement District’ –to avoid confusion with, or the appearance of any bias toward, any of the participating organizations.

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General meeting/special districts

Posted on March 27, 2008 by Jim S

The spring general meeting was held tonight at St. Andrews. Our new City Inspector General, Robert Cerasoli, made an enjoyable presentation about how he came to be here and the enormous task his office faces in plumbing the depths of the inner workings of our city government. His first task is to measure the beast, something that perhaps has never been done. So far he has uncovered the existance of 142 quasi-governmental boards and commissions that spend our money and potentially saddle us with debts for years to come. (Ever heard of the “Planetarium Commission”? Me neither. ) It should be an interesting ride.

Of more immediate concern: The proposed Carrollton/Riverbend Security District and the proposed Pensiontown Improvement District. Senator Gray has made a pre-filing of bills designed to establish each. The details are subject to change up until late May when the legislature is scheduled to adjourn.

Here is a link to a copy of each bill, as it reads today: CRNA Security District Pensiontown Improvement District

Oh, the details…

There was much confusion by the end of the meeting regarding a host of issues:

  • There are 3 possible types of districts: Security, Improvement and Development, with the latter having the widest scope. Which is most desirable or appropriate?
  • The legislation defines two districts, effectively cutting CRNA in half. Is this the best way to go? Is the reason (security districts should be compact) acceptable, or accurate? (What about economies of scale?)
  • The name “Pensiontown”–few had ever heard of it and fewer liked it. It has historical roots, but it might be seen as derrogatory. This seemed to be important to many people.
  • Much confusion about overlapping neighborhood association borders. CRNA, Palmer Park and the Pensiontown borders all overlap. May or may not be a problem, depending on the situation. I wonder, though: If the CRNA Security District is approved, will the boundaries of the CRNA efectively shrink to the area between Carrollton, the river and the parish line? (It extends up to Claiborne, now.)
  • Does a Pensiontown Nhb Assoc. really exist, officially? No one seemed sure. Does it matter?

    • These are just a few of the general issues that came up tonight. There are more specific questions about the mechanics of the districts, such as:

  • What kinds of properties get assessed (just residential, or commercial, too? Vacant lots?)
  • How multi-tenant buildings get assessed.
  • What happens if property owners refuse to pay?

    • What do you think? What are your questions? Answers? Opinions?

    Leave a comment. Let’s get a discussion going.

    There will be another public meeting soon, place and time to be announced.

    Filed under: general, meetings, security districts | 3 Comments »