A sum of $256.3 million is on the table for voters

Shreveport voters will have their say on three bond proposals to raise $256.3 million for a number of capital improvements across the city. Mayor Tom Arceneaux will be hosting a number of public forums in the coming days to explain to residents where that money will go and why it is important to them.

“I hope that lots of citizens will come, see the presentation, ask lots of questions,” Arceneaux said. “Department heads will be there to answer questions that I’m not able to answer and to talk to citizens. It’s something that is very important to our city, and I hope people will come out and support it and come out and vote.”

The mayor will present PowerPoint presentations at the meetings that provide details on the capital improvement projects included in the bond proposals. He said the presentations will have two parts: one with details on projects with citywide benefits and one with details about projects specific to each Shreveport City Council district.

“If we’re in District A, I’ll concentrate on projects in District A. If we’re in District E, I will concentrate on the projects in District E. If we are close to a line, I will concentrate on both of them.”

The mayor mentioned that the citywide projects include $20 million for improvements at the Amiss Water Treatment Station and $4 million for renovations to the police and fire training academy.

Arceneaux said that after accounting for the citywide projects, the money for the rest of the proposals was spread evenly among the council districts. He said that was a result of the work done by a citizens committee that compiled a list of potential projects for consideration in the bond issue.

“It was organic, coming out of the committee,” Arceneaux said. “We were prepared to adjust if necessary. But the fact of the matter is that when they looked at the needs and because of the committee’s makeup, we were very pleased. They did a really good job.”

Arceneaux said that while the amount of money allocated across council districts is relatively equal, the number and types of projects in each district are not, particularly in Council District E.

“District E has one $25 million project that is a big sewer project,” he said. It skews District E’s numbers significantly. If you exclude that, they’re pretty close to equal A through G. When we look at the neighborhood streets, water and sewer, and some of the parks, they compare favorably to one another.”

Arceneaux is encouraging residents to attend the free public meetings. In addition to the mayor and the city department heads, city council members are encouraged to attend the meetings in their districts.

Here is a list of the times and locations for the meetings:

• 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 3: A.B. Palmer Community Center in District E

• Noon Thursday, April 4: Airport Park Recreation Center in District F

• 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 4: David Raines Recreation Center in District A

• 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 10: Lakeside Recreation Center in District A

• 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 11: Bilberry Recreation Center in District G

• Noon Tuesday, April 16: Valencia Recreation Center in District B

• 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 16: Bill Cockrell Recreation Center in District G

• 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 17: Southern Hills Recreation Center in District E

• 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 24: LSUS, Districts D and C

• 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 25: Highland Center in District B Arceneaux said residents can attend any of the meetings, regardless of their council district.

Arceneaux said the bond issues will be his primary focus in April. He is optimistic about them based on the early response.

“It’s the only thing that’s on my mind until April 27,” Arcneeaux said. “A couple of weeks from now, I’ll have an idea of where I think we are. So far, I have made four or five presentations. The response has been optimistic. People seem to be ready to make something happen. I think we are gong to get it done.”