Mayor making plans for the coming year

Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux is diligently preparing his annual State of the City address, in which he will discuss the administration’s accomplishments in 2024 and outline the plans for 2025.

“Basically, the biggest thing is to get the bond projects underway,” Arceneaux said last week. “We are very close to entering into contracts with the program managers for those projects. And then we will be moving on very quickly.”

Arceneaux said he will produce a written State of the City address and a video version, as he did last year. He said he is putting the finishing touches on the written version now, but that the video version will be released first.

“I typically write the written one and adapt the verbal one from it,” he said.

Arceneaux said he anticipates the State of the City being released in March. He said his hip surgery and the recovery process in December and January put him about 30 days behind schedule compared to last year.

Battling blight

Another of the mayor’s goals for 2025 is addressing blight and redevelopment across Shreveport. He has formed a group to lead a community-wide collaborative effort to create a plan.

These efforts stem from his participation in the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Program. The seven-member team will travel to Cambridge, Mass., home of Harvard University, this week for additional training.

As they move forward, the group will engage the community in the process.

“They are trying to lay the foundation for how they make a plan,” Arceneaux said. “They will be collaborating with the faith community, the philanthropic community and government. This is not something we can tackle by ourselves. It is called a collaborative track. They are learning principles that have succeeded in other places so they can produce that process for us. The whole community will be invited to participate in that.”

Water foul

Issues with the city’s water supply have left a bad taste in the mouths of many residents. Arceneaux said the city has turned the corner.

“I believe that we have now addressed, to the extent we can, the water taste problems,” he said. “I am now receiving fewer complaints about that. We believe we are producing good water at the source, but it takes a while for that to filter through the system. If there is water that was foul-smelling that was put into ice machines, it will take a while before that works its way out.”

Honoring Shreveport icons

Arceneaux recently paid tribute to two Shreveport leaders who passed away.

The Rev. Calvin Austin III died on Feb. 3.

He was a community pastor and civil rights leader. In 1963, he led a student walkout at Booker T. Washington High School to protest police violence against churchgoers, the city said in a news release.

“Reverend Calvin Austin was a man of faith, courage and conviction. His contributions to our city and the broader fight for civil rights will never be forgotten,” Arceneaux said in the release. “His legacy is one of resilience, justice and a deep love for his community. On behalf of the city of Shreveport, I extend my heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and all those whose lives he touched. May we honor his memory by continuing the work he so passionately believed in.”

Former Shreveport City Councilman Joe Shyne Sr. died Feb. 1 at the age of 86. Shyne dedicated more than two decades to serving the citizens of Shreveport, “representing District F with unwavering commitment and passion,” a separate release from the city said.

Arceneaux and Shyne served together on the council from 1982 to 1990 “Joe was not just a colleague but a friend,” Arceneaux said in the release. “His unwavering dedication to the people of Shreveport and his spirited approach to public service were truly inspiring. He leaves behind a legacy of commitment, passion and love for our community.”