This afternoon Mayor-President Kip Holden kicked off his “2009 Listening Tour” at St. Thomas More Church in District 8. And what an amazing turnout we had! I want to thank everyone for taking the time out of their day to share with us their thoughts, concerns and suggestions for how we can make East Baton Rouge even better. If you were unable to attend the town hall meeting today, but have something you would like to share please don’t hesitate to email me at mike@mikewalker.net or call your Council district office at 272-9088.

Mayor-President Kip Holden and members of his staff will be in our area to hear your thoughts and concerns for how we can make our community better. I invite you to join us this Wednesday, February 4th at 4pm at St. Thomas More Church and have your voice heard! A map to St. Thomas More Church, located at 11441 Goodwood Blvd., is provided below:

Mayor-President Kip Holden announced yesterday that East Baton Rouge Parish has completed a $110 million bond sale for the Green Light Plan. The bonds received a AAA rating — the highest possible rating — which helps keep interest rates low and shows confidence in our local government’s very strong financial position. Also, the bonds have a very favorable fixed interest rate of 5 percent.

This bond sale will allow us to continue the Green Light Plan, and we’ll be breaking ground on even more road and street improvement projects in the coming months so we can get traffic FLOWING.

Earlier this morning I joined Mayor-President Kip Holden, District 3 Councilman Chandler Loupe, District 9 Councilman Joel Boe’ and others to break ground on the 10th Green Light Plan project.

This project will replace two-lane, undivided Highland Rd. between Perkins Rd. and Airline Hwy. with a brand new, four-lane road with a raised median. It will also provide two new bridge crossings — at Ward’s Creek and Old Ward’s Creek — as well as a new railroad crossing. Additionally, the intersection of Barringer Foreman Rd. and Highland Rd. will undergo major improvements.

The citizens of East Baton Rouge Parish voted to get traffic FLOWING and that’s exactly what this and other projects are designed to do. And there are more on the way. Promises made. Promises kept.

This morning I was honored to join Gov. Bobby Jindal and other elected officials and civic leaders to break ground on the new Interstate 10 widening project. This $86.2 million project will widen I-10 from four lanes to six lanes from the I-10/I-12 split to just past Siegen Lane.

For the approximately 90,000 drivers who travel this stretch of interstate each day, lane closures will only occur at nights and on weekends to help keep traffic moving during the construction.

Folks, these are your hard-earned tax dollars at work. Promises made. Promises kept.

From Left to Right: Mayor-President Pro Tem Mike Walker, State Rep. Stephen Carter, State Rep. Erich Ponti, Gov. Bobby Jindal, East Baton Rouge CAO Mike Futrell, State Rep. Hunter Greene, State Rep. Clif Richardson and LA DOTD Secretary William Ankner, Ph.D.

Please note that left turns will no longer be allowed in any direction at the intersection of Sherwood and Coursey. This is so construction of the new intersection can enter the next phase.

There are several detour routes available that will be marked. For more information including detour maps, please visit The Advocate’s website.

You can download a PDF of the agenda by clicking here.

Recently, there has been some confusion regarding the new Council’s decision to forgo bi-monthly committee meetings and instead consider everything as a full Council. I wanted to take a moment to set the record straight.

The two standing committees of the Council are advisory only. Their decisions are strictly non-binding and are only recommendations on how the full Council should act. Additionally, any controversial matters were almost always deferred to the full Council without any discussion at the committee level. The new Council felt that we could increase our efficiency and responsiveness to our constituents by tackling the issues as a full Council. This eliminates “doing the work twice” and instead gives us more time to be in our districts meeting with constituents and getting their input on upcoming agenda items.

Myth: The council removed committees without a public hearing or full vote from the Council.
Fact: Committees must be created every four years for each new council. For the present council term, we chose not to create them.

Myth: Without committees the public will not have any input on the issues considered by the Council.
Fact: Under the committee system, the Council often voted to “adopt the committee recommendation” with little public input. By tackling the issues as a full body, the Council will be devoting more time to agenda items and thus increase the amount of input by the citizens of Baton Rouge.

Myth: Council members received a pay raise but are doing less work.
Fact: Although we meet in full Council twice per month, serving on the Council is far from being a part-time job. We are always working in the district to try and help constituents with problems they are facing. The two Wednesdays each month formally devoted to committee meetings will instead become “District Days” where we’ll have even more time to be on the ground where it matters getting input from constituents and hearing their concerns.

It is an honor and privilege for me to serve on the Metro Council, and I assure you forgoing committee meetings was done in the interest of increasing our service to the folks we represent. I have and will continue to be a full-time Councilman, and I will continue to work tirelessly on behalf of the people of this community. If you would like to discuss this matter further, please do not hesitate to call me at (225) 272-9088 or e-mail me at mike@mikewalker.net.

Earlier this week I had a chance to sit down with Scott Dyer of The Advocate and talk about the new council and my term as Mayor-President Pro Tempore. You can read Scott’s article by clicking here.

In case you missed the annual Jones Creek Area Business Association Christmas parade, you can catch it on Cable Channel 21 tonight at 9pm and this Sunday night at 9pm.

As a proud member of the JCABA I want to thank everyone for the hard work they put into the parade and encourage you to check it out on Channel 21!

On Friday after the Metro Council swearing in ceremony, my colleagues on the Council unanimously elected me to serve as Mayor-President Pro Tempore for our term. I am deeply honored and humbled by their support.

The next four years will be an exciting time in Baton Rouge, and I am very excited about the fantastic group of leaders the citizens of East Baton Rouge Parish have assembled on the Metro Council. As Mayor-President Pro Tem, I pledge to do everything I can and to work closely with the other Council members to make our city and parish an even better place to live, work and raise a family.

In October 2008, Councilman Mike Walker sponsored an amendment to EBR Parish Ordinance Title 14 that bans the sale, trade or giving away of animals from parking lots and roadsides in the parish. Here, in recognition of this enacted amendment, Mike is presented with a “Certificate of Appreciation” from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals by Zona M. Pickens, Mike’s Assistant, and Hilton Cole, Director, EBRP Animal Control Center.

The Advocate profiled the incoming Metro Council in this morning’s paper and can be viewed by clicking here.

As I told the paper, if you thought we made progress in 2008, just wait until you see what we accomplish next year. The citizens of East Baton Rouge parish have elected an outstanding group of smart and forward-thinking individuals to serve on the Metro Council. I can’t wait to work with them on making Baton Rouge even better.

Citizens in District 8 will soon have a brand new library to enjoy. Next year the Fairwood Branch Library is scheduled to enter the design phase! I am committed to ensuring that this project remains on schedule, and I can’t wait until we’re able to begin construction.

I’d also like to express my gratitude to Kelly Sills and Todd Waguespack who very generously donated 3.5 acres of land on which the library will be built.

Earlier today I had the honor of joining Mayor-President Kip Holden, Councilman-Elect Chandler Loupe and dozens of City-Parish leaders and employees as we cut the ribbon on another completed Green Light Plan construction project.

Burbank Drive Segment 2, which was completed in just under 12 months at a cost of $5.3 million, added two travel lanes from Highland Road to Bluebonnet Blvd. and improved the light synchronization at Bluebonnet Blvd. and Burbank Dr. When Burbank Drive Segment 1 is completed in another month, the capacity of the Burbank Drive corridor will be doubled creating a faster and safer commute for you and your family.

Promises made and promises kept.

Last night the Metro Council approved two construction bids that will bring $21.2 million in infrastructure improvements to District 8.

Awarded last night was a bid to widen Jones Creek Road from a narrow, two-lane road to a four-lane, curb and gutter with a raised median and sidewalks. You can view the concept of the project by clicking here. This $14.8 million project is the latest traffic improvement to come out of the Green Light Plan.

Also awarded last night was a bid to upgrade sewer pumps and thousands of feet of sewer lines near Lake Sherwood Acres. You can view a map of the proposed construction by clicking here. The total cost of this project is $8.4 million.

These are promises made and promises kept, and more examples of putting your hard-earned tax dollars to work for you!

Last night the Metro Council Capital Improvements Committee endorsed a bid to widen Jones Creek Road and sent it to the full Council for final approval. It will be considered at the December 10th Metro Council meeting.

This project will widen the two-lane part of Jones Creek Road to four-lanes with a curb and gutter, raised median and sidewalks. It will also replace the bridge over Jones Creek. Not only will this greatly improve traffic flow but it will create a safer roadway for the thousands of folks who travel it daily.

Widening Jones Creek Road is the latest in a long list of traffic improvements to come from the Green Light Plan and another example of putting your hard-earned tax dollars to work for you.

District 8, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for putting your faith in me for another four years.  We’ve done a lot together the last eight years, but I’m not ready to quit yet.  There’s so much more I want to do to make our part of Baton Rouge even better.  I pledge to you to work just as hard the next four years as I have the last eight, to always have an open door policy, and to do everything I can to keep District 8 looking great.  Again, I thank you.

This past Tuesday I had the privilege of attending the Council on Aging’s candidate forum.  The Council on Aging is near and dear to me, as I was one of the original signers of their charter back in 1973.  I also had the honor of serving as their first Chairman of the Board.

It was great to see some old friends, and I really enjoyed hearing from folks about the issues they’re facing as seniors.  I always have and always will make taking care of our seniors a priority.  They’ve spent their life working to make our community better.  The least we can do is make sure their golden years are just that — golden.

Earlier this week, we broke ground on the new intersection at Coursey and Sherwood Forest.  This is the 8th Green Light project to enter the construction phase, and will result in several new turning lanes at this intersection — significantly improving the flow of traffic and making your commute easier.  Folks, these are promises made and promises kept.  You can view the fact sheet on the project by clicking here.

And right down the road at Coursey Blvd. and Lake Sherwood Ave. we’ll soon begin work on a new traffic signal and new turning lanes, making this a safer intersection.  Click the image below for a drawing of both completed projects.

As part of the Green Light Plan’s continuing traffic improvements, North Harrell’s Ferry Road between Old Hammond Highway and Sherwood Forest Boulevard is currently being widened from a narrow, two-lane open ditch road to a curb and gutter road with a continuous turning lane. This will make North Harrell’s Ferry Road a safer route for you and your family to travel.

While construction is ongoing, North Harrell’s Ferry has been reduced to only one, eastbound lane of travel. West-bound traffic will need to detour north onto Sherwood Forest and then west onto Old Hammond Highway. You can view the detour map by clicking here.

The affects of Hurricane Gustav on Baton Rouge were some of the worst our area has ever seen.  As your Councilman and neighbor, I am committed to doing everything I can to help our community get back on its feet.  Included below are links to several important websites as well as important phone numbers that might be of help as we begin the process of recovering.

Baton Rouge Emergency Information (includes information on shelters, feeding sites and Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) distribution locations)
FEMA
American Red Cross Gustav Information (866) GET-INFO [866-438-4636]
Baton Rouge Traffic

Click on the thumbnail below for a list of important phone numbers.