Central special section 2015

Celebrating

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Official Guide for the 10th Anniversary of Central Š2015 Capital City Press

2 n Tuesday, July 7, 2015 n Central 10th Anniversary n Official Guide

As Mayor of the City of Central, I am proud to help mark a milestone in our young history. July 11, 2015, is our city’s 10th anniversary. When our city was formed it was with a vision of shaping our community in a fashion that conformed to what our citizens wanted. It is the American way to let the people speak, and speak, we did. Overwhelmingly, the citizens of our generations old community said let’s ensure our future and become a city.

Since that time, we have come a long way in a short time. We have held elections, we have formed our government, created our own ordinances, developed a Master Plan to manage growth and we have established a school system envied by school districts all over Louisiana. This is what can be accomplished by citizens dedicated to their beliefs of self governance. Literally, thousands of people should be credited for the success of our city. Our philanthropic organizations, our businesses, our ordinary citizens contribute to our successes everyday. The running of a city is not something that is ever ending. It takes work each and every day to adapt to the needs of the citizens and to plan for the future generations who will inherit this great city.

It is with great enthusiasm that we thank those who had the belief in what Central could be and worked to establish this city. It was a time of excitement but also, nervousness, as we stepped off into the world of being a city. This group of people were truly visionaries as they knew what the “spirit” of Central could do.

They believed in the people of Central and the people of Central delivered. As we celebrate this day in our history, we want to be sure to thank those who started us on this journey. We want to thank those who were first appointed by Gov. Blanco to lead us into the future. From our incorporator, Russell Starns, to our Legislative delegation who fought for our city, to our first Mayor, Mac Watts and our first Council and Police Chief, thank you for stepping up and showing us this could be done. Your groundwork has laid a foundation that has put us on solid footing.

I invite you to join us on July 11 and help us celebrate our city. There will be family events at our BREC park on Lovett Rd. starting at 10am. Beginning at 6pm at our high school football field on Hooper Rd. we will have a concert by Burnhouse, a ceremony thanking our founders and finally a fantastic fireworks show. It will be a fun filled day and we hope to see you there.

May God bless Central,

Jr. Shelton Mayor City of Central

Celebrating

Official Guide n Central 10th Anniversary n Tuesday, July 7, 2015 n 3

F CENTRAL O Y T I C 110 YEAR

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4 n Tuesday, July 7, 2015 n Central 10th Anniversary n Official Guide

By the numbers

Central 10th Anniversary Official Guide By the numbers ––––––––––––––––– 4 Celebration activities ––––––––––––– 3 Central: From concept to city –––––– 10-11 Central’s first and present city officials –– 5 Early history –––––––––––––––––––– 9 Mayor’s message –––––––––––––––– 2 Sports notables from Central –––––––– 8 Top 10 things to love about Central ––– 6-7

Here are what the U.S. Census Bureau’s Quick Facts say about the city of Central.

The Official Guide for the 10th Anniversary of Central is an advertising special section produced

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Special sections editor: Lori Tucker Cover: Brian Golden Graphic design: Brian Golden

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Official Guide n Central 10th Anniversary n Tuesday, July 7, 2015 n 5

Central city officials

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After voters approved the incorporation of the City of Central in April 2005, Gov. Kathleen Blanco appointed interim city officials to serve until a municipal election could be held. Justice of the Peace Clif Richardson administered the oath of office for the interim officials at the DEMCO office on Wax Road.

Founded under the Lawrason Act, the City of Central is governed by a mayor and a board of five aldermen. The police chief is elected.

Appointed interim city officials Those appointed as interim City of Central officials were: MAYOR: Shelton “Mac” Watts POLICE CHIEF: Doug Browning, retired from the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office COUNCIL MEMBERS: Louis DeJohn, businessman Pete Humble, Entergy supervisor Joan Lansing, founder of Central Christian Academy Carolyn Patterson, nurse Ralph Washington, businessman

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Current elected officials

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6 n Tuesday, July 7, 2015 n Central 10th Anniversary n Official Guide

Official Guide n Central 10th Anniversary n Tuesday, July 7, 2015 n 7

TOP

Reasons

Love

to

1

2

3

Central Community School System

High academic standards are a source of community pride in Central. Central Intermediate and Middle schools are housed in new state-of-the-art facilities, opened in 2012, on Sullivan Road. The Central Community School System, an independent system formed soon after the city, is among the state’s topranked schools. Community support of its schools is a hallmark of Central.

6

4

Stellar Park System

This newest addition to the city’s recreational opportunities already is popular with its youngest residents. BREC will hold the grand opening for the splash pad at 10 a.m. July 10.

Excellent Dining Choices

Whether you’re hankering for seafood or steak, Italian or Greek, a sub or frozen yogurt, Central has it. Some of Louisiana’s top-notch chefs and restaurateurs as well as popular national eateries have located in Central.

5

We’re We re Cooking in Central

Cooking in Central began in 2006, as a benefit for Central’s sister city of Chalmette, devastated by Hurricane Katrina, and quickly became the city’s signature community festival. Work is underway to landscape Cooking in Central’s Amazing Place on Blackwater Road for big festivities next spring.

Meanwhile, look for details of an LSU tailgating event Sept. 12.

Central is Growing!

New subdivisions, shopping and eateries, such as the Village at Magnolia Square, are changing the landscape of the City of Central, but the city retains its rural and small-town qualities. Mayor Jr. Shelton says the new city attracts many inquiries from developers and new business, and the challenge will be to keep from growing too fast and haphazardly. That’s the purpose, he says, of the city’s Master Plan.

7

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Holiday Events

Everyone loves a parade, especially Central’s annual Christmas parade, featuring Santa on his sleigh and lots of excitement for the children.

Neighborliness

9

Outdoor Recreation

10 The Arts are Alive

The City of Central’s a place where people know their neighbors and come together to help each other in a crisis, but also to have fun. Call it a community that cares or a place where everyone knows your name, neighborliness is one of Central’s hallmarks.

Central is home to Blackwater Conservation Area, a naturalized park with more than 57 acres, operated

by BREC. With two fishing lakes, nature trails and a pavilion with restrooms, Blackwater offers recreation and opportunities to learn about nature. Also, nearby is BREC’s Frenchtown Road Conservation Area, known as the “Land Between the Rivers” featuring bottomland hardwood forest, with more than three miles of winding trails.

Youth Activities

Central has plenty of activities for its youth. Dance and gymnastics schools, Central Area Youth League’s baseball, softball and T-ball programs and Central Youth Football are among the organizations fostering team spirit, character and physical fitness.

Performing and visual arts are alive in Central, with numerous opportunities for audiences and participants. The Central Community Theatre, Central Community Chorus, the Art League of Central, the Historical Society and the Central Cultural Foundation are among the organizations providing cultural opportunities and supporting the efforts of local artists, authors and performers.

8 n Tuesday, July 7, 2015 n Central 10th Anniversary n Official Guide

Sports notables from Central

Ashley Lewis-Rush was The Advocate Athlete of the Year in 1997 and became an LSU Softball All American.

Terrell Chatman, Central High wide receiver, signed with Arizona State in 2015.

High school powerlifter Raegan Willis took 2015 top honors in the 165-pound weight class and set three state records.

Central High School’s head football coach Sid Edwards has led his team to the state semifinals.

Wire, staff file photos

The McClure brothers have excelled careers in two sports. Todd McClure, left, was The Advocate Athlete of the Year in 1995 and later played with the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. Trey McClure, right, was The Advocate Athlete of the Year in 1996 and became an LSU Baseball star.

Official Guide n Central 10th Anniversary n Tuesday, July 7, 2015 n 9

Springs attracted area’s earliest settlement in 1800s

BY MOLLY MANSON

mmanson@theadvocate.com The earliest settlement in what would become the city of Central was on property owned by Robert Greenwell along the Amite River, which included ten springs thought to have healing and restorative properties. The Greenwell Springs Resort and Spa, built there in

the mid 1800s, became a popular destination for residents of Baton Rouge who wanted to escape yellow fever epidemics in the larger city.

A small town grew up around the resort, but never became very large. The hotel closed prior to the Civil War due to a fire. During the war, particularly the Battle of Baton Rouge in 1862, the site was used as a hospital for Confed-

erate soldiers. After the fall of Baton Rouge to Union forces, the site became a camp for Union soldiers.

After the war, materials from the resort were used to rebuild structures destroyed during the war.

Later, the hotel was rebuilt, and a plant that bottled the spring water was constructed on the site. When the springs stopped flowing, the attraction as a resort decreased substantially.

Eventually the site became a hospital, first for tuberculosis and later as a psychiatric hospital. In 2012, the hospital

was closed. Currently, plans are being discussed to develop the site as a new Central High School or a BREC park.

In the decades following the Civil War, children went to one-room school houses in various locations around the area, but in 1904 residents began to plan for one central school that all of their children could attend. A two-story, white, clapboard school house was built in a central location near the corner of Sullivan and Hooper Road. This is, perhaps, when the name “Central” was born for the community.

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10 n Tuesday, July 7, 2015 n Central 10th Anniversary n Official Guide

Central: From concept to city

BY LORI TUCKER

ltucker@theadvocate.com One of the objectives City of Central Mayor Jr. Shelton hopes to accomplish through the 10-year anniversary celebration of the city’s incorporation is to give credit to those who worked tirelessly to establish the city.

Doing so is easier said than done, however. While Shelton would love to honor each by name, he says so many people were involved he’s afraid he’ll leave someone out, resulting in hurt feelings. For that reason, he declined to attempt to list names for this publication, but he did direct queries about how Central became a city to one of its founders.

Two individuals are listed on the city’s incorporation papers — Russell Starns and Emma Lee Sullivan Rome. In a recent conversation, Starns, a local businessman, was quick to note that he’s only one of many people who worked together for the city’s incorporation. Rome has deep roots in the Central community — Sullivan Road is named after her family.

As many as 40 people could have signed that historic document, based on their involvement, Starns says. However, the collective decision was to list only two — a man and a woman. Having faced several legal challenges already, it made sense to brace for another. Starns explains it this way: Imagine attempting to devise a defense strategy with 40 people in the room. Fewer names would streamline the process.

It began, Starns says, when he and “a very few people at the beginning” tried to establish a Central school system independent of East Baton Rouge Parish schools. As part of a longstanding desegregation case, Central area students were being bused to schools in Baton Rouge, while Baton Rouge residents were being bused to Central. Starns says Central area residents were strong supporters of their area schools, clocking in more volunteer hours in their local schools than anywhere else in the parish.

“I’ve lived here my whole life,” Starns says. Although his own children were out of school, he wanted his grandchildren to have the same opportunities that he had.

Advocate staff photo by PATRICK DENNIS

The Welcome to Central sign on Greenwell Springs Road is an iconic landmark in the city of Central.

“We knew we could give our children a better education,” Starns says.

Twice, a proposal to start an independent school district was rejected by the Legislature, and lawmakers said a major reason was that Central was not incorporated. That led a small group of people to study the feasibility of establishing a city. Starns says he soon was convinced that Central, as a city, could provide its residents basic city services and operate with a surplus with its current level of taxation. Privatization of city services would be key, as well as a conservative budget.

The group’s focus shifted from a separate school system to a new city, and some of the players changed, Starns says.

Starns became the public face of the new city movement, but he also was committed to a separate school system, later becoming Central Community School System’s first school board president when it was created shortly after the city incorporated.

“After the momentum got going, a lot of hard-working people” were involved in found-

Advocate staff photo by PATRICK DENNIS

The City of Central Police Department and City Hall are located at 13421 Hooper Road, in a shopping center. City officials are considering several possible sites for a permanent location. ing the city, Starns recalls. The original few grew to a core group of 20 to 25. All were volunteers, juggling life’s varied obligations, and some had more time to give, Starns says.

Among key players in what now Central’s city attorney.

The first obstacle to a new became a drawn-out battle, complicated by a few lawsuits city was East Baton Rouge Paralong the way, were Bodie ish’s home rule charter, under White, then state representative, and attorney Sheri Morris, äSee CENTRAL, page 11

Official Guide n Central 10th Anniversary n Tuesday, July 7, 2015 n 11

CENTRAL

Continued from page 10

which Baton Rouge, Zachary and Baker were the only authorized cities. Challenging the home rule charter was one of several legal obstacles to establishing a new city under the Lawrason Act. Next, the proposed city’s boundaries had to be established. That involved many meetings to explain what incorporation would mean and to learn who wanted, and who did not want, to be in the city, Starns recalls. There was a lot of educating to do, Starns says, “first ourselves, then others.”

The result of those efforts is that Central is bounded by the Comite River to the west and south, the Amite River and Livingston Parish line the east. To the north, the boundary is 1,500 feet north of La. 64.

The first petition drive was successful, only to challenged and struck down because of the lack of one word — contiguous, Starns recalls. Starns says in hindsight what seemed to be a setback was a good thing, because it gave the second petition firmer legal footing.

In April 2005, voters ap-

Advocate staff file photo by RICHARD ALAN HANNON

Russell Starns, one of Central’s incorporators, makes a point at a meeting of the Central Community Schools System School Board in 2010. proved the incorporation of Central, but another lawsuit challenged the election.

Gov. Kathleen Blanco appointed an interim mayor, police chief and council until municipal elections were held in April 2006. Meanwhile, the Legislature created a transition taxing district to carry on city functions temporarily.

The Central Community Schools System was approved by voters in November 2006,and the following January,

Blanco appointed its interim school board.

All of this was just to get to the beginning rather the end.

But, not everyone was on board.

According to news accounts of the first Central City Council meeting, some people attended to ask to be de-annexed from the city.

Looking back at the process, Starns says, “Did we do everything right? No. But did we do everything for the right reason? Yes.”

The rest of the story of Central is developing, and while the future always contains unknowns, growth appears inevitable.

“As soon as we became a city, we hired people to do studies so we could manage growth,” Starns says. The city needs growth, but also needs to control growth, he says.

Current officials are aware of that same tension.

As mayor, Shelton says he gets frequent inquiries from businesses and developers interested in Central. It’s both exciting and scary, he adds.

Shelton worked with his family’s business, Shel-Boze Inc. for 47 years before becoming a Realtor, then mayor. Shelton points to a wall-size aerial photo of Central hanging in City Hall as he explains some of the issues involved in planning for the fledgling city.

The photo offers some perspective on the city’s present state and also the challenges aheads. Interspersed among clusters of houses and businesses are large tracts of mostly undeveloped, wooded land.

The spaces both give the community its rural character and offer it room to grow within existing city limits. Central Thru-

way, Hooper Road, Greenwell Springs Road and other major roads provide connections to Baton Rouge as well as other Louisiana cities, but there are gaps — some connectors will be needed eventually.

The Amite and Comite rivers contribute to the area’s outdoor recreation options. Yet, a recent storm illustrated how the city can become an island if routes across those rivers are blocked.

One challenge for planners, Shelton explains, is to have a thoughtful plan about land use in the distant future without forcing unwanted change.

Eventually, succession or other circumstances may lead to the division of larger tracts.

Unlike older cities, Central lacks an established downtown.

Shelton says several sites are under discussion for City Hall, which is now in a shopping center. Officials would like its new site to become the cornerstone of a city center, attracting business to locate nearby.

Co-signer Rome acknowledges pros and cons to becoming a city, but says Central is growing into a “very viable city.”

“I think Central has matured into a growing organization,” Rome says.

In 2005, a wonderful community became one of our country’s greatest cities. I am proud to see the progress that the City of Central has made in its first decade, all the while maintaining the unique spirit that has been its hallmark throughout the years.

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The first decade is here and it has been a very memorable time. I look forward to seeing the progress of the next ten years and this exceptional place that so many of us call home.

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12 n Tuesday, July 7, 2015 n Central 10th Anniversary n Official Guide