Zachary Post June 3 by Zachary Post

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ZCSD Seeks Input

Georgia Pacific Leading Charge to Preserve Area Groundwater

Mayor, Council Issue More Rollins Road Payments, Discuss Impact Fee Revenue

“Only one-third of the ground water we use here at GP comes out of the 1,500 foot well in the Baton Rouge Aquifer,’’ Patty Prats-Swanson told the Zachary Post. “We have a 2,800 foot deep well below the aquifer and shallower wells in 200- 400 feet range.” “Both the deeper well below the aquifer and the shallower wells above the aquifer produce water that is not potable water. This means that the water is not suited for drinking or personal use. We have to treat the non-potable water before we can use it here at Georgia Pacific to make paper.” “Water use from the aquifer by industry here in the Baton Rouge

The Zachary Community School District will hold a series of Town Hall Meetings to outline the district vision, and take input from the public in the strategic planning process. The meetings will be held on June 9, 19 and 24th at the Zachary High School Visual and Performing Arts Center at 6:30 p.m. The community is invited to submit topics to be included by visiting the district website at www.zacharyschools.org. Superintendent Devillier, School Board Members and district staff will be on hand to answer questions and share a vision for the future of the school district.

By Jen Bayhi-Gennaro

The Mayor and Council met for their bi-monthly meeting on May 27. Following roll call, Mayor David Amrhein began with a few words on the passing of former Agriculture Commissioner Bob Odom. “He would give anything to anybody,” he said. “People always talk about how he did so much for the state, but he also did so much for Zachary,” the mayor said. The first items on the agenda pertained to waivers. A one-year hardship waiver was granted to Linda Fleming to keep her mobile home on her property, located at 6409 Hwy. 19. The request made by Officer Chad Phelps at the last meeting for a waiver of the $250 solicitation fee to allow a fundraiser for the nonprofit Camp Spehar on May 31 was also granted. A public hearing was opened to approve the rezoning of a lot on Plank Road. There to speak in favor of it was barbershop owner James Grace, who wants to relocate his shop a half-mile down the road and also move into a house on the property, which necessitates having a portion of the property rezoned. There to speak in opposition of the rezoning were two Angus Road residents, William Riley and Bernice Major, whose only concern is that the road not be rezoned commercial and thus allow for more apartment complexes to be established in their neighborhood. The mayor replied, “This council and administration is taking a pretty strong stance on apartments, and I’ll leave it at that.” The request for rezoning was passed.

The next items on the agenda were contracts or items relating to projects. The following payment requests were approved: Request for Payment #2, in the amount of $382,002.94, Industrial Enterprises, Bypass Road; Request for Payment #5, in the amount of $246,500.02, Kort’s Trucking, Rollins Road Improvements. A representative from PEC addressed the council to ask in advance that they be awarded the gas project when bids come in on June 3. He estimates it will be around $900,000. Regarding the proposed landfill discussed at the last meeting, the council voted to give Metro Councilman Trae Welch, who was not in attendance, approval to sign the resolution to oppose the landfill once City Attorney John Hopewell drafts it. The final item discussed was the introduction of Ordinance #2014-15 pertaining to traffic impact fees for residential and commercial properties. Impact fees are charges on new developments to pay for the construction or expansion of off-site capital improvements that are necessitated by and benefit the new development. “We need a workshop just on this,” the mayor said. The question is, how do we pay for our infrastructure improvements? Every city around Zachary has impact fees, and ours are significantly lower, but still a little much for us today, they said. “We don’t want to drive business away,” the mayor said, “but we are experiencing a growing pain.” We will be hearing more on this in subsequent meetings.

By James Ronald Skains

metro area peaked in the early 1990s, so industry alone has not been responsible for the huge increase in water usage in the BR Metro area,” Prats-Swanson said. “The huge increase in water from the early 1990s peak has been from residential and commercial developments, such as subdivisions and car washes.” “Experts tell us that even if Exxon, Entergy and Georgia Pacific stopped using ground water totally, it would not keep the salt water from intruding into the aquifer. In their opinion, stopping use of the water for industry would cause more problems with salt water inSee GP GROUNDWATER on page 2

Zachary Chamber of Commerce Announces 2014 Scholarship Winner

McKae Chaney is the recipient of the 2014 Zachary Chamber of Commerce Scholarship. Chaney, a 2014 graduate of Zachary High School, is the daughter of Mark and Jeree Chaney of Zachary. Excelling in and out of the classroom, She has a 4.01 grade point average and participated in many extracurricular activities including the Beta Club and tennis team. She also participated in many volunteer and community service activities. McKae will be attending Southeastern Louisiana University in the fall to major in Communication Sciences and Disorders. Each year the Zachary Chamber of Commerce awards a $500 scholarship to a student that is outstanding in and out of the classroom. The qualifications the Chamber is looking for in their Scholarship winner is someone who has participated in extracurricular activities and community service. They must also have maintained a 3.0 or better GPA for the last two years and attend a louisiana college or university.