Central Mayor Jr. Shelton Unveils Plans To Enhance City’s Roads, Infrastructure

Central Mayor Jr. Shelton said Sunday that, after careful study of the options, he favors locating Central’s new City Hall at the site of the old Central Middle School, at the corner of Hooper and Sullivan roads.  The Central Community School Board, which owns the site, offered its use to the City of Central several years ago.

Shelton said he is issuing an RFQ to find an architect to design the facility.  He thinks two to three acres would provide enough space for City Hall and parking.  He anticipates the building would have 10,000 to 12,000 square feet of usable space.  This would include Council meeting chamber and office space.

The mayor said the school board has engaged someone to appraise the property.  He said the city will be working closely with the school board on any use of the property.

Shelton said his own preference would be to see the site include state and parish offices that could serve the public, such as branches of the clerk of court, assessor, and voting registration offices and the state’s DVM.

The mayor said he would also like to see offices, commercial, and some residential included, depending on how much space the school board allowed for those purposes. Other suggestions have included restaurants, an office supply store, and a mail center.

The school board also plans to locate its office in the main building of the old Central Middle School.

Widening of Sullivan. The mayor said the widening of Sullivan Road to Wax Road should be complete by Thanksgiving, except for signaling.  Old traffic signals will be taken down and new ones erected and synchronized.  The mayor said he will also be looking at providing a pedestrian crossing between CVS and Wal-Mart.

Mayor Shelton announced a number of new construction projects:

•Hubbs at Denham. Improvements to the intersection of Hubbs and Denham roads.  At present, the roadway and the parking lot blend in together.  The work will make a clear distinction between the two.

• Frenchtown Road. Widening of Frenchtown Road from Greenwell Springs Road to where the widening from the Central Thruway begins.  The widening will only add one foot to either side of the roadway.  However, the project also includes removing utilities on either side of the road, installing culverts, and covering those. This should enhance the safety and the beauty of the road.

•Planche Road. Improvements to the intersection of Frenchtown and Planche roads.

•Frenchtown Culvert. Replacement of a culvert on Frenchtown Road that is in danger of collapse.

•Hearthwood Street. Improvements to Hearthwood Street behind Northwoods.  The mayor describes the street as being in the worst condition of any street in the city.  “It is in deplorable condition, and it will be fixed,” he said.  The problems are on 100 feet of roadway that are used to reach about 30 homes.

•More Widening of Sullivan Road. Widening of Sullivan Road from Wax to Hooper will be let in November or early December with construction slated to begin by mid-2016.  The project will include not only widening of the road but also installation of sidewalks.

•Sidewalks in Central. Sidewalks will also be installed on Sullivan Road from Reed Avenue to Jackson Park and on Wax Road from Wal-Mart to the high school.  The sidewalk will extend across the bridge next to Wal-Mart by installing a four-foot walkway off the side of the bridge.

Microsurfacing. Roads in Bellingrath and Jackson Park have recently been microsurfaced.  This provides a thin layer of blacktop to the roadway which extend the life of the  for another 5 to 10 years.

In other matters, Mayor Shelton said the City of Central is asking the City-Parish DPW to expedite approval of its Sewer Master Plan, which it submitted to DPW last July.

The Mayor also said he will soon announce the appointment of two new members of the Central Board of Adjustments.