David Barrow: City’s 3rd Mayor

Central Mayor David Barrow, Police Chief Roger Corcoran, and the seven members of the Central City Council were sworn in on Dec. 30. The Council began conducting business at its first meeting Jan. 8 at Kristenwood.
At the Council meeting, Mayor Barrow said he will continue the Master Drainage Plan study begun by former Mayor Jr. Shelton. He is expecting a preliminary report on the study within 60 days.
The study is being conducted by CSRS, a Baton Rouge-based engineering firm hired by Mayor Shelton.
The new mayor said he is extending the current contract between the City of Central and CSRS until September. CSRS is responsible for the drainage plan and a host of other duties related to the 2016 flood, including making application for federal funds.
Barrow said he has no other drainage plans in the works at this time.
His major concern is maintaining federal funding for the Comite Diversion Canal and other existing projects in view of President Trump’s search for funding for the border wall.
At the Council meeting, Barrow announced his appointment of three officials:
• Sheri Morris, City Attorney
• Mark Miley, City Clerk
• Ty Barnes, Administrative Law Magistrate
The Council unanimously approved the mayor’s choices.
In an interview, Mayor Barrow said he was happy to have Ms. Morris back as City Attorney. He said, “She’s an excellent attorney who helped the city get started. She has a wealth of knowledge about municipalities.”
Of City Clerk Mark Miley, the mayor said, “He’s been on the job for many years and always done great work!”
Regarding Administrative Law Magistrate Ty Barnes, he said, “He was appointed by the previous administration. He is a very fair person. He is responsible for code enforcement. It could be anything from having junk in your yard to failing to pay your occupational license. As magistrate, he has the power to levy fines in accordance with our ordinances. For example, suppose we get a call that someone has 10 junked cars in their yard and they are harboring rats. An inspector goes out, meets with the property owner, and asks them to clean up the property. Normally, that solves the problem. If not, then there is the option to go before the magistrate.”
At the Council meeting, the Council had the option to elect two people to the Central Planning and Zoning Commission from among a list of applicants. However, an applicant, Mike Mannino, said he had applied but his name did not appear on the list. After discussion, the Council agreed to reopen the application period for anyone who filed an application not received. Applicants for the two seats are Gregory Cook, Pete Firmin, T.J. Johnson, Jeffrey Lacour, Sr., Steven Lumpkin, Matt Moore, and David Shepherd. Mike Mannino also said he applied.
Councilman Dave Freneaux introduced an ordinance to appropriate $1,545 to purchase equipment to broadcast Council meetings live. The ordinance is expected to be voted on at the Jan. 22 meeting.