Central Buys City Hall Site

By Woody Jenkins, Editor, Central City NewsCENTRAL — The City of Central has purchased 9.55 acres of land near the intersection of Hooper and Sullivan roads for construction of a new City Hall.  The property is located on the west side of Hooper.

Mayor David Barrow negotiated the deal with Jay and Ray Devall, whose family has owned the land for generations. The purchase price of $594,000, or $62,198 an acre, is low for the City Center.

After debating the future of City Hall over the past several years, the City Council voted 6-1 to approve the land purchase, with Councilman Dave Freneaux voting no.

Barrow said he and the City Council will work with the architect to develop plans for the new City Hall.  He hopes that the property will eventually include a City Hall Annex for Central City Services and perhaps the Police Department.  

“There are many other possibilities which have been discussed including a Drivers License office, Tax Assessor’s office, and a branch of the Clerk of Court’s office,” he said.  “The back of the property is beautiful. I would like us to preserve that area for community events, perhaps with a pavilion where people could gather and bands could play.”

Although the price for the property was modest on a per-acre basis, Jay Devall said he thought it was fair.  “Mainly, we just want the property to serve the community we love so much!  We are excited about our homeplace being where City Hall is located!” he said.

His twin brother Ray said at age 75 they wanted to settle their affairs rather than dragging out the sale waiting for the best price.

Jay says Ray is the older of the two. “He’s got me beat by 23 minutes!” Jay said.  Growing up on Sullivan Road in Central was a great place to be in the 1950’s and 1960’s.  They were related to almost everyone and friends with the rest. 

They played football and basketball, and ran track at Central High. On offense, they played end— at opposite ends of the line — and on defense they both played linebacker.  In 1964, their team was state runnerup under Coach Misita. Jay and Ray went on to play college football at Southeastern but both suffered injuries early on.  They lost their brother Randy who died in his 30’s.

The twins inherited the property from their parents, Virgil and Melba Devall. Melba’s father, Julius Robinson, gave Virgil and Melba one acre of the land and they purchased the rest from him. Mr. Robinson owned the Kaiser automobile dealership on the northeast corner of Hooper and Sullivan in the 1940’s.  Kaiser produced 750,000 automobiles from 1945 to 1955.  It later merged with AMC.  Today a successor company produces Humvees. The old Kaiser building is still there on the corner.  It houses a number of small businesses.

The 9.55-acre tract has been used as a homesite for the Devall family and most recently for Laura’s Jewelry and Capalli’s Salon.  Starting in the 1970’s, the buildings were used for Burger Chalet owned by Virgil Devall and Rep. Donald Ray Kennard and for a washateria.

Virgil Devall served as Constable for 42 years.  For much of that period, his Justice of the Peace was Sterling Kennard, father of Donald Ray.  For decades, Virgil Devall, Sterling Kennard, and East Baton Rouge Parish School Board member T. H. Montgomery were the only elected officials in Central.  All were among the longest-serving public officials in Louisiana.

At one point, Virgil and Melba Devall owned part of the land with J. A. Smith, the legendary principal at Central High from 1938 to 1968 and principal at Central Private from 1968 to 1978.

Virgil Devall and his three brothers — Gene, Julius, and Melvin — all served in World War II. Virgil was a long-time member of Zoar Baptist and the Masonic Lodge. Melba also served as a school bus driver.

Jay Devall was elected and served on the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board for 12 years. As Central worked to form its on independent school district in 2005-2006, Jay stayed on the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board to make sure students on the north side of Hooper were not bused out of Central. After Central formed its own school district, Jay continued on the School Board for about a year to make sure Central got a fair deal in the transition.  The ownership of land, buildings, mineral leases, buses, computers, and many other things were at issue during the transition.  When that process was complete, Jay resigned from the East Baton Rouge School Board.

After studying industrial technology at Southeastern, Ray worked at Dow Chemical and taught at Baker and then Central. He retired from Exxon in 2003 and then worked 10 more years as a welding inspector.  Jay worked for Delta Southern and then Lafayette Logistics.  Afterwards, he went to Exxon, where he retired.

Jay’s wife Rubye and Ray’s wife Ruth were also involved in the sale and the decision making.

Rubye said how much she has enjoyed being part of the Devall family.  “One of the most wonderful things was having Virgil and Melba Devall as my father- and mother-in-law.  No one could possibly want any better than the relationship we had.”

Jay told a funny story about his mother and father. “We had the washeteria where Laura’s is now, but my dad decided he needed to close the washeteria because it couldn’t seem to make any money.  Little did he know that that’s where my mom got her grocery money! And I think Rubye was helping her!” Rubye laughed and chimed in, “I’m pretty sure he knew what was going on!”

Jay and Rubye still own their house in Central but spend most of their time at their place on the Tangipahoa River near Ponchatoula.  Rubye loves animals and has goats, chickens, four cows, and guardian dogs for the goats.

The sale of the land for City Hall was handled by a local realtor, Michelle Jones, who happens to be Ray’s stepdaughter-in-law.  Mayor Barrow said it was fun to work with her, because she loves the property too.

Ray summed up his feelings and those of his brother, saying, “We’re just happy to have the family property working for the community we love, and if City Hall ends up being here, that would be a wonderful thing for us!”

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