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CITY NEWS Thursday, May 1, 2014 3BR Establishment Fights to Kill New CitySt. George’s Goal: Get Signatures Now!Browning SaysEvery SignatureIs Precious NowPhoto byWoody JenkinsBATON ROUGE — St. George incorporation spokesman Lionel RaineyIII told the Chamber of Commerceof East Baton Rouge last Tuesdaythat July 23, 2014, used to be goalfor supporters but now it is a harddeadline.“For months, we said that wehope to have the signatures to putthe incorporation of St. George onthe ballot for this November. July23 is the deadline for turning in thesignatures. But now, with all of theattacks we face in the legislature,July 23 is no longer a ‘goal,’ it maybe a drop-dead date. If we fail tomeet that deadline, the adverse legislation may prevent us from beingon the ballot at all.”St. George incorporation chairman Norman Browning told thegroup, “Make no mistake, all ofthe legislation making it more difficult to form a new city is directedat the City of St. George.”“You have to remember, the legislature started all this. We proposedcreating a new school system, andthey told us, we had to create a newDISCUSS PROPOSED CITY OF ST. GEORGE — After Norman Browning (2nd from left) addressed the Chamber EBR last Tuesday, Metro Councilmen Ryan Heck and Buddy Amoroso, along with TheHayride.com publisher Scott McKay gathered around.city first. Then, when we try to create a new city, they want to changethe rules in the middle of the game,in order to make it much more difficult or to prohibit it altogether.”“Our people believe in thiscountry and the right to vote, andthey’re not going to take that awayfrom us. We are in the process ofcollecting the signatures. What’simportant is how many signatureswe have in July,” he said.“This all started with trying toimprove public education but nowit’s become more than that. It’sabout self-determination. The people of St. George deserve the rightto govern themselves,” he said.Browning said he is very confident they will be able to gather thesignature by the July 23 deadline.“The more they attack our effortsto create an independent schooldistrict and a new city, the more enthusiasm it builds among the people of St. George. We’re workinghard, and we encourage everyonewho supports this effort to comesign the petition and to volunteerand get involved.”Central Mayor Pro-TemRalph WashingtonThe Man Who Stands Tall for CentralWhen Everything Is on the Line! Grew up poor on a small farm in Iberville Parish; one of 10childrenninechildren At 14, he was in the first busload of black students sent to integrate East AscensionHigh School (not at his request). White students were beating on the bus andshouting racial slurs. He decided to get out of the bus and ended up as an outstanding graduate of East Ascension High School. Worked his way through Southern University and earned a B.S. degree in businessAs a boy, there was a major chemical plant on the Mississippi near his home. One of his friends said, “Someday I want towork in that plant!” But Ralph told him, “Someday I want to run that plant!” While working his way through Southern, he gota job at the plant and started sweeping floors. Over the years, he rose through the ranks and eventually he ran that plant!When the company was sold, he took a buy-out and used the money to move to Central and start Red Stick Cleaners.Clearners.One of the original organizers of the City of Central who attended all the meetings and worked hard for incorporation. Whenthe voters approved creation of the City, Gov. Blanco appointed him to serve on the interim City Council. When the first CityCouncil was elected by the voters, he ran first among the 13 candidates. To the surprise of many, 70% of the voters ofCentral voted for a black man, more than for any other candidate. Then the new City Council elected Ralph to serve asMayor Pro-Tem for the City of Central, the City’s second highest position.For the past nine years, Ralph Washington has been fighting for Central from the “inside.” Yet, he has always kept hisINDEPENDENCE from the powers that be. He has NEVER voted for a TAX INCREASE. He has NEVER voted for anUNBALANCED BUDGET. He has LISTENED to the concerns of citizens and STOOD for them. He hasfought FOR public access to PUBLIC RECORDS. He has fought to make PRIVATIZATION work and madesure the good old boys haven’t had their hands in the cookie jar. He’s STOOD UP for Central.Now is your chance to STAND UP for RALPH WASHINGTON!Stand Up for the Man Who Stands Up for Us

4 CITY NEWS Thursday, May 1, 2014Legislature Hobbles Two Anti-St. George BillsBut James Bill on Parishwide Vote Is Still AlivePro-St. GeorgeTransition BilllAwaiting ActionPhoto byWoody JenkinsBATON ROUGE — Efforts to incorporate the proposed City ofSt. George have come under fullfledged assault in the current session of the Louisiana Legislaturewith a number of bills to make itmore difficult for a new city to incorporate.Of the three major bills thatwould hamper St. George, twohave been amended to make themless harmful. However, one important bill that could completelyderail St. George remains verymuch alive.Here is the status of key legislation: SB 674 by Sen. Nevers —Would place a two-year moratorium on the creation of new municipalities in order to study the issue.As originally introduced, the billwould have applied to St. Georgeand stopped it in its tracks. However, the bill has been amended tolimit its impact. Under the amendments, a petition already underwaywould be exempt from the twoyear moratorium until after thisNovember’s election. So, if thisbill passed in its present form, sup-LIONEL RAINEY III (left) and Norman Browning addressed the Chamber of Commerceof East Baton Rouge last week and described St. George’s battles in the legislature.porters of St. George would haveuntil July 23, the cutoff date forthe November election, to turn insignatures. If they miss that deadline and the bill passes, it wouldbe another two years before a newpetition drive could be mounted.In that case, the rules could bechanged again during the two-yearmoratorium. Ironically, Nevers’bill has no funding source. So St.George supporters think the bill isnot about studying anything butabout stopping St. George.Our proven way to understandlocal business? Be one.Decisions made here. Banking made simple.redriverbank.net - 225.928.8200 HB 768 by Rep. Price — Tolimit the time for circulating an incorporation petition to 180 days.The movement to incorporate St.George has widespread support, butit has already taken eight months.So supporters believe 180 days isinsufficient. The bill was amendedin committee to allow 18 monthsto gather petition signatures. HB 1212 by Rep. James — Atpresent, the proposed incorporation of a new municipality is votedon by the residents of the proposedcity. However, this bill by Rep.James would allow the vote to bedecided parishwide. Supportersof St. George say that the requirement would be undemocratic andwould likely kill the incorporation.This bill passed out of the HouseMunicipal and Parochial AffairsCommittee, one of the most liberalcommittees in the legislature. It isnow pending on the House floor.St. George spokesman LionelRainey said all these bills attemptto change the rules in the middleof the game. He compared it to oneof the coaches in a football gamebeing able to change the rules tofavor his side. “It is fundamentallyunfair and undemocratic,” he said.If any of the bills slips through,Rainey said he is hoping Gov.Jindal will veto them.St. George chairman NormanBrowning said it is important forcitizens to call their legislators andexpress their opposition to thesebills.

CITY NEWS Thursday, May 1, 2014 5Would Be Baton Rouge Island in Sea of St. GeorgeMall Annexation Threatens St. George FDLionel Rainey:Revenue LossMeans New CityMight Not FundConst’l OfficesPhoto byInfrogmationBATON ROUGE — Mayor-PresidentKip Holden was reportedly planning to hold a news conference lastweek to announce the annexationof the Mall of Louisiana into theCity of Baton Rouge, which somebelieve would have been a seriousblow to the proposed City of St.George.The same report said that opposition from some members of theMetro Council might have derailedthe plan, at least for the time being.At last week’s meeting of theChamber of Commerce of East Baton Rouge, Business Report editorStephanie Riegel asked St. Georgespokesman Lionel Rainey III whatimpact the loss of the Mall wouldhave on the proposed city.“The proposed City of St. Georgeis not based on having the Mall. ifthat happens, some expectationswould be shifted,” he said.The proposed budget of St.George provides that the citywould pay all of the costs of constitutional offices in the parish,such as the District Attorney andthe 19th Judicial District, for afive-year period.However, the loss of the Mallcould force St. George to reconsider that commitment, which wasbased on a financial model that included revenue from the Mall.Rainey posed the question, “Whowould be hurt? Primarily, the St.George Fire District. The Mallis in the fire district, and the district serves the Mall and receivesa significant amount of its revenuefrom the Mall. The loss of this revenue could conceivably lead to theSt. George Fire District having toclose a fire station for budgetaryWill TaxesGo Up inSt. George?BATON ROUGE — Will taxes goup for the people of St. Georgeif they vote to incorporate as anew municipality this November? That is a question thatSt. George chairman NormanBrowning has to address frequently. At last week’s Chamber EBR meeting, he reiteratedthat there would be no reason toraise taxes.Financial projections for thecity show a 20 million a yearsurplus. St. George supporterspoint to the fact that the City ofCentral has not increased taxessince incorporation in 2005, andCentral has a tax base which isonly a small fraction of that inSt. George.WHAT IMPACT would annexation of the Mall of Louisiana into Baton Rouge have on St. George?reasons. This in turn would resultin less fire protection for neighborhoods near the Mall.”Police protection at the Mall isprovided by the Sheriff.If the Mall were annexed tothe City of Baton Rouge, the citywould have to provide police andfire protection. It may have to builda new fire station near the Mall andopen a police precinct there.St. George chairman NormanBrowning described a scenariowith the Mall becoming part ofthe City of Baton Rouge, yet surrounded by residential areas in theCity of St. George. He asked if itwould be fair for the Mall to sendits tax revenue to the City of BatonRouge and provide no support tothe city surrounding it.Actually, the Mall cannot be annexed unless it is contiguous to theCity of Baton Rouge, which it isnot currently.In order to be contiguous to Baton Rouge, the Metro Councilwould also have to annex the Ba-ton Rouge General.Normally, annexations are handled by the Metro Council memberwho represents the area to be annexed.The Mall of Louisiana falls in theMetro Council district representedby the Ryan Heck.Heck told this newspaper thathis general philosophy is that if aproperty owner adjacent to the citydesires to be annexed, he will support that effort.However, in this particular case,Heck said he would also considerthe impact on neighborhoods surrounding the Mall, in order to besure that they would not be negatively impacted by such an annexation.In the past month, Heck has beenvery supportive of St. George andspoken critically about problemsof governance in the City of BatonRouge and the East Baton Rougeschool system.During his speech to the Chamber EBR, Rainey was asked ifCouncilman John Delgado is onretainer to lead the opposition toSt. George, a question which drewlaughter.Delgado is a harsh critic of incorporation, but many St. George supporters say his opposition has beenso extreme that he has fired up thepeople of St. George to work harder for incorporation. Rainey simply answered, “No!”SILHOUETTE A DEUXTM WINDOW SHADINGSTWO SHADES IN ONEblindsbr.comCombines a Silhouette window shading with a room-darkening roller shade in a single headrail for the ultimate in light control.Stop by or call today to see all the innovative options.Call For Free Design Consultation and Measure!Locally Owned and Operated. LaCour’s 45 Years Strong!225-927-4130 7421 Tom Drive Baton Rouge www.lacoursbr.com(Between Lobdell & Wooddale Blvd.) Monday - Friday 9-5:3012 Months Interest Free Financing Available With Approved CreditVisa MasterCard Discover American Express

6 CITY NEWS Thursday, May 1, 2014Metro Council, Developer Defy Court,Danny and Janet HooverTract CGlasgow Ave.Photo by Charles Breard cvbreard@cox.netROUZANTrack AServitude to provide Tracks A, B, and C with access to Glasgow Ave.Tract B10-foot wide ‘public road’ builtby Tommy Spinosa, which BRFire Dept. refuses to use.30-foot wide servitude ownedby Hoovers and Welches beingobstructed by Spinosa.AERIAL PHOTO of Rouzan development, which surrounds Hoover and Welch properties. They own a servitude to Glasgow Avenue.Rather than requiring developer Spinosa to correct the damage he hasdone in developing an illegal TND, the Metro Council ratified his actionand adopted a concept plan map which removes the Hoover servitude.Woody JenkinsEditorEditor’s Note: Danny and Janet Hooverlive in a beautiful home that’s straight outof rural Louisiana. Flowers are blooming.Rows of strawberries are ready for picking.The old barn and the milk shed form part ofan idyllic setting. Yet, for the Hoovers andtheir seven children, the last seven yearshave been a nightmare. A development,which the courts have ruled illegal, is slowly surrounding them. Their access to thestreet has been cut off. Their supply of natural gas has been cut off. They’ve faced along and expensive legal battle. All along,they’ve asked only two things: 1) That thedeveloper live within the law, and 2) thattheir 30-foot wide servitude to GlasgowAvenue be respected. They say the MetroCouncil and the developer have createdthe problem, and they expect them to fix it.BATON ROUGE - On April 24, 1992,Mary Bordelon Ford drafted a willproviding for the disposal of herestate upon her death. Mrs. Ford’shusband Ralph had passed away in1988, and they had no children.One of the most important thingsin Mrs. Ford’s estate was 124 acresof land at the corner of PerkinsMapattached toMrs. Ford’slast will andtestament,showing30-footServitudeof Passageto GlasgowAvenue30-foot wideServitude of PassageconnectingTracts A, B. and Cto Glasgow Ave.Road and Glasgow Avenue.In the will, she provided that threetracts of land totalling five acres located near the center of the propertywould be given as a “remunerativedonation” to Danny Hoover andDr. Bob Welch in payment for longyears of service to her.Tract A, consisting of her residence and 3.7 acres of land, wereleft to Dr. Welch.Tract B, consisting of a home and.7 acre were left to Danny Hoover.He and his wife Janet had lived onthe property since 1978 and in thehouse since 1983.Tract C, consisting of a barn and.6 acre, were left jointly to Hooverand Welch.Mrs. Ford left explicit instructionsthat Tracts A, B, and C would havea 30-foot wide Private Access Servitude along a particular route to allow unimpeded access to and fromGlasgow Avenue. She provided theexact location of the servitude andsaid, “DEDICATION: The 30’ Private Access Servitude shown hereContinued on Page 7

CITY NEWS Thursday, May 1, 2014 7Leaving Families Landlocked by RouzanHoover, Welch Families Own This Servitude,Which Developer Is Blocking with Council Aid“DEDICATION: The30’ Private AccessServitude shown hereon is hereby dedicatedas a private meansof access to TractsA, B, & C. No trees,shrubs, or plants maybe planted on nor shallany buildings, fencesor other improvementsbe constructed withinor over said servitudeso as to prevent orunreasonably interferewith the purpose forwhich the servitude isgranted. The City-Parish has no responsibility for the maintenanceof this servitude.”— Mrs. Ralph M. FordServitude Recognized by 1st Circuit Court of AppealServitude obstructed byposts, fence, building10-foot wide ‘public road’ builtby Tommy Spinosa, which BRFire Dept. refuses to use.30-foot wideServitude of PassageInherited by Hoover and Welchfamilies to provide accessto Glasgow AvenueWill dated April 24,1992Bob Welch and Daniel Hoover v. EBR Parish Metropolitan Council. PETTIGREW, J.: “.The right of passageherein is an affirmative servitude, giving the plaintiffs, as owners of the dominant estates, the right [emphasis bythe court] to do certain things on certan Rouzan property, comprising the servient estate. Given that the servitudeof passage in this matter is conventional, the use and extent of such servitudes are regulated by the title by whichthey were created (i.e., Mrs. Ford’s will and dedication). Pursuant to Louisiana Civil Code art. 748, the owner of theservient estate may do nothing to diminish or make more inconvenient the use of the servitude.”— Louisiana 1st Circuit Court of Appeal, Feb. 26, 2014, before Judges Kuhn, Pettigrew, and McDonald.on is hereby dedicated as a privatemeans of access to Tracts A, B, & C.No trees, shrubs, or plants may beplanted on nor shall any buildings,fences or other improvements beconstructed within or over said servitude so as to prevent or unreasonably interfere with the purpose forwhich the servitude is granted. TheCity-Parish has no responsibility forthe maintenance of this servitude.”Mrs. Ford provided that the remaining 119 acres would be left to herheirs, most of whom lived out of state.Her attorney was Gregory Pletsch ofBaton Rouge. One of Mrs. Ford’scaregivers was the sister of developerTommy Spinosa.Mrs. Ford died on Oct. 24, 2003.After her death, Spinosa begannegotiations for the purchase of theproperty. In court documents, Pletschstated that he had tried to convinceMrs. Ford not to divide the property.He said he warned her that it couldlessen the value of the property. Afterher death, he approached Hoover andWelch to see if they would consideraccepting cash instead of Tracts A, B,and C. They declined because theywant to live on the property and haveno interest to sell.Spinosa entered into an agreementwith the other heirs to purchase 109acres for 13.1 million. He enteredinto a second agreement to purchase4.5 acres located between the HooverWelch properties and Glasgow Avenue. The heirs and Spinosa agreedthat the sale would not go throughContinued on Page 8300 Black Out300 HOG HAMMERRifle and AmmoBarn on Lot C, which is jointly ownedby the Hoover and Welch families.

8 CITY NEWS Thursday, May 1, 2014Metro Council Has Set May 15 to RehearSTRAWBERRIES are ready to pick at Hoover’s place inside Rouzan. At center, Danny and Janet Hoover’s home. At right, Trae Welch’s sons picks some strawberries.Continued from Page 7until the heirs were able to free theproperty of the servitude.Eventually, Spinosa purchased thetwo tracts without that condition.By 2008, Hoover and Welch filedsuit to have themselves placed in possession of their properties. Ironically,by then, the other heirs not only hadbeen placed in possession of their 119acres but had already sold it to Spinosa.On January 23, 2008, Spinosa ap-peared before the Metro Councilto ask that his property be rezonedfrom A-1 Single Family Residentialto TND, or Traditional Neighborhood Development, a classificationthat allows a mixture of residentialand commercial uses. It also permitsconstruction of homes on lots that aremuch smaller than those permitted inA-1 residential.One of the key requirements of aTND is that the developer have complete and total ownership or controlover all the property within the proposed TND. The Metro Council approved Spinosa’s application, despitethe fact that he did not own TractsA, B, and C, which were within theboundaries of the TND, and despitethe fact that Spinosa’s property wasburdened with the servitude of passage granted to Tracts A, B, and Cagainst his property, as provided inMrs. Ford will. A servitude is a rightin real property.One week later, on Jan. 30, 2008,We want to thank for making usYOUR Physical TherapistsJanet Hoover is quite a gardener. Theold barn on Lot C is in the distance.HELENTOMERIKRICHARDWhen you have limitation of movement, an injury or experience pain:Think: PHYSICAL THERAPY FIRSTChoose: CENTRAL PHYSICAL THERAPYWe demonstrate our expertise through action to bringMOTION TO YOUR LIFE.My Kaywa QR-Co

GREENWELL SPRINGS — The Sixth Annual Festival of Two Rivers will begin Friday, May 2 at St. Alphon-sus Catholic Church on Greenwell Springs Road. The event, which attracts thou-sands of visitors from throughout the Baton Rouge area, includes three days of food, entertainment, and rides. For the first time this year, it also includes a 5K run and