President's Message for May 2006-

Folks,

The following information will provide an update of issues and upcoming events that you should know about.

Changes are Coming to the Intersection of Stanton Hall and Ormond Blvd.

Changes to traffic flow and road design are now being discussed by the Parish for the intersection of Stanton Hall and Ormond Blvd. These changes will have an impact for the residents who live on Stanton Hall (and feeder streets) and on Ormond Blvd. between Magnolia and Villere. Want to know more? Please contact the OCA.

District III Councilman Ram Ramchandran Will Introduce Traffic Impact Analysis Ordinance 2006-0042 at the 5/15 Council Meeting

Proposed Ordinance 2006-0042 is an Ordinance to amend Appendix C of the Code, St. Charles Parish Subdivision Regulations of 1981, Ordinance No. 81-8-2, to require a Traffic Impact Analysis for certain developments within St. Charles Parish. The OCA Board supports this Ordinance. It is the OCA's position that further development should be discontinued until the Parish develops and implements a traffic plan that alleviates the problems that have been created along Ormond Blvd. from the River Road to the Airline Drive. Keep in mind that the OCA Board is not against development but in favor of resolving traffic problems.

FEMA releases Flood Recovery Guidance ADVISORY ADDENDUM #1, Base Flood Elevations for St. Charles Parish, Louisiana

FEMA has released the revised Base Flood Elevations for St. Charles Parish. New homes must be built higher to receive flood insurance at reasonable rates. For more information, please go to the following link: FEMA St. Charles Parish Addendum 04-12-06

Ormond OCA 5k Race and Pumpkin Patch Fall Festival-Call for Volunteers

Household Hazardous Materials Collection Day 2006-Saturday, May 20

This years Household Hazardous Materials Collection Day is scheduled for May 20. For more information, please go to the following links: HHMCD 2006 Info, HHMCD 2006 Map.

President's Message for March/April 2006-

Folks,

The following information will provide an update of issues and upcoming events that you should know about.

Belle Ormond Subdivision Status

• Video of the January 5, 2006 Planning and Zoning meeting. 1-5-06 PZS 2005-89
• Tabled at the February 2, 2006 Planning and Zoning meeting.
• Tabled at the March 2, 2006 Planning and Zoning meeting.
• Passed at the April 6, 2006 Planning and Zoning meeting. Despite the objection of the OCA and residents, the P&Z Commission approved the preliminary plat for the Belle Ormond Subdivision. For more information, go to the following links: SCP PZ 4-6-06 Meeting Agenda, SCP 4-6-06 PZS-2005-89 Information, TP Article on Belle Ormond 4-7-06.

Ormond OCA 5k Race and Pumpkin Patch Fall Festival-Call for Volunteers

Household Hazardous Materials Collection Day 2006-Saturday, May 20

This years Household Hazardous Materials Collection Day is scheduled for May 20. For more information, go to the following links: HHMCD 2006 Info, HHMCD 2006 Map.

President's Message for February 2006-

Folks,

It’s that time of the month again for us to address the tabled Belle Ormond Subdivision proposal that will probably be addressed at Thursday’s (2Mar06) P&Z meeting.  The reason I say probably is because I have yet to see an agenda posted on the P&Z website.  The Developer’s Engineer, Danny Herbert, will probably be there to update the P&Z Commission on the status of action items requested by the Commission.  He may have a completed traffic study to present.  This is why it is important to have the folks who will be impacted by the Subdivision attend the meeting and request a delay in approval until we have had a chance to read and understand the plan and needed Ormond infrastructure improvements are made.

Who is impacted by the proposed Subdivision?

• We all will.  If you use our streets to get from point “A” to point “B” you will be impacted.

 Will some be impacted more than others?

• Yes.  If you live on Stanton Hall, or use Stanton Hall to go to your house, you will be impacted the most.  Even those who live on Longview, Magnolia, Linwood, Dunleith, Melrose, Plantation, and Ormond will be heavily impacted.  When traffic backs up on Stanton Hall, people divert to Dunleith and Melrose, and eventually to Magnolia and Linwood, to bypass the turn onto Ormond.

If the OCA is involved in this issue, will they represent my interests so I don’t have to go to the meetings?

• No.  The OCA elevates issues to the Parish and residents, but the plain fact is that when the OCA Board members speak on a topic, we are viewed by the public officials as individual residents, not the spokesperson for the Ormond residents (remember, the Parish Administration and P&Z respond to input from voters.  The more you have, the more they listen).  With only about ¼ of the Ormond residents as OCA members, we simply do not have a majority voice.  That is why it is important for all Ormond residents to get involved, and join the OCA.

Why doesn’t the Parish’s “Master Development Plan” guide incremental infrastructure upgrades when new Developments are proposed?

• I was told by the P&Z Commission that they do not have a master plan.  They had started to develop one, but the funding was pulled by the Parish Administration.

Who should we blame if this Subdivision is allowed to go in before the infrastructure improvements like new roads, traffic control devices, potable water supply, etc., are made?

• Yourself.

If nothing is done, won’t we be facing the same issues that St. Tammany Parish is trying to deal with now?

• Yes, our safety, health, and welfare will be compromised.  Our property values will be negatively impacted and our quality of life will not be as good as when we first bought our homes in Ormond.

Who should fund these needed infrastructure improvements?

• It really needs to be a joint effort between the Parish (balance growth of new tax revenue vs. funding availability, such as bonds) and the Developers (balance development cost vs. profit).

What should I do?

• Go to this Thursday’s meeting and tell our District III P&Z Representative, Marcus Lambert, how you feel.  Write your Parish President and Council Members.

Status

• Video of the January 5, 2006 Planning and Zoning meeting. 1-5-06 PZS 2005-89
• Tabled at the February 2, 2006 Planning and Zoning meeting.
• Tabled at the March 2, 2006 Planning and Zoning meeting.

President's Message for January 2006-

The OCA learned that the Parish Council and Planning and Zoning will be voting on a proposed new single family housing development in Ormond. This area is behind the Ace Hardware and the developer proposes sending the traffic to Stanton Hall for routing to Ormond Blvd. The following information appears on the Planning and Zoning website:

PZS-2005-89
Requested by: James Pettigrew for Preliminary Plat approval of Belle Ormond Subdivision, being a resubdivision of Parcel 8-A-2 of Ormond Country Club Estates into Lots herein designated as Lots 1 thru 51, Ormond Country Club Estates. Zoning District R-3 (proposed R-1A) Council District 3.

It is the OCA's position that further development should be discontinued until the Parish develops and implements a traffic plan that alleviates the problems that have been created along Ormond Blvd. from the River Road to the Airline Drive. Keep in mind that the OCA Board is not against development but in favor of resolving traffic problems.

In addition, the supply of potable drinking water, on the East Bank of St. Charles Parish, is limited and the water plant is at maximum capacity. Because of these issues, the OCA recommends that the Parish implement a moratorium on new development on the East Bank until these problems are corrected.

Video of the January 5, 2006 Planning and Zoning meeting. 1-5-06 PZS 2005-89

President's Message for October/November/December 2005-

Well it has been a little over two months since the hurricanes, so I thought I would bring you up to date on the status of some major issues that all Ormond residents should be concerned with:

Parish Budget - The Parish released their proposed 2006 budget for public and council review, comment, and approval. It is the OCA's understanding that funds will be included for the addition of badly needed automated bar screen cleaners at Pump Stations 1 and 2. The OCA has been pushing for this infrastructure improvement for years.

Garbage Collection - Most of the storm debris has been picked up and Waste Management has returned to the pre-storm twice weekly garbage pick-up schedule. The Parish has contracted with Coastal Waste Management for garbage pick-up starting next year. The monthly bill for residents will increase by $5. Unfortunately, recycling is not in the current scope of their contract and is currently suspended indefinitely.

Street Lights - We currently have over 100 street lights out. Entergy's Doug Rhodes has publicly stated that the utility does not have the resources to fix our lights until after the first of the year. Because of the recent rash of cars that have been vandalized in the development, the OCA finds this unacceptable. Please contact Doug to see if Entergy can revisit this decision.

Ormond Blvd. Maintenance - The Parish mows all of the Ormond Blvd. neutral ground, except at the Airline Dr. entrance. The OCA pays to maintain the two entrances and the planters in between. The Parish is responsible for maintenance of the trees and the OCA funds the planting of new trees on the Blvd. The OCA had just spent $2,500 to improve the planters at both entrances before the storm, but much of that work was destroyed. The storm caused considerable damage to the lights at both entrances, which the OCA just paid $1,900 to have repaired. The Parish has not kept up with mowing, with many areas not touched since August. Please contact the Parish to request that they resume a regular mowing schedule. The Ormond sign at River Rd. was damaged by high school vandals. The OCA is planning two work weekends, with the first scheduled for Saturday November 26, to repair the River Rd. sign. The second is planned for Saturday December 3 to repair the damage to the entrances and planters. We sure could use some volunteers, so if you can help, please meet us at either entrance at 7:00AM on both Saturday's. With enough volunteers, the work could be completed in a couple of hours.

US Army Corps of Engineers SCP East Bank Hurricane Protection Levee - The current East Bank Lake Pontchartrain Levee height, and the absence of pump stations, is detrimental to our existence here in Destrehan. We should contact our Senators and  Congressmen to build the levee height to 20 Ft (presently 6 Ft) and install two pump stations, at a minimum, in Destrehan and St Rose. The current design height is 13 Ft by the year 2010. We can’t wait! If we don’t get it done now WE will never get it. Funds are available. We should get our share of levee protection.

Speeding by Drivers in the Subdivision - Despite frequent patrols by Sheriff Deputies, speeding continues in our subdivision. Please contact Sheriff Greg Champagne to request an increase in patrols to better enforce the traffic laws in our subdivision.

President's Message for September 2005-

Well it has been a little over a month since Katrina turned our lives upside down. I remember trying to e-mail everyone I knew from our campground at the Isle of Capri and Casino in Vicksburg, MS to find out what damage might have occurred at our house and in the Ormond Subdivision. Finally, a friend e-mailed back that our house, aside from some damage to our trees, looked to be intact. What a relief and I immediately wondered how the Parish was able to mitigate damage to our homes from flooding in the face of such a severe storm, especially after seeing pictures of New Orleans on TV. I was also grateful that Sheriff Champagne was able to protect our property from looting. On the Friday after the storm, Grenda and I decided to try to travel back to St. Charles Parish. We were forced to go through Monroe LA, down to Lafayette LA, and then through Baton Rouge on I-10 because there was no power in Mississippi to run the service stations on I-55. As we neared Ormond on Airline Dr., the entrance to the subdivision was flooded so we were forced to go around on I-310 to River Rd. and in the south entrance. As we made our way down Ormond Blvd. we were grateful that the Parish was able to clear most of the trees off the boulevard and we were amazed by the damage that had actually occurred to homes and businesses. Boy was I glad to be home, especially after witnessing that horrible evacuee bus accident in Lafayette. We spent the next three days living in our travel trailer on generator power. Aside from the garbage fiasco, the Parish has made great strides in trying to get things back to some form of normality.

We are very lucky that St. Charles Parish did not suffer the kind of damage that occurred to our east. The magnitude of this disaster is becoming more apparent after talking to many people in the Parish. I’m not sure if everyone is aware that we came painfully close to looking like St. Bernard Parish. The lake was less than one foot from topping our hurricane protection levee. Many of my engineering counterparts feel that if Jefferson Parish (major flooding) had run their pumps (pump to the lake) and the levees had not failed in New Orleans, thereby diverting trillions of gallons of water out of the lake and into the city, we would have incurred major flooding in St. Charles Parish. Also, the water level in the Ormond Subdivision stopped rising just short of going into many homes. Were the screens plugged at the pump stations? Were the pumps running? We may never know the answers to these questions because the Parish never divulges look back investigation results.

The bottom line is that we, as a development, still face the same issues we faced before Katrina, plus more. The Parish has a real opportunity now to make significant improvements to our hurricane protection levee (increase height, install pumps), our pump stations (install automatic bar screen cleaners), our canals (stabilize), our roads (I-49), institute mandatory building codes and enforcement (stronger buildings/reduced insurance rates), etc. Time will tell if these needed improvements are instituted by the Parish, but if they are not, our 50,000 (now maybe 70,000) residents may just dwindle as more people feel it is just not worth the risk and expense to live in harms way. We also have to be aware of new residents and contractors in our subdivision. After the previous two floods, there was an increase in home burglaries which was attributed to strangers and contractors not from our area. Traffic has become much worse, speeding in the subdivision has increased, non-residents have put signs on the neutral ground in violation of Parish law, and litter has increased, just to name a few of the new problems we face.

Now on to some OCA business;

Pat and Chanel (Entergy employees) have elected to resign from the Board to focus on the Entergy re-build of the New Orleans electrical infrastructure. I will miss their participation and efforts to help improve Ormond. We now have three OCA Board positions open. If you would like to become an OCA Board member, please contact me.

The OCA Board is also trying to find ways to get more people involved in the OCA. Remember, your home is probably your largest investment, yet most folks probably spend more time balancing their checkbook than giving back to the community.

Also, I would ask Ram to work with the Parish to finish the tree trimming along the boulevard.

MESSAGE FROM RAM-

October 9, 2005

Friends and Neighbors;

I Hope you weathered both the storms and bringing back a semblance of normalcy to daily life.  Here is an update on clean up efforts.

·         The Parish population has gone up to about 75,000 from the normal 48,000 or so. This puts a strain on some of the families and higher demand on public services like water, sewer, garbage, and school system. Social service organizations, as expected, are working over time.

·         The Army Corp (USACE) has the main responsibility to collect trees and vegetation to be burnt at the Bonnet Carrie Spillway. Jefferson Parish is also using the site. 85% of collection is done. Sub contractors were collecting large piles so that they can deliver fast to make money by avoiding smaller collections. Any mix with plastics was left behind.

·         Construction debris (C&D) is being collected by them now including freezers, refrigerators, etc. The East Bank should be done in a week to 10 days. I asked them supply zone maps to be posted in our Ch 6 or web or both. You will see time line and areas.

·         Waste Management (WM) lost most of their employees from the 9th ward though they did not loose their trucks. WM did not want us to operate their vehicles for liability reasons. They have collected three times so far and plan to use manual collection of bags starting Friday October 14th. They have 3 trucks in the East Bank. In about 10 days to 2 weeks, they expect to get back to twice weekly collection. The Administration will not pay for services not rendered (I hope). I requested not to charge citizens for garbage the month of August & September. Albert agreed not to charge for September.

·         As you might have heard, we are changing garbage collection companies starting in the New Year. That did not help us now either.

·         Recycling is suspended until end of the year. BFI lost all their trucks in the flood. Sorry to say-please throw your recyclables into the garbage. In 2006 the new company will collect both garbage and recycling material at about the same cost with minimum increases.

·         We had dumpsters in our area to collect smelly stuff. All these sub contractors were handled by middlemen and hence they pulled out of our parish in frustration-they say!

·         Entergy did well restoring power to SCP. 100% of their customers have power in SCP.

Some tid-bits;

·         During the storm the parish employees were pulled out of the parish from the East Bank. They returned in time to restart the pumps. The screens are plugged with weeds in the Destrehan Pump Stations and work orders to clean are pending.

·         Ashbrett of Florida was the tree removal contractor for the USACE. Note that CERES Environmental Services is main contractor in SCP. All bills are paid by FEMA.

·         4400 trips, or 130,000 cu yards of trees, are so far removed from the Parish. State highways are handled by the DOT of Louisiana for tree stump removal; hence you still see piles on River Road and Airline Drive.

·         Cox Cable is 100% complete on their nodes and 91% on drops to houses. Some West Bank houses do not have cable service. They are charging for September for any of their services including phones. They donated $10 MM to Katrina funds with $50,000 to SCP. On October 3 they put the call center in operation for M-F, not weekends. They lost 33% of their work force.

·         Bell South had 13,300 services restored, 195 yet open, i.e. 1.5% of households do not have telephones as of Monday of this week. If you experience problems call 877 737 2478 (residential) 866 620 6000 (Business).

·         Entergy had all substations down during the storm. The grid was down. They brought in 600 linemen, 400 tree cutters, 650 poles, 900 crane trucks, and 600 transformers for restoration in SCP.

Immediate needs;

·         Keep your street storm drains clean. It will take time for the Parish to get back to normal. Do not throw leaves/grass clippings in the ditch.

·         Lake levee and absence of pump stations is detrimental to our existence here in Destrehan. We should contact our Senators & Congressmen to build the levee height to 20 Ft (presently 6 Ft) and install two pump stations, at a minimum, in Destrehan & St Rose. The current design height is 13 Ft by the year 2010. We can’t wait! If we don’t get it done now WE will never get it. Funds are available. We should get our share of levee protection. I’m attaching a sample letter received from Dottie Williams expressing the worry residents are facing. Please do your part.

·         There is a move to create trailer parks & federalize it for up to 3 years. I’m hesitant to overload our infrastructure, sewer, & water except for allowing industry & families to take care of immediate needs. I don’t want Florida mistakes repeated here, even though we love to help all our neighbors. Please give me your feed back on this to make the right decision.

Dear Elected Officials;

I feel compelled to write this e-mail in the hopes that positive steps will ensue to protect the property in St. Charles Parish. After witnessing the destruction in Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines and St. Bernard Parish, I realize that St. Charles Parish could have been in the same condition as those other parishes. I think the following items need to be completed in all haste to protect our property.

·         Hurricane protection levees need to be raised on the east side of the Parish – at least 3 feet. The levee should also separate the different Parishes so that if one levee fails, all the Parishes (or section of Parishes) are not flooded.

·         Hurricane protection levees need to be built on the west side of the Parish – as it stands now the levees in our surrounding Parishes will just funnel the water into the West Bank of our Parish and flood it.

·         Pumps need to be installed on the east and west side of the Parish to enable the water to be pumped out. As it stands now, if water entered the east side of the Parish we would have no way to remove it. It was negligent to install a levee without any pumping capacity also included.

·         Automatic bar screen cleaners need to be installed for all pumps in the Parish. These screens and the pumps should be powered by a very reliable system (electricity does not seem to be a good idea since it is the first utility that fails).

I hope that we don’t have to wait until we have a disaster on our hands to correct some of these issues. These issues have been known to the Parish elected officials since the early 90s and nothing has been done to date.

When will these discrepancies be corrected? When will we get funding to correct these issues? We have major refineries in this Parish that could significantly impact the fuel needed for daily living in the USA. If the Parishioners are not important enough to fund these necessary protection issues, maybe the protection of gasoline producers is.

I respectfully request a reply to this e-mail with what is planned and the timetable to implement.

John and Dottie Williams

President's Message for August 2005-

Dear OCA Member,

In an effort to better recognize our members, the OCA has decided to provide OCA Yard Plaques and window decals to all OCA Members.  We have placed the Yard Plaque in the front yard of your home and ask that you display it in the location of your choice. 

The OCA Board feels that your support is an important part of keeping Ormond a great place to live and is something that should be proudly displayed.  We also feel that the Yard Plaques will increase awareness of the OCA, thus increasing our membership and resources to do more for our neighborhood.

We have also included a Membership Flyer with this letter.  Please give the flyer to a friend or neighbor and encourage them to join the OCA. 

Thanks for your support,

OCA Board Members

August 10, 2005

Dear OCA Member,

The OCA has asked the Parish to trim the trees along the Ormond Blvd. neutral ground. The reason for this request is:

• The OCA does not have the funds to hire someone to do this work.
• The Parish owns the neutral ground land and trees.
• The trees have not been trimmed for over 12 years.
• The tree branches need to be trimmed so the Parish can mow the Neutral Ground. Many branches are hanging down to the ground. The large oak tree at the entrance will be managed separately.
• The tree branches need to be trimmed so school buses, campers/motorhomes, garbage trucks, moving vans, fire trucks, 18 wheelers, etc. can pass down the Blvd. without hitting the trees (about 15 feet off the ground) and incurring damage.
• The tree branches need to be trimmed so they will be less susceptible to wind damage from hurricanes and high winds (like Hurricane Cindy).
   

We have had some very positive feedback and we have had some feedback questioning that some of the trimming may be too aggressive. We have met with the Parish to discuss future trimming and hope that this effort is back on track shortly. Please send any comments that you may have to the OCA for resolution with the Parish, and avoid giving direction directly to the Parish work crews. Thank you.

Thanks for your support,

OCA Board Members

August 19, 2005

President's Message for July 2005-

No Message Posted

President's Message for June 2005-

No Message Posted

President's Message for May 2005-

June 6 Council Election Results for District 3 Planning and Zoning nomination of Mrs. Richoux.

Council Member Vote	Supported Mrs. Richoux	Against Mrs. Richoux
April Black
Dickie Duhe
Brian Fabre
Snookie Faucheux
Desmond Hilaire
Lance Marino
Barry Minnich		Absent
Ram Ramchandran
Derryl Walls

29May05

My May 2005 OCA Website President’s Message addresses a pending nomination to the Planning and Zoning Commission. Marilyn Richoux has served on the Commission for many years and she has a desire to continue to serve in that capacity for the next four (4) year term, representing District 3. Due to a missed questionnaire deadline of May 10, her continuation in this capacity may now be in jeopardy. The purpose of my message is to inform the residents of District 3 that the OCA Board supports Mrs. Richoux and is disturbed by the way her nomination is being handled by the St. Charles Parish Council. Mr. Lambert and Mrs. Richoux have been nominated for that position, and the Council will vote on those nominees during the next Council meeting on June 6. The OCA requests that the Council does not hold a paperwork oversight against Mrs. Richoux, a person that has served this Parish for many years, and votes in her favor. Since Mr. Lambert was nominated first, the Council will vote in that order. If Mr. Lambert does not receive a majority of the votes, they will move to Mrs. Richoux’s vote. I have included a series of letters explaining the issues, and would hope that the residents of District 3 would write and call the Council Members to express their concerns with the way that this issue is being handled. The OCA’s position is not intended to send a message that would reflect poorly on Mr. Lambert, we are just concerned that proper protocol has not been followed.

Mark Tienvieri

OCA President

13May05

Dear Council Members,

Regarding my nomination to the Planning and Zoning Commission, I did not get the required paperwork back in time to be placed on agenda for Monday night's meeting because I thought my information presently on record could be used. When I realized it could not, I immediately went to the Courthouse with newly completed paperwork, but missed the deadline for agenda preparation.

I apologize for that oversight but wish to say that I would like to continue serving on the Commission and would be grateful for your support.

I appreciate the support you have given me in the past and thank you for your kind consideration at this time.

Best regards.........Marilyn M. Richoux

17May05

Marilyn,

I regret this got this far without you or I calling each other. I am only now (Tuesday) receiving your email due to a virus infecting parish computers wherein I and council members received literally hundreds of German emails over the weekend.

Yes, I was of the assumption that you were not interested in continuing on P&Z since you did not turn in a completed questionnaire before the deadline. It made sense to me since you had been serving the parish well for about 12 years; I thought you wanted a break and possibly to allow for new blood.

I thought of Marcus immediately. He had called me recently asking to get involved. When I inducted him into The Knights of Columbus, he expressed a real interest in serving his church and community. He works in finance and lives in District 3. His parents are Charles (Warren) and Andrea Lambert of Van's Lane. Good family- you may know his grandfather Charles Lambert on Ormond Oaks.

In any event, I nominated Marcus because I had committed to him and I didn't know there was a problem. I have to follow through and vote for my nominee. I hope you understand. This would not have happened if I had received your completed questionnaire.

Lance Marino

17May05

Barbara,

Please make sure to successfully fax, email, or mail to all council members my reply to Marilyn.

Thanks,

Lance Marino

 

17May05

Good Morning,

Mr. Marino has been trying to e-mail this respond to Mrs. Richoux to all Council Members with little success today. There seems to be a problem and he has asked that I make sure each of you receive a copy. I will e-mail first and fax as a back up.

Thank you,

Barbara Jacob

 

17May05

Lance,

You always claim to know the Council rules and customs. As you well know, ALL commission members are appointed by the seven district councilman, NOT by the at large. If it is a repeat nomination of course the at large can nominate someone on behalf of the district councilman. If you so desire to favor one candidate, you should have recommended him or her for my consideration for recommendation to the Council. Our Ordinance reads that way to represent the seven districts so that past mistakes of the Council are not repeated by stacking up by politically connected. I take exception to your explanation of innocence though virus may have had a part to play! You have upset a whole a lot of people in Ormond who like Marilyn Richoux. I had several calls last night. All I can say was that I did not know your motivation other than politics!

To assuage the situation, I am forwarding your explanation to the OCA to do damage control. People here, like elsewhere in the parish take pride in their neighborhood and care to have familiar faces in P&Z. I do know Marcus’s folks here and to avoid unnecessary embarrassment to him or Marilyn you can explain the situation to him and withdraw his name from consideration. That will be the reasonable approach since you also like to see Marilyn in P&Z. It is up to you to correct the situation.

G. "Ram" Ramchandran

17May05

To All,

I have to agree with Ram in this instance. Lance, you violated a ‘Cardinal’ Rule by nominating Mr. Lambert last night. In my opinion, it was an insult not only to Ram, as the district councilman, but to all district councilmen. The committees are set up with district representation, appointed by the district councilman. That has been a long standing rule for the last 14 years that I have been on the council. You have created an ‘air’ of distrust and I can tell you now, that I will stick with the district council nomination in this case. I also believe the Chairman should have recognized Ram before he recognized you, because we were dealing with District 3. The ‘move’ also gave the viewing audience (those that are familiar with our rules and practices) the impression that your nomination was worked out with the Chairman at some prior time before the issue was discussed. You can stick with your nomination, but you will also have to stick with your perception you have created, not only with some of us on the council, but with many of the people you represent. I don’t think many of us will forget it.

Barry Minnich

President's Message for April 2005-

I received the following letter from Bill Gieseler. Bill is the current President of the Ormond Country Club Board of Directors. I thought its content was important enough to include as my April 2005 Message:

As you know, Ormond Country Club would like to increase its membership substantially. One of our biggest challenges has been to get the general Ormond community to recognize that the club is there for the community and contributes significantly to property values in the community.

If the club were to close due to lack of financial support, as the Shenandoah Club in Baton Rouge has, and the Ormond stockholders were to sell to a developer, as Shenandoah's owner has, then our beautiful subdivision could become less attractive if homes and streets were developed on the golf course property.

For those OCA members/residents who think this is not possible, or a scare tactic, refer them to the following article form the Baton Rouge paper, "The Advocate":

The article described the efforts of a group of homeowners to organize against a proposed development that would replace the Shenandoah Country Club with upscale homes. The group is called Save Shenandoah, and was started in mid-January 2005 when Shenandoah CC owner George Cascino announced he had sold the country club to a New Orleans developer who plans to put 200 homes on the 130 acre course, to be called Green Trails of Shenandoah. "Outraged residents" said the golf course was both an integral part of the community and important to their property values. The course was sold because membership had dropped from 556 in 2001 to just over 200 at the January sale. You could assume that, due to lack of local membership support, George Cascino was making very little if any profit and likely losing money at the end. So Save Shenandoah is going to attempt to stop the developer. I wonder where the "outraged residents" were when George Cascino was pushing membership drives and trying everything he could think of to get the community to join, as Ormond Country Club is currently doing.

There is an interesting parallel here in Ormond. Fewer than 17% of homeowners on the golf course are club members. The club has membership levels from social/pool, to tennis, to golf at various levels, to a full stockholders membership. There is something there for everyone. The golf course requires a substantial budget to maintain each year, which is rightfully borne by the members. I would note, however, that all golf course lot owners benefit from the park like appearance the course offers. But it is possible for Ormond to fall to Shenandoah's fate if we don't receive additional support from the community. If the club's budget cannot be borne by the members, I can assure you that a sale is a possibility. However, it is also our option of last resort. We would prefer to sell ourselves to the community properly, so that our non-members don't become the "outraged residents" of the future.

Sincerely,

Bill Gieseler

President/Ormond CC Board of Directors

President's Message for March 2005-

March 25, 2005 UPDATE - Council acts too late for vote on casino. Gambling bill folds before deal. > read more

March 18, 2005 - My March message addresses the timely dissemination of information to the Residents of Ormond and St. Charles Parish. The Parish just released the final agenda for Monday nights Council meeting yesterday. One item in particular caught the OCA's attention. It is the addition of a Resolution to the final agenda, by Councilman Fabre, to ask the Parish Council to approve a request that the Louisiana State Legislature authorize a referendum election to allow riverboat gaming operations and activities in the Parish. The issue I have is not whether this Resolution should pass or fail, that is up to the Council. My complaint is that by releasing this information on the Thursday before the Monday Council meeting, there is very little time to plan and prepare to attend the Council meeting to speak, write letters to the Councilmen to express our viewpoint, and to solicit input from the Residents of the Parish. Please write the Parish Council and Administration to express your concern that you were not given enough time to analyze this Resolution and develop an opinion that could be communicated to our Public Officials.

ORDINANCES/RESOLUTIONS INTRODUCED FOR PUBLICATION/PUBLIC HEARING

Monday, March 21, 2005, 6:00 pm, Council Chambers, Courthouse, Hahnville

2005-0083

(3/21/2005, Fabre)

A resolution to request that the Louisiana State Legislature authorize a referendum election in St. Charles Parish to allow Riverboat Gaming Operations and Activities.

President's Message for February 2005-

I want to thank the OCA Board for their commitment to the Association, and expressing a vote of confidence in myself. > read more

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