Mayor makes pitch to BRAC
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Mayor-President Kip Holden used soaring rhetoric in pitching a $901 million capital improvements bond issue to business leaders Tuesday, saying his goal is to make Baton Rouge the “best city in the world.”
Holden’s remarks came during a presentation to the board of directors of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, whose members have been among the most vocal supporters of the tax package.
He spoke after his special assistant, Walter Monsour, walked the chamber’s board through a slide presentation detailing the different elements of the bond issue, which will appear on the Nov. 14 ballot.
The tax package, like one that narrowly failed last year, consists of a half-cent sales tax increase and a 9.9-mill property tax. If approved, the taxes would fund drainage system improvements, a new public safety complex and parish prison, traffic light synchronization, riverfront development and other projects.
Holden described the upcoming tax election as a “defining moment” and a call to action.
“We want to be the best city not only in America, but the best city in the world,” Holden said.
He added, “This is our finest hour. The clock of destiny is ticking. We cannot afford a stopwatch. … We have to stand up now and say this is our time and we are going to make a difference and we are going to be that beacon that shines brightly all around the world.”
In his presentation, Monsour talked about the need to replace the crumbling City Police Headquarters on Mayflower Street; build a new parish prison and juvenile detention center; synchronize traffic lights; and take care of long-neglected infrastructure improvements to drainage systems.
He also offered a ringing defense of the decision to include the $225 million Alive project in the bond proposal.
Likened to a small-scale version of the Epcot center, plans for Alive include an aquarium, amphitheater, thrill rides and other attractions that would be operated by the Audubon Nature Institute.
Monsour said Alive is a key part of the tax package because it generates economic activity to pay off the bonds.
“Alive is a magnet,” Monsour said. “It is a riverfront development that attracts other, private investment.”
BRAC officials asked an Advocate reporter to leave the meeting after Holden and Monsour made their presentations.
A spokesman, Mike Odom, said in an e-mail the board wanted the opportunity to ask any questions of Holden and Monsour privately.
Odom declined to say whether the BRAC board voted to endorse the bond issue after the discussion. He said a formal announcement would be issued today.
The BRAC board had voted unanimously to support the similar bond issue on last year’s ballot.
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