Caddo Commissioner Steven Jackson seems to relish controversy, most of which he generates himself.
Jackson has experience as student body president at Grambling State University, in former Mayor Cedric Glover's office, an LSUS Master of Public Administration degree, and mentors Glover and former Shreveport Councilman Calvin Lester. Seemingly, the art of politics would not be so difficult for him.
But it is.
Jackson's latest commission fiasco was at the Monday, Jan. 18, commission work session. His proposals to repeal every land use parish ordinance were not advanced to the Thursday regular meeting on an 11-1 vote. Although this resounding rebuff was not unprecedented, it was rare.
Jackson has a time-wasting penchant for commenting on practically every agenda item. And when he argues for his positions, he makes disparaging references to other commissioners, confuses/misstates facts and misinterprets legislation.
And despite his self-announced governmental knowledge, he seemingly has difficulty in distinguishing between legislative apples and oranges. A typical example is his insistence that the parish execution of a tollway agreement assuming road responsibility is not consistent with his requested repair of Ford Street, which is a state highway in Allendale.
Parish Administrator Dr. Wilson addressed these issues in the following letter to Jackson, which should be self-explanatory even to him:
"Dear Commissioner Jackson:
"In response to your request for Administration to provide a comparison between the proposed Tim James Red River Expressway project and the repair of For Street, I am providing the following observation.
"The Tim James Red River Expressway project is proposing to build a toll bridge and runway system utilizing an estimated $80 to $90 million in private funds for construction. Since this project would more than likely be permitted and inspected by the State of Louisiana, the engineering work and the specifications of the bridge and road system would be required to meet or exceed the State's engineering design standards.
" Tim James, LLC is seeking access to land within Caddo Parish to develop the right of way to the road system. At the conclusion of the project, Tim James, LLC has expressed their desire to donate approximately 1.6 miles of roadway to the Parish of Caddo and secure a maintenance bond for the first fifteen years of maintenance. During year thirteen of the road life, they would resurface the road, which would extend the maintenance life for an additional 10 to 15 years depending on the traffic load. Therefore, roughly thirty years after the Parish of Caddo accepts the road, we estimate that it would cost approximately $18,000 per year to maintain the road and the right of way. Additionally, the proposed 1.6-mile section of donated road is located in the Parish of Caddo, and it would be considered a rural parish road. It would be maintained as such, and the repair and maintenance will be funded by the rural Parish Transportation Funds that we receive each year from the State of Louisiana along with Public Works road tax revenue.
"The Tim James Red River Expressway project has the potential to have a significant regional impact on the northern portion of Louisiana, and the project could potentially save the State and the taxpayers approximately $500 to $600 million in cost avoidance expenditures by eliminating the need to build an extension of State Highway 3132.
"Ford Street/State Highway 173, is completely different from the Tim James Red River Expressway project, in that it is a much older urban road that is in need of urgent surface repair. As in most urban highway systems, Ford Street has utility systems within its infrastructure that are typically not found in rural parish highway systems. For example, Ford Street has sidewalks, fifty-five area light poles, three traffic signals, force main sewer and water drainage systems and domestic water lines that were installed in the 1950's. The City of Shreveport pays for the area street lights, and they have a contract with the State of Louisiana to maintain the traffic devices.
"The estimated cost to rehab the section of Ford Street which you are interested in, is approximately $400,000, depending on the ever-changing cost of asphalt, which is a petroleum-based product. In addition, the State DOTD has expressed its willingness to overlay Ford Street in its entirety once the City of Shreveport completes the water line repair work under the road surface. At this point, I am uncertain as to what the State's cost would be for the entire road overlay project. In addition to overlaying the Ford Street road surface, all of the sidewalks need to be completely redone. Because of the current deteriorated condition of the sidewalks, I am not sure what the estimated cost is for this repair.
"In conclusion, the Tim James Red River Expressway project is being constructed solely with private dollars, and the Parish of Caddo would not incur maintenance cost for approximately 30 years. On the other hand, if the Parish of Caddo accepted Ford Street in the Right Sizing Program, it would take the State approximately two or more years to complete the overlay and rehab project. Additionally, as long as there is a deteriorating utility infrastructure originally installed in the 1950's beneath Ford Street, the road surface would continually need to be taken up and resurfaced to make needed repairs.
“If a more technical comparison is needed, I suggest that we hire an engineering firm to do the work.
"Respectfully submitted,
"Dr. Woodrow Wilson Jr.
"Caddo Parish Administrator and CEO"