| Woodland Oaks Civic Association Meeting Minutes Date: January 19, 2010 Type: General |
Meeting Time: 7:00 PM Location: Faith Presbyterian Church Minutes Prepared by: Lynn Folse
Attendees: Robert (Bob) Grace, Lynn Folse, Mike Biondolillo, Estle Neie, Lynette Bourg, and the general
membership
Absent: Charles Saucier, Tony Quaglino, Patricia Randazzo, William (Billy) Arnold, Terry Clark
1. Bob called the meeting to order and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
2. Chris Roberts talked about the following issues:
• Interim president Theriot has requested the state audit office to audit all parish contracts.
• Lapalco Blvd. will have guard rails installed near the bridge and striping of the new surface.
• Harvey Blvd. from Manhattan to Wall Blvd. will be completed by the end of March.
• A 3rd lane will be added to Manhattan Blvd. from Gretna Blvd. to the WB Expressway.
• A fly-over on-ramp from Manhattan Blvd. to east-bound WB Expressway is planned.
• The new EOC building can support 911 calls for 10 days with self-contained power, water, sewage, etc.
• The abandoned Evan’s property is under study for environmental hazards.
• N. Friendship Dr. will be repaired with FEMA funds.
• Aeration and landscaping will be planned for the retention ponds.
• Waste Management refused to submit a bid for the garbage contract. They are not doing any business
south of I-12.
3. Captain Ronnie Platt review criminal activity in Jefferson Parish:
• There were 51 homicides in 2009.
• Auto burglaries are up, especially targeting unlocked cars in gated communities.
• The sheriff's office is conducting specific patrols for high-crime areas.
• The license plate recognition cameras greatly help in the retrieving of stolen cars.
4. Bob summarized the progress on the Harvey Canal flood wall:
• The wall is 99% complete from Lapalco to Boomtown.
• There are 26 culverts with valves along Peters Road for drainage of the property along the Harvey Canal.
These valves must be closed when the gates in the wall are closed.
• This project will be 100% complete by June 15, 2011, except for the permanent protection at the Hero
pump station. This area will still have an 11 foot coffer dam in place.
5. Tim Connell, project manager with the Army Corps of Engineers, gave a presentation on the Gulf Inter-
coastal Waterway West Closure Complex:
• A contract was awarded on April 17, 2009
• Construction started August 4, 2009
• The contractor is working closely with the designers and many changes to the design have been
incorporated based on suggestions by the contractor.
• A comparison was shown of the original scope and the new revised scope.
• The final price of the contract will be negotiated.
• The pump station foundation is under construction.
• The coffer dam for the navigation gates is 60% complete.
• Elevation of the gates, flood walls and levees will be 16 feet MSL.
• Maps of the levee system and a summary of all local projects were handed out.
• The facility will provide functional protection (floodwall, levee, sector gate, sluice gates, and 6 pumps) by
Summer 2011, although full pumping capacity will not be complete until 2013.
6. Bob urged anyone willing to volunteer for emergencies to take the Community Emergency Response
Team (CERT) training class. Contact Bob if you are interested or call 349-5360.
7. A tour of the construction site at the GIWW West Closure Complex is available for small groups. Bob will
inquire and email members for participation.
8. Our next meeting is on March 16 and John Young will be our guest speaker.
9. Bob asked for volunteers to join the WOCA board. Elections will be held at the next meeting.
10. Bob adjourned the meeting.
**************************************************************************************************************
Woodland Oaks Civic Association
Meeting Minutes
Date: November 17, 2009 Type: General
Meeting Time: 7:00 PM Location: Faith Presbyterian Church Minutes Prepared by: Lynn Folse
Attendees: Robert (Bob) Grace, Lynn Folse, Mike Biondolillo, Estle Neie, Terry Clark, Lynette Bourg and the
general membership
Absent: Charles Saucier, Lynette Bourg, Tony Quaglino, Patricia Randazzo, William (Billy) Arnold,
1. Bob called the meeting to order and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
2. Bob summarized his conversation with the Army Corp of Engineers
• The Harvey Canal floodwall north of BoomTown to Lapalco is 90% complete and south to Hero pump
station is 70% complete. Significant protection will be available for next hurricane season. This project will be
functionally completed by end of year 2010.
• Construction of the Southwest Closure gate is under way. Construction of the temporary coffer dam for the
small gate is done. This project will offer our community a first-line-of-defense by end of year 2011. The full
project, including the pumping station is on target for 2013.
3. Chris Roberts talked about the following issues:
• The night work on the floodwall is finished.
• The floodwall is 16 feet tall along Peters road.
• The pump station at the Southwest Closure will be the largest ever built at 20,000 CFS. This is 4 times
larger than any other pump station in Jefferson.
• The Donaldsonville to the Gulf levee is under study and will offer protection for Lafitte and another line of
defense for the Westbank.
• Harvey Blvd. from Wall to Manhattan will be 4 lanes by the end of summer 2010.
• There have been over 500 derelict structures (mostly homes) demolished in J. P.
• The claim against FEMA for street repair ($100 million resulting from Katrina damage) may be approved
and streets in the WOCA neighborhoods will benefit from these funds.
• Chris Roberts will run for Councilman-at-Large.
4. Mark Drewes with the J. P. Department of Engineering updated everyone on the work on Lapalco:
• The crews will be applying the final 2” wear course of asphalt from the Lapalco bridge to Apollo.
• The guard rails will be installed later this month to early January 2010. Lane closures will be necessary.
• Repair and resurfacing of Lapalco from Bayou Fatima to Manhattan will start in May 2010.
• The Lapalco bridge received minor damage from a collision with a crane on a barge. The crane boom was
too high to clear and the tug operator did not wait for the bridge to open. Repairs will be complete by
Thanksgiving.
5. Bob adjourned the meeting.
****************************************************************************************************************
Woodland Oaks Civic Association
Meeting Minutes
Date: September 15, 2009 Type: General
Meeting Time: 7:00 PM Location: Faith Presbyterian Church Minutes Prepared by: Lynn Folse
Attendees: Robert (Bob) Grace, Lynn Folse, Charles Saucier, Lynette Bourg, Mike Biondolillo William (Billy)
Arnold, and the general membership
Absent: Estle Neie, Tony Quaglino, Patricia Randazzo, Terry Clark
1. Bob called the meeting to order and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
2. Bob summarized his conversation with the Army Corp of Engineers
• The Harvey Canal flood wall north of BoomTown is 90% complete and south is 60% complete. Protection
will be available for next summer. This project will be completed by summer of 2011.
• Construction of the southwest closure gate has begun. The land is cleared. An access road was
installed. Construction of the temporary coffer dam will begin this fall.
3. John Young talked about the following issues:
• The Coast Guard has set strict criteria for allowing vessels to remain in the Harvey Canal when an
approaching storm is in the Gulf. Evacuation waivers may be given only after a plan for securing a vessel has
been pre-approved by the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard has complete authority over this situation.
• Jefferson Parish is now the largest parish in the state.
• JP has the lowest unemployment of any parish.
• Code Enforcement has 28 officers and is now pro-active on code violations.
4. Captain Tim Scahlan is the Director of the JP Crime lab. He gave a presentation on crime scene
investigation techniques and how lab analysis and evidence are used to convict criminals.
5. Mike McAuliffe of the JPFD offered fire prevention brochures.
6. Bob recommended members to sign up for the Citizens Police Academy which gives citizens a first-hand
look at the various operations of the Sheriff's department.
7. The JP mobile crime lab was parked outside and available for members to take a tour.
8. Bob adjourned the meeting.
****************************************************************************************************************
Woodland Oaks Civic Association
Meeting Minutes
Date: June 16, 2009 Type: General
Meeting Time: 7:00 PM Location: Faith Presbyterian Church Minutes Prepared by: Lynn Folse
Attendees: Robert (Bob) Grace, Estle Neie, Lynn Folse, Charles Saucier, Terry Clark, Mike Biondolillo, and the
general membership
Absent: Lynette Bourg, William (Billy) Arnold, Tony Quaglino, Patricia Randazzo
1. Bob called the meeting to order and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
2. Royce Blanchard (councilman John Young’s assistant) and Brett Lawson (councilman Chris Roberts’
assistant) introduced Mark Drewes, parish engineer, and they discussed the Lapalco re-surfacing work:
• The next phase is Brooklyn to Murphy Canal.
• Bayou Fatima to Manhattan is scheduled to start in October.
• There are plans to omit the left turn onto Vulcan and move the Boomtown U-turn further east and then add
a U-turn from west to east in the area where the Boomtown U-turn is located now.
3. Chief Deputy John Thevenot with the narcotics division discussed the JSPO issues:
• JPSO is pro-active on suspicious activity.
• The JPSO website has crime statistics and current activities
• Almost 3000 arrests for drug trafficking in 2008
• The crime rate in JP is down 30% from 1980 to 2008 and the murder rate is about the same
• There was a murder spike in 2006 because Katrina drove drug activity from NO to JP.
• Assaults have been up since the Hispanic population carries cash.
• There are 57 license plate cameras in JP and a data base is being compiled on every vehicle that passes
one. The time and location are recorded for each vehicle. Not only can these cameras be used to recover
stolen vehicles, but they can be used to track vehicles used in suspicious activities.
• JPSO has the AFIS finger print ID software and if a suspect does not have identification, the officer can take
electronic fingerprints of the suspect at the investigation site.
4. Bob announced he following:
• The Harvey Canal flood wall will be 95% complete by next summer with the remaining 5% protected with a
10 foot temporary wall.
• The southern flood gate should be completed by 2013.
• JP is offering a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training course for volunteers. See JP
website for details.
• Night Out Against Crime is August 4 at the swim club and WOCA will provide hot dogs, chili and drinks.
Members are encouraged to bring pot luck dishes.
• Donations for CrimeStoppers will be collected at NOAC.
• The fire department and sheriffs' office will be represented at the NOAC. Councilmen will make
appearances.
• Bob strongly recommend citizens to sign up for the Citizens’ Police Academy classes to learn about the
inner workings of the JPSO. See JPSO website for details.
5. Bob adjourned the meeting.
*************************************************************************************************************
Attendees: Robert (Bob) Grace, Lynn Folse, Mike Biondolillo, Estle Neie, Lynette Bourg, and the general
membership
Absent: Charles Saucier, Tony Quaglino, Patricia Randazzo, William (Billy) Arnold, Terry Clark
1. Bob called the meeting to order and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
2. Chris Roberts talked about the following issues:
• Interim president Theriot has requested the state audit office to audit all parish contracts.
• Lapalco Blvd. will have guard rails installed near the bridge and striping of the new surface.
• Harvey Blvd. from Manhattan to Wall Blvd. will be completed by the end of March.
• A 3rd lane will be added to Manhattan Blvd. from Gretna Blvd. to the WB Expressway.
• A fly-over on-ramp from Manhattan Blvd. to east-bound WB Expressway is planned.
• The new EOC building can support 911 calls for 10 days with self-contained power, water, sewage, etc.
• The abandoned Evan’s property is under study for environmental hazards.
• N. Friendship Dr. will be repaired with FEMA funds.
• Aeration and landscaping will be planned for the retention ponds.
• Waste Management refused to submit a bid for the garbage contract. They are not doing any business
south of I-12.
3. Captain Ronnie Platt review criminal activity in Jefferson Parish:
• There were 51 homicides in 2009.
• Auto burglaries are up, especially targeting unlocked cars in gated communities.
• The sheriff's office is conducting specific patrols for high-crime areas.
• The license plate recognition cameras greatly help in the retrieving of stolen cars.
4. Bob summarized the progress on the Harvey Canal flood wall:
• The wall is 99% complete from Lapalco to Boomtown.
• There are 26 culverts with valves along Peters Road for drainage of the property along the Harvey Canal.
These valves must be closed when the gates in the wall are closed.
• This project will be 100% complete by June 15, 2011, except for the permanent protection at the Hero
pump station. This area will still have an 11 foot coffer dam in place.
5. Tim Connell, project manager with the Army Corps of Engineers, gave a presentation on the Gulf Inter-
coastal Waterway West Closure Complex:
• A contract was awarded on April 17, 2009
• Construction started August 4, 2009
• The contractor is working closely with the designers and many changes to the design have been
incorporated based on suggestions by the contractor.
• A comparison was shown of the original scope and the new revised scope.
• The final price of the contract will be negotiated.
• The pump station foundation is under construction.
• The coffer dam for the navigation gates is 60% complete.
• Elevation of the gates, flood walls and levees will be 16 feet MSL.
• Maps of the levee system and a summary of all local projects were handed out.
• The facility will provide functional protection (floodwall, levee, sector gate, sluice gates, and 6 pumps) by
Summer 2011, although full pumping capacity will not be complete until 2013.
6. Bob urged anyone willing to volunteer for emergencies to take the Community Emergency Response
Team (CERT) training class. Contact Bob if you are interested or call 349-5360.
7. A tour of the construction site at the GIWW West Closure Complex is available for small groups. Bob will
inquire and email members for participation.
8. Our next meeting is on March 16 and John Young will be our guest speaker.
9. Bob asked for volunteers to join the WOCA board. Elections will be held at the next meeting.
10. Bob adjourned the meeting.
**************************************************************************************************************
Woodland Oaks Civic Association
Meeting Minutes
Date: November 17, 2009 Type: General
Meeting Time: 7:00 PM Location: Faith Presbyterian Church Minutes Prepared by: Lynn Folse
Attendees: Robert (Bob) Grace, Lynn Folse, Mike Biondolillo, Estle Neie, Terry Clark, Lynette Bourg and the
general membership
Absent: Charles Saucier, Lynette Bourg, Tony Quaglino, Patricia Randazzo, William (Billy) Arnold,
1. Bob called the meeting to order and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
2. Bob summarized his conversation with the Army Corp of Engineers
• The Harvey Canal floodwall north of BoomTown to Lapalco is 90% complete and south to Hero pump
station is 70% complete. Significant protection will be available for next hurricane season. This project will be
functionally completed by end of year 2010.
• Construction of the Southwest Closure gate is under way. Construction of the temporary coffer dam for the
small gate is done. This project will offer our community a first-line-of-defense by end of year 2011. The full
project, including the pumping station is on target for 2013.
3. Chris Roberts talked about the following issues:
• The night work on the floodwall is finished.
• The floodwall is 16 feet tall along Peters road.
• The pump station at the Southwest Closure will be the largest ever built at 20,000 CFS. This is 4 times
larger than any other pump station in Jefferson.
• The Donaldsonville to the Gulf levee is under study and will offer protection for Lafitte and another line of
defense for the Westbank.
• Harvey Blvd. from Wall to Manhattan will be 4 lanes by the end of summer 2010.
• There have been over 500 derelict structures (mostly homes) demolished in J. P.
• The claim against FEMA for street repair ($100 million resulting from Katrina damage) may be approved
and streets in the WOCA neighborhoods will benefit from these funds.
• Chris Roberts will run for Councilman-at-Large.
4. Mark Drewes with the J. P. Department of Engineering updated everyone on the work on Lapalco:
• The crews will be applying the final 2” wear course of asphalt from the Lapalco bridge to Apollo.
• The guard rails will be installed later this month to early January 2010. Lane closures will be necessary.
• Repair and resurfacing of Lapalco from Bayou Fatima to Manhattan will start in May 2010.
• The Lapalco bridge received minor damage from a collision with a crane on a barge. The crane boom was
too high to clear and the tug operator did not wait for the bridge to open. Repairs will be complete by
Thanksgiving.
5. Bob adjourned the meeting.
****************************************************************************************************************
Woodland Oaks Civic Association
Meeting Minutes
Date: September 15, 2009 Type: General
Meeting Time: 7:00 PM Location: Faith Presbyterian Church Minutes Prepared by: Lynn Folse
Attendees: Robert (Bob) Grace, Lynn Folse, Charles Saucier, Lynette Bourg, Mike Biondolillo William (Billy)
Arnold, and the general membership
Absent: Estle Neie, Tony Quaglino, Patricia Randazzo, Terry Clark
1. Bob called the meeting to order and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
2. Bob summarized his conversation with the Army Corp of Engineers
• The Harvey Canal flood wall north of BoomTown is 90% complete and south is 60% complete. Protection
will be available for next summer. This project will be completed by summer of 2011.
• Construction of the southwest closure gate has begun. The land is cleared. An access road was
installed. Construction of the temporary coffer dam will begin this fall.
3. John Young talked about the following issues:
• The Coast Guard has set strict criteria for allowing vessels to remain in the Harvey Canal when an
approaching storm is in the Gulf. Evacuation waivers may be given only after a plan for securing a vessel has
been pre-approved by the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard has complete authority over this situation.
• Jefferson Parish is now the largest parish in the state.
• JP has the lowest unemployment of any parish.
• Code Enforcement has 28 officers and is now pro-active on code violations.
4. Captain Tim Scahlan is the Director of the JP Crime lab. He gave a presentation on crime scene
investigation techniques and how lab analysis and evidence are used to convict criminals.
5. Mike McAuliffe of the JPFD offered fire prevention brochures.
6. Bob recommended members to sign up for the Citizens Police Academy which gives citizens a first-hand
look at the various operations of the Sheriff's department.
7. The JP mobile crime lab was parked outside and available for members to take a tour.
8. Bob adjourned the meeting.
****************************************************************************************************************
Woodland Oaks Civic Association
Meeting Minutes
Date: June 16, 2009 Type: General
Meeting Time: 7:00 PM Location: Faith Presbyterian Church Minutes Prepared by: Lynn Folse
Attendees: Robert (Bob) Grace, Estle Neie, Lynn Folse, Charles Saucier, Terry Clark, Mike Biondolillo, and the
general membership
Absent: Lynette Bourg, William (Billy) Arnold, Tony Quaglino, Patricia Randazzo
1. Bob called the meeting to order and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
2. Royce Blanchard (councilman John Young’s assistant) and Brett Lawson (councilman Chris Roberts’
assistant) introduced Mark Drewes, parish engineer, and they discussed the Lapalco re-surfacing work:
• The next phase is Brooklyn to Murphy Canal.
• Bayou Fatima to Manhattan is scheduled to start in October.
• There are plans to omit the left turn onto Vulcan and move the Boomtown U-turn further east and then add
a U-turn from west to east in the area where the Boomtown U-turn is located now.
3. Chief Deputy John Thevenot with the narcotics division discussed the JSPO issues:
• JPSO is pro-active on suspicious activity.
• The JPSO website has crime statistics and current activities
• Almost 3000 arrests for drug trafficking in 2008
• The crime rate in JP is down 30% from 1980 to 2008 and the murder rate is about the same
• There was a murder spike in 2006 because Katrina drove drug activity from NO to JP.
• Assaults have been up since the Hispanic population carries cash.
• There are 57 license plate cameras in JP and a data base is being compiled on every vehicle that passes
one. The time and location are recorded for each vehicle. Not only can these cameras be used to recover
stolen vehicles, but they can be used to track vehicles used in suspicious activities.
• JPSO has the AFIS finger print ID software and if a suspect does not have identification, the officer can take
electronic fingerprints of the suspect at the investigation site.
4. Bob announced he following:
• The Harvey Canal flood wall will be 95% complete by next summer with the remaining 5% protected with a
10 foot temporary wall.
• The southern flood gate should be completed by 2013.
• JP is offering a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training course for volunteers. See JP
website for details.
• Night Out Against Crime is August 4 at the swim club and WOCA will provide hot dogs, chili and drinks.
Members are encouraged to bring pot luck dishes.
• Donations for CrimeStoppers will be collected at NOAC.
• The fire department and sheriffs' office will be represented at the NOAC. Councilmen will make
appearances.
• Bob strongly recommend citizens to sign up for the Citizens’ Police Academy classes to learn about the
inner workings of the JPSO. See JPSO website for details.
5. Bob adjourned the meeting.
*************************************************************************************************************
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