A city’s progress can be measured by projects, and Minden City Councilman Michael Roy told members of the Minden Lions Club the city isn’t standing still.
And much of the money for those projects isn’t coming from the pockets of local taxpayers.
“A lot of these are funded by state and federal dollars,” he said. “In this way, we can relieve the burden of our taxpayers.”
City streets have been the target of work over the past three years, with more than $1.5 million going for overlay and improvement. The city is looking at spending more this year, including improvements on one roadway which has long been a thorn in the side of local motorists.
“We’ve been fighting with the state for years over Sheppard Street and this mayor and council decided to take on the endeavor this go around with street overlay,” Roy said.
Also included in major street projects is improvement to Industrial Drive at its intersection with LA Hwy 531.
Other projects identified by Roy included:
- Minden’s airport: “We have by far one of the best airports for any midsize city, and 99 percent of the funding has come from federal money,” he said. New hangers are planned to accommodate a waiting list of around 25.
- Infrastructure: Roy said work is progressing on a new 2 million gallon water tank on Clerk Street on property received in an exchange with the parish school board. Also, a $900,000 lift station is in the works.
- Recreation department: A $10 million project at Minden’s recreation complex off Industrial Drive “…will be one of the best in this region,” Roy said. “This will be an economic development tool for us.”
- Animal shelter: “Our new 1,800 square foot animal is very close to completion, with only some drainage work left,” he said. “This was funded primarily by the generosity of the people of Minden. Over the last four years, they donated $45,000.”
Roy said the city is operating on a budget of around $46 million, which he said represents an expenditure of about $3,400 per resident for the city of roughly 13,000.
“That’s a tremendous amount for a city of our size,” he said. “We’re trying to manage the people’s money in the right directions.”
One area which has seen a budget increase has been the city’s public safety departments, and he said there could be more in the future.
“We’ve increased public safety budgets by more than $2.5 million and we’re looking at the possibility of pay raises,” he said. “We’ve ordered a new fire truck and that’s about one million.
Another public safety project not yet off the ground is a new fire station on the west side of the Shreveport Road railroad tracks. Roy said the roughly $3.5 million project has no timeline, but funding could already be available.
“We’ve been in touch with U.S. Senator (Bill) Cassidy’s office to push in about three million dollars of that amount, and we hope the state can kick in the other half a million or so,” he said.
Minden’s council is also looking at ways to streamline city government, Roy said.
“We’re working on the bureaucracy…eliminating the red tape, trying to make things simple,” he said “The city’s ordinances haven’t been touched in years and we need to bring then into this century.”
Roy was first elected to the city council in 1999 when he was 19 years old. He did not run again until 2021 when he was seated in a special election to fill the District D seat.
“In my years on the council, then and now, this is the best group I’ve been associated with,” he said. “It takes hard work and cooperation, and this working relationship is, I believe, what’s helping the city move forward.”