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W. Feliciana residents act to preserve ambiance The Advocate By JOHN A. COLVIN
http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/10145626.html?showAll=y&c=y ST. FRANCISVILLE — For years, Bob and Linda Holmes ventured to spots across West Feliciana Parish, liberating themselves from the suburban life of Lake Sherwood in Baton Rouge. Sometimes they would grab a blanket for a picnic; but even when they didn’t, they always enjoyed the rural ambiance. “It was our getaway,” Linda Holmes said. So, when Linda Holmes was hired as librarian at Bains Lower Elementary School in St. Francisville, they decided to sell their Baton Rouge home and relocate. Ten years later and at a time when Bob Holmes is preparing for retirement from his job, the couple is joining other parish residents in wondering what the parish is going to look like in the future. “We don’t want to lose some of what we love about this area,” Linda Holmes said. To that aim, they attended an introductory meeting Thursday night at Hemingbough, the arts and convention center, with hundreds of others trying to grasp what the parish might achieve by creating a comprehensive master plan for growth and development. For a year, the Center for Planning Excellence, a non-profit organization based in Baton Rouge, has assisted the parish in developing the plan and advised parish leaders to allow residents to guide the effort through an advisory committee. In July, the West Feliciana Parish Police Jury agreed to contract with Fregonese Associates, a planning firm based in Portland, Ore. The move was based on the advisory committee’s recommendation following a public interview process in June with three consulting firms. Thursday’s meeting was to introduce the public to the planning process, said John Fregonese, president of Fregonese Associates. He said he was thrilled by the turnout for the meeting and the level of overall involvement he has seen so far. Citizen involvement is an important aspect to the success and longevity of a plan, Fregonese told the crowd of more than 100. The process calls for residents to provide their vision through a hands-on mapping workshop scheduled Nov. 28. Residents will develop scenarios through a mapping simulation. The consultants will compile the various scenarios and present them to the parish’s support committee in January. Committee members will review that information and direct Fregonese on which scenarios to develop and test. In the months following, the members of the advisory committee will develop strategies for implementation and funding and will draft the plan with help of the consultants. Fregonese said he hopes to have a proposal ready for the Police Jury to adopt next summer, perhaps as early as June. He told the crowd Thursday that the parish is in a critical stage of development. “It is important to develop a good plan now because things will change in your lifetime,” he said. “If you want to leave any of the parish like it is now, you need to participate.” He said the parish is mostly undeveloped, particularly in the northern sections, but the parish is attractive as a suburb to Baton Rouge and as an economic center of its own. Bob Holmes agreed, pointing to areas in Ascension and Livingston parishes as examples. “They are paying the price now for not doing anything,” he said of the planning in those fast-growing suburban parishes. The 27-member advisory committee also plans to hold a similar introductory meeting in each of the parish’s seven Police Jury districts. Also, a Web site is being developed to share information. ON THE INTERNET:
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