“Fireworks Over Buhlow” – a gift to the
community from the City of Pineville,
CLECO & LA 103.5 / K-Fox 105
Saturday, July 3rd
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Gates open at 5:00 … music starts at 6:00pm with Michael Hataway & the La. Swamp
Fire Band
The B.B. Major Blues Band follows at 7:45pm and takes us up to the spectacular
fireworks show.
Grandstand by Buhlow Lake will be the concert stage
Bring your lawn chairs and blankets and sit under the stars
FREE admission
Clean entertainment for the whole family
Nothing more exciting than Patriotic Fireworks over beautiful Buhlow Lake.
No Ice Chests please as a concession stand will be open!
Food, Family, Fireworks & Fun as we light the skies over beautiful Buhlow Lake
Enjoy Independence Day with your family on July 4th… and welcome in the holiday with us on
Saturday, July 3rd with “Fireworks Over Buhlow”
Walgreens on the
way!
Walgreens is coming to Pineville!
The expanding Walgreens presence
in Central Louisiana has taken
another major step as construction
has begun on one of their
pharmacies in Pineville. A freestanding Walgreens store will be
built at the intersection of Monroe
Highway (U.S. 165) and Military
Highway, next door to Popeyes.
Walgreens had already announced
plans to build pharmacies on
Jackson Street and Masonic Drive in Alexandria, but the Pineville location will be the first to
actually begin construction…and may not be the only Pineville location, as a second site is under
consideration.
The 14,820-square foot store will be open by early fall and should employ 25 to 30 people and
do about $7 million in annual sales. While Walgreens had a presence in the Alexandria-Pineville
area in the past, there are no current stores in the chain here. Walgreens is the nation's largest
drug store chain and America's 11th largest retailer. It is in an active expansion mode, and
opened 34 stores in March. Walgreens now has 4,368 stores in 44 states, an increase of more
than 350 stores in the last year. There are about 90 Walgreens stores in Louisiana, most of them
in large cities in the southern portion of the state.
OMV Marker
A brief ceremony of family and friends was held
recently at the Pineville’s Office of Motor
Vehicles. The purpose was to unveil a marker
explaining why the public building was named
after Lee J. Broussard. A longtime employee of
the Department of Motor Vehicles and a Pineville
City Councilman, the marker is just to the right of
the main entrance. Former Councilwoman Carrie
Broussard (pictured center) and her three
daughters were on hand for the unveiling. The occasion also was an introduction of the new
manager of the Pineville office, Loretta Reed (pictured right) with Regional Manager Brenda
Cook (pictured left). Ms. Reed succeeds Margaret Eyre, who has retired. The Lee J. Broussard
Public Building is located at 831 Main Street, between the Pineville Senior Citizens Center and
Pineville Elementary, in Downtown Pineville.
$600,000 Housing Grant
The Governor’s Office of Community Development has
awarded the City of Pineville a $600,000 grant for housing
improvements in low-to-moderate income areas. The award
is a Louisiana Community Development Block Grant
(LCDBG) and will be used to rehabilitate one owneroccupied housing unit and reconstruct 10 others to comply
with HUD Section 8 and cost-effective energy conservation
standards. In addition, the LCDBG will be used to demolish
six substandard housing units in the Smithville area in east
Pineville. Governor Kathleen Blanco (pictured between Pineville Mayor Clarence Fields and
Mayoral Assistant Rich Dupree at the State Capitol) says the grant is one way that state
government can help the people it serves. “The LCDBG is designed to assist families and
communities in creating safe housing to enhance the overall quality of life for its citizens,”
Blanco stated. This LCDBG marks the second such grant under this program that Pineville has
received in the last three years. In 2002, Pineville received over $400,000 for road improvements
of Pelican Drive and several other streets.
More Help from the Governor!
Pineville Mayor Clarence Fields has made many
trips to Baton Rouge in his 4-years in office, but
not often does he return with two grant awards
totaling $670,000. In addition to the LCDBG
mentioned above, the Mayor was also in the State
Capitol building recently to receive $70,000 for
Pineville’s new sewer treatment plant set to begin
construction next year.
The Delta Regional Authority (DRA), which
includes eight states in the Mississippi-Delta area,
is a federally funded authority, of which
Governor Kathleen Blanco is a member. The 7million dollar sewer treatment plant will be adjacent to Pineville’s current plant and will give
Pineville the needed capacity to handle the industrial growth along Highway 165, including the
expansion of the new liquids plant at Procter and Gamble, and the cluster of new businesses that
has followed. The DRA grant will be coupled with other federal and state grants Pineville has
obtained to help cover most of the cost of the new plant. (Pictured at the grant award
announcement are Mike Taylor of the USDA’s Alexandria office, Pete Johnson, Federal CoChairman of the DRA, Mayor Fields, Governor Blanco, Mayoral Assistant Rich Dupree,
Jimmy Williams, Director of the Kisatchie-Delta Planning District, and Sam Jones, Mayoral
Liaison for the Governor to the Legislature).
Tree City USA for third year!
The City of Pineville has received Tree City USA designation from the
National Arbor Day Foundation for the third year in a row. “Being a Tree
City is something Pineville can be very proud of,” said Cindy Bouchie,
chair of the Pineville City Tree Board, as she presented the plaque to the
Mayor and City Council. “This designation says Pineville is serious
about its beautiful urban forest and will continue to work to protect and enhance it.” Pineville
Mayor Clarence Fields was equally excited about the honor. “We strive every day to find ways
to improve our city and to apply for those grants and funding that will help us accomplish that. It
is an honor to receive such recognition for the third year in a row”.
The Pineville City Tree Board was established by ordinance three years ago. Since then the
board has worked with the council and residents to landscape Kelso Park and Huey P. Long
Hospital Boulevard, sponsored an educational day at Red Dirt for fifth graders, hosted a Building
Green Cities seminar and participated in Arbor Day events. Plans for 2004 include conducting a
tree inventory in the city, tree plantings on the Expressway and Wardville sports complex,
developing and providing educational materials and training on tree maintenance for the public
and city employees, providing educational materials to residential developers on the value of
building with trees, and building a Tree Board section here on our website.
Don’t miss Smithsonian
Exhibit!
United States history is on display at one of Pineville's most
historic locations. A new Smithsonian traveling exhibition
titled "Yesterday's Tomorrows: Past Visions for the
American Future" is at Pineville’s Old Town Hall
Museum through the month of May. Admission is FREE!
Pineville's Old Town Hall Museum is on the corner of Main
Street and Shamrock, in Downtown Pineville.
Five freestanding kiosks that show futuristic predictions
about homes, transportation and communities are installed
upstairs in the old courtroom portion of the
museum. Examples of popular culture - such as
ray guns, robots and plans for a nuclear-powered
car - are used to show how 18th, 19th and 20thcentury Americans envisioned the future.
We have partnered with the Historical
Association of Central Louisiana and State
Representative Rick Farrar (pictured with
Mayor Clarence Fields) to bring this educational
opportunity to our children and our community.
The exhibit is open from 8am to 5pm, Monday
thru Friday, and Noon to 5pm Saturdays, and 1pm
to 5pm on Sundays…and admission is FREE!
(For more information, see the Town Talk article.)
Household Hazardous
Waste Collection Day
May 22, 9-2
Pineville is joining with Alexandria to sponsor the annual
"Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day" on
Saturday, May 22 from 9:00AM to 2:00PM at the
Alexandria City Complex, 2021 Industrial Parkway in
Alexandria. The health and safety of our families,
neighborhoods and environment is
threatened when household hazardous waste is stored or
disposed of improperly! Household hazardous waste is any
product labeled: toxic, poison, corrosive, flammable,
combustible, or irritant that is disposed of. DO NOT BRING Ammunition, Lab Waste,
Commercial Waste or Explosives! For more infomation, see our online PDF flyer. If you have
any questions, please call Ann Wilson, City of Alexandria Recycling Coordinator, at 441-6251.
Pineville Wins District - on to State!
On March 30th, judges from the Cleanest City Contest were in Pineville to appraise our progress
in defending our state title, which we won last year for the first time in Pineville's history. The
judges awarded our hard work by announcing Pineville as the District D winner, which now
sends us to the State judging, which will be held May 3rd.
Pineville’s entry was sponsored by the Alexandria Garden Club, which includes many Pineville
ladies in its membership. Our Public Works Department has worked very hard to keep Pineville
looking good. We appeal to you, the citizens of Pineville, to help us defend our state title - let's
be the Cleanest City in the State! Join the TEAM and keep Pineville CLEAN…and let’s take
State again!!!
Utility Increases Adopted
The Pineville City Council adopted the proposed utility increases at the March 9 meeting
following several months of study, including a citizen's Ad Hoc Committee which presented rate
increase recommendations. The increases for water, sewerage and garbage rates are not as bad as
first feared.
New Rates
Current Rates
Water
Residential In
Min/3,000gal
per 1k/gal
Min/3,000gal
per 1k/gal
$5.00
$1.61
$8.00
$1.95
Residential Out
$14.00
$2.43
$18.00
$2.80
Commercial In
$12.00
$1.88
$15.00
$2.20
Commercial Out
$24.00
$2.43
$30.00
$2.80
$5.00
$1.61
$8.00
$1.95
Residential Out
$14.00
$2.15
$18.00
$2.80
Commercial In
$12.00
$1.61
$15.00
$2.20
Commercial Out
$24.00
$2.15
$30.00
$2.80
Sewer
Residential In
Sanitation
Residential In
Collection
Commercial In
(+ disposal)
Collection
$10.25
$14.00
$18.00
$23.00
(+ disposal)
To give an example of how this will affect residents, here are two examples of typical water
bills. The first is of a household using up to the minimum 3000 gallons of water:
Water
Current
Rates
$5.00
New
Rates
$8.00
Sewer
$5.00
$8.00
$10.25
$14.00
$6.50
$6.50
$26.75
$36.50
3,000 Gallons
Sanitation
Average disposal fee
TOTAL
Increase = $9.75
The next example is of a household using approximately 8,000 gallons of water:
Water
Current
Rates
$13.05
New
Rates
$17.75
Sewer
$13.05
$17.75
8,000 Gallons
$10.25
$14.00
Average disposal fee
$6.50
$6.50
TOTAL
Increase = $13.15
$48.25
$56.00
Sanitation
While increases are never liked, they are necessary to maintain the present level of excellent
service to the residents of Pineville. As Mayor Fields said, "We are very pleased that the
increases will still leave Pineville with the most affordable water and sewer rates of any city or
system in Central Louisiana."