Vote ‘Yes’ on Nov. 14 – Editorial

Nov. 14 is an important day for Baton Rouge’s future. We hope you will have a say in it and vote “Yes” to Mayor Kip Holden’s bond issue and the vision for our future it represents.

Much of what is included in the bond issue is long overdue—in some cases, embarrassingly so. Our Police Department operates in a decrepit headquarters that is literally falling apart. Worse, street cops must routinely let suspected criminals walk with nothing more than a written court summons because the parish prison is full.

It’s disgraceful that we expect cops to put their lives at risk to protect us, yet we don’t even provide them adequate facilities to carry out the job. The mayor’s bond issue addresses these problems by providing funding for new police facilities and a substantial expansion to the parish prison.

The mayor’s bond issue also will pay to fix chronic drainage problems and to reduce traffic gridlock by synchronizing traffic lights.

On those counts, the bond issue addresses our past, finally dealing with problems too long ignored and overlooked. But we support the bond issue just as much for its bold vision for the future.

The bond issue will fund historic improvements to our riverfront, including Alive. This scientific and educational park will be operated by the Audubon Nature Institute, the same organization that operates the New Orleans Zoo and the Aquarium of the Americas. An outdoor amphitheater and thrill rides will complement education and research facilities, all of which would become a signature destination on the Mississippi River, a natural wonder too long neglected by Baton Rouge.

Alive has been controversial, and like many voters, we still have questions. However, we have decided they are not enough to prevent our support.

That support is contingent, though, on the mayor taking a leadership role on several related and equally important issues:

• unding for a new or renovated downtown library.

• resolution for a downtown entertainment district that includes exploring grants and incentives to attract galleries and retailers so that the district is not simply a collection of bars and restaurants.

• ttracting affordable residential housing downtown.

At $901 million over 30 years, the cost of this bond issue won’t be cheap for taxpayers and businesses. And there is the risk of not hitting economists’ projections.

But, if you truly believe in the premise that Baton Rouge can be America’s next great city, then you must join us and vote “Yes.”

Then, it’ll be up to the mayor and his administration to get involved, effectively carry out the plans and execute all the components that promise a better tomorrow for Baton Rouge.