Metro Council to get first look at bond proposal Wednesday

Mayor Kip Holden is to give the Metro Council its first look at his bond proposal for the fall ballot on Wednesday. “It’s basically the same as the last one, minus Alive,” Holden says of the proposal, though he’s withholding the full details until Wednesday’s 4 p.m. regular Metro Council meeting. “I just feel it’s incumbent upon me to inform the council about the bond issue before I tell the media.” East Baton Rouge Parish voters rejected Holden’s two previous bond issues in 2008 and 2009: the first by just 3,000 votes, or less than 1% of the vote, while the 2009 proposal garnered 36% approval. Audubon Alive, a riverfront tourist attraction, was a controversial piece of both bonds. It accounted for $248 million of $989 million in the 2008 proposal, and $225 million in the $901 million proposal in 2009. This year’s proposal will focus on drainage, bridge, infrastructure and public safety improvements, Holden says. The mayor has said it will likely fall in the $600 million to $700 million range. Large items in the previous bond issues have included a new parish prison and police headquarters, as well as improvements to the River Center, numerous bridges and traffic signal synchronization. The council will vote in the coming months on whether to place the bond issue on the ballot this fall. —Steve Sanoski