Editor, The Era-Leader:
I attended the Franklinton town meeting of April 23rd, and I must say that except for there being no eye-pokes, face slaps, and pies, it reminded me of a Three Stooges comedy. I won't bore you with the details. Watch the video and decide for yourself.
However, I came away from all this tomfoolery with this realization. The town of Franklinton does not exist in a bubble. Simply because many of us do not reside within the city limits, it doesn't make us any less a citizen of the town. We see what happens when elected representatives don't respect the people who elect them. We get Washington, DC.
Our taxes, that we pay in the forms of sales taxes, property taxes, and state and federal taxes, all these monies get funneled back to many towns and parishes. So, while I do not have a residence in Franklinton and I do not vote for city representatives, neither of those deny me the right to attend public town meetings and voicing my opinions and criticisms. I have a citizen's right in being concerned by the conduct of all elected representatives in all matters.
The topic of the evening was, of course, the recreation park. The mayor attempted to get an approval passed to advertise for bids. On what? There were no specifics on what anyone would bid on. According to the state bid laws, you can't do that. IMHO, Mayor Route was looking for a blank check type approval. Nope, can't do that. The crowd of Mayor Route's sycophants blame three specific aldermen for the lack of any progress towards making the recreation park a reality. They just don't seem to get it, that you can't break the law nor ignore proper procedure to accomplish this.
This recreation park will belong to all the people of Washington Parish, not just the town of Franklinton., despite there only being one name on that sign on Chess Road. Mayor Route and others need to recognize that the grants and government funding comes from taxpayers. So, the money to build and maintain this recreation park comes from all of us.
My citizen's responsibility is not limited to where I live.
Ben M Sarro
Franklinton, LA
