Roughly six weeks after the City of Denham Springs mayoral candidate forum took place at Mustard Seed Creamery, candidate Jim Gilbert sat down with the News to expand on some answers and tout his connections as the difference-maker in his bid for the mayoral seat.
"Nearly two decades of experience," Gilbert said when asked what differentiates him from his two opponents, Ben Harris and John Cavalier. "I have been tried and tested at many different levels over a career of 40 years."
Gilbert is the elder statesman of the mayoral candidate group at age 60, with Ben Harris in second place at 43, and John Cavalier just behind at 42.
Gilbert said that he's had experience in industry, government, and maintenance, as well as specializing in building and training new employees. Gilbert said he spent four years in government, mostly as a Denham Springs councilman but with some time at Parish President Randy Delatte's office, and that time has allowed him to make connections at the local, state, and federal level politically.
"I am not timid," Gilbert said, "I understand how to build relationships, form white papers, and get my point across."
Before getting into answering 'what makes him different,' the interview opened asking about flooding and flood insurance. Gilbert, who posts videos on his website for quick hits about what's going on in Denham Springs and what he believes can change, said he thought there was some 'low-hanging fruit' for the city to earn more Community Rating System points and, therefore, bigger discounts on flood insurance.
Gilbert said that 'raising the base flood elevation' was a priority, discussing the change in BFE that would occur on flood maps when the Comite River Diversion Canal is completed and, if the Darlington Reservoir should ever come to pass. The two projects combined would have lowered the river peak an estimated 6 to 8 feet during the Great Flood of 2016. While the Comite Diversion Canal has found new life and the project is expected to be completed in the coming two years, cost and land acquisition remain an issue for the Darlington Reservoir.
Turning to road infrastructure, Gilbert said his time as a council person and in the parish president's office has given him an understanding of infrastructure, and he explained he has 'dug in' by acquiring drawings of all upcoming DOTD projects.
"We have to know where we're headed and why we're headed there," Gilbert said.
He described the traffic issues for Denham Springs as a 'regional issue' that would require a coalition of those governments and stakeholders to tackle the issues. Gilbert said that Denham Springs is on a 'major thoroughfare' and that most of the funding will need to come from the state and federal level to help bring traffic-alleviating projects to life.
"When I went to Capitol Hill this past January, the two things I told them we needed to be worried about was money for projects to move the water south of here, and also move traffic east and west," Gilbert said.
Gilbert alluded to other communities who have traffic struggles due to the bottleneck in Denham Springs, and believed that they would support fixing the traffic issues inside the city as part of a regional approach.
When asked about development, Gilbert said he believed the city was definitely going to see more commercial because the residential area 'was almost all taken up' and most of the residential development is 'outside of the city limits.' Commercially, he cited the conference center and TIF-based commercial development coming at Rushing Road and Pete's Highway, and that much of the remaining open land in the city was zoned commercial.
Gilbert also said he wants to 'protect Mayberry,' when asked about the direction of downtown Denham Springs. Gilbert cited his childhood in the downtown area and said it reminded him of the fictional town 'Mayberry' in North Carolina, the setting of The Andy Griffith Show.
"When you cross the railroad tracks, it's actually a very special place," Gilbert said. He added that he 'loved the diversity down there' now, but he believed in the foundation of antique shops and boutiques, but thought some of the new businesses, including restaurants, helped to 'keep people there.'
Annexation of property into the city limits was something Gilbert said he would consider as mayor, but the city had to be careful not to 'bite off more than it could chew.'
Gilbert said that he felt a sense of community in the downtown area, and also wanted to bring back some 'pride' by having events like 'trash bashes' and 'community cleanups' to help reclaim the title of 'Cleanest City.'
Finally, Gilbert said he wanted to change the perception of the permitting department to be more 'business-friendly,' but also said he wanted to find ways to do that 'from within the department.'
