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YN CLINT CRADEUR -FOR MAYOR- A PLAN FOR WHAT I WOULD DO IF ELECTED MAYOR FOCUSING ON OUR FUTURE FIRST THINGS… RESTORING ORDER IN CITY GOVERNMENT Members of the City Council are elected to represent the citizens of We have to work together and their wards, and as such will have a voice again. They will be focus on our future as a welcomed at City Hall and encouraged to participate in the community. I hope to accomplish governing process. They will be given information, and meetings this by working every day to will be conducted orderly. The constitutional balance of power is restore Trust and Transparency in crucial to moving Crowley forward. The citizens need officials that City Hall and foster Teamwork work past their differences and have professional debates. between officials and citizens. No chaos will be allowed. MAKING OUR NEIGHBORHOODS SAFE AGAIN Combating and reducing crime is my priority. Communication with members of the community and law enforcement is essential. I will work with the police and citizens to ensure our citizens and visitors WE ARE ONE CITY feel safe in our city. We can’t play games with people’s lives at stake. We might have many different BEATING BACK BLIGHT neighborhoods, but we are one Our City can only grow if our neighborhoods uplift our quality of City that needs to move forward life. I will make sure our litter and building code laws are enforced together. We can’t let ideas about and prioritize dangerous structures and junk removal. Abandoned “parts of town” divide us and hold us back. Everyone has a seat at houses, abandoned vehicles, tall grass and litter will no longer be the table, and everyone will be tolerated. We need more results, more action, and less excuses. listened to. Crowley is a small town with a big future; we need a PROMOTING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT mayor with a real open-door, Crowley has so, so much to offer. We have a major interstate, a open-phone policy. railroad, and access to waterways. We cannot afford to sit back and wait for Crowley to grow economically—we have to push hard and work harder to strengthen our local business community while drawing new businesses into our City limits. GEAUXMAYORCLINT @GEAUXCLINT (337) 344-2114 20 BAYOU OAKS DR. @GMAIL.COM CROWLEY, LA 70526 WHY I’M RUNNING I love Crowley and I believe that in order for our City and our citizens to thrive we must reduce crime and blight to protect the lives and property of our citizens. We must promote economic development that supports business growth and improve the lives of residents by bringing jobs and tax revenue to the City. We have to give the youth of our community opportunities to succeed by promoting education and continuing to provide recreational activities that they can participate in with their peers. Crowley needs a change, and I am ready to lead that change if called by the people to be Mayor. I’m new to government and have served on the City Council representing Ward 4 and all of Crowley for two years now, and have been praying about running for Mayor for the past year. This is not a spur of the moment choice. I believe that I have the experience and knowledge to get things accomplished for our City and the dedication to give the public more than a simple “I’m working on it.” I’m willing to make the tough decisions that must be made, and have made them before while working in the labor and professional sectors. Crowley can’t afford to go another four years down an uncertain path. I want to build a team of individuals that are passionate about creating actual change within the City. I’m running because I want to give back to the City and bring stability and growth through teamwork. It’s time for us to bring Crowley back, together! BRIEF BIOGRAPHY I have always lived in Crowley and graduated from Crowley High School in 1974. My wife Victoria “Torrie” Dubey Cradeur and I have two children: Chase and Chad. Chase is a captain in the U.S. Army; he and his wife Dana have two children, Aubrey and Charlotte. Chad is a Special Needs Teacher and Head Baseball Coach at Crowley High; he and his wife Kai have one child, Cooper. I retired from the oil and gas industry in 2014 after 36 years, working my way up from roustabout to Production Superintendent. Though I started in the field, I have been in a supervisory capacity for most of my career, dealing each year with multi-million-dollar budgets and managing over 100 employees in several divisions and four states. Torrie and I are also past business owners of La Boutique, which for many years was located downtown Crowley. Because I wanted to give back to our community, I ran for Alderman in Ward 4 (South Crowley) unopposed and have served since 2018 as Chairman of the Public Works Committee. DEPARTMENTAL CHANGES PERSONNEL PERSONNEL OVERVIEW RETIREMENT SYSTEM CHANGE PROPOSAL City employees work for the The City’s pension system is very expensive to upkeep and at times residents and taxpayers of promotes ineffective employment. I would like to consider phasing the City of Crowley, and out the city’s pension plan and begin a more efficient 401(k) type they will treat everyone retirement plan for non-civil service city employees. with honesty and professionalism. City Hall RESTRUCTURING OUR LEGAL TEAM will once again be a I will endeavor to employ a full time or at least part-time City welcoming place. Attorney whose office will be located in City Hall. This position will also fulfill the position of City Prosecutor in the City Court system. The City Attorney must attend all Council meetings and will be available to all city officials. His salary will be set by the budget and COOPERATION an active legal calendar will be kept. There are many personnel MERIT-BASED HIRING ordinances and policies The City requires employees who are skilled at their jobs and have used in nearby cities which the credentials to oversee services for Crowley’s over 13,000 promote ethics and residents. Certain qualifications will exist for employees dealing professionalism within the with finance and other matters. Effective employees save money. municipal workforce. These Preference will be given to city residents and those who portray should be implemented in professionalism. our Code of Ordinances. Employees will work cooperatively with other officials. PUBLIC SAFETY IDENTIFYING ISSUES POLICE DEPARTMENT RELATIONS There are many, many factors at • The Police Chief controls the Police Department. The play that have created the administration and Council set its budget. I will work situation our City is in today with the Chief and this department to increase the concerning crime. Two main number of patrol officers and develop a plan to issues at the root of this problem increase their pay within constraints of available funds are ineffective communication and civil service law. between the Mayor and Chief of Police and a lack of cooperation. • I will encourage the Police Department to increase their There are other issues, but these participation in the Traffic Enforcement Division (TED) are the issues which can be program, which brings in revenue and promotes safe solved by the next driving. administration. • I will promote greater interaction between the administration, citizens, police, Sheriff, State Police and The Fire Chief is subordinate to federal agencies to combat gang violence and other the Mayor. The fire department forms of criminal activity in our city. will facilitate public fire education and be proactive in • I strongly support having an active and properly examining hazardous buildings. trained Street Crimes Unit to curtail the criminal activities plaguing neighborhoods across our city, while also seeking assistance from the Sheriff’s Office. COMMUNICATION • We will partner with the Acadia Parish Police Jury to install cameras within the City which will deter criminal We can’t afford to keep going activity and assist the police in identifying suspects. down the path we are travelling down. The Mayor and Police Chief have to collaborate on projects, bring in community FIRE DEPARTMENT leaders, and work with the Council to approve equipment I will pursue funding to renovate the Central Fire Station, if and pay scales for public safety physically and financially feasible, or sell the property for officers. an alternative use. The funds will be used to build a modern firehouse to accommodate firefighters within a single facility. This will eliminate wasteful spending on rental of a detached office building where our firefighters have been housed for many years. YN DEPARTMENTAL CHANGES RECREATION DEPARTMENT OVERVIEW RECREATION Our community is served well by an efficient SETTING OUR NEW TURF FIELDS UP FOR SUCCESS Recreation Department, Thousands of people have attended our new turf fields so far. We which provides so many have to promote them through advertisement and signage, as well services to our citizens as social media. We should also aid related and nearby businesses. young and old. Our youth can be occupied during the SAFETY BRINGS BACK BUSINESS summer which will instill A guest of our ballfields was hit this year by a stray bullet while character and personal getting food with his son. Teams have to be able to feel safe when discipline in them. This showing up to play sports and spend money in Crowley. We can’t department also serves a simply shrug and do nothing—we have to have a greater police vital role in bringing presence in all parks throughout the city. We also should explore outsiders into our installing attachments to make our parks handicap accessible. community. IMPROVING RECREATION INFASTRUCTURE The City should be in the position to offer many types of recreational activities and facilities to its residents. I will work with COOPERATION the recreation director to ensure that all facilities are maintained and used in an efficient way, and that trash is cleaned up from our Building stronger local parks. All of our parks should also be monitored for safety. We partnerships with local will also begin working with the Lt. Governor’s Office on getting businesses and parish funding and aid for recreation and cultural development. officials can and will be done. Meetings with other SPECIFIC PROJECTS cities’ recreation • All parks will be evaluated by use. Unused parks or tennis departments will allow us to courts might be repurposed so that the citizens will get a build from the ideas of better use from them. others. It does not matter • The Martin Luther King Jr. Center and nearby facilities need ‘whose idea it is’ or who to be upgraded. I would like to pursue grants from the Lt. gets the credit. Governor’s Office and capital outlay funding for a covered pavilion and/or a covered basketball court. • I would like to explore the possibility of having a public fishing pond with picnic tables and a walking trail on certain city property. There are grants for this that were shown to us but the current administration refused to apply—twice. DEPARTMENTAL CHANGES CODE ENFORCEMENT CODE ENFORCEMENT OVERVIEW SUPPORTING CODE ENFORCEMENT City residents have voiced I plan to hire an additional Code Enforcement Officer to enforce concerns about dilapidated litter, blight, grass and other violations that fall under this houses, a lack of Department. This individual would have the training and enforcement of provisions authorization to issue citations and fines for non-compliance. This of the City Code, and department will show up to Council meetings and will issue horrible living conditions. violations to anyone who breaks the law. We cannot be scared to We cannot afford to sit back enforce our Code if we expect our quality of life to rise. and do nothing because a problem is too big. CONSIDERING A RENTAL REGISTRATION PROGRAM Many of our residents are being forced to live in horrible conditions. Code Enforcement officers will be instructed to conduct sanitation and habitability inspections, and I would consider EQUAL implementing a rental registration program which requires ENFORCEMENT landowners to comply with habitability requirements. We need to begin to fix the CHANGING ANIMAL CONTROL PRACTICES problems of junk, blight, tall I would like to explore the feasibility of upgrading our animal control grass and litter where it is facility or contracting with the Police Jury to provide the most humane the worst. It should not and cost-effective facility for animal control within our city. matter what part of town a problem is situated in for it UTILIZING THE ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING COURT to be fixed. We are one city. The Council recently passed legislation to create a court which would abate many Code Enforcement violations at once, while Similarly, it should not decreasing the amount of time to see actual results and taking the matter who someone is or politics out of the blight situation. I will utilize this court to clean up who they know if they have the city, especially those properties that pose an immediate threat. violated an ordinance. All WORKING TOGETHER WITH VOLUNTEERS & ORGANIZATIONS violators will be treated The City of Crowley cannot afford to turn away any help—we have fairly and justly. There will to work together with citizens to tear down blighted homes and not be favoritism or a ‘pass.’ identify junk and abandoned cars. No lot should look like a wasteland. I will offer my hand to any volunteer and support them in any way that I can. YN DEPARTMENTAL CHANGES TOURISM DEVELOPMENT TOURISM DEVELOPMENT OVERVIEW COLLABORATION WITH TOURISM DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS Crowley has a rich history Working cooperatively with the Acadia Parish Tourism Commission and many attractions. We and our Mainstreet organization will not be a “side” job of the have to promote ourselves Mayor and Tourism Director—it will be a priority. We must also as a City and expand our reach out to the Lt. Governor’s Office. I have met extensively with marketing to attract new the Lt. Governor and plan to collaborate with his office to get visitors and keep the Crowley the media it needs if elected. I will also offer to attend attention those who travel to board meetings of the International Rice Festival organization. our community often. USING OUR ASSETS Crowley has many assets which can be leveraged to gain revenue at no cost to our citizens. I will actively promote rentals of the Rice AMBASSADORSHIP Theater, Wells Fargo building, and the Rice Festival building. Scheduling events at the ballparks off-season will also bring in The Mayor must be an revenue. I will consider also selling city owned properties that are ambassador for the City. My not in use and impose and a burden on the city’s finances and wife and I will attend every taxpayers. We can’t afford to simply cut the grass or fix the windows event that we can where it in unused buildings. will be a benefit to the City. Promoting “dine in MUSEUM REVITALIZATION Crowley” and our local food Museums should be open to the public and be actively promoted. It and retail businesses will be has been a long time since schoolchildren regularly viewed the a priority. Our sports teams interactive displays in City Hall. The City also owns a “Rice and ball fields will be used Museum” from years past which has been allowed to fall into as a media and marketing disrepair. I believe the Rice Museum should be located near the asset. Lastly, I will meet with downtown area to offer convenient access to tourists and promote different franchisees to education of our rice industry. These items will provide revenue to determine if more the Tourism Department. accommodations can be built to bring in revenue from overnight guests. YN INFRASTRUCTURE MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT COMBINING DEPARTMENTS: LESS WASTE EFFICIENCY FIRST I’ve supervised and managed projects consisting of over 100 employees each tasked with different roles from different Crowley has its infrastructure divisions and located in different states. Each of these projects problems, and they can’t go taught me about delegating responsibility, sharing resources, away overnight. I can’t and communication between different divisions and promise to solve all of them departments. After speaking with city workers as a Councilman, I because I only make promises believe that the Sewer, Street, and Public Works departments that I can fulfill. However, a should be combined into one “Infrastructure Maintenance better system is needed for Department” that has a central department head and three how our city’s infrastructure is foremen tasked with overseeing the three divisions. This will maintained. bring down costs as we would purchase and share equipment within this department, and no two divisions would be able to push responsibility onto others or need to borrow equipment. The foremen will meet often to discuss collaborative projects, COOPERATIVE and some projects will be contracted out where the overhead is ENDEAVORS large for implementing smaller repairs. The City can preserve revenue and allow for citizen input into PUBLIC WORKS DIVISION maintenance concerns by actively promoting the use of MOSQUITO CONTROL cooperative endeavor I would like to explore the possibility of finding either state agreements between the City capital outlay funds or federal funds to contract City-wide and local residents who want to mosquito control services, or to enter into an agreement with the enact a change, either for Police Jury to pool resources in locating more funding for themselves or the community. mosquito control. This is crucial for both public health and These agreements will not tourism. provide free improvements. GEAUXMAYORCLINT @GEAUXCLINT (337) 344-2114 20 BAYOU OAKS DR. @GMAIL.COM CROWLEY, LA 70526 YN INFRASTRUCTURE MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT WHAT’S POSSIBLE? STREET DIVISION Roadways in our City have long • I will consider eliminating the position of Street been an issue. Maintaining them Commissioner because this position is unneeded under and carefully selecting projects a new Infrastructure and Maintenance Department. The while allowing for citizen input official position of “Street Commissioner” creates will help the City Government in unnecessary problems that have been at issue for slowly repairing and maintaining several years. This position’s responsibilities will be our streets while engaging in delegated to the Street Foremen. cost-control. • I plan to advertise for bids and explore contracting some of the duties of the Street Department similar to the City’s contract for cemetery maintenance. COLLABORATION • I plan to assign a Street Foreman in each of the four wards to be responsible and accountable for their The Street Department, like the assigned ward. They will work with the councilmembers Sewer and Public Works of that ward to ensure issues are addressed and resolved Departments, will be combined in a timely manner. This also affords more opportunity into the Infrastructure for effective citizen input. Maintenance Department. This will allow for the sharing of • I plan to eliminate the position of Utility Arborist and resources, which is particularly contract tree cutting and arborist services through a bid useful for maintaining our City’s process on an as-needed basis. The City’s trees can be maintained in a more cost-effective way. streets. Collaboration with citizen-informants will be • I plan to authorize the application for DOTD’s Safe Routes furthered through expected To Public Places Program, which provides funding for completion dates on work orders. projects to improve safety for pedestrians and bicyclists. There is no match needed for this program. The Mayor was presented this opportunity last year and declined to apply for the free sidewalks and bike trails. YN INFRASTRUCTURE MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT SEWER DIVISION EVERYONE NEEDS SEWER There are many changes which could be made to our personnel framework and sewer infrastructure that will save money and The City’s sewer system is one of create a more efficient department. These items will lower the only items that affects each sewer user fees: and every person in the City of Crowley each and every day. For • Eliminate the Utility Director position and create the this reason, the sewer problems positions of Sewer Utility Plant Foreman and Plant which the City has cannot be Maintenance Foreman viewed as a ‘side’ issue. • Transfer sewer department personnel, equipment, and machinery to a newly established Infrastructure and Maintenance Department. BRINGING IN EXPERTS • Use contract labor to perform maintenance and repairs whenever possible to save funding. Currently we must The City can truly benefit from purchase equipment for quick fixes which is not used outside consultants coming in to often. Contract labor could abate this problem. look at our utility infrastructure— consultants that know they will • Explore the possibility of utilizing specialized not be getting the project. companies, such as Sustainability Partners, to obtain the Unbiased opinions are needed on most competitive prices for the replacement of this issue, which has taken up expensive sewer plant processing equipment. much of the Council’s agenda for the past two years. Our sewer • Obtain an appraisal and explore the feasibility of selling the Sewer Plant and sewer infrastructure and provide for problems cannot simply be rates to be controlled by the Public Service Commission. handled through viewing and discussing numbers: they require action. GEAUXMAYORCLINT @GEAUXCLINT (337) 344-2114 20 BAYOU OAKS DR. @GMAIL.COM CROWLEY, LA 70526