By KEVIN CHIRI
Slidell news bureau
SLIDELL – “The tip of the iceberg.”
That’s the way Slidell Mayor Freddy Drennan sees what he believes is beginning to happen economically in the city.
Drennan was in a most relaxed mood this week, after winning a second term as Slidell mayor, without having to go through a rigorous campaign. Qualifying for the April 5 elections ended last Friday, but no one registered to run for the city’s top job in Slidell except the incumbent mayor, meaning he is looking ahead at another four-year term.
“It feels pretty good,” Drennan said this week. “I’m honored to continue to serve as Slidell mayor and as much as I was certain somebody would step up at the last minute to run; I’m relieved that they didn’t. Now I can immediately concentrate on my job here.”
Looking at “the job” to head Slidell’s future, Drennan said he looked at his work the past four years—despite some difficult financial challenges—and thinks he had an important part in one key accomplishment that should play a big part in where the city appears to finally be heading.
“I have been saying for years that the Fremaux Town Center was vital to getting Slidell moving forward economically,” he said. “When it got bogged down a few years ago, I began making trips to Birmingham to push it any way I could. And finally we were able to get it going.”
The Town Center, Slidell’s second major retail mall, is scheduled for a grand opening on Friday, March 15, and is already showing signs to be the multi-use development major property owner Robert Levis envisioned when he announced the project in 2008.
Drennan said for several years that he expected the Town Center to be the stimulus Slidell needed to see its economy get on track. And while the money isn’t showing up just yet, there have already been a host of other signs that the Town Center could bring a glut of new businesses, high paying jobs and more people to Slidell.
“I always knew that we needed to get the Town Center built, and then other businesses would see it as a sign that Slidell is moving forward,” Drennan said. “Almost as soon as construction started, our permits department was getting more calls of interest from businesses wanting to come here.”
Officials with Town Center developer Stirling Properties have already said there is a “high-end apartment complex” that is confirmed to be built on the 400-acre tract of land, and they are working to secure an office complex that could bring large corporations with higher paying jobs.
Drennan reacted strongly to some critics who have questioned the fact that the Town Center is not bringing “high-paying jobs.”
“We still need jobs—period. And there are going to be hundreds of new jobs with that center,” he said. “And we’re seeing a lot of other developments that could come to be in that area. I think that in the past four years, just getting the Town Center built was a major accomplishment for this administration and it’s the tip of the iceberg for what is going to start happening here economically.”
Looking at the next four-year term, the Slidell mayor continued to address the economy in terms of the city employees, who have not had a raise in four years. For that matter, Drennan said the current city work force right near 300 is down 60 employees from when he started as mayor.
“Giving our city employees raises are of utmost importance. I want it and the majority of the City Council wants it, but I refuse to jeopardize the financial future of the city by doing it until we see sustainable revenue increasing for the city,” he said.
Slidell’s sales tax revenue has been stagnant for almost five years, showing virtually no growth since the post-Katrina years. Now mid-way through fiscal year 2014, sales tax revenue is still up and down.
“I actually think we are going to see an uptick in sales tax with the Town Center opening, but we are concerned with losing money from North Shore Square at that time, so we have to see some kind of steady increase for several months before we can start handing out raises,” Drennan said.
With that said, the mayor still answered the question of putting raises into the 2014-2015 budget—which must be finished in two months—as a “maybe” possibility.
The mayor said his top priority heading into his second term is “it’s important to grow the city and bring jobs. I am going to push for the tech park at the Town Center—hopefully get UNO or somebody to come in there as was originally planned,” he said.