THE ZACHA Y
ADVOCATE& T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M
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W e d n e s d ay, F e b r u a ry 18, 2026
$1.00N
12TH YEAR, NO. 19
ZACHARY PARADES INTO CARNIVAL TRADITION
The royal court float of the inaugural Zachary Mardi Gras parade transports King Frank Corcoran and Queen Britney Temple along the parade route.
PHOTO BY SONYA GOSS
ä See more from the first Zachary Mardi Gras parade. PAGE 4G
Councilman seeks attendance policy for zoning panel BY OLIVIA MCCLURE Contributing writer
Zachary Councilman James Graves is urging his colleagues to consider an attendance policy for the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission — but some of his fellow council members don’t agree that is a step they should take. At its last meeting, the council on a 3-2 vote rejected Graves’ effort to remove Commissioner Jason Floyd, who’s been absent from a majority of meetings in the past
year, from office. Graves wants the administration to clarify what’s expected of commissioners and to ensure the panel is “fully functional and reliable.” “Planning and zoning is not a ceremonial role,” he said. “It directly affects zoning decisions, growth, development and longterm planning of our city. When a commissioner repeatedly misses meetings, we aren’t just dealing with the inconvenience. We’re facing a breakdown in responsibility.” Councilwoman Jennifer Landry,
who along with Graves voted to remove Floyd, acknowledged that Floyd’s absences haven’t forced the commission to cancel meetings for lack of a quorum. “But I believe a quorum alone is not the standard of effective service,” she said, “as I believe boards and commissions are not meant to function with the minimum number of members present.” She said she has drafted policy suggestions and sent them to others on the council.
Zachary water bill fee surprises some on council BY OLIVIA MCCLURE Contributing writer
When Zachary Councilwoman Brandy Westmoreland opened her January water bill from the city, she was surprised to see a new $2 charge for technology. The council had discussed implementing such a fee several months ago — but Westmoreland thought that was a thing of the past. The city attorney at the time, John Hopewell, had told the council the fee was no longer needed, she said. “So it was removed from the agenda,” she said. “I assumed financially we did not need to implement the $2 technology fee every month on everybody’s water bill.” As it turns out, Westmoreland told her colleagues during the Feb. 10 council meeting, the agenda item was unnecessary not because of a change in the city utility office’s financial picture. Instead, Westmoreland learned, it was because a previous council had
in fact already approved the fee back in 2021. The city just hadn’t started charging it. Jacqueline Wilson, the current city attorney, offered some clarity on the five-year lapse. “That technology fee was passed to pay for upgrades, and because of supply chain issues that occurred during that time … the decision was made not to implement that one fee,” Wilson said. The city was hoping to use the proceeds to buy some new equipment — but those plans were derailed when the supplier said there would be a 48-month delay, she said. The confusing situation did not sit well with Westmoreland. “I had several of my constituents reach out to me saying, ‘I thought y’all did away with this,’ ” she said. Westmoreland described the ordeal as a breach in transparency with the public and the council. “There was no conversation after, before with me,
ä See WATER, page 2G
“I’ve only gotten one response back,” Landry said. “Nothing — total crickets about, ‘Hey, can we work together and collaborate on a policy?’ ” Councilwoman Ambre DeVirgilio, one of three who voted in favor of removing Floyd, expressed discomfort with the tenor of recent discussions related to the commission and its members, who she noted are unpaid volunteers. “This was unprecedented, asking for a removal of a commissioner,” she said. “My concern is that
we are creating an environment where it’s going to be hard to get citizens of Zachary to serve.” She suggested that the council ask the commission to develop its own policies for member attendance. “This should not look like a directive, like the council is the managerial body over the Planning and Zoning Commission,” DeVirgilio said. No action was taken on the item, as it was only on the agenda for discussion.
School Board increases fee for preschool, seeks teacher pay BY OLIVIA MCCLURE Contributing writer
Tuition at the Zachary Early Learning Center is going up, Superintendent Ben Necaise won a two-year contract extension and a tax measure to fund teacher pay raises will be put before voters again this summer. Those were all outcomes of the Zachary Community School Board’s Feb. 10 meeting. The board talked about the items earlier in the month at its committee of the whole meeting; discussion was minimal when members convened to unanimously vote to approve them.
On the tuition increase matter, families will now have to fork out $550 monthly — up from $450 a month — to attend ZELC, Zachary’s prekindergarten. And the school’s registration fee, currently $60, will go up to $75. ZELC will begin registering children for next school year in March. Officials have said the higher fees are needed to offset rising operational costs. They have emphasized that ZELC’s tuition remains lower than what is charged by other preschools in the area. The board also granted an
ä See BOARD, page 3G
Want to be an EMT? Info sessions explain training Leila Pitchford AROUND ZACHARY
A 13-week EMT training program will start June 8. The class meets Mondays and Wednesdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Information sessions are scheduled for 6 p.m. March 12, 10 a.m. March 21, 9 a.m. March 26, 6 p.m. April 2, 9 a.m. April 7 and 10 a.m. April 11. Registration is limited. Call (225) 389-5155 for details.
Baseball coming Zachary Youth Park spring baseball registration is open through March 15.
Play golf to support Zachary athletics
Registration is open for spring baseball at Zachary Youth Park.
Zachary Athletic Foundation Golf Tournament 2026 is April 6 at Copper Mill Golf Club to support Zachary Athletic Foundation and
FILE PHOTO BY GRANT THERKILDSEN
Visit https://www.zacharyyouthpark.org/registration to register. Age brackets have changed. If the child is 4 years old, a parent must coach or assistant coach.
ä See AROUND, page 2G