The flames of disappointed, if not angry, community members, especially those living on the southside of Monroe, must continue to burn in the wake of a 3-2 vote allowing the development of a controversial city project to move forward. The Walnut St. Special District is an economic development project spearheaded by an investor group led by former city councilman Mike Echols who is now a Louisiana state representative from northeast Louisiana. Rep. Echols made a proposal to current Mayor Friday Ellis where he and his investors plan to turn a section of Walnut St. in Monroe mere steps from the Ouachita River into an area where restaurants, apartments, and a shopping area in downtown Monroe as a way to spur economic growth in the area. It would be a costly project with the group investing at least $31 million into the project. While campaigning, Ellis talked about using the riverfront area as a place for economic development, and he was able to get members of the city council interested/excited about what the Walnut St. project would mean for the city. Over the ensuing months, the project began to gather steam with the assistance of council members. After meeting with the Echols-led group and agreeing to some business details, the matter came before council members to approve a cooperative endeavor agreement between the city and the investors to move the project forward. Several city council meetings revealed more information about the Walnut St. project. Serious objections came from southside residents and leaders over the controversial funding mechanism the project would receive from the city. The Walnut St. Project is part of the Downtown Economic Development District(DEDD) that has a revenue stream through the city, making it possible for those in the District to get favorable responses for economic development projects. That is unless such a request comes from another economic development district within the city of Monroe. The Southside Economic Development District(SEDD) was created for the same purpose as DEDD was created, only there have been stark differences in how each group has received support from the city. During the last two city council meetings, supporters of SEDD petitioned the city council, citing favoritism to developers of the Walnut St. Project, while at the same time, making it appear as if SEDD representatives “had to jump through hoops” in an effort to move forward on any economic projects of their own. Revelations now show Mr. Echols will “own” a political subdivision within the city of Monroe as a result of the council vote to proceed with the Walnut St. Project because the law gives him the authority to levy taxes within the boundary of his project. Community leaders are upset that Echols’ group will get $2.5 million, which is peanuts compared to what SEDD has received. Southside community leaders are also angry that before a final vote was cast, council members should have taken another look into any document changes(as there were), asking to have one more meeting, as the “makeup” meeting was held just 90 minutes before a scheduled council meeting later. This was nowhere near the time needed for council members to cast a vote. Council members heard time after time of the perceived inequities to SEDD in relation to how the city has treated the group. There is discontentment in knowing a former city councilman can get a multimillion-dollar deal with the city and potentially have complete control over an area in the city as if he has his own little kingdom. That 3-2 vote essentially made him “a mayor” over his own city. That’s what happens when a political subdivision is created. He becomes a “one man” city. Many may say that council members should have gone back over the presentation that lawyers showed in council chambers, as the presentation was rushed in anticipation of a positive outcome. The lawyers spoke of changes made and presumably agreed with Echols and his group. That in itself should have registered alarm bells among council members. One of the questions Councilman Marshall asked was if the District of which Echols would control issue bonds against the $2.5 mil, and lawyers said that it could happen with or without city consent. The District could have the ability to issue bonds like any other municipalities. A question asked by Councilwoman Woods had one lawyer trying to explain what would happen if the council voted for passage. She was told that if the District acted independently, everything would come to them, and the city would be left out in the cold. They would have to work with the Tax Commission on ways to collect any taxes for the District, not the city. Though questions were asked before a final vote, there were concerns from Marshall and Woods that led to their “no” votes. Still, the consensus was that southside leaders were unhappy with the outcome.