> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.wbrindependent.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # A Port Allen pastor's new Community Connect puts residents face to face with their leaders - URL: https://www.wbrindependent.com/port-allen-community-connect-september-2026/ - Published: 2026-10-06T19:41:17.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-06T19:41:17.000Z - Description: Port Allen's mayor, police chief, sheriff, parish president and council members met residents at the first Community Connect to talk about public safety, blight, youth programs and why officials want a phone call before a Facebook post. - Author: John Summers - Tags: Community Most of the time, Port Allen residents see their leaders in the same room only after something goes wrong. James P. Morrise wants to change that. Morrise, senior pastor of Kingdom Life Church in Port Allen, organized the first Community Connect on Thursday, Sept. 24, at the West Baton Rouge Community Center on North Jefferson Avenue. Mayor Terecita Pattan was there. So were Port Allen Police Chief Donovan Mitchell, West Baton Rouge Sheriff Jeff Bergeron, Parish President Jason Manola and members of the city and parish councils. Residents brought questions about crime, empty buildings, programs for kids and the way people fight on Facebook. "Most of the time we come together only when something happens," Morrise said as he opened the night. "We're more reactive than proactive." He said the point was for residents to know their leaders before a crisis, and to come with solutions instead of complaints. He said he plans to hold another one in about six months. ## Public safety: "See something, say something" Mitchell asked residents to keep telling police what they see. He said too many people post about an incident online instead of calling. Officers then have to work backward to find out what happened. He said the department is trying to build enough trust that people will talk to officers directly. Bergeron said law enforcement can't solve crime alone. It needs residents, churches and parents. "Prevention rather than correction," he said. Officials said some cases take longer to solve because the one or two people who saw something won't come forward. A resident asked how callers are protected. She said people stay quiet because they're afraid their name will end up in a police report or in court. Officials pointed her to Crime Stoppers. Callers there don't give a name, and a tip that helps solve a crime can pay a cash reward. Officials said information given straight to an officer is handled differently. Bergeron also said deputies teach a life skills class to ninth graders at Brusly High School and Port Allen High School. It covers drugs, alcohol, vaping, conflict resolution and anger management. Deputies have also taught mud safety in middle schools and held an ATV safety class. ## Social media goes both ways Several officials asked residents to call or stop by before posting a complaint online. District 1 City Council member Charlene Gordon told residents to call her and to come to council meetings. She said she wants to hear from people all year, not just when she's knocking on doors at election time. At-large City Council member Adrian Joseph said she won't argue with anyone on social media. She said she respects residents, expects the same back and wants people to call her. One resident pushed back. She said some city council members have gone after residents on their own Facebook and Instagram pages, and the call for respect should apply to them too. Gordon answered. She said she hadn't seen council members do that. She said trust has to go both ways, and she repeated her ask: call her, or come to her house. Morrise had made the same point moments earlier. Residents should respect their leaders, he said, and leaders should respect the community. Pattan described a recent fight that started on the city's Facebook page. A business owner criticized a city event and assumed the mayor was behind it. Pattan said she invited the owner to come talk in person. The two later met at the owner's business. "Sometimes the mayor does not know what's going on herself," Pattan said. Pattan said city events go on utility bills, the city website and the city's Facebook page. Paper inserts are another story. Employees have to stuff them by hand into more than 2,500 bills, she said, so the city doesn't use them often. A resident asked how to speak at a city council meeting. Residents can sign in at the meeting and speak during public comment, with a time limit, an official said. To get an item on the agenda, residents need to go through a council member. Council members said residents can call any of the five members, not just their own. ## New city inspector, blight letters and a $40,000 sign A small business owner said she has been looking for a building on LA 1 since before the COVID-19 pandemic. She asked what the city is doing about empty and run-down properties. Pattan said Port Allen had gone several months without a building inspector. In the meantime, she and her secretary drove the city about once a month looking for problem properties. That changed the day of the meeting. Pattan said a city employee moved over from another department and started as the new inspector that day. The city has been mailing letters, including certified letters, to property owners. Pattan said the parish's inspection office suggested quoting the city ordinance in them. Letters sent in the two weeks before the meeting do. Pattan said the city is also looking for sponsors to pay for a $40,000 electronic sign at the Port Allen depot on LA 1\. The sign would advertise city events. She said sponsors' names could go on it. She said the city fenced the depot after people broke windows and slept inside. Manola and parish council members Kenneth Gordon of District 5 and Gary "Shaq" Joseph of District 9 arrived after that evening's parish council meeting. Manola said the council had just voted to declare a property blighted and tear it down. ## Youth programs and turnout Leaders said they offer free and low-cost programs for kids. Getting kids to show up is the hard part. Pattan said her first mayor's youth camp this summer was free. Kids got meals and T-shirts. Daily attendance never got out of single digits. Dr. Tammy Hall of Kingdom Life Church has proposed a youth advisory board, and Pattan said she plans to start it in January. Hall said adults make a lot of decisions for young people without ever asking them. Pattan said kids at the camp asked for improvements at a city park. She said she has talked with the parks and recreation director about putting money for it in the 2027 budget. Her free Halloween event at City Hall is set for Oct. 18 this year. Pattan said she runs it herself, not through the city. Manola said the parish runs youth sports and summer camps and is talking with the library about a video gaming program. He urged residents to tour the parish's career and technical academy. Several speakers said parents need to step up. Dr. Treniece Morrise, a licensed social worker and the wife of Pastor James Morrise, said many parents are very young and need help themselves. "In order for us to get the child, we have to get the parent," she said. She suggested parenting classes, with a meal to get people in the door. She said the Youth Village Restoration Center, a nonprofit on Louisiana Avenue, held a full fall season of mental health and life skills events last year. Only a handful of parents came. ## Special needs families A parent of two children with special needs said the parish has a lot of families like hers. She said there is almost nothing built for their kids. Pattan said a teacher with an autistic son has volunteered to work with special needs children at next summer's camp. The city also plans to work with a behavioral health provider on resources for parents and the community. Pattan said she is talking with a provider about bringing ABA therapy to Port Allen. ABA, or applied behavior analysis, is commonly used for children with autism. Port Allen doesn't have a program now. Pattan said the closest ones are farther away, and some run only from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., which is hard on working parents. Pattan also said the city planned to build a special needs park on donated land off Jefferson Avenue, where a dry cleaners used to be. She said the city is working through issues with the site first.