I first would like to say that it has been an honor and a privilege to serve as your mayor for the past four years. Many achievements have been realized during my time in office but there is still much work to do. I am announcing my candidacy for re-election so that we can complete the many projects that we have begun as well as attain the goals that we have yet to accomplish
Over the last four years there have been many trials and tribulations, but through it all we have had many successes. The COVID 19 global pandemic was something that no one could have imagined. The government shutdowns to slow the virus slowed down the activities of the government for nearly two years Baton Rouge and most of the Capital offices were either closed or working from home bringing progress to a grind.
In August of 2020, Hurricane Laura hit Winn Parish as a category 3 hurricane. As you all know, the devastation was massive. The total damage to the City of Winnfield was 2.7 million dollars. The electrical grid was completely destroyed leaving the citizens of Winnfield without electricity for days and even weeks. The linemen had a monstrous task and worked diligently in the summer heat to restore electrical power to the citizens. I would like to commend all the employees of the City of Winnfield and the citizens of Winnfield for supporting one another through such a terrible time.
As if that weren’t enough, in February 2021, Winnfield was hit with an ice storm that again devastated our electrical grid, affected water lines, homes and people’s lives, all while still mired in the pandemic. Through it all, we endured together as citizens and friends and were able to put that behind us as well.
Dealing with FEMA has been a learning experience. FEMA did cover most of the cost incurred due to the storms but what you may not know is that FEMA reimburses those costs. Therefore, the projects that had been in the works had to be put on the back burner until FEMA began to reimburse our funds. Thankfully, that has begun to happen recently.
Through it all, we have accomplished many of our goals. One of these is electric rate stabilization. It was a major concern that during times of extreme weather there would be spikes in our utility bills. I worked for one and one half years with an electric company from Florida and with our current provider, LEPA, to solve this problem. Ultimately, negotiations with LEPA lead to a “tunneling” of our utility bills eliminating any major spikes from future bills. This was a great shield to our citizens during the ice storm when there would have been massive spikes in utility bills.
During my administration, the ground water storage tank was replaced. A new tank has been an issue for years. Winnfield had been written up in the past by the State of Louisiana due to the age and condition of the old water storage tank but the cost of a new tank was not in Winnfield’s budget. My staff and I were able to receive state money to replace the tank through the continued cleanup of our audits and finances allowing state money to flow through Winnfield.
The reopening of the animal shelter was something that I campaigned on four years ago. It took some time to get the project budgeted but I am proud to say that it has been reopened, and we have a very caring animal control officer at the facility. This was long overdue. The city has had many problems with stray animals and since the animal shelter’s reopening, the issue is being addressed and is getting under control. The shelter along with the Heart of Louisiana Humane Society have adopted hundreds of dogs and cats all across the country. That is something of which we can all be proud.
Renovations of the Winnfield City Hall was prompted by the discovery of mold in building. Soon after I took office, we discovered a massive mold infestation which prompted one inspector to ask why the city employees weren’t wearing respirators. This cleanup was accomplished. The building is now safe and dry and is being restored slowly but surely.
The Allen Building has been repaired and restored. This beautiful building had major issues ranging from a collapsing second floor, windows about to fall out and no second floor emergency fire exit. These issues have been repaired and the building has been restored and is now available to the public for rental for family and civic events.
Other major accomplishments have been achieved. One of which is sewer improvements in many areas across town. Some neighborhoods had problems with sewer backing up into homes. By working with the state and federal governments we were able to obtain the funds to get these sewer lines replaced and get the citizens some relief. Another is the sewer expansion of the Collins Subdivision and the businesses on Highway 167 North. This will bring both of those areas into the city limits. There is also a water system expansion that has been approved by the state that will include the Highway 84 West water system giving those citizens a break from rising bills and of a system that is in decay. Street paving is going on right now along with park improvements and the burning and raising of blighted properties all across town. We also changed the management of our automotive fleet. This has saved the city tens of thousands of dollars each year and has upgraded our aging fleet of vehicles.
I am so proud that in the last few years we have seen businesses returning to our downtown area. Small businesses are the backbone of every community.
History is a passion of mine. Restoring our downtown and continuing to work with our group of volunteers and the state to bring back historic downtown Winnfield is one of my goals for the future. Other goals are to continue to improve all recreation facilities, parks, and complete the conversion of the Mini Park into a veterans’ memorial park. I will also continue the work that is going on right now such as street paving , sewer and water improvements, removal of blighted properties, and expand on civic activities to improve civic pride.
I feel I am uniquely qualified to continue to be your mayor. I am a graduate of LSU with a Bachelor of Science degree in business. I am a six-year veteran of the United States Navy serving in aerospace physiology and as a combat corpsman with the United States Marine Corp. I am an entrepreneur and have been a business owner since 1992, creating jobs in Winnfield. I am a lifelong resident of Winnfield and have been a community volunteer since 1990. I have served as president of the Winn Chamber of Commerce, former member of the Greater Louisiana – Texas I-69 Coalition, I have been a volunteer coach for basketball, baseball and flag football, and I am currently the KVCL radio “voice” of the Winnfield Tigers.
I ask for your vote on March 26, 2022. Re-elect George Moss, Mayor. Let’s finish what we started. Together we can, together we will!
Vote #8, George Moss for mayor!
