April 2021 Newsletter

Dear Pollard Neighbors:

This Newsletter will address several important issues facing our neighborhood and other neighborhoods in South Baton Rouge. It will also announce the Spring Wine Walk for Pollard Estates.

5G Small Cell Towers

You may have read in the newspaper or heard in the news about the transition of wireless communications in Baton Rouge to the 5G network system. This involves a considerable increase in bandwidth and wireless speed over the current system. In order to achieve the speeds and capacity of 5G, the wireless network carriers are installing small cell towers throughout the coverage area to fill in dead spots in the wireless coverage.

One of these small cell towers is currently installed on Columbine Street in Pollard Estates. It is a 30-foot-tall black pole with a black equipment box at the top, not a very aesthetically pleasing addition to any front yard. The City-Parish has revised its small cell tower ordinance in order to afford residents more input into the permitting of these towers in the future. The towers must be installed in the city road right of way, but residents will now have some leverage to request alternative locations.

Neighborhood associations can now submit preferred alternate locations for these towers to avoid unsightly placement in front yards. AT&T had previously proposed a total of five towers in Pollard Estates, of which one has been built. The CAPE Board surveyed Pollard Estates to find alternate tower locations that would minimally intrude on the aesthetics of the neighborhood. The map linked here shows the location of these alternative tower sites, along with the original proposed sites. We plan to submit these alternative locations to the City-Parish for consideration when the next round of tower permits is being reviewed. These locations are on street corners and in areas where trees, fences, and other utilities would mask the view of the towers from adjacent residences.  There will be additional towers installed in Pollard Estates to implement the 5G system, and we are trying to minimize the visual impact to the extent possible.  If you have any comments on the locations shown on the map, please contact us by email.

Crime Prevention

The Baton Rouge Police Department has instituted a new program to enlist the myriad of private home cameras to help in stopping and solving crimes in Baton Rouge.  The ConnectBlue BR program is a voluntary partnership between the police and the citizens of Baton Rouge.  For residences that have a street-facing camera system, as many do, the first part of the program consists of a ConnectBlue Directory, where residents can register their private camera locations with the Police Department so that when a home burglary, auto break-in, or other criminal activity occurs the police can have a ready directory of cameras in the area that might have photographed the culprits.  In the event of a crime, the police can contact camera owners in the area to request footage of specific cars, persons, and times of the criminal activity to assist in solving the crimes.  There is no cost to join the camera directory and recorded footage will only be requested if a crime occurs.

The second part of the ConnectBlue BR system involves real-time access to private street-facing cameras to assist police responding to crimes or other emergencies in neighborhoods.  This ConnectBlue Camera Share system is also voluntary, but may require a small cost to the homeowner to upgrade the camera and connect it to a modem compatible with the BRPD Real-Time Crime Center.  Police access would only occur if a crime is in progress and police need additional camera coverage to respond to the area. In light of the recent increase in residential crimes in South Baton Rouge, both ConnectBlue BR camera systems are a welcome addition to the law enforcement capabilities in Baton Rouge.  You can visit the website linked here if you are interested in participating in either program.

CAPE Spring Wine Walk - Friday, April 23rd - 6 PM - 9 PM

Spring is here, and it is time for our Spring Wine Walk. If you have not participated in previous CAPE wine walks you are missing out on a great event to meet and socialize with your Pollard neighbors. Residents can participate in the Wine Walk by bringing a bottle of their favorite wine to Steve Oivanki at 5845 South Pollard Parkway. All donated wines will be distributed among four host stops around Pollard Estates, and the walkers will travel from stop to stop sampling wines and complementing cheeses. CAPE will supply the cheeses and crackers to match the wines received. Each walker should provide their own wine glass. The walking route will be approximately one mile in length with stops at each host site of about 30 minutes. The route will be determined by the response received. Because the event is entirely outdoors, the risk for COVID-19 is minimized. Our last wine walk in October 2020 had about 50 participants. Please email us with your interest to attend the event or host a wine walk stop, which would involve setting up the wines and cheeses on a table in your driveway or front yard for the walkers to enjoy. When all of the wines have been received and the host stops decided, the participants will be notified by email of the route to be followed. We look forward to another large turnout for this popular social event.

With Best Regards,

Civic Association of Pollard Estates

Board of Directors