Kenner welcomes Jefferson Parish Council with gifts, good humor ...

Mayor Mike Yenni welcomed the Jefferson Parish Council to Kenner on Wednesday. His grandfather, in the framed picture behind him, was a Kenner mayor and parish president. (Photo by The Times-Picayune archive)

Kenner welcomed the Jefferson Parish Council to City Hall on Wednesday with gifts and good humor for the parish panel's first meeting in Jefferson's most populous municipality. "I hope we don't break the fire code today," Mayor Mike Yenni told the council, which typically draws a much larger crowd to its meetings than does the City Council."

"I have some gifts for all of y'all," Yenni said, "none of which were paid for with city funds." His aides distributed notepad portfolios commemorating the meeting, keys to the city, cufflinks for the six men on the council and a pin for Councilwoman Cynthia Lee-Sheng.

Yenni was joined by City Council members Maria DeFrancesch and Kent Denapolis in thanking the Parish Council for the official visit. He noted that council Chairman Elton Lagasse grew up nearby and has much in common with his grandfather, former Mayor and Parish President Joe Yenni. Both made their marks as schoolteachers and athletic coaches before venturing into politics.

There was nothing new about conducting government business in the Kenner City Council chamber for Parish Councilman Ben Zahn. He served on the Kenner council before his election to the parish seat in 2011.

Nor is the Parish Council a stranger to several Yenni staffers who formerly worked for the parish government: Chief Administrative Officer Mike Quigley, Public Works Director Jose Gonzalez, Community Development Director Arletta Terrell and mayoral assistant Cindy Roth.

Yenni warned Parish Councilman Mark Spears Jr., whose district extends into Kenner, that Registrar of Voters Dennis DiMarco is hunting money to fix the parking lot at the registrar's new satellite office in Rivertown. DiMarco "is looking for some blacktop," Yenni said.

"He's got some money hidden," Lagasse joked.

Parish President John Young said he, too, was pleased to attend a Parish Council meeting in Kenner. "I just have one complaint: I was told there was no coffee readily available."

Perhaps he wasn't looking hard enough.

"I've got coffee," Lagasse said. "I don't know why you don't."

Source: http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/10/kenner_welcomes_jefferson_pari.html

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