By JIM BUTLER

The Alexandria City Council will appoint a GAEDA member this evening, giving it enough members for a quorum at its monthly meeting Wednesday.

District 3 member Cynthia Perry will nominate Zendrea Whitehead to succeed Dr. C. Ray Lewis, who resigned the day before the Economic Development

Authority’s November meeting. 

Each of the seven council members has an appointment, traditionally approved without much, if any, discussion.

Three seats will remain vacant.

GAEDA’s agenda Wednesday includes almost 20 proposals for money to assist with events ranging from art to athletics. About $86,000 is involved.

A public hearing will be held on the 2026 operating and capital budgets. Copies are presumably available for public review.

Approval of a contract with Executive Director Angela Varnado is on the agenda. That also is presumably available to peruse beforehand.

As for public records, the Authority proposes approving a Public Records Policy.

What, if anything, it has in mind outside specifics — where, when, how, and how much — detailed in state law is not clear.

A general summary of the law — any citizen is entitled to inspect or get copies of any record not exempted by law, within a specified time and at a reasonable cost without being asked he/she wants it.

The meeting begins at 8 a.m. in the Hotel Bentley Bayou Roberts Room.