Washington Parish Council
Regular Meeting 6:00 PM
Washington Parish Courthouse
Council Chambers
January 25, 2010
Item No. 1 Call to Order Chairman Posey called the meeting to order.
Item No. 2 Invocation Councilman Johnson gave the invocation.
Item No. 3 Pledge of Allegiance Chairman Posey called for the Pledge of Allegiance.
Item No. 4 Roll Call Clerk Sharon Lyons called the roll. Present were Kenneth Wheat, Michael Fussell, Charles Nassauer, Andre Johnson, Randy Thomas, Greg Route and Aubrey Posey.
Item No. 5 Approval of Minutes Councilmen Fussell offered a motion, seconded by Councilman Johnson to approve the minutes of January 11, 2010 meeting. All in favor and the motion carried.
Item No. 6 Adoption of the Finance Report Councilman Thomas offered a motion, seconded by Councilman Route to adopt the financial report. All in favor and the motion carried.
Item No. 7 Introduction of Ordinance No. 10-513 An Ordinance adopting MINES AND MINING OPERATIONS (Introduced by Randy Thomas)
Councilman Thomas, Chairman of the Infrastructure Committee, recommended and asked that Ordinance No.10-513 be pulled from the agenda due to further revisions that were needed at this time.
Councilman Thomas offered a motion, seconded Councilman Fussell to pull from the agenda Ordinance No. 10-513. All in favor and the motion carried.
Item No. 8 Resolution No. 10-453- A resolution authorizing the BROADCASTING OF WASHINGTON PARISH COUNCIL MEETINGS
Councilman Route offered a motion, seconded by Councilman Fussell to adopt Resolution No. 10-453. All in favor and the motion carried.
Item No. 9 LSU AgCenter Yearly Report Mr. Walter Smith gave a written profile on the LSU AgCenter to each Councilman. (Attachment A) He covered the topics as follows:
Mr. Smith reported the AgCenter just took a 5.9 Million dollar cut this month and the AgCenter has lost 12 million in the last thirteen months. It is projected the budget for the coming year will be even more dismal for the coming year. How that will affect the AgCenter here in Washington Parish is yet to be determined, but it probably will not be in a good light.
Item No. 10- Public Participation Mr. Van Rester resident of Cooper Road reported he had come before the Council some months back and ask for died trees be cut along the roadway. There has been nothing done as of today. These trees are a danger to the public and he asked that something be done about the situation. Also, a portion of Cooper Road II was repaved last year. A road grader went down it when it was hot weather and pulled the tar up. The road has pot holes in it now. It needs to be fixed. Russ Williams Road was put on the wish list to be repaired and it has totally disappeared from the list. He asked why it was taken off the list.
Chairman Posey ask Mr. Lucchesi, Public Works Director would he coordinate this project and see that it was taken care of.
Councilman Wheat stated he would like to clear up the mistake that Mr. Rester thought the Road was on the paving list. He told the Mr. Rester he had discussed the road previously with him and they had anticipated putting it on the wish list, but it had not actually been put on the official list. It was just a wish list they had talked about. The list for 2010 has been created for the coming year and the road is listed on it.
Chairman Posey recognized Ms. Geraldine Ratliff representative of Sisters for Sister, Inc., Angie, Louisiana. Ms. Ratliff gave the purpose of her organization and the needs for her organization. She stated, Teen girls are our most valuable asset in the world with the least resources. Sisters for Sister Organization wanted the council to be aware of a need of support from them when applying for grants in the future.
Councilman Route ask Ms. Ratliff if she was aware of another organization that was very close to what she represented and the need to meet with the each other might be needed at this point. If the organizations were united, then this might help with acquiring more grants. This would eliminate the two separate organizations trying to compete for the same grant in the future.
Councilman Johnson stated, Keep in touch with Mr. Dempsey and he will assist you in anyway he can and the Council is here to help support the program in the future.
There were no further comments.
Councilman Fussell offered a motion, seconded by Councilman Johnson to close public participation. All in favor and the motion carried.
Item No. 11 Presidents Report Leo Lucchesi was recognized and gave the procedures concerning the road program that was mentioned earlier. At this time the road are being accessed by the parish. The parish goes in and accesses the ditches on the roads, put in culverts as needed and then decided if it needs to be resealed or paved. Also, the parish has been working with the City of Bogalusa to help with demolition work.
Chairman Posey stated, Just for the record. If anyone needs any work done on roads or drainage, then if you will call 985-839-7825 and make a work order request, then you will be put in touch with the right person to handle the problem.
President Thomas told the Council this year has been a hard year on roads with the weather problems. He asks the public to bear with the government concerning repairs and he was researching the possibility contracting some roads out for repairs.
Item No. 12 Council Discussion -Councilman Thomas stated, The LSU AgiCenter is sponsoring a program called Little Book Shelf grant kickoff. The event will be held January 27, 2010 at the Franklinton Health Unit, Franklinton, Louisiana. This program is for parents to foster a love of reading with their children. You will be given twelve books, age appropriate, a book bag and a shelf to store these books. Also, our parish is in need of shoppers to shop at home when possible.
Councilman Johnson stated, I ask each citizen to bear with the council and government as we try to do the best we can with what we have. We know that everyone is going through tough economical times. We are trying to cut the fat off and still move the Parish forward.
Councilman Wheat thanked President Thomas and Leo for their hard work with the rainy weather and concerning repairs on the roads, especially with limited funding involved.
Councilman Fussell reiterated what Councilman Wheat had stated.
Councilman Route said he appreciated people like Ms. Ratliff who was concerned about the future generation of the parish. He commended their volunteered time on these programs that are very much needed in the parish during these times.
Councilman Posey announced the Junior Livestock Show would be held this week-end and contributions were still being taken at this time.
Item No. 13- Executive Session under LA R.S. 42.6, 1A (2) concerning the matter of Deer Enterprises, L.L.C. vs Parish Council of Washington Parish #099580-1, 22nd Judicial District Court, Washington Parish, Louisiana
Councilman Johnson offered a motion, seconded by Councilman Fussell to enter into Executive Session. All in favor and the motion carried.
After executive session was closed, Chairman Posey declared the Council meeting back in regular session. Chairman Posey reported that during the executive session an update was given and no action was taken at this time.
Item No. 14 Adjourn No further business to come before the Council, the meeting was adjourned on motion by Councilman Route, seconded by Councilman Johnson. All in favor and the motion carried.
_____________________________ _______________________
Sharon Lyons, Clerk to the Council Aubrey L. Posey, Chairman
Washington Parish Washington Parish Council