Town Meeting Minutes – Monday, December 9, 2013

December 9, 2013

Town of Brusly
Brusly, Louisiana

The regular meeting of the Town of Brusly was held this date, December 9, 2013 at the Brusly Town Hall.

Council Member Rhodes led the Pledge of Allegiance. A roll call determined the following officials present:

Mayor: Joey Normand
Council Members: Scot Rhodes, Joanne Bourgeois, Terry Richard, Shane André,
Don Neisler
Town Attorney: Thomas Acosta, Jr.
Absent: None

A motion to approve the minutes of the Town’s regular meeting of November 11, 2013, was made by Council Member Bourgeois and seconded by Council Member Rhodes. Mayor Normand opened the floor for public comment. Hearing no comments, the motion passed with a unanimous vote.

Public Works Committee: None

Planning and Zoning Committee:
Mayor Normand read aloud a Variance Request for Non Compliance – Sec. 18.13 (c) – Accessory Structure/Uses for Michael Boudreaux at 2740 Allene Street to build a pool house which contains a shower. The Variance having been favorably recommended by the Planning & Zoning Commission, a motion to approve was made by Council Member Richard; seconded by Council Member Neisler. The Mayor opened the floor for public comments. Hearing no comments the motion passed unanimously.

Mayor Normand read aloud a Variance Request for Non Compliance – Sec. 19.6 Drainage Servitude Encroachment for John & Mary D’Albor at 1491 Orleans Quarters Dr. to build a fence. The Variance having been favorably recommended by the Planning & Zoning Commission, a motion to approve was made by Council Member Bourgeois; seconded by Council Member Rhodes. The Mayor opened the floor for public comments. Hearing no comments the motion passed unanimously.

Finance Committee:
Upon Mayor Normand’s recommendation, a motion to approve Liquor Licenses for Back Brusly Grocery, JW Food Mart, Las Palmas, La. Bayou Bistro Restaurant, El Paste Dorado 2 and Athenos, was made by Council Member Richard; seconded by Council Member André. Mayor Normand opened the floor for public comments. Hearing no comments the motion passed unanimously.

Upon Mayor Normand’s recommendation, a motion to accept the bid of $32,500.00 by Perrault Trucking from trusted flatbed trucking companies for the demolition of the Existing Police Headquarters, was made by Council Member Bourgeois; seconded by Council Member Neisler. Mayor Normand opened the floor for public comments. Hearing no comments the motion passed unanimously.

At Mayor Normand’s request a motion to authorize the Mayor to sign a contract with Terracon for an estimated cost of $12,500.00 to do soil testing was made by Council Member André; seconded by Council Member Richard. Mayor Normand opened the floor for public comments. Hearing no comments the motion passed unanimously.

Personnel Committee:
Upon Mayor Normand’s recommendation, a motion to approve the 2014 Holiday Schedule, as presented, was made by Council Member André; seconded by Council Member Bourgeois. Mayor Normand opened the floor for public comments. Hearing no comments the motion passed unanimously.

Recreation Committee: None

Police Committee:
Upon Chief Whaley’s recommendation, a motion to hire Ron LeRay and Michael Parault as Reserve Officers was made by Council Member Richard; seconded by Council Member Rhodes. Mayor Normand opened the floor for public comments. Hearing no comments the motion passed unanimously.

Upon the recommendation of Chief Whaley, a motion to hire Christy Boudreaux and Kasey Perrault as Part Time Police Officers at the rate of $15.00 per hour, not to exceed 15 hours per week, was made by Council Member Rhodes; seconded by Council Member André. The Mayor opened the floor for public comment. Council Member Bourgeois requested introductions of the candidates to the Council. Hearing no further comments, the motion passed unanimously.

Upon the recommendation of Chief Whaley, a motion to increase the pay rate of Officer Thomas Southon to $17.15 per hour, to compensate for providing for Legislative mandated POST requirements, was made by Council Member Richard; seconded by Council Member Bourgeois. The Mayor opened the floor for public comment. Hearing no comments, the motion passed unanimously.

Governmental Affair Committee:
Upon the recommendation of Mayor Normand, a motion to appoint Council Member Neisler to oversee Police Station Change Order Reviews was made by Council Member André; seconded by Council Member Rhodes. Mayor Normand opened the floor for public comment. Hearing no comments, the motion passed unanimously.

Consideration of Vetoed Ordinances: None

Hearing and Final Action on Ordinances:
Ordinance #8 of 2013 –The ordinance to amend the appropriations ordinance of 2013-2014 to provide relative to appropriations for the income and expenses of the Town of Brusly was read aloud and opened for Public Hearing by Mayor Normand. Hearing no comments from the public, Mayor Normand turned the issue over to the Council for Consideration. A motion to adopt Ordinance #8 of 2013 with changes stated was made by Council Member André; seconded by Council Member Rhodes. A roll call vote was had with the following result:
Yeas: Rhodes, Richard, André, Bourgeois, Neisler
Nays: None
Absent: None

Introduction of Ordinances: None

Resolutions and Commendations:
Mayor Normand read aloud Resolution #10 of 2013 – to apply for a LGAP Grant. A motion to approve the resolution was made by Council Member Bourgeois; seconded by Council Member Rhodes. The Mayor opened the floor for public comments. Hearing no comments the motion passed unanimously.

Fire Department Report:
Fire Chief Alleman gave the Fire Chief’s report for November. There were five (5) first aid calls inside the Town and thirteen (13) outside of Town. There was one (1) fire inside and one (1) outside of Town. There were three (3) false alarms, one (1) smoke detector activation and one (1) electrical short. There was one (1) motor vehicle crash and two (2) mutual aid calls to Addis. The total calls for the month were twenty-eight (28). The total for the year is three hundred thirty-three (333).

Police Department Report:
Report for the month of November was given by Chief Whaley. There were ten (10) wrecks, seventeen (17) bench warrant arrests, one (1) burglary, five (5) alarms, five (5) assists to other agencies, one (1) drug arrest, two (2) juvenile matters, eleven (11) traffic arrests and twenty-five (25) miscellaneous calls. For the month’s total, there were 77 calls, 114 citations and 155 violations.

Correspondence:
Mayor Normand received a thank you note for attending Brusly Middle School’s red ribbon day.

Mayor’s Report:
Mayor Normand commented on the well attended ground breaking ceremony for the new Police Station. The Mayor announced that Owen Cope of Entergy, is retiring as of December 12, 2013. Mayor Normand gave a brief update on the Allene Street culvert project.

Remarks of Personal Privilege:
Council Member Bourgeois along with Council Member Neisler attended the Grand Opening of Fred’s Super Dollar Store on November 22nd.
Parish Council Member Kershaw gave a brief update on issues being discussed by the Parish Council.

Announcements:
Planning & Zoning Meeting for December will be Dec. 18th
Town Hall Closed December 24th & 25th
Town Hall Closed January 1st

A motion was made by Council Member Rhodes to adjourn; seconded by Council Member Neisler. The motion passed with a unanimous vote. The meeting adjourned at 7:13 PM.

_____________________ _________________________
Joey Normand, Mayor Debbie Berthelot, Town Clerk