Town Meeting Minutes – Monday, September 8, 2014

September 8, 2014

Town of Brusly
Brusly, Louisiana

The regular meeting of the Town of Brusly was held this date, September 8, 2014 at the Brusly Town Hall.

Council Member Richard 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

At Mayor Normand’s request, a motion to amend the agenda to move to item 7.F.1. was made by Council Member Richard; seconded by Council Member Rhodes. Mayor Normand opened the floor for public comment. Hearing no comments, a roll call was had with the following results:
Yeas: Rhodes, Richard, André, Bourgeois, Neisler
Nays: None
Absent: None

Police Committee:
Asst. Chief Marionneaux, speaking on behalf of Chief Johnson, made a recommendation to hire Jeremy Thompson as a Police Officer with the rank of Sergeant, at the rate of $18.00 an hour, retroactive from September 1, 2014. Asst. Chief Marionneaux explained that Mr. Thompson had gone before the hiring board with positive results, was POST Certified and met all other certification requirements. A motion to approve the recommendation was made by Council Member André; seconded by Council Member Richard. Mayor Normand opened the floor for public comment. Hearing no comments, the motion passed unanimously. Mayor Normand and the Council welcomed Officer Thompson who was present in the audience.

At Mayor Normand’s request a motion to amend the agenda to move to item 11.A. was made by Council Member André; seconded by Council Member Bourgeois. Mayor Normand opened the floor for public comment. Hearing no comments, a roll call was had with the following results:
Yeas: Richard, André, Bourgeois, Neisler, Rhodes
Nays: None
Absent: None

Resolutions and Commendations:
Mayor Normand introduced Mr. Don Gascon, inviting him to speak about Mr. Jerry Besson, who had recently been inducted into the Louisiana High School Boxing Association Hall of Fame. Mr. Gascon gave a brief explanation of Mr. Besson’s high school boxing career. At the conclusion of Mr. Gascon’s speech Mayor Normand read aloud from a Certificate of Commendation for Mr. Besson. Following that, a motion to award the Commendation was made by Council Member Bourgeois, seconded by Council Member André. Mayor Normand opened the floor for public comment. Hearing no comments, the motion passed unanimously.

Mayor Normand introduced Craig McCulloch, a candidate for the 6th Congressional District.
Mr. McCulloch presented information on his qualifications and spoke briefly about his views on campaign platform issues.

Mayor Normand introduced Ms. Margaret Pritchard of Baxley & Associates, LLC. Ms Pritchard presented the Audit Report for the Brusly Police Department. Ms Pritchard reported on seven procedures which were reviewed in accordance with attestation standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and applicable standards of Government auditing Standards. She reported that six out of the seven procedures had findings requiring corrective action. At the completion of Ms Pritchard’s report, Mayor Normand read aloud Management’s response to each finding, answering questions from the public as they arose. A motion to accept the Audit Report was made by Council Member Bourgeois; seconded by Council Member Richard. Mayor Normand opened the floor for public comment. Hearing no further comments from the public a roll call vote was had with the following results:
Yeas: André, Bourgeois, Neisler, Rhodes, Richard
Nays: None
Absent: None

A motion to approve the minutes of the Town’s regular meeting of August 11, 2014, was made by Council Member Bourgeois and seconded by Council Member Neisler. Mayor Normand opened the floor for public comment. Hearing no comments, the motion passed with a unanimous vote.

Public Works Committee:
Upon the recommendation of Mayor Normand a motion to authorize the Mayor to sign a contract with Gulf Coast Underground in the amount of no more than $25,000 was made by Council Member André; seconded by Council Member Richard. Mayor Normand opened the floor for public comment. Hearing no comments, the motion passed with a unanimous vote.

Upon the recommendation of the Mayor, a motion to approve change order #3 of the Police Station Project in the amount of $9,915.82 was made by Council Member Bourgeois; seconded by Council Member Neisler. The Mayor opened the floor for public comments. Hearing no comments, the motion passed with a unanimous vote.

Planning and Zoning Committee:
Mayor Normand presented the Final Plat of Map Showing Subdivision of Tract HT-2 into Tract HT-2A and Lots 51-A Thru 77-A Located in Section 55, T-8-S, R-12-E Southeastern Land District West of the Mississippi River Town of Brusly West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana for Richard G. Soniat, which has been favorably recommended by a majority of the Planning & Zoning Commission. A motion to approve the subdivision was made by Council Member André; seconded by Council Member Richard. The Mayor opened the floor for public comment. Hearing no comments, the motion passed unanimously.

Mayor Normand presented the Final Plat of Map Showing Subdivision of Tract HT-1 into Tract HT-1A, Lot HT-1B and Lots 41-A Thru 50-A Located in Section 55, T-8-S, R-12-E Southeastern Land District West of the Mississippi River Town of Brusly West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana for Hubert Thibodeaux, which has been favorably recommended by the Planning & Zoning Commission. A motion to approve the subdivision was made by Council Member André; seconded by Council Member Richard. The Mayor opened the floor for public comment. Hearing no comments, the motion passed unanimously.

Finance Committee:
Upon Mayor Normand’s recommendation a motion to authorize the sale of Liberty National Insurance to the Town’s employees was made by Council Member Bourgeois; seconded by Council Member Neisler. The Mayor opened the floor for public comment. Hearing no comments, the motion passed unanimously.

Personnel Committee: None

Recreation Committee: None

Governmental Affair Committee: None

Consideration of Vetoed Ordinances: None

Hearing and Final Action on Ordinances:
Mayor Normand read aloud Ordinance #8 of 2014, to amend and re-enact the Code of Ordinances of the Town of Brusly, Louisiana, Chapter 19 relative to the amendment and re-adoption of the official zoning map of the Town of Brusly. The Mayor opened the Public Hearing. Hearing no comments from the public, the Mayor turned the matter over to the Council for consideration. A motion to approve was made by Council Member Rhodes; seconded by Council Member Neisler. A roll call vote was taken with the following results:
Yeas: Bourgeois, Neisler, Rhodes, Richard, André
Nays: None
Absent: None

Introduction of Ordinances:
Council Member Rhodes introduced Ordinance 9 of 2014 to Amend Chapter 19 of the Code of Ordinances for a Re-Zoning Request of James Sorrell at 653 E. Main Street.

Resolutions and Commendations:
Resolution #5 of 2014 to declare surplus movable property for sale at public auction, disposal of if not sold and to set the auction date for November 1, 2014 was presented to the Council. A motion to approve the resolution was made by Council Member André; seconded by Council Member Neisler. Mayor Normand opened the floor for public comment. Hearing no comments, the motion passed unanimously.

Resolution #6 of 2014 to declare surplus weapons for sale at auction on November 1, 2014 to Class III Firearms Dealers and to set minimum prices was presented to the Council. A motion to approve the resolution was made by Council Member Bourgeois; seconded by Council Member Richard. Mayor Normand opened the floor for public comment. Hearing no comments, the motion passed unanimously.

Resolution #7 of 2014 to declare surplus weapons for sale at public auction on November 1, 2014 with buyers having had background checks done by the auctioneer and set minimum prices was presented to the Council. A motion to approve the resolution 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.

Resolution #8 of 2014 to support the LMA endorsed constitutional amendments dealing with blighted property was presented to the Council. A motion to approve the resolution was made by Council Member Neisler; seconded by Council Member Rhodes. Mayor Normand opened the floor for public comment. Hearing no comments the motion passed unanimously.

Fire Department Report: None

Police Department Report:
Police Department Report for the month of August was given by Asst. Police Chief Marionneaux. There were eight (8) wrecks, fifteen (15) bench warrant arrests, one (1) battery, one (1) disturbing the peace, one (1) theft, four (4) alarms, twelve (12) assistance to other agencies, four (4) traffic arrests and thirty-one (31) miscellaneous calls. For the month’s total, there were 77 calls, 16 citations and 22 violations.

Correspondence: None

Mayor’s Report:
Mayor Normand reported on the completion of Venzule Street generator project and the Allene Street catch basin project. The Mayor gave a brief update on the Allene Street culvert project. Mayor Normand reported that 12 people had signed up for Purple Heart Flags to be flown along with the United States Flags that are currently being displayed on the highway. The Mayor attended a tour of the new units being constructed at Dow and the 6th anniversary celebration of the Senior Spirit Organization.

At Mayor Normand’s request, a motion to amend the agenda to add an item to declare a covered trailer as surplus and authorize the sale of said trailer to the West Baton Rouge School Board, was made by Council Member Neisler; seconded by Council Member Bourgeois. Mayor Normand opened the floor for public comment. Hearing no comments, a roll call was had with the following results:
Yeas: Neisler, Rhodes, Richard, André, Bourgeois
Nays: None
Absent: None
A motion to declare a covered trailer as surplus and authorize the sale of it for $1,000 to the West Baton Rouge School Board was made by Council Member Neisler; seconded by Council Member Richard. Mayor Normand opened the floor for public comment. Hearing no comments, the motion passed unanimously.

Remarks of Personal Privilege: None

Announcements:
“Oldies but Goodies Fest” will be held September 13th thru 14th on the grounds of the WBR Tourist Information & Conference Center.

A motion was made by Council Member André to adjourn; seconded by Council Member Rhodes. Hearing no comments, the motion passed with a unanimous vote. The meeting adjourned at 7:54 PM.

_____________________ _________________________
Joey Normand, Mayor Debbie Berthelot, Town Clerk