Town Meeting Minutes

November 14, 2016
Town of Brusly
Brusly, Louisiana

The regular meeting of the Town of Brusly was held this date, November 14, 2016, at the Brusly Town Hall, at 6:30 P.M. Council Member Bourgeois led the Pledge of Allegiance. A roll call determined the following officials present:

Mayor:                                    Joey Normand
Council Members:               Scot Rhodes, Joanne Bourgeois, Terry Richard, Don Neisler
Town Attorney:                    Thomas Acosta, Jr.
Absent:                                  Shane Andrè

A motion to approve the minutes of the town’s regular meeting of October 10, 2016 with the change of the word suggested to the word asked in the Planning & Zoning paragraph 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:
Upon the recommendation of Mayor Normand, a motion to approve the substantial completion of the Sewer Project, was made by Council Member Neisler; seconded by Council Member Richard. Mayor Normand opened the floor for public comments. Hearing no comments, the motion passed unanimously.

Council Member Bourgeois asked that the Arborist report from October 27, 2016, regarding the Back Brusly Oak Tree, be included in the minutes. The report addresses the assessment of the tree and was related by Town Public Works Director Shane Sarradet:

“Mr. Ted Habourt came by this morning and said the Brusly oak tree is in good shape and is not in any danger. A lightning strike some time ago damaged the tree where the limb had broken off. He identified this by the crack in the bark that runs underneath the branch. Although there is no decay where the branch broke off, it is rather unsightly and suggests that we cut what is left of the branch off (around 3’ in length). But, it will cost us around $300 to do so. I told him I would get back to him upon approval. He recommended lightning protection and he will get back to me on a cost to install and maintain.”

Planning and Zoning Committee: None
Finance Committee: None
Personnel Committee: None
Recreation Committee: None
Police Committee: None
Governmental Affairs Committee:
Citing recommendations from the Landmark & Heritage Commission, Council Member Bourgeois described the home at 401 N. Kirkland Street, known as the Allen Aillet Sr. Home, currently owned by Bobby & Jennifer Lee and the home at 915 E. Main Street, known as the Jeanne & Lawrence Hebert Home, to receive Certified Landmark plaques. A motion to approve the landmarks was made by Council Member Bourgeois; seconded by Council Member Rhodes. Mayor Normand opened the floor for public comment. Hearing no comments, the motion passed unanimously.
Council Member Bourgeois also described the site at 238 S. Kirkland, location of the Old Brusly Drug Store. The history of the site dated back to the 1930s and is presently owned by Lynn LeJeune. The site having been recommended by the Landmark & Heritage Commission to receive a Former Landmark Sign, a motion to approve the Former Landmark Site was made by Council Member Bourgeois; seconded by Council Member Neisler. Mayor Normand opened the floor for public comment. Hearing no comments, the motion passed unanimously.

A motion to reappoint Brian Falcon & Billy Hebert as Landmark & Heritage Advisory Board Members was made by Council Member Bourgeois; seconded by Council Member Richard. The Mayor opened the floor for public comments. Hearing no comments, the motion passed unanimously.

A motion to appoint Edward Dupuy as an Advisory Board Member of the Landmark & Heritage Commission 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 unanimously.

A motion to appoint Cris Garcia Daniel as Town of Brusly Tree Board Member 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.

Consideration of Vetoed Ordinances: None
Hearing and Final Action on Ordinances: None
Introduction of Ordinances: None
Resolutions and Commendations:
Resolution 7 of 2016 to declare surplus items for disposal and to set minimum prices of for sale at public auction was recommended by Mayor Normand. A motion to approve was made by Council Member Rhodes; seconded by Council Member Richard. The Mayor opened the floor for public comment. Hearing no comments, the motion passed unanimously.

Resolution 8 of 2016 to approve the DEQ Environmental Audit was recommended by Mayor Normand. A motion to approve was made by Council Member Rhodes; seconded by Council Member Bourgeois. The Mayor opened the floor for public comment. Hearing no comments, the motion passed unanimously.

Police Department Report:
Police Department Report for the month of October was given by Chief Lefeaux. There was one (1) assists to other departments, six (6) burglary calls, one (1) civil complaint, four (4) damage to property calls, three (3) disturbances, one (1) domestic, three (3) drug related, one (1) fire call, one (1) information call, one (1) medical call, one (1) open door, four (4) miscellaneous calls, two (2) private property accidents, one (1) suspicious person, two (2) thefts, two (2) traffic accidents, one (1) traffic complaint, five (5) warrant arrests and 42 insurance tows. For the month there were 88 total calls, 514 total citations and 672 total violations.

Correspondence: None

Mayor’s Report:
Mayor Normand congratulated Council Member Bourgeois and the staff for the excellent Veteran’s Day Ceremony.

Remarks of Personal Privilege:
Council Member Bourgeois reported on the well-attended Veteran’s Day Ceremony and reception held at the Town Hall on Nov. 11th, thanking the Town staff for all their work in preparing for the event. Council Member Bourgeois gave special thanks to the speaker of the event, Mickey Bennett, a Vietnam Veteran who was invited by Mayor Normand. She also thanked Mrs. Claudette Purnell accompanied by Mr. Jim Barnett for performing the musical selection. Council Member Bourgeois announced the Essay Contest winners: Lacey Budd, 3rd place; Baylee Weems, 2nd place; and Savannah Bezet,1st place , all of whom are Advanced Placement Civics students at Brusly High. Essay Contest judges were Donald Neisler, Addie Crochet and Henry Soniat. Council Member Bourgeois thanked Shane Sarradet and the town’s maintenance crew for their help.

Announcements:
The Planning & Zoning Meeting will be held November 16th at 6:30 P.M.
The Town Hall will be closed November 23rd thru the 25th for Thanksgiving.

A motion was made by Council Member Richard to adjourn; seconded by Council Member Neisler. Hearing no comments, the motion passed with a unanimous vote. The meeting adjourned at 6:51 P.M.

/s/ Joey Normand, Mayor                                                                      /s/ Debbie Berthelot, Town Clerk