Town Meeting Minutes

January 9, 2017
Town of Brusly
Brusly, Louisiana

The regular meeting of the Town of Brusly was held this date, January 9, 2017, at the Brusly Town Hall, at 6:30 P.M. Council Member Daigle led the Pledge of Allegiance. A roll call determined the following officials present:

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

A motion to approve the minutes of the Town’s regular meeting of December 12, 2016 was made by Council Member Andrè and seconded by Council Member Bourgeois. Mayor Rhodes opened the floor for public comment. Hearing no comments, the motion passed with a unanimous vote.

Public Works Committee:
Council Member Bourgeois reported that the completed improvements to the sewer system helped considerably with preventing problems that could have otherwise occurred during the recent rain events.

Planning and Zoning Committee:
Upon the request of Mayor Rhodes, a motion to amend the agenda to take up the variance request of Craig Daigle was made by Council Member Bourgeois; seconded by Council Member Neisler. Mayor Rhodes opened the floor for public comment. Hearing no comments a roll call vote was had with the following results:
Yeas:                 Andrè, Bourgeois, Daigle, Neisler
Nays:                None
Absent:            Richard

Mayor Rhodes read aloud a Variance Request for Non-Compliance – Sec. 19.6 Servitude Encroachment for Craig Daigle, 1705 Orleans Quarter Drive, to build a fence. A motion to approve was made by Council Member Neisler; seconded by Council Member Bourgeois. Mayor Rhodes opened the floor for public comments. Hearing no comments, the motion passed unanimously.

Finance Committee: None
Personnel Committee:
Upon Mayor Rhodes’ recommendation, a motion to appoint Council Member Bourgeois as Mayor Pro Tempore was made by Council Member Andrè; seconded by Council Member Neisler. Mayor Rhodes opened the floor for public comment. Hearing no comments, a roll call vote was had with the following results:
Yeas:              Bourgeois, Daigle, Neisler, André
Nays:             None
Absent:         Richard

Upon Mayor Rhodes’ recommendation, a motion to appoint Blaine Rabalais as Town Clerk, with an annual salary of $70,000, was made by Council Member Daigle; seconded by Council Member Andrè. Mayor Rhodes opened the floor for public comments. Hearing no comments, a roll call vote was had with the following results:
Yeas:            Daigle, Neisler, André, Bourgeois
Nays:           None
Absent:       Richard

Upon Mayor Rhodes recommendation, a motion to appoint Tom Acosta as Town Attorney was made by Council Member Bourgeois; seconded by Council Member Neisler. Mayor Rhodes opened the floor for public comments. Hearing no comments, a roll call vote was had with the following results:
Yeas:           Neisler, André, Bourgeois, Daigle
Nays:          None
Absent:      Richard

Mayor Rhodes presented the following list of his recommendations for assignment of committee members and chairpersons:
Committees
Finance
Chairperson: Rusty Daigle
Members: Don Neisler, Terry Richard
Public Works
Chair: Shane Andre’
Members: Rusty Daigle, Don Neisler

Recreation
Chair: Shane Andre’
Members: Joanne Bourgeois, Terry Richard
Police
Chair: Terry Richard
Members: Don Neisler, Joanne Bourgeois
Personnel
Chair: Don Neisler
Members: Terry Richard, Joanne Bourgeois
Governmental Affairs
Chair: Joanne Bourgeois
Members: Rusty Daigle, Shane Andre’
Planning and Zoning
Chair: Don Neisler
Members: Rusty Daigle, Shane Andre’
Council Member Neisler made the motion to approve the list as presented; seconded by Council Member Bourgeois. Mayor Rhodes opened the floor for public comments. Hearing no comments, the motion passed unanimously.

Recreation Committee: None
Police Committee: None
Governmental Affairs Committee: None
Consideration of Vetoed Ordinances: None
Hearing and Final Action on Ordinances: None
Introduction of Ordinances: None
Resolutions and Commendations: None
Police Department Report:
Police Department Report for the month of December was given by Assistant Chief Southon. There was one (1) 911 hang-up call, three (3) disturbance calls, two (2) damage to property calls, two (2) domestic calls, two (2) harassing calls, one (1) medical emergency, four (4) miscellaneous calls, two (2) private property crashes, one (1) suspicious person call, eight (8) traffic accidents, 23 insurance tows, two (2) warrant arrests and one (1) attempted second degree murder. For the month there were 52 total calls, 272 total citations and 313 total violations. For the calendar year of 2016 there were a total of 928 complaints and 3607 citations.

Correspondence: None
Mayor’s Report: None
Remarks of Personal Privilege:
Council Member Bourgeois thanked Shane Sarradet and his maintenance crew for checking property and being pro-active during the recent heavy rains.

Council Member Bourgeois read aloud the following:
“In 18 years as a Town of Brusly employee, Debbie Berthelot has always been super efficient, diligent and conscientious in whatever position she has held. From her earlier days, working in the now demolished building that housed the Town Hall and Police Station, she has excelled in performing her duties. As Town Clerk, she always gave more than 100% in serving the Town and its citizens, always showing respect and courtesy. Her work ethic is superb and she has gone ‘above and beyond’ requirements outlined in her job description to execute her duties. She has often stated that her obligation was to serve and be accountable to the Council, Mayor and residents of the Town of Brusly. On behalf of the Council and citizens of Brusly, I would like to say, ‘Thank you, Debbie Berthelot, for a job well done!’ Enjoy your well-deserved retirement.”

Announcements:
The Town Hall will be closed Monday, January 16th for Civil Rights Day.
The Landmark & Heritage Meeting will be held January 23rd at 6:30 P.M.
The Planning & Zoning Meeting will be held January 25th at 6:30 P.M.

A motion was made by Council Member Andrè to adjourn; seconded by Council Member Daigle. Hearing no comments, the motion passed with a unanimous vote. The meeting adjourned at 6:46 P.M.

/s/Scot Rhodes, Mayor                                                                      /s/Blaine Rabalais, Town Clerk