Town Meeting Minutes – Monday, September 10, 2012

September 10, 2012

Town of Brusly
Brusly, Louisiana

The regular meeting of the Town of Brusly was held this date, September 10, 2012 at the Brusly Town Hall.
Mayor Normand called for a moment of silence for the recent death of Don Deville, the Town’s Auditor.
Council Member Neisler led the Pledge of Allegiance. A roll call determined the following officials present:

Mayor: Joey Normand
Council Members: Thomas Olinde, Joanne Bourgeois, Landess Hebert,
Shane André, Don Neisler
Town Attorney: Thomas Acosta, Jr.
Absent: None

A motion to approve the minutes of the Town’s regular meeting of August 13, 2012, was made by Council Member Bourgeois and seconded by Council Member Olinde. Mayor Normand opened the floor for public comment. Hearing no comments, the motion passed with a unanimous vote.

Public Works Committee:
A motion to authorize Mayor Normand to sign two contracts in the amounts of $6000.00 with Landsource and $3980.00 with Terracon for the design phase of the new Police Station was made by Council Member Neisler; seconded by Council Member Hebert. The Mayor opened the floor for public comment. Hearing no comments the motion passed unanimously.

A motion to approve Orleans West Plan Change #2 was made by Council Member André; seconded by Council Member Bourgeois. Mayor Normand opened the floor for public comment. Hearing no comments, the motion passed with a unanimous vote.

Planning and Zoning Committee:
Upon the recommendation of the Planning & Zoning Commission, a motion to grant the variance request made by Philip D. Roberts, 670 Venzule Dr., to reduce the side setback from 10 feet to 3.5 feet was made by Council Member Olinde; seconded by Council Member André. Mayor Normand opened the floor for public comment. Hearing no comments the motion passed unanimously.

Mayor Normand presented the Revised Preliminary Plat Orleans West Subdivision, which was favorably recommended to the Council by the Planning & Zoning Commission. After a brief discussion, a motion to approve the plat, with minor changes which were addressed, was made by Council Member Neisler; seconded by Council Member Hebert. Mayor Normand opened the floor for public comments. Hearing no comments a roll call vote was had with the following results:
Yeas: André, Bourgeois, Hebert, Neisler, Olinde
Nays: None
Absent: None

Upon the recommendation of Mayor Normand, a motion to approve the Construction Drawings of Orleans West was made by Council Member André; seconded by Council Member Olinde. The Mayor opened the floor for public comments. Hearing no comments a roll call vote was had with the following results:

Finance Committee: None

Personnel Committee:
Upon the recommendation of Mayor Normand, a motion to hire Jamie Loupe as a Part Time Clerk at the rate of $11.00 per hour was made by Council Member Bourgeois; seconded by Council Member Olinde. The Mayor opened the floor for public comment. Hearing no comments the motion passed unanimously.

Recreation Committee:
Mayor Normand requested authorization to sign Cooperative Endeavors with the Parish of West Baton Rouge for the purpose of allocating budgeted funds as approved by the Town. A motion to approve 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.

Mayor Normand requested authorization to sign Cooperative Endeavors with the appropriate entities for the purpose of allocating budgeted recreational funds as approved by the Town. A motion to approve was made by Council Member Olinde; seconded by Council Member André. The Mayor opened the floor for public comments. Hearing no comments the motion passed unanimously.
Police Committee:
Upon the recommendation of Chief Whaley, a motion to hire Dan Cipriano as a Part Time Police Officer, at the rate of $13.00 per hour, was made by Council Member Hebert; seconded by Council Member Olinde. Mayor Normand opened the floor for public comments. Hearing no comments the motion passed unanimously.

Governmental Affair Committee:
Council Member Bourgeois reported that she and Council Member Neisler are in the process of researching the site of the Convent and the first Brusly Town Hall to apply for a State of Louisiana Historical Marker.

Consideration of Vetoed Ordinances: None

Hearing and Final Action on Ordinances:
Mayor Normand read aloud and opened the Public Hearing for Ordinance #9 of 2012 to re-zone 395 Highway 1 North, from R-1(single-family residential) to B-1 (transitional) at the request of Richard Hebert. Mr. Richard Hebert introduced himself and stated that the West Baton Rouge Assessor’s tax rolls show commercial taxes being paid on the property for years, therefore, he feels that the property should be considered “grandfathered” as a commercial piece of property. At this time Council Member Hebert recused himself from the decision because of family connections to the property owners.
Mr. Woody Triche introduced himself and spoke in opposition of the re-zoning, stating all surrounding properties which include his property, are zoned residential. He spoke of concerns that included spot zoning, buffer zones, heavy traffic and noise levels. Mr. Triche also stated that the property is not fronted on a public street, only having access through a private servitude which is located on his property, which would violate the Town of Brusly Code of Ordinances if re-zoned.
Gordon and Michael Hebert spoke in favor of the re-zoning. Mr. Buddy Powell introduced himself declaring he would like to lease the property in question to open an air conditioning business in the existing building.
Hearing no further comments the Mayor closed the public hearing and turned it over to the Council for consideration. After a discussion by all Council Members regarding the Town’s Land Use Principles set forth in the Code of Ordinances, a motion to deny the re-zoning request was made by Council Member Neisler; seconded by Council Member Olinde. Mayor Normand opened the floor for public comments. After hearing Mr. Richard Hebert, a roll call vote was had with the following results:
Yeas: Neisler, Olinde, André, Bourgeois,
Recused: Hebert
Nays: None
Absent: None
The request for re-zoning was denied.

Mayor Normand read aloud and opened the Public Hearing for Ordinance #10 of 2012 – Chapter 4 Personnel, Section 4.11 & 4.12 Group Insurance for Retirees & Full-time Employees. Hearing no comments the Mayor closed the Public Hearing and turned the ordinance over to the Council for consideration. A motion to approve the ordinance was made by Council Member André; seconded by Council Member Olinde. The Mayor opened the floor for public comments. Hearing no comments a roll call was had with the following results:
Yeas: Neisler, Olinde, André, Bourgeois, Hebert
Nays: None
Absent: None

Mayor Normand read aloud and opened the Public Hearing for Ordinance #11 of 2012 – Chapter 27 General Provisions, Section 27.10 Use of Municipal Vehicles. Chief Whaley requested the Ordinance be tabled for the purpose of gathering information. Hearing no other comments the Mayor turned the ordinance over to the Council for consideration. A motion to table was made by Council Member Bourgeois; seconded by Council Member Olinde. Mayor Normand opened the floor for public comments. Hearing no comments the motion passed unanimously.
Introduction of Ordinances:
Ordinance #12 of 2012 – Chapter 18 – Change Building Code with Revisions was introduced by Council Member André.

Resolutions and Commendations:
Mayor Normand read aloud Resolution #4 of 2012 – to apply for a LGAP Grant for the purchase of a hydro sewer jetter. A motion to approve the resolution was made by Council Member Hebert; seconded by Council Member Olinde. 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 August. There were eight (8) first aid calls inside the Town and seventeen (17) outside of Town. There was one (1) public assist. There were no fires inside or outside of Town. There were four (4) alarm system activations, three (3) brush fires, two (2) odor investigations and two (2) downed power lines. There was one motor vehicle crash. The total calls for the month were thirty-eight (38). The total for the year is two hundred fifty-five (255).

Police Department Report:
Report for the month of August was given by Chief Whaley. There were six (6) wrecks, two (2) bench warrant arrests, two (2) damage to property, one (1) theft, four (4) alarms, one (1) assist to other agencies, ten (10) traffic arrests and seventeen (17) miscellaneous calls. For the month’s total, there were 43 calls, 70 citations and 94 violations.

Correspondence:
Mayor Normand read aloud a thank you note from Walter Landry expressing his gratitude to Wayne Delapasse and the Maintenance Department for their response to a sewer drainage problem on his property. Mr. Landry also thanked the Mayor and Council for making the Town of Brusly a better place to live.

Mayor’s Report:
The Mayor gave a brief post- Hurricane Isaac update. Mayor Normand attended a court hearing in which the Town was ordered to provide a key to the gate crossing the road leading to the sewer ponds. Mayor Normand also attended the WBR Chamber the State of the Parish meeting.

Mayor Normand attended a meeting with WBR Parish Officials, along with representatives of Cinclare, to discuss future plans to widen the Ton Ton Canal.
The Mayor gave an update on the new aerators in the sewer ponds.
Mayor Normand announced that the public could now pay Brusly traffic tickets online.
The Mayor attended a Bond Commission Meeting and a Teachers’ Luncheon hosted by the WBR Chamber of Commerce.

Remarks of Personal Privilege:
Council Members Bourgeois and Neisler also attended the State of the Parish Chamber Meeting. Council Member Bourgeois and Accounting Clerk Patricia Gaudet also attended a grant writing workshop sponsored by LMA.
Mr. Richard Hebert thanked the Council for their consideration of his re-zoning request.
Council Member Olinde announced he would not be running for re-election due to personal family reasons. Council Member Olinde thanked all Council Members for their dedication and caring service to the Town of Brusly.

Announcements:
Oldies But Goodies Fest – Sept. 15-16, 2012 – 12 Noon – 6:00 PM, WBR Tourist Information & Conference Center Grounds
A motion was made by Council Member André to adjourn; seconded by Council Member Olinde. The motion passed with a unanimous vote. The meeting adjourned at 7:27 PM.

_____________________ _________________________
Joey Normand, Mayor Debbie Berthelot, Town Clerk