Town Meeting Minutes – Monday, April 14, 2008

April 14, 2008

Town of Brusly
Brusly, Louisiana

The regular meeting of the Town of Brusly was held this date, April 14, 2008 at the Brusly Town Hall.

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

Mayor: Joey Normand
Council Members: David Rodrigue, Ronda Perrault, Joanne Bourgeois Shane Andre’, Chris Kershaw
Town Attorney: Thomas Acosta, Jr.
A motion to approve the minutes of the Town’s regular meeting of March 10, 2008 was made by Council Member Bourgeois and seconded by Council Member Perrault. Motion passed with a unanimous vote.

Public Works Committee:
At Mayor Normand’s recommendation, no action was taken on the bids for street overlays due to lack of bids received and budget constraints.

Mayor Normand suggested that new sign posts be added to next year’s budget.

Planning and Zoning:
A request by Randall T. Soniat for re-subdivision of lot C-2 into Lots C-2A & C-2B was favorably recommended by the Planning and Zoning Commission. A motion to accept the recommendation of the Planning and Zoning Commission was made by Council Member Bourgeois; seconded by Council Member Rodrigue. The motion passed unanimously.

Finance Committee: None

Personnel Committee:
Approval of the Records Retention Schedule was recommended by Mayor Normand. A motion to approve was made by Council Member Perrault and seconded by Council Member Andre’. The motion passed unanimously.

Recreation Committee:
Council Member Andre’ announced that the 11 year old USSSA Baseball Team, after playing 15 games, has been ranked 1st in the State and 11th in the country.

Police Committee:
Mr. Felton Crockett requested a nuisance appeal for the Jeep Cherokee located at 519 Bourgeois St., the white truck located at 517 Gwin St. and the 1984 Ford Escort located at 517 Gwin St. Mr. Crockett also stated that the nuisance notices were intimidating to some citizens and suggested that the Chief of Police talk to citizens one on one before sending out the notices. A discussion was held regarding Mr. Crockett’s appeals and suggestion.

A motion to give 30 days to remove the Jeep Cherokee was made by Council Member Kershaw and seconded by Council Member Bourgeois. The motion was approved unanimously.

A motion to give 30 days to remove the white truck was made by Council Member Andre’ and seconded by Council Member Rodrigue. The motion was approved unanimously.
The Council agreed that the 1984 Ford Escort was not to be considered a nuisance, with the stipulation that there would be work and/or progress toward restoration.
Grant Committee: None
Consideration of Vetoed Ordinances: None

Hearing and Final Action on Ordinances:
Ordinance #2 – Process for Elected Officials Salary Review was read aloud and opened for Public Hearing by Mayor Normand. After discussion between the public, Council Members and Mayor Normand, the public hearing was closed. A motion to adopt Ordinance #2 was made by Council Member Andre’ and seconded by Council Member Perrault. A roll call vote was taken with the following results:

Yeas: Perrault, Bourgeois, Rodrigue, Andre’, Kershaw
Nays: None
Absent: None

Ordinance #3 – Setting Council Members Salary for Next Term was read aloud and opened for Public Hearing by Mayor Normand. After discussion between the public, Council Members and Mayor Normand, the Public Hearing was closed. A motion to increase Council Members’ salaries to $500.00 per month plus $50.00 per special meeting at which a vote is taken and the Mayor Pro Tempore’s salary to $600.00 per month effective January 1, 2009 was made by Council Member Kershaw and seconded by Council Member Andre’. A roll call vote was taken with the following results:

Yeas: Rodrigue, Perrault, Bourgeois, Andre’, Kershaw
Nays: None
Absent: None

Ordinance #4 – Setting Mayor’s Salary for Next Term was read aloud and opened for Public Hearing by Mayor Normand. After discussion between the public, Council Members and Mayor Normand the Public Hearing was closed. A motion to adopt Ordinance #4, setting the Mayor’s salary at $25,200.00 per annum effective January 1, 2009, was made by Council Member Rodrigue and seconded by Council Member Bourgeois. A roll call vote was taken with the following results:

Yeas: Rodrigue, Perrault, Bourgeois, Andre’, Kershaw
Nays: None
Absent: None

Ordinance #5 – Setting Chief of Police Salary for Next Term was read aloud and opened for Public Hearing by Mayor Normand. After discussion between the public, Council Members and Mayor Normand the Public Hearing was closed. A motion for the Police Chief’s salary to remain at $40,000 per annum was made by Council Member Perrault and died for lack of second. A motion to set the Police Chief’s salary at $46,000 per annum was made by Council Member Kershaw and died for lack of second. After further discussion, a motion to set Police Chief’s salary at $43,000 per annum effective January 1, 2009, was made by Council Member Andre’ and seconded by Council Member Bourgeois. A roll call vote was taken with the following results:

Yeas: Rodrigue, Perrault, Bourgeois, Andre’, Kershaw
Nays: None
Absent: None

Introduction of Ordinances: None

Resolutions and Commendations:
Resolution #2 to Congratulate the BHS Boys’ Wrestling Team for winning State Championship was accepted unanimously upon a motion by Council Member Andre’ with a second by Council Member Bourgeois.

Resolution #3 to Appoint Auditor Don Deville for 2007-2008 Fiscal Year Audit was accepted unanimously upon a motion by Council Member Kershaw, seconded by Council Member Andre’. After some explanation from Mayor Normand, Resolution #4 to Oppose HB 1050 was accepted unanimously upon a motion by Council Member Kershaw, seconded by Council Member Perrault.

Council Member Perrault moved to offer condolences to Addis Council Member Rusty Parrish upon the death of his stepfather, seconded by Council Member Bourgeois. Motion was unanimously accepted.

Fire Department Report:
Fire Chief Alleman gave the Fire Chief’s report for March. There were five (16) first aid calls inside the Town and ten (6) outside of Town. There were no fire calls inside or outside the Town. There was one (1) grass fire, one (1) trash fire, and one (1) vehicle fire. There were seven (7), motor vehicle crashes and four (4) mutual aids to Addis. The total calls for the month was thirty-six (36).

Police Department Report:
Report for the month of March was given by Chief Whaley. There were five (5) wrecks, four (4) bench warrant arrests, one (1) Assault, six (6) damage to property, one (1) disturbing the peace, four (4) thefts, three (3) alarm calls, one (1) assistants, one (1) juvenile matter, twenty-one (21) traffic arrest and eighteen (18) miscellaneous calls. There were a total of 65 calls, 244 citations and 329 violations.
Correspondence: None

Mayor’s Report:
Mayor Pro Temp Bourgeois reported on the CRPC meeting of March 17th hosted by Brusly and Addis.

Mayor Normand reported there will be no increase in medical premiums for the third year running. Police Retirement Withholding has dropped from 13 ¾ % to 9 ½ %. He also reported on a meeting held with North LaBauve Street landowners to discuss the proposed Allene Street drainage project. Mayor Normand announced that the sewer telemetry system has been installed. Mayor Normand ended the Mayor’s Report with a slide show and description of his trip to Australia and New Zealand.

Remarks of Personal Privilege:
Council Member Bourgeois thanked Chief Whaley for what he has done to round up abandoned vehicles. She also announced that on May 17th there will be a ceremony to celebrate the Original Brusly High (now Middle School Gym) being placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Fire Chief Alleman announced there is a Fire Sub-district #2 Special Meeting at 6:00 on May 5, 2008 for Budget Adoption. He also thanked the Council for their work on the Fire Department’s budget.
Announcements:
Landmark & Heritage Commission Meeting April 21st at 6:30 PM

Motion to adjourn was made by Council Member Andre’; seconded by Council Member Rodrigue. The motion passed unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 8:06 p.m.

_____________________ _______________________
Joey Normand, Mayor Debbie Berthelot, Town Clerk