Town Meeting Minutes – Monday, October 14, 2013

October 14, 2013

Town of Brusly
Brusly, Louisiana

The regular meeting of the Town of Brusly was held this date, October 14, 2013 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

Mayor Normand introduced Ms. Shaun Grantham of Wright, Moore, DeHart, Dupuis & Hutchinson, Inc.
Ms Grantham presented the 2012/2013 Audit Report for the Town of Brusly. She reported that the Town was in excellent financial condition with no findings requiring corrective action. She complemented Town Clerk Debbie Berthelot for keeping excellent records. A motion to accept the 2012/2013 audit report 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 with a unanimous vote.

At Mayor Normand’s request a motion to amend the agenda to move to Resolution and Commendations was made by Council Member Bourgeois; seconded by Council Member André. A roll call was had with the following results:
Yeas: André, Bourgeois, Neisler, Rhodes, Richard
Nays: None
Absent: None

Resolutions and Commendations:
Mayor Normand introduced Mary Delapasse, the Executive Director of Keep West Baton Rouge Beautiful. Mrs. Delapasse commented on the excellent work of Mr. David Prejean, an employee of WBR Parks & Recreation, and his endeavors to work with Keep WBR Beautiful, especially in the area of recycling. Anatole Vincent, Director of WBR Parks and Recreation, read aloud from a Plaque of Commendation for outstanding work ethic and dedication to details in working with Keep West Baton Rouge Beautiful, presented to Mr. Prejean.

A motion to approve the minutes of the Town’s regular meeting of September 9, 2013, was made by Council Member Richard 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 accept the lowest bid of $2,761,000, from Stuart Construction, for the Police Station Capital Outlay Project and to authorize the Mayor to sign any appropriate contracts, contingent upon a written statement of confirmation from Holden Architects and the completion of all State required documentation, was made by Council Member Neisler; seconded by Council Member Rhodes. Mayor Normand opened the floor for public comment. Hearing no comments, a roll call vote was had with the following results:
Yeas: Bourgeois, Neisler, Rhodes, Richard, André
Nays: None
Absent: None

Planning and Zoning Committee:
Mayor Normand read aloud a Variance Request for Non Compliance – Sec. 19.6 Drainage Servitude Encroachment for Genevieve A. O’Neil at 2598 Orleans Quarters Dr. to encroach upon the servitude by 10 feet for the purposes of building a patio & shed. The Variance having been favorably recommended by the Planning & Zoning Commission, a motion to approve was made by Council Member André; seconded by Council Member Richard. The Mayor opened the floor for public comments. Hearing no comments the motion passed unanimously.

Finance Committee:
Mayor Normand announced that the Police Unit sold at State auction for $1920.00.

A motion to reimburse Mayor Normand’s legal fees for two unfounded ethics charges in the amount of $1522.50 was made by Council Member Bourgeois; seconded by Council Member Rhodes. Mayor Normand opened the floor for public comment. Hearing no comments, a roll call vote was had with the following results:
Yeas: Neisler, Rhodes, Richard, André, Bourgeois
Nays: None
Absent: None

A motion to authorize Mayor Normand to sign a contract with RanCorp LLC for IT services 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.

Personnel Committee: None

Recreation Committee:
A motion to set Trick or Treat on October 31, 2013 from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm 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.

Police Committee: None
Governmental Affair Committee: None
Consideration of Vetoed Ordinances: None
Hearing and Final Action on Ordinances: None
Introduction of Ordinances: None

Fire Department Report:
Fire Chief Alleman gave the Fire Chief’s report for September. There were seven (7) first aid calls inside the Town, ten (10) outside of Town and one (1) public assist call. There were no fires inside or outside of Town. There was one (1) false alarm, two (2) vehicle fires, one (1) investigation, one (1) grass fire, one (1) power line down and one (1) natural gas leak. There were two (2) motor vehicle crashes. The total calls for the month were twenty-seven (27). The total for the year is two hundred seventy-eight (278).

Police Department Report:
Report for the month of September was given by Sgt. Ned Robertson. There were eleven (11) wrecks, fourteen (14) bench warrant arrests, one (1) battery, three (3) thefts, one (1) burglary, ten (10) alarms, twenty-one (21) assists to other agencies, one (1) drug arrest, twenty (20) traffic arrests and thirty-seven (37) miscellaneous calls. For the month’s total, there were 119 calls, 247 citations and 307 violations.
Correspondence: None

Mayor’s Report:
Mayor Normand gave a brief update on the Allene Street culvert project. Mayor Normand participated in a cancer walk which was well attended. The Mayor gave an update on the Culvert Program. Mayor Normand also attended a dog bite trial in which the judge ordered the dog euthanized; the order is on hold, pending appeal. The Mayor attended a Senior Spirit Five Year Anniversary celebration.

Remarks of Personal Privilege: Council Member Bourgeois stated that the Town’s annual Veteran’s Day reception will be held on Monday, November 11, 12:00 noon.

Announcements:
Landmark & Heritage meeting will be October 21, 2013 at 6:30 pm.
Mayor’s Court date of November 11, 2013 has been changed to November 12, 2013.

A motion was made by Council Member André to adjourn; seconded by Council Member Richard. The motion passed with a unanimous vote. The meeting adjourned at 7:04 PM.

_____________________ _________________________
Joey Normand, Mayor Debbie Berthelot, Town Clerk