Town Meeting Minutes – March 2018

March 12, 2018
Town of Brusly
Brusly, Louisiana

The regular meeting of the Town of Brusly was held this date, March 12, 2018, at the Brusly Town Hall, at 6:30 p.m. Council Member Neisler 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 February 12, 2018, as presented was made by Council Member Bourgeois and seconded by Council Member Daigle. Mayor Rhodes opened the floor for public comment. Hearing no comments, the motion passed with a unanimous vote.

Upon the request of Mayor Rhodes, a motion to add item 5.A.c. to the agenda, to consider hiring a grant writer, Mr. Steven Mayberry, was made by Council Member Andrè; seconded by Council Member Bourgeois. Mayor Rhodes opened the floor for public comments. Hearing no comments, Mayor Rhodes asked for a roll call vote which resulted in the following results:
Yeas:      Neisler, Daigle, Bourgeois, Andrè
Nays:      None
Absent:    Richard

Finance Committee:
Mayor Rhodes referred the “Budget to Actual Comparison Report” included in the meeting packets for Council Members to review.

Mayor Rhodes presented a proposal from Mr. Steven Mayberry to write a grant for the development of the Town’s recently purchased property, at the end of East Main Street and Bourg Street, at a rate of $100 per hour, anticipating 15 to 20 hours to complete the work on the grant. Following discussion, and at the request of Council Member Andrè, action on this item was postponed until a meeting of the Public Works Committee could be held to discuss a plan of action for the property.

Public Works Committee:
A motion to authorize the Mayor to sign the DOTD contract for maintaining the Highway median within the Town of Brusly limits was made by Council Member Neisler; seconded by Council Member Andrè. Mayor Rhodes opened the floor for public comment. Hearing no comments, the motion passed with a unanimous vote.

Planning and Zoning Committee:
Mayor Rhodes presented the Marionneaux Development to the Council for consideration. A motion to table the consideration of the Marionneaux Development pending further information was obtained was made by Council Member Andrè; seconded by Council Member Bourgeois. Mayor Rhodes opened the floor for public comment. Hearing no comments, the motion passed with a unanimous vote.

Personnel Committee:
Upon the recommendation of Public Works Director Shane Sarradet, a motion to hire John Parault as a part-time maintenance worker at the rate of $15 an hour, was made by Council Member Andrè; seconded by Council Member Neisler. Mayor Rhodes opened the floor for public comments. Hearing no comment, the motion passed unanimously.

Upon the recommendation of Public Works Director Shane Sarradet, a motion to hire Andrew Gonzales as a part-time maintenance worker at the rate of $14 an hour, was made by Council Member Bourgeois; seconded by Council Member Daigle. Mayor Rhodes opened the floor for public comments. Hearing no comment, the motion passed unanimously.

Upon the recommendation of Police Chief Lefeaux, a motion to promote Anthony “Kip” Dupree to Sergeant with a $1.00 an hour pay increase, was made by Council Member Bourgeois; seconded by Council Member Daigle. Mayor Rhodes opened the floor for public comments. Hearing no comment, the motion passed unanimously.

Recreation Committee: None
Police Committee: None
Governmental Affairs Committee:
Consideration of Vetoed Ordinances: None
Hearing and Final Action on Ordinances: None
Introduction of Ordinances:
Council Member Andrè introduced Ordinance 2 of 2018 to adopt Trail Way Rules.

Resolutions and Commendations:
Mayor Rhodes read aloud a proclamation expressing appreciation and gratitude to Sharon Stam Moran upon the occasion of her retirement from the West Baton Rouge Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Police Department Report:
Police Department Report for the month of February was given by Assistant Chief Southon. There were seven (7) alarms, seven (7) warrant arrests, two (2) assists to other agencies, six (6) civil complaints, eight (8) miscellaneous complaints, five (5) disturbance calls, four (4) public assists, 10 no insurance tows, three (3) crash reports, two (2) suspicious person/vehicle calls, one (1) medical, three (3) unlock calls, seven (7) traffic complaints, one (1) battery, one (1) harassing phone call, one (1) animal at large one (1) theft and one (1) criminal mischief call. For the month, there were 70 total complaints, 182 total citations and 254 total violations.

Correspondence: None
Mayor’s Report: None

Remarks of Personal Privilege:
Mayor Rhodes expressed condolences to the family of Mr. Charles Givens upon the occasion of his death. Mr. Givens was a lifelong resident of the Town of Brusly, having been the first African- American male to attend Brusly High School.

Council Member Bourgeois reported that the annual Arbor Day Ceremony was held on Feb. 28th, thanking Public Works Director Shane Sarradet, Robert Quatrevingt, Eric Kulke and Don Manual for their assistance.
Council Member Bourgeois also reported that free smoke detectors are available, through the WBR Fire District and can be installed by the firefighters. Applications are available at Brusly Town Hall.
Council Member Bourgeois thanked Brusly Police Officer Cipriano for his assistance in responding to an incident that occurred recently on Gleason St. and thanked Officer Robyn Ross for her assistance when unleashed dogs interfered with assistance to a handicapped citizen, as both officers assisted above and beyond their duties.

WBR Parish Council Member Kershaw gave a brief update on Parish projects and presented the Council with copies of the State of the Parish Address from Parish President Berthelot.

Announcements:
Keep West Baton Rouge Beautiful Leaders Against Litter will be held on Friday, March 23rd at 8:30AM. at Brusly Town Hall.
The Town Hall will be closed March 30th in observance of Good Friday.
The Planning and Zoning Meeting will be held March 28th at 6:30 PM.

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 7:08 PM.

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