March 11, 2024 Town of Brusly Brusly, Louisiana The regular meeting of the Town of…
Town Meeting Minutes – April 2022
April 11, 2022
Town of Brusly
Brusly, Louisiana
The regular meeting of the Town of Brusly was called to order this date, April 11, 2022, at the Brusly Town Hall, at 6:30 p.m. Council Member Bourgeois led the Pledge of Allegiance. A roll call determined the following officials present:
Mayor Scot Rhodes
Council Members: Rusty Daigle, Joanne Bourgeois, Blake Tassin, Shane André, Don Neisler
Town Attorney: Thomas Acosta, Jr.
Absent: None
Recognitions & Commendations:
Mayor Rhodes recognized Mrs. Andrea Normand, representing the West Baton Rouge Historical Association. Mrs. Normand narrated a brief presentation about the West Baton Rouge Museum. Mrs. Normand encouraged citizens to vote on April 30, 2022, for the renewal of the 2-mill property tax which will support the WBR Museum for the next 10 years. Early voting is April 16th thru 23rd.
A motion to approve the minutes of the Town’s regular meeting of March 14, 2022, was made by Council Member Bourgeois; seconded by Council Member Daigle. Mayor Rhodes opened the floor for public comment. Hearing no comments, the motion passed with a unanimous vote.
Public Works Committee:
Mayor Rhodes read the Public Works Report, as prepared by Public Works Supervisor Shane Sarradet, for the month of March. There were 3.3 inches of rainfall in the month; no drainage problems were reported; 1 SCADA alarm; three “out of compliance” test results on the Sewer Treatment Facility; harvested duckweed on cell 3 at sewer pond; attended meeting with Entergy and Tipton about moving electrical poles; held pre-construction meeting on Joliet Trail; 1 culvert program installation done on Richard; street overlay bid opening was held.
Regular bulk trash will be picked up the week of April 11th. The extra trash pickup will be April 29th.
Council Member Neisler made a motion to authorize the Mayor to sign the contract accepting the low bid of $145,680 from M-Trak, LLC for the road overlay project, seconded by Council Member Daigle. Mayor Rhodes opened the floor for public comments. Hearing no comments, a roll call vote was had with the following results:
Yeas: Tassin, André, Neisler, Daigle, Bourgeois
Nays: None
Absent: None
Planning and Zoning Committee:
Mayor Rhodes read aloud the variance request of Laura Behrnes, 3080 Live Oak Dr., to reduce the side setback from 10’ to 8’ in order to build a shop. A letter of no objection from adjoining neighbor was included with the request. After a brief discussion, a motion to approve was made by Council Member André; seconded by Council Member Tassin. Mayor Rhodes opened the floor for public comments. Hearing no comments, the motion passed unanimously.
Finance Committee:
Mayor Rhodes noted that the “Budget to Actual Comparison Report” for March, in the meeting packets, is available for Council Members to review.
Council Member Bourgeois made a motion to renew the current employee health insurance plan with BlueCross BlueShield, seconded by Council Member Tassin. Mayor Rhodes opened the floor for public comments. Hearing no comments, the motion passed unanimously.
After hearing from representatives from Cox, a motion to authorize the Mayor to sign a technology upgrade contract with Cox was made by Council Member Daigle; seconded by Council Member André.
Mayor Rhodes opened the floor for public comments. Hearing no comments, a roll call vote was had with the following results:
Yeas: André, Neisler, Daigle, Bourgeois, Tassin
Nays: None
Absent: None
Personnel Committee:
Upon the recommendation of Police Chief Lefeaux, a motion to hire Nicholas Jirovec as a Full-Time Officer at the rate of $17 per hour, retroactive to April 6, 2022, was made by Council Member Neisler; seconded by Council Member Tassin. 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 & Final Action on Ordinance: None
Introduction of Ordinances: None
Resolutions:
A motion to approve Resolution 3 of 2022, to authorize issuance of premium pay to all Town and Police employees included on the Town of Brusly payroll during the Covid-19 public health emergency, was made by Council Member Bourgeois; seconded by Council Member André. Mayor Rhodes opened the floor for public comments. Hearing no comments, a roll call vote was had with the following results:
Yeas: Neisler, Daigle, Bourgeois, Tassin, André
Nays: None
Absent: None
Police Department Report:
Police Department Report for the month of March was given by Assistant Chief Southon. There were five (5) agency assists, ten (10) alarms, one (1) assault; four (4) controlled substance, one (1) damaged property, one (1) disturbances, two (2) fires, two (2) harassment calls, four (4) attempted homicides, two (2) juvenile matters, three (3) medicals, four (4) miscellaneous, two (2) no insurance tows, one (1) obstruction of justice, one (1) privacy violation, one (1) stolen property, seven (7) suspicious activity, one (1) theft, nine (9) traffic accidents, two (2) traffic problems, one (1) unlock, two (2) warrants and two (2) welfare checks. For the month, there were 65 total events, 207 total citations and 307 total violations.
Through use of the recently installed Flock License Plate Camera System, there was 1 EBR NCIC Warrant arrest, 1 Drive by shooting case resolved, 2 stolen cars recovered, 1 burglary/drug distribution case, 1 out of state NCIC Warrant arrest.
Mayor’s Report:
Mayor Rhodes reported that the Town had received the permits required to move the electrical pole at the St. James Square Park site. The Mayor also reported that the Juliet Trail Project will begin soon. The Mayor attended an I10 Widening Project Meeting.
Remarks of Personal Privilege:
Mr. Brian Falcon thanked the Council and the Police Department for helping with the derelict building problem across the street from his home on Bourgeois Street.
Council Member Daigle commended and congratulated the Police Department for their hard work in solving the attempted homicide case and the large drug bust which occurred in the past month.
Tammy Dupuy requested that Council address the problem of citizens burning debris and trash in their back yards.
Announcements:
Landmark & Heritage meeting will be held April 18th, at 6:30 pm.
Council Member André made a motion to adjourn; seconded by Council Member Daigle. Hearing no comments, the motion passed with a unanimous vote. The meeting adjourned at 7:25 p.m.
/s/Scot Rhodes, Mayor /s/Blaine Rabalais, Town Clerk
