Town Meeting Minutes – January 2018

January 8, 2018
Town of Brusly
Brusly, Louisiana

The regular meeting of the Town of Brusly was held this date, January 8, 2018, at the Brusly Town Hall, at 6:30 p.m. Council Member Richard led the Pledge of Allegiance. A roll call determined the following officials present:
Mayor:                            Scot Rhodes
Council Members:        Rusty Daigle, Joanne Bourgeois, Terry Richard, Don Neisler
Town Attorney:             Thomas Acosta, Jr.
Absent:                            Shane Andrè

A motion to approve the minutes of the Town’s regular meeting of December 11, 2017, as amended 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.

Public Works Committee: None

Planning and Zoning Committee:
Mayor Rhodes presented the River Mill Reserve 3rd Filing Construction Plans to the Council for consideration and opened the floor for comments. Mr. Jim Tatum, of Tatum Engineering, representing Donnie Jarreau and Ace Holdings LLC, explained the construction plans and offered to answer questions.
Mr. John Pritchett commented that the plans did not include a swale and the word “proposed” needed to be removed from the description of the landscape buffer, since both items had been previously approved on the preliminary plat.
Dr. Paul Tschirky read a letter to the Mayor and Council, outlining his concerns regarding the development requested that said letter be included in the official minutes of the meeting.
Following discussion, a motion was made by Council Member Bourgeois, seconded by Council Member Daigle, to approve the construction plans, subject to the word “proposed” being removed from the plans, including directives to add a swale and adding wording prohibiting any construction on the landscape buffer, all having been approved on the preliminary plat. Hearing no further comments, Mayor Rhodes asked for a roll call vote which resulted in the following results:
Yeas:         Richard, Neisler, Daigle, Bourgeois
Nays:        None
Absent:    Andrè

Finance Committee:
Mayor Rhodes referred Council Members to review the “Budget to Actual Comparison Report” included in the meeting packets.
Upon the request of Police Chief Lefeaux, a motion to approve the purchase of a new server for the Police Department, including the installation cost, was made by Council Member Richard; seconded by Council Member Bourgeois. Mayor Rhodes opened the floor for public comments. Hearing no comments, the motion passed unanimously.

Personnel Committee: None

Recreation Committee: None

Police Committee: None

Governmental Affairs Committee: None

Consideration of Vetoed Ordinances: None

Hearing and Final Action on Ordinances:
Mayor Rhodes read aloud Ordinance 1 of 2018, Chapter 17.6 (d), to amend the code of ordinances relative to changing the speed limit from 45 miles per hour to 35 miles per hour on West St. Francis Street. After a brief discussion, a motion to approve was made by Council Member Richard; seconded by Council Member Neisler. Mayor Rhodes opened the public hearing. Hearing no comments from the public, a roll call vote resulted in the following results:
Yeas:                            Neisler, Bourgeois, Richard
Nays:                           Daigle
Absent:                       Andrè

Introduction of Ordinances: None

Resolutions and Commendations: None

Police Department Report:
Police Department Report for the month of December was given by Asst. Chief Southon. There were eight (8) alarms, six (6) warrant arrests, three (3) assists to other agencies, five (5) civil complaints, twelve (12) miscellaneous complaints, one (1) missing person, seven (7) disturbance calls, one (1) public assist, 42 no insurance tows, three (3) crash reports, one (1) suspicious person/vehicle call, three (3) thefts, two (2) unlock calls, nine (9) traffic complaints, two (2) fire calls and one (1) harassing phone call. For the month, there were 106 total complaints, 219 total citations and 362 total violations.

Correspondence: None

Mayor’s Report:
Mayor Rhodes read a letter citing the impact of Keep Louisiana Beautiful in reducing litter throughout the state in 2017. Statistics included the collection of ½ million pounds of litter, an increase of 111%, all done by volunteers. Additionally, there were 2,836 trees planted statewide, an increase of 178%, and 42,000 students received litter & environmental education.
Remarks of Personal Privilege:
Council Member Bourgeois reported that the Town of Brusly had been awarded Tree City for the 13th year and thanked Patricia Thibodaux, Public Works Supervisor Shane Sarradet and his staff for their assistance and cooperation .

Announcements:
The Town Hall will be closed January 15th for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The Landmark & Heritage meeting will be held January 22nd at 6:30 pm.
The Planning & Zoning meeting will be held January 24th at 6:30 pm.

A motion was made by Council Member Richard to adjourn; seconded by Council Member Daigle. Hearing no comments, the motion passed with a unanimous vote. The meeting adjourned at 7:06 PM.

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