Town Meeting Minutes – February 2022

February 14, 2022
Town of Brusly
Brusly, Louisiana

The regular meeting of the Town of Brusly was called to order this date, February 14, 2022, at the Brusly Town Hall, at 6:30 p.m. Council Member Tassin 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:  None

A motion to approve the minutes of the Town’s regular meeting of January 10, 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 January. There were 2.1 inches of rainfall in the month; no drainage problems were reported; 4 SCADA alarms; zero “out of compliance” test results on the Sewer Treatment Facility; sewer line damage was discovered and repaired at 409 Oak Plaza; sewer line repaired by Parish at 179 E. St. Francis Street; 1 culvert program installation on Landry Street; changed “scope of work” on LGAP Grant from manhole coating to bypass install; performed successful semi-annual test run of our bypass pump.

Regular bulk trash will be picked up the week of February 14th. The extra trash pickup will be February 25th.

Planning and Zoning Committee:  None

Finance Committee:
Mayor Rhodes noted that the “Budget to Actual Comparison Report” for January, in the meeting packets, is available for Council Members to review.

Upon recommendation of Mayor Rhodes, a motion to approve Liquor License for Bella Grace Paper, was made by Council Member André; seconded by Council Member Neisler.  Mayor Rhodes opened the floor for public comments.  Hearing no comments, the motion passed unanimously.

Upon the recommendation of Mayor Rhodes, a motion to authorize the Mayor to sign a Data Backup Agreement with AME was made by Council Member Tassin; seconded by Council Member Daigle.  Mayor Rhodes opened the floor for public comments.  Hearing no comments, the motion passed unanimously.

Personnel Committee:  None

Recreation Committee:
Upon the request of Mayor Rhodes, a motion to approve the purchase of Brusly Middle School Softball uniforms, with previously budgeted Recreation funds, 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.

Police Committee: None

Governmental Affairs Committee:
Council Member Joanne Bourgeois narrated a slide presentation accompanying Landmark Plaque applications for the following residence and buildings:

  • 323 St. Mary St. – built in 1964 (currently owned by Faith LeRoy);
  • 601 N. Kirkland – built in 1950 (2nd Brusly High School building) WBR School Board;
  • 601 N. Kirkland – built in 1957 (4 Classroom building) WBR School Board;
  • 601 N. Kirkland – built in 1937 (5 Classroom building next to Gym) WBR School Board.

Having been recommended by the Landmark & Heritage Commission, a motion to award Landmark Plaques was made by Council Member Bourgeois; seconded by Council Member Tassin. Mayor Rhodes opened the floor for public comment. Hearing no comments, the motion passed unanimously.

Council Member Joanne Bourgeois narrated a presentation for the Former Landmark Site application for the Marie Woods property located at 557 E. Main St. which once included 25 to 30 acres. Marie Woods, circa1812 – 1907, was the grandmother of Charles P. Adams, the founder of Grambling College. She raised Mr. Adams upon the death of his mother in a fire.  Council Member Bourgeois thanked Brian Falcon for his help in researching the history of the property.  Having been recommended by the Landmark & Heritage Commission, a motion to approve the property as a Former Landmark Site was made by Council Member Bourgeois; seconded by Council Member André.  Mayor Rhodes opened the floor for public comment. Hearing no comments, the motion passed unanimously.

Consideration of Vetoed Ordinances: None

Hearing & Final Action on Ordinance:  None

Introduction of Ordinances:  None

Resolutions:  None

Police Department Report:
Police Department Report for the month of January was given by Lt. Jason Fontenot. There  were eight (8) agency assists, four (4) alarms, one (1) assault; one (1) burglary, one (1) civil problem; four (4) controlled substances, one (1) damaged property, four (4) disturbances, one (1) forgery, one (1) fraud, four (4) juvenile problems, three (3) medicals, one (1) miscellaneous, five (5) no insurance tows, two (2) stolen property, one (1) stolen vehicle, eight (8) suspicious activity, one (1) theft, seven (7) traffic accidents, six (6) traffic problems, one (1) unlock, four (4) warrants and one (1) weapons offense.  For the month, there were 70 total events, 300 total citations and 385 total violations.

Through use of the recently installed Flock License Plate Camera System, 2 hit and run incidents, 1 stolen car, 1 missing person, 1 theft, and one warrant alert were solved.

Mayor’s Report: 
Mayor Rhodes reported on the sentencing of Carlisa Askins, who pled guilty to 6 counts of theft for money stolen while she was a Town employee. The Mayor gave a brief update on the resurfacing of LA Hwy 1.   The Mayor reported that the Brusly water tower would be out of commission for approximately 6 weeks for maintenance, also the State Fire Marshal issued a burn ban starting February 15, 2022.  Mayor Rhodes gave an update on the St. James Square Park Project.

Remarks of Personal Privilege:
Mr. John Bres presented the Town of Brusly with the 1950 Brusly High School yearbook, the first yearbook that was published for Brusly High School and the first year that students were required to complete 12 years of education in order to graduate.

WBR Parish Council Member Chris Kershaw gave a brief update on Parish projects.

Council Member Bourgeois announced that the Town of Brusly had been designated a 2021 Tree City by the Arbor Day Foundation and thanked Patricia Gaudet for doing the paperwork and documentation required by the Arbor Day Foundation.  Council Member Bourgeois also thanked Blaine Rabalais for his help locating the historic grave of Marie Woods.  She also thanked Brian Falcon and Mark Graffeo for their help in finding records of Ms. Woods in the courthouse.

Council Member Neisler requested the Mayor to send a thank you note to Anatole Vincent on behalf of the Council for his efforts in installing lighting on the basketball courts at Alexander Park.

Announcements: 
Town Hall will be closed Tuesday, March 1st for Mardi Gras.

A motion was made by Council Member André to adjourn; seconded by Council Member Tassin.  Hearing no comments, the motion passed with a unanimous vote. The meeting adjourned at 7:23 p.m.

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

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