Town Meeting Minutes – May 2020

May 11, 2020
Town of Brusly
Brusly, Louisiana

The regular meeting of the Town of Brusly was called to order this date, May 11, 2020, 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:     Joanne Bourgeois, Shane André, Don Neisler, Rusty Daigle, (Terry Richard – Through computer technology of ZOOM;  votes cast by Council Member Richard were captured orally through ZOOM)
Town Attorney:         Thomas Acosta, Jr.
Absent:                       None

Recognitions & Commendations: None

A motion to approve the minutes of the Town’s regular meeting of March 9, 2020, as written, was made by Council Member Bourgeois and seconded by Council Member André. Mayor Rhodes opened the floor for public comment. Hearing no comments, the motion passed with a unanimous vote.
There was no meeting held in April of 2020 due to the COVID-19 stay at home order by Governor John Bel Edwards. A statement to that effect will be included in the official Record Book of Minutes.

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 1.9 inches of rainfall in the month; a new staff gauge was installed on the Parish Canal and readings are being taken 5 times weekly; there was one SCADA alarm due to loss prime on Live Oak West that was resolved; no out of compliance test results at the sewer treatment facility; over 3500’ of the western end of the Ton-Ton Canal was cleaned and graded by the Parish; Anita St. water line install has been completed; new & improved ditches were dug on South side of W. St. Francis to facilitate 25-year storm plan as designed for River Mill development; street overlay bidding was delayed because of COVID-19 restrictions; project currently underway is grading of the Bezet ditch.

Mayor Rhodes read the Public Words Report, as prepared by Public Works Supervisor Shane Sarradet, for the month of April. There were 6.2” of rainfall in the month; no drainage issues were reported; 2100’ of the Bezet ditch was brought to grade; over 500’ of roadside ditch on Gwin St. was brought to grade; 2 SCADA alarms at Venzule due to loss of power & float failure; 1 out of compliance test result on the Sewer Treatment Facility; 2 10KW backup generators need to be replaced due to high cost of repair; numerous culvert/catch basin washout repairs; no personnel incidents to report for the Maintenance Department.

Regular bulk trash will be picked up the week of May 11, 2020. The extra trash pickup will be Friday, May 29, 2020.
Flags will be displayed for Memorial Day and will fly through the July 4th weekend.

Council Member André made a motion to accept the low bid of $126,312.00 from RJ Daigle & Sons Contractor for the road overlay project, seconded by Council Member Neisler. Hearing no comments, a roll call vote was had with the following results.
Yeas:           Richard, Daigle, Neisler, André, Bourgeois
Nays:          None
Absent:       None

Planning and Zoning Committee:
Mayor Rhodes read aloud the variance request for Non-Compliance – Sec. 19.6-Servitude Encroachment, for a fence construction by Kimberly Celestin, 3209 Orleans Quarters. A motion to approve was made by Council Member Bourgeois; seconded by Council Member Neisler. Mayor Rhodes opened the floor for public comments. Hearing no comments, a roll call vote was had with the following results.
Yeas:          Bourgeois, André, Neisler, Daigle, Richard
Nays:          None
Absent:     None

Finance Committee:
Mayor Rhodes noted that the “Budget to Actual Comparison Report” for March & April were included in the meeting packets for Council Members to review.

Personnel Committee:
Upon the Mayor’s recommendation a motion to continue the contract with BlueCross BlueShield health insurance for Town Employees, was made by Council Member Bourgeois; seconded by Council Member Richard. Mayor Rhodes opened the floor for public comments. Hearing no comments, a roll call vote was had with the following results.
Yeas: Neisler, André, Bourgeois, Richard, Daigle
Nays: None
Absent: None

Upon Mayor Rhodes request, a motion to go into Executive Session to discuss an employee disciplinary issue was made by Council Member Bourgeois; seconded by Council Member Daigle. A roll call vote was had with the following results.
Yeas:           André, Neisler, Daigle, Richard, Bourgeois
Nays:         None
Absent:    None

Council Member Bourgeois moved to end Executive Session; seconded by Council Member André. A roll call vote was had with the following results.
Yeas:        Neisler, Daigle, Richard, André, Bourgeois
Nays:       None
Absent:    None

Assistant Chief Southon, speaking on behalf of Chief Lefeaux, reported that the Chief was recommending a one-week unpaid suspension of Officer David Johnson for the employee incident discussed in Executive Session. A motion to accept the recommendation of Chief Lefeaux was made by Council Member Bourgeois; 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:        Bourgeois, André, Neisler, Daigle, Richard
Nays:       None
Absent:   None

Recreation Committee: None
Police Committee: None
Governmental Affairs Committee: None
Consideration of Vetoed Ordinances: None
Hearing and Final Action on Ordinances: None
Introduction of Ordinances:
Council Member André introduced Ordinance 1 of 2020 relative to 2019/2020 Town Budget Adjustments.
Council Member Neisler introduced Ordinance 2 of 2020 relative to 2019/2020 Sewer Budget Adjustments.
Council Member Bourgeois introduced Ordinance 3 of 2020 relative to the 2020/2021 Town Budget Appropriations.
Council Member Daigle introduced Ordinance 4 of 2020 relative to the 2020/2021 Sewer Budget appropriations.

Resolutions:
A motion was made by Council Member André, seconded by Council Member Daigle, to approve Resolution 1 of 2020 relative to the DEQ Self Audit. Hearing no comments, the motion passed with a unanimous vote. Hearing no comments, a roll call vote was had with the following results.
Yeas:          Neisler, Daigle, Richard, Bourgeois, André
Nays:         None
Absent:     None

A motion was made by Council Member Bourgeois; seconded by Council Member Daigle, to approve Resolution 2 of 2020 to defer the collection of the Town’s Homeowners’ Property Tax for 2020. Hearing no comments, the motion passed with a unanimous vote. Hearing no comments, a roll call vote was had with the following results.
Yeas:          Daigle, Neisler, André, Bourgeois, Richard
Nays:         None
Absent:      None

Police Department Report:
Police Department Report for the month of March was given by Assistant Chief Southon. There were nine (9) alarms, four (4) suspicious persons, three (3) traffic complaints, one (1) damage to property, seven (7) miscellaneous complaints, fifteen (15) disturbance calls, one (1) assist to other agencies, nine (9) no insurance tows, ten (10) crash reports, one (1) warrant arrest, one (1) sale without permit, one (1) missing person, one (1) animal at large, three (3) thefts, two (2) public assist and four (4) medical calls. For the month, there were 72 total complaints, 188 total citations and 216 total violations.

Police Department Report for the month of April was given by Assistant Chief Southon. There were eleven (11) alarms, four (4) suspicious persons, three (3) traffic complaints, one (1) unlock, twelve (12) miscellaneous complaints, ten (10) disturbance calls, one (1) assist to other agencies, zero no insurance tows, five (5) crash reports, zero truancy investigations, six (6) reckless operation, one (1) missing person, one (1) improper telephone communication, two (2) thefts, one (1) death, two (2) medical calls, one (1) property recovery, one (1) hit and run, one (1) public assist, one (1) animal at large and one (1) drug related arrest. For the month, there were 65 total complaints, 3 total citations and 4 total violations.

Mayor’s Report:
Mayor Rhodes referred to his Budget Message which was included in the Council Packets. The Mayor reported that he had received a few complaints about junk cars and these are being investigated. Mayor Rhodes announced that Governor Edwards was lifting the COVID-19 stay at home order on May 15th for qualified businesses, limited to 25% capacity. The Mayor reported that the Town’s census reported numbers at 60% completed. Mayor Rhodes also reported that the Town had received several donations to the Bike Share Program from businesses in the community. Mayor Rhodes announced that Traffic Court has been postponed until June 10, 2020.

Remarks of Personal Privilege:
Council Member Richard announced that he would not be running for re-election in the 2020 Election, due to personal reasons. Council Member Richard expressed appreciation to the Mayor and Council for the work they had accomplished in the past two terms, and for the cooperative spirit in which they worked for the good of the community. Council Member Richard also thanked the citizens of Brusly for their support during his two terms in office.

Announcements:
Elected Officials financial disclosure forms are due.
Mayor’s Court for May 13, 2020 has been postponed due to COVID-19.

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

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