Town Meeting Minutes – Monday, January 12, 2004

January 12, 2004

Town of Brusly
Brusly, Louisiana

The regular meeting of the Town of Brusly was held this date, January 12, 2004 at 6:30 p.m. at the Brusly Town Hall. Mayor Normand called for all cell phones to be turned off or silenced. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Council Member Kershaw. A roll call by Town Clerk Jules Lefeaux determined the following present:

Mayor: Joey Normand
Council Members: Daryl Babin, Ronda Perrault, Joanne Bourgeois, Shane Andre’,
Chris Kershaw
Absent: None
Town Attorney: Jamie Fontenot

A motion was made by Council Member Bourgeois and seconded by Council Member Perrault to amend the agenda to issue the commendations in Item 9.A. The motion passed with no opposition. Mayor Normand presented a Certificate of Appreciation to Mr. Joe Arabie, who recently retired from West Baton Rouge Parish. Mr. Arabie’s 8 years of very professional service was recognized.

Mayor Normand also presented a Certificate of Appreciation to Mr. Ted Denstel, the outgoing Parish President. He was recognized for 31 years of dedicated and conscientious service, with appreciation from the Mayor, Town Council, and residents of Brusly.

Captain Donald Ash was honored for more than 11 years of service in the Brusly Police Department; he served as the School Resource Officer at Brusly High for three years before retiring on January 2nd.

A motion was made by Council Member Bourgeois and seconded by Council Member Perrault to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of December 8, 2003. The motion passed with no opposition.

A motion was made by Council Member Bourgeois and seconded by Council Member Babin to declare as surplus, and authorize the Mayor to sell one 1976 Ford Tractor for a minimum price of $2,500.00, and to sell the microphones from the old Town Hall for a minimum price of $1.00. The motion passed with no opposition.

The Planning and Zoning Committee minutes of December 17th were reviewed. Council Member Perrault advised that the quarterly newsletter would be mailed on Friday the 16th. Mayor Joey Normand advised that the new Employee Manual was given to all personnel, and should be helpful to them.

Under Police Committee, Lt. Viator suggested the use of Sprint PCS for the wireless connection of laptop computers. However, Attorney Jamie Fontenot had some questions on contract provisions, so the matter was deferred to the February Committee Meetings.

Mayor Joey Normand read the heading of proposed Ordinance No. 1 of 2004, to amend Section 9.41- Cable Franchise- to name Cox Communications Central II, Inc. as the franchisee for cable services. He opened a public hearing on the ordinance. As no comments were heard, he closed the public hearing. A motion was made by Council Member Bourgeois to adopt Ordinance No. 1; it was seconded by Council Member Perrault. The Ordinance passed with no opposition.

Mayor Normand read aloud the heading of proposed Ordinance No. 2 of 2004, to amend Section 9.1- Telephone Franchise- to name BellSouth Corporation as the franchisee for telephone and telegraph services. He opened a public hearing on the ordinance. As no comments were heard, he closed the public hearing. A motion was made by Council Member Perrault to adopt Ordinance No. 2; it was seconded by Council Member Babin. The Ordinance passed with no opposition.

The Mayor read the heading of proposed Ordinance No. 3 of 2004, to amend Section 9.21- Electricity Franchise- to name Entergy Gulf States, Incorporated as the current franchisee. He opened a public hearing on the ordinance. As no comments were heard, he closed the public hearing. A motion was made by Council Member Andre’ to adopt Ordinance No. 3; it was seconded by Council Member Kershaw. The Ordinance passed with no opposition.

Mayor Joey Normand read the heading of proposed Ordinance No. 4 of 2004, to amend Section 9.11- Gas Franchise- to name the West Baton Rouge Parish Natural Gas and Water System franchisee. He opened a public hearing on the ordinance. After hearing comments, he closed the public hearing. A motion was made by Council Member Bourgeois to adopt Ordinance No. 4; it was seconded by Council Member Perrault. The roll call vote had the following result:

YEAS: Perrault, Bourgeois, Andre’, Kershaw
NAYS: none
ABSTAINING: Babin (Due to being employed by W.B.R. Parish Gas
Department)
The ordinance passed with four votes in favor, none opposing.

Mayor Normand read the heading of proposed Ordinance No. 5 of 2004, to amend the current Building Permit Fees Schedule and re-define Valuations. The Mayor advised that the fees were similar to the Town of Addis, but there would be no fees unless a structure was valued at over $25,000. He opened a public hearing on the ordinance. As no comments were heard, he closed the public hearing. A motion was made by Council Member Perrault to adopt Ordinance No. 5; it was seconded by Council Member Kershaw. The Ordinance passed with all five Council Members in favor.

Mayor Joey Normand read the heading of proposed Ordinance No. 7 of 2004, to amend the Chapter 19, Article A – Subdivisions. He opened a public hearing on the ordinance. As no comments were heard, he closed the public hearing. A motion was made by Council Member Kershaw to adopt Ordinance No. 7; it was seconded by Council Member Babin. The Ordinance passed with no opposition. The Mayor thanked Council Member Kershaw and Mr. Don Neisler for many evenings of work in rewriting these provisions to make them easy to understand.

Council Member Andre’ introduced an ordinance to make the West Baton Rouge Parish Fire Protection Subdistrict No. 2 the investigating bureau for incidents in the Town of Brusly.

The report of the Brusly Volunteer Fire Department was given by Fire Chief Michael Alleman. In December, there were 6 first aid calls in the Town and 10 first aid calls outside the Town. There was one fire call in the town and two fire calls outside the Town. There were three mutual aid calls answered. The total calls for the month of December 2003 was 22, and 356 calls for the year. There were 20 fewer calls in 2003 than in 2002.

Police Chief Emmett Worley gave the Police Department report for the month of December. He stated that there were 8 wrecks, 15 bench warrant arrests, one DWI arrest, two batteries, two assaults, one illegal discharge of a firearm (browse this site to know where he purchased it), two damages to property, six disturbing the peace incidents, six thefts, two burglaries, three alarms, six assistances to another agencies, one 911 call, three drug arrests, one domestic call, 19 traffic arrests, and 18 miscellaneous calls for a total of 96 calls and 192 traffic citations issued. Chief Worley said for the year 2003, there were 1,973 calls answered and 3,601 citations issued. He announced that Sergeant Jonathan Lefeaux would replace Captain Ash as the new School Resource Officer, and is currently in training to work at the school.

Chief Worley recommended Lieutenant Bryan Viator for promotion to Captain, based on good performance. He would receive a pay raise of $1.80 per hour. A motion was made by Council Member Andre’ to promote him to Captain, with the recommended pay increase. It was seconded by Council Member Perrault. The motion carried without opposition. Chief Worley announced that he was advertising for another officer in the newspapers.
Mayor Normand gave the Mayor’s report for the month. The Town Clerk and Attorney Fontenot have prepared all documents to end the case of Worley vs. Town of Brusly; communication is now much better. Accounting Clerk Debbie Berthelot studied Financial Accounting at the Baton Rouge Community College, and received a final grade of “B”, a very good effort. Other employees will be taking work-related courses, also. Mr. Cyril Doiron gave advice on rain gauges, and three rain gauges have been purchased to aid in checking drainage. The new Water Board Office building is now open, and is very attractive. Mayor Normand gave information on who should be called regarding the LA Highway 1 lane closures: DOTD, Mr. Steve Palermo, at 342-7570.
Under Remarks of Personal Privilege, Council Member Andre’ offered condolences on behalf of the Town to Mrs. Edith Owens on the death of Mr. Harvey Blanchard, who was a treasured citizen of the Town of Brusly. Police Chief Emmett Worley thanked the members of the Police Department for doing a good job while he was out, and thanked all who had called, sent food, and sent cards to his wife who is ill. Mayor Normand announced that the Relay for Life, which is a fundraiser for cancer research, is seeking teams to participate in this year’s April 2nd event to be held in Brusly. Mr. Don Neisler thanked the Town for hosting the Capital Region Planning Commission quarterly meeting scheduled for March 15th. Council Member Bourgeois spoke of the accomplishments of Randall “Blue” Gay on the national championship football team, describing how he is a credit to his parents, his community, and his school. Council Member Perrault expressed concern about the 3 p.m. traffic at Dow, and how unsafe it is since the road closure. Council Member Andre’ offered to have some safety information put on the Dow TV to help with that problem. Parish Council Member Jeff Kershaw said he, “PeeWee” Berthelot, Larry Johnson, and Larry Durbin were going to Washington, D.C. to discuss traffic problems, and suggested the Brusly officials contact our legislative delegation about a road connecting LA Highway 415 with LA Highway 1.

Mayor Normand announced that the Town Hall offices will be closed on January 19th, 2004 for Martin Luther King Holiday. Also, there will be a book signing for “Brusly Soldiers” on February 1st at 2:00 p.m. at the Town Hall.

A motion was made by Council Member Babin to adjourn, seconded by Council Member Perrault. The motion carried without opposition.

The meeting adjourned at 7:20 p.m.

Joey Normand, Mayor
Jules Lefeaux, Town Clerk