Town Meeting Minutes – Monday, June 14, 2010

June 14, 2010

Town of Brusly
Brusly, Louisiana

The regular meeting of the Town of Brusly was held this date, June 14, 2010 at the Brusly Town Hall.

Council Member Olinde led the Pledge of Allegiance. A roll call determined the following officials present:

Mayor: Joey Normand
Council Members: Thomas Olinde, Joanne Bourgeois, Landess Hebert,
Shane André, Chris Kershaw
Town Attorney: Thomas Acosta, Jr.

A motion to approve the minutes of the Town’s regular meeting of May 10, 2010, was made by Council Member Kershaw and seconded by Council Member André. Motion passed with a unanimous vote.

Public Works Committee: None

Planning and Zoning Committee:
The family of Lucile Fourroux, ET ALS notified the Town of its intention to appeal the declaration of their property located at 240 E. Main St. as derelict and condemned. Before beginning the appeal, Mayor Normand read aloud a letter from Attorney Thomas Acosta, Jr. stating his representation of the Hebert/Fourroux family predating his being appointed Brusly Town Attorney and therefore he was recusing himself from giving the Town advice in the matter. The Mayor also read aloud a letter written by him to the Lucile Fourroux ET ALS notifying them of the Town declaring the three buildings, located at 240 E. Main St., as derelict and condemned. Mr. Rodney Varnell spoke on behalf of the family stating the intention of the family was to tear down the buildings. Mr. Varnell requested more time for the family to come to a consensus and sign the legal documents. After some discussion, a motion to table for rehearing until the September 13, 2010 meeting under the condition that the buildings be torn down, or a signed contract with a demolition crew be presented at that time, was made by Council Member Hebert; seconded by Council Member Olinde. A roll call vote was had with the following results:
Yeas: Bourgeois, Hebert, Kershaw, Olinde, André
Nays: None
Absent: None
The motion to table was passed.

Finance Committee: None

Personnel Committee:
Mayor Normand announced that the deadline for receiving applications for the open Traffic Clerk position had passed as of Friday the 4th of June. The Town received a total of 28 applications for the position.

Recreation Committee: None

Police Committee: None

Governmental Affair Committee:
Upon the recommendation of Landmark & Heritage Commission Chairman Jim Rills, a motion to appoint Billy Bourgeois and Sara Grady to the Landmark & Heritage Commission was made by Council Member Bourgeois; seconded by Council Member André. The motion passed unanimously.
Upon Mayor Normand’s recommendation, a motion to name Westside Journal as Official Journal of the Town of Brusly was made by Council Member Bourgeois; seconded by Council Member Olinde. The motion passed unanimously.
Consideration of Vetoed Ordinances: None

Hearing and Final Action on Ordinances:

The Mayor read aloud Ordinance #6 of 2010, to amend the Appropriations Ordinance of 2009-2010; to provide relative to appropriations for the income and expenses of the Town. The Mayor opened the Public Hearing. Hearing no comments, the Public Hearing was closed. After a brief discussion a motion was made by Council Member Kershaw to approve; seconded by Council Member Hebert. A roll call vote was taken with the following results:
Yeas: Hebert, Kershaw, Olinde, André, Bourgeois
Nays: None
Absent: None

Mayor Normand read aloud Ordinance #7 of 2010, to make appropriations for the expenses of the Town of Brusly for 2010-2011 and to provide relative to the expenditure of said appropriations. The Mayor opened the Public Hearing. After hearing no comments from the public, the Mayor closed the Public Hearing and turned it over to the Council for consideration. After some discussion, Council Member Kershaw moved to approve as amended; seconded by Council Member Bourgeois. A roll call vote was taken with the following results:
Yeas: Kershaw, Olinde, André, Bourgeois, Hebert
Nays: None
Absent: None

Mayor Normand read aloud Ordinance #8 of 2010, to make appropriations for the expenses of the Town of Brusly sewer system 2010-2011 and to provide relative to the expenditure of said appropriations. The Mayor opened the Public Hearing. After some questions from the public, the Public Hearing was closed and turned over to the Council for consideration. A motion to approve was made by Council Member André; seconded by Council Member Olinde. A roll call vote was taken with the following results:
Yeas: Olinde, André, Bourgeois, Hebert, Kershaw
Nays: None
Absent: None

Introduction of Ordinances: None

Resolutions and Commendations:
Resolution # 5 of 2010, to appoint Don Deville for 2009-2010 Fiscal Year Audit, was accepted unanimously upon a motion by Council Member Bourgeois with a second by Council Member André.

Fire Department Report:
Fire Chief Alleman gave the Fire Chief’s report for May. There were seven (7) first aid calls inside the Town and seven (7) outside of Town. There were no fires inside or outside of Town. There was one (1) false alarm, one (1) smoke odor, one (1) grass fire, four (4) trash fires, two (2) gas leaks and two (2) motor vehicle crashes. There was one (1) mutual aid fire call to Port Allen. The total calls for the month were twenty six (26). The total for the year is one hundred thirty two (132).

Police Department Report:
Report for the month of May was given by Chief Whaley. There were eight (8) wrecks, eighteen (18) bench warrant arrests, three (3) DWI arrests, one (1) battery, two (2) damage to property, two (2) thefts, one (1) burglary, eight (8) alarms, sixteen (16) assists to other agencies, three (3) 911 calls, one (1) drug arrest, twelve (12) juvenile matters, ten (10) traffic arrests, thirty-two (32) miscellaneous calls and one (1) domestic call. For the month’s total, there were 118 calls, 214 citations and 269 violations.
Correspondence:
The Mayor received a thank you note from Brusly Middle School for the Town’s help during ILEAP events.

Mayor’s Report:
Mayor Normand attended the Louis Mouch Jr. Multi Purpose Facility Dedication. The Mayor announced that the YELP organization had held a dog adoption event on the Town Hall property. Mayor Normand participated in an LMA mediation. The Mayor announced the anticipated arrival of Pizza Hut to the Town in August. Mayor Normand discussed the unacceptable performance of the local Wal-Mart with the Louisiana Division Manager. Mayor Normand gave a brief Census update, expressing his satisfaction with the communication and cooperation between the Town and the Census Bureau.

Remarks of Personal Privilege:
Upon the request of a member of the public, Mayor Normand gave an update on sewer pump repairs being done in Town. Fire Chief Alleman announced the return of Firefighter Brett Cavalier from overseas duty, stating he would return to duty with the Fire Department August 1st. Chief Alleman attended the Fire Arson Convention in New Orleans where Asst. Fire Chief Hunts was elected President of the organization. Council Member Bourgeois announced the Town’s 6th year of Tree City Status. Council Member Bourgeois spoke about the updates being done to the display cases in the Centennial Room of the Town Hall.
Announcements:
Town Hall will be closed for Business July 5th
Town Committee Meeting Date Changed from July 5th to July 6th
Landmark & Heritage Meeting July 19th at 6:30 PM

A motion was made by Council Member André to adjourn; seconded by Council Member Olinde. The motion passed with a unanimous vote. The meeting adjourned at 7:30 p.m.

_____________________ _________________________
Joey Normand, Mayor Debbie Berthelot, Town Clerk