* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:01] RIGHT LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE'RE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND JUST START IT. YEAH. [CALL TO ORDER] WELCOME TO THE WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28TH, 2021 METROPOLITAN COUNCIL MEETING SEPTEMBER 8TH, SEPTEMBER 8TH, METROPOLITAN COUNCIL MEETING. I LIKE TO CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER AFTER. DO WE HAVE A FORUM I'LL END VACATION TODAY IS GOING TO BE DONE BY PASTOR DALE HOFF POWER. THE BATTLEFORDS FIRST CHURCH OF NAZARENE AND THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE IS GOING TO BE DONE BY THE ST. GEORGE FIRE DEPARTMENT COLOR GUARD. AND AT THIS TIME COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, WHY MY MIND PRESSING UPON TO SAY A FEW WORDS, BUT COUNCIL, COUNCIL MEMBERS, I JUST WANTED TO MENTION THIS IS SOMETHING SPECIAL THAT WE DO, UH, THE COUNCIL MEETING PRIOR TO THE ANNIVERSARY OF SEPTEMBER 11TH. EVERY YEAR WE BRING IN THE, UH, THE COLOR GUARD AND DO A SPECIAL PRESENTATION TO SORT OF COMMEMORATE THIS DATE. UM, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US AS A COUNTRY, ESPECIALLY WITH THE RECENT EVENTS. AND I'VE GOT AFGHANISTAN THAT WE'RE SEEING NOW, UH, TO KIND OF NEVER LOSE SIGHT OF THE EVENTS THAT HAPPENED THAT DAY AND THE IMPACT THAT IT HAD TO OUR COUNTRY. SO, UM, OUR FIRST RESPONDERS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN VERY GENEROUS WITH THEIR TIME, UH, COMING IN, PRESENTING THE COLORS FOR US ON THIS DATE. I WANT TO THANK THEM AND THANK THE COUNCIL FOR CONTINUING TO DO THIS SORT OF TRADITION, TRADITION THAT WE'VE STARTED. THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER, HUDSON, UH, PASSED A DAY OR HALF PILE. PLEASE. LET'S PRAY ALMIGHTY GOD. WE ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR PRESENCE TODAY. THIS IS THE DAY THAT YOU HAVE MADE. WE REJOICE AND ARE GLAD IN IT. WE THANK YOU FOR WHO YOU ARE. WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR LOVE, YOUR MERCY, YOUR GRACE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR GOODNESS AND YOUR FAITHFULNESS TO EACH OF US. SO GOD LORD, WE PAUSE TODAY TO REMEMBER THE EVENTS OF 20 YEARS AGO, NINE 11. IT SHOOK US TO OUR KNEES AND GOD. I REMEMBER OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS JOINING TOGETHER IN SONG AND PRAYER ON THE STEPS OF THE CAPITOL AND LORD, I JUST BELIEVE THAT PLEASED YOU FOR US TO BE IN SUCH UNITY AS WE SOUGHT YOU. SO TODAY GOD, WE CONTINUE TO CALL OUT TO YOU. WE ASK FOR YOUR MERCY, WE THANK YOU FOR OUR NATION. WE THANK YOU FOR OUR LEADERS. GOD, WE, WE ASK THAT WE WOULD CONTINUE TO BE ONE NATION UNDER GOD, GOD, I PRAY THAT YOU BLESS THOSE WHO SERVE ON THE FRONT LINES. THANK YOU FOR THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES. YOUR WORD SAYS GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS THAN HE LAID DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS. YOU GAVE THAT MODEL YOURSELF AS YOU LAY DOWN YOUR LIFE FOR US. SO THANK YOU FOR EVERYONE THAT HAS GIVEN THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE. GOD, WE PRAY COMFORT OVER THE FAMILIES. EVEN 20 YEARS REMOVED FROM THIS TRAGEDY, GOD THAT YOU WOULD BLESS THEM AND ENCOURAGE THEM TODAY. GOD, I PRAY FOR ALL THOSE IMPACTED BY THIS WEEK'S TRAGEDY AND HURRICANE IDA, SEE FAMILY FROM NEW ORLEANS NEXT DOOR, AND GOD JUST STRENGTHEN EVERY ONE OF THEM. I PRAY. THANK YOU FOR OUR MAYOR, PRESIDENT. I THANK YOU FOR THESE COUNCIL MEMBERS AND OUR LEADERS AND GOD, I JUST PRAY THAT YOU WOULD BLESS THEM. I PRAY ISAIAH 11 TWO IS THEY ARE MINISTERS OF GOD. TODAY. I PRAY THAT YOU WOULD BLESS THEM. THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD WILL REST ON THEM. THE SPIRIT OF WISDOM AND UNDERSTANDING THE SPIRIT OF COUNSEL AND MIGHT THE SPIRIT OF KNOWLEDGE AND THE FEAR OF THE LORD. GOD, I READ IN YOUR WORD THIS MORNING THAT THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS TO HATE EVIL. SAME CHAPTER IN PROVERBS SAYS THAT BLESSED IS THE MAN BLESSES. THE WOMAN WHO LISTENS TO YOU. SO GOD GIVE US ALL EARS TO HEAR WHAT YOU ARE SAYING TO US IN THIS DAY. GIVE US COURAGE TO FOLLOW YOU. GOD, I THANK YOU THAT YOUR SPIRIT IS MOVING ALL OVER THE CITY. THIS PARISH, THANK YOU FOR FIRST RESPONDERS. I THANK YOU FOR VOLUNTEERS. GOD, EVEN THOSE THAT ARE STILL LOOKING FOR POWER AND SHELTER TODAY, WOULD YOU BLESS THEM TODAY WITH PROTECTION? GOD, I PRAY THAT YOU GIVE TO US THE GIFT OF HUNGER. YOUR WORD SAYS BLESSED. ARE THEY WHO HUNGER AND THIRST AFTER RIGHTEOUSNESS FOR THEY SHALL BE FILLED. WE ASK ALL OF THIS IN THE STRONG AND MIGHTY NAME OF JESUS. AMEN. AMEN. OKAY. [00:05:08] PRESENT ARMS. I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL HONOR GUARD ORDERED ARMED, LEFT FACE. OKAY. FULL WORD, MARK. THANK YOU. YOU ALL MAY BE SEATED. THANK YOU PASTOR DALE. I WANT TO THANK THE COLOR GUARD. WE SINCERELY APPRECIATE YOU. ITEM [ADOPTION AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES] ONE. OH, WE DON'T HAVE ONE. [INTRODUCTIONS] ASK HIM. WOULD YOU PLEASE READ THE INTRODUCTIONS IN 2.12 INTRODUCTIONS. NUMBER ONE, METROPOLITAN COUNCIL SITTING AS THE BOARD OF REVIEW ON PARISH ASSESSMENTS BY COUNCIL ADMINISTRATOR, TREASURE, NUMBER TWO, GRANTING A RENEWAL OF A FIVE-YEAR PROPERTY TAX ABATEMENT ESTIMATED AT $46,694 PER YEAR FOR 500 LAUREL DEVELOPMENT, LLC LOCATED AT 500 LAUREL STREET BY THE PLANNING DIRECTOR, NUMBER THREE, PROVIDING FOR THE EXTENSION OF THE CITY LIMITS OR THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE AND INCLUSION OF THE AREAS DESCRIBED IN THE PETITION FOR ANNEXATION BY WOMEN'S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION, MATERRA DEVELOPMENT, LLC LEVEL CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT, LLC, AP DODSON, LLC. IBJ F INVESTMENTS, LLC, MAN SHAQ'S HOME MANCHAC HOMES, LLC, AND H AND D EQUIPMENT SERVICES INCORPORATED, WHICH CONSTITUTES THE MAJORITY AND NUMBER AND AMOUNT OF PROPERTY TAX CENTERS IS CERTIFIED BY THE PARISH ASSESSOR AND WHICH CONTAINS NO REGISTERED VOTERS AS CERTIFIED BY THE REGISTRAR VOTERS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LOUISIANA REVISED STATUTE, 33 COLUMN 1 72 IN SECTION 1.09 OF A PLAN OF GOVERNMENT BY THE COUNCIL ADMINISTRATOR TREASURER, NUMBER FOUR, PROVIDING FOR THE EXTENSION OF THE CITY LIMITS OF THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE AND INCLUSION OF THE AREA DESCRIBING THE PETITION FOR ANNEXATION SUBMITTED BY RESOURCE BANK, A STATE CHARTER BAKING ENTITY, WHICH CONSTITUTES THE MAJORITY AND NUMBER AND AMOUNT OF PROPERTY TAX OWNERS AS CERTIFIED BY THE PARISH ASSESSOR AND WHICH CONTAINS NO REGISTERED VOTERS AS CERTIFIED BY THE REGISTRAR VOTERS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LOUISIANA REVISED STATUTE, 33 COLUMN 1 72 IN SECTION 1.09 OF THE PLAN OF GOVERNMENT OF THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE AND PARISH EAST BATON ROUGE BY THE COUNCIL ADMINISTRATOR TREASURER, NUMBER FIVE, PROVIDING WITH THE EXTENSION OF THE CITY LIMITS OF THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE AND INCLUSION OF THE AREA DESCRIBING THE PETITION FOR ANNEXATION SUBMITTED BY PROPERTY OWNERS IN WILLOW RIDGE SUBDIVISION, WHICH CONSTITUTES THE MAJORITY AND NUMBERED AMOUNT OF PROPERTY OWNERS IS CERTIFIED BY THE PARISH ASSESSOR AND A MAJORITY OF THE REGISTERED VOTERS AS CERTIFIED BY THE REGISTRAR VOTERS IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 1.09 OF THE PLAN OF GOVERNMENT OF THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE, PARISH, BATON ROUGE AND LOUISIANA REVISED STATUTE 33 COLUMN 1 72 BY THE COUNCIL ADMINISTRATOR TREASURER, NUMBER SIX, ESTABLISHING HEALTH INSURANCE RATES AND PLAN DESIGN FOR EMPLOYEES AND RETIREES EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1ST, 2022 BY THE HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR, NUMBER SEVEN, AMENDING THE CURRENT EXPENSE BUDGET. SO TO APPROPRIATE $9 MILLION FOR DEBRIS COLLECTION AND MONITORING SERVICES IN RESPONSE TO HURRICANE IDA, BUT ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES DIRECTOR, ALL ITEMS REQUIRED READING HAVE BEEN READ IN A MOTION TO INTRODUCE ALL ITEMS IN ORDER. IS THERE A MOTION TO INTRODUCE ALL ITEMS? SO MOVE BACK. COUNCIL MEMBER HUDSON. SECOND ABOUT A CHAIR. ANY OPPOSITION, ALL ITEMS HAVE BEEN INTRODUCED. [CONDEMNATIONS] COUNCIL MEMBERS WILL GO TO YOUR SEPARATE SHEET. NOW FOR CONDEMNATIONS, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF COMBINATIONS ARE RECOMMENDED FOR DEFERRAL, BUT I WANT TO BE CLEAR THAT THESE CONDEMNATIONS OF BEING RECOMMENDED FOR DEFERRAL BASED ON A HURRICANE LAST WEEK, UH, FOR LEGAL REASONS, WE CAN'T BE SURE THAT EVERYONE RECEIVED NOTICES. SO I'M GOING TO READ THE DPD DPW RECOMMENDATION. THEY ARE TO PROCEED WITH ITEM 16, 17, 18, AND 19, AND TO DEFER, UH, FOR 30 DAYS ITEMS 20 21 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 31 32 33 AND 34. IS THERE ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ANY OF THE CONDEMNATION ITEMS? ANY ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON CONDEMNATIONS, BACK TO COUNCIL MEMBERS, ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ANY COUNCIL MEMBER HUSTLING, UH, ITEM 17 FOR 30 DAYS, COUNCIL MEMBERS, ANY ANY OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS I'M GOING TO READ RECOMMENDATION AND STATED CHANGES. THEY ARE TO PROCEED WITH ITEMS 16, 18, AND 19, AND TO DEFER FOR 30 DAYS, 17 20 21 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 31 32 33 [00:10:07] AND 34. ANY ONE A YEAR. IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE ALL CONDEMNATIONS? IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE CONDEMNATIONS? SO MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER AMOROSA. SECOND OF OUR COUNCIL MEMBER COLEMAN CONDEMNATIONS HAVE BEEN APPROVED TO COUNCIL [35. 21-01150] MEMBERS. IF YOU WILL NOW GO TO ITEM 35 AND POSING A TEMPORARY MORATORIUM FOR NEW LAND DEVELOPMENT IMPROVEMENTS FOR SPECIFIED PROJECTS WITHIN THE DEFINED SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD AREAS AND PROVIDING FOR ENHANCED DRAINAGE DESIGN REQUIREMENTS WITHIN THE SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD AREAS FOR A PERIOD OF 12 MONTHS, BEGINNING SEPTEMBER 18TH, 2021, IN ORDER TO ESTABLISH YOUR BUYERS DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE DELIVERY OF PARISH. WHY STORM WATER MASTER PLAN BY COUNCIL MEMBERS GO DAY AND MARISSA COLEMAN BUTSON AND ROCCO. IS THERE ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ITEM 35? I DO SEE WE HAVE SOME SPEAKERS, UH, HERB GOMEZ, HERB GOMEZ. WELL, HE'S IN FAVOR, BUT DOES NOT WISH TO SPEAK. LARRY BANKSTON IS IN FAVOR, BUT DOES NOT WISH TO SPEAK, UH, ALA GUCCHI IS HERE AND DOES WISH THIS IS AN OPTION IN OPPOSITION, BUT WE'RE GOING TO GO WITH THOSE WHO ARE IN SUPPORTIVE FIRST. SO IS THERE ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ITEM 35? ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ITEM 35? ALL RIGHT, MR. LOOKY, ARE YOU HERE? I KNOW YOU ARE IN OPPOSITION. GO AHEAD. GOOD EVENING. COUNCIL MEMBERS. MY NAME IS ED 2 3 4 5 2 3 4 6 ON HILLS BATON ROUGE. I AM THE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERATION OF GREATER BATON ROUGE, CIVIC ASSOCIATIONS. WE FAILED THAT THIS PROPOSED ORDINANCE DOES NOT RISE TO THE LEVEL OF A MORATORIUM. IT WILL NOT STOP ANY ACTIVITIES IN THE SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD AREA. IN FACT, IT WILL PROBABLY GREENLIGHT DEVELOPERS BY SHOWING THEM EXACTLY HOW THEY MAY PROCEED TO BUILD IN THE FLOOD PLAINS FOR THE NEXT 12 MONTHS. SPEAKING FROM AN ENGINEERING BACKGROUND, THESE PROPOSED TECHNICAL CHANGES ARE SIMPLE FOR THE DEVELOPERS TO ACHIEVE. SO REALLY THERE WILL BE NO STOPPAGE. UNFORTUNATELY IT WILL NOT MAKE THE FLOODING SITUATION BETTER. AND IT ALSO PROVIDES FOR A GENEROUS LIST OF EXEMPTIONS THAT COULD HAVE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES. I WANT TO SHARE THE EXAMPLE OF A 25% EXEMPTION. IF YOU WERE TO CONSIDER SOME OF THE RECENTLY PROPOSED SUBDIVISIONS IN THE BATON ROUGE AREA, SOME THAT ARE IN THE AVERAGE OF 300 ACRES, 25% OF THAT WOULD SAY YOU COULD BUILD 75% OR 75 ACRES IN THE SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD AREA. AND NONE OF THESE REQUIREMENTS APPLY 75 ACRES. THAT'S ALMOST 55 FOOTBALL FIELDS. CAN YOU IMAGINE THAT 55 FOOTBALL FIELDS, THAT'S A LOT OF FILM MATERIAL TO GET OR MITIGATION FROM THE SAME BLOOD PLANE. IN FACT, GOING BACK AND REVIEWING THE S THE SPECIAL FLOOD CASES BEFORE THE PLANNING COMMISSION THIS YEAR, THERE WERE ABOUT 40 OF THEM. AND IF YOU APPLY THESE EXEMPTIONS ABOUT 70% OF THEM WOULD HAVE BEEN EXEMPTED UNDER THIS PROPOSAL. HERE'S UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES. NUMBER TWO, TRY AND REJECT ANY FUTURE PROJECT WITH AN IMPACT IN THE SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD AREA. THE DEVELOPER WILL MARCH DOWN TO THE COURTHOUSE AND ARGUE. I HAVE MET THESE NEW AND IMPROVED AND MORE STRINGENT ORDINANCE REQUIREMENTS. HOW CAN THIS BE REJECTED? I PROPOSE THAT WE CHOOSE A DIFFERENT PATH. LET'S DELETE THE PROPOSAL AND IN ITS PLACE, LET'S HAVE A THOROUGH REVIEW OF CHAPTER 15 OF THE UDC, EVERYTHING ON THE TABLE, ROUNDUP, ALL THE STAKEHOLDERS, ESTABLISH MEANINGFUL AND ACHIEVABLE OBJECTIVES AND HAVE A SHORT FUSE TO HAVE THIS COMPLETE. THIS WOULD ACCELERATE ELEMENTS THAT ARE ALREADY OUTLINED IN THIS ORDINANCE AND HAS A MORE POSITIVE LONG-TERM IMPACT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MELISSA. POMERLEAU. MELISSA SAW YOU HERE. WHAT'S YOUR LAST NAME? PROMINENTLY MELISSA. MOLLY IS HERE AND SHE'S IN SUPPORT, BUT DOES NOT WISH TO SPEAK POINT OF PERSONAL PRIVILEGE AT THIS TIME BEFORE WE VOTE ON THE ITEM, OUR MAYOR PRESIDENT, UH, IS HERE AND WISHES TO MAKE A FEW REMARKS. UH, YOU WANT ME TO KEEP GOING? OKAY. YOU LET ME KNOW. YES. MA'AM OH, BACK TO ITEM 35. I WAS THERE ANYONE ELSE HERE, WISHING TO SPEAK ANYONE ELSE HERE, WISHING TO SPEAK COUNCIL MEMBERS. I AM 35. WE HAVE A FEW EMAIL COMMENTS. COUNCIL MEMBERS. YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED SIX EMAIL COMMENTS ON ITEM 35, 3 WERE IN FAVOR AND THREE WERE OF HOST COUNCIL MEMBERS. WE'RE NOW ENTERTAINING [00:15:01] COMMENTS OR A MOTION TO APPROVE. I JUST WANT TO ADDRESS A COUPLE OF THE COMMENTS THAT WERE MADE, YOU KNOW, IN THE, I THINK WHEN THE SPONSOR GROUP GOT TOGETHER TO START THIS PROCESS, UH, THAT WE ALL SORT OF MADE THE COMMENT THAT WE WEREN'T REALLY GONNA MAKE ANYBODY HAPPY WITH THIS THING. RIGHT. UM, UH, THERE'LL BE FOLKS FROM THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY THAT SAY, WE'LL SAY YOU'RE COSTING US TOO MUCH MONEY, AND THEN THEY'LL BE FOLKS FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD GROUPS, UH, THAT WOULD SAY THAT WE'RE NOT GOING FAR ENOUGH. BOTH OF THOSE ARE 100% VALID ARGUMENTS. UM, UH, AND I, AND I, I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND THAT. UM, I WILL SAY HOWEVER THAT I THINK THAT THIS DOES, UH, PUT US ON THE CORRECT PATH TO MOVE FORWARD. UH, I THINK THAT THAT 100 YEAR STORM REQUIREMENT, UH, IS GOOD AND I'M HOPEFUL THAT THE DATA SUGGESTS THAT THAT SHOULD BE THE REQUIREMENT, UH, FOR EVERYTHING REGARDLESS OF, OF BEING IN THE FLOOD PLAIN OR NOT. UM, UH, BUT TO MR. POINT ABOUT A ROBUST, UH, REVIEW OF CHAPTER 15, YOU ARE 100% CORRECT, SIR. UH, AND I CAN TELL YOU, REGARDLESS OF WHAT HAPPENS WITH THIS ITEM TONIGHT, UH, IT'S CERTAINLY MY WILL, AND I, I THINK IT'S THE WILL OF THIS ENTIRE COUNCIL, UH, THAT WE DO THAT COMPLETE AND THOROUGH REVIEW OF CHAPTER 15, UH, AND GET IN WHAT I HOPE WILL BE ONE OF THE, THE BEST AND STRONGEST, UH, FLOODPLAIN AND STORMWATER REQUIREMENTS, UH, IN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY. SO, UH, WITH THAT, I WILL MAKE THE MOTION TO APPROVE. AND THEN I ALSO JUST WANT TO RECOGNIZE COUNCILMAN GO DAY. UM, IT IS NOT NORMAL FOR A NEW COUNCIL PERSON TO TAKE AS DEEP OF A DIVE INTO THE UDC AND INTO THE, UH, TECHNICAL PIECES OF OUR CODE. UM, YOU DID A FANTASTIC JOB OF GOING THROUGH THIS THING, UH, PUTTING TOGETHER ALL THE DIFFERENT PLAYERS. SO THIS PARISH SHOULD SAY KUDOS TO YOU FOR THE HARD WORK YOU DID ON THIS. THERE A SIR, THAT'S THE MOTION TO APPROVE SECONDED BY BANKS AND THE OPPOSITION COUNCIL MEMBER I'LL WAIT. UH, NO ONE ELSE WAS GOING TO SPEAK UP WAS CONCERNED. YOU WERE JUST GOING TO SAY, COUNCIL MEMBER GO TO IS NOT NORMAL IF THAT'S, YOU'RE GOING TO STOP THERE. SO, UM, I JUST, I WANTED TO THANK, UH, MEMBERS OF OUR PLANNING DEPARTMENT MEMBERS OF OUR DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, THE PARISH ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, UH, MEMBERS OF THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY, MR AND THE FEDERATION, UH, MR. BUKI AND I IN PARTICULAR HAVE HAD SEVERAL CONVERSATIONS OVER THE LAST FEW DAYS. HE HAS BEEN TOTALLY CLEAR AND TRANSPARENT ABOUT WHERE HE STANDS ON IT. I HAVE VALUED MY DISCUSSIONS WITH HIM, UH, AND THE INPUT THAT HE'S PROVIDED THAT OUR STORMWATER MANAGEMENT TEAM PROVIDED SOME INPUT. AND THEN OBVIOUSLY THANK YOU ALL TO THE COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO PROVIDED YOUR INPUT AND FEEDBACK AND, AND POSITION ON THIS. UM, I'M GRATEFUL THIS TO ME IS, BUT ONE PIECE OF THE PUZZLE, UM, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, I DON'T, I DON'T WANT TO PUT TOO MUCH EMPHASIS THAT THIS PROPOSED MORATORIUM OR ENHANCED DRAINAGE DESIGN REQUIREMENTS, UH, IS THE SOLUTION. AND I ALSO DON'T WANT PEOPLE TO THINK THAT THIS POINTS AT THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY AND THAT'S WHERE EVERYTHING LIES. THIS IS ONE PIECE OF A MUCH LARGER PUZZLE. UH, WE ARE ENGAGED, UH, IN, IN NUMEROUS ACTIVITIES NOW KUDOS TO THIS ADMINISTRATION FOR COMMITTING $20 MILLION. AND WHAT I BELIEVE WILL ULTIMATELY BE NORTH OF 50, $50 MILLION TOWARDS DRAINAGE NEEDS FROM THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN DOLLARS. UH, THIS ADMINISTRATION IS TALKING ABOUT PURCHASING PROPERTIES, UH, TO, TO TAKE CARE OF, UH, LAND CONSERVATION EASEMENTS. UH, THOSE ARE DISCUSSIONS WE SHOULD'VE BEEN HAVING A LONG TIME AGO. THEY'RE HAPPENING NOW. UH, UH, WE, THIS GETS US A 12 MONTH PERIOD TO GET DATA FROM A COMPREHENSIVE STORM WATER MASTER PLAN. ALL OF THOSE THINGS EQUAL A BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR THIS PARISH. SO, UH, I APPRECIATE EVERYONE'S INPUT ON THIS. I APPRECIATE EVERYONE'S, UH, SUPPORT OF IT, UH, AND, AND APPRECIATE ALL THE FEEDBACK THAT WE'VE GOTTEN THROUGHOUT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THERE IS A MOTION TO APPROVE AND A SECOND BY ACCOUNT MOTION BY COUNCIL MEMBER HUDSON. SECOND BY BANKS. IS THERE ANY OPPOSITION MOTION CARRIES? WE NOW GO TO ITEM 36, A MINUTE, NAKOTA READY POINT OF PERSONAL PRIVILEGE FOLLOWING MAYOR, PRESIDENT MER, PRESIDENT BROOM. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR, PRO TIM AND MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL. I DIDN'T WANT TO INTERRUPT THAT VOTE. I'VE BEEN ON THE LEGISLATIVE SIDE BEFORE. SO WHEN YOU'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF AN IMPORTANT VOTE, I DIDN'T WANT TO OBSTRUCT THAT, UH, PROCESS. UH, BUT I DID WANT TO SAY GOOD AFTERNOON TO EVERYONE AND TO THANK YOU ALL [00:20:01] FOR ALLOWING ME THIS POINT OF, UH, PERSONAL PRIVILEGE IS VERY IMPORTANT. UM, AS YOU KNOW, OUR COMMUNITY IS ACTIVELY WORKING TO RECOVER FROM THE IMPACTS OF HURRICANE IDA. AND WE HAVE SEEN OUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY, OUR NON-PROFITS, OUR AGENCIES AND COUNTLESS VOLUNTEERS COME TOGETHER TO BRING BACK BATON ROUGE. THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS SO FAR, INCLUDING MANY OF YOU. AND WITH THAT BEFORE, UH, I WANT TO TAKE SOME TIME TO RECOGNIZE THE TEAM WAS SERVED AS THE FOUNDATION OF PREPARATION RESPONSE AND RECOVERY. OUR CITY PARISH TEAM, WE HAD 2,400 OF OUR EMPLOYEES, THIS COMMUNITY THROUGHOUT HURRICANE IDA. IF YOU ARE A CITY PARISH EMPLOYEE WHO WORKED THROUGHOUT HURRICANE IDA, AND YOU ARE HERE WITH US IN THE METRO COUNCIL CHAMBERS TODAY, I ASK THAT YOU STAND FOR US TO RECOGNIZE YOU AND HONOR YOUR COMMITMENT TO EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH. THANK YOU AS THE MAYOR PRESIDENT, AND AS A RESIDENT OF BATON ROUGE, I WANT TO THANK ALL OF YOU. YOU REPRESENT THE DRIVE, THE TENACITY AND THE TEAM, AND THAT KEEPS OUR COMMUNITY MOVING FORWARD. AND AS MAYOR PRESIDENT, I HAVE RECEIVED COUNTLESS COMPLIMENTS FROM OUR COUNTY COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, COMMUNITY LEADERS, AND OUR RESIDENTS FOR THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE THROUGHOUT THE DISASTER. THIS TEAM ENSURED THAT OUR RESIDENTS HAD ACCESS TO 2,184 CUBIC YARDS OF SAND OVER 200,000 SANDBAGS THAT KEPT THE CITY PARISH FLEET FUELED, WHICH ALL OF YOU KNOW IS AN IMPRESSIVE TASK RIGHT NOW. SO OUR FIRST RESPONDERS AND DPW CREWS COULD RESPOND TO THE NEEDS OF OUR COMMUNITY, OPERATED TWO SHELTERS FOR OUR RESIDENTS AND FELLOW LOUISIANIANS IN NEED. AND ONE OF THEM IS STILL OPEN THE RIVER CENTER, COORDINATED AND CONDUCTED COUNTLESS COMMUNITY SITES WHERE WE DISTRIBUTED 15,000 MEALS AND COUNTLESS OTHER ACTIONS THAT KEPT OUR PARISH RED STICK READY WHEN WE NEEDED IT MOST IN RECOGNITION OF OUR ESSENTIAL EMPLOYEES, WE WILL BE GRANTING ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE WITH PAY FOR ONE REGULARLY SCHEDULED WORK DAY OR SHIFT FOR ANY EMPLOYEE WHO PHYSICALLY REPORTED TO WORK AT ANY TIME BETWEEN SATURDAY, AUGUST THE 28TH AND FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER THE THIRD EMPLOYEES WILL HAVE FROM SEPTEMBER THE 11TH, 2021 TO DECEMBER 31ST, 2022, TO UTILIZE THIS LEAD. NOW OUR OTHER GOAL, WHICH I'M SURE THE COUNCIL MEMBERS WILL BE IN AGREEMENT WITH, AS WE LOOK AT OUR FINANCES IS TO ELEVATE THE PAY OF MANY OF THESE ESSENTIAL WORKERS THAT WORK DAY IN AND DAY OUT TO KEEP THIS CITY RUNNING. YEP. BUT IN THE MEANTIME, WE WANT YOU TO TAKE THIS TIME OFF AND USE IT FOR RESPITE. I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW MANY PEOPLE WILL HAVE A TEXT MESSAGED ME ABOUT THE NEED TO HAVE RESPITE AS WE WORK THROUGH THIS CRISIS. BUT ONCE AGAIN, THANK YOU ALL. AND THANK YOU ALL FOR WHAT YOU DO TO MAKE THE RESIDENTS OF EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH, AND OUR NEIGHBORING PARISHES AS SAFE AND SECURE AS POSSIBLE. THANK YOU, MR. PROTEIN, AND TO ALL OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS. I WANT TO THANK ALL OF YOU ALL FOR LENDING A HAND AND OFFERING RESPONSE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU AS WE'VE WORKED THROUGH HURRICANE. YEAH. AND MAYOR BROOME, WE ONE, THANK YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP. YOU DID A FANTASTIC JOB KEEPING US UPDATED AND LEADING US THROUGH A HURRICANE ITEM. YOUR STAFF WAS, UH, EXTREMELY, UH CO-OPERATIVE AND, UH, THEY ANSWERED THE PHONE. THEY ANSWERED THE PHONE AND THEY WERE RESPONSIVE. AND AGAIN, I WANT TO THANK ALL THE COUNCIL MEMBERS BECAUSE I KNOW MANY OF US ARE ON THE FRONT LINES AND YOU ALL DID A FANTASTIC AND PHENOMENAL JOB AS WELL. SO I THINK IN THAT, AND, YOU KNOW, LET THIS BE A REMINDER THAT DARREN, OUR, UH, DARKER SIDE WAS, WE ALWAYS FOLLOWED BY OUR BRIGHTEST MOMENTS. AND SO THANK YOU TO EVERYONE HERE FOR ALL THE EFFORTS. SO AGAIN, LET'S GIVE YOURSELVES A ROUND OF APPLAUSE. CAN I MAKE THE COMMENT? UM, I APPRECIATE WHAT SHE SAID, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S SO MUCH THAT GOES ON OF TRYING TO GET A CITY RUNNING AFTER THE DEVASTATION. OF COURSE, WE'RE NOT LIKE LOWER LOUISIANA AND SOME OF THE THINGS [00:25:01] THAT THEY'RE GOING THROUGH, BUT EVERY PERSON THAT I CONTACTED, FRED, UH, SUGAR AND MAN, ANYBODY, UM, THAT I CONTACTED ABOUT NEEDING HELP, THEY WERE KIND, THEY WERE PATIENT. THEY GAVE ME THE INFORMATION THAT I NEEDED, AND I KNOW THEY WERE UNDER A LOT OF STRESS. AND I KNOW I WASN'T THE ONLY ONE THAT WAS CALLING THESE PEOPLE, BUT, YOU KNOW, CHARACTER IS EVERYTHING AS WELL. AND I APPRECIATE THEIR PATIENTS AND THEIR KINDNESS AND THE INFORMATION THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO GET US. YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF TIMES, YOU KNOW, YOU READ THINGS AND PEOPLE ARE LIKE, WELL, THERE'S NOTHING GOING ON. THEY'RE NOT DOING THIS. IF THEY COULD ONLY SEE BEHIND THE SCENES OF WHAT IS ACTUALLY GOING ON, UM, YOU KNOW, DURING A TIME LIKE THIS. SO ANYWAY, I APPRECIATE Y'ALL VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. WE NOW MOVE TO, [36. 21-01128] WE NOW MOVE TO ITEM 36, A MINUTE, NICOLE OF ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE AND THE PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE, UH, TITLE 12 CHAPTER SIX. SO AS TO, AS SECTIONS 12, CONAN 4, 0 8 THROUGH 12, COLON 4, 0 8 0.6, AS IT RELATES TO HIS DONATION TO DROPBOX BY COUNCIL MEMBER HUSTLERS, ANYONE HERE TO SPEAK ON ITEM 36, IS THERE ANYONE HERE TO SPEAK ON ITEM 36 BACK TO COUNCIL MEMBERS, MOTION BY COUNCIL MEMBER, HUDSON SECONDED BY MO NOW TO ITEM 37 COMMENTS, COUNCIL MEMBER DONE? WHAT EXACTLY IS THIS ITEM DOING? COUNCILMAN DAN, IS IT OKAY IF I RESPOND TO YOU? SO, UM, SO THE COUNCIL MEMBERS, THIS IS, UH, AN ISSUE THAT WAS BROUGHT UP TO ME, UH, IS YOU TRAVELING AROUND THE PARENTS, YOU SEE THESE DONATION DROP BOXES, UH, THAT ARE IN SEVERAL DIFFERENT LOCATIONS. WE'VE GOT A REAL ISSUE IN DISTRICT NINE. UH, AND I KNOW IN SEVERAL OTHER DISTRICTS AS WELL, SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE DONATION DROP BOXES THAT YOU'LL SEE IN GROCERY STORE, PARKING LOTS AND OTHER THINGS. UH, WE'VE HAD A REAL ISSUE WITH THEM, UH, BEING LEFT IN DISARRAY BEING A BLIGHT. UH, AND SO W THE NORMAL PROCESS IS THAT TO HAVE IT ADDRESSED, YOU BASICALLY HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE BLIGHT REMEDIATION PROCESS, WHICH AS YOU ALL KNOW IS A LONG AND DIFFICULT PROCESS. UM, SO WHAT WE'RE ATTEMPTING TO DO WITH THIS IS ACTUALLY PERMIT THE DROPBOXES, UH, THAT RESOLVES THE ONE ISSUE IN THAT MANY WE'RE FINDING MANY OF THESE DROP BOXES ARE ACTUALLY PLACED INTO GROCERY STORE, PARKING LOTS WITHOUT PROPERTY OWNER PERMISSION. UH, BUT THEN IT ALSO ALLOWS US TO HAVE THEM CLEANED UP MUCH QUICKER, UH, IF THEY'RE NOT PERMITTED. UM, AND SO THIS IS JUST A MECHANISM FOR US TO TRY AND ADDRESS THESE DROP BOXES, UH, WITHOUT, UM, UH, WITHOUT TOTALLY STOPPING IT RIGHT, BECAUSE THEY DO SERVE A GOOD PURPOSE FOR OUR COMMUNITY, UH, FOR US TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THOSE DONATIONS MADE. SO THAT'S ALL. THANK YOU. WE'RE AT A MOTION TO APPROVE BY COUNCIL MEMBER HUDSON A SECOND BY MOCA. IS THERE ANY OPPOSITION ITEM 36 CARRIES. WE MOVED OUT OF 37 COUNCIL MEMBERS, COUNCIL MEMBER BANKS. WELL, COUNCILMEN, HUDSON. ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THOSE? LIKE WHERE, UM, THE CLOTHES AND FURNITURE. OH YEAH. UH, I WANTED, I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THE, WHAT THE, WHAT, HOW HAVE WE AMENDED IT THOUGH? I'M SORRY. I MISSED THAT. I TOTALLY AGREE WITH THE AMENDMENTS. WE DID NOT MAKE ANY, SO WHAT ARE WE DOING? JUST PASSING IT. OKAY. AND SAME, UH, MAINLY IN THE CODE OF ORDINANCES. OH, OH, I'M SORRY. I'M SORRY. THE AMENDMENT TO THE CODE OF ORDINANCES IS THAT WE ARE REQUIRING A PERMIT TO BE ABLE TO PLACE A DONATION DROPBOX. YEAH, THAT'S GOOD. COULD IT BE THE MAINTENANCE? IS IT, WOULD THEY HAVE ANYTHING ABOUT UPKEEP MAINTENANCE? YEAH, SO, SO NOTABLY THE, THE BIGGEST CHANGE IS THAT YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO IN THE APPLICATION, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO HAVE THE PERMISSION OF THE OWNER OF THE OWNER AND THE DONATION COMPANY. UM, AND THEN ALSO THEIR SIGNAGE REQUIREMENTS ON THE BOXES NOW. SO IF YOU'RE GOING TO PLACE A SIGN AND THE PUBLIC DRIVES BY AND SEES IT IN AN UNKEPT MANNER, THEY KNOW EXACTLY WHO TO CALL. UM, UH, AND THEN ALSO IF THEY'RE NOT, UH, CLEANED UP NOW, WE HAVE A MORE, A QUICKER ABILITY TO GO OUT AND REMOVE THEM AND HAVE THEM CLEANED UP. OKAY. THAT SOUNDS GOOD. THAT'S SIMILAR TO WHERE, UM, WE'LL BE INTRODUCED TO REGARDING SIGNS ALL OVER THE PAIR, BUT THAT'S WHAT REALLY, REALLY GOOD. THANK YOU SO MUCH QUESTION. SO WHAT ABOUT THE ONES THAT ARE ALREADY, ARE THEY GRANDFATHERED IN OR DO WE HAVE TO GO BACK AND REDO THOSE? THERE'S A PROCESS, UH, BY WHICH THEY CAN GO. AND, UM, ONCE THEY'RE NOTIFIED, THEY WILL HAVE TO GO AND APPLY FOR A PERMIT. ITEM HAS BEEN APPROVED. [37. 21-01145] WE MOVED NOW TO ITEM 37 COUNCIL MEMBERS, WHICH IN GENERAL MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC IS GOING TO BE DEFERRED ITEM 37 TO DISCUSSION OF THE CASE OF RELATION ROBINSON AT ALL IN OFFICER'S ABC, X, Y, AND Z, UH, DECIDED TO MAYBE DISCUSS AN EXECUTIVE [00:30:01] SESSION. ATTORNEY OF RECORD IS ELBERT LEE GUILLORY BY COUNCIL MEMBER, CLEVE DUNN. IS THERE ANYONE HERE TO SPEAK ON ITEM 37? UH, WE DO HAVE, UH, SOME EMAIL COMMENTS, COUNCIL MEMBERS. YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED TWO EMAIL COMMENTS ON ITEM THREE, UH, BACK TO COUNCIL COUNCIL MEMBER, DONE MOTION TO DEFER FOR TWO WEEKS. MOTION TO DEFER FOR TWO WEEKS BY COUNCIL MEMBER DONE SECONDED BY THE CHAIR TO UP ANY OPPOSITION ITEM CARRIES. WE GO NOW [38. 21-01151] TO ITEM 38, GRANTING A FIVE-YEAR PROPERTY TAX ABATEMENT ESTIMATED AT $128,546 PER YEAR FOR 101 5 0 THIRD STREET, LLC. WATERMARK BATON ROUGE IS LOCATED AT 1 5 0 THIRD STREET FOR THE PURPOSE OF ENCOURAGING PRIVATE INVESTMENT IN RESTORATION OF THE PROPERTY BY PLANNING DIRECTOR. THERE'S A PUBLIC HEARING ANYONE HERE TO SPEAK ON ITEM 38 BACK TO COUNCIL MEMBERS, THE MOTION TO APPROVE BY COLEMAN SECONDED [39. 21-01155] BY THE CHAIR. WE NOW GO TO ITEM 39 AUTHORIZING MAYOR PRESIDENT TO EXECUTE SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT. NUMBER TWO TO THE CONTRACT WE'RE POST ARCHITECTS, LLC FOR ADDITIONAL DESIGN SERVICE IN CONNECTION WITH THEIR CONTRACT FOR THE RIVER CENTER THEATER FOR PERFORMING ARTS AND NASA FACILITY IMPROVEMENTS IN AMOUNT, NOT TO EXCEED $10,637. ANYONE HERE TO SPEAK ON ITEM 39 BACK TO THE COUNCIL MOTION TO APPROVE BY COUNCIL MEMBER DONE SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ADAMS. WE NOW GO TO ANY OPPOSITION. WE GO [40. 21-01173] TO ITEM 40 A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE ISSUE IN SALE AND DELIVERY OF NOT TO EXCEED $6,000 REVENUE ANTICIPATION NOTE SERIES 20 20, 1 OF THE ST. GEORGE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT. NUMBER TWO, THE PARISH OF YOU SPENT IN THE STATE OF LOUISIANA AND OTHER MATTERS RELATING HERE TO THAT $6 MILLION, NOT 6,000 BY ST. GEORGE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT. IS THERE ANYONE HERE TO SPEAK ON ITEM 40, ANYONE HERE TO SPEAK ON ITEM 40 BACK TO COUNCIL MEMBERS, MOTION TO APPROVE ITEM. SECOND ABOUT HUSTON. [41. 21-01188] WE GO NOT ITEM 41, AMENDING THE 2021 CURRENT EXPENSE BUDGET AS TO APPROPRIATE BUDGET FOR THE HARVEST AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE CALENDAR YEAR 2021 AND AN AMOUNT OF $13,480 IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE COOPERATIVE ENDEAVOR AGREEMENT DATED SEPTEMBER 9TH, 2020 BY THE HARVEST AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT CONTINGENT ON BUDGET SUPPLEMENT. IS THERE ANYONE HERE TO SPEAK ON ITEM 41 BACK TO COUNCIL MEMBERS, MOTION TO APPROVE BY COUNCIL MEMBER? SECONDED BY COUNT THE CHAIR, ANY OPPOSITION. WE GO NOW TO ITEM [42. 21-01197] 42 AUTHORIZATION FOR THE MAYOR, PRESIDENT CHAIRMAN OF THE AIRPORT COMMISSION TO ACCEPT THE NEXT TWO TO GRANT AGREEMENT FROM THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, 30 AMERICAN RESCUE PLANNING IN THE AMOUNT OF $342,000 IN EXCUSE ME, $242,328 BY THE AVIATION DIRECTOR AT ANYONE HE TO SPEAK ITEM 42 BACK TO COUNCIL MOTION TO APPROVE OUR COUNCIL MEMBER DONE SECONDED [43. 21-01198] BY COUNCIL MEMBER ADAMS, AND NOW GO TO ITEM 43, AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR, PRESIDENT AND CHAIRMAN OF THE AIRPORT COMMISSION TO EXECUTE WORK AUTHORIZATION. NUMBER SIX TO THE CONTRACT WITH AIRPORT MANAGEMENT LLC GROUP LLC FOR PROGRAM MANAGEMENT SERVICES AT THE BATON WAS METROPOLITAN AIRPORT AND THE MOUNTAIN NOT TO EXCEED 2 MILLION, $390,460 AND 83 CENTS BY CONTINGENT ON ADEQUATE FUNDING BY AVIATION DIRECTOR TO CONTINUE TO UPON BUDGET SUPPLEMENT. IS THERE ANYONE HERE TO SPEAK ON ITEM 43 BACK TO COUNCIL MEMBERS, MOTION TO APPROVAL BY COUNCIL MEMBER DON SECOND, AND BY ADAMS [44. 21-01199] NOW GO TO ITEM 44, AUTHORIZING THE FINANCE DIRECTOR TO REFUND ANY ERRONEOUS FOR MENTIONS OF SALES AND USE TAX ON E-COMMERCE SALES FOR THE PERIOD OF APRIL 1ST, 2019 THROUGH MARCH 31ST, 2020 TO VARIOUS PARISHES ON BEHALF OF KENDRA SCOTT, LLC FOR TAXES ADMITTED TO EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH IN ERA AND AMOUNT OF $188,224 AND 64 CENTS. WITH THE COST OF SUCH A REFUND TO BE CHARGED AGAINST THE CELL TAX REVENUE BY THE FINANCE DIRECTOR. ANYONE HERE TO SPEAK ON ITEM 44, WE GO BACK TO COUNCIL MOTION TO APPROVE BY COUNCIL MEMBER GOATEE. SECOND BY ADAMS, [45. 21-01201] WE GO TO ITEM 45 TO AMEND THE 2021 CURRENT EXPENSE BUDGET FOR EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES. SO AS TO APPROPRIATE 2,000,030, $1,130 FROM FUND BALANCE ON ASSIGNED TO PROVIDE FUNDING FOR LOCAL GRANT MATCH, WHICH REPRESENTS A PORTION OF THE PROJECT COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH PHASE TWO CONSTRUCTION AND THESE MARYLAND PARIS SAFE ROOM TRAINING CENTER BY EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES DIRECTOR, ANYONE HERE TO SPEAK ON ITEM 45, I'LL GO BACK TO COUNCIL COUNCIL MEMBER MOTION TO APPROVE BY MARK SECONDED BY ADAMS. [46. 21-01216] WHEN I GO TO ITEM 46, AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR PRESIDENT TO ACCEPT AN AMENDMENT TO THE LOW INCOME HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE CONTRACT, LOUISIANA HOUSING CORPORATION, BUT THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING AND AN AMOUNT OF $463,745 FOR A TOTAL OF $1,085,993 ON BEHALF OF DIVISION OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, OFFICE OF SOCIAL SERVICES BY THE HUMAN RESOURCE DIRECTOR, EXCUSE ME, HUMAN SERVICES DIRECTOR IS ANYONE HERE TO SPEAK ON ITEM 46. WE'LL GO BACK TO COUNCIL. MOST OF THE APPROVED BY ADAMS SETTING BY THE BAR DAY. NOW [47. 21-01218] GO TO ITEM 47, AUTHORIZED [00:35:01] THE MAYOR PRESIDENT TO EXECUTE A SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT. NUMBER THREE, TO CONTRACT A PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING SERVICES WITH SIGMA CONSULTING GROUPING FOR SERVICES ASSOCIATED WITH WILL BE OUR CAPACITY PROJECT AT JONES CREEK AND AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $148,011 AND 47 SENT BY TRANSPORTATION AND DRAINAGE DIRECTOR. IS THERE ANYONE HERE TO SPEAK ON ITEM 47, ANYONE HERE TO SPEAK ON ITEM 47, WE GO BACK TO COUNCIL MEMBERS MOTION TO APPROVE BY COUNCIL MEMBER ADAMS SECOND, AND BY HUDSON COUNCIL [62. 21-01148] MEMBERS, WE'RE GOING TO JUMP OUT OF ORDER FULL UP MOMENTARILY. I JUST GOT AN EMERGENCY, UH, TEXT MESSAGES FROM SOME WE'RE GOING TO JUMP TO ITEM 62, RECEIVING A QUARTER LAND BANK UPDATE FROM BATON ROUGE. I AM 62, IF YOU WORK, UH, WHO HERE TO GIVE, UH, MR. TYSON AND MR. APPROACHED HIM, UH, DID EVEN COUNCIL MEMBERS, CHRIS TYSON HERE, UH, TO DELIVER OUR QUARTERLY REPORT ON THE BILL BATON ROUGE LAND BANK, AS YOU ARE AWARE AS REQUIRED BY THE THIRD AMENDMENT AMENDED AND RESTATED COOPERATIVE ENDEAVOR AGREEMENT FROM OCTOBER 24TH, 2018, UH, WE PROVIDE A QUARTERLY REPORT ON OUR ACTIVITIES. I HAVE SENT AN ADVANCE THE REPORT WITH THE STATUS OF OUR LAND BANK, AS WELL AS A NUMBER OF OTHER PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE UNDERWAY. WE HAVE, UH, UNDERTAKEN TO PROVIDE A MORE EXPANSIVE OR WRITTEN REPORT TO YOU IN ADVANCE. WE HAVE A NUMBER OF PROJECTS GOING ON, AND I KNOW, UH, SOMETIMES, UH, THAT GETS A, YOU KNOW, KIND OF LOST. AND WE WANT TO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE THOSE WITH YOU AND UPDATES ON THOSE AND CREATE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE, UM, UH, IN THE INTEREST OF TIME. UH, I, I WILL DEFER TO ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE ON WHAT WAS PRESENTED, AND I'M HAPPY TO GIVE A SUMMARY OF THIS, IF YOU LIKE, UH, MR. PROTEIN, WHATEVER YOU THINK. WELL, WHATEVER PLEASES THE COUNCIL, WOULD YOU LIKE TO ASK QUESTIONS OR HAVE A SUMMARY? SO DO WE HAVE A POWER POINT? DO WE HAVE SOMETHING VISUAL SO THAT BECAUSE EVERY TIME WE DO THIS QUARTERLY, THIS IS WHAT I ASKED FOR A POWERPOINT BY EACH. I MEAN, FOR OVER A YEAR, EVERY QUARTER, A POWERPOINT THAT LISTS THE PROPERTIES BY COUNCIL, THE DATE THEY WERE ACQUIRED, UM, THE, WHAT BILL BATON ROUGE HAS DONE TO ADVERTISE FOR LACK OF A BETTER TERM WITH, WITH BUILDERS, WHAT KIND OF USES HAVE BEEN DETERMINED FOR EACH PROPERTY? UM, AND I MEAN, I ASKED FOR EVERY THREE MONTHS B WHEN YOU COME IN, WE NEVER GET IT BECAUSE, AND WE, WE DON'T PUT TIME CONSTRAINTS ON REPORTS. IF AT ALL POSSIBLE, I WOULD REALLY WOULD LIKE TO DEFER THIS MATTER FOR TWO WEEKS. SO WE CAN GET A VISUAL. THIS IS NOT JUST FOR THE 12 COUNCIL MEMBERS. THIS IS FOR THE ENTIRE PARISH. AND SO IT IS INCUMBENT ON BILL BATON ROUGE TO SALE THEMSELVES, NOT JUST TO THESE 12, BUT TO EVERYBODY, IT SHOULD BE SOMETHING THAT THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY IS SEEN AS, UM, AS A STAKEHOLDER. AND THAT JUST DOES NOT HAPPEN EVERY QUARTER. SO, YOU KNOW, I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO DEFER IT. I WOULD LIKE, UM, IF THERE'S INFORMATION WHERE PEOPLE COULD SEE WHAT WE'RE DEALING WITH THERE A BUILDER, THERE ARE PEOPLE IN MY, IN MY AREA THAT ARE INTERESTED IN PROPERTIES, UM, THAT A LOT OF TIMES ARE WOODVILLE BATON ROUGE. OH, AM I STILL STUCK? YEAH. BILL BATON ROUGE. THEY SAY THEY CAN'T REACH ANYONE. NO ONE WORKS WITH THEM. IT'S BLIGHTED. AND I THINK SEAN, THIS PUBLIC DISPLAY NOT ONLY WILL, UM, WILL EDUCATE THE COMMUNITY ON WHAT'S OUT THERE IN CASE THEY ARE INTERESTED IN, IN DEVELOPING, BUT ALSO PERSONS WHO ARE NOT SO THAT THEY COULD KNOW. IT'S LIKE, THERE'S NO, THERE'S NO METHOD THAT I'M AWARE OF THAT BILL BATON ROUGE, UM, LETS PEOPLE KNOW WHAT'S AVAILABLE. YEAH. AND IF I CAN RESPOND, COUNCILMAN, THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONCERNS. AND I WILL, I'M HAPPY TO PUT THIS REPORT AND THE LAND BANK INVENTORY, AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT YOU SAY AT THE END EVERY THREE MONTHS. OKAY. OKAY. WELL, UM, I'VE, I'VE DELIVERED IT IN THIS FORM. UH, I'LL PUT IT IN A POWERPOINT, BUT WHAT I'M TRYING TO GET YOU TO UNDERSTAND IS THAT IT'S NOT WHAT YOU PUT IN IT IN YOUR FORM. IT'S MAKING IT DELIVERABLE AND THE RECEIPT WHERE WE COULD RECEIVE IT. AND IT'S A SPOTLIGHT FOR EVERYBODY. YEAH. BUT, AND I KNOW YOU A WONDERFUL OR TUTORIAL OR WHATEVER, BUT, BUT IT NEVER HAPPENS. NOTHING EVER HAPPENS THAT BASED ON THE REQUEST. AND SO UNLESS YOU ABOUT TO PULL UP A POWERPOINT, I CAN'T THINK OF ANYTHING THAT YOU'RE GOING TO SAY, THAT'S GOING TO DO THIS BECAUSE IT'S BEEN LIKE A YEAR OF THIS [00:40:01] AT THE MINIMUM. AND I'M NOT EVEN TALKING ABOUT THE TIME OFF FROM THE PANDEMIC. I'M TALKING ABOUT PRE PANDEMIC AND POST PANDEMIC. YEAH. UH, SO I'M SORRY FOR NOT HAVING A POWERPOINT COUNCILMAN, I'M HAPPY TO PROVIDE THAT. AND I'LL COMMIT TO YOU THAT WHETHER IT'S IN TWO WEEKS OR IN THE NEXT THREE MONTHS, I'M HAPPY TO PROVIDE THAT TO YOU WHENEVER I'M ALLOWED TO COME BACK AND REPORT TO THE COUNCIL. IF I MAY ADDRESS YOUR CONCERNS BECAUSE YOU AND I HAVE TALKED ABOUT THIS BEFORE AND A NUMBER OF OTHER PEOPLE HAVE TALKED ABOUT THIS, UH, BILL BATON ROUGE REGULARLY RECEIVES REQUESTS TO PURCHASE PROPERTIES IN OUR LAND BANK. AS I, I DON'T, I DON'T KEEP A LOG OF EVERY CALL ACTUALLY, COUNCIL WOMAN. WE KEEP CONVERSATION. WE KEEP RECORDS OF WHO'S REQUESTING, BUT IF NO ONE MAKES AN APPLICATION THROUGH OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS PROGRAM. AND IF YOU LET ME FINISH, I'LL EXPLAIN TO YOU WHY THAT TYPICALLY DOESN'T HAPPEN. BECAUSE MOST PEOPLE ARE NOT ABLE TO CLEAR TITLE TO PROPERTIES. WE DO NOT HAVE THE RESOURCES THAT I HAVE AS REPORTED CONSISTENTLY OVER THE LAST THREE AND A HALF YEARS TO CLEAR TITLE TO THESE PROPERTIES, WE CONSTANTLY TRY TO RAISE THOSE RESOURCES. AND WE RELY ON THE FUNDING WE GET FROM THE CITY PARISH AND OTHER SOURCES TO DO THAT. BUT WE ARE NOT GET AT A CAPACITY WHERE WE CAN CLEAR TITLE TO SOME OF THE PROPERTIES THAT WE HAVE. WE HAVE A VERY SMALL LAND BANK PER LAND BANK STANDARDS NATIONALLY. AND UNLESS SOMEONE HAS CASH AND MOST PEOPLE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN THESE PROPERTIES DO NOT HAVE CASH. AND SO UNLESS THEY HAVE THAT, THEY'RE LOOKING FOR FINANCING, WHICH REQUIRES TITLE INSURANCE, WHICH REQUIRES A BANK TO RECEIVE A CLEAR TITLE, WHICH, BECAUSE OUR PROPERTIES, THOSE THAT ARE AVAILABLE ARE LARGELY TRANSFERRED THROUGH THE ADJUDICATED PROCESS. AND BECAUSE OF PAST ISSUES WE'VE HAD IN THE CITY PARISH WITH CERTIFYING ACTUAL NOTICE, BEING DELIVERED AS IS REQUIRED BY THE COURTS. WE ARE UNABLE TO CLEAR PROPER. THAT'S USUALLY WHERE THE CONVERSATION STARTED, COUNCIL WOMAN. AND I DON'T KEEP A LOG OF EVERY CONVERSATION. SOME OF THEM ARE VERY CASUAL, BUT WE DO KEEP INFORMATION ON, UH, ON OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS PROGRAM. NOW THE LAND BANK DOES NOT JUST CONSIST OF LOTS THAT WE RECEIVE THROUGH THE ADJUDICATED PROCESS, A NUMBER OF PROPERTIES IN OUR LAND BANK, A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OR PROPERTIES THAT ARE UNDER DEVELOPMENT. OUR LAND BANK INCLUDES ELECTRIC DEPOT. OUR LAND BANK INCLUDES 200 ACRES OF GARDEN. YOU, YOU DIDN'T START THOSE, BUT THIS IS MY POINT. YOU, YOU, YOU CONTRADICTED YOURSELF FIRST. YOU SAY THE MAJORITY OF THEM ARE THROUGH THE ADJUDICATED PROCESS IN THE VERY NEXT SENTENCE YOU SAY OVER HALF OF THEM ARE THROUGH OTHER, WHATEVER YOU, THE UNDER-DEVELOPMENT WHATEVER. AND WHAT I'M TRYING TO TELL YOU IS SHOW US. AND IF, IF, IF, IF WHATEVER METHOD OUR STANDARD, YOU SAID THAT MAKES A REQUEST REGARDING THE PROPERTY AS BEING OFFICIAL, IT'S UP TO YOU TO DEVELOP THAT. SO IF YOU HAVE, PLEASE, IF YOU KNOW, I'M THINKING OF PROPERTIES IN MY AREA THAT I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT PEOPLE ARE ASKING ABOUT PROPERTIES COUNCIL AND LIKE THE ONE WE USE, YOU REFERRED TO ME. AND I TALKED TO THAT WOMAN AND WE TALKED ABOUT THE PROPERTY THAT SHE WAS INTERESTED IN. UM, THERE'S A COUPLE OF OTHERS, MYSELF SOUTHERN, BUT THE WHOLE, HOLD ON, HOLD ON. AND SO WHAT I'M SAYING IS THAT IF YOU HAVE A INTAKE PROCESS FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE SERIOUSLY, SERIOUSLY, SERIOUSLY INTERESTED IN DOING THAT AND THEY CONTACTED YOU, THEY CONTACT YOU REGARDING THE PROPERTIES. AND LET'S JUST SAY, YOU TELL THEM IT'S ON THE WEBSITE. I WOULD WRITE THAT DOWN. I DON'T KNOW ANY PERSON WHO'S INTERESTED IN GETTING RID OF A PROPERTY THAT IF A POTENTIAL PURCHASER SHOWS AN INTEREST, THEY SAY, OH, LOOK, IT'S ON MY WEBSITE. AND THEY NEVER KNOW COUNSELING. THAT'S NOT WHAT I SAID AT ALL. WHAT I SAY TO YOU, IT'S MY TIME. YES MA'AM. SO WHAT, BUT A LOT OF THESE THINGS COULD BE ELIMINATED CHRISSY, IF YOU WOULD JUST DO WHAT, WHAT HAS BEEN ASKED REGARDING YOUR PRESENTATION AND IF YOU WERE, IF THERE, IF THERE, THERE ARE PROPERTIES IN MY AREA, YOU KNOW, I DIDN'T EVEN WANT MINE INCLUDED IN THE BILL BAND RULES BECAUSE THEY HOLD UP AND THEY DO NOTHING. BUT WHAT I'M SAYING IS IF THERE WAS SOMEBODY COMING UP IN MY PROPERTY, BECAUSE I AM WORKING WITH A LOT OF YOUNG DEVELOPERS THAT ARE GETTING TO JUDICATE AND THEY ARE BUILDING AND ALL OF THAT, AND ALL THOSE PROPERTIES HAVE AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER COULD HAVE BEEN UNDER BILL BATON WITH JUST FOR THE PURPOSE. THE OTHER THING IS W OTHER THAN CITY FUNDING, DID YOU ALL LEARN NONPROFIT, YOU HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO GO OUT AND FIND FUNDING FOR WHATEVER AREA STOPS THE PROCESS. SO I'VE CLEAR A TITLE, THIS, THE PROCESS, THEN GO GET, GO, GET APPLY FOR A GRANT FROM CHASE BANK FOR 5 MILLION BUCKS. THAT DOES NOTHING BUT THAT. BUT ALL OF THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT, THAT, BUT THIS LEADERSHIP DOES. AND I'M NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT WHAT I GOT, [00:45:01] TELL YOU EVERYTHING I GET. I GET, BECAUSE I GO, I TALK TO OTHER PEOPLE IN THE ART, IN THE REDEVELOPMENT IN OTHER STATES SAID, IT I'LL SEND THEM TO YOU. I'LL CALL YOU FROM OTHER STATES. YOU NEED TO MEET WITH THIS GUY. THEY GOT TO GO ON AND ON. THEY KNOW HOW TO CLEAR THIS. THEY KNOW HOW TO DO THAT. I'VE DONE ALL THAT, BUT I DON'T DO THAT ANYMORE BECAUSE NOTHING HAPPENS. BUT THE WHOLE POINT IS THERE ANY PROBLEM THAT YOU, I THINK THAT THE MAYOR SAYS, ANYTIME YOU SEE SOMETHING AS, UM, A PROPERTY IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO SOLVE. AND SO WHATEVER THOSE ISSUES ARE, YOU DON'T JUST KEEP ASKING FOR MORE MONEY FOR THE CITY, FROM THE CITY TO MEET THOSE NEEDS. I DON'T WANT TO GIVE ANOTHER 500,000, UH, SUP TO SUPPLEMENT RDA. I SAID THAT A YEAR AGO, AND I REALLY DON'T. I MEAN, IT, BECAUSE YOU'RE ALL JUST LIKE, SUCK THE AIR OUT OF THE FUNDING AND YOU DON'T GET FUNDING FROM ANYWHERE ELSE, HARDLY OTHER THAN FIVE MINUTES, NO PLATE FOR CHASE BANK ONE TIME. BUT THERE ARE TOO MANY THINGS WHERE IN AREAS, EVERY DISH, I WOULD WANT TO HAVE BRANDING POINTS. EVERY TIME I GET UP HERE, NOT ABOUT DEVELOPMENTS THAT WATERMAN SEWER STARTED OR WHATEVER ARE JUST PLANK ROAD, BUT IN EVERY PARISH, I MEAN, ALMOST EVERY DISTRICT OR AT LEAST THREE, I WOULD HAVE THOSE AS GOALS AND PROJECTS THAT I WANTED. I WANTED TO BE SOMETHING IN THE DISTRICT BECAUSE TOO MANY PEOPLE CALLING ME. I'M SURE THEY'RE CALLING A LOT OUT, OUT OF THE SAFE, OUR URBAN AREAS. THERE ARE DEVELOPERS CALLING ALL OF US EVERY DAY ABOUT PROPERTY, DEVELOPING, DOING THINGS, ALL OF THAT. AND IT'S, AND WE S WE ARE DOING WHAT YOU ALL SHOULD BE DOING. WE DON'T HAVE ANYBODY TO REFER THESE PEOPLE TO. WE TRY TO IT, AND WE DO WORK IT OUT OURSELVES. WE MEET WITH THE MAYOR. WE MEET WITH, UM, HUB. WE MEET WITH THE DIFFERENT DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT. WE HAVE, WE CALL ON THE PEOPLE THAT LIKE, WHATEVER THAT STUFF, CHARLES LANDRY, DUDE, WE CALL EVERYBODY. BUT, BUT, BUT WE CAN NOT DO BILL BANDWIDTH BECAUSE ZERO IS HAPPENING. AND THAT'S JUST A FACT AND I'M BASING IT ON WHAT I SEE WHAT I HAVE EXPERIENCED, WHAT I SEE GOING ON. NO, NO, THE STATE. AND HOW LONG ARE WE GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT? WE DON'T KNOW, DON'T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY, ESPECIALLY WITH, WITH, WITH THE AMERICA RESCUE PLAN GOING UP, DUDE, THAT HUD GIVING MONEY OUT OF THE YAZOO. IT'S JUST RIDICULOUS. AND, YOU KNOW, WE GOT TWO LAW SCHOOLS AND Y'ALL, CAN'T CLEAR TITLES. AND I, I, IT'S JUST, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S JUST PATHETIC TO ME, IT JUST REALLY PUT THE HEADACHE. AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S LIKE A WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY. IT'S A GREAT IDEA. ART, WHAT, WHAT THE REDEVELOPMENT IS SUPPOSED TO DO BASED ON LAW, BUT WHAT THEY DO BASED ON LAW, WE HAD TRIED TO BAIL OR RE REBUILD THAT BY GIVING THEM ALL AT THE OFFICE OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT GRANT AND DISMEMBER THE WHOLE PROJECT. LET ALL THOSE PEOPLE GO TO TRY TO SAVE OUR B BATON ROUGE. WE CHANGED THE NAME. YEAH. THE COUNSELOR WILL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS. UH, WE GOT A WHOLE HOST, UH, COUNCIL NUMBER GO DAY, CHRIS. THANK YOU. UM, DO YOU HAVE PROPERTIES ALONG PLANK ROAD IN YOUR LAND BANK? YES. COULD YOU GIVE AN UPDATE THEN? UH, IF YOU WOULD ON THE PLANK ROAD MASTER PLAN AND WHERE YOU STAND WITH THAT. ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU. COUNSELOR REPORT SAYS, FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, IT'S ALL OF THEM. WHAT IS IT? IT SAYS, UPDATE COUNCIL MEMBER COUNCIL ON THE GO. THEY CAN ASK ABOUT ANY OF THE PROPERTIES, BUT WHERE DO WE HAVE THAT? THAT'S ONE OF THEM DO HAVE A FORM OF COUNCILWOMAN ON PAGE TWO, YOU'LL SEE PLANK ROADMASTER PLAN SLASH ADVANCING CITIES, WHICH IS THE 5 MILLION GRANT YOU CAN REFERENCE IT, SEND AN EMAIL AGAIN. YOU SENT A REPORT THAT HE SENT US. OH, OKAY. LET'S DEFER THIS. SO WE COULD GET THIS ON THE SCREEN. I'M TRYING TO COUNCIL MEMBER BANKS. WE CAN DO THAT, BUT THIS IS COUNCIL MEMBER GO DAYS. AND, UH, HE ASKED, SO WE'RE GOING TO ALLOW COUNCIL MEMBER. I MEAN, WE'RE GOING TO ALLOW MR. TYSON TO RESPOND. GO AHEAD. THANK YOU. AND GO DAY, UH, ON PAGE TWO OF THE REPORT, YOU'LL SEE, WE LIST A NUMBER OF PROJECTS THAT ARE IN PROGRESS RELATED TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLANK ROAD MASTER PLAN, UH, WHICH INVOLVES PART OF THE FUNDING SECURED THROUGH THE JP MORGAN CHASE THREE-YEAR GRANT FOR $5 MILLION IN THERE. THEY'RE THERE, I'M HAPPY TO KIND OF GO PROJECT BY PROJECT AND GIVE A STATUS UPDATE. THE SUMMARIES PROVIDED HERE ALSO INCLUDE, UH, FUNDING AMOUNTS THAT ARE TIED TO EACH OF THESE PROJECTS IN A VERY BRIEF STATUS REPORT. AND I'M CERTAINLY EVOLVING THIS FORMAT AND WE CAN INCLUDE IT IN POWERPOINT AS WELL, BUT I WANT TO KIND OF MAKE SURE I GET ENOUGH INFORMATION, BUT, YOU KNOW, BREVITY AND COMPREHENSIVENESS. UH, YOU KNOW, I, I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THE PLANK ROAD, UH, THE [00:50:01] PLANT CALUMET AND MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT PLAN. YOU RECALL THIS IS A $9 MILLION, UH, 30,000 SQUARE FOOT, UH, DEVELOPMENT, DELIVERING AFFORDABLE DAYCARE THROUGH A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE Y WCA, UH, AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING ON THE PLANK ROAD CORRIDOR. UH, WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS PROJECT IS ATTRACTED NEW MARKET TAX CREDIT COMMITMENTS FROM NATIONAL INVESTORS. UH, IT IS ALSO, UH, UH, RECEIVED FUNDING COMMITMENTS FROM THE CAPILLARY FINANCE AUTHORITY, THE HUMAN ANGELINA WILSON FOUNDATION. UH, WE WERE USING CDBG FROM BOTH THE CITY AND THE STATE AND REGIONS BANK, UH, HAS, UH, COMMITTED TO PROVIDE THAT FINANCING FOR THIS PROJECT. UH, WE SEE IT AS TRULY CATALYTIC. UH, THIS WOULD BE THE FIRST, UH, UTILIZATION OF NEW MARKET TAX CREDITS, UH, IN, UH, CENSUS TRACT FIVE, WHICH WE KNOW IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPOVERISHED CENSUS TRACKS, THE ENTIRE STATE. UH, SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS PROGRAM. CONSTRUCTION PRICE INFLATION HAS GIVEN US A BIT OF A GAP THAT WE'RE WORKING IN THE FIELD. UH, WE'RE REALLY EXCITED AND I WANT TO THANK COUNCILWOMAN COLEMAN, UH, FOR HER SUPPORT OF THE POCKET PARK PROJECT. UH, THE PROPERTY THAT WE WERE ABLE TO HAVE TRANSFERRED THAT THIS COUNCIL APPROVED SEVERAL MEETINGS AGO. UH, WE'RE NOW UNDERWAY. WE HAVE A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS DEDICATED TO THAT PROJECT COUNCIL WOMAN. UH, BRECK IS A PARTNER IN THAT, UH, SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY. LSU HAD BEEN PARTNERS IN THAT, UH, AND WE HAVE A DEDICATED GROUP OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT HAVE BEEN WORKING FOR OVER A YEAR, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS IS REALLY COMMUNITY LED AND REFLECTIVE OF WHAT THEY WANT. SO THE PARK A POCKET PARK IS THERE AS WELL. UH, WE HAVE A FOOD INCUBATOR, UH, CONCEPT THAT WE'RE WORKING ON WITH METRO MORPHOSYS, UH, ON A PROPERTY ALSO ON THE PLANK ROAD CORRIDOR. AND ALL OF THESE ARE PROPERTIES IN THE LAND BANK JUST TO EMPHASIZE THAT OUR LAND BANK IS A VARIETY OF PROPERTIES THAT, UH, HAVE SOME HAVE, UH, PROGRAMS PLAN FOR THEM IN DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR THEM, AND SOME ARE AVAILABLE FOR, UH, PURCHASE AND DEVELOPMENT. UH, IS THERE GROCERY ANCHORED, MIXED USE DEVELOPMENTS? UH, YOU'LL RECALL THAT OF THE ADVANCING CITIES, UH, FUNDING AND MILLION DOLLARS WAS EARMARKED FOR THIS DEVELOPMENT, WHICH WE CAN SEE ABOVE AS BEING ANCHORED BY A GROCERY, UH, AND, UH, INCLUDING AFFORDABLE HOUSING, UH, ON THAT AS WELL. UH, WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF ACQUIRING PROPERTY FROM, FOR THIS ON THE PLANK ROAD CORRIDOR, UH, REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS PROJECT, AS WE KNOW THE NEED, UH, FOR, UH, FOOD AND GROCERY IN NORTH BATON ROUGE. WE HAD BEEN WORKING ALONG WITH THE BATON ROUGE, NORTH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT, UH, THE, UH, BATTERY GERI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND MANY OTHER PARTNERS FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS OF THE MAYOR'S GROCERY INITIATIVE. UH, AND SO THIS IS VERY MUCH IN SYNC WITH THOSE EFFORTS AS WELL. UH, WE ARE WORKING TO BUILD A COMMUNITY LAND TRUST. UH, MOST PEOPLE ASK, WHAT ARE WE DOING TO COMBAT GENTRIFICATION? UH, ONE OF THE MODELS AROUND THE COUNTRY IS, IS THE COMMUNITY LAND TRUST, WHICH GIVE COMMUNITY MEMBERS A STAKE IN MANAGING AND SECURING AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN THEIR COMMUNITY AS CHANGES OCCURRING. UH, WE'RE WORKING WITH OUR PARTNERS TO, UH, ESTABLISH A NONPROFIT THAT WOULD BE TIED INTO OUR LAND BANK TO MAKE SURE THAT PROPERTIES CAN BE A PART OF A LAND TRUST THAT COMMUNITY MEMBERS HAVE DIRECT OVERSIGHT FOR, UH, AND, UM, UH, CAN HAVE STEWARDSHIP OVER. UH, WE ARE EXCITED ABOUT THE SMALL BUSINESS LOAN FUND FOR NORTH BATON ROUGE, SMALL BUSINESSES OVER A MILLION DOLLARS HAS BEEN COMMITTED TO THAT. UH, ONE BUSINESS HAS BEEN FUNDED THROUGH THAT EFFORT ALREADY. UH, WE'RE WORKING WITH PARTNERS, METRO MORPHOSYS AND TRUE FUND FINANCIAL, UH, TO, UH, DELIVER THAT. AND WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT. AND WE ALSO HAVE A FACADE IMPROVEMENT LOAN PROGRAM. UH, I SHOULD ALSO THAT I DIDN'T LEAVE IT ON HERE, BUT I WANT TO THANK THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT. WE ARE WORKING WITH THEM ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN OVERLAY DISTRICT FOR THE PLANK RECORD BOARD AS WELL. SO THAT'S KIND OF A QUICK UPDATE ON THE PLANK ROADMASTER COUNCIL MEMBER. WHAT WAS ADDITIONAL TIME? JUST ONE QUICK ADDITION. SO I'M DONE, UM, THIS, THE PLANK ROAD CORRIDOR IS KNOWN FOR, UM, UH, LACK OF TRANSPORTATION, UH, AND, AND, UH, THE HEAVY UTILIZATION OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION KATZ IS A PARTNER IN ALL OF THESE EFFORTS. ABSOLUTELY. AS YOU KNOW, IN 2018, I THINK THE FIRST CONVERSATION I HAD IN 2017 WAS WITH BILL DEVILLE, UH, WHEN, WHEN, WHEN THE MAYOR AND THE BOARD APPROACHED ME ABOUT TAKING THIS POSITION, WE WERE EXCITED TO CONVENE, UH, THE BUS RAPID TRANSIT PROJECT WITH CATS IN 2018. WE'RE EXCITED TO SECURE $15 MILLION TO SUPPORT THAT EFFORT. AND WHAT IS NOW A $55 MILLION PROJECT. AND I THINK, UH, NO, IT, IT, IT HAS SPENT A YEAR IN ENVIRONMENTALS AND DESIGN, BUT I THINK WHEN THIS COMES TO FRUITION IN THE COMING YEARS, IT'S GOING TO BE REALLY TRANSFORMATIVE FOR THE CITY. AND A TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO US AS IT IS REDEVELOPMENT EFFORTS AROUND THE COUNTRY. SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO BE A PART OF THAT AND BE A PARTNER WITH CATS. UM, AND I, AND I HAVE TO MAKE A SHAMELESS PLUG. UH, WE WOULD NOT HAVE SECURED THAT DEDICATED FUNDING. WE WOULD NOT HAVE SECURED THE $15 MILLION FOR BRT. IF CATS DID NOT HAVE A DEDICATED SOURCE OF FUNDING TO FUND THEIR OPERATIONS, THAT IS CRITICAL, AND IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT THEM, BUT IT'S ABOUT THE REVERBERATION OF THAT IMPACT ACROSS EFFORTS IN OTHER AREAS, INCLUDING REDEVELOPMENT. SO WE APPRECIATE THE PARTNERSHIP. THANK YOU, CHRIS. APPRECIATE [00:55:01] YOU COUNCIL. OKAY. THANK YOU. FIRST OF ALL, DID YOU SEND THE REPORT TO ALL THE COUNCIL MEMBERS? YES, SIR. OKAY. I DON'T KNOW WHEN THAT WAS SITTING DOWN. I SAID THAT'S IN IT'S ASHLEY. YEAH. AND NOT SEND IT TO EACH OF YOU. UH, I DID SEND IT TO ASHLYN. DID, DID WE GET THE REPORT SENT OUT TO US? I THINK LAST WEEK. OKAY. IT, YEAH, IT MUST HAVE THERE'S SEVERAL OF US THAT ARE LOOKING AT IT. LIKE WHERE DID THIS REPORT AT? UM, I GOT YOUR MOTION AND THAT'S YOUR MOTION. OKAY. UM, SO REAL QUICK QUESTION. I'M LOOKING WELL, I WAS LOOKING AT THE MAP HERE. SHE DISAPPEARED WHENEVER I GO TO SPEAK. SORRY ABOUT THAT. WHAT I'M, WHAT I'M SHOWING ON THE MAP HERE IS YOU, IT LOOKS LIKE YOU'LL GET 65 PROPERTIES ON WENT TO YOUR WEBSITE. UH, AND WE PULLED UP THIS PROPERTIES THAT ARE AVAILABLE. IT LOOKS LIKE THERE'S 65 AVAILABLE ALL OF THEM ALONG THE PLANK ROAD CORRIDOR. UH, THERE IS ONE BLIP AT AIRLINE AND THE AIRLINE HIGHWAY AND PLANK. AND I SEE ONE UP BY SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY. OKAY. IS THAT ALL THE PROPERTIES THAT HAVE BEEN TITLED CLEAR, DONE? DO WHAT YOU WANT TO WITH IT, SELL IT TO GO OFF WITH IT? NO, IT IS NOT, UH, COUNCILMEN. SO IN 2018, UM, WE PROBABLY HAD A LAND BANK OF ABOUT 20 OR SO PROPERTIES THAT INCLUDED ELECTRIC DEPOT INCLUDED ART AND DALE AND INCLUDED PROPERTIES THAT THE REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITIES HAD FOR FOR SOME TIME. UM, WHEN WE LAUNCHED THE, THE PLANK ROAD MASTER PLAN, OUR GOAL WAS TO SECURE ADJUDICATED PROPERTY IN OUR LAND BANK, UH, PRIOR TO THE, UM, THE MASTER PLAN SO THAT THOSE PROPERTIES COULD BE EARMARKED IN THE MASTER PLAN TO IDENTIFY CATALYTIC PROJECTS THAT THE COMMUNITY WOULD W W SHEPARD AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT'S HAPPENED. SO, UH, IN ADDITION TO THE PROPERTIES THAT WERE TRANSFERRED THROUGH THE ADJUDICATED PROCESS, WE ALSO WORKING WITH OUR PARTNER CAFA, WE'RE ABLE TO ACQUIRE OTHER PROPERTIES. SO THE PROPERTY THAT I MENTIONED TO YOU AT PLANK AND CALUMET, UH, THAT'S ACTUALLY SEVEN PROPERTIES THAT WE WERE ABLE TO ACQUIRE, WHICH GAVE US THE OPPORTUNITY TO RAISE THE FUNDING AND BUILD THE PARTNERSHIPS FOR THAT, THAT DEVELOPMENT. UH, WE HAVE PROPERTIES AT THE INTERSECTION OF PLANK AND, UM, UH, MOHICAN UH, THAT WE WERE WORKING, UM, COUNCILWOMAN, UH, GREEN, UH, HAS, HAS, HAS BEEN A PART OF OUR EFFORTS, UH, WITH THE LIBRARY SYSTEM. AND I WAS ABLE TO, UH, PRESENT TO THEM AND THEY HAVE AN INTEREST IN RELOCATING THE DELMONT LIBRARY, UH, TO, UH, THE PLANK RECORD DOOR AND SOME OF THE PROPERTY THAT WE ACQUIRED. SO THE PROCESS OF LAND BANKING, UH, IS, IS IN REDEVELOPMENT, IS ABOUT TRYING TO GATHER CONTROL. I APOLOGIZE FOR INTERRUPTING YOU BECAUSE I'M JUST WATCHING THE TIME AND EVERYTHING. I TRIED TO GET IT CLEAR ON THE 65 PROPERTIES THAT THE SHOWING ON THE MAP RIGHT HERE. YES, SIR. THERE HAVE BEEN MORE AS FAR AS, SO IF THERE'S MORE, WHERE ARE THEY LOCATED AT, OR IS THIS PROGRAM, BUT CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, IS THIS PROGRAM FOCUSED STRICTLY ON THE PLANK ROAD DEVELOPMENT CORRIDOR, IS THAT ALL THIS PROGRAM IS FOR, FOR ALL OF EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH? NO, SIR. SO THE REDEVELOPMENT, THE, THE BILL BATON ROUGE IS THE REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY FOR, UH, EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH. WE ARE A SEPARATE POLITICAL SUBDIVISION ESTABLISHED UNDER THE STATE OF LOUISIANA, UH, WITH, IN THE ENTIRETY OF EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH. AS OUR JURISDICTION, OUR EFFORTS ARE MOSTLY FOCUSED IN THE DISINVESTED AREAS OF OUR COMMUNITY AND BECAUSE OF MAYOR BROOME'S LEADERSHIP, WE'VE HAD A SPECIAL FOCUS ON NORTH BATON ROUGE FOR THE LAST THREE AND A HALF YEARS. SO WE, THE, THE BIGGEST PROJECT THAT WE'VE HAD IN THE LAST THREE AND A HALF YEARS HAS BEEN A FOCUS ON THE PLANK ROAD CORRIDOR WITH THAT THIS COUNCIL APPROVED THE TRANSFER OF ABOUT 85 LOTS IN 2018 INTO OUR LAND BANK. THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE SEEING THAT IS NOT THE ENTIRETY OF OUR HOLDINGS, UH, THIS LIST, WHICH WAS INCLUDED WITH THE REPORT. I APOLOGIZE THAT YOU DIDN'T RECEIVE IT, UH, HAS THE HUNDRED AND 10 PROPERTIES. NOW, AGAIN, THAT INCLUDES PROPERTIES THAT ARE MARKED FOR DEVELOPMENT THAT ARE CURRENTLY, UH, HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED IN, ARE REVENUE PRODUCING PROPERTIES FOR THE ENTITY. IT INCLUDES THE DIVERSITY OF PROPERTIES, AND THEY'RE LISTED WITH THEIR ADDRESS AS THEY'RE LISTED, AS AVAILABLE AND UNAVAILABLE. THIS IS AN ABBREVIATED VERSION OF THE DATABASE. I'M HAPPY TO PROVIDE THE EXPANDED VERSION, UH, BUT IT HAS MORE INFORMATION, MUCH OF WHAT COUNCIL WOMEN, UH, UH, BANKS REQUESTED THAT THAT'S WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR RIGHT THERE. AS FAR AS WHAT'S BEEN DONE WHAT'S WAS IT? I MEAN YOU YOU'VE THROWN OUT SOME IMPRESSIVE NUMBERS OUT THERE AS FAR AS DONATIONS AND, AND THINGS LIKE THAT. AND SO ON. AND I'M JUST SEEING ONE, ONE AREA RIGHT HERE. I I'D LIKE TO KNOW WHAT IS IN THE REST OF THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE OR EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH AS FAR AS BEING AVAILABLE TO, TO MOVE ON RIGHT NOW. YEAH. I DON'T KNOW. I DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME. UM, YOU KNOW, OUR COUNTERPART IN CINCINNATI HAS 3000 LOTS IN THERE AND THEIR LAND BANK INVESTED. LANA HAS SEVERAL THOUSAND. PITTSBURGH HAS SEVERAL THOUSAND. PORTLAND IS SEVERAL THOUSAND. SO BATON ROUGE IS REALLY AT THE INFANCY OF HAVING A LAND BANK. UH, WE HOLD MOST OF OUR DISTRESSED [01:00:01] ABANDONED PROPERTIES IN WHAT I CALL LIMBO LAND OF ADJUDICATED PROPERTIES. RIGHT. UH, AND THAT USUALLY CATERS TO SPECULATORS, BUT DOESN'T NECESSARILY ALLOW FOR COORDINATED LAND DEVELOPMENT AND DISINVESTED NEIGHBORHOODS AT SCALE. AND SO LAND BANKS ARE DESIGNED TO DO THAT. UH, BUT THERE'S A RESOURCE NEEDS. YES. IF HE NEEDS TO BE. YEAH, JUST THAT THERE'S A RESOURCES NEED THAT REQUIRES RAISING FUNDS, WHICH WE'VE BEEN ACTIVELY DOING FOR THE LAST THREE AND A HALF YEARS, UH, AND COORDINATING OTHER PARTNERSHIPS. WE'VE WORKED WITH SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY. THEY CLEAR TITLE TO PROPERTY ON PLANK ROAD. ACTUALLY SOME OF THE PROPERTY UNDER DEVELOPMENT, UH, WAS CLEARED BY SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY LAW STUDENTS. UH, SO THAT IS A, A PARTNERSHIP THAT HAS EXISTED. AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING THAT, UH, WHERE, WHERE OPPORTUNITIES EXIST AS A MEMBER OF THE LSU LAW FACULTY. WE CERTAINLY HAVE BEEN IN CONSTANT CONVERSATION OVER THE LAST THREE AND A HALF YEARS WITH LSU LAW SCHOOL ABOUT ALSO DOING A CLINIC. SO, UH, THESE ARE THINGS THAT ARE, ARE, HAVE BEEN EXPLORED, UH, AND THERE ARE A VARIETY OF REASONS I'M HAPPY TO EXPLAIN FURTHER REAL QUICK. AND THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS YOU BROUGHT UP TO COUNCILWOMAN BANKS A WHILE AGO, AS FAR AS TITLE AND CLEAR TITLE AND ISSUES WITH THAT. AND TAKING A WHILE OUT OF THESE PROPERTIES OR THE 110 OR THE 65 THAT'S SHOWING UP ON THE MAP, HOW MANY OF THESE ARE STILL NEEDING CLEAR TITLE? I CAN GET YOU AN EXACT NUMBER, COUNCILMAN IT'S THE MAJORITY OF THEM. SO WE CAN'T DO ANYTHING WITH THOSE UNTIL CLEAR TITLE OR SOMEBODY COMES TO PACE. THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY THE CASE. SO IT DEPENDS, YOU KNOW, IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO DEVELOP PROPERTY AND YOU HAVE CASH AND YOU WERE WILLING TO TAKE THE RISK OF, OF, OF SOMEBODY COMING TO GET A VITAL ISSUE, UH, YOU OWN THAT FOR 10 YEARS, IT WAS 10 YEARS ACQUISITIVE PRESCRIPTION, AND LOUISIANA'S A GOOD FAITH PURCHASER. UH, YOU MAY, UH, WANT TO INVEST YOUR OWN MONEY TO PUT AFFORDABLE HOUSING ON THAT LOT, WHICH WE WOULD BE HAPPY FOR. UH, AND YOU MAY NOT BE CONCERNED ABOUT, UH, TITLE INSURANCE BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT LOOKING FOR FINANCING. UH, IF HOWEVER, WE'RE LOOKING TO DEVELOP PROPERTY FOR SAY A FIRST-TIME HOME BUYER, OR WE HAVE COMMUNITY DEVELOPERS FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS, I'VE, I'VE BEEN A SPEAKER AT SOUTHERN UNIVERSITIES, A SMALL DEVELOPER PROGRAM THAT THEY HAVE, UH, AND, AND, AND MANY PEOPLE COME TO ME AFTERWARDS AND SAY, I WANT TO GET STARTED AS A SMALL DEVELOPER. AND WE BEGAN TALKING ABOUT THE CHALLENGE AS A TITLE CLEARING, PARTICULARLY IF YOU ARE DEPENDENT UPON FINANCING. SO WE HAVE A PARTICULAR INTEREST IN SUPPORTING SMALL COMMUNITY DEVELOPERS. UH, THE CHALLENGE IS, UH, CLEARING TITLE TO THOSE PROPERTIES. SO THOSE DEVELOPERS WHO TYPICALLY NEED FINANCING CAN ACQUIRE THEM AND MOVE FORWARD. IT'S A CASE BY CASE BASIS. AND SO, YOU KNOW, HAVING THE RESOURCES ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS TO CLEAR TITLE IS, IS THE CHALLENGE WHERE WE HAD, UH, SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS WHO WERE ABLE TO DO THAT FOR US. FOR AWHILE. WE ACTUALLY CLEARED TITLE TO EIGHT PROPERTIES, UH, THAT ARE SLATED FOR DEVELOPMENT RIGHT NOW. SO WE KNOW THAT WORKS. UM, BUT THAT HAS NOT BEEN A, YOU KNOW, A CONSISTENT RESOURCE FOR THEM. AND MY LAST QUESTION, AND THAT'S WHAT I'M GETTING AT WHEN YOU BRING THESE THINGS UP IS ON THE TITLE, DO YES OR NO. DO YOU, AS YOUR ORGANIZATION HAVE A TEAM IN PLACE THAT FOCUSES ON THE TITLE? NO. SO, AND I APPRECIATE LSU SOUTHERN ANYBODY ELSE, ATTORNEY THAT STEPS IN AND SAYS, HEY, I'M GOING TO HELP YOU WITH THIS. BUT WE ALL KNOW WITH HELPING VOLUNTEER WORK THAT EXTENDS THE PROCESS OUT. THEY DO IT WHEN THEY HAVE TIME AND STUFF LIKE THAT. IT SOUNDS TO ME LIKE YOU HAVE SOME PRETTY GOOD EXTENSIVE RESOURCES FINANCIALLY AVAILABLE THAT WE WOULD WANT TO TAKE A TEAM AND DEDICATE TO CLEAR TITLE, TO GET A LOT OF THESE THINGS DONE MORE RAPIDLY. I KNOW I'D BE HARD PRESSED TO TAKE A CHANCE ON DOING A DEVELOPMENT, EVEN IF I PAID YOU CASH FOR THAT PIECE OF PROPERTY. AND THEN EIGHT YEARS LATER, BECAUSE I DON'T READ THE 10 YEAR MARK, A FAMILY MEMBER COMES UP AND SAYS, OOH, THAT'S MY PROPERTY. YEAH. AND COUNCILMAN, I, I W I WOULD LOVE TO TALK MORE EXTENSIVELY ABOUT OUR, OUR, UM, OUR OPERATIONS. UH, NO, WE DO NOT HAVE DEDICATED FUNDING FOR THAT. AND MOST OF THE GRANT FUNDING THAT WE RAISE IS TIED TO CIVIC PROJECTS. UH, THERE ARE NOT, THERE'S NO ONE WHO REALLY WANTS TO FUND TITLE CLEARING, UH, AND OR LAND BANKING IN GENERAL. AND THAT'S SOMETHING NATIONALLY THAT PEOPLE HAVE LAMENTED THAT WE NEED MORE FUNDING FOR LANDINGS. IT JUST SEEMS THAT'S THAT'S THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROGRAM IS TO CLEAR TITLE, HAVE LAND AVAILABLE FOR REDEVELOPMENT AND OFFERING THE RESOURCES. BUT ACCORDING TO WHAT YOU'RE JUST NOW SAYING IS THAT THE, THE LEGAL ASPECT OF IT WAS SHE, YOU KNOW, YOU GET INTO THIS LAND AND EVERYTHING, THE LEGAL ASPECT OF IT IS NOT A PRIORITY. NOW, I'M NOT SAYING, YOU'RE SAYING IT'S, IT'S COMPLETELY NOT A PRIORITY, BUT FINANCIALLY IT'S KIND OF LIKE PEOPLE, WOULD IT WORK? THEY'RE ALL LIKE THEY DON'T PUT ANY MONEY INTO IT UNTIL IT DIES. IT IS A PROPERTY. IT IS A PRIORITY COUNCILMEN. WE HAVE CLEAR TITLE TO PROPERTY, UH, IN OUR LAND BANK. AND I CAN PROVIDE MORE DETAIL ON THAT. WE JUST HAVE NOT CLEAR PROPER TITLE TO EVERY PROPERTY IN OUR LAND BANK COUNCILMEN. AND WE DO BALANCE THAT WITH THE MANY OTHER NEEDS WE HAVE OF, OF DEVELOPING OF MAINTAINING AND ADMINISTERING OUR PROJECTS AND [01:05:01] THE GRANT FUNDS THAT WE RECEIVE AND OTHER THINGS. AND I'M HAPPY TO, TO TALK WITH YOU, UH, MORE EXTENSIVELY ABOUT OUR OPERATIONS AND THOSE, THOSE CHALLENGES. I APPRECIATE THE QUESTION. THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER DONE CHRIS, A COUPLE OF THINGS, UH, AS MANY OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT I'VE MENTIONED, UH, WE DID RECEIVE THE REPORT. SO NOT ONLY CAN YOU SEND THE REPORT TO US, BUT ALSO MAKE THE REPORT PUBLIC, UH, ON YOUR WEBSITE. SO THE PUBLIC CAN ACCESS THIS INFORMATION. I GET A LOT OF CONCERNS AND QUESTIONS ABOUT THE, THE, THE AGENCY AND HIS WORK AS IT RELATES TO DEVELOPMENT AND TITLE. SO AS YOU DO THESE QUARTERLY REPORTS, NOT ONLY GET THEM TO US, BUT CAN YOU MAKE THAT REPORT AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER, MOPE AND COUNCIL WOMAN, UH, UH, BANKS BROUGHT UP A GOOD POINT ABOUT THIS TITLE ISSUE, AND IT, IT HAS BEEN AN ISSUE. I REMEMBER IN 2018, WHEN YOU CAME TO THE COUNCIL, UH, THE FORM, THE PREVIOUS COUNCIL TO GET THESE PROPERTIES, UH, PUT IN YOUR LAND BANK. I TOO THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S TITLE CLEARING ISSUES SHOULD BE MORE OF A PRIORITY, UH, AS YOU MENTIONED. AND AS I KNOW THAT THE SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY LAW CENTER HAS BEEN A RESOURCES IN THE PAST, I'M SURE THE LSU LAW CENTER CAN BE A RESOURCE, BUT I LIKE TO ALSO SEE SOME FUNDING FROM YOUR GENERAL FUND THAT HAS AN IN-HOUSE PERSON TO THAT'S WORKING ON THIS. AND I KNOW YOU SAY THAT THERE'S NO GRANT DOLLARS OR FUNDING AVAILABLE, BUT WHEN YOU GUYS COME TO THE CITY OF PARIS AND FUNDING TO, UH, SUBMIT TO YOU GUYS THAT'S GENERAL FUND DOLLARS. SO I WOULD ASSUME YOU CAN ALLOCATE SOME OF THOSE RESOURCES TO HIRE AN ATTORNEY TO, TO ADDRESS THOSE ISSUES. SO OUR STAFF ATTORNEY, UH, MOVED ON TO ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY IN JUNE, WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF POSTING FOR A NEW POSITION, UH, THAT IS GOING TO BE AN ATTORNEY OR PARALEGAL. AND ONE OF THE THINGS IN THE JOB REQUIREMENT, AND I WILL SHARE THAT WITH YOU AS SOON AS WE PUBLISH IT, WHICH WILL BE VERY SOON, UH, IS TO HAVE SOME FOCUS ON TITLE CLEARING. SO THAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN A PRIORITY. WE HAVE CLEAR TITLE TO PROPERTY. I JUST WANT TO BE CLEAR. WE HAVE CLEAR TITLES TO THE ADJUDICATOR PROPERTY, UM, AND WE CONTINUE TO DO SO. UM, IT IS A CASE BY CASE BASIS. IT REMAINS A PRIORITY. UH, WE ARE PART OF A WHOLE STATEWIDE COALITION. THAT'S FOCUSED ON, UH, DEALING WITH TITLE CLEARING ISSUES THROUGHOUT LOUISIANA. THIS IS A LOUISIANA LAW ISSUE. IT'S NOT JUST A BILL OF BATON ROUGE ISSUE. UH, MANY ENTITIES AROUND THE STATE ARE WORKING ON THIS. WE ARE TAPPED INTO THOSE EFFORTS, BUT, UH, YES, SIR. WE, WE HAVE, UH, UH, HAD THAT RESOURCE IN THE PAST. WE'RE IN TRANSITION RIGHT NOW WITH REGAINING THAT RESOURCE, BUT WE HAVE THE FUNDING TO DO SO. IT REMAINS A PRIORITY. IT HAS BEEN A PRIORITY, AND WE'LL CERTAINLY CAN PROVIDE MORE SPECIFIC INFORMATION. I JUST LIKE TO SEE MORE FOCUS ON IT. YOU MENTIONED THERE'S FIVE PROPERTIES IN A LAND BANK, OR HAVE BEEN, YOU MENTIONED EIGHT TITLES THAT HAVE BEEN CLEAR HAS BEEN SINCE 2018. SO WE NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB. I DON'T THINK THE CITY SHOULD CONTINUE TO ALLOCATE PROPERTIES TO YOU GUYS. IF WE'RE GOING TO HAVE ALL OF THEM IN A LAND BANK THAT WE CAN'T DO, THAT WE HAVE LIMITED AVAILABILITY TO DO ANYTHING WITH THEM. AND, AND, AND IF I, IF I MAY COUNCILMEN, I JUST WANT TO JUST ADD SOME MORE TEXTURE. YOU KNOW, THE COUNCIL WOMAN COLEMAN HAD PROPERTIES TRANSFER FOR THE, FOR THE POCKET PARK. WE'RE NOT WORRIED ABOUT CLEARING TITLE FOR A COMMUNITY PARK. SO IT'S NOT THAT EVERY PROPERTY NECESSARILY HAS, YOU KNOW, AN IMMOVABLE HURDLE TO HAVE BEING PUT INTO PRODUCTIVE USE IN A COURT WITH COMMUNITY NEEDS, UH, BECAUSE OF TITLE. UM, BUT PARTICULARLY WITH REGARDS TO SMALL COMMUNITY DEVELOPERS WHO WERE INTERESTED IN ACQUIRING PROPERTIES, THAT HAS BEEN A CHALLENGE. UH, AND, AND I HAVE SAT DOWN WITH, WITH PEOPLE IN MY OFFICE. UH, MANY OF YOU HAVE REFERRED PEOPLE TO ME. UH, I'VE SPOKEN WITH THEM. UM, AND WE'VE GONE THROUGH, I'VE SAID, LOOK, WHERE LET'S FIND PROPERTIES THAT SEEM TO HAVE THE LEAST AMOUNT OF HURDLE TO CLEAR TITLE. UM, THAT IS A CHALLENGE. UH, AND FOR, YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANT TO CALL ANY NAMES, BUT I KNOW SOME PARTNERS WE'VE WORKED WITH HAVE SAID, LOOK, THIS IS A LOT OF WORK. I CAN GO ACQUIRE THIS SOMETHING ELSE A LOT EASIER. SO THAT HAS HAPPENED TOO. AND YOU KNOW, THERE'S SPECIFIC EXAMPLES OF THAT. THANK YOU, IRIS. THANK YOU. THERE'S A MOTION TO DEFER THIS ITEM FOR TWO WEEKS BY COUNCIL MEMBER BANKS SECONDED BY THE CHAIR AT THAT TIME. UH, BECAUSE THERE IS A REQUEST THAT WE HAVE A POWERPOINT TO SHOW ALL OF THE INFORMATION RELATIVE TO THIS ITEM. IS THERE ANY OPPOSITION TO THAT MOTION TO DEFER THIS ITEM FOR TWO WEEKS, ANY OPPOSITION, SOMETHING MOVED? JUST THE ITEM HAS BEEN DEFERRED, UH, TO THE NEXT MEETING. UH, WE ARE NOW GOING TO GO TO ITEMS [60. 21-01023] ITEM. WE'RE NOT GOING TO GO TO ITEM 60 SINCE WE ON A ROLL ARE RECEIVING A MID-YEAR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT REPORT FROM BRAC. UH, I WANT TO BE FAIR SINCE WE TOOK THAT REPORT COMBINED DINING, WE'RE GOING TO TAKE YOURS. UH, W I'LL TAKE YOU OFF [01:10:01] THIS MAN UP NEXT. UH, WOULD YOU LIKE TO COMP ME NOW? I HAVE TO DO A PRESENTATION BECAUSE THIS IS THE APPROPRIATE TIME TO MAKE A COMMENT ON AN ITEM. ANYONE HERE TO SPEAK ON ITEM 16, ANYONE HERE TO SPEAK ON ITEM 16. THANK YOU, JENNIFER CARR WHILE, UH, 1855 OLD CARRIAGE LANE. AND, UH, I'M ACTUALLY HERE BECAUSE I'M VERY INTERESTED IN HEARING BOTH THE BILL BATON ROUGE REPORT AND THE BRAC REPORT. AND AS A PERSON WHO COMES TO HEAR THESE THINGS, UH, FROM THE PUBLIC, I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT THE PUBLIC HAVE ACCESS TO THE REPORTS WHEN THEY'RE EMAILED TO Y'ALL, UH, UH, I'M WORKING WITH THE HOMELESSNESS GROUP. WE'RE REALLY INTERESTED IN THE LAND STUFF. SO TO SEE, UH, UH, SO I HOPE, BUT, UH, Y'ALL HAVE BROUGHT A POWERPOINT AND I'M GOING TO BE EXCITED TO SEE CHRIS TYSON'S POWERPOINT NEXT TIME. BUT, UH, I KNOW MOST PEOPLE AREN'T SITTING HERE ALL THE TIME, BUT THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO WOULD LIKE THIS INFORMATION AND, UH, AND IT WAS NOT, YOU KNOW, ANYWHERE ON THE, ON THE AGENDA. SO, UH, IF ANYONE'S COMING TO BRING A REPORT, IT WOULD BE GREAT FOR US TO SEE SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, GIVE A REPORT. DON'T JUST SAY, WELL, I EMAILED YOU OR THE PORT, YOU KNOW, I HOPE YOU LIKED IT. WE WANT TO HEAR A REPORT. SO THANK YOU. IS THERE ANYONE ELSE WHO WOULD SPEAK ON ITEM 60? ANYONE ELSE WHO WAS SPEAKING OUT OF 60, UH, MR. MILLER, GOOD AFTERNOON, COUNCIL MEMBERS, DONALD MILLER WITH THE BATON ROUGE AREA CHAMBER. AND TO THE COMMENT, PLEASE FIND ME AFTER THE MEETING TO TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE HOMELESS OPPORTUNITIES. UM, TODAY IS A VERY BRIEF UPDATE ON OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. UM, I GUESS OUR JOURNEY THAT WE'VE HAD THROUGHOUT 2021, AND I DO HAVE A POWERPOINT TO SHARE WITH YOU ALL, AND I'M HAPPY TO SHARE THIS PUBLICLY WITH ANYONE THAT WOULD LIKE IT. UM, WHEN TO SPEAK ON TWO MAJOR PROJECTS, I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT WHAT'S IN OUR PIPELINE, BUT I'D ALSO LIKE TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING THE PAST WEEK AND A HALF SINCE THE STORM HAS HIT. UM, OUR ENTIRE ORGANIZATION HAS SHIFTED, UH, FOR THE WEEK TO MAINTAIN RELATIONSHIPS, CALL ON COMPANIES, TO CHECK ON THEIR NEEDS, ESPECIALLY WITH THE POWER OUTAGES LAST WEEK, UM, PROBLEMS WITH BUILDINGS, DAMAGE EMPLOYEE NEEDS, AND MAKING SURE THAT WE COULD CONNECT WITH FOLKS IN THE COMMUNITY. UH, SO APPRECIATE EVERYONE'S FEEDBACK AND HELP THROUGHOUT THAT. BUT IF WE COULD GO TO THE FIRST SLIDE, SIR, SO THE TWO MAJOR PROJECTS THAT I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT, UH, THE EXXON BRICK, UH, PETROCHEMICAL PROJECT, THAT WAS A, UH, A PAYROLL OF 146,000,914, I'M SORRY, 146,949,000 WITH AN AVERAGE SALARY OF $109,000. UM, THIS WAS, UH, ZERO NET NEW JOBS, BUT THIS ONE WAS A I A GENERATIONAL RETENTION PROJECT, UM, WITH A CAPITAL INVESTMENT OF $100 MILLION, UH, WITH THE PROJECT THAT I THINK WE'RE MOST EXCITED ABOUT AS A COMMUNITY IS, IS THE AMAZON PROJECT, THE MAJOR FULFILLMENT DISTRIBUTION FACILITY, UH, REPLACING QUARTANA MALL WITH A THOUSAND NET NEW JOBS. UH, THIS IS A PROJECT THAT NUMEROUS GROUPS, UH, HAVE WORKED ON ALL THE WAY FROM THE STATE DOWN TO EACH OF YOU HAVE TOUCHED ON THIS, UH, AND IT WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE LEADERSHIP OF MAYOR BROOME AND HER STAFF, AND, UH, EVERYONE WITHIN THE CITY PARISH HAD HANDS ON THIS. UH, SO NET NEW PAYROLL OF 38 MILLION, 200,000 AVERAGE, SALLY, A SALARY OF 38,200 WITH A ESTIMATED CAPITAL INVESTMENT OF 200 MILLION. SO A NET NEW 1000 JOBS AS A MID-YEAR, UH, COMING TO BATON ROUGE. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. I WANTED TO GIVE YOU A LOOK AT OUR CURRENT PIPELINE AND I ALWAYS GET THIS QUESTION. WHAT WAS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A B AND A C UH, CATEGORY PROJECT? UM, A AS ARE STRONG PROJECTS THAT WE ARE TRYING TO CLOSE OUT THAT I WOULD SAY ARE BETWEEN 60 AND 90 DAYS FROM, UH, MEETING THE FINISH LINE. UH, B PROJECT IS, IS, UH, HAS COME THROUGH THE LEAD PROCESS AND WE'RE ACTIVELY WORKING AT AN A C IS SOMETHING THAT'S RELATIVELY NEW INTO OUR PIPELINE. SO JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA, WE'VE GOT PROJECTS THAT WE'RE ACTIVELY WORKING. UH, I, WE HAD A NEW PROJECT COME IN YESTERDAY, THANKS TO THE OUTREACH TO OUR COMPANIES. UH, WE HAVE AN EXPANSION PROJECT IN THE REGION, UM, AND WE'RE CONSTANTLY GETTING NEW LEADS IN, UH, EVERY WEEK, IF NOT EVERY OTHER WEEK OF COMPANIES TAKING A LOOK AT THE PARISH. SO WE'VE HAD 19 NEW, A LITTLE OVER 1800 JOBS, 57 MILLION IN PAYROLL, UH, AND 718 MILLION IN CAPITAL INVESTMENT PROJECTED, OR HOPEFULLY COMING INTO OUR MARKET, UH, SIX, EIGHT PROJECTS, NINE B PROJECTS, AND FOUR C PROJECTS WITH NUMEROUS LEADS THAT ARE COMING INTO THE SYSTEM THAT WE WERE VETTING AND HOPEFULLY TURNING THEM INTO THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT PROCESS. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO AGAIN, I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE PARTNERS IN THE COMMUNITY. UM, WE ARE FOCUSED ON AGRICULTURAL, [01:15:01] UM, TECH COMPANIES AND TECH. I USE LIKE MUSIC OR SPORTS. IT'S A VERY WIDE RANGE WITHIN THAT INDUSTRY FROM VIDEO GAME DEVELOPMENT, UH, IT SERVICES, UM, SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT BACK OFFICE OPERATIONS FOR SOFTWARE COMPANIES. SO WE PARTNER WITH COMPANIES LIKE PENNINGTON, BIOMEDICAL UNDER LSUS UMBRELLA. WE PARTNER WITH THE BATON ROUGE AIRPORT TO HELP HIGHLIGHT ALL OF THE RESOURCES THAT THEY HAVE. UH, INTERESTING FACT BANNERS. UH, VTR IS ONE OF THE TWO CERTIFIED SITES THAT WE HAVE IN THE BATON ROUGE AREA, MEANING IT'S, SHOVEL-READY READY TO GO. AND IT'S AN ASSET THAT WE DON'T HIGHLIGHT ENOUGH, UM, AS A COMMUNITY, BUT IT'S CERTAINLY ONE THAT WE HIGHLIGHT, UH, WITHIN OUR ORGANIZATION. SIMILARLY, THE WATER CAMPUS IS ANOTHER ASSET, UH, WITH, UH, AN IMMENSE AMOUNT OF FUNDING COMING IN FOR COASTAL RESTORATION. UH, IF YOU HAVE NOT VISITED, IT'S WORTH TAKING THE CHANCE TO GO VISIT OUT THERE, BUT WE'RE VETTING COMPANIES LEFT AND RIGHT, TAKING A LOOK AT THE ANGLE OF WATER. SO WE THINK ABOUT MANUFACTURING OR TECH, BUT FOCUSING ON WATER, WHICH IS A RESOURCE THAT WE HAVE HERE IN BATON ROUGE, AND THEN OUR PARTNERSHIPS WITH BRECK SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY IN BATON ROUGE ZOO. THESE ARE ALL ASSETS. UH, WE'VE RECENTLY DONE A STUDY TO UNDERSTAND WHERE'S OUR STRENGTH WITHIN BATON ROUGE AND WHAT WE'VE REALIZED OUT OF ALL OF THE POSITIVE AND NEGATIVES THAT WE CAN LOOK AT OUR INFRASTRUCTURE, OUR EDUCATION SYSTEM, THE THINGS THAT WE KNOW NEED HELP. THE ONE RESOURCE WE HAVE IS OUR DIVERSITY, AND THAT'S AN ASSET THAT WE NEED TO USE AND BUILD UPON AND MAKE SURE WE MARKET OUR COMMUNITY AS ONE THAT'S ACCEPTING AND DIVERSE. AND I THINK WE'RE GOING TO FIND SUCCESS OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS AS WE DEVELOP OUR NEXT FIVE-YEAR STRATEGY. WILLING TO TAKE SOME QUESTIONS, IF ANY, BUT THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS MR. MILLER, ANY QUESTIONS FOR MR. MILLER, THANK YOU FOR THAT REPORT, MR. MILLER, SEE IN THREE MONTHS, THANK YOU SO MUCH. I'M SORRY. COUNCIL MEMBER BANKS. SO THIS IS GOING TO BE A TOTALLY DIFFERENT THING, CAUSE I JUST LOVE THAT. AND I LOVE THE WORK THAT HE DOES, UM, IN BATON ROUGE AREA CHAMBER. HE'S ONE OF THE FEW PEOPLE THAT I LIKE OVER THERE AND, YOU KNOW, UM, AS IT RELATES TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FROM THE BEGINNING, HE, WHAT I LIKE ABOUT DANNY AND I DO THIS ALL THE TIME AND THEN HE TEXTS ME AND SAYING, CAN HE GET A RAISE? BUT, BUT I MEAN, THE FACT THAT, UM, HE, HE IS ACTUALLY DOES NOT JUST WAIT FOR THINGS TO COME TO HIM. HE LOOKS FOR OPPORTUNITIES WITH INTENT ON HOW TO DEVELOP, UM, BARRIER. IT WAS NICE FOR HIM. AND IT WAS SEXY FOR YOU TO SAY, ONE OF THE THINGS WITH GONE, WE HAVE GOING FOR US IS OUR DIVERSITY. BUT, UM, I WOULD BE REMISS TO SAY THAT ONE OF THE THINGS WE HAVE GOING FOR US IS NORTH BATON ROUGE. AND I APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT WHENEVER POSSIBLE, YOU ARE ALWAYS, UM, TRYING TO ENGAGE PEOPLE TO, UH, EXPAND THAT EXISTS IN NORTH BATON ROUGE, REALLY. UM, AND THEN ON THE OTHER SIDE OF SOMETHING THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO IS OFFER TO EDUCATE PERSONS IN THE COMMUNITY ON WHAT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT LOOK LOOKS LIKE. UM, WHEN I SPOKE EARLIER ABOUT, UH, DEVELOPERS COMING TO ME AND THEY, YOU KNOW, I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THE DIFFERENT TAXES IN A, BUT YOU KNOW, DANNY WAS SEND ME A LIST OF ALL THE DIFFERENT TAX INCENTIVE, AND I'M ABLE TO SEND THAT TO A DEVELOPER, R O I EXPLAINED HAVE HIM EXPLAIN TO THEM HOW LED WORKS OR, YOU KNOW, JUST ALL KINDS OF THINGS. AND IT JUST REALLY HELPS ME. I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU. I'M ALWAYS GONNA SAY THAT. DO YOU COME QUARTERLY TOO? OKAY. INDIVIDUALLY QUARTERLY. OKAY. OKAY. WELL, I'M GONNA DO IT EVERY QUARTER, BUT, UH, I JUST REALLY APPRECIATE YOU, YOU KNOW, I DO. AND I JUST WANT, I DIDN'T WANT TO END ON, UH, FUSSING AT PEOPLE. SO THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME AN OPPORTUNITY TO SAY SOMETHING REALLY NICE. AND IT'S TRUE. A NUMBER. THANK YOU, DANNY. ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMMENTS FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS FOR ITEM NUMBER 60 60 HEARING? NOW WE'LL MOVE TO [61. 21-01089] STICKING WITH THE OUT OF ORDER, BUT WE WILL GO TO THE ITEM NUMBER 61 RECEIVING THE SECOND QUARTER OF 2021 REPORT FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES FOR PERFORMANCE, FOR GARBAGE TRASH, BULKY ITEMS, WOODY WASTE, RECYCLE PICKUP BY COUNCILMAN TO WHITE HUDSON. GOOD EVENING, COUNCIL [01:20:01] PERSONS. UH, I AM GETTING UP INTO THE SENIOR YEAR, SO I HAVE TO PUT ON MY READING GLASSES. SO, UH, HOPE WE ALL GET TO IT. IT'S A SHAME THAT IT HAPPENS. SO, UH, THIS IS THE QUARTERLY SECOND QUARTER REPORT FOR, UH, THE GARBAGE, UH, AND WOODY WASTE REPORT OR THE COUNCIL. AND IF YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO WHAT WE'RE GOING TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT IS WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT NUMBERS, YOU KNOW, THAT'S THE STATS AND THE PERFORMANCE RATINGS, AND THEN I'LL TALK ABOUT SOME, UH, ISSUES THAT WE WERE FACED WITH, WITH GARBAGE IN THE SECOND QUARTER, AND THAT AFFECTS ALL THOSE STATS. AND THEN I'LL SHOW YOU SOME LANDFILL DATA, UH, AT THE END AND THEN REPUBLIC WILL, YOU KNOW, GET UP HERE AND TALK ABOUT THEIR PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENTS THERE, GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE. OOPS. I SKIPPED A SLIDE HERE. I APOLOGIZE. SO, UH, LOOK AT WHAT I'VE DONE IS, UH, GIVING YOU THE NUMBERS, UH, THROUGH JULY 4TH. UH, AND THAT'S BECAUSE OF THE WEEK ENDING FOR THAT QUARTER. AND WE HAD A TOTAL OF 13,494 CALLS AND IT PROJECTING OUT. I PROJECTED OUT FOR 12 MONTHS AT THAT RATE, WE, WE WOULD BE AT ABOUT 26,000 3, 1 1 CALLS THAT INCLUDES YOUR GARBAGE WOODY WASTE, HAND PILES, WHITE GOODS AND RECYCLING. SO IT'S, IT SOUNDS A LOT AND IT IS A LOT, AND WE'RE TRYING TO REDUCE THAT NUMBER CONSTANTLY WITH THEM, BUT, UH, WHAT, WHAT YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER GARBAGE THAT THEY GO IN FRONT OF 266,000 RESIDENTS EVERY WEEK, 133,000 RESIDENTS FOR WOODY WASTE AND ANOTHER TRUCK FOR HAND PILES AND ANOTHER TRUCK FOR WHITE GOODS, ANOTHER TRUCK FOR RECYCLING. SO, YOU KNOW, ADD THAT UP FOR THE, FOR THE SIX MONTHS FOR THE NUMBERS, HOW COMBAT MILLIONS OF SERVICE CALLS. NOW, I'M NOT SAYING THEY'D PICK UP AT EVERY RESIDENT DURING THAT TIME, BUT THEY GO IN FRONT OF EVERY RESIDENCE AND THERE'S SOMETHING THERE THEY STOP AND PICK IT UP. SO IF WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, SO THIS IS, UH, A COMPARISON OF THE 20, 20 ACTUAL NUMBERS THAT WE HAD FOR THE PERFORMANCE RATING. AND WE WORKED HARD TO GET IT TO THAT POINT. AND THEN THE YELLOW IS SHOWING THE 20, 21 INDEX. NOW IT'S, IT'S, UH, IT'S BAD GOING UP. IF YOU LOOK AT A GOLF SCORE, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO GET IS, IS GETTING DOWN TO PAR. BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, WE HAD A LOT OF CHALLENGES FOR THIS QUARTER AND THE QUARTER LEADING UP TO THIS THIS SECOND QUARTER. AND SO THAT'S, THAT'S AFFECTS THAT PERFORMANCE INDEX. AND IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, THIS CHART IS SHOWING HOW WE TRACK IT ON A DAILY BASIS EVERY WEEK. UH, WE'RE WE'RE TRACKING HOW MANY CALLS WE GET, AND WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING WITH REPUBLIC TO GET THESE NUMBERS DOWN EVERY WEEK. WE'RE HAVING WEEKLY CALLS WITH THEM, TALKING ABOUT WHAT ISSUES THEY'RE HAVING, IF THEY'RE HAVING DRIVER ISSUES, OR IF THEY'RE HAVING, UH, ISSUES OUT ON THE STREETS, HAVING LANDFILL ISSUES, WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO IMPROVE OUR PERFORMANCE EVERY WEEK. AND THIS IS WHAT, HOW WE TRACK THEM EVERY WEEK. SO THAT'S JUST AN EXAMPLE. SO THEN, SO WHAT ARE THE, UH, SOME OF THE ISSUES? WELL, I, I HAVE THE LANDFILL DATA IN FRONT OF, I GOT IT OUT OF ORDER ON MY AGENDA, BUT THE LANDFILL WE'RE SHOWING ABOUT A 15 TO 20% INCREASE IN GARBAGE TONNAGE AT THE LANDFILL. WE EXPECTED TO BE ABOUT 480,000 TONS. THIS YEAR. WE'RE GOING TO BE ALMOST A HUNDRED THOUSAND TONS MORE THAN THAT AT THE LANDFILL. AND THAT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, WE'RE RELATING IT. YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE AT HOME, THEY'VE BEEN HOME FOR OVER A YEAR. THEY CHANGE THEIR HABITS, UH, A WAY THAT PRODUCING GARBAGE AND, AND IT'S REALLY AFFECTED OUR, THE AMOUNT OF TONNAGE WE'RE HAVING TO PICK UP ON A WEEK BY WEEK BASIS. AND IF YOU THINK OF THAT INCREASED TONNAGE BECAUSE OF THE [01:25:01] PANDEMIC, AND THEN REMEMBER WHAT WE WERE GOING THROUGH IN THE SPRING, WE HAD THE FREEZE IN FEBRUARY, THAT'S CREATED LOT OF DEBRIS. AND THEN WE HAD A VERY HIGH RAIN AMOUNT IN, IN JUNE. I THINK WE'RE AT 55 INCHES NORMALLY FOR THE YEAR. IT'S ABOUT 51. SO WE HAD A YEAR'S WORTH OF RAIN IN THE FIRST SIX MONTHS. WHAT DOES THAT DO? THAT SLOWS COLLECTION DOWN. YOU GOT A GUY THAT'S UP IN THE BACK OF TRUCKS. THEY CAN'T WORK DURING THE THUNDERSTORM, GOT GUYS PICKING UP DEBRIS. THEY CAN'T WORK DURING THE THUNDERSTORM. SO IT SLOWS THINGS DOWN. IT ALSO AFFECTS THE, HOW WE OPERATE AT THE LANDFILL. THE LANDFILL, YOU KNOW, GETS WET AND SLIPPERY TRUCKS HAVE A HARD TIME GETTING IN AND OUT, AND IT JUST BACKS THINGS UP AGAIN, SLOWS THINGS DOWN. SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE WEATHER ISSUE. WE ALSO HAD TO MAY 17TH FLOOD. YOU KNOW, THAT WAS A HUGE THING. THAT'S CHANGED A LOT OF PEOPLE'S LIVES THIS YEAR. YOU KNOW, UH, WE HAD ABOUT 1200 HOMES THAT FLOODED. WE PICKED UP ALL THAT DEBRIS VERY QUICKLY AND IN ABOUT EIGHT WEEKS, AS YOU SEE IN ABOUT 30,000 CUBIC YARDS OF, SO YEAH, THOSE THINGS AFFECT THE GARBAGE ALSO, CAUSE IT'S, THOSE TRUCKS ARE IN THE WAY AND THEIR DRIVERS GOT AFFECTED. SO THOSE ARE JUST SOME OF THE ISSUES I WANTED TO GO THROUGH, GIVE YOU SOME NUMBERS ON THIS THING, LOOK AT WHAT WE'RE DOING, HOW WE'RE TRYING TO IMPROVE SERVICES. AND THEN FOR THE NEXT SLIDE, I'M GOING TO ALLOW REPUBLIC TO GO THROUGH SOME OF THEIR IMPROVEMENT. HI, THANK YOU ALL FOR HAVING ME FIRST. I WANT TO THANK MY TEAM. I AM SO PROUD OF MY TEAM. THEY'VE SHOWED UP EVERY DAY THROUGH THIS PANDEMIC, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK, UNBELIEVABLE AMOUNT OF HOURS, AND THEY CONTINUE TO WORK SO HARD TO SERVICE THE RESIDENTS IN BATON ROUGE. EVEN DURING THE PANDEMIC, I HAD A LOT OF PEOPLE CAUSE I'VE GOT 65 FEMALES. THEIR KIDS WERE AT HOME AND THEY, THEY CAME TO WORK TRYING TO HOMESCHOOL DURING THAT TIME. AND WE, THEY HAD FAMILY MEMBERS THAT WERE SICK AND HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS WHO LOST THEIR JOBS AS WELL. AND THEN HERE COMES HURRICANE IDA, BUT WE SHOWED UP ON TUESDAY, ALONG WITH THE ENERGY TRUCKS AND TO SERVICE OUR CUSTOMERS. I LOVE A LOT OF MY TEAM. 95% OF MY TEAM DIDN'T HAVE ELECTRICITY, FUEL ISSUES. WE SUPPLIED THEM WITH GENERATORS, FUEL AND FOOD, AND THEY CAME TO WORK EVERY SINGLE DAY. WE WERE SOME OF THE FIRST PEOPLE IN THE STREET TAKING CARE OF THE CUSTOMERS AND SOME ROADS WERE IMPASSABLE DUE TO THE LINES AND THE TREES IN FIVE DAYS SINCE HURRICANE IDA, JUST IN GARBAGE, WE PICKED UP 5,100 TONS OF GARBAGE. I'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR 35 YEARS AND I'VE NEVER SEEN THAT NUMBER IN MY LIFE IN A FIVE DAY PERIOD THAT EQUATES TO ABOUT 26 TO 28 TONS PER TRUCK PER DAY, WHICH IS WAY ABOVE THE NORM, CAUSING THE DRIVERS TO HAVE TO WORK HARDER. THE HELPERS ON THE BACK OF THE TRUCK WORK HARDER. IT, I, THAT NUMBER WAS STAGGERING TO ME. WE PROVIDE 3.8 MILLION SERVICES PER MONTH IN BATON ROUGE TO THE RESIDENTS WITH 1900 CALL-INS TO 3, 1 11, THAT'S ABOUT A 99.8% COMPLETION RATE. ARE WE HAPPY WITH THAT? NO, NOT AT ALL. WE WANT TO IMPROVE AND WE'RE STRIVING TO GET THERE DURING THE PANDEMIC. AS RICK STATED, WE SAW THIS HUGE INCREASE IN VOLUME. AND FOR A LONG TIME, WE THOUGHT THAT ONCE PEOPLE WOULD GO BACK TO WORK OR IN SCHOOL THAT WE GET BACK TO WHAT THE NORMAL WAS. WELL, I THINK THIS IS OUR NEW NORMAL. AND SO WHAT WE HAD TO DO WAS WE HAD TO BRING IN TRUCKS AND WE BROUGHT IN ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT. WE BROUGHT AND I'M HIRING A BUNCH OF 30 ADDITIONAL DRIVERS. ACTUALLY. I'VE GOT 16 THAT ALREADY STARTED WHEN WE DID THIS LAST TIME AND I WAS GOING TO SPEAK, WE HAD ONLY FOUR OR FIVE COMING IN, BUT WE'VE GOT 16 PEOPLE ACTUALLY IN TRAINING. AND I'M SHIPPING SOME TO LAFAYETTE AND TO JACKSON. SO I CAN TRY TO GET THEM TRAINED FASTER, BUT ADDING THIS ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT AND THEN HAVING THE TWO HURRICANES LAST YEAR, THE ICE STORM, LIKE RICK SAID THE FLOODING, BUT ALSO SO 10 OF OUR EMPLOYEES WERE AFFECTED BY COVID AND WE STILL HAVE SOME TODAY. AND THAT NUMBER GROWS AND WE GET SOME BACK, THEY COME BACK TO WORK. WE HAD TWO IN THE HOSPITAL AND UNFORTUNATELY WE HAD ONE OF OUR DRIVERS THAT DID PASS AWAY. CONTRACTORS ARE STILL A CHALLENGE IN THIS PARISH TREE SERVICES, [01:30:01] YOU KNOW, TRYING TO GET THE RESIDENT TO NOT HAVE TO PAY FOR THE DISPOSAL. AND WHAT PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND IS IT DOES COST THE RESIDENTS MONEY BECAUSE WE DON'T PAY DISPOSAL. THE RESIDENTS PAY FOR THE DISPOSAL AND A TREE BEING CUT AT THE, FROM SOMEONE'S HOUSE, PUT IT THE CURB AND WE PICK IT UP. IT'S GOING TO COST THE CITY ABOUT $2,000. AND THAT'S A LOT OF MONEY LAWN SERVICES, SPECIFICALLY BAGS. I MEAN, IT'S REALLY NOT NORMAL TO SEE, YOU KNOW, 60 BAGS IN FRONT OF SOMEBODY'S HOUSE, RIGHT? A LAWN SERVICE SHOULD BE TAKING THOSE BAGS AWAY, CONTRACTORS, PERFORMING HOME REPAIRS. IT'S THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO TAKE THOSE AWAY FLOOD DEBRIS AND THEN LANDLORD DEBRIS. IT'S. THESE ARE THE CHALLENGES THAT WE, YOU KNOW, WE CONTINUE TO GO THROUGH WITH IT. HURRICANE IDA. SOME OF THE CHALLENGES WE'RE SEEING RIGHT NOW IS PEOPLE ARE PUTTING WOODY WASTE IN THE CAR. THAT IS THE WORST THING YOU CAN DO IT. CAUSE IT'S, THAT'S A FIRE HAZARD AND IT'S NON-COMPATIBLE MATERIAL. AND IT, ALL IT DOES IS SLOW US DOWN. IT JUST SLOWS US DOWN. ALSO THE VOLUME FROM THE REFRIGERATOR AND THE FREEZER. AND I WISH I COULD'VE SHOWED Y'ALL A VIDEO, BUT I WENT OUT TO ONE OF OUR TRUCKS TODAY, LITERALLY SOMEBODY AND HE HAD DUMPED THEIR ENTIRE FREEZER AND THE ARM, WHICH CAN PICK UP A LOT OF WEIGHT WAS SHAKING SO BAD BECAUSE THAT WAS SO HEAVY. AND IF YOU DO THAT 1600 TIMES THE DAY, A LOT OF WEAR AND TEAR, RIGHT, RIGHT IN THE AREA, LOTS OF RECYCLING CARTS ARE FULL OF WOODY WASTE, WHICH CONTAMINATES THE RECYCLING. WE'RE GOING TO START BACK, PICKING UP RECYCLING TOMORROW. UNFORTUNATELY WE DIDN'T WANT TO NOT PICK UP RECYCLING. I WANT EVERYBODY TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE WANT THE COMMODITY. WE WANT OUR PLANT TO RUN. I'VE GOT 35 EMPLOYEES OVER THERE THAT WE, THEY WANT TO WELL WHEN YOU LOSE ELECTRICITY AND IT DOESN'T COME BACK ON UNTIL SATURDAY AND YOU GET A CALL SUNDAY MORNING AT 2:00 AM. THIS IS SHARON MANN WITH REPUBLIC. YOUR RECYCLING PLAN ON TOM DRIVE IS ON FIRE. YOU KIND OF FREAK OUT A LITTLE BIT, GET THERE WITHIN FIVE OR 10 MINUTES AND THE ALARMS ARE GOING OFF AND THE SPRINKLERS ARE GOING OFF. SO AT THAT POINT ON MONDAY, WE COULDN'T OPEN SAFELY BECAUSE WE WANTED TO RUN THROUGH ALL THE SYSTEM AND MAKE SURE IT WAS FUNCTIONING PROPERLY. SO WE WOULDN'T HAVE FIRE AND NOTHING WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, DAMAGED OR NOBODY WOULD GET HURT. UM, AND WE STILL HAVE SOME DRIVERS OUT ON COVID, BUT AGAIN, YOU KNOW, WE'RE PICKING UP THREE LOADS A DAY, WHICH AGAIN IS REALLY UNHEARD OF IN GARBAGE TRUCKS. IS IT JUST IS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. A LOT OF COMPANIES HAVE SINCE THE PANDEMIC, THEY'RE NOT PICKING UP OUT OF COURT AND THEY'RE NOT PICKING UP WHAT ANYWAYS, THEN THEY'RE NOT PICKING UP RECYCLING. THEY'RE ONLY FOCUSED ON GARBAGE AND WE'RE NOT DOING THAT. WE WANT TO BE HERE. ALL OF MY TEAM LIVES HERE. AND YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THEM, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU HAVE SOME OF MY TEAM MEMBERS THAT LIVE IN YOUR DISTRICT. SO AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE APPRECIATE YOU. WE'RE JUST ASKING PEOPLE TO BE PATIENT. THESE THINGS ARE REALLY OUTSIDE OF THE NORM. AGAIN, IT IS NOT NORMAL TO PICK UP 26 TO 30 TONS OF GARBAGE IN A GARBAGE TRUCK. ANYBODY ACROSS THE COUNTRY WILL TELL YOU THAT. AND WE HAVE NOT, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE THAT HAVE ACTUALLY GONE AND SAID, WE'VE GOT TO INCREASE OUR PRICES BECAUSE OF ALL THIS STUFF WE'RE NOT DOING THAT. WE JUST WANT TO DO THE JOB FOR Y'ALL. WE WANT TO DO A GOOD JOB FOR Y'ALL. WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT OUR NEW NORMAL IS. IF WE CAN JUST STOP WITH PANDEMICS AND HURRICANES AND ALL THESE THINGS. I MEAN, GEEZ, I WANT TO KNOW WHAT NORMAL IS TOO. ANY QUESTIONS MS. MAN? YEAH. I WANT TO THANK YOU PERSONALLY FOR ALL YOUR WORK. AND, UH, I SEE THE GENTLEMEN AND THE LADIES OUT THERE EVERY DAY DOING THEIR PART. AND I DO RECOGNIZE THEY WORKED EXTREMELY HARD LAST WEEK TO CONTINUE TO PICK UP TRASH DURING THE PANDEMIC. I CAN SAY, UH, FOR, FOR MY DISTRICT, UH, I DO RECOGNIZE WE HAVE CHALLENGES, BUT I MEAN, I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY JOB IN THE WORLD THAT DOESN'T HAVE CHALLENGES. SO I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT. WE DO NEED TO ALLOW THE PUBLIC. IF THERE'S ANYONE HERE FROM THE PUBLIC WHO IS WISHING TO SPEAK, UH, TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM BEFORE WE GO TO THE COUNCIL MEMBERS, I, MS. CALDWELL, YOU, YOU RAISED UP IN YOUR SEAT, COME ON DOWN VITAMINS TODAY. I'M READY TO SPEAK ABOUT EVERYTHING. I APOLOGIZE. I WAS, UH, TALKING WITH, UH, I DON'T REMEMBER WHO I WAS TALKING WITH THIS WEEKEND AT DISTRIBUTING FOOD ABOUT, UH, NOT KNOWING A LOT OF THESE, THE GUESTS, RIGHT? UH, IS THERE A WAY WE COULD GET WITH THE 10 O'CLOCK NEWS, SOME OF THE STATIONS AND HAVE LIKE A CITY MINUTES WHERE IF THERE'S SOMETHING PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW, LIKE THE REASON THE GARBAGE IS LATE IS BECAUSE WE'RE HAVING TO GO TO THE DUMP 22 TIMES MY WEDDING FOR, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? LIKE THERE, THERE ARE THINGS THAT I THINK PEOPLE WOULDN'T BE AS [01:35:01] ANTSY ABOUT IF THEY KNEW OR I DON'T. I IMAGINE WHAT WOULD HE WASTE IS, BUT I'M PRETTY SURE I'M GUILTY OF PUTTING WHAT HE WASTES IN THERE. I WENT, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THIS IS. SO CAN WE COORDINATE MAYBE WITH THE NEWS, GET SCOTTY HUNTER OR SOMEBODY TO DO. I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER AND MYSELF, HOST THE SHOW, GET A, GET A, YOU KNOW, TWO MINUTES ON WEDNESDAYS OR TWO MINUTES, YOU KNOW, THREE DAYS A WEEK WHERE SOMETHING WE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WHAT'S MAKING THE CITY WORK SO THAT PEOPLE KNOW, BECAUSE I WILL PUT THE WOODY WASTE IN THE RIGHT PLACE. WHEN SOMEONE TELLS ME WHERE IT GOES AND, AND, AND WHATEVER ELSE, I PUT ALL MY FREEZER IN THE GARDEN, YOU KNOW? AND I DIDN'T KNOW, IT TOOK AN HOUR. I DIDN'T KNOW. IT TOOK AN HOUR TO SIT THERE AND DONE MS. CARLA, IF YOU WANT TO TALK TO MS. MANN, Y'ALL DO THAT. BUT I THINK WE NEED TO GET THIS INFORMATION OUT BECAUSE I THINK PEOPLE WOULD BE BETTER IF THEY KNEW. I THINK THE NEWS SHOULD BE DOING THIS. SOMEONE SAID, IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT A MONEYMAKER. IT DOESN'T MATTER. THIS IS A PUBLIC SERVICE. AND WE NEED TO KNOW WE'RE GOING TO GO BACK TO COUNCIL MEMBERS, COUNCIL MEMBERS. WE DO HAVE ANOTHER CLUB COMMENT. COME ON DOWN. MA'AM STATE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS FOR THE RECORD. GOOD EVENING, TONYA. AND I AM IN 4, 6, 6, 9 GONNA DRIVE BATON ROUGE. UM, I, I DIDN'T REALIZE THIS ITEM WAS ON HERE AND I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS RELEVANT, BUT WHEN YOU REQUEST A REPORT, SOME INFORMATION I'D REALLY BE INTERESTED IN AS A COMPARISON IN TERMS OF SALARIES FOR PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THE DISTRICT. YOU KNOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE THAT WE USED TO HAVE THIS AS A DEPARTMENT WITHIN OUR, OUR OWN LOCAL GOVERNMENT. NOW REPUBLIC IS ACTUALLY A NATIONAL ORGANIZATION IT'S BASED IN ARIZONA. AND SO A LOT OF THEIR WORK, THEY HAVE A LOCAL OFFICE, WHICH I'M SURE IS DOING THEIR VERY BEST, BUT THEY DO A LOT OF SUBCONTRACTING. AND THEN A LOT OF THE TAX DOLLARS ENDED UP GETTING FILTERED TO EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION. SO, YOU KNOW, BILL GATES IS LIKE 35% OWNER OF REPUBLIC. THEIR, UH, THEIR CEO MAKES $12 MILLION. THEY'RE 12 MEMBER COUNCIL. I THINK THEIR HIGHEST PAVEMENT IS LIKE 350 TO 400 K A YEAR. YOU CAN LOOK IT UP YOURSELF. YOU CAN JUST GOOGLE REPUBLIC, 10 K, AND LOOK FOR THEIR PROXY STATEMENT. AND IF I'D HAD MORE TIME, I WOULD'VE LOOKED FOR THAT INFORMATION FOR YOU, BUT YOU CAN KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, HOW MUCH THEY PAY THEIR AVERAGE SALARY, EXCUSE ME, IN COMPARISON TO THEIR EXECUTIVES. AND I THINK THAT'S RELEVANT BECAUSE WHEN WE'RE ASKING PEOPLE TO DO THIS WORK IN OUR COMMUNITY, WE WANT THEM FAIRLY COMPENSATED. AND THAT'S WHERE THE MONEY GETS FILTERED INTO OUR OWN LOCAL ECONOMY. NOT BY PAYING THE EXECUTIVES IN ARIZONA. THANK YOU, MISS MA'AM. ANYONE ELSE HERE TO SPEAK ON ITEM 61? WHEN YOU GO BACK TO COUNCIL MEMBERS? OH, WE GLASSED THE MAYOR'S OFFICE. OKAY. UH, MARK ARMSTRONG, A CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER FOR CITY PARISH. I'VE ALSO GOT DARYL GISELE HERE BY JUST A, TO MISS JENNIFER'S POINT ABOUT THE COMMUNICATION, UM, OUT TO THE PUBLIC, UH, CONCERNING ALL THESE ISSUES. OF COURSE, UH, WE DO, UH, POST QUITE A BIT ON NEXT DOOR, UH, DOT COM. THAT'S A GREAT WAY TO CONNECT DIRECTLY TO PEOPLE. OF COURSE, WE ALSO SEND OUT OUR PRESS RELEASES QUITE A BIT TO THE NEWS, AND I'VE BEEN EVERYTHING I COULD TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF Y'ALL ARE ALSO INCLUDED IN THOSE PRESS RELEASES. ALSO IN OUR WATER BILLS, WE SEND OUT INFORMATION THAT'S GOING ON OUT THERE. I KNOW THAT, UH, MR. DARRELL AND MR. KELVIN ALSO SAT DOWN WITH, UH, MR. S SCOTTY HUNTER OF WFP FOR A PRETTY MUCH IN DEPTH, UH, EXPLANATION OF ALL THIS. WHEN IT CAME UP HERE RECENTLY, IT'S A CONSTANT STRUGGLE TO ALWAYS COMMUNICATE WHAT'S GOING ON. UM, BUT, UH, UH, JENNIFER HAD A VERY GOOD POINT ABOUT, UH, THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATING IT BECAUSE AS JADED AS WE CAN BE AND SAY, OH, PEOPLE DON'T CARE. THEY JUST WANT THEIR TRASH PICKED UP, WHICH IS TRUE. UH, THAT IS VERY TRUE. I THINK THERE'S ALWAYS SOMETHING THAT COULDN'T BE MISSED IN A TRANSLATION LOST IN TRANSLATION. SO WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO DO OUR PART TO COMMUNICATE THAT, YOU KNOW, DID YOU HAVE ANYTHING ELSE? NO, JENNIFER'S CONTINENTAL WAS WELL TAKEN THAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET THE MEDIA TO ACTUALLY DO WHAT SHE SUGGESTED TO DO A PROGRAM, A SERIES TALKING ABOUT THINGS THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CITY GOVERNMENT. THAT REALLY WOULD BE A GREAT IDEA. AND WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET SOMEBODY INTERESTED IN DOING THAT. I JUST SAID, COUNCIL MEMBER, MOCHA MYSELF. WE'RE GOING TO HOST NO OFFENSE TO SCOTTY, BUT YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT IT. COUNCIL MEMBERS, ANY OLD COUNSELOR. MT. MORRISON. THANK YOU, SHARON. ALL RIGHT. I JUST HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS FOR YOU. UM, SO, AND I AGREE BECAUSE LAST YEAR, OR I'M SORRY, LAST WEEK WAS AN EXCEPTION BECAUSE SO MANY OF US DIDN'T HAVE POWER AND NO WAY TO COMMUNICATE. AND, YOU KNOW, I FINALLY GET MY POWER ON, I'VE GOT FIVE, YOU KNOW, 45 MILLION QUESTIONS. IT'S LIKE, COULDN'T ANSWER BECAUSE I HAD NO, NO WAY TO DO SO. SO LAST WEEK WAS KIND OF AN EXCEPTION TO THE RULE. AND AS I LET PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT THE, THE LITTLE PRESS [01:40:01] RELEASE OR THING THAT YOU SENT TO ME, I'LL LET THEM KNOW. AND THEY WERE VERY APPRECIATIVE FOR COMMUNICATION. PEOPLE DO JUST WANT TO KNOW, JUST TELL ME WHEN MY ELECTRICITY IS GOING TO BE ON, OR MY GARBAGE IS GOING TO, THEY JUST NEED TO KNOW. SO, YOU KNOW, ANY COMMUNICATION THAT WE CAN, UH, UH, DO FOR THEM WOULD BE REALLY NICE. SO I HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS FOR YOU. SO THERE ARE TIMES THAT WE GET EMAILS FROM PEOPLE. MY WHOLE NEIGHBORHOOD WAS NOT PICKED UP. WHY MIGHT A WHOLE NEIGHBORHOOD SUBDIVISION BE MISSED? SO THERE'S A COUPLE OF THINGS I'M NOT TELLING YOU. WE DON'T MAKE MISTAKES, BUT IF WE DO, WE LET THE CITY KNOW WITH THIS VOLUME INCREASE. AT ONE POINT, WHEN WE WERE TRYING TO GET THESE TRUCKS IN AND GET THESE DRIVERS TRAINED, IT'S HARD TO INCREASE FROM 17 TONS PER TRUCK TODAY PER DAY TO 28. AND WHEN YOU DO THAT OVERNIGHT, IT JUST, IT DOESN'T WORK. YOU DON'T, YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE CAPACITY. YOU DON'T HAVE. WE DON'T JUST HAVE 20 TRUCKS SITTING ON THE YARD. WE DO COMMUNICATE WITH RICK, RICK AND I TALK MORE THAN ME AND MY HUSBAND AND WE TALK AND, YOU KNOW, ACTUALLY HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS. AND THEN I'M SURE YOU'VE SEEN, CAUSE WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IT. WE'LL GET IT THE NEXT MORNING. NOW ON THE OTHER SIDE, WE'VE SEEN SOMETHING THAT'S KINDA BEEN, UM, I GUESS A LITTLE FAD, BUT IT'S NOT, NOT ON EVERYBODY BECAUSE WE DO MAKE MISTAKES. I WANT EVERYBODY TO HEAR THAT, BUT WE DO SEE, I THINK PEOPLE FEEL IF THEY CALL IN MY WHOLE STREET OR MY WHOLE NEIGHBORHOOD WAS MISSED, AND THEN WE GO OVER THERE AND IT'S ONE CARD AND EVERYBODY ELSE ON THE STREET IS SERVICE. SO WE JUST DEAL WITH THAT. AND WE TRY TO PUT THE PICTURES IN 3, 1, 1 JUST TO SUPPORT IT. UM, BUT IT, IT JUST DEPENDS, BUT WE TRY TO INVESTIGATE EVERYTHING. WE'RE DEFINITELY GOING TO LOOK AT EVERYTHING THAT COMES THROUGH. OKAY. OTHER QUESTION, CAUSE YOU AND I HAVE TALKED ABOUT THE NUMBER OF DRIVERS THAT YOU HAVE LOST DUE TO EVACUATIONS COVID NUMBER OF THINGS. SO HOW LONG IF YOU LOSE, UH, LOSE A DRIVER, HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO TRAIN A NEW DRIVER? DO YOU HAVE TO RETRAIN DRIVERS TO MOVE FROM ONE TRUCK TO THE OTHER? BECAUSE I'M SURE NOT ALL TRUCKS ARE THE SAME. SO WHAT, YOU KNOW, HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE? AND I TRY TO EXPLAIN THIS TO PEOPLE SOMETIMES. UM, SO WHAT IS THERE TO, TO RETRAINING OR TRAINING? SO ON A NEW HIRE, THE WHOLE TIME IS ABOUT A 60 DAY TIME PERIOD BECAUSE WE'RE VERY SAFETY DRIVEN, EXTENSIVE BACKGROUND CHECKS. AND ONCE THEY GET INTO THE TRAINING PROGRAM, THEY'RE GOING TO TRAIN WITH A BEHIND THE WHEEL INSTRUCTOR FOR AT LEAST THREE TO FOUR WEEKS BEFORE WE ACTUALLY SIGN OFF ON THEM TO RELEASE THEM, BECAUSE REMEMBER THEY'RE IN THE GENERAL PUBLIC. SO WE GOT TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE SAFE, THE GENERAL PUBLIC SAFE, AND WE'RE NOT GOING TO LET ANYBODY DRIVE THAT EQUIPMENT UNTIL WE FEEL THAT THEY'RE SAFE AND THEN THERE, AND IT IS A PROCESS AND IT TAKES TIME. OKAY. WELL, I THINK Y'ALL HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB TO DO THE THINGS THAT Y'ALL HAVE DONE UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES WITH THE COVID AND YOUR PEOPLE BEING OUT LAST WEEK AND EVERYTHING. SO I APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT YOU DO. YOU'RE VERY, UH, UM, ATTENTIVE AND ANSWER MY QUESTIONS AND I APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER MO. YEAH. UH, THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH. AND, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER COLE, WHENEVER YOU'RE READY TO GET BEHIND THE CAMERA KNOW, I'M JUST GOING TO NEED MORE THAN FIVE MINUTES THOUGH. UM, YEAH, I, I WANT TO TOUCH BASE ON, ON WHAT WAS MENTIONED EARLIER, AS FAR AS THE COMMENT AND COMMUNICATION AND EVERYTHING. AND WE WERE OUT AT THE, UM, THE, THE FOOD HANDOUT AND EVERYTHING. AND AFTERWARDS, WE WERE JUST ALL SITTING AROUND AND MYSELF AND JEN AND, AND A FEW OTHER PEOPLE. AND THERE WAS A COUPLE OF CONSTITUENTS THAT WAS THERE AND WE WERE TALKING ABOUT GARBAGE PICKUP AND EVERYTHING. AND I EXPLAINED TO THEM THAT WE, WE JUST SAT THERE AND WE TALKED TO HIM FOR A FEW MINUTES AND EXPLAINED, YOU KNOW, THE EXTRA AMOUNT OF GARBAGE AND THESE TRUCKS, YOU TALK ABOUT MISSING A STREET OR MISSING A NEIGHBORHOOD. UM, WHEN A FRIEND OF MINE CALLED ME TODAY AND A SECTION OF THEIR STREET GOT MISSED AND I ASKED HIM, I SAID, WELL, DID HE JUST PASS UP THE STREET AND KEEP GOING TO MORE GARBAGE CANS? OR HE SAID, NO, HE GOT TO MY, ABOUT CLOSE TO MY AREA. AND HE TURNED AROUND AND LEFT. AND I SAID, WELL, PROBABLY BECAUSE OF EXTRA GARBAGE. AND THEY CAN ONLY HOLD SO MUCH. AND THEY GOT TO GO ALL THE WAY OUT TO WHATEVER THE CLOSEST LANDFILL IS AND CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG ON ANY OF THIS. BUT THEN THEY GET OUT TO THE LANDFILL. AND FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, THEY'RE SITTING AT THE LANDFILL FOR A LOT LONGER TIME THAN WHAT SHOULD BE NEEDED, WHETHER IT BE BECAUSE WAITS AREN'T WORKING OR, UM, THEY, THEY DON'T HAVE TOO MANY OTHER INLINE THAT ARE ALREADY THERE TO PICK IT UP AND SO ON AND SO FORTH. SO I TOTALLY GET IT. AND, AND ONE OF THE THINGS ABOUT GARBAGE THAT, THAT PEOPLE HAVE I SAID IS IT, THERE'S A LOT OF TALKS ABOUT ALL THE OTHER INDUSTRIES AND DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS AND, OH, WELL, SO MANY PEOPLE ARE OUT WITH COVID AND WE'RE DOING THE BEST WE CAN. I MEAN, EVEN IN MY INDUSTRY, YOU KNOW, IT'S, I CAN'T EVEN GET INTO SOME FACILITIES BECAUSE OF COVID AND STUFF LIKE THAT. BUT, BUT WHEN IT COMES TO [01:45:01] SOMETIMES WITH DISORGANIZATION OR WITH GARBAGE PICKUP, WELL, WE SHOULD HAVE 13, 14, 20 PEOPLE SITTING ON THE SIDE WAITING TO GO SO WE CAN KEEP THESE TRUCKS ROLLING. SO I JUST WANT TO TELL YOU, I DO GET IT, THE DELAYS AND EVERYTHING ELSE. UM, I DO HAVE, YOU KNOW, ONE POINT OF THE THING, YOU MENTIONED IT A SECOND AGO THAT, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES MISTAKES ARE MADE AND I RESPECT THAT AND EVERYTHING. UM, I APPRECIATE, I'VE ALWAYS HAD A GOOD CONTACT WITH YOU. AND IF, IF WE GET THE EMAIL THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, UH, SHE'S BEEN VERY, UH, REPUBLIC'S BEEN VERY RESPONSIVE AS FAR AS GETTING BACK OUT THERE AND, AND POSSIBLY PICKING IT UP, MR. RICK CALLED THE OTHER DAY AND MENTIONED THAT THERE COULD POSSIBLY BE A DELAY, UH, THIS WEEKEND, PAST WEEKEND. AND SO I WENT HOME AND, YOU KNOW, LEFT MY GARBAGE CAN OUT. AND, YOU KNOW, EVEN THOUGH YOU TOLD ME IT MIGHT NOT GET PICKED UP ON SATURDAY REPUBLIC WAS THERE ON SATURDAYS. I DON'T KNOW HOW Y'ALL CAUGHT UP OR, OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, BUT I REALLY DO APPRECIATE IT. I WOULD JUST THINK THAT I WOULD HOPE THAT WE, IF THERE'S ANY WAY THAT WE'VE HAD THIS DISCUSSION BEFORE THAT, BECAUSE OF THE SERVICES THAT YOU PROVIDE IN A LOT OF AGENCIES, WHENEVER YOU, WHENEVER YOU REACH A MAX CAPACITY, SOMETIMES THERE IS A, AN EXTRA DRAW THAT YOU CAN PULL IN OR WHATEVER ELSE, IF THERE'S SOME WAY THAT WE CAN ASSIST WITH THAT. UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS BEFORE, BRING IN A TEMPORARY, UH, CONTRACT IN, YOU KNOW, LIKE WE DO AT DRC FOR A PICKUP REMOVAL. IF IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S GETTING TOO OVERLOADED OR TOO MUCH IS GOING OUT, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THERE'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN LOOK INTO TO ASSIST Y'ALL, YOU KNOW, WHETHER THEY FALL UNDER THAT SAME CONTRACT OR WHAT, BUT WE CAN ASSIST Y'ALL TO GET CAUGHT UP. AND, AND I UNDERSTAND THINGS GET MISSED, BUT TO ACTUALLY GET CAUGHT UP WITH WHAT'S GOING ON OUT THERE. SO THAT'S WHAT I WANT TO OFFER FROM, FROM MYSELF AND HOPEFULLY FROM THE REST OF THE COUNCIL, THAT HOPEFULLY THERE'S A WAY THAT WE CAN ASSIST YOU THEN, THEN WE CAN DO THAT. SO THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH. THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER BANKS. THANK YOU. JESUS. ARE YOU SHARING? UM, I HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS REGARDING FIRST OF ALL, I, THE, UH, I THINK IF THERE'S ANY, UM, GOOD THING THAT HAPPENED WITH SLOWING THINGS DOWN DURING THE PANDEMIC, WHEN I THINK IT PRE PANDEMIC AND POST PANDEMIC, IT GAVE REPUBLIC AND OPPORTUNITY TO RESET. CAUSE WE WERE REALLY, UM, GETTING A LOT OF COMPLAINTS, PRE PANDEMIC, AND I THINK, UM, THAT IT APPEARS NOW THAT WE DON'T GET AS MANY COMPLAINTS AS, UM, AS WE USED TO. AND I THINK, AND JUST HEARING ALL OF MY COLLEAGUES, UM, THE WAY WE ARE RESPONDING TO OUR CONSTITUENTS IS, IS AWESOME. THE FACT THAT WE ARE, UH, TAKING THE TIME TO EXPLAIN, AND, AND IN EVERY EXPLANATION THAT I'VE HEARD, UM, FROM ERIN AND FROM, UH, COUNCILWOMAN, AMARYLLIS, THERE'S A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF EMPATHY, UM, FOR THE, FOR THE WORKERS THAT ARE ACTUALLY DOING THAT, BUT THERE, BUT STILL BEING ABLE TO SYMPATHIZE WITH THE CONSTITUENTS. AND I THINK THAT'S A MAGIC BALANCE BECAUSE, UM, BECAUSE YOU KNOW, WE ARE DEALING WITH HUMANS THAT ARE GOING THROUGH THE SAME ISSUES THAT WE ARE GOING WITH GOING THROUGH, BUT THEN BY THE SAME TIME, UH, OUR CONSTITUENTS AND OUR TAXPAYERS DESERVE GOOD SERVICE. SO I THINK THAT JUST THE COMMUNICATION PART, UM, THAT I'VE HEARD DISPLAY WITH MY COLLEAGUES IS WHAT HAS TEMPERED THINGS. UM, AS FOR ME, I DON'T GET NEARLY CALLS. I GET EMAILS AND ARE BASICALLY TELLING ME EMAILS THREE, ONE, AND I DON'T EVEN HAVE, I DON'T FEEL THE NEED TO MICROMANAGE THAT ANYMORE. I FORWARD IT TO YOU ALL. YOU DON'T HAVE TO GET BACK WITH ME IF I DON'T HEAR BACK FROM THE CONSTITUENT, THAT'S FINE. I HAVE SOME REGULARS THAT I BELIEVE WAIT FOR OH, PUBLIC TO MISS BECAUSE THEY BE ON IT. AND YEAH, I'LL PROBABLY TALK TO HIM ALL THE TIME AND I JUST FORWARD IT, YOU KNOW, UM, I THINK, UH, EVEN RICHARD SPEAR, THE WAY HE RESPONDS HAS GOTTEN BETTER. CAUSE HE USED TO ACT A FOOL AND YOU TELL HIM ABOUT AN ISSUE I'M REALLY CALM AND HE JUST GO AHEAD AND TAKE CARE OF IT. NOT A LOT OF, LOT OF BACK AND FORTH ABOUT IT. SO I WANT TO KNOW THAT WE'RE ALL, UM, REALLY GETTING BETTER IN THIS PROCESS AND KNOWING THAT IT IS UNUSUAL, I BELIEVE, UM, I LITERALLY HAVE USED MY GARBAGE, I USE MY NEIGHBORS AND IT'S JUST ME AND MY NEIGHBORHOOD. I DON'T KNOW FOR WHATEVER REASON IT IS GARBAGE. IT'S JUST A LOT OF GARBAGE GOING ON. I LIKE, UM, DON'T KNOW WHAT HE WAITS FROM WHATEVER I [01:50:01] PUT LEAVES IN EVERY GARBAGE CAN. SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE REFERRING TO, BUT, UM, I DO NEED TO LEAVE. I DID PUT IN, I NEED A NEW GARBAGE CAN. SO THIS IS MY NEIGHBOR NEXT DOOR. AND I DID PUT THAT IN, BUT OVERALL I THINK YOU ALL HAVE, UM, REALLY WORKED VERY HARD TO MAKE, UH, IMPROVEMENTS. I APPRECIATE THAT IT WILL NEVER BE PERFECT. UH, THIS CITY HAS GROWN, UH, THIS PARISH HAS GROWN EXPONENTIALLY. UM, AND YOU HAVE ONE LOCATION AS FAR AS, AS I'M AWARE IN MY DISTRICT, IS THAT YOUR ONLY LOCATION? WE HAVE THE RECYCLING PLAN ON TOM DRIVE AS WELL, BUT, UH, FOR, TO ACTUALLY RECEIVE, UM, WHAT IS THIS GARBAGE KYLE NOT RECYCLING, BUT WHAT DO YOU MEAN GARBAGE, GARBAGE? WELL, IT GOES TO THE LANDFILL, RIGHT? RIGHT. IS THAT JUST REGULAR GARBAGE? YES. OKAY. BECAUSE WE HAVE A NORTH AND A SOUTH LANDFILL AND JUST THE NORTH, WE JUST HAD THE ONE LANE. OH, AND NOAH THE DOOR. YES. THEN THEY USED TO HAVE ONE IN THE SIDE AND THEN THERE WAS A WASTE RECYCLING FACILITY, BUT THEY DON'T. OH, OKAY. CAUSE I WAS JUST THINKING THE DISTANCE, THE DISTANCE AND THE WEAR AND TEAR, UM, COULD, COULD POSSIBLY HAVE, IF THERE WAS A SATELLITE OFF EITHER MIDWAY OR IN THE SOUTH. I WAS JUST THINKING THAT THAT MAY ASSIST IN, UM, THE TIME THE TIMELINE COULDN'T FROM GOING, IF YOU, IF YOU'RE DEALING WITH THE FATHER'S PART OF THE SOUTH, THAT'S AN HOUR DRIVE AND IT'S TWO HOURS IN THIS TRAFFIC. AND SO I WOULD JUST, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, BUT AS WE MOVE FORWARD, I WOULD LOVE, UM, TO SEE WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE TO HAVE A SATELLITE OFFICE IN THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE PARISH THAT WOULD REDUCE THE, UM, THE WEAR AND TEAR OF TRUCKS AND INCREASE THE, SET, THE SERVICE IN CERTAIN AREAS THOUGH, THAT THOSE ARE MY ONLY COMMENTS I DO. I'M REALLY SERIOUS ABOUT HOW THAT WOULD LOOK. THANK YOU. YOU ANSWER YOUR QUESTION. UH, UH, COUNCILMAN BANKS AT THE TIME AND COUNCIL MEMBER, I WANTED TO LET Y'ALL KNOW TOO. UM, SINCE KELVIN HAS PUT US IN CHARGE OF OUR 3, 1, 1 COMMENTS, WE ACTUALLY HIRED PEOPLE. AND I BROUGHT IN EMPLOYEES TOO, ESPECIALLY DURING THIS PANDEMIC AND EVEN WITH THE HURRICANE THAT THEY'RE ACTUALLY CALLING EVERY 3, 1, 1 RESIDENT, I THINK IT, AND LISTEN A LOT OF TIMES, YOU KNOW, THEY, IT TAKES TIME, BUT WE WANT TO TOUCH THEM. I THINK WHEN YOU TOUCH PEOPLE AND WHEN YOU TALK TO PEOPLE AND YOU GIVE THEM AN EXPLANATION, SOME STILL AREN'T HAPPY, BUT MOST OR MOST UNDERSTAND. AND SO I THINK THAT HAS REALLY DONE, UH, UH, HELPED US AND HELP THE RESIDENTS TO UNDERSTAND. AND WE'LL CONTINUE DOING THAT COUNCIL FROM COLON. YES. UM, MS. MAN, I'D HAVE TO SAY THAT, UH, I'M MOST APPRECIATIVE OF YOU AND, AND YOUR TEAM MOST APPRECIATIVE OF YOU, OF YOUR SERVICE AND JUST BEING THAT BIONIC WOMAN ALL OVER THE PLACE WITH WHEN, WHEN WE REACH OUT TO YOU, UM, THERE HASN'T BEEN A TIME THAT, UH, YOU'VE NOT RESPONDED TO THE CONSTITUENTS THAT I'VE BROUGHT BEFORE YOU. AND YOU KNOW, WE, WE TALK ABOUT, UM, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR FROM OTHERS, BUT I KNOW, I KNOW MY, UH, FOLK THAT COME TO MY HOME AND WHEN I'M THERE, THEY GET SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, THESE PEOPLE ON THE BACK OF TRUCKS, IF IT'S COLD, THEY'RE BACK THERE. IF IT'S HOT, THEY'RE BACK THERE. AND SO A BOTTLE OF WATER, A SODA, AND THAT'S ABOUT AS FAR AS YOU CAN GO, YOU KNOW, WHILE THEY'RE THERE ON THE CLOCK. AND SO THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE WITH FOLK. AND SO I'D LIKE TO APPEAL TO THE CONSTITUENTS OUT THERE TO BE MINDFUL OF THAT. UM, JUST TO BRING A BOTTLE OF WATER AND BUILD A RELATIONSHIP WITH THOSE THAT ARE ON THAT TRUCK. ALSO, WE PICKED UP TRASH IN THE DIXIE AREA AND, UH, WE CAME UP WITH A LOT OF TRASH. AND SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT GARBAGE AND TRASH AND WOODY WASTE AND CYCLE AND BULKY ITEMS, SOME OF ALL OF THAT WAS OUT THERE AND WE DIDN'T SEPARATE, YOU KNOW, BUT, [01:55:01] UM, AND I GUESS THAT RIDES ON THE BACK OF EDUCATING PEOPLE, EDUCATING FOLK ABOUT WHAT, WHAT YOU'VE BEGUN TO DO RIGHT HERE TODAY. AND THEN, UH, HOPEFULLY OUR SUPERINTENDENT IS LISTENING. THAT OUGHT TO BE SOMETHING THAT SPILL OVER INTO OUR SCHOOLS, EDUCATING OUR TEACHERS, UH, THE FACULTY AND STAFF AND STUDENTS ABOUT THE DIFFERENT THINGS AND THE DIFFERENT WAYS THAT THEY CAN ASSIST IN THE PROCESS. IT'S EASY FOR US TO, YOU KNOW, COMPLAIN, BUT LET'S BE ABOUT THE BUSINESS OF HELPING OUT, UH, WITH THIS THING HERE. AND SO, AND ALSO THE LANDLORDS AND THE CONTRACTORS, WHEN I SEE THEM OUT THERE PUTTING STUFF OUT THAT THEY SHOULD NOT BE, BUT I'VE SEEN YOUR PEOPLE, I'VE SEEN REPUBLIC PICKUPS AND STUFF, BUT THESE LANDLORDS HAVE PUT ON THE SIDE OF THE STREET, UH, AND THEY SHOULD HAVE A DUMPSTER. I'VE SEEN REPUBLIC PICK UP SOME STUFF THAT, THAT THESE, UM, CONTRACTORS HAVE PUT ON THE SIDE OF THE STREET AND THEY'VE SEEN THEY, THEY SHOULD HAVE, UH, THEIR DUMPSTER THERE AND YOU ALL HAVE PICKED THAT UP. SO AGAIN, I APPRECIATE YOU AND YOUR TEAM. AND I THINK THAT MY FOLK ARE THE BEST FOLKS SINCE SLICED BREAD AND WISH THAT I COULD BE HOME MORE OFTEN IN ORDER TO, UH, JUST BE ABLE TO BE OUT THERE, TO GIVE THEM A BOTTLE OF WATER OR WHATEVER HOUR, EITHER JUST A CONVERSATION AND SAYING TO THEM, YOU KNOW, I APPRECIATE YOU ALL. AND EVEN IF YOU HAVEN'T SOMETHING IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, INVITING THEM BACK AND BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS. SO AGAIN, I APPRECIATE YOU ALL. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN TOLD ME, LISTEN, YOU'D BE SURPRISED HOW MANY RESIDENTS OUT THERE DO TAKE CARE OF OUR PEOPLE? IT IS, UH, THEY DO IT AND THEY BRING THEM FOOD. THEY LEAVE HIM THINGS, GIVE THEM WATER. BUT THEN ON THE FLIP SIDE, THERE ARE MY DRIVERS THAT I HAVE A CLOSET THAT HAS COLORING BOOKS AND GARBAGE TRUCKS. AND THEY HAVE THESE KIDS BECAUSE THEY LOVE THE TRUCK AND THEY STOP AND GIVE IT TO THEM. AND WE'VE HAD SEVERAL PEOPLE ASK US TO PARTICIPATE IN BIRTHDAY PARTIES AND THAT'S THE THINGS WE LIKE TO DO. SO THANK YOU. COUNCILOR MENAUL. THERE WE GO. ALL RIGHT. UM, MS. MANN, I SAW I WAS TAKING SOME NOTES. UH, YOU SAID FIVE DAYS AFTER THE STOLEN 26 TO 28 TONS PER TRUCK PER DAY, RIGHT? WOW. AND YOU SAID 266,000 RESIDENTS EVERY, OH, THAT'S 266,000 GARBAGE PICKUP PICKED UP TWICE A WEEK, 133,000 RESIDENTS, CUSTOMERS THAT REPUBLIC HAS EVERY WEEK. OKAY. JUST TRYING TO MAKE SURE I GOT MY NOTES. RIGHT. AND, OKAY. SO AS FAR AS SERVICES PER WEEK, YOU SAID IT WAS 3.8 MILLION A MONTH PER MONTH. OKAY. CAN YOU EXPOUND ON THAT? JUST ALL OF THE DIFFERENT SERVICES. I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT WE HAVE GARBAGE TWICE A WEEK. YOU HAVE RECYCLING ONCE A WEEK, YOU GOT OUT OF CART, WHICH IS LIKE THE COUCHES, THE BAGS OUT OF COURT, THE BULKY, BULKY ITEMS ONCE A WEEK. AND THEN YOU'VE GOT THE BOOM TRUCK OR THAT THE WOODY WASTE ONCE A WEEK. AND THEN YOU'VE GOT THE APPLIANCE AND TIRES TRUCK ONCE A WEEK. RIGHT NOW WE'RE PICKING UP MORE APPLIANCES, BUT USUALLY THE ENTREPRENEURS GET TO THE APPLIANCES BEFORE WE GET TO THEM. WHAT WE DO PICK UP A LOT OF OUR TIRES. YEAH. THERE'S A LOT OF TIRES. OKAY, GREAT. ALL RIGHT. UM, AND YOU MENTIONED A LOT ABOUT CHANGES YOU'VE SEEN SINCE THE PANDEMIC IS THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, WE CAN SPECULATE ON REASONS WHY, I MEAN, I KNOW THOSE WHO COOK ALWAYS COOKED, BUT THOSE WHO EAT OUT OR PICKING UP TAKING HOME, IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE SEEING A LOT OF, OR WHAT'S THE REASON BEHIND THE ANCHORAGE, WHAT WE'RE SEEING AND WE'RE SEEING IT IN OUR RECYCLING PLANT, BECAUSE AS WE SAW THE VOLUME INCREASE IN GARBAGE, WE'VE ALSO SEEN AN INCREASE IN RECYCLING, WHICH IS A GOOD THING, RIGHT? BUT SINCE MORE PEOPLE ARE WORKING FROM HOME AND SOME COMPANIES HAVE DECIDED, YOU KNOW, WE CAN CONTINUE TO DO THAT. I NEVER REALIZED THAT I'VE GOT TWO YOUNG SONS AT HOME, NOT AT HOME, BUT 24 AND 28. THEY LIKE TO EAT OUT A LOT OR ORDER IN, OR, OR LIKE PRECUT PACKAGED FOOD, WHICH IS NOT EVEN SOMETHING I CAN PUT MY HEAD AROUND, BUT YOU CAN ACTUALLY BUY A REFRIGERATOR THAT COMES FULLY STOCKED WITH THEIR MEALS FOR 30 DAYS. AND IT'S GOT MORE PACKAGING AND YOU RECYCLE MORE THAN YOU EAT. SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE SEEING A LOT OF. AND THEN AMAZON, AND, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE HAVE FOUND A WAY TO GET GROCERIES DELIVERED, HAVE FOUND [02:00:01] A WAY TO GET EVERYTHING THEY NEED DELIVERED. AND SO NOW, AND EVERYTHING COMES IN A PACKAGE. RIGHT. AND IF IT'S EITHER IT EITHER, IT'S EITHER GOING TO GO IN THE RECYCLING BIN OR IT'S GOING TO GO IN THE GARBAGE CAN. ONE OF THE TWO MAKES SENSE. OKAY. UM, YOU MENTIONED, I BELIEVE THAT EITHER OTHERS HAVE ENCOURAGED TO INCREASE IN PRICING OR YOU'VE SEEN OTHER COMPANIES INCREASE PRICING, BUT YOU ALL INCREASED PRICING. NO, NO. WE HAVE NOT. WE HAVE SEEN THAT ACROSS THE COUNTRY, NOT WITH REPUBLIC, NOT WITH, JUST WITH REPUBLIC, JUST ACROSS THE COUNTRY THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE SERVICES THAT ARE IN BATON ROUGE MORE AND WHEN YOU GET UP NORTH AND IN FURTHER EAST OR WEST, MOST PEOPLE ARE ONCE A WEEK GARBAGE. THERE'S NOT A WHOLE LOT OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE TWICE A WEEK GARBAGE ANYMORE. HAVE YOU ALL SEEN AN INCREASE IN COST THOUGH? YES, WE HAVE. OKAY. UM, YOU MENTIONED THE 3, 1, 1 CALLS YOU ARE TAKING, UM, AND YOU BROUGHT ON SOMEBODY THAT ANSWERED THOSE DIRECTLY. DO YOU SEE THAT AS A PERMANENT FIXTURE? I DO. I, BECAUSE I LIKED THE RESULT OF I'VE GOT SOMEONE THAT ACTUALLY TAKES THE CALLS, BUT THEN I HAVE PEOPLE HAVE TWO PEOPLE I BROUGHT IN TO CALL THESE PEOPLE BACK AND HAVE THOSE FIVE MINUTE CONVERSATIONS. AND I'VE REALLY SEEN A BIG VALUE IN THAT OVER THE LAST TWO WEEKS. SO I LIKED THAT. THAT'S THE PART THAT WOULD BE IMPORTANT TO US BECAUSE WHEN WE SEND YOU THOSE AND LOOK, I'LL TELL YOU, I APPRECIATE YOUR OFFICER'S RESPONSIVENESS ON ISSUES. WE'VE HAD. IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S A PLEASURE. BUT WHEN IT, WHEN, WHEN WE HAVE THOSE 3, 1, 1 CALLS THAT COME IN AND IT'S SENT TO, Y'ALL THE PERSON RESPONDING TO THE CONSTITUENTS, IF IT DOESN'T COME BACK THROUGH US IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO ME BECAUSE THAT'S A REFLECTION ON US. AND SO Y'ALL HAVE THE CERTAIN, Y'ALL CERTAINLY HAVE THE ABILITY TO MAKE US LOOK GOOD. AND, UH, SO, BUT THAT'S WHERE THE, ALL OF OUR ALL COMMUNICATION COMES IN. AND YOU ALL HAVE BEEN WONDERFUL WITH THAT BECAUSE, UH, LIKE YOU SAID, NOBODY'S PERFECT. THERE ARE ISSUES. I KNOW THERE WAS THE, WE HAD RECEIVED THE COMMUNICATION OF QUITE A FEW DRIVERS BEING OUT WITH COVID AND Y'ALL ARE BRINGING NEW ONES IN. THAT'S A LOT OF ROUTES THEY NEED TO LEARN. SO UNDOUBTEDLY, THERE'S GOING TO BE MISSED, UH, PICKUPS ON THOSE. BUT, UH, AGAIN, IT GIVES THE OPPORTUNITY TO OVERCOME THAT AND, UM, AND SHOW THE PUBLIC THAT, HEY, YES, WE'RE LISTENING. YES. IT MATTERS. IF YOU CONTACT US, DON'T JUST GO AND COMPLAIN ABOUT IT, BUT MAKE CONTACT AND Y'ALL ARE ABLE TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE. SO Y'ALL CERTAINLY DONE THAT FOR, UM, MY OFFICE AND MY CONSTITUENTS WHEN THEY BROUGHT IT UP. SO WE APPRECIATE THAT. NOW I KNOW, UH, A LOT OF WHAT WE'VE SAID, PLEASE. YEAH. A LOT OF WHAT WE'VE SEEN IS BEEN, UM, NEW, NEW ISSUES THAT HAVE ARISEN BECAUSE OF EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES, ONE AFTER THE OTHER. SO, UH, I AGREE. I HOPE WE CAN GET TO A NEW NORMAL AND STABILIZE AND THAT NEW NORMAL MIGHT LOOK DIFFERENT FROM THE OLD NORMAL. OBVIOUSLY WE'RE SEEING MORE AND WE'RE SEEING A SHIFT IN THE WAY PEOPLE LIVE AND WORK AND, UH, EAT, I GUESS. AND, UM, SO, UM, BUT, BUT ONCE WE STABILIZE AND HAVE A NEW NORMAL, HOPEFULLY WE CAN, UH, GET ON A, UH, YOU KNOW, BE FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THE MISTAKES, THE MISTAKES WILL GO DOWN AND, UM, BUT WE'LL, YOU KNOW, UNDOUBTEDLY THEY'LL CONTINUE HERE AND THERE. AND, UH, BUT OPEN LINES OF COMMUNICATION, I THINK ON, UH, ON Y'ALL'S PART AS WELL AS US AND BEING ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE PUBLIC, UH, IN VARIOUS DIFFERENT, WHETHER IT'S NEXT DOOR ON THE WEBSITE, ON YOUR WEBSITE, ON OURS OR THE NEWS PICKING UP, OR, UM, COUNCILMAN COLE AND MILK'S NEW SHOW, WHATEVER, WHATEVER WORKS I THINK IS GOING TO BE BENEFICIAL FOR THE, FOR, FOR ALL OF OUR CONSTITUENTS. SO I APPRECIATE Y'ALL'S EFFORTS. AND, UM, AGAIN, I HOPE WE ALL HAVE A NEW NORM HERE SOON. AND, UH, BUT THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH. THANK YOU. AND I THINK THE ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT IS BEING BROUGHT IN AND LISTEN, IF I'M ADDING 30 MORE PEOPLE, THAT'S 30 MORE JOBS, RIGHT. SO I THINK IT'S A ADDING THAT IS GOING TO BE, CAUSE WE GOT TO ADD ROUTES, YOU KNOW, INCREASE CAPACITY. YOU GOT TO ADD ROUTES. SO THAT'S WHAT WE'VE DONE. OKAY. COUNCIL MEMBER ADAMS. HI, I'M MARK AND DARRYL. I HAVE ONE SUGGESTION AND RICK ABOUT COMMUNICATIONS. HAVE WE CONSIDERED ADDING TO OUR 3, 1, 1 APP PUSH NOTIFICATIONS SO THAT WHEN WE DO SUSPEND RECYCLING, IT WOULD LITERALLY PUSH OUT A NOTIFICATION, UM, FOR PEOPLE WHO'VE HAD IT ON THEIR PHONE, THE APP ON THEIR PHONE. SO THEY'D BE ABLE TO JUST SEE IT. IS THAT SOMETHING JUST, WE KNOW THAT COMMUNICATION IS JUST REALLY KEY. AND I HAD A CALL WITH SOMEBODY ONE DAY WHO HAD AN ISSUE AND THEY SAID, WHY DON'T YOU GUYS NOTIFY PEOPLE THAT SAID WE DO NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOR. WE DID PRINT MEDIA. WE DO ELECTRONIC MEDIA. IT'S JUST BECAUSE THERE'S SO MANY MEDIA SOURCES TODAY FOR THE APP WOULD BE GREAT. YEAH. [02:05:01] YEAH. JUST A THOUGHT. THANK YOU. UM, OKAY. GOD BLESS YOU, SHARON. I KNOW IT'S BEEN A CHALLENGE AND WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOU WORKING WITH US AND OUR, OUR, OUR CALL. WE STILL HAVE SOME COMING IN, BUT IT IS, IT IS DECREASED. SO JUST A QUESTION, UM, YOU KNOW, I KNOW WE HAVE A CADILLAC SERVICE PLAN. UM, DO YOU SEE US, YOU KNOW, MOVING FORWARD IN THE FUTURE TO CONTINUE WITH THIS LEVEL OF SERVICE, WHAT IS, WHAT IS, WHAT WOULD BE THE, THE, THE CEILING THAT WE WOULD HIT THAT WOULD SAY, OKAY, WE NEED TO GO TO ONCE A WEEK GARBAGE, WE NEED TO GO TO JUST TWICE A MONTH, RECYCLING, WE NEED TO GO TO TWICE A MONTH. WOULD HE WASTE, DO YOU HAVE, Y'ALL CONSIDERED THAT, UM, TO BE ABLE TO MEET THE NEED ACTUALLY REDUCING SERVICE AND WHAT'S NEEDED HERE. YEAH. SO I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF DISCUSSION IN 2017 ABOUT THAT. I WASN'T HERE AT THE TIME. I UNDERSTAND IT. WASN'T A, A HAPPY DISCUSSION AT THE TIME. SO, UH, I KNOW, UH, JEFFERSON PARISH WENT TO ONCE A WEEK AND, YOU KNOW, AND THEY SURVIVED, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS, UH, LAST SPRING. THEY DID THAT, UH, IN 2020, I MEAN, SO, YEAH, SO THEY, THEY DID DO THAT. UM, WE ARE ALWAYS LOOKING AT OPTIONS AND EVERYTHING AND HOW WE, YOU KNOW, DO THE SERVICE LET'S SEE, OR, YOU KNOW, IN DOING CONSIDERATIONS OF, FOR IMPROVING EVERYTHING. OKAY. THANK YOU, MOROCCO. THANK YOU SO MUCH. UM, TO JUST DISCUSS, UH, THE NOTIFICATIONS, THE COMMUNICATIONS, TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA. THERE WAS A GRAPHIC THAT WAS RECENTLY SHARED, UM, AND IT WAS A LITTLE GREEN PICTURE AND IT WAS, UM, VERY DESCRIPTIVE WITH THE ORDER IN WHICH YOU PLACE YOUR TRASH TO THE CURB. I TEXT IT TO MY HUSBAND AND I DRIVE HOME AND I SEE HIM AND MY 18 YEAR OLD REORGANIZING OUR TRASH BECAUSE THE MORE, YOU KNOW, UM, AND THAT IN IS JUST AN EDUCATION PIECE THAT I FEEL LIKE IF WE COULD TEXT THAT TO OUR CITIZENS, IF IT WAS SOMETHING THAT THEY WERE NOTIFIED OF, UM, WE, IT WOULD BE HELPFUL. IT WOULD KEEP FRUSTRATIONS DOWN. UM, PEOPLE WOULD UNDERSTAND THAT AND WE WE'VE DONE EVERYTHING WE CAN TO SHARE IT ON NEXT DOOR TO SHARE IT ON FACEBOOK, TO SHARE IT ON TWITTER OR WHEREVER WE CAN GET IT. BUT WE DON'T ALWAYS REACH THE 94 YEAR OLD LADY WHO TAKES EVERY MUSCLE IN HER BODY TO DRAG HER RECYCLING CART OUT TO THE ROAD AND THEN PULL IT RIGHT BACK IN BECAUSE IT DOESN'T END UP SHOWING UP. BUT WITH THAT BEING SAID, UM, THE MORE PICTURES THAT WE CAN GET THE MORE WITH PEOPLE LOVE THEM, UM, IF WE CAN HELP SHARE WITH THOSE THINGS, TO HELP OUR COMMUNITY AND HELP YOU GUYS, UM, HAVE A SMOOTHER TRANSITION THROUGHOUT YOUR DAYS, I WOULD LOVE TO DO THAT. UM, THE OTHER THING THAT I REALLY, REALLY WANTED TO TALK ABOUT WAS, UM, JUST HOW THE RESPONSIVENESS FROM YOUR TEAM HAS BEEN, AND YOU GUYS HAVE SHOWN A DEGREE OF RESPONSIVENESS THAT I HAVEN'T TRADITIONALLY SEEN WITH PEOPLE, UM, THAT I WORK WITH IN THIS CAPACITY. SO I HAVE TO COMMEND YOU ON THAT IF, UM, MY OFFICE CALLS YOU, YOU GUYS RESPOND AND Y'ALL ARE THERE FIXING THE PROBLEM. SO I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT. AND I JUST EXTREMELY HELPFUL. UM, I KNOW THAT WE'RE ALL PUSHED AND PULLED IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS. UM, AND ONE OF THE COMMENTS THAT WE HAD EARLIER TODAY ABOUT US DISCUSSING SOME OF THINGS OUT IN THE FIELD, WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, SOMEONE SAID SOMETHING, AND IT REALLY RESONATED WITH ME. AND I GUESS, UM, WAS ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT YOU DON'T COMMONLY THINK ABOUT. YOU SEE THE TRASH TRUCK, EVEN WHENEVER YOU'RE A LITTLE KID YOU'RE FASCINATED BY THEM, BUT YOU DON'T REALIZE THAT THEY FILL UP, THEY FILL UP, UM, THEY FILL UP MID ROUTE. THEY CAN ONLY SQUISH SO MUCH TRASH IN THERE AND THEN THEY HAVE TO GO TO THE LANDFILL. BUT IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS WHERE ONCE YOU TALK TO, ONCE WE'VE TALKED TO PEOPLE AND WE LET THEM KNOW, THERE ARE CERTAIN AHA MOMENTS WHERE IT'S LIKE, OH, OKAY. UM, AND THEN TEMPERS. COOL. UM, THERE'S A, AN, A DEGREE OF UNDERSTANDING. UM, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT, HEY, WE WENT FROM HAVING, UM, NOT SO MUCH COMMERCIAL TRASH DURING THE PANDEMIC, BUT THEN RESIDENTIAL TRASH INCREASED EXPONENTIALLY, UM, PEOPLE START TO REFLECT AND SEE, OH YEAH, I'VE BEEN, ALL OF MY HOUSEHOLD ITEMS ARE NOW DELIVERED VIA AMAZON. UM, I, MY KIDS DRANK THE LITTLE MIGOS AND THEY COME IN A LARGE BOX FOR A LITTLE TINY THING. SO, UM, RECYCLING IS INCREASED. SO IF YOU CAN, IF THE MAYOR'S OFFICE, IF ANYONE CAN HELP US WITH THOSE GRAPHICS, WITH, UM, THOSE SHARING, I'D BE HAPPY TO SHARE ANY OF THAT INFORMATION. UM, JUST KEEP IT COMING. WHAT WE'VE HAD SO FAR HAS BEEN WONDERFUL. I LOVE THE LITTLE GREEN, UH, TRASH ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. THIS IS HOW IT GOES. UM, THAT ONE WAS ACTUALLY INCLUDED IN THE WATER BILL IN JULY. SO EVERYBODY GOT THAT LITTLE GREEN, [02:10:01] WELL, EVERYBODY GETS A BILL EITHER ELECTRONICALLY OR IN THE MAIL. AND IT WAS IN BOTH. CAUSE I SAW IT IN MY LIFE. YEAH, WE HAD IT. UM, AND WE WERE TEXTING IT OUT AND SENDING IT OUT TO FOLKS. SO IT WAS JUST REALLY NICE TO HAVE THAT, UM, AND HAVE THAT READILY AVAILABLE. SO YOU COULD FIGURE OUT WHERE EVERYTHING GOES. UM, ESPECIALLY WHENEVER YOU LOOK OUT AND YOU SEE THAT PEOPLE HAD FENCES BLOWN DOWN OR YOU SEE THAT THEY HAD LIMBS DOWN ON OUR, THEY HAD THEIR ADDITIONAL CARTS OUT THERE. SO, UM, THANK YOU AGAIN AND AGAIN, I HAVE TO JUST COMMEND YOUR TEAM ON YOUR RESPONSIVENESS. I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT MY OFFICE APPRECIATES THAT. MY CONSTITUENTS APPRECIATE THAT. SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU. HE SO MUCH, THERE IS ONE LITTLE BIT OF INFORMATION I WANT TO GIVE YOU ALL THAT YOU, YOU PROBABLY NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT THE ARM ON THE TRUCK THAT PICKS UP THE CARD IS ON THE RIGHT SIDE. YOU GET CALLS FROM YOUR RESIDENTS THAT SAY THEY ONLY PICKED UP ONE SIDE AND THEN THEY HADN'T BEEN BACK. WE RIGHT-HAND ROUTE OUR ROUTES, WHICH MEANS THEY ONLY MAKE RIGHT HAND TURNS. SO UNTIL THEY GET THROUGH THE ENTIRE ROUTE, THEY MAY NOT GET BACK TO THE PERSON ACROSS THE STREET UNTIL THE END OF THE ROUTE. SO EVERY ONE OF THOSE ROUTES ARE RIGHT-HAND ROUTED. AND THAT'S WHY THAT'S GOOD INFORMATION TO KNOW COUNCIL MEMBER. YEAH. I JUST WANT TO SAY FIRST, UH, TO RICK AND SHARON, THANK Y'ALL FOR COMING OUT AND DOING THIS AND THAT. I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU SITTING THROUGH THE ENTIRETY OF THE LAST MEETING. I'M SORRY. WE DIDN'T GET TO YOU. UM, YOU KNOW, AND I ALSO APPRECIATE THE COUNCIL FOR THE ROBUST DISCUSSION THAT WE'VE HAD. YOU KNOW, THIS IS ONE OF THE LARGEST CONTRACTS THAT WE'VE HAD. UH, AND SO I, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US AS A COUNSELOR TO PLAY A MORE ACTIVE ROLE IN, IN MANAGEMENT OF THAT CONTRACT AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THAT CONTRACT. UM, SO A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS THAT I HAVE, UH, AND I'VE MADE A LITTLE LIST HERE, SO I'M GOING TO RUN THROUGH THEM. UM, WHEN SOMEONE CALLS INTO 3, 1, 1, AND THEIR COMPLAINT IS AN INCOMPLETE ROUTE, DO WE HAVE ANY WAY TO QUANTIFY OR, OR IN THE MATRIX, ARE WE QUANTIFYING THE NUMBER OF ADDRESSES THAT WERE NOT COMPLETED THAT DAY? SO THE WAY IT WORKS FOR US AND I'M GOING TO LET THEM SPEAK TO THREE, ONE, ONE, WE GET A CALL INTO THREE, ONE, ONE, OKAY. AND WE, WE CALL IT AN ACTION BECAUSE IT'S A COMPLAINT. IF IT'S MISSED, IF IT'S NOT MISSED, IT'S NOT A COMPLAINT. SO WHAT YOU'RE SEEING IS THE NUMBER OF CALLS. SO WHAT YOU'RE NOT SEEING IS THE NUMBER THAT WERE TRUE COMPLAINTS OR THE NUMBERS THAT WERE NOT, OR SOMEBODY MIGHT'VE JUST CALLED AND SAID, HEY, JUST WANT TO LET YOU KNOW, OR PUT A MATTRESS OUT. CAN YOU PICK IT UP THURSDAY? SO THERE'S A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT WAYS, BUT THERE'S NOT REALLY A WAY FOR US IN 3, 1, 1 TO QUANTIFY THAT FOR YOU. SO THAT IS ONE OF, ONE OF MY CONCERNS ABOUT THE MATRIX. AND I, I FIRST I WANT TO COME IN, PARTICULARLY CALVIN FOR SETTING UP THE MATRIX AND Y'ALL MANAGING THAT. I THINK, I THINK THAT IS A GREAT TOOL AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE IN THE PAST AND IT'S, IT'S EXCEPTIONAL, BUT I ALWAYS WANT TO LOOK AT WAYS TO MAKE IT BETTER. RIGHT. UM, SO PARTICULARLY IN MY DISTRICT, BECAUSE WE'RE THE FURTHEST FROM THE LANDFILL, WE HAVE A LOT OF ISSUES WITH INCOMPLETE ROUTES. UH, AND SO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO REFLECT IN THAT MATRIX, UM, HOW, HOW CONSISTENTLY WE ARE NOT COMPLETING THE ROUTES AND THEN, AND THE NUMBER OF HOMES THAT ARE IMPACTED BY INCOMPLETE ROUTES. SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING AT TOTAL NUMBERS AND 3, 1, 1, AND REPUBLIC IS ACTUALLY LOOKING AT DRIVERS AND ROUTES AND HOW MANY SKIPS PER ROUTE THAT THEY DO. AND SO, UH, WE LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, 38 ROUTES AND YOU, YOU MAY HAVE 15 GUYS THAT HAVE MISSED ONE, SO THAT'S 15 SCATTERED THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE SERVICE AREA. BUT THEN WE START LOOKING AT THE GUYS THAT MAY HAVE TWO OR THREE REPETITIVE AND HOW MANY REPEATS THAT THEY'RE HAVING. SO THEY CAN THAT THEY WILL ADDRESS AND START DOING LITTLE EXTRA TRAINING ON THAT DRIVERS TO REDUCE THAT AMOUNT OF MISSES FOR THAT DRIVER. SO THEY NOT, MAY NOT BE LOOKING AT A SPECIFIC NEIGHBORHOOD, BUT THEY ARE LOOKING AT THE ROUTES AND MAKING SURE THEIR DRIVERS ARE PICKING UP AND ADDRESSING THE ISSUES WHEN THEY SEE THE ISSUES WITH DRIVERS. YEAH. AND I, AND RICK, I THINK YOU'RE REFERRING TO SINGLE MISSES AND THAT'S, THAT'S GREAT. UM, BUT IT'S ALSO, YOU KNOW, YOU MAY HAVE A DRIVER, THEY HAVE THREE OR FOUR MISSES. THOSE ARE THE GUYS THAT, THAT REPUBLIC WILL ADDRESS AND MAKE SURE THAT THE SUPERVISORS ARE LOOKING AFTER THEM A LITTLE BIT MORE. YEAH. THEY'RE GETTING A LITTLE MORE TRAINING SO WE CAN GET THEM DOWN TO THOSE ONES. HE'S TIGHT. MRS. MAYBE'S GOT YOU OUT IN 2020 WHERE YOU'VE GOTTEN IT DOWN TO MAYBE 10 DRIVERS HAVING ONE MISS. GOTCHA. SO, UM, I'VE HAD A COUPLE OF INSTANCES NOW WHERE THE, [02:15:01] OUR RESPONSE BACK FROM REPUBLIC AND, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES ON A MISSED PICKUP WAS THAT WE WOULD SIMPLY CATCH THEM ON THE NEXT SERVICE DAY. UH, I'LL JUST GIVE YOU THE FEEDBACK FROM ME. THAT IS A COMPLETELY, UH, WE, WE JUST CANNOT RESPOND TO A CONSTITUENT THAT WAY. UM, YOU KNOW, FOR US TO SAY THAT, HEY, WE'LL CATCH YOU NEXT TIME. I MEAN, LOOK, FOLKS PAID FOR THAT SERVICE. THEY EXPECT TO GET IT. UH, I, AS I UNDERSTAND THE CONTRACT, WE HAVE AN OBLIGATION, UM, YOU KNOW, TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT PICKUP HAPPENS. SO I GUESS MY QUESTION IS HOW DO WE MAKE THE DECISION WHEN TO PUT SOMEONE TO THE NEXT SERVICE DAY? I UNDERSTAND IF THE COMPLAINT IS MADE 24 HOURS BEFORE THE NEXT SERVICE DAY. UM, BUT CAN WE GET A COMMITMENT THAT IF SOMEONE COMPLAINS NOT WITHIN 24 HOURS OF THE NEXT SERVICE DAY, THAT THEY WILL BE SERVICED WELL, AND THAT IS OUR COMMITMENT TO SERVICE THEM. SO THIS IS, I HAVE TWO TIERS OF SERVICE. GARBAGE IS NUMBER ONE, CAUSE THAT'S A PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE. SO WE'RE ALWAYS GOING TO GO BACK AND GET THOSE BEFORE. AND THE NEXT DAY, IF THEY'RE MISSED WHERE THOSE ARE BEING INVESTIGATED. SO NOW WE START ADDRESSING THE WOODY WASTE AND THAT HAND PILES, YOU KNOW, WE DO HAVE, AND REPUBLIC DOES HAVE LIMITED RESOURCES AND WE'VE HAD A LOT OF WOODY AND A LOT OF HAND PILES BECAUSE OF THE WEATHER AND ALL THE ISSUES WE'VE HAD. AND SO WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO JUST KEEP MOVING FORWARD AND TRY TO CATCH HIM AND GET THINGS COMPLETED THE NEXT SERVICE DAY. THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE SEEING ON THAT. SO, SO I'LL JUST GIVE YOU FEEDBACK AND I WANT TO, I WANT TO TEMPER MY RESPONSE TO YOU IN SAYING THAT I, I TOTALLY APPRECIATE, UM, THE VERY REAL LOGISTICAL HURDLES THAT YOU GUYS HAVE HAD, RIGHT. UM, SIR. YES, SIR. UM, UH, I CAN JUST TELL YOU THE DEMAND FROM MY CONSTITUENTS IS FOR ME TO SAY, UH, FIGURE IT OUT. RIGHT. UH, AND I, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO SAY IT MORE ELOQUENTLY. I WISH I COULD. UM, BUT YOU KNOW, AGAIN, CONSTITUENTS ARE PAYING FOR THAT SERVICE, PARTICULARLY IN DISTRICT NINE, WE HAVE A LOT OF SUBDIVISIONS WITH MATURE TREES WHERE THEY, THEY IN FACT DO, UH, YOU KNOW, CREATE THOSE WOODY WASTE, HAND PILES, UH, AND YOU KNOW, LIKE YOU CAN DRIVE THROUGH THE DISTRICT AND SEE, I MEAN, THEY'VE GOT PEOPLE WITH BURN MARKS IN THEIR YARD BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE WOODY WASTE HAS BEEN SITTING THERE. UM, AND I CAN TELL YOU FOLKS IN MY DISTRICT ARE UPSET ABOUT THAT, THAT THEY DON'T WANT TO SEE THOSE PILES SITTING THERE. UM, IT ALMOST CAN BECOME A BLIGHT ISSUE AFTER A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME. UM, SO THAT'S MY, MY PUSHBACK OR MY FEEDBACK TO YOU IS THAT, UM, WE'VE GOT TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO INCREASE THAT CAPACITY. UM, AND WE'VE GOT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DO THAT. SHARON, DID YOU WANT TO SAY SOMETHING WELL TO INCREASE THAT CAPACITY ON THE VOLUME OF LEEWAYS CAUSE YOU AND I HAVE TALKED, I MEAN, YOUR, YOUR DISTRICT PRODUCES A LOT OF WOODY WASTE. AND AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE HAVE SOME CONTRACTOR ISSUES TOO, THAT WE'RE TRYING TO ADDRESS, BUT AGREED. AND IT TAKES US TWO HOURS TO GET FROM TO THE NORTH LANE VILLAIN DOCK. SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, WE'VE ADDED CAPACITY, WE'VE ADDED ADDITIONAL ROUTES. WE'RE JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT AGAIN, I GET WHAT YOU'RE SAYING. WE ARE TRYING TO FIGURE IT OUT. WE'VE ADDED TRUCKS, WE'VE ADDED ROUTES AT NO ADDITIONAL COST. WE GOT TO ADD SOME MORE. WE'RE GOING TO DO THAT AGAIN. BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE ALSO HAVE TO FIGURE OUT, YOU KNOW, WITH THESE STORMS AND THE STUFF THAT'S COMING THROUGH, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS OUR NORMAL AND WHAT'S OUTSIDE THE NORMAL AND WHAT STORM-RELATED, AND WHAT'S NOT. SO ONE MORE THING ON THAT. AND THIS IS A QUESTION FOR RICK. UM, RICK, I KNOW WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT ALL OF THIS IN 2019, THERE WAS SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT, UH, LIKE COUNCILMAN BANKS HAD SAID FINDING A SATELLITE SITE. UM, I KNOW WE HAVEN'T FOUND ONE TO DATE OBVIOUSLY, BUT, UH, IS THAT AN ONGOING SURGE? ARE WE, ARE WE PUTTING EFFORTS TOWARDS THAT OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE'VE ABANDONED? WHAT ARE WE LOOKING? AND I HAVE NOT ABANDONED IN, I JUST BEEN DIRECTLY HURRICANE LORD DELTA, ICE STORM FLOOD, AND NOW IDA AND PLUS THE PANDEMIC. SO I, THIS IS NOT AN ABANDONMENT. IT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, I HAVE A NEED TO DO OTHER THINGS AT THAT POINT. I GOT YOU. IT'D BE GREAT TO HAVE A SATELLITE PLACE TO DUMP, YOU KNOW, THAT'S COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PERMITTING PROCESS THAT I HAVE TO GO THROUGH. LDQ AFTER WE SITE THE THING, YOU'RE GOING TO GO THROUGH A PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD. YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE AGAINST IT, YOU KNOW, DO YOU HAVE ALL THOSE SAME REQUIREMENTS JUST FOR A WOODY WASTE SET SITE? YOU DO. OH YEAH. GOTCHA. UM, SO THANK YOU, RICK. UM, AND I'LL TELL YOU, YOU KNOW, UM, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE IT. COUNCILMAN ADAMS KIND OF BRINGING UP THIS POINT, UM, YOU KNOW, MY, MY OTHER REASON FOR [02:20:01] INTRODUCING THESE ITEMS AND WE DO HAVE ONE FOR EVERY QUARTER NOW THAT THEY'VE BEEN PRE INTRODUCED. UM, MY, MY OTHER REASON FOR WANTING TO INTRODUCE THESE ITEMS WAS TO GET US TO START THINKING, UH, AND LEARNING ABOUT THE LEVEL OF SERVICE THAT WE PROVIDE, UM, AND HOW WE MOVE FORWARD. RIGHT. UH, SO WE'VE TOUCHED ON THE FACT THAT, UM, WE HAVE THE CADILLAC SERVICE. I, I THINK WE HAVE THE, AT LEAST AS FAR AS OUR OFFERINGS GO, WE HAVE THE ROLLS ROYCE SERVICE, RIGHT? IT'S IT'S WE OFFER QUITE A BIT, UH, BUT I, I WORRY THAT WE OFFER SO MUCH AND THEN IT'S, IT'S HINDERED OUR ABILITY TO ACTUALLY DELIVER, AND THAT'S NO FAULT OF ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES OR REPUBLIC. IT JUST, IT JUST IS WHAT IT IS. UH, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A REASON THAT I DRIVE A TOYOTA AS OPPOSED TO A, UH, WELL, THERE'S A LOT OF REASONS WHY I DON'T DRIVE A ROLLS ROYCE, BUT THERE'S A REASON WHY I DRIVE A TOYOTA AS OPPOSED TO A LUXURY BRAND. AND THAT'S, UH, MY TOYOTA STARTS EVERY MORNING, YOU KNOW, IT WORKS. UM, AND SO, UH, I, I DON'T KNOW THAT, THAT I HAVE AN ANSWER FOR WHAT THE SERVICE LEVELS SHOULD BE. I DO KNOW THAT IN 2017, WE DID A VERY ROBUST, UH, SURVEY OF, OF WHAT FOLKS MIGHT LIKE AND WHAT THEY MIGHT BE ACCEPTABLE. AND AS WE LOOK AT THIS CONTRACT, IT'S SOMETHING WE REALLY NEED TO START EVALUATING AS A COUNCIL, UH, BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE CAN OFFER THE GREATEST THING IN THE WORLD, BUT IF WE CAN'T DELIVER IT, WE'RE NOT DOING OUR JOBS. UH, AND SO I JUST WOULD ENCOURAGE THE COUNCIL TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT MOVING FORWARD, BUT THANK YOU ALL AGAIN, Y'ALL, Y'ALL ARE AWESOME AND YOUR DRIVERS, UH, EVERY TIME MY KIDS RUN OUT THE DOOR, UH, WITHOUT PERMISSION AND ASK THEM TO HONK THE HORN AND THEY STILL DO IT, AND WE APPRECIATE THOSE GUYS. SO THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN DOUG, I'VE RECEIVED CALLS, EMAILS, AND COMMUNICATION FROM CONSTITUENTS IN MY DISTRICT ABOUT NINE SERVERS OUT OF LACK OF SERVICE, SOMETIMES AS A HOUSE, SOMETIMES AS A STREET OR TWO, SOMETIMES AT A TIME NEIGHBORHOOD. UH, BUT WHAT I CAN TELL YOU IS WHEN MYSELF OR MY OFFICE HAD REACHED OUT TO SHARON OR CARLOS, OR SOME OF THE OTHER FOLKS WHERE REPUBLIC THAT IS ACTUALLY RESOLVED EITHER THAT DAY, BUT THE NEXT DAY WE HADN'T HAD THE NEXT SERVICE DATE ISSUES. IT'S TYPICALLY RESOLVED THAT DAY OR THE NEXT DAY. I WANT TO KIND OF ADDRESS PRE PANDEMIC AND POST PANDEMIC. IF YOU LOOK AT THE PANDEMIC, ALL HOSPITALS HAVE REDUCED SOME OF THEIR SERVICE OFFERINGS REDUCE THEIR CAPACITY, STOP TAKING NINE EMERGENCY SERVICES. WE HAVE SOME OF OUR RESTAURANTS THAT HAVE REDUCED THEIR DAYS OF OPERATIONS. HOW WAS THE OPERATION BECAUSE OF ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH THE PANDEMIC, WHETHER IT'S AVAILABILITY OF STAFF OR WHETHER IT'S WITH STAFF, WITH COVID AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE, EMS, EVEN, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES BEFORE THE PANDEMIC, YOU WOULD CALL EMS FOR A SPECIFIC ISSUE. THEY WOULD TRANSPORT THE PATIENT TO THE HOSPITAL RIGHT NOW, THEY TELLING YOU THEY'RE NOT TRANSPORTING THE PATIENT TO THE HOSPITAL. IN SPECIFIC INSTANCES, WE LOOK TO SIT AT PARIS ON THIS COUNCIL ADMINISTRATION. OTHER PEOPLE IN THE STAFF HAVE HAD ISSUES AS IT RELATES TO COVID BEEN OUT AND, UH, MANPOWER AND THE WORKFORCE HAVE BEEN IMPACTED. SO I WOULD IMPRESS UPON THE GENERAL PUBLIC AND US AS COUNCIL MEMBERS TO NOT LOOK AT THIS SERVICE OR THIS COMPANY, ANY DIFFERENT. THEY GONE THROUGH THE PANDEMIC, JUST LIKE WE'RE GOING THROUGH DEPENDENT. THEY HAVE PEOPLE WITH COVID PEOPLE THAT ARE OUT AND, AND THEY HAVE, AS WAS MENTIONED BEFORE THE INCREASED CAPACITY WITH OUR TRENDS, UH, CHANGING THE WAY WE CONSUME PRODUCTS AND THE WAY WE DISPOSE OF PRODUCTS AND BEING AT HOME MORE THAN WE OFTEN WAS BEFORE. SO ALL OF THOSE ARE VARIABLES THAT I THINK WE NEED TO CONSIDER AND LOOK AT BEFORE WE JUMP TO BEING SUPER CRITICAL, BUT SEEKING TO KIND OF UNDERSTAND. AND, UH, AND TALKING WITH SHARON AND CARLOS AND SOME OTHERS, YOU KNOW, MANY OF THE THINGS THEY POINTED OUT WERE REASONABLE AND LOGICAL TO UNDERSTAND WHY THE CAPACITY ISSUES, OR MAYBE THEY'D BE A MISSED DAY OR TWO. I THINK IT'S UNFAIR TO HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE, UH, FOR PRE PANDEMIC SERVICE IN THIS POST PANDEMIC ERA. UH, SO I THINK I WANT TO OFFER THAT UP, BUT AS IT RELATES TO PRE PANDEMIC, I THINK SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT PEOPLE HAVE HAD IN THE PAST ARE RELATED TO THE LACK OF, UH, SOUTH LANDFILL COUNCIL ON THE BANKS, BROUGHT IT UP, COUNCILMAN MARK BROUGHT IT UP, THE WHITE COUNCIL, MY HUSBAND EVEN BROUGHT IT UP. I DO THINK THAT IT WOULD REDUCE THE TRAVEL TIME, REDUCE THE FUEL COSTS AND, AND, UH, INCREASE THE SERVICES AND REDUCE THOSE AMOUNT OF HOUSEHOLDS THAT ARE NOT BEING SERVICED IN YOUR DISTRICT. AND OTHER DISTRICTS THAT ARE FARTHER AWAY FROM THE LA NORTH LANDFILL. I THINK WE NEED TO STRONGLY CONSIDER LOOKING AT A SOUTH LAND FIELD SO WE CAN DISPOSE THE TRASH IN THE SOUTH. AND THOSE VEHICLES DON'T HAVE TO TRAVEL FROM HOOSIER TO ROAD TO THE NORTHERN PART OF THE PARISH BECAUSE THERE'S COUNCILWOMAN BANKS MENTIONED THAT, AND DEPENDING ON THE TRAFFIC, IT COULD BE AN HOUR, IT COULD BE TWO HOURS. AND IF IT'S [02:25:01] ON THE SOUTH, YOU WON'T HAVE THAT, THAT TRAVEL ISSUE. YOU'RE CLOSER TO THE DESTINATION OF DUMPING. AND I THINK THAT WOULD INCREASE YOUR SERVICE, UH, WANT TO MAKE YOU THE COUNCIL AWARE. ONE THING WE WERE TALKING ABOUT A GREEN WASTE DISPOSAL AREA, A LANDFILL, IT TAKES ABOUT 15 YEARS TO SITE AND PERMIT BILL AND GET OPERATIONAL OR A PERMITTED LANDFILL. SO, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'RE REALLY TALKING ABOUT IS THE GREEN WASTE AREAS. WHAT WE'RE REALLY LOOKING INTO THIS WELL, WHETHER IT TAKES TWO YEARS, FIVE YEARS OR 15 YEARS, THIS ISSUE IS STILL GOING TO BE HERE AS SOON AS YOU GET STARTED ON IT. I THINK THE BETTER. SO IF IT TAKES 15 YEARS, I THINK WE NEED TO START YESTERDAY. NOW YOU REFERENCED THE SOUTH SIDE THAT WE HAD AT ONE TIME, OR WAS YOU, WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THAT SITE NOW? EXCUSE ME, IT'S GIVING ME A COUNCILWOMAN CAUSE YOU, WHAT, WHAT WAS GOING ON WITH THAT SIDE? WELL, THAT SITE, THEY'RE BUILDING THE PQ OVER T UH, OVERPASS THAT IT'S NO LONGER THERE. THEY'VE ACTUALLY RELOCATED TO THE BACHELORS SIDE OF THE RIVER ON LONG RIVER ROAD. UM, I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE. IT'S SOMEWHERE BETWEEN, UH, GUARD HERE AND IN LSU, I LIKE THE COMMITMENT TO, UM, YOU KNOW, REALLY EXPLORE, YOU KNOW, LOOKING FOR A SITE FOR BOTH THE WOODY WASTE DUMPING AS WELL AS, UH, A FULL OUT LANDFILL. UH, BUT I LIKE YOU GUYS TO LOOK AT THAT AND GET US SOME INFORMATION ON WHAT PLANTS ARE LAND AVAILABLE OR WHERE WE COULD POTENTIALLY DO IT. I DO THINK, I DON'T KNOW IF IT WAS YOU OR THE WHITE MENTIONED THAT THERE ARE, THERE WILL BE SOME BIG PEOPLE THAT'S AGAINST IT. AND I UNDERSTAND THAT, BUT YOU KNOW, YOU CAN'T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS, YOU KNOW, EITHER YOU WANT TO, UH, REDUCE THE, THE, THE LACK OF SERVICE AND THE AMOUNT OF HOUSES THAT'S NOT BEING SERVICED, OR YOU WANT TO PROVIDE A SOLUTION TO THAT. AND I THINK THE TRAVEL AND THE DISTANCE IS THE BIGGEST OBSTACLE THERE. AND IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING CLOSER, YOU WON'T HAVE THESE, YOU KNOW, CONTINUE A NON-SERVICE OR REPEATED NON-SERVICE BECAUSE YOU REDUCED THE DISTANCE. I REST WITH THAT. THANK YOU. QUESTION. SO Y'ALL, AREN'T HANDLING ANY DEAL WOULD LEAVE A WOODY WASTE FROM THE STORM, IS THAT CORRECT? OKAY, BRO, GET COMBAT FOR IDA. NO, THAT WE HAVE ACTIVATED OUR EMERGENCY DEBRIS CONTRACTS AND, YOU KNOW, I'VE SET UP 30 ZONES ACROSS THE PARISH AND WE GOT A CONTRACTOR SOUTH OF FLORIDA AND THE CONTRACTOR NORTH OF FLORIDA TO TRY TO PICK UP ALL THAT DEBRIS. WE'RE ESTIMATING SOMEWHERE AROUND 400,000 CUBIC YARDS OF STORM DEBRIS AT THIS POINT, COUNCILMAN, UM, I AM IN, IN BOTH AREAS LIKE HALF AND HALF WITH THE COUNCIL MEMBERS, DEFINITELY APPRECIATIVE OF BECAUSE YOU HAVE RESPONDED DURING THE PANDEMIC AND DURING THE, UH, POST IDA CONCERNS THAT WE'VE HAD. UM, BUT, UM, I'M ALSO UNDERSTANDING CLEARLY UNDERSTANDING WHAT THE WHITE COUNCILMAN HUDSON HAS STATED THAT THERE'S SOME SERIOUS OTHER ISSUES THAT MANY, I GET A LOT OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT STREETS NOT BEING PICKED UP AND NEIGHBORHOOD IS NOT BEING PICKED UP, BUT YOU ARE RESPONSIVE, UM, IN AN, IN RESPONSE TO THE COMMUNICATIONS ISSUE, MANY OF OUR NEIGHBORHOODS AREN'T AS SAVVY, UM, AND ON ALL OF THESE GREAT APPS AND PROGRAMS, TRY TO GET TO YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION MEETINGS. UM, AND I KNOW THAT EACH COUNCIL MEMBER CAN LET YOU KNOW WHEN THEY'RE HAVING THEM. A LOT OF THEM ARE STILL DOING ZOOM THOUGH. IT'S REALLY EASY TO GET TO THOSE. AND SO MAYBE THAT CAN BE YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE. UM, I KNOW WE HAVEN'T HAD MANY, UM, NEIGHBORHOOD, I MEAN, COUNCIL MEMBER, TOWN HALLS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, BUT DEFINITELY LESS REACH OUT TO OUR NEIGHBORHOOD PRESIDENTS AND TRY TO GET THAT INFORMATION TO THEM. UM, BECAUSE THEY ARE THE ONES THAT ARE GETTING MOST OF THE COMPLAINTS AND SEND THEM TO US. WE WOULD LOVE TO DO THAT. WE'VE GOTTEN INVITED TO A COUPLE OF THEM AND THEY SEEM TO WORK WELL AND PEOPLE ASK QUESTIONS AND WE CAN ALSO SHARE OUR SCREEN AND GIVE THEM INFORMATION TOO. SO IF ANYBODY'S INTERESTED IN THAT, PLEASE REACH OUT TO ME AND I KNOW I'LL SEND IT TO MY NEIGHBORHOOD. OKAY, GREAT. THANK YOU. YEAH. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UH, FOR THE REPORT COUNCIL, A MEMBER GO, THEY TEXTED AND REMINDED ME THAT, UH, OUR, UH, LEGISLATIVE AIDS FIELD, A LOT OF THE PHONE CALLS DURING THESE CHALLENGING TIMES AROUND TRASH. AND SO IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE TO CELEBRATE AND THANK THEM FOR RECEIVING THOSE PHONE CALLS AND LETTING THEM KNOW WE APPRECIATE BECAUSE, UH, IT'S OUR LEGISLATIVE AIDES WHO ACTUALLY [02:30:01] CONTACT YOU ALL THE TIME. UH, YOU AND CARLOS. SO THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER. MAKING MENTION THAT WE SINCERELY APPRECIATE [48. 21-01219] IT. WE ARE NOW GOING TO GO TO ITEM 48, UH, AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR PRESIDENT TO EXECUTE A SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT. NUMBER EIGHT TO THE CONTRACT WITH SHRED KURKENDAHL ASSOCIATES, INC FOR ENGINEERING AND LAND SURVEYING SERVICES ASSOCIATED WITH MOVIE OFF CAPACITY PROJECT PEACOCK LANE. I TEND TO INTERCHANGE NOT TO EXCEED $159,447 AND 8 CENTS BY TRANSPORTATION AND DRAINAGE DIRECTORS. ANYONE HERE TO SPEAK ON ITEM 48 COUNCIL MEMBERS MOST TO APPROVE BY ROCCA. SECOND BY MOAT, [49. 21-01220] WE GO TO ITEM 49. NOW AUTHORIZE THE MAYOR. PRESIDENT EXECUTED CONTRACT FOR ACQUISITION AND RELOCATION SERVICES WITH JM GROUP LLC FOR SERVICES ASSOCIATED, REMOVE YOUR CAPACITY PROJECT JONES CREEK AND AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $67,320 BY TRANSPORTATION AND DRAINAGE DIRECTOR. ANYONE HERE TO SPEAK ON ITEM 49 BACK TO COUNCIL MEMBERS, MOTION TO APPROVE BY GO. THEY SECONDED BY ROCCA. [50. 21-01221] WE NOW GO TO ITEM 50, AUTHORIZING THEIR PRESIDENT TO EXECUTE A UTILITY RELOCATION AGREEMENT WITH DIXIE PIPELINE COMPANY, LLC, AND AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $523,300 BY TRANSPORTATION AND DRAINAGE DIRECTOR. WAS THERE ANYONE HERE TO SPEAK TO ITEM 50 BACK TO THE COUNCIL MEMBERS, MOTION TO APPROVE BY ROCCO SECOND BY ADAMS MOTION [51. 21-01222] CARRIES ITEM 51 REQUESTING THE PLANNING COMMISSION STUDY, RESIDENTIAL LOT SIZE AND DESTINY AND RURAL ZONING BY COUNCIL MEMBER. NO. ANYONE HERE TO SPEAK ON ITEM 51, UH, BACK TO COUNCIL MEMBERS, WE HAVE SOME COMMENTS FROM MEMBERS, COUNCIL MEMBERS. YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED ONE EMAIL COMMENT IN FAVOR OF THIS SITE COUNCIL MEMBER. NO, THANK YOU. UH, YEAH. SO I KNOW I'VE HAD A DISCUSSION WITH PLENTY OF YOU ABOUT THIS. UM, UH, WHAT I'M ASKING FOR AND THIS CAME ABOUT WITH A REASON, UH, DEVELOPMENT THAT CAME, UH, CLOSE TO MY AREA. AND, UM, ESSENTIALLY THERE WAS A DECISION BY THE PLANNING COMMISSION THAT, UM, PLAN AMENDMENT WAS NOT NEEDED, UM, TO MOVE FORWARD WITH A RESIDENTIAL SUBDIVISION. A PLAN AMENDMENT WOULD HAVE TRIGGERED THEM HAVING TO COME TO THE COUNCIL LEVEL FOR THAT DECISION, BUT BY REMOVING THE NEED FOR A, UM, PLAN AMENDMENT, IT BECAME, UH, PURELY A PLANNING COMMISSION DECISION. AND SO, UH, WHAT I'M LOOKING AT AND, AND HOPING THE COMMISSION WILL LOOK AT IS MAKING SOME CHANGES IN RURAL ZONING AND SPECIFICALLY, UH, RURAL CHARACTER AREAS, WHICH, UM, 85 TO 90% OF THE RURAL CHARACTER IS IN DISTRICT ONE. UM, I AM OPEN TO EXPANDING THAT AND, UH, LOOKING AT A FEW DIFFERENT, UM, SCENARIOS. I KNOW I HAD A GOOD DISCUSSION WITH COUNCIL MEMBER HUDSON ABOUT THIS, UH, COUNCILMAN . UM, I WANT TO SPEAK WITH YOU ABOUT IT SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE YOU DO HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF RURAL CHARACTER AREA AS THE FIND, UM, IN YOUR AREA. BUT, UM, ESSENTIALLY WHAT I'M LOOKING AT IS INCREASING THE MINIMUM LOT REQUIREMENT IN RESIDENTIAL, UH, FAR RESIDENTIAL IN RURAL CHARACTER, RURAL ZONING AREA. UM, SO THAT IF SOMEBODY WANTS TO DO A LARGE DENSE NEIGHBORHOOD AND ORDERS, A RURAL CHARACTER AREA, UM, IT WOULD REQUIRE A REZONE THAT WOULD TRIGGER THEN MAKING IT HAVE TO COME TO COUNCIL BECAUSE, UH, I THINK DECISIONS LIKE THAT, UH, I WILL SIT HERE TO HEAR THOSE DECISIONS. AND, UM, CERTAINLY I DON'T MIND SHOWING UP AT THE PLANNING COMMISSION AS I DID ON THAT LAST ONE, BUT I'D RATHER COME TO THIS BODY AND NOT STOP THERE. SO THIS WOULD TRIGGER THAT REQUIREMENT BY, UH, POTENTIALLY INCREASING THE MINIMUM LOT SIZES FOR RESIDENTIAL AND RURAL ZONING AND MORE SPECIFICALLY RURAL CHARACTER AREAS. SO THAT'S WHAT I'M LOOKING AT HERE. I'M OPEN TO MORE DISCUSSION ON IT, AS IT PROGRESSES FROM THE PLANNING COMMISSION DISCUSSING IT, I'LL BE INVOLVED WITH THEM AS THEY PROPOSE THE TEXT AMENDMENT. AND I'M OPEN TO ANY SUGGESTIONS FROM YOU ALL AS IT PROGRESSED AND I'LL MAKE A MOTION. WE APPROVE MOTION TO APPROVAL SETTING ABOUT DON COUNCIL MEMBER HUDSON. YEAH. SO I JUST WANTED TO THANK COUNCILMAN KNOLL FOR BRINGING THIS UP. UM, YOU KNOW, AS I'VE, I'VE LOOKED AT ALL THE DIFFERENT ZONING CASES OVER THE YEARS, I, I, I DEFINITELY THINK THERE'S STILL WORK TO BE DONE ON RURAL ZONING. AND A LOT OF FOLKS DON'T REALIZE AS WE LOOK AT RULES ZONING, UH, AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT IN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE THINK OF COWS AND CHICKENS WHEN WE SAY THE WORD RURAL, BUT REALLY WHAT IT MEANS IS THE WILD WILD WEST, OR AT LEAST THAT'S WHAT IT USED TO MEAN. UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE MADE A LOT OF HEADWAY, WE'VE, WE'VE REDUCED ALLOWABLE DENSITY, UH, WE'VE REMOVED COMMERCIAL USES. UH, WE'VE DONE A LOT OF REALLY GOOD THINGS, UM, BUT WE STILL HAVE SOME ISSUES. UM, AND SO, UH, JUST FOR THE SAKE OF, UH, THE PLANNING COMMISSION STAFF, YOU KNOW, LISTENING, [02:35:01] AND I WANT THIS TO BE A PART OF THE PUBLIC RECORD. UM, I I'M, I'M DEFINITELY OPEN TO THE IDEA OF IT, YOU KNOW, INVOLVING THE RURAL CHARACTER AREA. BUT, UM, I THINK WE, WE DEFINITELY NEED TO LOOK OUTSIDE OF THAT AS WELL TO THE SUBURBAN AREA AND INTO THE OTHER AREAS. SO I THINK THERE'S DEFINITELY AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO MAKE, UH, RURAL ZONING, MORE CONSISTENT WITH A ONE, UH, OR, OR AT LEAST A SEGUE INTO A ONE TYPE ZONING. SO, UH, THANK YOU AGAIN TO COUNCIL MANOLO FOR BRINGING IT UP AND LOOK FORWARD TO A ROBUST, UM, EVALUATION FROM THE PLANNING COMMISSION STAFF. THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER, HUDSON MOTION BY COUNCIL MEMBER. NO SECOND ABOUT DONE ANY OPPOSITION ITEM [52. 21-01223] CARRIES. WE NOW GO TO ITEM 52 REQUESTS, THE PLANNING COMMISSION STUDY POTENTIAL PROCESS, ALLOWING LIMITED HOME BUSINESS AND RESIDENTIAL ZONING OUTSIDE OF MAJOR SUBDIVISIONS BY COUNCIL MEMBER KNOLL, ANYONE HERE TO SPEAK ALL ITEM 52 COUNCIL MEMBER KNOLL. WHAT'S YOUR PLEASURE. THIS CAME ABOUT FROM A CONSTITUENT OF MINE WHO MOVED, I BELIEVE FROM THE PREY VALE AREA, BUT I COULD BE WRONG ON THAT. PREVIOUSLY, HE HAD AN FFL AT HIS PREVIOUS RESIDENCE. UH, HE MOVED OUT ONTO TUCKER ROAD, WHICH IS A UNINCORPORATED AREA OUTSIDE OF ZACHARY, UH, ON A COUPLE OF ACRES. UM, AND HE WAS REQUESTING TO HAVE AN FFL THERE AS WELL AS FEDERAL FIREARMS LICENSE. UM, THIS IS SOMETHING WE USED TO GRANT QUITE OFTEN. I HAVE A COUPLE OF BUDDIES WHO HAVE, UM, UM, THE FEDERAL FIREARMS LICENSE TO HAVE IT, UH, WHAT YOU SEE AS FAR AS TYPICALLY, IF SOMEBODY IS GONNA BUY A FIREARM, UH, ONLINE AND IT NEEDS TO BE SHIPPED, RIGHT, YOU CAN'T SHIP IT DIRECTLY TO SOMEONE. IT HAS TO GO TO A FEDERAL, SOMEBODY WITH A FEDERAL FIREARMS LICENSE IN THE AREA THAT WILL RUN THE BACKGROUND, CHECK FOR THE PERSON COMING TO PICK IT UP. AND, UH, IT'S A PROTECTION AGAINST JUST MAILING WEAPONS, RIGHT? SO HAVING A FEDERAL FIREARMS LICENSE, UH, THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE THEM, ANY GUN DEALER WOULD HAVE IT. SO, UH, WE USED THE GRANT THIS, WHEN I WAS ON ZACHARY COUNCIL THROUGH A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT, UH, WE DON'T HAVE A MECHANISM AT THE PARISH LEVEL FOR THIS. UM, SO THIS IS DISCUSSING POTENTIALLY HAVING A LIMITED BUSINESS IN A RESIDENTIAL ZONING OUTSIDE OF MAJOR SUBDIVISIONS. AND THE REASON IT'S WORDED THAT WAY IS BECAUSE WHEN I BROUGHT THIS UP, WHEN WE SAT DOWN AND HAD A MEETING WITH THE PLANNING COMMISSION AND PAULO AND A FEW DIFFERENT, UH, PEOPLE IN THE PAST ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, TRYING TO FIGURE OUT A MECHANISM TO MAKE THIS A POSSIBILITY, HOWEVER, I'M ALWAYS COGNIZANT OF MAKING CHANGES THAT ARE GOING TO BE, UH, HAVE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES. SO, UH, I THINK THIS IS GOING TO BE NARROW ENOUGH IN SCOPE, BUT ESSENTIALLY WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS ALLOW FOR CERTAIN BUSINESSES TO BE ALLOWED IN A RESIDENTIAL ZONING THAT ARE OUTSIDE OF A MAJOR SUBDIVISION. AND, UM, THE WAY IT SHOULD APPEAR IS THAT NO SIGNAGE ALLOWED, UH, VERY LIMITED TRAFFIC. UM, FOR, FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES, YOUR HOME WOULD LOOK LIKE A HOME TO ANYBODY, ANY NEIGHBORS, ANY SURROUNDING AREAS, BUT IT WOULD PROVIDE A MECHANISM FOR SOMEBODY TO BE ABLE TO OPERATE A BUSINESS SUCH AS THIS, BUT ALSO, UM, AS THE DISCUSSION CONTINUED, THERE WAS A REALIZATION THAT THERE'S ACTUALLY A LOT OF, UH, BUSINESSES THAT HAVE REALIZED THROUGH THE PANDEMIC THAT, UM, THEY CAN OPERATE AT HOME A LITTLE MORE EFFICIENTLY THAN MAYBE THEY DON'T NEED THE COMMERCIAL SPACE THAT THEY USED TO. AND SO I THINK YOU PROBABLY WOULD SEE THIS OPEN UP IN A COUPLE OF SCENARIOS FOR OTHER BUSINESSES AS WELL. THIS JUST HAPPENS TO BE THE ONE THAT TRIGGERED THIS. UH, SO ANYWAY, AGAIN, I'M OPEN TO DISCUSSION. I CERTAINLY WOULD WANT TO HINDER ANY UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES THAT SOMEBODY MIGHT SEE THAT COULD BE TO THE DETRIMENT OF SOME RESIDENTIAL ZONING AREAS. BUT CERTAINLY I'D LIKE TO ALLOW FOR PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO OPERATE BUSINESSES WITHOUT HAVING TO BUY A BRICK AND MORTAR, UM, ESPECIALLY SOMETHING THAT'S VERY LIMITED TRAFFIC AND I'LL MAKE A MOTION. WE APPROVED A MOTION TO APPROVE BY COUNCIL MEMBER, KNOLL, COUNCIL MEMBER BANKS, I D BUT I ABSOLUTELY HATE THIS IDEA AT UNITED SCHOOL. I DO. UM, I THINK THAT, UM, GUNS, I MEAN, I THINK THAT IT IS ABSOLUTELY THAT NEIGHBORS AND IT IS A STUDY. SO IT'S NOT THAT I'M SAYING, BUT I HOPE IT'S, IT'S GONNA BE LIKE, IT'S GONNA, I THINK THAT, UH, IN THIS CLIMATE WHERE PEOPLE ARE SO, UM, EASY WITH GUNS AND WE ALREADY HAVE THE, UH, SITUATION IN HOMES WITH, UM, WHAT IS, WHEN YOU PROTECTING YOUR TURF, WHAT DOES THAT STAND YOUR GROUND? AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT IT'S POSSIBLE TO STAND YOUR GROUND ALONG WITH THE HOME BUSINESS WOULD BE COVERED. UM, SO I JUST THINK THAT THIS IS, UM, I THINK THIS IS NOT GOOD. UH, [02:40:01] YOU KNOW, I WOULD NOT EVER SAY WE SHOULDN'T STUDY SOMETHING, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT WE SHOULDN'T STUDY THIS, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, AND ALSO IT KIND OF, WHEN YOU ALL WERE MENTIONING THE OTHER AREA ABOUT RURAL, I COULD UNDERSTAND THIS BEING, UM, SOMETHING IN A RURAL COMMUNITY ALSO, BUT WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS IT DEFINITELY TO NOT BE. SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S, IF YOU'RE GOING TO, UM, DO A COMPARISON OR THERE BE, BUT WHEN YOU DEALING WITH RURAL VERSUS CITY, I DON'T KNOW, BUT IT'S NOTHING ABOUT THIS THAT I I'LL GET A GOOD FEELING ABOUT IN THIS CURRENT CLIMATE. UM, AND I THINK STAND ALONE, DANIEL BROWN, THAT'S WHAT JUST STAY IN THE GROUND THEN THE GROUND IT'S ALREADY, UM, HAZARDOUS, IF YOU WILL. AND, BUT, YOU KNOW, I DO UNDERSTAND, UM, UH, HOMEOWNER'S RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS AND ALSO PROTECT THEIR PROPERTY. AND I GUESS I WOULD WANT TO KNOW FROM THE PARISH ATTORNEY, WHETHER OR NOT, UM, STAND YOUR GROUND WOULD ALREADY BE COVERED WITH A HOME BUSINESS. AND THEN SECOND OF ALL, I WOULD WANT TO HEAR FROM THE LAW ENFORCEMENT ON, UM, WITH THEM ALREADY BEING STRESSED, UM, OF RESOURCES AND BEING ABLE TO MAKE CALLS HOW THEY WOULD BE IMPACTED BY ADDING THIS. SO, YOU KNOW, I CAN'T TELL THOSE ARE ALL MY REASONS WHY I DON'T THINK THAT THIS IS, SHOULD BE SOMETHING STUDIED AT THIS TIME, BUT BY THE SAME TOKEN, I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S IN HIS MIND. SO THAT'S ALL I CAN SAY. THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER, COUNSELOR MO. OKAY. UM, I GUESS I'M JUST GOING TO GO BACK OVER THIS COUNCIL MEMBER. NO I'M TAKING, THIS IS BASICALLY ALLOWING SOMEONE WOULD A FFA BARREL FIREARM, FFL, SORRY. THEY'RE JUST FACILITATING A GENTLEMEN MYSELF. I HAVE A FIREARM. I WANT TO SELL IT TO SOMEONE ACROSS PARIS. I NEED THIS PERSON FACILITATES A BACKGROUND CHECK. SO NO THAT'S ACTUALLY PERFECTLY LEGAL WITHOUT A FEDERAL FIREARMS LICENSE. OKAY. SO WHAT THIS IS IS IF YOU'RE BUYING IT FROM A RETAILER ONLINE OR FROM SOMEONE OUT OF STATE, THIS IS A SMALL PORTION. WHAT I'M DISCUSSING WAS THE TRIGGER FOR THIS. WHAT THIS ALLOWS IS FOR SOMEBODY TO HAVE A LIMITED HOME BUSINESS, AND WE'RE GOING TO LIMIT BY VERBIAGE WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE IN A RESIDENTIAL AREA THAT CAN HAVE TRAFFIC. SO RIGHT NOW I THINK YOU CAN HAVE A HOME-BASED BUSINESS, BUT YOU CAN'T HAVE ANY TRAFFIC THERE. IF I UNDERSTAND THAT CORRECTLY, UM, THIS WOULD ALLOW THEM TO HAVE SOME FOOT TRAFFIC BECAUSE PART OF AN FFL IS THAT A REQUIREMENT THAT IT THAT'S WHERE THE TRANSACTION OCCURS. AND THERE'S OTHER BUSINESSES THAT HAVE THAT OBVIOUSLY WHERE PEOPLE WOULD COME AND PICK UP OR HAVE DROP OFF. SO AN FFL PURELY IS THE MECHANISM THAT IS REQUIRED. IT'S A FEDERAL FIREARMS LICENSE. SO THIS IS THE INDIVIDUAL. I'LL GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE, CAUSE I'VE DONE IT, UH, BY A GUN OFF OF GUN BROKER, RIGHT? I HAVE TO CHOOSE AN FFL LOCALLY. SO I HAVE A BUDDY WHO LIVED AROUND THE CORNER FROM MY OLD HOUSE. HE HAS AN FFL, WHICH WE GRANTED IN ZACHARY DOC. I'LL LET I LIST HIM AS THE FEDERAL FIREARMS LICENSE THAT THAT IS GOING TO BE SHIPPED TO. I THEN HAVE TO GO TO HIM AND HE PERFORMS THE BACKGROUND CHECK, WHICH IS JUST LIKE A BACKGROUND CHECK THAT WOULD BE PERFORMED AT ANY BIG BOX STORE. ANYBODY, ANY PLAY ACADEMY, WALMART CABELA'S BASS PRO, SAME WAY. IF YOU WENT AND BOUGHT A GUN BACKGROUND CHECK HAS TO OCCUR. THAT'S WHAT THEY HAVE TO DO FOR THAT TRANSACTION TO OCCUR. ONE FEDERAL, ONE PERSON WOULD HAVE FEDERAL FIREARMS LICENSE, SENDS IT TO ANOTHER WITH A FEDERAL FIREARMS LICENSE TO THE END BUYER WHO THEN PURCHASES AND WHO. AND THEN THAT FFL HAS TO RUN THE BACKGROUND CHECK. IT HAS TO CLEAR FOR THEM TO RELEASE THE FARM AND THEY GET A FEE FOR THAT. SHE USUALLY LIKE 20, $25 FEE TO PERFORM THAT SERVICE, TO DO THAT RIGHT NOW, THESE HOME BROKERS, UH, BASICALLY THE HOME-BASED BUSINESSES THAT DO THAT AND STUFF. UM, THEY'RE, I MEAN, THEY'RE NOT RACKING UP, YOU KNOW, LIKE DISPLAY CASES AND PLACES FOR PEOPLE TO COME BY AND BUY A FIREARM OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. THEY'RE BASICALLY FACILITATED, UH, A LOCAL, UH, BUSINESS THIS PERSON INSTEAD OF HAVING [02:45:01] TO GO ACROSS TOWN TO, UM, UH CABELA'S OR WHEREVER ELSE, BASS PRO OR SOME KIND OF FIRE JIM'S FIREARMS OR WHATEVER, IT'S JUST BASICALLY SOMEBODY LOVING US FACILITATING THAT SALE, DOING THE CORRECT BACKGROUND CHECKS. OKAY. THAT'S WHAT I JUST WANTED CLARIFICATION ON THAT. WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT OPENING UP A FULL-BLOWN GUNSMITH SHOPPER OR ANYTHING IN THIS, IN THIS POINT. AND I'LL ADD THE REASON FOR THIS IS PURELY BECAUSE THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE SOME TRAFFIC BECAUSE PART OF HAVING A FEDERAL FIREARMS LICENSE SPECIFICALLY DICTATES THAT THE TRANSACTION HAS TO OCCUR THERE. SO IF THIS WERE SOMETHING THAT THROUGH WITH THEIR FFL, THEY WERE ALLOWED TO DO OFFSITE. THIS WOULD NOT BE AN ISSUE AND THEY COULD HAVE THE BUSINESS DOMICILED IN THIS AREA. WE WOULDN'T HAVE A PROHIBITION TO THAT. THE ISSUE THAT WE HAVE AS I APPRECIATE IT IS YOU CANNOT HAVE ANY TRAFFIC AT YOUR HOME, UH, FOR A HOME-BASED BUSINESS AS IT STANDS TODAY. HOLD THAT HELPED CLARIFY COUNCILMEMBER, HUDSON. UM, CERTAINLY OKAY. WITH THE PLANNING COMMISSION STUDY IN THIS, UM, YOU KNOW, MY, MY ONLY ISSUE IS THAT WE'RE, AND AGAIN, I'M GOING TO SUPPORT IT, BUT, UM, THAT WE'RE LIMITING IT TO IT BEING OUTSIDE OF MAJOR SUBDIVISIONS IN MY EXPERIENCE, FFLS ARE POPULAR WITH HOBBY HOBBY SHOOTERS. UM, AND, UH, I'M NOT SURE WHY IT WOULD MATTER THE SIZE OF YOUR SUBDIVISION, WHETHER YOU'D NOT THE PARISH WOULD ALLOW YOU TO HAVE AN FFL. SO I JUST WOULD LOVE, YOU KNOW, AS THE PLANNING COMMISSION GOES THROUGH THIS, UM, IF WE'RE, IF WE'RE LOOKING AT IT AND WE'RE SEEING AN OPPORTUNITY WHERE, UH, WE CAN DO THIS WITHOUT CAUSING UNDUE ISSUES WITH TRAFFIC AND THAT KIND OF THING TO SUBDIVISIONS, YOU KNOW, IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE LOOK AT. UM, I HAVE A FAMILY MEMBER THAT HAS AN FFL, AND I THINK HE MOSTLY DID IT JUST TO MAKE HIM PURCHASE IT IN HIS OWN FIREARMS, EASIER. UM, YOU KNOW, AND I THINK THAT AS I UNDERSTAND IT, UH, FROM OTHER GUN ENTHUSIASTS THAT I KNOW THAT THAT'S PRETTY COMMON, RIGHT? SO, UM, I THINK THIS IS SORT OF A NEW THING FROM, UM, ATF AND THAT, THAT THEY'RE REQUIRING THAT IT BE A COMMERCIAL ADDRESS. UH, AND SO IT'S JUST KIND OF A NEW WRENCH THROWN IN THINGS, BUT I'M ALL FOR IT. THANK YOU. MOTION BY COUNCIL MEMBER. NO SECOND BY DONE ANY OPPOSITION ITEM CARRIES, WE DO HAVE A COUPLE MEMBERS OF ME TO LEAVE. SO [57. 21-01230] WE'RE GOING TO JUMP TO ITEM 56, A RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF CAPITOL AREA TRANSIT SYSTEM, RENEWAL OF HIS 10 YEAR PROPERTY MILLAGE ON HOMES AND BUSINESSES IN THE CITY LIMITS OF BATON ROUGE AND BAKER. THE PROPOSAL IS A RENEWAL OF THE EXISTING MILLAGE AND WILL GENERATE APPROXIMATELY 17.6 MILLION ANNUALLY TO FUND CRUCIAL KATZ PROGRAM SERVICE AND INFRASTRUCTURE BY COUNCIL MEMBER COLEMAN. AND THE CHAIR IS A PUBLIC HEARING. IS THERE ANYONE HERE TO SPEAK ON ITEM 57, ANYONE HERE TO SPEAK ON ITEM 57, MR. DEVILLE, WHO IS THE CEO OF CATS? THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, BILL DEVILLE, CEO FOR CATS. UM, THANK YOU, MR. PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS OF THE METRO COUNCIL. LET ME TAKE THIS OFF. I WOULD BE REMISS IF I DIDN'T TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO EDUCATE AND INFORM THE PUBLIC, BUT JUST A COUPLE OF BRIEF THINGS. UH, FIRST, UM, WE HAVE PROVIDED 220,000 RAS PER MONTH, 75% OF THOSE RIDES, UH, GO TO JOBS TO GO TO SCHOOL, LIKE BEDROOMS, COMMUNITY COLLEGE SHOPPING, UH, GO TO MEDICAL SERVICES LIKE I'LL LAY WITH THE LAKE BATON ROUGE, GENERAL, UH, NATIONAL SYSTEM, UM, OTHER MEDICAL CLINICS, DOCTORS, ET CETERA. AND RECENTLY WE HAD AN ECONOMIC STUDY COMPLETED, UH, THE IMPACT OF CATS IN THE CITY. UM, WE WILL BE SHARING THAT WITH YOU IN DAYS TO COME, BUT JUST BRIEFLY CAS SUPPORTS $145 MILLION IN ECONOMIC BENEFITS TO THE AREA. AND WE SUPPORT 28 BILLION HOURS IN EARNINGS EACH MONTH. THAT IS TREMENDOUS. AND WE WILL BE SHARING WITH YOU. THE PROPOSITION ORIGINAL SCARED OF OCTOBER 9TH HAD BEEN CHANGED TO THE VENDOR THE 13TH. UM, AND AGAIN, WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR YOUR SUPPORT. IT IS A RENEW AS NO INCREASE IN THE TAX. UH, THE 2012 TAX RATE, THIS RENEW WILL ENABLE US TO CONTINUE UPGRADING OUR BUSES, PROVIDE MORE ELECTRIC BUSES, CONTINUE TO UPGRADE OUR SHELTERS, REDUCE WAIT TIMES. DID YOU KNOW THAT WE HAVE REDUCED WAIT TIMES FROM SEVENTY-FIVE MINUTES TO 30 MINUTES SINCE WE, THE ADMINISTER WAS APPROVED. ADDITIONALLY, IT IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO IMPROVE, UH, TECHNOLOGY. [02:50:01] THE TRANSIT SYSTEM IS EVOLVING IN TECHNOLOGY EVERY FIVE MINUTES. IT HAS PRAYERS AND WE WANT BATON ROUGE TO BE ON TOP OF IT. WE ARE DEVELOPING, UH, WE HAVE GPS TRACKING ON ALMOST 85% OF OUR BUSES AND WE'LL HAVE THAT COMPLETED BY NEXT YEAR. WE ARE DEVELOPING BUS, RAPID TRANSIT QUARTERS. I KNOW YOU'VE HEARD ABOUT THE PLANK NICHOLSON CORRIDOR NORTH, SOUTH, UH, IN THE PLANS. WE ALSO HAVE AN EAST WEST CORRIDOR. AND WHEN THOSE PROJECTS ARE COMPLETED, YOU WILL, YOU'RE TRYING TO MAKE THE SYSTEM FASTER. THERE WILL BE A 50 MINUTE PICK TIMES, BUT ALL RIDERS ON EITHER ROUTE. DID YOU ALSO KNOW THAT CAST IS VITAL IN TERMS OF EMERGENCY SITUATIONS? WE ARE PROVIDING TRANSPORTATION TO ESSENTIAL HEALTHCARE WORKERS DURING THIS COVID 19 PANDEMIC. DID YOU KNOW THAT CATS RESCUED IN THE GREAT FLOOD OF 2016, 6,000 PEOPLE? AND IN CLOSING, THE MILLAGE RENEWAL IS VITAL FOR OUR CONTINUING OPERATIONS. IT COMPRISE US AND IT WAS 60% OF OUR OPERATING BUDGET. AND THE MILLAGE IS ATTRACTIVE TO PEDAL GRANT OPPORTUNITIES WHERE WE CAN LEVERAGE IT UP TO 89% OF WHAT THE VALUE IS IN THE MILLAGE. AND SO WE BELIEVE AS I CLOSE THAT WE ARE IN AN INFLECTION POINT, WE HAVE MADE REMARKABLE PROGRESS IN THE LAST 10 YEARS, WE CAN MOVE FORWARD AND CREATE A STATE OF THE ART MODERN SYSTEM THAT SUPPORTS OUR FUTURE ACADEMY, THAT THE STATE CAPITOL DESERVES. AND LET ME JUST SAY ONE THING IN TERMS OF THE FUTURE OPERATIONS, WE ARE WORKING WITH AMAZON AND THE LEADERS OF THEIR DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM. THEY WERE HIRING THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE OF EMPLOYEES, AND THEY'VE MADE IT KNOWN TO US WHEN THEY WERE COMPETING. WHEN WE WERE COMPETING THIS TIME, I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU EXTRA TIME TO FINISH YOUR STATEMENTS. DON'T A FEW MINUTES IF YOU WANT TO FINISH THOSE COMMENTS, BUT IS THERE ANYONE ELSE HERE, UH, WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM? IS THERE ANYONE ELSE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON AN ITEM, MS. THOMAS, WOULD YOU LIKE TO COME UP AND SPEAK ON ITEM AND GIVE THAT TIME TO MR. DEVILLE? I WOULD SAY YES. IF I WERE YOU MR. MR. DAVILA, YOU GOT A FEW MORE MINUTES TO SPEAK. WE'LL WRAP IT UP. THANK YOU. MA'AM UH, SO LET ME JUST SAY THAT THEY WILL HAVE THOUSANDS AND THEY'VE MADE IT KNOWN TO US, UH, THAT THEY WANT FROM FIVE TO SEVEN IN THE MORNING, FIVE, SEVEN TO EIGHT. THEY WANT BUSES RIGHT UP FRONT AND THEY WERE WORKING CLOSER WITH THAT. AND IN CLOSING EVERY GREAT CITY HAS A GREAT PUBLIC TRANSIT SYSTEM. AND WE THANK YOU FOR THIS RESOLUTION OF SUPPORT SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE ACHIEVING THAT GOAL. THANK YOU. MA'AM. THANK YOU, MR. DEVILLE. IS THERE ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ITEMS 57 ITEM 57, GOING BACK TO COUNCIL MEMBERS, ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK COUNCIL MEMBER ADAMS. MR. DEVILLE, I HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS FOR YOU. HI, I'M ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I GET ASKED FREQUENTLY IS KIND OF WHERE IS PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION HEADING? SO WE HAVE REALLY LARGE BUSES AND, AND I'VE HAD PEOPLE ASK ME, YOU KNOW, COULD WE DO THE SAME THING WITH VAN? IS THERE A WAY WE COULD DO SOME KIND OF KATZ UBER, YOU KNOW, WHERE IT WOULD BE SMALLER VEHICLES AND MORE DIRECT ROUTES, MORE PERSONALIZED SERVICE? YES. MA'AM UH, YOUR BINGO. WE HAVE TO MAKE BATON ROUGE, A TRANSIT SYSTEM OF THE MODERN DAY. YOU CAN'T JUST GO TO A BUS STOP EVERY COUPLE OF BLOCKS AND EXPECT PEOPLE TO USE IT. SO WE ARE DOING WHAT'S CALLED, UM, SHARE, SHARE RIDES, UH, RIDE SHARING, I'M SORRY, AND A BIKE SHARING, UH, PLANNING WITH BEVERLY'S CHAMBER, THE VETERANS FOUNDATION AS WELL. THE CHAMBER HAS INTRODUCED US TO UBER AND LYFT. WE'RE COMPETING. WE'RE WORKING WITH THEM NOW, SO THAT ON THE BUS RAPID TRANSIT ROUTE, ADD THOSE TRANSFER STATIONS. YOU WILL HAVE ACCESS TO UBER OR LYFT, WHOEVER WINS THE CONTRACT. WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT MICRO TRANSIT. UM, WE HAVE A PILOT PROGRAM ABOUT TO BE AWARDED IN THE NEXT 60 DAYS. HOPEFULLY THE SCREEN WILL LET US DO THAT. AND SO WHEN WE, THIS WOULD BE A TEMPLATE, A PILOT PROJECT. SO IF IT WORKS IN THIS PARTICULAR AREA BETWEEN THE AIRPORT, SOUTHERN AND BAKER, THEN WE COULD TAKE IT TO THE LSU AROUND THE WATER CAMPUS OR OTHER PARTS OF THE CITY. UM, SO MICRO TRANSIT, CIRCULATOR ROUTES, UH, UBER WOULD CALL A RIDE SHARE. THIS IS THE FUTURE. THIS IS BATON ROUGE. AND THOSE ARE IN OUR STRATEGIC PLAN NOW. AND IN OUR TEN-YEAR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN THAT WE'RE WORKING ON. OKAY, GREAT. UM, A COUPLE, COUPLE OTHER QUESTIONS. UM, I, MY DISTRICT IS, UM, A VERY INVOLVED AND ENGAGED DISTRICT. SO I HAVE [02:55:01] PEOPLE WHO DIG INTO ALL KINDS OF DOCUMENTS ALL THE TIME. AND JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU THE OPPORTUNITY, UM, TO, TO COMMENT ON THE 2019 AUDIT, THERE WERE SEVERAL, UM, THINGS, UH, CITED AS FAR AS INTERNAL CONTROLS ON THE NEED FOR A POLICY MANUAL. JUST WANTED TO CHECK IN WITH YOU AND SEE WHERE YOU ARE ON THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS. FROM THAT AUDIT. WHEN I TOOK OVER FOUR YEARS AGO, THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS I LOOKED AT ACCOUNTABILITY, UH, WE'VE HIRED SINCE THEN TWO CPAS IN THAT OFFICE. WE ARE BEGINNING TO PUT TOGETHER A POLICIES AND PROCEDURES AND AS A RESULT, AND EVEN THOUGH THOSE, UM, THEY'VE, YOU KNOW, AUDITS, THEY FIND THINGS EVERY YEAR. UH, BUT WE DID RECEIVE AN UNQUALIFIED AUDIT FROM POST-SOVIET DELAFIELD, ONE OF THE BEST IN THE CITY, UH, AND WILL CONTINUE TO ADDRESS THOSE POINTS AS YOU POINT OUT. AND IT'S ALL UNDER THE LEGISLATIVE POLICY, THE WEBSITE, IF ANYBODY WANTS TO TAKE A LOOK AT IT GREAT. ALSO JUST LOOKING AT, UM, MONTHLY RIDERSHIP REPORTS, UM, AND YOU CAN SEE, YOU CAN SEE WHERE THE DROP-OFF HAPPENED WITH THE PANDEMIC. UM, THE LAST NUMBERS I HAVE ARE FROM MARCH OF, WHEN I LOOKED AT YOUR WEBSITE WERE FROM MARCH OF THIS YEAR. WHAT HAVE YOU SEEN APRIL, MAY, JUNE, JULY. WHAT IS, IS THE RIDERSHIP COMING BACK? WHAT, WHAT'S THE TREND? YES, MA'AM UH, IT WAS AROUND 8,000 A DAY. UH, WHEN THE PANDEMIC STARTED, IT GOT DOWN TO ABOUT 4,000 A DAY AND RIGHT NOW IS, UH, UP TO AROUND 5,000. IT STARTED TICKING UP, UH, FINGERS CROSSED THAT WE CAN GET A CONTROL OF WHAT'S GOING ON NOW, BUT WE ARE POISED TO RESPOND. WE'RE WORKING WITH THE CHAMBER, WORKING WITH THE CAFE OF, UH, UM, THE, UH, REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION AND OTHER COLLABORATORS TO LET US KNOW WHERE AND WHAT IS HAPPENING IN, UH, IN TERMS OF THE COMBAT ON A REGULAR BASIS. TERRIFIC. AND THEN ALSO JUST LOOKING AT, UM, YOUR ON-TIME PERFORMANCE, UM, YOUR GOAL IS 80% AND YOU'VE HIT THAT A COUPLE OF TIMES. WHEN DO YOU FEEL LIKE THESE NEW TECHNOLOGIES? WHEN, WHEN DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING TO HIT REGULARLY THAT 80% ON TIME PERFORMANCE METRIC? RIGHT. WELL, YOU KNOW, PERSONALLY I WANT 90%. HOWEVER, UH, WHEN WE FIRST GOT HERE, THE MAJORITY OF THE BUSES WERE, UM, NOT RELIABLE. AND SO, UH, THEY WERE USING, WE WERE USING, I SAY, WE, WE WERE USING A TERM ABOUT, UH, I THINK IT WAS LIKE, UH, 10 MINUTES OR 10, 10 MINUTES, LATE, FIVE MINUTES EARLY. WELL, THE NATION USES TWO MINUTES EARLY AND SEVEN MINUTES LATER. SO WE'VE RAISED THE STANDARD AND THAT MADE US DROP A COUPLE OF TIMES TO AROUND 80, BUT WE'D HAVE TO SET THE STANDARDS HIGH TO MAKE IT THE BEST SYSTEM. AND THAT'S WHERE WE ALL RIGHT NOW YOU'RE QUITE WELCOME. COUNCIL MEMBER GO THERE. THANK YOU, MR. DEVILLE OVER HERE. NOT, UH, NOT THAT'S OKAY. I DON'T HAVE A QUESTION SO MUCH. IT'S JUST A COMMENT. I MEAN, I WANTED TO SAY, I AGREE WITH YOU THAT, UH, I BELIEVE IN EFFECTIVE A TRANSIT SYSTEM IS NECESSARY FOR A THRIVING COMMUNITY AND NOT, AND I DO ENCOURAGE YOU TO COMMUNICATE THESE DATA POINTS TO OUR CITIZENS, AS WE THOUGHT WE WERE HEADED TOWARDS OCTOBER NOW HEADED TOWARDS NOVEMBER. MY, UH, MY COMMENT, MR. UM, PRO TIM IS DUE TO A PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATION. I'M GOING TO ABSTAIN FROM THIS VOTE, BUT IT'S SOLELY FOR THAT REASON ABOUT PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATION. THANK YOU, MR. GOODWIN, COUNCIL NUMBER BACK. SO, FIRST OF ALL, UH I'M I REALLY, UM, LIKE THE QUESTION AS IT RELATES TO THE FUTURE OF CATS AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, HOPING THAT WE HAVE THE SUPPORT OF THE PUBLIC EYE, ONE OF THE THINGS I'VE ALWAYS THOUGHT ABOUT IS WE DO HAVE THE LARGE BUSES AND I DID WANT TO LOOK INTO, UM, CAST TO LOOK INTO HAVING THE MINI BUSES. I THINK THAT WOULD BE, UH, THAT'S A GREAT IDEA. UM, ALSO AS WE MOVE, UH, ESPECIALLY IN AREAS, URBAN COMMUNITIES, UM, I REALLY LIKED THE IDEA OF, UH, BEING, HAVING A WALKABLE COMMUNITY. AND SO I REALLY APPRECIATE THE FLEXIBILITY THAT, UM, CATS HAVE SHOWN REGARDING, UH, WHERE, WHERE THE HOTSPOTS AND THE NEEDS WERE FOR THE BID, FOR THE SHELTERS, AND WHEN THEY BECOME OBSOLETE AND YOU BEING, UM, OPEN TO HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS, UM, THERE ARE SOME, SOME BUILDINGS, UH, THAT BASED ON NECESSITY, THERE MAY HAVE BEEN A, UH, A BUS SHELTER OR A BUS STOP, BUT THEN WHEN IT'S CLOSED THAT YOU ALL ARE QUICK TO PUT THE OUT OF ORDER AND SAY THOSE FUNDS AND NOT JUST HAVING PEOPLE DOING IT. UM, I DON'T KNOW ABOUT EVERYONE ELSE, BUT WE ALSO HAVE IT OUT AT MY COMMUNITY CENTER, A BUS STOP. AND THAT REALLY HELPS BECAUSE OF THE SOCIAL SERVICES THAT WE OFFER, UH, MEDICAL AND I, AND SOME OF MY OTHER COLLEAGUES MAY HAVE THOSE SAME. [03:00:01] SO ALL OF THAT HAS REALLY, REALLY HELPED, UM, W IN HAVING A MEDICAL. AND I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S POSSIBLE, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE MEDICAL TRANSPORTATION. AND SINCE WE'RE THINKING OUT OF THE BOX WITH THE UBER, UBER, AND ALL OF THAT AND MAKING THOSE CONNECTIONS, IS IT POSSIBLE WHERE, UM, THERE COULD BE A FUNDING STREAM FOR, UM, PERSONS WHO CATCH THE BUS TO MEDICAL APPOINTMENTS AND THEY RECEIVE WHATEVER THAT, THOSE FUNDING THAT JUST SOMETHING YOU DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE TO ASK, BUT IF THAT'S SOMETHING YOU ALL ARE ALREADY LOOKING AT, ABSOLUTELY. THE COMMUNITY TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA OUT OF WASHINGTON HAD A GRANT PROGRAM THAT THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT WHERE, UH, MEDICAL DESERTS AND FOOD DESERTS, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, THEY'RE COMING TO WITHOUT DEALS ABOUT FUNDING. THEY KNOW ABOUT OUR AREA HERE. UH, SO WE ARE, UH, WORKING AND LOOKING IN THAT REGARD, EVERYTHING'S ON THE TABLE, ANY, AND YOU RE UH, SOURCES OF FUNDING, PHILANTHROPISTS, FOUNDATIONS, UH, ORGANIZATION. LIKE WE JUST TALKED ABOUT, WE'RE LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO ADVANCE THIS TRANSIT SYSTEM IN THIS. OKAY. AND, UH, JUST ONE LAST THING, UH, YOU DID MENTION THE BAKER, UM, THE BAKER, UM, POTTED PROGRAM. AND THAT I'M REALLY HAPPY BECAUSE THAT'S LIKE FIVE YEARS OLD. WE WERE, WHEN WE FIRST, UH, TALKED ABOUT IT, WE WERE THINKING OF BAKER HUB BECAUSE THAT'S THE ONLY WAY PEOPLE FROM, UH, THE OTHER, THE PARISHES IN THE NORTHEAST ASCENSION, UM, BAKER'S ACCURATE. THEY HAVE TO COME THROUGH HARDING BOULEVARD OR, YOU KNOW, TO GET TO IT AND TO GET ON THE OTHER END. SO WE ALWAYS HAVE THIS BOTTLENECK AND THE BARRETT IN THE MORNING WHEN PEOPLE GO ON TO WORK AND IN THE AFTERNOON. AND SO, UM, I THINK THIS PILOT PROGRAM IS GOING TO GO A LONG WAY ALSO AS, AS IT HELPS WITH THE EASE OF TRAFFIC. YES, MA'AM ABSOLUTELY. IT GIVES US A LITTLE BIT MORE FLEXIBILITY. AND, UH, TWO THINGS, ONE, THE BUSES, WE, YOU KNOW, WE KNOW THAT THE BIG BUSES DON'T FIT EVERYWHERE. THERE ARE SOME NEIGHBORHOODS APPS, UH, YOU CAN'T USE THE NUMBER ONE OTHERS YOU HAVE WHERE, UM, THE RIDERSHIP IS SMALLER. SO WE ALREADY HAVE, UH, NINE SMALL BUSES ON ORDER, AND THEY'RE ALL ELECTRIC THREE HAVE ALREADY ARRIVED, UH, FOR THE CIRCULATOR DOWNTOWN. WE GETTING READY TO PUT OUT THERE, BUT IN TERMS OF THE MICRO TRANSIT AND, AND THOSE NEIGHBORING PARISHES WORKING WITH THE CAPITOL REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION AND THOSE TOWN PRESENCE, ET CETERA, THEY'RE WATCHING US GET, IMPROVE OUR SYSTEM. AND SO THEY'RE LOOKING FOR WAYS TO CONNECT. AND SO MICRO TRANSIT WILL GIVE US A CHANCE TO DELIVER SOME WRITERS IN THAT AREA. AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH DOWN THE ROAD. WE CAN HAVE SOMETHING OF SOME OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS. OKAY. THE LAST TWO THINGS IS THE FACT DID I SAY THAT BEFORE? LAST THING BEFORE I CLOSE MY DOOR, I'M ABOUT TO CLOSE. BUT, UM, THE, UH, THE OTHER THING IS, UM, UH, IT'S SOMETHING THAT IS PERSONALLY AN INTEREST IN IT. IT'S A CONVERSATION THAT WE MAY HAVE, UM, ONCE THE TAX, BUT I REALLY WOULD LOVE TO SEE WHERE CATS, UM, HAS THE SHELTERS AND I'LL BE OUR BUS. I MEAN, OUR, UH, BITCHES, UM, I LIKE THE FACT THAT, UH, I THINK IT WOULD BE WHEN WE WERE TRYING TO CLEAN UP OUR CITY AND HAVING, UM, AND WE WERE GIVEN THE BUS CONTRACTS AND I KNOW, YEAH, PLEASE. I KNOW THEY ALL END IN DECEMBER, BUT YOU KNOW, MAINTENANCE IS AN ISSUE. AND I SAY, I LIKED THE MATERIAL OF OUR, UM, OUR SHELTERS MATCHING THE GARBAGE CANS AND THE BENCHES. I ACTUALLY TOOK A PICTURE OF THE SHELTER THAT WE HAVE AT THE COMMUNITY CENTER. AND THERE ARE SIX PA UH, PANELS. AND SO IN MY MIND, I'M THINKING THAT COULD BE SIX DIFFERENT, UM, ADVERTISERS, YOU KNOW, ARE, AND ALSO, UM, SO, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW IF WE WAIT IS THE BEST TIME TO BRING THAT UP, BUT I REALLY WOULD LOVE TO SEE THE MATCHING, UM, WROUGHT IRON OR WHATEVER THAT FABRIC, BECAUSE THE OTHER ONES, THEY DON'T MAKE SENSE. WITH YOU ALL THE WAY. AND WE ARE WORKING ON THAT RIGHT NOW. WE HAVE A NEW CAPITAL PROGRAM AND OUR TEN-YEAR BUDGET TO DO EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IN TERMS OF BEGIN THE PROCESS. SO WE HAVE 100 BRAND NEW SHELTERS THAT WE GET RID OF TO DO AS WELL AS REFURBISHING THE OTHERS. UH, WE'RE HOPING TO WORK WITH THE CITY OF PARIS. WE READY TO HAVE SOME CONVERSATIONS WITH THE FRANCHISEES FRANCHISE OWNERS, UH, IN TERMS OF THE BENCH SO THAT WE CAN MAINTAIN THOSE. AND WE CAN CONTROL THOSE. WE HATE TO SEE IF WE HAVE TO MOVE A STOP AND THE BENCHES THERE, AND PEOPLE GO TO SIT THERE AND WE CAN CONTROL THAT BETTER. SO WE WILL WORK WITH EVERYONE. IT DOES INVOLVE THE STUDENTS. YOU'RE QUITE WELCOME. COUNCIL MEMBER GREEN. [03:05:01] I JUST WANT TO DO THE MOTION TO APPROVE, UM, THE RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT, BUT I JUST WANT TO MAKE ALL COUNCIL MEMBERS AWARE THAT THE OTHER SERVICE THAT MR DEVILLE DID NOT MENTION IS OUR PARATRANSIT. AND THAT ALLOWS US TO, UM, GO AHEAD. NO, YOU'RE RIGHT. SO, UH, AMOUNT OF PRESIDENT, THE, UM, SHE'S RIGHT. I SHOULD STRESS THAT THE, UH, SERVICE THAT WE PROVIDE, UH, IS INCLUDED IN THIS, UH, RENEW IS FOR THE ELTON IS ABLE FOR HOSPITALS, CLINICS, DIALYSIS, UM, AND A NUMBER OF OTHERS IN THE CITY AND WITHOUT THE RENEW THAT SERVICE WAS WITH, WITH, UH, CORTELL PRETTY BAD, PRETTY SERIOUSLY. SO WE ENCOURAGE, UH, UH, YOU GOT ASKED TO SUPPORT, WE THANK YOU TO SUPPORT NUMBER ONE AND ENCOURAGE THE PUBLIC TO SUPPORT YOU GOING FORWARD. OKAY. IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE COUNCIL MEMBER GREEN SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER COLEMAN? WE HAVE ONE ABSTENTION. IS THERE ANY OPPOSITION? THE MOTION CARRIES. WE'RE GOING TO MOVE NOW TO ITEM 54, AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR. PRESIDENT'S SQ SUPPLEMENT AGREEMENT. NUMBER ONE, EXCUSE ME. I DID 54 ALREADY [53. 21-01226] 53, AN ORDINANCE DISSOLVE IN THE AMERICANA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT FROM THE PARIS OF EAST BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA COMPLIANT WITH PROVISION OF CHAPTER 27, DSP TITLE 33 OF LOUISIANA REVISED STATUTE, 1950 BY COUNCIL NUMBER. NO. ANYONE HERE TO SPEAK ON ITEM 53, COUNCIL NUMBER. NO, YOU PLEASURE. MOTION TO APPROVE BY COUNCIL MEMBER KNOW SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER MOKE AND NO OPPOSITION ITEM. CARERS B GO NOW TO ITEM 50 COUNCIL MEMBER DONE, PLEASE. COUNCIL MEMBER DONE BEFORE HE LEAVES IT IS COUNCIL MEMBERS. DUNN'S BIRTHDAY. I WANTED TO WISH YOU A HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEFORE I RECOGNIZED THAT YOU WERE FAMILY HAD 10 PLAN FOR YOU, BUT, UH, CONGRATULATIONS ON ANOTHER CHIP AROUND THE SUN, SIR. WISHING MANY, MANY MORE. YES, SIR. NO. RIGHT? MOSTLY TO APPROVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER. NO SECOND BY MO MOTION CARRIES. [54. 21-01227] WE NOW ITEM 54, AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR PRESIDENT TO EXECUTE SUPPLEMENT AGREEMENT. NUMBER ONE TO CON TRACK WITH SGB GROUP, LLC FOR ADDITIONAL SERVICES ASSOCIATED WITH MOVING BEYOND THE HALF AND PROJECT FLORIDA STREET AREA, ADA COMPLIANCE PROJECT, AND AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $33,266 AND 24 SENT BY TRANSPORTATION AND DRAINS DIRECTOR. IS ANYONE HERE TO SPEAK TO ITEM 54 COUNCIL MEMBERS MOTION TO APPROVE BY COUNCIL MEMBER ADAMS SECONDED BY THE CHAIR, NEW OPPOSITION. [55. 21-01228] WE GO NOW TO ITEM 55 AMENDING TO 2021 CURRENT EXPENSE, BUT AS TO APPROPRIATE A DONATION FROM ENERGY IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,000 FOR THE PURPOSE OF PURCHASING SCHOOL SUPPLIES TO BE GIVEN AWAY A DISTRICT 10 BACK TO SCHOOL EVENT BY COUNCIL BUDGET, OFFICER CONTINGENT ON THE BUDGET, SUPPLEMENT ANYONE HERE TO SPEAK ON ITEM 55 BACK TO COUNCIL MEMBERS, COUNCIL MEMBER COLEMAN, MOTION TO APPROVE BY COUNCIL MEMBER COLEMAN, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER MOKE. NOW GO TO COUNCIL, NO [56. 21-01229] OPPOSITION ITEM 55 AUTHORIZED THE METROPOLITAN COUNCIL PAIRS OF THESE BEDROOMS AS A PROPERTY ON OF CERTAIN PROPERTY ON WASHINGTON STREET TO SIGN A PETITION FROM STREET NAME CHANGE CHANGING THE WASHINGTON STREET TO LAURIE IS AVENUE BY COUNCIL MEMBER COLEMAN. IS THERE ANYONE HERE TO SPEAK ON ITEM 56? WE GO NOW BACK TO THE COUNCIL COUNCIL MEMBER COLEMAN MOVE BY COUNCIL MEMBER COLEMAN SECOND BY COUNCIL MEMBER BANKS AND THE OPPOSITION MOTION CARRIES. WE DID ITEM 57, ADJUDICATED PROPERTIES, NONE ADMINISTRATIVE [ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS] MATTERS, 1 21 0 1 2 6 AUTHORIZED THE MAYOR PRESIDENT OF THE HOUSE. THE BATTLE WITH CITY COURTS EXECUTED PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH TITLED TECHNOLOGY AND AMOUNT, NOT TO EXCEED $2 MILLION ALONG WITH AN ANNUAL MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT ON BEHALF OF THE BATTLE OF THE CITY COURT, NOT TO EXCEED 500,000 PER ANNUAL AND FURTHER AUTHORIZED ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGE AND CLERK OF COURT, JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATOR IN BATON ROUGE, CITY COURT, TEXT SHEET, ALL RELATED TO THE NECESSARY DOCUMENTS. THAT CONNECTION TO WITH, BY THE APPROPRIATE TIME BY CLERK OF COURT, JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATIVE, I MEAN MOST OF THE WAY THE RULES AND A LOT OF ITEMS TO BE INTRODUCED. I HAVE A MOTION TO RATE, UH, BY COUNCIL NUMBER MOPE SECOND, AND BUCK THE CHAIR. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A PUBLIC HEARING ANYONE HERE TO SPEAK ON AN ITEM ON A MOTION TO WAIVE THE RULES. WE NOW ARE GOING TO VOTE ON THE MOTION, THE WAY THE RULES IS THERE A MOTION TO VOTE ON? I MEAN, IS THERE ANY OPPOSITION ON THE MOTION, THE WAY THE RULES. NOW WE NEED A MOTION INTRODUCED ITEM MOTION BY A COUNCIL MEMBER ADAMS SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER LOCKUP. THE ITEMS HAVE NOW BEEN INTRODUCED COUNCIL [58. 21-01241] MEMBERS. WE GO TO ACCEPTANCE OF LOW BIDS LIKE YOU WROTE IMPROVEMENTS, CLEARING AND GRUBBING SPRINGS, CONSTRUCTION, INC $378,423 ANYWAY, TO SPEAK ON ITEM 58, BACK TO THE COUNCIL MOTION TO APPROVED BY COUNCIL AND GO THE SECOND BY ADAMS ITEM [59. 21-01242] [03:10:01] 59, ALL HAM AND HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENTS. SEGMENT TWO SPINKS CONSTRUCTION INCORPORATED ONE OR $78,490. ANYONE HERE TO SPEAK ON ITEM 59 BACK TO THE COUNCIL AND MOTION TO APPROVE BY COUNCIL MEMBER ROCKER, SECONDED BY GREEN. [63. 21-01243] AND NOW GO TO ITEM 63, UH, WHICH IS AN EMERGENCY ITEM. A RESOLUTION OF SUPPORT FROM THE EASTBOUND WAS PEREZ. MUCH PROBLEM IN COUNCIL IN EAST BATON ROUGE, PARISH MAYOR, PRESIDENT FOR THE DISASTER SUPPLEMENT OR APPROPRIATIONS REQUESTS FOR THE STATE OF LOUISIANA FROM GOVERNOR JOHN BEL EDWARDS TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN AND BY MAYOR, PRESIDENT SHARON, WESTERN ROMAN COUNCIL MEMBER GO THERE. WE USED IT FOR EMERGENCY TEXTS, BUT I ASKED HIM THE ITEM RELATED TO HURRICANE IDA RESPONSE IN ACCORDANCE WITH ORDINANCE 1 6, 4, 4 TO DECIDE AND MUST BE DECLARED AN EMERGENCY BY TWO THIRDS VOTE OF THE METROPOLITAN COUNCIL. IS THERE A MOTION DECLARED THIS ITEM, AN EMERGENCY MOTION BY LACA SECOND BY ADAMS. WE'RE GOING TO VOTE ON THAT MOTION TO DECLARE IT EMERGENCY ANY OPPOSITION ON THE MOTION TO DECLARE IT AN EMERGENCY. NO OPPOSITION. NOW HAVE TO HAVE A PUBLIC HEARING ON ITEM. IS THERE ANYONE HERE TO SPEAK ON ITEM 63? ANYONE HERE? THERE WAS NO ONE HERE TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM. COUNCIL MEMBERS MOTION TO APPROVE BY COUNCIL MEMBER ADAMS, SECONDED BY ROCCO COUNCIL MEMBER BANKS. YEAH. TELL YOU, MICHAEL IS Y'ALL IS PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN HERE TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM? I DON'T SEE HIM. OKAY. UM, IS GOVERNOR JOHN BELLO? I DO NOT SEE HIM. OKAY. IS MAYOR PRESIDENT? KAREN WEST MEMBER OF OUR STAFF IS HERE. WHO JUST WALKED OUT. OKAY. I GUESS I HAVE TO JUST SECOND IT THEN MOTION. A MOTION BY COUNCIL MEMBER HAD A SECOND ABOUT BANKS. IS THERE ANY OPPOSITION MOTION CARRIES? IS THERE A MOTION TO ADJOURN MOTION BY AMAROSA? SECONDED BY BANKS HAS ALWAYS GOOD PEOPLE AT HOME. MAN HERE HAD A BROAD READ TO YOUR CHILDREN, AND THEN WHEN YOU'RE DONE READING TO THEM AND MAKE SURE THEY READ BACK TO YOU, HAVE A GOOD EVENING. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.