[00:00:01]
[CALL TO ORDER]
AND GENTLEMEN.WELCOME TO THE PRESENT PORTION PRESENTATION PORTION OF OUR MEETING ON THIS WEDNESDAY, JULY 26TH AT 3:30 PM FIRST UP, WE'LL HAVE MAYOR, PRESIDENT SHARON RESTON BROOM, AND MYSELF TO RECOGNIZE DERRICK BRIGGS OF FIVE STAR AUTO DETAILING OF 30 YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE BATON ROUGE COMMUNITY.
THANK YOU, UH, MAYOR PROTI AND MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL.
UM, IT IS CERTAINLY WITH GREAT PLEASURE TO EXTEND HEARTFELT CONGRATULATIONS TO DEREK BRIGGS.
I'M GONNA ASK YOU TO COME UP MR. BRIGGS.
UM, MR. BRIGGS IS THE OWNER OF FIVE STAR MOBILE DETAILING.
UM, HE HAS REACHED AN EXTRAORDINARY MILESTONE, AND THAT'S 30 YEARS IN BUSINESS.
AND OF COURSE, WE ARE ALL FOR PROMOTING, UH, AND HIGHLIGHTING AND SPOTLIGHTING OUR, UM, BUSINESSES, ESPECIALLY THOSE, UH, THAT STARTED OUT AS SMALL BUSINESSES, UH, THAT MAKE UP THE FABRIC OF OUR COMMUNITY.
AND MR. BRIGG'S DEDICATION AND COMMITMENT TO PROVIDING TOP-NOTCH SERVICES TO OUR RESIDENTS HAVE NOT GONE UNNOTICED FOR THREE DECADES.
HE HAS BEEN A SHINING EXAMPLE OF HARD WORK PROFESSIONALISM AND A TRUE PASSION FOR HIS CRAFT.
HE IS INVOLVED IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UH, IN ADDITION TO BEING A DOTTING AND CARING FATHER, HE'S, UM, ACTIVELY PARTICIPATES AT, UH, DROCK WHERE HIS SON GOES TO SCHOOL.
UM, HE HAS BEEN VERY GENEROUS IN TERMS OF CON CONTRIBUTING TO BACK TO SCHOOL EVENTS.
HE'S ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN HIS, UH, CHURCH.
AND WE JUST WANT TO CELEBRATE YOUR ACHIEVEMENT, UH, MR. BRIGGS, UH, AND RECOGNIZE YOUR SUCCESS OF 30 YEARS.
THANK YOU FOR DEMONSTRATING THE ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT HERE IN OUR GREAT CITY OF BATON ROUGE.
WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS AND, UH, ON BEHALF OF THE ENTIRE CITY, I WANT TO EXTEND MY HEARTIES CONGRATULATIONS IN THE FORM OF A CERTIFICATE OF COMMENDATION, UH, TO DERRICK BRIGGS FOR FIVE STAR MOBILE, UH, DETAILING IN RECOGNITION OF YOUR, UH, 30 YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE BATON ROUGE COMMUNITY.
AS AN ENTREPRENEUR GENEROUS SUPPORTER OF LOCAL INITIATIVES AND HOMETOWN AMBASSADOR, CONGRATULATIONS.
WE'RE GONNA TAKE A PICTURE, TAKING OUR PICTURE, JUST LITTLE TO THE LEFT.
LEMME HOLD THIS BACK, GENTLEMEN.
AND I THINK THE MAYOR PRO TIMM HAS SOMETHING ELSE HE WANTS TO ADD AS WELL.
JUST WANNA SAY CONGRATULATIONS ON 30 YEARS OF SERVICE.
THIS IS A GREAT MOMENT FOR ME 'CAUSE, UH, DERRICK IS A FRIEND AND, UH, NOT ONLY DOES HE DO ALL THE THINGS, UH, THAT MAYOR BROOM TALKED ABOUT IN OUR COMMUNITY, THE FAMILY, UH, DOES A GREAT DEAL AND IS A FAMILY OF ENTREPRENEURS.
I THINK MANY OF YOU IN HERE PERHAPS KNOW HIS BROTHER WHO OWNS PAPA SOUL FOOD, UH, ON AIRLINE HIGHWAY.
IF YOU'VE NEVER EATEN THERE, UH, YOU KNOW, MAKE IT YOUR BUSINESS TO GET OVER THERE AND HAVE, HAVE A, A MEAL, UH, BECAUSE THE FAMILY DOES A LOT HERE IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND DERRICK, DID YOU BRING ANYBODY WITH YOU TODAY, TELL YOUR FAMILY TO STAYING AND BE RECOGNIZED AT THE TIME?
AND ON BEHALF OF THE METROPOLITAN COUNCIL, THE CELEBRATION OF YOUR 30 YEAR ANNIVERSARY, THANK YOU FOR YOUR DEDICATION TO SERVE THE BATON ROUGE COMMUNITY.
PLEASE, I'D LIKE TO THANK THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE FOR THIS AWARD.
I'M VERY EXCITED TO HAVE MY FAMILY HERE WITH ME, AND THEY'RE EXCITED TOO.
SO, JUST LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU OUT TO THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE.
LET'S TAKE THE RIGHT HERE, EVERYONE.
[00:05:34]
YES.NEXT, WE'LL HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER DARRYL HURST, UH, TO RECOGNIZE CITY, PARISH DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS EMPLOYEES, COUNCIL MEMBER HERST.
SO, I WISH ALL MY COLLEAGUES WERE HERE FOR THIS BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE TALKED ABOUT WE FIGHT FOR PACE STUDY, UH, STUFF.
WE FIGHT FOR, UH, THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE.
WE TALK ABOUT THE, THE SHINY OUTSIDE OF THE CAR AND HOW GREAT IT LOOKS WHEN IT ROLLS DOWN THE STREET.
BUT WHAT REALLY MAKES THAT, THAT, THAT CAR GO IS THE ENGINE INSIDE OF IT.
AND THE ENGINE INSIDE CITY PARISH IS THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS.
AND SO WHAT I WANT THEM TO KNOW TODAY IS THEIR HARD WORK DOES NOT GO UNNOTICED.
THAT WE RECOGNIZE WHAT THEY DO, BUT MORE SO WE APPRECIATE WHAT THEY DO.
AND TODAY, UM, THE MAYOR'S OFFICE, DISTRICT FIVE, EVERY DISTRICT UP HERE, AS WE HAVE EVENTS IN THE COMMUNITY, AND WE GO OUT AND WE TELL THE PUBLIC THAT WE CARE.
THERE'S SOME PEOPLE THAT HELP US MAKE THESE EVENTS COME TO LIFE.
AND A LOT OF TIMES, THE WHITE TRUCK WITH A GOLD SEAL AND A BLUE, UH, OR A GRAY SUIT THAT'S OUT THERE THAT SOMETIMES JUST GETS OVERLOOKED, BUT TODAY THEY WON'T BE.
AND SO I HAVE A FEW CER, UH, CERTIFICATES OF RECOGNITION.
UH, THE FIRST ONE IS PRESENTED TO CARL THEORY.
I'M GONNA READ ONE, BUT THEN CALL THE NAMES FOR YOUR HARD WORK AND DEDICATION TO THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE AS AN EMPLOYEE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS, AND BEING A VITAL PART OF THE DAY-TO-DAY FUNCTIONS, INCLUDING MAINTAINING AND REPAIRING STRUCTURES ON CITY, PARISH, PROPERTY, BUILDINGS, YARDS, VEHICLES AND EQUIPMENT, AND HELPING MY CREW AND I WITH EVENTS, UH, WE HAD ORGANIZED THESE PAST COUPLE OF MONTHS.
YOUR WORK DOES NOT GO UNNOTICED MR. CARL THEORY.
MR. JEREMY KIRKWOOD, YOU WILL, MR. MELVIN HARRIS, MR. PHILLIP JARMAN, MR. ANTHONY CUOMO, HE HAS THE FLYEST TRUCK IN CITY PARISH.
AND I DON'T KNOW WHY, BUT I WILL, UH, BE REMISS IF I DID NOT ACKNOWLEDGE, UH, THE MAN THAT MAKES ALL OF THIS HAPPEN BEHIND THE SCENES, MR. JOSEPH.
BUT LOOK, WE'RE BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS.
Y'ALL WILL TAKE A PICTURE OF THAT.
MAYOR, IF YOU MIND COMING UP WITH US.
[00:10:09]
HI, EVERYBODY.I'M GONNA DO ONE MORE ON THE CAMERA HERE.
NEXT WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER DARRYL HURST TO RECOGNIZE BREX, LOUISIANA YOUTH BASEBALL TEAM.
MONSTAR WINNING FIRST PLACE IN THE EIGHT U DIVISION, COUNCIL MEMBER HURST.
SO I WOULD TELL TO TALK TO THE KIDS IN THE BACK.
UM, MY, MY COLLEAGUES GET TIRED OF ME HERE AND TALK, HEAR ME TALK ABOUT SPORTS AND YOUTH, BUT I TRULY THINK THAT WHAT YOU GUYS ARE DOING, YOU DON'T REALIZE IT NOW OR YOUR AGE, BUT IT'LL PROBABLY HAVE THE GREATEST IMPACT ON YOUR LIFE, EVEN THOUGH WITH SCHOOL, NOW SCHOOL IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AND YOU MUST DO WELL.
BUT THE PRINCIPLES THAT YOU LEARN IN SPORTS WILL CARRY YOU THROUGH LIFE.
MR. REED HAS BEEN AROUND ME MY ENTIRE LIFE, UH, PLAYING BALL.
I'VE, I'VE, I'VE RECOGNIZED SEVERAL COACHES THAT COACH ME THAT ARE STILL DOING IT BECAUSE OF THE SACRIFICE YOUR COACHES ARE DOING.
I WILL TELL YOU THIS, KIDS, I WANT YOU TO GIVE YOUR COACHES ROUND OF APPLAUSE RIGHT NOW.
BECAUSE WHAT YOU DON'T REALIZE IS THE TRUCK RIDES, THE FEEDING THE TIME AWAY FROM THEIR FAMILY, THE SACRIFICES THAT DO FOR, THAT THEY DO FOR YOU THAT AREN'T REQUIRED.
SO EVERY OPPORTUNITY YOU GET, BE RESPECTFUL TO YOUR PARENTS, BUT ALSO APPRECIATE THE PEOPLE WHO INVEST IN YOU.
AND TODAY WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT YOUR COACHES.
UM, AND WITH THAT BEING SAID, WE'RE GONNA START OFF WITH THE COACH OF THE MONSTARS BASEBALL TEAM.
THEY HAD A BUNCH OF TOUGH GAMES, BUT THEY STOOD THE TEST OF TIME AND BECAME THE TO, UH, THE, THE TOURNAMENT AND SEASON CHAMPIONS.
LET'S GIVE, UH, A ROUND OF APPLAUSE TO THE COACH, THE MAN THAT MAKES IT HAPPEN, MR. JOSEPH BRADY.
WE HAVE, UH, ANOTHER COACH WHO'S INVESTED IN THESE AMAZING KIDS FOR WINNING FIRST PLACE IN BREX, LOUISIANA.
YOUTH BASEBALL LEAGUE AU DIVISION COACH LATRELL DOSS, A K A FATTY OFFICER.
UH, NEXT WE HAVE COACH DARIUS.
OKAY, WE'LL PUT IT ASIDE FOR HIM.
UH, WELL, MALCOLM REED IS NOT HERE, BUT I SEE HIS DADDY, SO YOU WANT, YOU WANT TO GET IT ON HIS BEHALF, MR. REED? COME ON.
UH, MR. TERRANCE WASHINGTON, COACH AT TIME.
ALRIGHT, COMING TO THE STAGE NUMBER 11, MR. CADENCE COLE.
NEXT WE HAVE COMING TO THE PLATE.
NUMBER SEVEN HENDRICKS STEWART, HE'S AT THE PLATE AT HOME, THE DINNER PLATE.
NEXT WE HAVE MR. DARIUS OLA CAM,
[00:15:07]
YOU WANNA TAKE A PICTURE? OKAY, NUMBER 65, CARSON ADAMS, NUMBER 24, CLAYTON BANKS NUMBER 38.DENNIS, I THINK I'M GONNA STEAL YOUR JOB, MAN.
UH, OH, WATCH NUMBER 16 WAYNE DOWNS.
NOW THIS GUY ACTUALLY PLAYED WITH ME, SO I'M GONNA SAY THIS NAME REAL GOOD.
Y'ALL GIVE IT UP FOR NUMBER 12.
ENRICO SMITH, NUMBER 22, MR. DAYLON WILLIAMS. AND WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA ANNOUNCE NUMBER FOUR, MR. JACKSON WASHINGTON, WHO WASN'T HERE.
BUT CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN TO ALL YOU DID THIS SEASON, AND LET THIS BE THE STAR TO YOU BEING CHAMPIONS IN LIFE.
ALL RIGHT, GET A BIG SMILE FROM EVERYBODY.
ALRIGHT, LOOK STRAIGHT HERE FOR ME.
NEXT WE'LL HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER LAURIE ADAMS TO RECOGNIZE LAVAR ROBINSON, FOUNDER OF FATHERS ON A MISSION COUNCIL MEMBER ADAMS. THANK YOU.
SO DATA FROM THE US CENSUS BUREAU SHOWS THAT NEARLY ONE POINT 18.5 MILLION CHILDREN GROW UP WITHOUT FATHERS,
[00:20:01]
WHICH HAS LED TO THE UNITED STATES BECOMING THE WORLD'S LEADER IN FATHERLESSNESS.ACCORDING, UM, ACCORDING TO RESEARCH, UH, CHILDREN WHO GROW UP IN A HOME WITHOUT A FATHER, UM, ARE AFFECTED IN A LOT OF WAYS.
THEY ARE AT A FOUR TIMES GREATER RISK OF GROWING UP IN POVERTY.
THEY'RE MORE LIKELY TO HAVE BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS AND MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS. UM, BABIES, UH, HAVE A, A TWO TIME, UM, GREATER RISK OF INFANT MORTALITY.
UH, CHILDREN WHO DO NOT HAVE A FATHER ARE MORE LIKELY TO GO TO GO TO PRISON, MORE LIKELY TO COMMIT A CRIME, MORE LIKELY TO, UM, TO BECOME PREGNANT AS A TEENAGER.
UM, CHILDREN WITHOUT A FATHER IN THE HOME ARE ALSO MORE LIKELY TO FACE ABUSE AND NEGLECT, AND THEY'RE MORE LIKELY TO ABUSE DRUG AND ALCOHOL.
SO IT'S OBVIOUS, UM, FROM THE RESEARCH, FROM THE DATA THAT FATHERS ARE INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT, UM, TO OUR COMMUNITIES, TO OUR CHILDREN.
UM, AND CERTAINLY AS A MOTHER, I CAN TELL YOU, UM, FATHERS ARE IMPORTANT TO MOTHERS.
SO I'D LIKE TO ASK, UM, MR. LAVAR ROBINSON TO COME UP HERE.
LAVAR HAS STARTED AN ORGANIZATION CALLED FATHERS ON A MISSION FOAM.
UM, LAMAR IS, UM, DEEPLY INVESTED, DEEPLY ENGAGED IN ENCOURAGING AND EQUIPPING THE FATHERS IN OUR COMMUNITY TO BE THE VERY BEST DADS THEY CAN BE.
UM, THROUGH HIS ORGANIZATION OF FOAM AND THROUGH THEIR PROGRAMS, HE AND, UM, THE GENTLEMAN WHO WORK WITH HIM ARE SUPPORTING AND ENCOURAGING ALL THE MEN IN OUR COMMUNITY TO BE THE VERY BEST FATHERS THEY CAN BE.
AND I KNOW THAT THIS WORK, UM, IS GOING TO HAVE A LONG LASTING AND IMPACTFUL EFFECT, UM, ON THE FAMILIES OF OUR, OUR CITY, ON THE CHILDREN OF OUR CITY, AND REALLY, I THINK ON THE ENTIRE TRAJECTORY OF OUR CITY PARISH.
SO, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO, AS, UH, DISTRICT 11 COUNCILWOMAN, UM, RECOGNIZE MR. LAVAR ROBINSON, WHO IS A DISTRICT 11 RESIDENT.
I DIDN'T REALIZE IT UNTIL WE MET IN AN H O A MEETING
UM, LAVAR, WE ARE SO INCREDIBLY GRATEFUL FOR YOUR WORK AND, UM, WE JUST WANNA HONOR YOU AND LET YOU KNOW THAT WE ARE HERE TO SUPPORT YOU.
AND, UM, WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING, UH, THE IMPACT THAT YOU HAVE ON, UH, THE FAMILIES OF THIS CITY.
SO I, LET'S GET A PICTURE AND WILL WE SAY A FEW WORDS AFTER WE GRAB A PICTURE REAL QUICK? OKAY.
UH, COUNCILWOMAN, UH, ADAMS, I DEFINITELY WANNA THANK YOU FOR THIS RECOGNITION.
UM, YOU KNOW, AS I THINK ONCE WE ALL, AS A RACE, AS A HUMAN BEING, AS A SPECIES UNDERSTAND THE VALUE OF THE INVOLVEMENT OF A RESPONSIBLE FATHER, UH, WE ARE STARTING TO MAKE THINGS A LOT BETTER IN OUR CITY.
STATING EVERYWHERE THAT WE CAN LAY OUR HANDS.
UM, I THINK THERE'S A HUGE MISCONCEPTION WHEN IT COMES TO FATHERHOOD.
THERE ARE A LOT OF FATHERS THAT REALLY WANT TO BE INVOLVED, BUT SOME JUST DON'T KNOW HOW TO BE INVOLVED.
AND I CAN SAY I WAS ACTUALLY ONE OF THOSE FATHERS MYSELF, RIGHT? UM, BUT IT'S AMAZING HOW WE TRANSFORM THE LIVES OF GUYS WHO ARE INVOLVED IN THEIR KIDS' LIVES AND GUYS WHO ARE NOT INVOLVED IN THEIR KIDS' LIFE.
IT DOESN'T MATTER ABOUT RACE, IT DOESN'T MATTER ABOUT STATUS, IT'S ALL ABOUT THE ONE COMMON TERM OF FATHERHOOD.
SO WE DEFINITELY ENJOY WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH THE FATHERHOOD MEETINGS.
THE FATHERHOOD CLASS IS THE FATHERHOOD EVENTS.
UM, IT ALL MAKES SENSE WHEN IT COMES TO SUPPORTING THE TOTAL FAMILY TO START FROM THE TOP AND ENHANCE FATHERHOOD.
WE ACTUALLY HAVE OUR MONTHLY MEETING TOMORROW EVENING.
UH, AND THE TOP IS WHAT A FATHER NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT INSURANCE.
IF WE DO A POLL IN THIS ROOM AND ASK HOW MANY OF US WERE TAUGHT AS KIDS, AS TEENAGERS ABOUT INSURANCE, WHETHER IT'S AUTOMOBILE, FAMILY LIFE, AND THAT I CAN PRETTY MUCH IT BE LESS THAN 1%.
WELL, TOMORROW WE HAVE THE DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE COMING AND EDUCATING US ON THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF INSURANCE POLICIES, EVERYTHING WE NEED TO KNOW FROM A TO Z, YOU KNOW, SO THOSE ARE THE TYPE OF CONVERSATIONS WE BRING TO THE TABLE OF PILLAR TOPICS THAT FATHERS NEED TO KNOW TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN RAISING THEIR FAMILIES REGARDLESS OF THEIR STATUS OR RACE.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE OUR EDUCATIONAL CLASSES ON TUESDAYS AND DIFFERENT THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO I INVITE EVERYONE TO VISIT OUR WEBSITE@FOAMLA.ORG.
UM, AND COME AND CHECK US OUT.
YOU KNOW, FATHERS ON THE MISSION IS ON THE MOVE.
WE'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO ANNOUNCE OUR SECOND LOCATION, UM, THIS FALL.
SO WE'RE DOING SOME GREAT THINGS FOR HERE FOR THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE.
UM, ENHANCING FAMILIES TO STRENGTHEN
[00:25:01]
FAMILIES.EN ENHANCING FATHERS TO STRENGTHEN FAMILIES.
NEXT WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER CLEVE DUNN TO RECOGNIZE DARIEN MARTIN, HONORARY COUNCIL MEMBER COLVILLE MAGNUM MIDDLE SCHOOL.
SEVENTH GRADE COUNCIL MEMBER DUNN.
GOOD EVENING TO EVERYONE HERE IN THE CHAMBER.
GOOD EVENING TO THOSE WATCHING AND LISTENING TO US, UH, OUT IN THE PUBLIC.
I WANNA RECOGNIZE DARIEN TODAY.
UH, IRONICALLY, DARIEN AND HIS FATHER, WELL, DARIEN'S FATHER, BJ AND I, AS WELL AS LAVAR, ACTUALLY WENT TO HIGH SCHOOL TOGETHER, CAPITAL HIGH SCHOOL AND PLAYED A LITTLE BASKETBALL, UH, TOGETHER.
UH, BJ CALLED ME AND SAID DARIEN WAS OBSERVING, UH, SOME OF THE COUNCIL MEETINGS AND SOME OF THE STORIES THAT HE SAW ON TV AND HE WAS INTERESTED ABOUT LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND WHAT COUNCIL MEMBERS DO.
AND, UH, I TOLD BJ TO BRING HIM ON UP AND WE'LL SHOW HIM AROUND AND GIVE HIM SOME EXPOSURE.
SO I WANTED TO RECOGNIZE HIM FOR HIS INTEREST IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND, UH, HOW LOCAL GOVERNMENT IMPACT HIS LIFE AND THE LIFE OF, UH, HIS FRIENDS, FAMILY, AND, UH, HIS NEIGHBOR.
SO WITHOUT FURTHER TODO, I'LL READ IT.
IT SAYS, DARREN MARTIN, UH, SCOTLANDVILLE MIDDLE MAGNET SEVENTH GRADER, FOR YOUR INTEREST IN THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE GOVERNMENT AND YOUR YA, THIS TO UNDERSTAND THE WORLD AROUND YOU IN LEGISLATION LAWS, AND A RESPONSIBILITY AS A CITIZEN AND AS A COUNCIL MEMBER.
COUNCIL MEMBERS, WE'RE GONNA TAKE A FIVE MINUTE BREAK, THEN WE'LL GET STARTED.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, PLEASE TAKE A SEAT.
COURTNEY HAS SOMEWHERE SUPPOSED TO.
I HAVE SOMEWHERE HE NEEDS TO BE.
CAN WE BRING HIM UP? I ALREADY TALKED TO HIM.
WELCOME TO THE COUNCIL CHAMBER OF EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH.
GOOD TO SEE ALL OF YOU BACK FOR THE MEETING TODAY.
IT'S THE 26TH OF, UH, JULY, 2023.
AND OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS ALWAYS ARE GLAD TO HAVE YOU A PART OF OUR BROADCAST AND ALSO A PART OF OUR COUNCIL MEETING.
AND TODAY WE HAVE DARIEN MARTIN, AN HONORARY COUNCIL MEMBER WITH US.
HE'S FROM SCOTLANDVILLE MIDDLE MAGNET AND A GUEST OF DISTRICT SIX COUNCIL MEMBER CLEVE DUNN AND, UH, DARIEN.
AND, UH, HOPE YOU VOTE, UH, RIGHT, UH, EVERY TIME TODAY.
HERE IS THE MAYOR, PRESIDENT PRO TEM OF EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH.
COUNCILMAN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, DENNIS.
UH, GOOD AFTERNOON LADIES AND GENTLEMEN AND WELCOME TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED METROPOLITAN COUNCIL MEETING ON THIS WEDNESDAY, JULY 26TH, 2023.
I'D LIKE TO CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER.
ASHLEY, DO WE HAVE A QUORUM? WE HAVE A QUORUM TODAY.
COUNCIL MEMBERS WILL BE LED BY REVEREND LINWOOD SPELL, SENIOR PASTOR AT STARHILL BAPTIST CHURCH FOR OUR INVOCATION.
AND WE WILL HAVE NICOLE TERRELL, A SEVENTH GRADE STUDENT AT PERHAPS THE BEST SCHOOL, SCHOOL IN ALL OF THE WORLD SEA SOUTH MIDDLE SCHOOL, UH, TO LEAD US IN THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
PASTOR MAN, LET US PRAY ALL WISE.
GOD, OUR FATHER, THE MAKER OF HEAVEN AND EARTH, COMING BEFORE BY HEAVENLY THRONE THIS DAY, FIRST GIVING YOU THANKS.
NOW, GOD, WE ASK YOU, LOOK DOWN UPON THESE MEETINGS, PLEASE PROVIDE DEAR GOD AND DO US WITH KNOWLEDGE, WISDOM, FOR INDEED THE WHOLE WORLD.
ALL THAT ELDER CALL THE GOD WE COME, GIVE OUR TALENT, RESOURCES, ECT WISDOM ASKING.
GOD IS LEADING, GOD IS BEST CHOICE.
WE NEED TO GLORIFY YOU AND HONOR YOU.
HELP US WORK TOGETHER FOR GOD HELP US.
COME ON ONE WAY, UNIFY, UPLIFTING OF OUR KINGDOM.
AND THESE OUR PEOPLE HERE IN BATON, ROU PROBLEMS. DEAR GOD, NOT MEASURED BY MIKE NOR POWER HELP ALL CHALLENGES FOR YOUR GLORY.
PLEASE JOIN ME FOR THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG, A UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVIDUAL WITH
[00:30:01]
LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.UH, COREY, WE SINCERELY APPRECIATE BOTH OF YOU
[ADOPTION AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
ADOPTION AND APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.ITEM 1 2 3 DASH 0 9 7 7 APPROVAL AND ADOPTION OF THE MINUTES OF THE METROPOLITAN COUNCIL MEETING OF JUNE 28TH, 2023, AND A METROPOLITAN COUNCIL ZONING MEETING OF JUNE, JULY 19TH, 2023 AND THE GREATER BATON ROUGE AIRPORT COMMISSION MEETING OF JULY 18TH, 2023 BY COUNCIL, ADMINISTRATIVE TREASURER.
IS THERE ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ITEM ONE? WE NOW GO TO COUNCIL MEMBERS.
IS THERE A MOTION TO PROVE? SO MOVED BY COUNCILMAN, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ADAMS. ANY OBJECTIONS? ITEM ONE HAS BEEN APPROVED.
[INTRODUCTIONS]
WOULD YOU PLEASE READ THE INTRODUCTIONS? SECTION 2.12 INTRODUCTIONS.NUMBER TWO, GRANTING A FIVE YEAR PROPERTY TAX ABATEMENT ESTIMATED AT $17,910 PER YEAR FOR HIGHLAND MOON PROPERTIES.
L L C LOCATED AT 1109 HIGHLAND ROAD FOR THE PURPOSE OF ENCOURAGING PRIVATE INVESTMENT AND RESTORATION OF PROPERTY BY THE PLANNING DIRECTOR.
NUMBER THREE, FIXING AND ESTABLISHING THE ANNUAL COMPENSATION OF THE MAYOR PRESIDENT FOR THE TERM COMMENCING JANUARY 1ST, 2025 IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 4.02 OF THE PLANNING GOVERNMENT BY THE COUNCIL ADMINISTRATOR TREASURER.
NUMBER FOUR, FIXING AND ESTABLISHING THE ANNUAL COMPENSATION OF THE CONSTABLE FOR THE TERM COMMENCING JANUARY 1ST, 2025 IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 11.05 OF THE PLAN OF GOVERNMENT BY THE COUNCIL ADMINISTRATOR TREASURER.
NUMBER FIVE, GRANTING A FIVE-YEAR PROPERTY TAX ABATEMENT ESTIMATED AT $3,128 PER YEAR.
BATON ROUGE, I'M SORRY, BATES REAL ESTATE L L C LOCATED AT 3 0 4 4 2 3 0 7 0 MONTEREY DRIVE FOR THE PURPOSE OF ENCOURAGING PRIVATE INVESTMENT AND RESTORATION OF PROPERTY BY THE PLANNING DIRECTOR.
NUMBER SIX, A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE ISSUANCE SALE AND DELIVERY OF A NOT TO EXCEED $15 MILLION REVENUE ANTICIPATION NOTE SERIES 2023 OF THE ST.
GEORGE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT NUMBER TWO OF THE PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE BY THE ST.
GEORGE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT.
NUMBER SEVEN, CONSIDERATION OF THE INDUSTRIAL TAX EXEMPTION PROGRAM.
APPLICATION OF INTERNATIONAL MESO TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
BY THE COUNCIL ADMINISTRATOR TREASURER NUMBER EIGHT, FIXING AND ESTABLISHING THE ANNUAL COMPENSATION OF THE CITY JUDGES FOR THE TERM COMMENCING JANUARY 1ST, 2025 IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 11 OH 0.04 OF THE PLAN OF GOVERNMENT BY THE CLERK OF COURT JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATOR NUMBER NINE, AMENDING THE 2023 CURRENT EXP EXPENSE BUDGET SO AS TO ESTABLISH THE OPIOID ABATEMENT FUND AND APPROPRIATE SETTLEMENT PROCEEDS AND THE AMOUNT OF $3,050,658 AND 72 CENTS BY THE MAYOR PRESIDENT NUMBER 10, AUTHORIZING SETTLEMENT OF THE PLAN OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND DEVELOPMENT FOR DAMAGES RESULTING FROM AN AUTO ACCIDENT CAUSED BY A PUBLIC WORKS EMPLOYEE IN THE AMOUNT OF $990,428 AND 34 CENTS AND APPROPRIATING THAT SUM FOR SUCH PURPOSE BY THE PARISH ATTORNEY.
NUMBER 11, AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR PRESIDENT TO EXECUTE A SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT FOR ENGINEERING SERVICES FOR STANTEC CONSULTING SERVICES IN THE AMOUNT NOT TWO EXCEED $20,776 AND 38 CENTS BY THE TRANSPORTATION AND DRAINAGE DIRECTOR
[CONDEMNATION INTRODUCTIONS]
CONDEMNATION INTRODUCTIONS NUMBER 12, ISAAC RANDALL JR.AND WANDA TATE RANDALL 2 1 0 2 GROVE ROAD COUNCIL DISTRICT TWO BANKS NUMBER 13, THE P B SS PINCH BACK LODGE THREE NUMBER 3 7 7 8 7 0 0 BOOKER STREET COUNCIL, DISTRICT TWO BANKS, NUMBER 14, CHARLES HERNDON, JR.
1 2 2 6 7 BUCKINGHAM AVENUE COUNCIL DISTRICT FOUR MOOCH NUMBER 15, SECOND CHANCE ACADEMY, INC.
3 6 1 7 LINEAR DRIVE COUNCIL DISTRICT FIVE HEARST.
NUMBER 16, BATON ROUGE MULTIFAMILY HOLDING L L C 6 8 0 0.
UH, CEZANNE AVENUE COUNCIL DISTRICT SIX DUNN JR.
L L C 3 3 2 1 NORTH STREET COUNCIL, DISTRICT SEVEN COLE.
NUMBER 18, THE INTERNATIONAL PENTECOSTAL HOLINESS CHURCH EXTENSION LOAN FUND, INC.
1 3 8 5 NORTH 46TH STREET COUNCIL DISTRICT SEVEN COLE NUMBER 19, JERRY HURST AND JONATHAN ROBINSON.
9 7 7 0 HORSESHOE DRIVE COUNCIL DISTRICT NINE HUDSON NUMBER 20, ULA MYERS CREDIT 2 5 6 0 CABLE STREET COUNCIL, DISTRICT 10 COLEMAN NUMBER 21 KENYATTA M WEST AND DOT LATHAN 2 1 2 9 TEMSA STREET COUNCIL, DISTRICT 10 COLEMAN NUMBER 22, TRI-STATE ROAD ROADING BORING.
2 4 9 3 BAYWOOD AVENUE COUNCIL DISTRICT 12 ROCA ADJUDICATED
[ADJUDICATED PROPERTY INTRODUCTIONS]
PROPERTY INTRODUCTIONS NUMBER 23 LOT 1 35 AND 36 SUBDIVISION HIGHLAND GARDENS COUNCIL DISTRICT SEVEN COLE NUMBER 24 LOT 12 SUBDIVISION BATES TRACK COUNCIL, DISTRICT 10 COLEMAN NUMBER 25 LOT FIVE PART SQUARE TWO 50 SUBDIVISION SWART COUNCIL DISTRICT 10 COLEMAN NUMBER 26 LOT 18 SQUARE 30 SUBDIVISION SWART COUNCIL DISTRICT 10 COLEMAN NUMBER 27 LOT 23 SUBDIVISION TAYLOR TRACK COUNCIL DISTRICT TWO BANKS NUMBER 28 LOT 2 67 A SUBDIVISION, HIGHLAND CREEK COUNCIL DISTRICT 12 ROCA NUMBER 29 LOT 21 PLUS SQUARE 39[00:35:01]
SUBDIVISION BANK COUNCIL DISTRICT 10 COLEMAN NUMBER 30 LOT 37 SQUARE 16 SUBDIVISION EDEN PARK COUNCIL DISTRICT SEVEN COLE NUMBER 31 LOT 62 SQUARE 35 SUBDIVISION SOUTH BATON ROUGE COUNCIL DISTRICT 10, COLEMAN NUMBER 32 LOT 30 SQUARE RUN SUB SQUARE ONE SUBDIVISION DAYTON COUNCIL DISTRICT 10 COLEMAN NUMBER 33 LOT 1 42 SUBDIVISION BEACHWOOD COUNCIL DISTRICT TWO BANKS NUMBER 34 LOT ONE PLUS SQUARE 23.SUBDIVISION BANK COUNCIL DISTRICT 10 COLEMAN NUMBER 35 LOT 10 SQUARE 27 SUBDIVISION GREENVILLE EXTENSION COUNCIL, DISTRICT SEVEN COLE NUMBER 36, LOT FIVE SUBDIVISION CREST WORTH COUNCIL.
DISTRICT TWO BANKS NUMBER 40 LOT 1 42.
SUBDIVISION SEGAN VILLAGE COUNCIL DISTRICT 10 COLEMAN NUMBER 38, LOT A SQUARE 20 SUBDIVISION PROSPERITY COUNCIL, DISTRICT 10, COLEMAN NUMBER 39, LOT SUB LOT 17 AND 18 SQUARE 14 SUBDIVISION, NORTH HIGHLAND COUNCIL DISTRICT FIVE, HEARST NUMBER 40 LOT FIVE SQUARE EIGHT SUBDIVISION NORTHDALE, SECTION TWO COUNCIL, DISTRICT 10, COLEMAN NUMBER 41 LOT SEVEN SQUARE EIGHT SUBDIVISION, NORTHDALE, SECTION TWO COUNCIL, DISTRICT 10, COLEMAN NUMBER 42 LOT 28 SQUARE NINE.
SUBDIVISION NORTHDALE, SECTION TWO COUNCIL, DISTRICT 10, COLEMAN NUMBER 43 LOT NINE SQUARE SEVEN.
SUBDIVISION NORTHDALE, SECTION TWO COUNCIL DISTRICT 10, COLEMAN NUMBER 44 LOT 300 SUBDIVISION BYD STATION COUNCIL DISTRICT TEN SEVEN COLE.
ALL ITEMS THAT REQUIRE READING HAVE BEEN READ.
AND A MOTION TO INTRODUCE ALL ITEMS WITH AMENDMENTS.
UM, MINOR AMENDMENTS REQUESTED BY THE DEPARTMENT TO NUMBERS 56 AND 65 IS AN ORDER.
WHAT ABOUT 37? OH, IT'S AN ADJUDICATED PROPERTY.
IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE ALL ITEMS WITH THOSE AMENDMENTS? CAN YOU OUTLINE THE AMENDMENTS? DID I MISS? NO, I CAN.
UM, ARE THEY SUBSTANTIVE? HANG ON, I JUST WASN'T AWARE OF THE REQUEST BEFORE.
LET, LET ME PULL IT UP, RODDY.
THERE'S GONNA BE AN AMENDMENT TO ITEM 37.
IT'S AN ADJUDICATED PROPERTY, BUT IT IS NOT IN COUNCIL MEMBER COLEMAN'S DISTRICT, BUT IT SAYS COUNCIL MEMBER COLEMAN'S DISTRICT.
BUT, BUT SHE REFERENCED NUMBER 56.
SO 56 IS THE AMOUNT IS AS LISTED IN YOUR AGENDA IS $224,129 AND 85 CENTS.
THE REQUESTED CHANGE IS $243,000.
THE CHANGE TO 65 IS INCREASE THE CONTRACT BY $80,000 AND ADD A DOING BUSINESS AS NOTATION TO, UM, GLENNA, ER D B A, GAUCHER EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND STAFF.
IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE ALL INTRODUCTIONS? A AS AMENDED.
SO MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER AMAROSA, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER DUNN.
ARE THERE ANY OBJECTIONS, COUNCIL MEMBERS
[CONDEMNATIONS]
INTRODUCTIONS HAVE BEEN APPROVED.IF YOU WILL GO TO YOUR SEPARATE SHEET FOR CONDEMNATIONS.
84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, AND 95.
IS THERE ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON CONDEMNATIONS? ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON CONDEMNATIONS WHEN I OWE THE COUNCIL MEMBERS? I HAVE YOURS.
ANYONE ELSE? ANYONE ELSE? ALL RIGHT.
I'LL READ THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND CHANGES.
THEY ARE TO PROCEED WITH ITEMS 86, 88, 89, 92, AND 93.
THEY ARE TO DEFER FOR TWO WEEKS.
ITEMS 84, 85, 87, 90 AND 91 DEFER FOR 60 DAYS.
ITEM 90 IS TO TO BE DEFERRED FOR 90 DAYS.
ITEM 90 IS TO BE DEFERRED FOR 90 DAYS AND IS DELETE.
ITEM 94 AGAIN, PROCEED WITH ITEMS 86, 88, 89, 92, AND 93.
ITEMS 84, 85, 87, AND 91 DEFER FOR 60 DAYS.
IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE ALL CONDEMNATIONS? SO MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ROCKER.
SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ADAMS, I THINK 93.
ALSO ASKING FOR 60 DAYS TO SELF DEMOLITION.
IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE? SO MOVED BY COUNCIL
[00:40:01]
MOROCCO.SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ADAMS. ALL CONDEMNATIONS HAVE BEEN APPROVED.
COUNCIL MEMBERS, IF YOU WOULD GO TO PAGE ONE TO PAGE 32, WE'RE GONNA DEFER A COUPLE OF REPORTS AND TAKE ONE, UH, EARLY AT, AT THE REQUEST OF OUR, UH, WHAT IS IT? A GOLD STAR BREX PARK.
UH, WE'RE GOING TO DEFER, UH, ITEM 51 55, RECEIVING A SECOND QUARTER OF 2023 REPORTS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES AND THE PERFORMANCE OF GARBAGE TRASH.
BULKY ITEM WOODY WASTE AND RECYCLE PICKUP BY COUNCIL MEMBER HUDSON.
IS ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ITEM 1 55? MOTION TO DEFER FOR HOW LONG, SIR? TWO WEEKS.
MOTION BY COUNCIL MEMBER HUDSON, SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN ADAMS TO DEFER ITEM 1 55, UH, FOR TWO WEEKS.
COUNCIL MEMBER BANKS, ARE WE DEFERRING YOUR ITEM OR IS THAT PERSON GONNA COME TO GIVE THE REPORT? ITEM 1 56, WHICH IS RECEIVING A REPORT FROM THE SET FREE DEED DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.
ITEM 1 56, RECEIVING A REPORT FROM THE SET FREE DEED IN EAST PARENT PARISH DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE THAT WHEN YOU'RE READY, BE OUR DRUG OVERDOSE PREVENTION CAMPAIGN ON OVERDOSE DEATHS IN THE EASTBOUND PARISH BY COUNCILWOMAN BANKS.
ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ITEM 1 56? THERE'S A MOTION BY COUNCIL MEMBER BANKS TO DELETE.
SECONDED BY THE COUNCIL MEMBER DUNN.
ARE THERE ANY OBJECTIONS? ITEM 1 56 HAS BEEN DELETED.
WE NOW GO TO ITEM 1 57, RECEIVING A REPORT FROM CORY WILSON, SUPERINTENDENT OF BRETT TO GIVE AN UPDATE ON CURRENT PLANS AND WORK HAPPENING NOW TO DISCUSS THE FUTURE PLANS OF THE RECREATION OF THE PARK COMMISSION IN THE PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE BY COUNCIL MEMBER AARON, SUPERINTENDENT WILSON.
MAYOR PROTI AND COUNCIL, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME THIS EVENING.
I APPRECIATE YOU GUYS ALLOWING US A FEW MINUTES.
UM, I KNOW YOU HAVE IMPORTANT COUNCIL BUSINESS TO TAKE CARE OF, AND SO WE WON'T STAY IN YOUR HAIR TOO LONG.
WE, WE DID HAVE A QUICK PRESENTATION.
ARE WE ABLE TO LOAD THAT? IF NOT, GOT IT UP, BUDDY.
I WAS JUST MAKING SURE WE HAVE THE RIGHT PRESENTATION UP.
SO, UM, AGAIN, WE, WE WE'RE STILL CELEBRATING, AS YOU CAN SEE, UM, ON THE, ON THE SLIDE, THAT, THAT WE ARE THE NUMBER ONE PARK SYSTEM IN THE NATION.
BUT PART OF THAT, PART OF WHAT WE WANT TO TALK ABOUT IS, IS HOW WE WERE ABLE TO DO THAT.
UM, BUT ALSO HOW, HOW WE CAN DO THAT AGAIN.
UM, WANT TO RECOGNIZE ANDREA ROBERTS, OUR CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, WHO HELPED PUT THE PRESENTATION TOGETHER AND HELP HAND OUT, UM, THE PACKETS THAT YOU HAVE.
SHE'S IN CHARGE OF OUR PARTNERSHIPS AS WELL AS OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, WHICH BOTH ARE PRETTY VITAL TO, TO WHAT WE DO.
AND SO WE ALWAYS START OFF WITH OUR MISSION.
UM, OUR MISSION TALKS ABOUT HOW WE CONTRIBUTE, UH, CONTRIBUTE MEANS WE'RE ONE OF MANY, UH, TO A HEALTHIER, MORE VIBRANT COMMUNITY BY PROVIDING EXCEPTIONAL PARKS, OPEN SPACES, AND RECREATIONAL EXPERIENCES FOR ALL OF EAST BATON ROUGE.
WE, WE LIKE TO FOCUS ON THE WORDS EXCEPTIONAL, UH, AS WELL AS THE WORD ALL, UH, AND WHEN WE TALK ABOUT OUR MISSION.
UM, WE JUST TALK ABOUT EVERYTHING IN OUR SYSTEM, OBVIOUSLY, UH, FOUR CITIES INCLUDING, UH, A CITY HERE IN BATON ROUGE, THE UNINCORPORATED AREAS, AND OVER 450,000 PEOPLE.
WE TALK ABOUT THE SYSTEM THAT WE HAVE.
A LOT OF FOLKS LIKE TO FOCUS ON THE MONEY THAT WE RECEIVE.
UH, BUT THAT, AS YOU KNOW, AS, AS AS PUBLIC GOVERNMENT, THAT OFTEN FALLS SHORT IN TERMS OF THE NEEDS THAT WE HAVE IN TERMS OF MAINTAINING, TAKING CARE OF THE LARGE SYSTEM THAT WE HAVE.
AND SO WE DO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR FUNDING STRUCTURE.
UH, WAY BACK IN 1947 WHEN WE STARTED, UM, SHORTLY AFTER THAT, WE HAD, WE HAD TWO PERMANENT MEALS, ONE IN 47, AND I GUESS SEVEN YEARS LATER, THEY REALIZED THAT WASN'T ENOUGH.
AND SO, UH, FROM 54 UP UNTIL 1964, WE ONLY WERE OPERATING ON ONE MILL.
UH, IN 64 WE ADDED ANOTHER 6.2.
UM, AND IN 66, ANOTHER THREE POINT, UH, 96.
AND SO THAT BROUGHT US UP TO AROUND 10 OR 11.
AND SO FROM 66 UNTIL 2004, WHEN WE BROUGHT THE NEW TAX ON, WE OPERATED AT THE SAME LEVEL.
AND PART OF THE REASON WE HAD TO BRING THE NEW TAX ON IN 2004 IS BECAUSE WHEN YOU OPERATE WITH THE SAME LEVEL OF REVENUE
[00:45:01]
FROM 66 TO 2004, THE SYSTEM BECOMES, YOU KNOW, IT STARTS TO LOOK LIKE IT NEEDS A INJECTION OF, OF NEW FUNDING.AND SO THANKS TO THE COMMUNITY, WE WERE ABLE TO PASS THAT.
IMAGINE YOUR PARKS TAX IN 2004, WHICH BROUGHT US TO OUR CURRENT MILLAGES, A 4.463, UH, INTEREST.
IN FACT, EVEN WHEN WE CREATED IN 1947, UH, THE AUTHORIZATION FROM THE STATE SAID WE CAN, UM, UM, UM, TAX AS MUCH AS 18 MILLAGES.
AND SO HATS OFF TO THE COMMISSION FOR NOT COMING RIGHT OUT THE BOX TO SAY, OKAY, 18 MILLAGES, WE DID ONE, AND THEN WE DID.
AND SO WHEN YOU SEE THOSE NUMBER OF MILLAGES ON YOUR BILL, IT'S BECAUSE WE'VE DONE THAT PERIODICALLY.
IT WASN'T A BIG ONE-TIME DEAL.
UM, AND SO THAT'S SORT OF, AND THEN YOU SEE WE HAVE, WE GENERATE ABOUT $10 MILLION IN ADMISSIONS TO THE ZOO AND GOLF COURSES.
ALL OF THAT HELPS OFFSET OUR COSTS, AND WE'RE ALWAYS WORKING TO GET MORE GRANTS, UM, PRIVATE FUNDING AND THOSE SORT OF THINGS AS WELL.
HERE WE ARE CELEBRATING LAST SEPTEMBER, UM, AS THE NATIONAL GOLD MEDAL AWARD WINNER.
SEVERAL OF OUR, UH, BOARD MEMBERS, SIX OF WHICH IS APPOINTED BY THIS BODY.
AND, UH, ALL SIX OF THEM ARE WORKING GREAT.
SO THANKS FOR APPOINTING A GREAT BOARD.
UH, BUT YEAH, HERE WE ARE CELEBRATING.
AS YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN CELEBRATING SINCE SEPTEMBER OF 2022.
WE'VE BEEN, THE PARADES BEEN A LOT OF COMMUNITY EVENTS ALL OVER FROM THE NORTH TO THE SOUTH.
UH, BECAUSE IT IS A COMMUNITY AWARD, WE, WE DO NOT WIN THAT AWARD, CERTAINLY WITHOUT THE VOTE OF THE TAXPAYERS, BUT ALSO WITHOUT THE SUPPORT.
UM, YOU GUYS KNOW, FOLKS CALL YOU ALL THE TIME TO MAKE SURE THAT THEIR PARKS ARE TAKEN CARE OF.
AND SO WE DON'T GET THERE WITHOUT THE COMMUNITY.
SO WE'VE BEEN CELEBRATING WITH THE COMMUNITY SINCE WE'VE WON THE AWARD.
WE'RE PROHIBITED FROM APPLYING FOR THE AWARD FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.
AND SO IT WON'T BE UNTIL 2027, UH, WHEN WE CAN APPLY AGAIN.
BUT AS YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A LOT OF GREAT THINGS HAPPENING BETWEEN NOW AND 27.
WE SHOULD BE IN A GREAT PLACE TO, TO WIN IT AGAIN IN 27.
UH, THIS IS OUR MONTHLY ACTIVITY REPORT.
UH, WE ALWAYS TALKING ABOUT THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS AND I KNOW THE PUBLIC LIKES TO SEE WHAT'S BEING BUILT.
UH, BUT EVERY MONTH WE REPORT TO THE COMMISSION HOW MANY PEOPLE WE ARE SERVING.
AT THE END OF THE DAY, AS A GOVERNMENT AGENCY, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE JUDGED ON, HOW MANY PEOPLE WE'RE SERVING AND THE QUALITY OF THAT SERVICE.
IT'S NOT ABOUT MAKING A PROFIT OR ANYTHING ELSE LIKE THAT.
AND SO WE LIKE TO REPORT HOW WE'RE DOING.
COMPARED TO LAST YEAR, UH, I SEE BOTH THE GULF AND RECREATION DOING EXTREMELY WELL.
OVERALL, WE'RE 25% HIGHER THAN LAST YEAR.
UH, AND AGAIN, THESE ARE JUST NUMBERS OF PEOPLE THAT WE CAN COUNT COMING THROUGH THE DOORS AT RECREATION, GOLF AND ZOO RECREATION CENTERS, GOLF COURSES IN THE ZOO.
IT DOESN'T COUNT THE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE JUST WALKING IN THE PARKS, UH, PLAYING BASKETBALL AND THOSE SORT OF THINGS.
WE'RE WORKING ON TECHNOLOGY TO HELP US COUNT THOSE SORT OF THINGS.
UH, BUT WE KNOW AT A MINIMUM WE'RE SERVING ONE AND A HALF MILLION PEOPLE A YEAR WITH THE SAME STAFF THAT WE HAD THE PREVIOUS YEAR.
SO I ALWAYS TELL THE STAFF, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ASK ABOUT IF EFFICIENCIES AND HOW ARE YOU, IF WE'RE SERVING MORE PEOPLE WITH THE SAME NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAN, THAN WE'RE DOING A GOOD JOB.
JUST MORE DETAIL ABOUT THE ACTIVITIES THAT WE'RE HAVING.
AND SO WHERE WE ARE NOW, UM, WE HAD A MAT UH, NEXT SLIDE.
PLEASE IMAGINE YOUR PARKS 2004.
AMBITIOUS VOTER APPROVED BY JUST A COUPLE OF VOTES BACK IN 2004, AS I UNDERSTAND, UH, 20 YEAR TAX.
AND SO IT COVERED TWO 10 YEAR CONSTRUCTION PERIODS.
OUR NORMAL CONSTRUCTION TAX IS EVERY 10 YEARS.
SOME OF THE THINGS THAT CAME OUT OF THAT 2004 TAX, UH, 120 MAJOR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.
ALL THE COMMUNITY PARKS, UH, THAT'S IN EVERYONE'S DISTRICT.
WE DIDN'T HAVE SPLASH PADS FOR 2004 DOG PARK.
SOME PEOPLE LIKE THEM, SOME PEOPLE DON'T.
LIBERTY LAGOON WATERPARK THAT, THAT'S A GREAT ASSET TO OUR COMMUNITY AS A RESULT OF THAT NEW TAX.
UH, AND YOU SEE A COUPLE OTHER THINGS, BRECK ON A GO.
OUR MOBILE RECREATION UNIT, WHICH IS A BIG SUCCESS AS WELL.
[00:50:01]
SOME OF THOSE ITEMS I JUST MENTIONED.AND THEN WE TALKED ABOUT IMAGINING PARKS TWO.
THAT WAS IN 2014 WHEN WE HAD OUR LAST, UH, MAJOR PROGRAM.
AND SOME OF THE THINGS THAT HAPPENED AS A RESULT OF THAT EXPANDED AND AIR CONDITION RECREATION CENTERS, UH, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO HAVE A SERIOUS CONVERSATION ABOUT THAT.
WE HAVE MORE RECREATION CENTERS PER CAPITA THAN ANY OTHER CITY IN THE NATION.
UM, WE HAVE OVER 50 RECREATION CENTERS AND AS MOST OF YOU GUYS KNOW, THEY'RE OWED AND OUTDATED.
AND SO, UM, WE DID ADD AIR CONDITION TO 10 OF THEM AND HAD LEFT 40 OF 'EM STILL WITHOUT AIR CONDITION.
SO I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH WE MOVED THE NEEDLE WITH THAT, BUT WE'RE AT A POINT NOW WHERE IT, WE HAVE TO MAKE DECISIONS ON DO WE SPEND A MILLION DOLLARS PUTTING IN AIR CONDITION OR DO WE JUST TEAR IT DOWN AND BUILD A NEW ONE FOR A MILLION AND A HALF.
SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE DISCUSSIONS WE'RE GONNA HAVE MOVING FORWARD.
NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN.
LOOK, I'LL BE SITTING IN THESE SEATS TOMORROW TALKING ABOUT STORM WATER.
UM, UH, AS PART OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE, UH, THAT'S A BIG FOCUS OF OURS IN TERMS OF OUR NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, INCREASED AUTOMATION, MORE INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS. UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
AND SO WHAT'S NEXT? THE NEXT 10 YEARS, UM, UH, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A 10 YEAR PLAN, BUT WE'RE ALSO GONNA HAVE A MORE FOCUSED THREE YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN.
WE BROUGHT IN A CONSULTANT AFTER HAVING AN R F P, UH, ISSUED, WHO WILL BE LEADING.
THE NAME OF THAT AGENCY IS AGENCY, ACTUALLY.
UM, IT WILL INCLUDE AN INVENTORY ASSESSMENT.
UH, OBVIOUSLY PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT.
UH, YOU SEE THAT WE HAVE THERE IN CAPS AND NO NEW TAXES.
AND WE DON'T, WE DON'T PLAN ON ISSUING ANY NEW TAXES.
AND WE ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO GO TO THAT WEBSITE TO FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION.
UH, PART OF THAT PHASE ONE IS INPUT WITH THE COMMUNITY AND STAKEHOLDERS.
YOU GUYS ARE OBVIOUSLY STAKEHOLDERS, SO YOU SHOULD BE LOOKING FOR A CALL FROM US IN THE NEAR FUTURE TO TALK ABOUT WHAT DO YOU WANNA SEE FROM YOUR RECREATION PROGRAMS IN THE NEXT 10 YEARS.
HOW CAN YOU HELP? UH, MOST IMPORTANT SLIDE HERE.
WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE PUBLIC MEETINGS.
UM, AGAIN, PART OF THE REASON WE ARE THE NUMBER ONE PARK SYSTEM IN THE COUNTRY IS BECAUSE WE GET INPUT FROM OUR CITIZENS.
AND SO WE WANT TO CONTINUE THAT.
WE WANT TO ENCOURAGE IF YOU GUYS ARE HAVING, UH, DISTRICT MEETINGS, UH, BRE FIRST OF ALL, BRECK SHOULD BE ON THE AGENDA AT EVERY DISTRICT MEETING THAT YOU HAVE.
BUT CERTAINLY YOUR NEXT DISTRICT MEETING, UH, HAVE BRECK ON THE AGENDA.
WE'LL COME OUT AND TRY AND GET AS MUCH INPUT, UH, FROM THE FOLKS IN YOUR DISTRICT TO HEAR ABOUT WHAT THEY WANT TO SEE FROM THEIR PARK SYSTEM.
AND SO, PLEASE, UH, TAKE THE SURVEY YOURSELVES.
IT'S ONLY TAKES ABOUT FIVE MINUTES ACTUALLY WHAT YOUR FAVORITE PARK IS.
YOU KNOW, WHAT'S THE CHALLENGES? WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE? YOU KNOW, IT'S HIGH LEVEL AS WE GO.
IT'S GONNA BE A 12 MONTH PROCESS.
WE'LL HAVE MORE SPECIFIC SURVEYS THROUGHOUT THE PRO PROCESS, BUT RIGHT NOW WE'RE VERY HIGH LEVEL.
TAKES ABOUT 10 MINUTES TO FINISH THE SURVEY.
JUST SOME ACTIVITIES HAPPENING IN THE NEXT MONTH.
UH, YOU COULD SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER BREAK.ORG AT THIS MONTH TO FIND OUT EVERYTHING THAT'S HAPPENING IN AND AROUND THE PARISH.
I CAN CERTAINLY ENTERTAIN ANY QUESTIONS, BUT I TRIED TO GO LONG SO YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO ASK ME QUESTIONS.
BEFORE WE DO THAT, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A PUBLIC HEARING.
IS ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM? ANYONE IN THE GENERAL PUBLIC WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM? WE NOW GO TO COUNCIL MEMBERS.
JUST WANT TO, UM, MONDAY MORNING IS, UH, THE OPENING OF THE NEW, UH, THE JACKSON COMMUNITY PARK.
WE'VE JUST BEEN REDONE SPLASH PAD, EVERYTHING THAT HE TALKED ABOUT IN HIS PRESENTATION.
AND WE'RE DOING OUR GRAND OPENING RIBBON CUTTING.
AND I JUST WANNA INVITE EVERYBODY TO COME OUT FOR THAT MONDAY MORNING.
I HAVE TO LOOK AT THE DIRECT TIME, BUT I'LL POST IT TO EVERYONE.
WE ALSO HAVE A RIBBON CUTTING SATURDAY MORNING.
YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT THAT ONE? NO, GO AHEAD.
I'M TALKING ABOUT FRIDAY, THE ONE IN DISTRICT SEVEN.
THAT'S THE ONE I'M REFERENCING.
DISTRICT SEVEN, WE'RE, WE'RE RIBBON CUTTING AT GUS YOUNG PARK.
WE ARE, WE'RE PARTNERING, AGAIN, PART, PART OF WHAT WE TRY AND DO, YOU KNOW, ALWAYS TALK ABOUT WHERE INDEPENDENT, WHICH, WHICH IS SOMETIMES GOOD,
[00:55:01]
BUT IS OFTENTIMES BAD.AND I ALWAYS ENCOURAGE OUR TEAM TO PARTNER.
SO WE'RE PARTNERING WITH THE LANGSTON GALLOWAY FOUNDATION.
UH, AND WE ARE REFURBISHING THE COURTS AT GUS YOUNG.
UM, AND THEN COUNCILMAN HER, THE DISTRICT, AND NOW WE'RE DOING IT, UM, IN DISTRICT, UM, COLES DISTRICT.
SO, YOU KNOW, SEVEN STANDS FOR IN THE BIBLE, RIGHT.
COMPLETION, YOU KNOW, COMPLETE THE MISSION.
THANK YOU CORY, FOR COMING OUT.
COULD YOU JUST GIVE US A QUICK UPDATE ON THE ZOO, WHERE WE ARE ON THAT AS FAR AS THE TIMELINE AND ALL? YES.
SO ON MARCH 31ST, UM, WE OPENED OUR FIRST EXHIBIT, UH, AT THE ZOO.
THAT WAS THE UNDERWATER HIPPO VIEWING EXHIBIT.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU REMEMBER WAY, YOU KNOW, ONCE WE DECIDED TO KEEP THE ZOO AT ITS CURRENT LOCATION, WE TALKED ABOUT, UM, THE FIRST PHASE AND WHAT WE WOULD DELIVER, WHICH WAS THAT UNDERWATER HIPPO VIEWING CHECK.
THE, THE GIRAFFE FEEDING EXHIBIT, WHICH WE'RE WORKING ON RIGHT NOW SHOULD BE FINISHED, UH, VERY SHORTLY.
UH, THE NEW ENTRANCE TO THE ZOO, WHICH IS REALLY THE BIG FEATURE THAT'LL BE FINISHED, UM, SOMETIME IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2024.
'CAUSE AGAIN, THE ZOO'S ENTRANCE IS GONNA BE IN GREENWOOD PARK.
AND SO YOU'LL HAVE TO COME OFF OF HIGHWAY 19.
UH, AND SO THERE'LL BE A NEW PARKING LOT THERE WHERE YOU PARK AND DECIDE WHETHER YOU GO TO THE PARK OR THE ZOO.
IF YOU SAW IN THE NEWS RECENTLY, WE HAVE THE TWO BEARS THERE.
WE HAVE A BIG MAMA BEAR AND A, A BABY BEAR.
BLACK BEARS TRYING TO KEEP, UH, WITH LOUISIANA HERITAGE THERE.
AND SO, UH, THAT'S THERE AS WELL.
UM, YOU KNOW, I GET THAT QUESTION ALL THE TIME.
WHEN IS IT GONNA BE COMPLETE? ONE OF THE BENEFITS I ALWAYS TELL PEOPLE OF HAVING THE ZOO AT ITS CURRENT LOCATION IS IT SORT OF FORCES US TO DO WHAT WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN DOING EV 50 YEARS AGO, WHICH MEANS FROM NOW ON EVERY THREE TO FIVE YEARS, YOU'LL BE SEEING SOMETHING NEW HAPPENING AT THE ZOO.
UH, ALWAYS COMPARE IT TO DISNEY, RIGHT? DISNEY HAS ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD.
THEY CAN BILL WHATEVER THEY WANT TO BILL, BUT EVEN DISNEY, EVERY THREE TO FIVE YEARS IS DOING SOMETHING NEW.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE TO DO AT THESE FAMILY ATTRACTIONS.
WHETHER IT'S LIBERTY LAGOON, WHETHER IT'S THE ZOO, WE HAVE TO KEEP IT FRESH.
AND SO THERE IS NO COMPLETION DATE.
WE HOPE TO HAVE A GRAND, UM, RIBBON CUTTING IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS TIME NEXT YEAR, WHERE WE'LL HAVE THE NEW ENTRANCE, WE'LL HAVE THE NEW PLAYGROUND, UH, THE NEW GOLF COURSES OPEN, UH, AND A LOT MORE NEW EXHIBITS.
BUT, AND SO WE'LL GIVE THE PUBLIC A LITTLE TIME THAT WE WON'T HAVE CONSTRUCTION FOR A COUPLE YEARS AFTER THAT.
BUT CERTAINLY TWO OR THREE YEARS LATER, WE'LL BE DOING IT AGAIN.
CORY, YOU REFERENCED THE NEW ENTRANCE ON HIGHWAY 19.
COULD YOU ELABORATE ON THE, UH, REPURPOSING OF WHAT THE PLAN IS FOR THE THOMAS ROAD? OLD ENTRIES AND OLD PARKING LOT? YEAH, SO THAT WILL BE OUR MAINTENANCE ENTRANCE NOW.
AND, AND SO, UH, CITY PARISH, PART OF THE BIKE AND PEDESTRIAN MASTER PLAN, UH, IS PLANNING TO PUT SIDEWALKS ALONG THOMAS ROAD.
AND SO THAT WILL ALLOW PEOPLE TO WALK SAFELY FROM THAT NEIGHBORHOOD, UH, TO JS CLARK PARK INTO THE ZOO.
UH, BUT THAT'LL BE OUR, OUR, OUR MAINTENANCE INTERESTS.
AND, UM, HOPEFULLY WITH THE IMPROVEMENTS WITH THE CITY, THE IMPROVEMENTS WE'RE DOING AT JSS CLARK MM-HMM.
YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW IT'S JUST A TWO LANE ROAD WITH TWO DITCHES ON THE END.
WE HAVE BIG ACTIVITIES AND THERE'S LINES ON BOTH SIDES.
EMERGENCY VEHICLES CAN'T GET THAT WAY.
AND SO THE COMMUNITY REQUESTED, UH, TO ENTER OFF A HIGHWAY 19.
AND SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON.
COUNCIL MEMBER BANKS, YOU WANT TO SAY SOMETHING? YES, GO AHEAD.
UM, Q CORY FOR THE PRESENTATION, UM, AARON MO STOLE MY OPPORTUNITY TO PRES PRESENT YOU TODAY.
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE I KIND OF THINK THAT, UH, YOU, YOU'RE JUST LIKE REALLY, REALLY SPECIAL TO OUR COMMUNITY AND I APPRECIATE ALL THE WORK THAT YOU HAVE WORKED WITH THE COMMUNITY IN MAKING SURE THAT, UM, EVERY PART OF EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH IS, UM, GETTING A ACT, WHAT I CALL EQUITABLE CONSIDERATION.
'CAUSE NO COMMUNITY IS ALIKE, BUT YOUR ABILITY, AND I THINK A LOT OF IT HAS TO DO WITH THE SURVEYS AND BEING ABLE TO, UM, REACH THE, UM, TEMPERATURE OF THOSE DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES.
[01:00:01]
UM, YOU KNOW, I I, WHEN I TALK ABOUT THE DIFFERENT AGENCIES, UH, WITHIN CITY PARISH, I, I ALWAYS SAY THAT BRECK AND THE LIBRARY ARE THE MOST EQUITABLE AND THEY ARE THE FLAGSHIP ON HOW WE MAKE SURE THAT EVERY COMMUNITY IS TOUCHED.SO FIRST OF ALL, I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THAT.
UM, WHEN YOU TALKED ABOUT THE, UM, THE INFRASTRUCTURE AROUND THE ZOO, YOU KNOW, WE ARE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT GREENWOOD PARK, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT GS CLARK, WHICH IS A HISTORICAL SITE, UH, AS THE FIRST, UM, BLACK GOLF COURSE, CORRECT? YES.
AND YOU HAVE T T ONE FIRST T FIRST T, YES.
ISN'T THAT THE ONLY LOCATION? THAT IS THE HOME COURSE, BUT THEY MOVE AROUND.
BUT YEAH, THAT IS THE HOME COURSE.
SO, AND, AND, UM, AS YOU INDICATED, LIKE DISNEY, I BELIEVE THAT THAT ENHA THAT ENTIRE CORRIDOR SHOULD BE A DESTINATION.
UM, AND IT IS LONG-TERM, JUST AS YOU INDICATED, WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO ADD, UM, I MEAN THE AMENITIES AS IT RELATES TO THE DISTANCE FROM, UM, THE BATON ROUGE AIRPORT, YOU KNOW, UM, THE HOTEL POSSIBILITY CONVENTION.
AND, YOU KNOW, I HAVEN'T GOTTEN A LOT OF, I'M NOT VERY EXT STUDENT ABOUT THESE ECONOMIC DISTRICTS MM-HMM.
UH, WE DID, AS IT RELATES TO THOMAS ROAD, WE DID APPLY FOR A FEDERAL GRANT, UM, THAT WE WERE NOT SUCCESSFUL.
LAVY LANE PLANK ROAD, UH, THOMAS ROAD AND, AND HIGHWAY 19 ARE ALL STATE ROADS.
UM, I WOULDN'T, I WOULDN'T MISS THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SAY AS THE NEXT, UH, STATE REPRESENTATIVE FOR DISTRICT 360 3.
THOSE WOULD BE A PRIORITY FOR ME.
AND, UM, BECAUSE IT IS, IT IS VERY MUCH NEEDED.
AND AT OUR LEVEL, EVEN THOUGH WE PARTNER WITH FRED PARTNERS WITH D O T D AND EVERYTHING, UM, WE STILL NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT IS THE LEAD, UH, IN GETTING THE FUNDING.
AND THAT IS PART OF A CAPITAL, UM, OUTLAY, UH, ACTIVITY.
BECAUSE I MEAN, THERE'S SO MUCH POSSIBILITY THERE.
UM, SUPERINTENDENT WILSON, WANT TO THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU DO AND COMING HERE AND SHARON WITH US ON TODAY.
SEE, THE DISTRICT 10 EMPLOYEES AND LEADERS ARE EXCEPTIONAL.
AND I INTERACT WITH THESE PEOPLE ONGOING.
THEY, I MEAN, BROOKS PARK IS A PLACE THAT WE HOLD DEAR TO OUR HEART BECAUSE ALL OF YOU KNOW, THAT WAS THE ONLY PLACE THAT WE COULD SWIM.
AND SO THE GRASS IS ALWAYS CUT AND THE WHOLE NINE YARDS AND EVEN THE UPGRADES THAT ARE BEING DONE ON THE INSIDE.
NOW, WE APPRECIATE YOUR ALSO AND, AND YOUR TEAM BECAUSE WE KNOW IT'S NOT JUST YOU.
BUT YOUR TEAM, AND ALSO, YOU KNOW, YOU MENTIONED ABOUT THE UPGRADING WITH THE AIR CONDITIONING.
AND WE ARE OPEN FOR KER WARREN TO BE TORN DOWN AND REBUILD AND WITH AIR IN IT, BECAUSE THAT IS DEFINITELY AN AREA OF DISTRICT 10 THAT IS IN NEED OF SOME SERVICES.
AND SO GRATEFUL FOR THE UPCOMING CONVERSATIONS, GRATEFUL FOR THE CHANGES THAT WILL BE MADE.
JUST GRATEFUL ALL THE WAY AROUND IN ORDER THAT THE CHILDREN, AND I'M NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT THE LITTLE CHILDREN, 'CAUSE WE HAVE SOME BIG CHILDREN WILL ENJOY THE USE OF THESE FACILITIES.
IT ALL, IT ALL STARTS WITH THE, THE SIX COMMISSIONERS THAT YOU APPOINT.
THAT'S WHO I GET MY ORDERS FROM.
SO THANK YOU FOR, FOR APPOINTING, UH, A A A GREAT BOARD WHO, UH, HAS, HAS THE COMMUNITY IN MIND.
ANYONE ELSE? THANK YOU SO MUCH.
WE NOW GO TO ITEM 1 58, RECEIVING AN UPDATE FROM THE CHAIR OF THE CS BOARD OF DIRECTORS ON THE FISCAL AND OPERATIONAL HEALTH OF THE CAPITAL AREA TRANSIT SYSTEM BY COUNCIL MEMBERS, ADAMS, COLEMAN, MOOCH, AND RAA.
Y'ALL PUT ME RIGHT AFTER BREAK.
UM, I KIND OF WANTED TO LITTLE MAKE IT A LITTLE MORE EXCITING.
AND, UM, MR. PROTI, CAN WE HAVE QUESTIONS AFTER THE SLIDES IF THERE'RE ALREADY? OR DO YOU WANNA WAIT
[01:05:01]
UNTIL THE END? LET'S DO THE WHOLE PRESENTATION FIRST.'CAUSE IT'S GONNA BE A LITTLE CONFUSING AT SOME POINT.
SO I KNOW THAT IF COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT PARTICULAR SLIDES, PLEASE WRITE 'EM DOWN SO SHE CAN GO BACK TO THE SLIDES DURING THE, THE ANSWER SESSION.
UM, MY THEME FOR THIS WAS WESTERN.
COULD YOU INTRODUCE YOURSELF SO WE KNOW WHO YOU'RE YES.
I'M SERVING AS PRESIDENT OF THE CAT SPORT THIS TERM, ONE YEAR TERM.
UH, THE THEME IS WESTERN MOVIES AND, UM, I PICKED IT BECAUSE MY FATHER IS MY INSPIRATION FOR OUR APPLYING TO BE ON THE CAT SPORT.
SO, AND HE LOVED HIS WESTERN AND IT'S KIND OF COVERED UP, BUT THE, THE THEME OF THIS, UH, SLIDE IS CALLED, UH, THEY CALL ME TRINITY.
AND I THINK OF KATZ AS A TRINITY.
WE HAVE OUR COMMISSIONERS, WE HAVE OUR MANAGEMENT STAFF, AND WE HAVE OUR UNION AND NON-UNION EMPLOYEES.
WHAT'S HAPPENED OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS THAT I COULD DISCERN IS THAT THESE LINES WERE BLURRING WHERE GOVERNANCE WAS GETTING INVOLVED IN MANAGEMENT.
THE UNION WAS GOING TO THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WITH UNION ISSUES.
IT IS IN OUR BYLAWS THAT WE MAY NOT HAVE ANY INTERACTION WITH ANY BARGAINING AGREEMENT.
SO ALL THAT HAS TO BE BETWEEN THE OTHER TWO STOOLS OF MANAGEMENT AND THE EMPLOYEES.
JUST SO YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT Y'ALL HAVE BEEN WORRIED ABOUT OUR BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS AND I SEE THAT OUR JOB IS TO GOVERN.
WE ONLY HAVE ONE EMPLOYEE, THE C E O, AND WE APPROVE THE BUDGET.
WE, UH, HIRE THE AUDITOR AND WE'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR 'EM.
THE OTHER AREAS, YOU KNOW, MANAGEMENT IS TO HIRE FIRE, INSPIRE, YOU KNOW, HAVE SAFETY, ALL THOSE THINGS.
SO WHAT WE'VE REALLY BEEN TRYING TO DO THIS YEAR IS MAKE SURE THAT THOSE THREE LEGS ARE SEPARATE BUT STRONG.
AND IF THEY ARE, THEN YOU HAVE A FUNCTIONING OPERATION BETWEEN THE THREE.
THERE'S A NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN AND THE PICTURES COVERING UP.
SO HOPEFULLY I CAN REMEMBER WHAT I'VE WRITTEN HERE.
UH, WE ARE WORKING ON OUR BYLAWS TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE MATCHING WHAT WE'RE DOING.
UH, WE ARE, I HAVE TO USE MY SCALE VISION PROBLEMS PEOPLE.
UM, WE HAVE STACKED OUR COMMITTEE MEETINGS TO ALL BE ON THURSDAY.
AND WHAT THAT IS DONE IS PARTICIPATION IN MEETINGS.
SO I WENT BACK OVER THE MINUTES, OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, A LOT OF THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS DID NOT MEET THE COMMITTEES, DID NOT HAVE MEETINGS, NO MEETING HELD, NO MEETING HELD.
I SAID THAT THAT'S NOT ACCEPTABLE.
UH, WE REWORKED OUR POLICY FOR BUDGET.
IT DID NOT MEET THE NEEDS OF REALLY WHAT WE NEEDED TO ACCOMPLISH.
SO THEY HAD A POLICY WHICH WE ARE REWORKING, AND THEN THEY WILL DO PROCEDURES TO MEET OUR POLICY.
WE IMPLEMENTED A POLICY FOR THE C E O EVALUATION.
WE ALREADY HAVE IMPLEMENTED THE POLICY FOR THE C E O SEARCH, WHICH WE ARE GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS RIGHT NOW.
WE'RE BEGINNING TO WORK ON A CHARTER FOR OUR BOARD.
SO IT'S JUST ANOTHER LEVEL AFTER THAT.
UM, BYLAWS, WE'RE GONNA PERFORM A SELF-EVALUATION AT THE END OF THE YEAR.
WE DID ONE AT THE BEGINNING AND WE'LL SEE WHERE WE HAVE ACTUALLY GROWN AND WHAT WE NEED TO WORK ON THE NEXT YEAR.
AND I'M VERY PLEASED TO SAY THREE OF OUR BOARD MEMBERS ATTENDED THE APTA CONFERENCE, WHICH IS OUR NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TRANSIT.
WE WENT TO, UH, BIRMINGHAM ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO LAST YEAR.
I WAS THE ONLY ONE ATTENDED IN THE PREVIOUS 10 YEARS.
YOU CAN'T GOVERN IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE WORLD AROUND YOU.
THIS IS, UM, MY HELP WANTED ADD THIS WANTED POSTER, BUT, UM, WHAT WE WERE THINKING IS MAYBE MORE OF A COLLABORATION IF THE METRO COUNCIL COULD FIND OUT WHAT WE NEED TO MAKE OUR BOARD MORE EFFICIENT.
FOR EXAMPLE, IF WE NEED AN ACCOUNTANT AND Y'ALL GIVE US AN INSURANCE EXPERT, THAT'S GREAT, BUT IT DOESN'T MAKE OUR UNIT VERY STRONG.
SO ALSO WE'RE KIND OF THINKING MAYBE WE NEED TO VET OUR, UM, RETURNING BOARD MEMBERS JUST LIKE WE DO NEW APPLICANTS.
I WENT THROUGH A VETTING PROCESS WHEN I WANTED TO BE ON THE CAS BOARD.
WE HAVE TO HAVE A VERY DIVERSE SET OF IDEAS AND SKILLS SO THAT OUR BOARD CAN RUN EFFICIENTLY.
AND WHAT WE'RE ASKING YOU TO DO IS HELP US HAVE A STRONGER VOICE.
JUST SO YOU KNOW, YOU NEED TO KNOW WHAT THE, UH, EXPECTATIONS ARE OF A BOARD.
IT IS TOO DARK HERE AND MY VISION, IT WILL NOT LET ME READ THOSE, BUT IT WILL BE IN THE PACKET FOR Y'ALL'S REVIEW.
IT'S LITERALLY WHAT OUR JOB DESCRIPTION IS AND WE PUT IT TOGETHER NOW THAT WHEN EVERYBODY COMES ON BOARD, YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR JOB IS.
[01:10:01]
ITEM ON THAT IS WE DID ADD PARTICIPATE IN GOVERNANCE DEVELOPMENT.IF YOU CAN'T KNOW HOW TO GOVERN, THEN YOU CAN'T BE ON A GOVERNING BOARD.
I CALL THIS ONE THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY.
THESE WERE THE AREAS THAT, UM, THE METRO COUNCIL AND KATZ HAVE BEEN DISCUSSING ON AND OFF FOR THE LAST FEW YEARS.
SO I'M JUST GONNA START THE FIRST ONE AND START ADDRESSING THEM.
UH, THE KATZ AUDIT WAS JUST, UM, COMPLETED FOR 2022.
IT WAS AN UNMODIFIED AUDIT, WHICH MEANS THAT IT WAS, UM, RENDERED ACCEPTABLE WITH NO MAJOR PROBLEM.
NOW WE DID HAVE OUR REPEAT FINDINGS AGAIN, AND I WANNA TELL YOU WHAT THESE ARE.
I'M, I'M GONNA GIVE YOU TWO EXAMPLES SO YOU'LL UNDERSTAND.
OUR AUDIT WAS CLEAN, BUT WE DO HAVE AREAS OF WEAKNESS AND THAT INCLUDES INTERNAL CONTROLS FROM MANAGEMENT, UH, RECORD KEEPING RELATING TO EMPLOYEE LEAVE AND DOCUMENTATION OF THE PAY RATES FOR THE EMPLOYEES IN THE EMPLOYEE FOLDERS.
SO THESE ARE TWO EXAMPLES OF THE FINDINGS.
AND IT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE THAT THEY'RE REPEATS.
YOU KNOW, IF YOU KNOW THAT YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE EMPLOYEE FILE STRAIGHT, THEN WE'RE GONNA DO IT.
OUR CHAIRMAN OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE HAS PUT TOGETHER A WORK PLAN WITH A REPO, THE RESPONSIVE PERSON DUE DATE, AND THEY'RE GONNA HAVE TO SIGN OFF ON IT.
UH, THE NEXT ISSUE IS THE I R S ISSUE.
AND BEFORE I GET INTO THAT, CAN YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE AND THEN WE'RE GONNA POP BACK.
I NEEDED Y'ALL TO, TO SEE THE I R S ISSUE THAT WE DID RECEIVE.
AND AS A GOVERNING BOARD, THERE WAS A SEPARATE ISSUE THAN JUST THE TAX NUMBER ONE.
I SAW THAT IT WAS IN CARE OF PAT BEARD OR SOMEONE LIKE THAT.
SHE HAS NOT WORKED, OR HE HAS NOT WORKED FOR KAZ IN OVER FIVE YEARS AS A GOVERNING BOARD.
I'M LIKE, THAT'S A MAJOR PROBLEM.
EVERY TIME A PERSON LEAVES TERMINATED, RETIRES ALL CORRESPONDENCE RELATED TO THAT PERSON, IT'S GOT TO BE MOVED.
IT'S THEIR JOB TO IMPLEMENT IT, BUT IT'S OUR JOB TO TELL 'EM THAT YOU GOTTA DO IT.
THE SECOND ONE IS SECURE YOUR MAIL.
THIS WAS SENT TO FLORIDA BOULEVARD.
MY QUESTION IS, ARE YOU SECURING YOUR MAIL? MAKE SURE YOU SECURE YOUR MAIL.
SO I'VE ASKED THEM TO PUT TOGETHER A PROCEDURE.
I'VE BEEN IN THE SAND AND GRAVEL BUSINESS 40 YEARS.
I HAVE A PO BOX, I'VE GOT MILLIONS OF PITS, BUT MY MAIL IS SECURE.
TWO PEOPLE HAVE KEYS, THEY GO GET THE MAIL, AND I KNOW IT'S SECURE.
SO HOW THEY DO IT, I DON'T CARE BECAUSE MY POLICY IS SECURE.
YOUR MAIL MANAGEMENT AND STAFF'S POLICY, I MEAN RESPONSIBILITIES TO PUT IN A PROCEDURE TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.
UM, OKAY, NOW I'LL TALK ABOUT THE, THE AUDIT ITSELF.
UM, WHEN I SAW THIS, THIS IS RELATED TO THE AMERICA'S CARE ACT, AND THIS IS A PAPERWORK ISSUE.
IT WAS A FORM 10 94 C I BELIEVE, AND THREE THINGS ON IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN CHECKED.
UM, UH, AN ATTORNEY HAS BEEN HIRED.
HE HAS A, HE'S A C P A AND HE'S ALSO AN ATTORNEY.
AND HE HAS, UH, RETIRED I R S AUDITORS THAT WORK WITH HIM.
THEY'VE GOT A, UH, FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT.
THEY'VE RECEIVED ALL THE INFORMATIONS.
I I RECOMMENDED THAT HE GO BACK ONE YEAR AND GO FORWARD ONE YEAR AND MAKE SURE WE'RE COVERED.
UM, THIS IS NOT A TAX, IT'S ACTUALLY AN ASSESSMENT FOR DOING INCORRECT PAPERWORK.
SO, UM, WHEN I SAW THE LETTERS ON IT, I SAID, OH, THIS ISN'T A TEXT.
THIS IS, THIS IS AN ASSESSMENT.
SO IT'S NOT DONE, BUT WE'RE WORKING ON IT.
ALRIGHT, LET'S GO BACK TO OUR BOARD OF GOVERNORS.
UM, THE METRO COUNCIL DID HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT OUR BOARD OF GOVERNORS, AND WE HAVE REALLY BEEN TRYING VERY HARD TO MAKE OURSELVES A GOVERNING BODY THAT IS EFFICIENT.
OUR APTA TRAINING WAS DEFINITELY HELPFUL.
WE ARE WORKING ON OUR POLICIES AND PROCEDURES DILIGENTLY.
I'M DEVELOPING AN ANNUAL CALENDAR SO THAT WE CAN PUT ALL OF THESE THINGS ON IT SO THAT WE HAVE A, A BENCHMARK THAT WE CAN GO TO.
DID WE ACTUALLY GET THIS DONE? IS THIS POLICY BEEN MET? WE NEED TO REVIEW POLICIES, NOT GO AND TAKE THE 2018 POLICY FOR BUDGET.
AND THEN WE HAVE TO BE VERY DISCERNING ON WHAT WE WANNA GET, BECAUSE WHAT YOU MEASURE IS WHAT YOU ACHIEVE.
BUT SOMETIMES IF YOU MEASURE, THAT'S ALL YOU GET.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO BE DISCERNING ON WHAT WE ACTUALLY WANNA ACCOMPLISH.
UH, SKIP A SLIDE AND GO TO THE NEXT ONE.
THESE ARE JUST REALLY, UM, Y'ALL CAN READ THESE AT YOUR LEISURE,
[01:15:01]
BUT WE DO HAVE SOME REALLY GOOD NEWS AND SAFETY.WE HIRED A RISK AND SAFETY MANAGER.
WE'VE UPDATED OUR SAFETY PLAN.
WE'VE, UH, CREATED A, A SAFETY COMMITTEE.
AND, UM, WE'VE IMPROVED, IMPROVED SECURITY WITH CAMERAS AND, UH, A NEW SECURITY TEAM.
LANDSCAPING CHANGES, TRAINING.
AND, UM, FINALLY WE HAVE HAD 50% REDUCTION IN OUR F T A REPORTABLE ACCIDENTS THIS YEAR OVER LAST YEAR.
UM, WE'RE ALSO WORKING ON INCREASING TRANSPARENCY AND WORKING ON COMMUNICATIONS.
AND THAT INCLUDED THINGS LIKE OUR CAT'S DASH GOING THE EXTRA MILE, SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE, TOWN HALL MEETINGS.
OUR BOARD PACKETS HAVE BEEN REVAMPED.
AND, UM, THE KAT'S NEWSLETTER, I, I LISTENED TO ONE OF THE BOARD MEETINGS FROM I THINK ABOUT SIX OR SEVEN YEARS AGO, AND THE FIRST SIGN WAS WE HAVE 132 DRIVERS.
WELL, I WENT TO MY FIRST MEETING AND THE GUY SAID, WE HAVE 104 DRIVERS.
I'M LIKE, IF IT'S IN A REPORT, PLEASE DO NOT READ IT TO ME BECAUSE IT'S MY JOB TO READ THE REPORT AND GET, WE NEED TO, WE'RE WORKING TOWARDS GETTING CRITICAL INFORMATION, NOT REGURGITATED INFORMATION.
UH, NEXT ONE, UH, RIDERSHIP IS UP 21% OVER LAST YEAR WE WERE AT DOWN IN 2000.
BUT WE NEED TO REALLY FIGURE OUT WHAT OUR NEW NORMAL IS.
AND THAT'S REALLY WHERE THE GOVERNING BODY IS SO IMPORTANT 'CAUSE WE HAVE TO LOOK TO THE FUTURE.
PRIOR TO COVID, WE HAD 200,000 UP RIDERS A MONTH.
I DO BELIEVE THAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE, BUT WE NEED TO BE VERY DISCERNING ON WHERE WE PUT OUR RESOURCES TO MEET OUR COMMUNITY NEEDS.
ALRIGHT, THIS IS, UM,
50,000 RIDERS, FIRST ONE IN LOUISIANA.
AND IT IS A RECORD FOR OUR SIZE ORGANIZATION TO HAVE THIS MANY RIDERS.
UH, IT WAS A VERY NEEDED SERVICE.
THE FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMUNITY IS WONDERFUL.
NOW WE NEED TO TAKE THIS AND SEE IF WE CAN DUPLICATE IT IN OTHER AREAS THAT HAVE, UH, A NEED FOR A MICRO TRANSIT.
I CALL THIS ONE A FIST FULL OF DOLLARS.
WELL, PEOPLE DON'T USE DOLLARS ANYMORE,
SO WHAT WE HAVE IS CONTACTLESS PAY.
SO NOW WE ARE GETTING INTO THE 20 SOMETHING CENTURY.
AND, UM, WE'VE HAD 21% INCREASE IN OUR USAGE OF THESE APP PAYS.
IT SPEEDS UP SERVICE AND IT ALSO DOES FAIR CAPPING.
SO ONCE THEY PAY AND THEY HAVE IT ON THEIR APP, THEN IT IS BETTER.
SO I THINK IT'S GONNA BE A DYNAMITE THING FOR THE FUTURE.
ALRIGHTY, LET'S LOOK TO THE FUTURE.
UM, THE BUS RAPID TRANSIT LAUNCH IS PROBABLY GONNA BE IN 2025.
UH, WHEN WE WERE IN BIRMINGHAM, WE WENT ON THEIRS.
THEIR'S JUST OPENED UP IN SEPTEMBER, AND THEIR B R T IS STILL FREE UNTIL THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR.
SO THEY DON'T REALLY HAVE ANY DATA YET ON IT.
WE'RE WORKING ON THE NORTH TRANSIT CENTER AND, UM, IT'S GONNA BE STARTING TO BID IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 24.
OF COURSE, WE'RE WORKING ON OUR POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.
WE'RE IMPLEMENTING OUR C E O FINDINGS, C A O.
UH, THIS IS OUR COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS.
WHEN YOU DO HAVE A NEW NORMAL, YOU'VE GOT TO HAVE INFORMATION TO FIND OUT WHERE PEOPLE ARE NEEDED.
UH, WE WERE AWARDED AN EMPOWERMENT BATON ROUGE GRANT, AND WE'RE STARTING TO WORK ON THAT STUDY.
THIS, UH, C A D COUNTS, THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT.
AND THIS IS PROBABLY SOMETHING INTERESTING TO Y'ALL, WHICH IS THE UPDATED BUS AMENITIES.
OUR EVALUATION SHOWED ONLY 2.6% OF OUR BUSES ARE TO A D A COMPLIANCE.
AND WE ARE UNDER, UH, FEDERAL COURT ORDER TO HAVE THEM COMPLETED WITHIN 10 YEARS.
UH, WE ARE STARTING TO WORK ON DIFFERENT DESIGNS FOR THE DIFFERENT LAYOUTS, AND WE WILL PUT THOSE INTO SMALLER PACKAGES TO BE BID BECAUSE, UM, WE REALLY FEEL VERY STRONGLY THAT THESE ARE D B A JOBS THAT WE COULD GET MORE IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND OF COURSE, WE'LL BE EXPLORING THE MICRO TRANSIT BEFORE THEY USED TO HAVE STAGE COACHES IN THE WILD WEST.
AND, UM, IT'S ALWAYS BEEN IMPORTANT.
SO I'M SURE Y'ALL DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
UH, WE'RE GONNA GO TO PUBLIC HEARING FIRST.
IS THERE ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM? ITEM? COME ON DOWN.
STATE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS FOR THE RECORD.
UH, REVEREND ALEXIS ANDERSON, 2 48 STEEL BOULEVARD.
UH, SUFFICE IT TO SAY, FOR MANY, MANY YEARS, UH, KATZ HAS BEEN ON MY SHORT LIST
[01:20:01]
OF CONCERNS.AND SO WHILE THIS, UH, REPORT DOESN'T APPEAR TO ADDRESS, UH, THE ACTUAL TRANSPORTATION ISSUES, I DID HAVE, UH, SOME QUESTIONS.
I WOULD LIKE TO GET A GREAT DEAL MORE, UH, DATE ON PARTICULARLY THE A D A COMPLIANCE CHALLENGES.
UH, AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, THIS WEEK, THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE OF DISABILITIES AFFAIRS IS ACTUALLY HAVING THEIR, UH, ANNUAL CONFERENCE.
AND ONE OF THE CHALLENGES IS THE ABILITY FOR OUR PUBLIC SYSTEMS TO BE ABLE TO MEET THE NEEDS OF A MULTITUDE OF CHALLENGES, BOTH BEHAVIORAL AS WELL AS PHYSICAL.
UH, MY SECOND CONCERN HAS BEEN FOR MANY, MANY YEARS, AND I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO HEAR, UH, PERHAPS AT A FOLLOW UP REPORT HOW KATZ IS ADDRESSING ITS RESPONSES TO DISASTER.
AND WHETHER THAT IS A, A SHORT TERM WEATHER DISASTER FOR WHICH PEOPLE IN THE PAST HAVE LITERALLY BEEN LEFT STRANDED, OR WHETHER IT IS, UH, THEIR ROLE ON THE, UH, THE VOADS.
UH, I ALSO WOULD LIKE, UH, A GREAT DEAL MORE, UH, INFORMATION IF IT'S POSSIBLE, ON WHAT ISSUES ARE BEING ADDRESSED THROUGH THE SAFETY COMMITTEE, WHETHER THAT IS STRICTLY INTERNAL OR WHETHER THAT IS EXTERNAL ISSUES AS IT RELATES TO LAWSUITS, UH, ISSUES AROUND, UH, COMPLIANCE, A D A, COMPLIANCE, ET CETERA.
UH, I'D BE VERY INTERESTED TO FIND OUT IF KATZ IS WORKING ON, AT THIS POINT, A COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION PLAN THAT IS INCLUSIVE OF BOTH, UH, LS, U'S TIGER BUS SYSTEM.
UH, THE COUNCIL ON AGING'S BUSING SYSTEM ARE QUITE EXTENSIVE PRIVATE MEDICAL TRANSPORT SYSTEM.
AND WHETHER THERE IS ANYTHING IN THE WORKS THAT CONNECTS US WITH ADDITIONAL AND OTHER PARISHES FOR WHICH PEOPLE HAVE TO TRANSPORT, UH, FOR EMPLOYMENT, HEALTHCARE, ET CETERA.
AND THEN MY FINAL, UH, CONCERN QUESTION IS THAT WHILE IT IS VERY NICE TO HAVE A VERY DIGITAL FOOTPRINT, WE HAVE A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF OUR POPULATION THAT HAS LIMITED LITERACY AND A NUMBER OF THOSE POPULATIONS, IN FACT USE PUBLIC TRANSIT AS THEIR CORE PUBLIC TRANSIT SYSTEM.
SO I DO HAVE, UH, A QUESTION ABOUT HOW, UM, WITH THESE INCREASINGLY DIGITAL SYSTEMS, WE ARE STILL GOING TO MAKE THE SYSTEM, UH, FRIENDLY AND USABLE FOR SOME OF OUR SENIOR POPULATIONS, SOME OF OUR DISABILITY POPULATIONS, SOME OF OUR FOLK THAT HAVE LIMITED, UH, UH, ACCESSIBILITY IN TERMS OF LITERACY, WHETHER IT'S LANGUAGE OR OTHER CHALLENGES.
AND THEN LAST BUT NOT LEAST, I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF KATZ INTENDS TO START LIVE STREAMING THEIR MEETINGS.
WAIT, WAIT, WE GONNA HAVE, WE GONNA HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS AND WE NOT GONNA TAKE 'EM ONE BY ONE.
GOOD AFTERNOON, COUNCIL MEMBERS.
UH, MY NAME IS CHRISTOPHER TOMBS.
I LIVE AT 2222 GENERAL ADAMS AVENUE.
UM, I'M HERE BECAUSE I AM A D A S CANDIDATE AT THE L S U
AND, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'M FOCUSING ON WITH MY DOCTORATE IS, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY.
AND WHEN I LOOK AT THE, UM, THE STRUCTURE RIGHT NOW OF CATS AS IT PERTAINS TO THE ENVIRONMENT, WE ARE DEFINITELY BEHIND THE CURVE BALL AND WE CAN DO SOME IMPROVEMENT.
BUT I WANNA SHARE SOME STATISTICS WITH YOU BEFORE I DIVE INTO THIS DEAL.
UM, FROM A FINANCIAL ASPECT, IT COSTS ABOUT $9,000 PER YEAR ON AVERAGE TO OWN OR OPERATE A CAR.
UM, WHEN IT COMES TO REDUCING THE CARBON FOOTPRINT, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT 6 BILLION GALLONS OF GAS IS SAVED YEARLY BY PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION.
SO WE'RE GETTING A GOOD BALANCE OF UTILIZING OUR RESOURCES IN REGARDS TO PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION WHEN IT'S AT ITS BEST.
UM, AS FAR AS LIKE A COMMUNITY CONNECTOR, IT'S A GREAT SOCIAL CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT BECAUSE STUDENTS CAN UTILIZE RIDERSHIP TO GET TO SCHOOL AND GET TO OTHER EVENTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, BECAUSE RIGHT NOW A LOT OF PEOPLE WE TAKE FOR GRANTED DON'T OWN CARS.
OKAY? THE OTHER THING IS THE WORKING CLASS, THEY CAN GET ACCESS TO JOBS IF YOU HAVE A BEEF DUB PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM.
UM, ALSO IT INCREASES PHYSICAL ACTIVITY.
PEOPLE WALK TO STOPS, PEOPLE WALK HERE OR THERE BECAUSE WE'RE ONE OF THE MOST UNHEALTHY STATES IN THE UNION.
SO WE CAN IMPROVE THAT AS WELL.
NOW, UM, BASED OFF WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT TONIGHT AND WHAT I HEARD IN THIS REPORT, UM, THERE IS A LACK OF EXPOSURE TO THE BODY THAT IS CATS RIGHT NOW.
THEY NEED TO GET MORE EXPOSURE, THEY NEED TO BE ENLIGHTENED ABOUT DIFFERENT THINGS THAT ARE AVAILABLE OUT THERE TO HELP US BEEF UP OUR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION.
UM, AND OFF, BASED ON THE SOUNDS OF THIS, WE'RE AT WHAT SOUNDS LIKE IT'S GROUND ZERO FOR CATS IN BATON ROUGE.
I MEAN, THAT'S WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE.
LIKE RIGHT NOW WITH THE REPORT THAT WE GOT RIGHT NOW, WE ARE REHABBING SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN SICK FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
[01:25:01]
WE DO THAT IS BY GETTING SOME QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE DATA.WHEN YOU WANT TO MOVE FORWARD, YOU HAVE TO HAVE THAT, YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT THAT SO YOU CAN BASE WHERE YOU'RE GOING AND WHERE YOU'VE BEEN.
UM, ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS I WOULD LIKE TO DO, HOW MUCH TIME DO I HAVE? ALRIGHT, 54 SECONDS.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WOULD ENCOURAGE IS, UM, UTILIZING THE ASSET THAT WE HAVE ON THE CORNER OF FOURTH AND FLORIDA.
WE HAVE HELIX COMMUNITY SCHOOLS OVER THERE, AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE FOCUS ON IS SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND ENGINEERING.
WE HAVE SOME OF THE BRIGHTEST YOUNG MINDS AVAILABLE OVER THERE.
WE'VE ALSO JUST BROUGHT IN CRYSTAL RAY INTO OUR FOLD WITH A REALLY COOL CORPORATE WORK STUDY MODEL.
AND I THINK WE COULD FIND SOME STUDENTS THAT WE WOULD BE WILLING TO, YOU KNOW, SHARE WITH CATS THAT THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO UTILIZE TO DO SOME RESEARCH AND SOME TAPPING IN AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
UM, BUT FOR ME, I FEEL LIKE NOW THERE'S A CALL TO, UM, I'LL SAY A CALL TO ARMS FOR US TO REALLY TAKE THIS INITIATIVE SERIOUS.
BECAUSE IF WE DON'T GET A PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM THAT'S EFFECTIVE, THEN OTHER MARKETS ARE GONNA START TO SUPERSEDE US IN A WAY WHERE WE MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO CATCH UP.
AND IT'S A REALLY BAD LOOK WHEN YOU HAVE PEOPLE THAT ARE COMING HERE WITH BUSINESSES THAT ARE LOOKING LIKE, YOU KNOW WHAT? WE MIGHT NOT WANT TO DRIVE.
WE WANT ACCESS TO GOOD PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION.
SO THAT'S ANOTHER WAY WE'RE KNOCKING OURSELVES FROM RELOCATION OPPORTUNITIES FOR BUSINESS COMING HERE.
SO, UM, THAT'S WHAT I'D LIKE TO LEAVE YOU WITH.
DEFINITELY OVER AT HEAL COMMUNITY SCHOOLS.
WE'D LIKE TO BE INVOLVED AND BE A PART OF THIS PROCESS.
IS THERE ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM? GO AHEAD.
COUNCIL MEMBERS, YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED ONE EMAIL COMMENT ON THIS ITEM.
UM, THANK YOU MS. MELISSA FOR COMING UP TO, UM, MY FELLOW COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
UH, LOOK, UH, THANK Y'ALL VERY MUCH FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY AS FAR AS THIS DISCUSSION.
BUT MS. MELISSA, I, I GOTTA TELL YOU, AS FAR AS YOUR PRESENTATION AND YOUR DIRECT AND EVERYTHING, I, I COULD LISTEN TO THAT PRESENTATION OVER AND OVER AND OVER THAT YOU BROUGHT BEFORE US TODAY.
I, I REALLY APPRECIATE EVERYTHING THAT YOU HAVE SAID IN THIS.
EVERYTHING YOU HAVE BROUGHT TO LIGHT.
YOU DIDN'T, IT JUST, IT WAS STRAIGHTFORWARD.
I FELT LIKE YOU WERE VERY OPEN, VERY FORTHCOMING WITH EVERYTHING.
AND I DON'T EVEN THINK WE'VE GOT THIS OUT OF ALL THE INVESTIGATION OR WHAT WE'VE BEEN GOING THROUGH.
DO I THINK WE STILL HAVE A LITTLE WAYS TO GO? YOU SAID THAT YOURSELF, BUT I THINK I HAVE TO COMMEND YOU.
I THINK IT'S HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
I THINK WE'VE STILL GOT SOME THINGS THAT WE'RE GONNA BE LOOKING INTO, BUT, UH, AGAIN, I JUST WANTED TO TELL YOU, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR A GREAT REPORT, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR DEDICATION TO KATZ AND ACTUALLY TRYING TO CHANGE IT AROUND.
THE GENTLEMAN SAID IT HIMSELF AS FAR AS EXPOSURE, YOU KNOW, UM, I THINK ESPECIALLY WHEN I CAME ONTO THE COUNCIL, IT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS, THE EXPOSURE OF CATS WAS HORRIBLE.
THE PROBLEM WAS ALL THE EXPOSURE THAT KATZ WAS GETTING AND THE REASON THAT IT WAS GETTING THAT EXPOSURE.
BUT I, I, I THINK WITH SOME, WITH THIS NEW DIRECTION, WITH THE THINGS THAT YOU HAD BROUGHT UP HERE, I THINK THAT CAN, CAN SLOWLY START TO CHANGE.
AND I APPRECIATE EVERYTHING YOU BROUGHT UP TODAY.
COUNCILMAN ADAMS. UM, I WANNA SAY A THANK YOU, UM, AS WELL TO, UH, MR. DEGENERES AND TO, UH, TO COUNCILWOMAN COLEMAN.
UM, THIS HAS BEEN A TREMENDOUS, YOU KNOW, JOURNEY AND Y'ALL HAVE PUT IN A LOT OF TIME, UM, AND A LOT OF WORK, AND IT IS GREATLY APPRECIATED.
I'D ALSO LIKE TO, TO YIELD THE REST OF MY TIME TO YOU IF YOU'D LIKE.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO ANSWER SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT, THAT WERE ASKED? DO YOU WANNA ADDRESS SOME OF THE QUESTIONS? I WOULD BE HAPPY TO, AND A LOT OF 'EM, I HAVE MY SCRIBE TAKEN THE NOTES AND SHE'LL GO BACK AND THEN WE'LL DISSEMINATE THE INFORMATION.
BUT, UM, I DO WANT Y'ALL TO UNDERSTAND THAT I AM THE GOVERNING BODY.
I'M NOT GONNA GET INTO ADMINISTRATIVE, I'M NOT GONNA GET INTO UNION ISSUES.
SO I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, THE A D A COMPLIANCE, I CAN SPEAK TO IT, YOU KNOW, THE DISASTER RESPONSE, FOR EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, DO WE WANNA HAVE 50% OF OUR BUSES, ELECTRIC VERSUS DIESEL? WONDER IF THERE'S AN EMERGENCY.
YOU KNOW, THE NATION IS PUSHING 100%, SO WE HAVE TO EVALUATE THOSE THINGS.
SO I'M, I'M NOT, NOT ANSWERING YOU, BUT I THINK THAT IT'S REAL IMPORTANT THAT I DIVIDE THIS LIST UP BY WHO IS THE APPROPRIATE PERSON TO ADDRESS IT.
AND, UM, I DON'T WANNA OVERSTEP MY BOUNDS.
AND THANK YOU TO THE REST OF THE, THE KATZ BOARD AND TO, TO COUNCILWOMAN COLEMAN FOR THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT, AND CARE THAT Y'ALL ARE INVESTING, UM, INTO OUR TRANSIT SYSTEM.
I COMPLETELY AGREE WITH THE GENTLEMAN IN WHAT HE SAID THAT, YOU KNOW, UM, EVERY, EVERY GOOD, VIBRANT CITY, UM, NEEDS A GOOD PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM.
AND YOUR, YOUR WORK IS CRITICAL.
ANYTHING ELSE? COUNCIL MEMBER BANKS? UH, YES MA'AM.
I WANNA FIRST OF ALL, JUST THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR, UH, THE LINKS BUS, UM,
[01:30:01]
THAT THE PILOT WAS DONE IN BAKER AND, UM, THE ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY.BUT THE, UM, NOT ONLY IS IT GREAT BECAUSE IT GOES FROM BANKS, BUT IT SERVICES THE SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS THAT HAVE TO GO TO WALMART.
AND SO THAT HAS BEEN A TREMENDOUS, UM, ASSET TO THE COMMUNITY AND LINKING, UM, THOSE STUDENTS WITHOUT TRANSPORTATION TO WALMART, WHICH HAS EVERYTHING.
UM, SO I WANNA JUST THANK YOU FOR THAT.
ALL OF YOUR DRIVERS ARE AWESOME.
UM, AND THEY HAD COLOR TO OUR COMMUNITY.
SO, YOU KNOW, I JUST WANT TO JUST REALLY, REALLY THANK YOU THAT, UH, YOU CHOSE THE CITY OF BAKER.
I THINK, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'VE ALWAYS WANTED IN, UM, THE LAST 10 YEARS, I FELT THAT WE SHOULD HAVE THAT AS A, THE CITY OF BAKER WAS A GREAT PLACE TO HAVE.
UM, WHAT IS IT WHEN YOU PARK A PARK AND RIDE? UM, BECAUSE, UM, IT IS WHEN WE HAVE THE MORNING BACKLOG OF TRAFFIC AND THE EVENING BACKLOG AND PARKING A LOT OF TRAFFIC, IT'S, YOU KNOW, USUALLY PEOPLE TRYING TO GO FROM THE INTERSTATE TO BAKER, ZACHARY CENTRAL, THE MISSISSIPPI, UM, AND BACK WAYS TO LIKE LIVINGSTON PARISH.
SO I ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT WAS A GOOD LOCATION.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT, IT IT WOULD TAKE FOR THAT TO DONE, TO BE DONE.
AND I THINK THAT'S KIND OF PART OF THE REASON WHY, UM, LINKS WAS BROUGHT.
BUT I, I DO HOPE AT SOME POINT WE COULD HAVE A PARKING RIDE IN BAKER.
I HAVE TO GIVE MY SCRIBE HER BOOK BACK SO SHE CAN WRITE THAT DOWN.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THE CONTACTLESS PAY, IT'S, IT'S FOR THOSE WHO WANTED, IT'S NOT MANDATORY FOR EVERYONE.
I MEAN, SO ALL THESE ISSUES REALLY ARE BEING ADDRESSED THAT, AND I WOULD WELCOME THESE GUYS TO COME TO OUR KATZ BOARD MEETING AND, YOU KNOW, GET ON THE AGENDA AND THAT WAY WE CAN TAKE THOSE AND ADDRESS 'EM INDIVIDUALLY.
AS YOU MENTIONED IN YOUR PRESENTATION, THE, THE COUNCIL AS WELL AS THE COMMITTEE FORMED BY COUNCIL MEMBER COLEMAN HAS BEEN INTERFACING WITH THE COMMISSION, UH, FOR QUITE SOME TIME.
IT'S, IT'S GOOD TO SEE SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS MADE TO BE IMPLEMENTED FOR ME IN PARTICULAR AROUND, UH, WHERE OUR ROLE IS IN THIS IS THE, UH, COMMISSION AND APPOINTED OF THE COMMISSION.
YOU KNOW, WE TALKED ABOUT, UH, ONBOARDING PROCESS FOR THEM SO THEY CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT THEIR ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY IS.
YOU CLEARLY LAID THAT OUT IN YOUR PRESENTATION AND WE SUGGESTED CONTINUING EDUCATION FOR THEM.
UH, YOU ALSO, UH, POINTED THAT OUT THERE.
SO GLAD TO SEE SOME OF THOSE THINGS IMPLEMENTED THAT WE DISCUSSED AND, AND AND SUGGESTED.
UM, I'D LIKE TO OFFER UP ONE MORE THING AS IT RELATES TO YOUR ROLE.
I'M NOT GONNA ASK YOU TO GET INTO THE OTHER TWO, UH, FORMS THAT'S OUTSIDE OF YOUR ROLE, BUT ONE OF YOUR ROLE AS A BOARD MEMBER AND A COMMISSIONER IS TO HIRE THE NEXT C E O.
I'D LIKE TO IMPRESS UPON YOU TO, UH, IDENTIFY INDUSTRY BASED SEARCH FIRM THAT HAS A KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY THAT HAS A ALREADY EXISTING DATABASE THAT HAS, UH, CONTACTS AROUND THE COUNTRY.
SO YOU CAN LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, TRANSPORTATION, UH, PROFESSIONALS OF THE BEST AND BRIGHTEST AROUND THE COUNTRY IN THE WORLD, AND NOT JUST RELY ON A NON-INDUSTRY BASED, UH, SEARCH FIRM.
AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE DID.
UM, JONATHAN HILL IS THE CHAIRMAN OF OUR SEARCH COMMITTEE.
WE ACTUALLY ALREADY HAVE THE POLICY IN PLACE.
WE HAVE PUT OUT, UM, R F Q R F P ONE OF THOSE RFS MM-HMM.
AND, UM, BUT WE WORKED WITH APTA, WHICH IS THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TRANSIT AUTHORITIES.
SO WE ARE, UH, WE'RE NOT JUST GOING TO FIND TRANSIT IS A WORLD IN AND OF ITSELF.
NOW, COUNCIL MEMBER HEARST, UM, I'VE LIVED IN, IN OTHER, UH, MAJOR METRO AREAS AND ONE OF THE BIGGEST THING THAT I'VE SEEN IS THE, UM, THE RAILWAYS.
AND SO, EVEN THOUGH CATS RIGHT NOW IS FOCUSED ON BUSES AND OTHER UNIQUE TYPE OF TRANSPORTATIONS THAT GO ON TRADITIONAL ROADS, UM, HOUSTON STARTED OFF WHEN I LIVED THERE WITH A SMALL SPUR FROM DOWNTOWN, LIKE DOWN GOVERNMENT STREET.
I MEAN, I KNOW WE TALKED ABOUT, UM, SOME PEOPLE LIKE IT, SOME PEOPLE DON'T LIKE IT, I DON'T LIKE IT.
THE OVERGROWN BRUSH ON GOVERNMENT STREET.
UM, AND RIGHT NOW WE'RE ARGUING ABOUT WHO'S GONNA TAKE CARE OF IT.
BUT THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT THAT SHOULD BEEN, IN MY OPINION, A REAL SPUR THAT WENT DIRECTLY FROM DOWNTOWN TO GOVERNMENT STREET OR MAYBE EVEN FLORIDA BOULEVARD OR FROM L S U TO SOUTHERN BACK AND FORTH.
AND SO YOU CAN, LOOKING AT UNIQUE MODES OF TRANSPORTATION TO ADD TO THE, UH, CAT'S INVENTORY, I BELIEVE IS, IS, IS WHAT'S GOING TO TRANSITION US, UM, FROM WHERE WE ARE TO WHERE WE NEED TO BE AND BE THAT TYPE OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
[01:35:01]
SYSTEM THAT INVITES BUSINESSES AND, UH, INDUSTRY FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY WANNA PLANT HERE AND GROW AND, AND MAKE OUR ECONOMY STRONGER.I DON'T HAVE ANY, UM, PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE BECAUSE THAT IS A REAL STUDY, BUT I KNOW THAT THEY ARE LOOKING AT LIGHT RAIL AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE ANSWER WILL BE, BUT IT IS BEING STUDIED.
MELISSA, I WANNA FIRST ECHO THE SENTIMENTS THAT COUNCILMAN MOOCH GAVE YOU.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE'VE HAD A LOT OF NEGATIVE PRESS ASSOCIATED WITH KAZ OVER THE YEARS.
UM, BUT I WANNA THANK YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP.
YOU'VE REALLY STARTED TO PUT US ON A GOOD FOOTING AND PUT THE BOARD ON A GOOD FOOTING.
SO YOU'RE DOING A FANTASTIC JOB.
AND I'LL, I'LL PAT OURSELVES ON THE BACK 'CAUSE I THINK WE'RE THE ONES THAT APPOINTED YOU.
SO,
SO IS THE REQUEST TO HAVE, UM, WHEN YOU GUYS COME UP FOR REAPPOINTMENT, YOU WANNA GO BACK THROUGH THE Q R C PROCESS? IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE ASKING? ALL WE'RE SAYING IS JUST LOOK AT IT TO MAKE SURE, FOR EXAMPLE, IF SOMEONE'S BEEN ON THE BOARD 12 YEARS AND THEY JUST GET REAPPOINTED, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THEY NEED TO BE REVETTED JUST TO THE SAME LEVEL THAT WHEN I CAME ON, I WAS VETTED BY, YOU KNOW, THE COUNCIL ON AGES AND WHOEVER IT WAS.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S ANY VETTING PROCESS.
I'M JUST BRINGING IT UP AS A AREA OF COMMUNICATION BETWEEN US TO, TO BUILD MY BOARD AND MAKE IT THE STRONGEST IT CAN BE.
I, I THINK THAT IS SOMETHING GOOD TO LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE TO TALK WITH BRACK ABOUT IT AND SEE IF THEY'RE OPEN TO, YOU KNOW, ADDING THAT.
MY UNDERSTANDING, I THINK THEY ONLY DO IT FOR NEW BOARD MEMBERS.
IT'S NOT, WE, WE DON'T DO IT FOR RETURNING BOARD MEMBERS, BUT IT'S A GOOD IDEA.
UM, AND IT'S SOMETHING WE CAN DO THROUGH ORDINANCE.
AND, AND IT WAS JUST A SUGGESTION AND IT WAS JUST MY SUGGESTION BECAUSE, UM, YOU KNOW, AFTER THREE YEARS WHEN I COME UP, IF I WANNA DO IT AGAIN, I THINK THAT I SHOULD COME UP TO Y'ALL AND SAY, THIS IS WHAT I'VE ACCOMPLISHED, PLEASE RECONSIDER ME.
MEMBER RIGHTS DID HAVE ONE, ONE OTHER THING I I GET, I GET A LOT OF, UM, CALLS FROM THE, UM, PERSONS WITH THE BENCH CONTRACT.
AND, UM, I KNOW I'VE HAD A COUPLE OF MEETINGS WITH THE ADMINISTRATION, BUT HAVE THEY HAVE, HAVE YOU ALL HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS HAS EVER BEEN ON AN AGENDA ITEM WHERE THERE'S A DISCUSSION AS IT RELATES TO, UM, THE, THE BENCH CONTRACTS THAT WE HAVE WITH THE CITY? UH, I KNOW INITIALLY MY UNDERSTANDING WAS GONNA BE WHERE, UM, WHEN IT WAS EXTENDED, LIKE SIX MONTHS A YEAR, IT WAS TO GIVE CATS AND THE CITY AN OPPORTUNITY TO WORK ON A PLAN THAT WOULD NOT ELIMINATE THOSE SMALL BUSINESSES.
BUT, UM, WHERE IT, THEY, THEY CAN STILL HAVE A PART OF IT, BUT WE COULD STILL GROW BECAUSE THERE WERE, THERE WAS NO CONGRUENCY AS IT RELATES TO THE, THE DESIGN, THE MODEL, THE UPKEEP, HOW OFTEN THEY, UM, REPLACED THEM.
BUT IT APPEARS JUST FROM WHAT I GET FROM THEIR LOBBYISTS AND FROM THEM, IT'S LIKE THEY'RE, THEY'RE OUT MM-HMM.
I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S STILL LIKE SOMETHING THAT'S BEING TALKED ABOUT, BUT I DO THINK IT'S SOMEWHAT UNDER GOVERNANCE.
UM, AND I WANTED TO KNOW, DO Y'ALL HAVE A STUDY? I DON'T THINK IT SHOULD BE JUST AN ANSWER.
SO IN DOING THAT, THE BUS BENCHES THAT ARE BEING RENTED OUT OR PROMOTIONAL FOR THE METRO COUNCIL MONEY OR CITY MONEY, UM, THEY DO NOT MEET ANY OF THE STANDARDS.
AND SO WE ARE GONNA START DEMOLISHING AND REVAMPING EACH ONE OF THOSE BUS STOPS.
AND, UM, SO I, I BELIEVE THAT THE METRO COUNCIL, OR THE CITY, I DON'T KNOW WHO IT IS, HAS, UH, EXTENDED THE CONTRACT THROUGH DECEMBER, RIGHT AT THE END OF DECEMBER, THAT CONTRACT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN RENEWED.
ALL OF THE BUS BENCHES THAT WERE NOT A D A COMPLIANT, WHICH I DON'T THINK ANY OF 'EM WERE, I WOULD HAVE TO CHECK THAT EXACT NUMBER, BUT THAT THEY WOULD NEED TO BE REMOVED.
SO FIRST OF ALL, WHERE A LOT OF 'EM, THEY WEREN'T NECESS.
'CAUSE THIS BEEN, THIS WENT ON LIKE IT HAS BEEN GOING ON LIKE 80 YEARS, I'M JUST SAYING MM-HMM.
SO JUST BECAUSE THEY'RE, SO, FIRST OF ALL, THE BENCH, THE BENCHES THAT ARE OUT THERE, I DON'T THINK THEY GOT MONEY FROM US.
IT WAS, I THINK IT'S THROUGH THE ADVERTISEMENT.
THE ADVERTISING PAYS THE CITY.
THAT'S HOW AND WHAT THEY GET A PERCENTAGE OR SOMETHING.
WELL, ANYWAY, UM, SO FIRST OF ALL,
[01:40:01]
THERE IS, IT IS THE, THE LOCATIONS DON'T NECESSARILY MEAN THAT THEY ARE CAT'S BUS STOP.WHICH IS PART OF THE EFFORT TO CLEAN UP THE MATTER.
THE OTHER THING IS CATS PUT BUS STOPS OR HAVE IN A PAST WITHOUT TALKING TO THE DIFFERENT COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO KNOW ABOUT WHAT'S COMING DOWN THE PIPE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT HOUSING.
SO THAT HAS CAUSED AN ISSUE WHERE I'VE HAD TO ASK, COME GET IT.
YOU KNOW, DON'T KNOW IT'S THERE.
BUT SO, AND NONE OF THIS HAD TO DO WITH A D A POLICY.
NOW THE, THE, SO I DO UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE A D A PO, BUT FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, NONE OF THE BUS, UM, THE BUS PERSONS WERE EVER GIVEN, LIKE THIS IS WHAT'S NEEDED TO FIRST TO BE IN COMPLIANCE AND AN OPPORTUNITY TO MEET THEM, THOSE GUIDELINES.
IS THAT A FACT? I WOULD NOT KNOW, BUT I WILL FIND OUT.
SO WE, IT'S, IT HAS NOT BEEN AN ISSUE ABOUT NOT 80, THEY DIDN'T DO 80 A, UM, COMPLIANCE, JUST LIKE MY COMMUNITY CENTERS, THEY 88 BECAUSE A HUNDRED YEARS IT WASN'T THERE.
BUT WE NEED TO, BUT THEY STILL NEED TO BE GIVEN AN OPPORTUNITY TO MEET THOSE GOALS.
AND FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, THAT HAS NEVER, THEY'VE NEVER BEEN MET WITH, UM, BY ANYONE TO SAY, YOU KNOW, THIS IS WHAT WE'RE DOING.
'CAUSE I DON'T THINK THIS IS THE TIME TO BE PUTTING PEOPLE.
I BELIEVE KATZ IS WORKING WITH THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE ON, WHAT IS THE NAME OF THAT MOVE ALL STOPS ACCESS PROCESS.
SO, SO KATZ IS WORKING WITH THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE ON THAT ALL STOPS ACCESS.
SO TELL ME WHERE THOSE SMALL BUSINESSES COMING TO THAT OH, TALKING ABOUT THE BENCH OWNERS? YEAH.
UM, I DO NOT KNOW WHERE THEY COME, BUT WE WILL, I WILL GET THAT TO YOU AND WE WILL PUN OUT BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING.
THEY SHOULD NOT JUST BE ARBITRARILY MOVED AWAY IF THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY.
'CAUSE WHAT I FORESEE NOW IN ALL OF THAT, SOMEBODY'S GONNA GET A CONTRACT OUT OF THIS DEAL, AND WHY WOULD WE START OVER THROUGH WHOEVER ACCESSED WHEN THEY'VE BEEN DOING THIS ALL THIS YEAR AND NOT EVEN GIVE THEM AN OPPORTUNITY TO GROW.
I DO KNOW THAT KATZ IS WORKING WITH THE CITY ON THE BUS BENCH PEOPLE.
I DON'T KNOW WHO IT IS, BUT I WILL FIND OUT.
DID, DID, DID, DID YOU KNOW THAT THESE PEOPLE ARE NOT THE CITY THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT? CORRECT.
AND THESE ARE WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESS.
THESE ARE VETERAN OWNED BUSINESSES, BUT THESE, BUT THEY ARE CONTRACTED THROUGH THE CITY, NOT THROUGH CATS.
THAT'S, UNLESS YOU ALL ARE WORKING, BECAUSE THIS IS WHAT WAS SAID, THIS IS WHAT THE PLAN WAS SUPPOSED TO BE, WHERE AS I INDICATED AGAIN THAT THE CITY WAS GONNA, THE CITY AND CATS WERE GONNA WORK WITH THESE CONTRACTORS TO SEE HOW THEY CAN STILL BE DOING THEIR WORK UNDER THESE NEW A D A GUIDELINES.
AND WHAT I, WHEN I HAVE SPOKEN WITH THEM AND WHEN I'VE GOTTEN EMAILS FROM THEIR LOBBYISTS AND FROM THEIR OWNERS, THOSE CONVERSATIONS HAVE NEVER HAPPENED.
COUNCIL MEMBER BANKS, YOU'RE SEVEN MINUTES INTO YOUR I'M DONE.
I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER, BUT I WILL TRY AND FIND IT FOR YOU.
SO YES, YOU'RE CORRECT ON THE BUS BENCH PEOPLE, THEY ARE WORKING WITH THEM.
UH, IT HAS BEEN A WHILE SINCE THEY'VE CONTACTED THEM.
UH, I WOULD RECOMMEND IF WE COULD ALL RE COME BACK AROUND AND FIGURE OUT WHERE WE ARE ON THAT.
FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND THAT THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE INCLUDED IN THE PROCESS AND TO HELP OUT WITH SOME OF THESE NEW COMPLIANCIES AND STUFF.
AND IT MAY NOT BE ALL OF THEM.
IT MAY NOT BE ALL OF THEM, BUT THEY WOULD HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO POSSIBLY BE INCLUDED IF IT COULD WORK OUT IN CERTAIN WAYS.
ALSO, THERE WAS A TALK ABOUT TRYING NOT TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF BUS BENCHES, BUT IT HAD TO GO BY WHAT, WHERE Y'ALL PUT YOUR STOPS AND EVERYTHING.
SO I, I THINK THAT IS MOVING FORWARD.
BUT I DO AGREE WITH COUNCILWOMAN BANKS SAID, I THINK COMMUNICATION AND UPDATING MIGHT BE BEST FOR THAT.
AND SPEAKING OF UPDATING, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE COMING BEFORE US, UH, UP RAPIDLY APPROACHING, AND THIS IS ONE THING THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT UP THROUGH C R P C, UH, MR. FRED MIGHT GET, UH, HELP OUT WITH THIS, BUT HAVE Y'ALL WITH EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH WITH, WITH, WITH THE PARISH, WITH OUR, UH, D O T D AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
ANY, UH, UPDATES OR GUIDANCE OR ANYTHING THAT Y'ALL ARE PREPARING FOR THE UPCOMING WORK ON THE INTERSTATE AND REROUTING AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND I KNOW Y'ALL DON'T TRAVEL ON THE INTERSTATE, BUT, UM, THAT'S ONE OF THOSE COMMUNICATION THINGS I THINK AS FAR AS EXPOSURE AND THINGS LIKE THAT, IF THERE'S ANY PLANS THAT ARE BEING MADE FOR WHEN THIS INTERSTATE STUFF STARTS AND WORKING WITH OUR DEPARTMENTS, WORKING
[01:45:01]
WITH THE STATE D O T D AND STUFF LIKE THAT, AND LET'S GET THAT OUT THERE AHEAD OF TIME.AND IF THERE'S, IF YOU DON'T HAVE THAT INFORMATION RIGHT NOW, THAT'S FINE.
I KNOW WE'VE BEEN HERE A WHILE DISCUSSING, BUT IF WE COULD GET THAT OUT TO THE COUNCIL SO THEY CAN GET IT OUT TO THEIR DISTRICT MEMBERS, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I THINK IS THE NEXT BIG THING THAT WE'RE REALLY GONNA HAVE TO SHOW THAT NOT ONLY US AS COUNCIL MEMBERS, US AS ADMINISTRATION THROUGH THE MAYOR'S OFFICE, OUR PUBLIC WORKS, OUR DEPARTMENT, AND D O T D, AND BEING PREPARED FOR THAT AND GET THAT INFORMATION OUT TO THE PUBLIC EARLY.
SO IF YOU HAVE ANY, I DON'T KNOW IF WHAT COMMUNICATION Y'ALL HAVE HAD, BUT YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S ANYTHING MY WHOLE LIFE I LIKE TO BE PROACTIVE INSTEAD OF REACTIVE.
SO, UH, SHE DID TAKE A NOTE ON THAT AND WE WILL CHECK ON IT.
UM, YOU GUYS MENTIONED THE LINKS PROJECT WITH BAKER.
I KNOW THERE WAS SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT BRINGING THAT TO THE BATON ROUGE AIRPORT.
DO YOU HAVE ANY KIND OF UPDATE ON THAT? IT, IT PROBABLY ISN'T THE BATON ROUGE AIRPORT.
WHAT WE'RE DOING IS LOOKING AT, UM, OUR C A O, WHICH IS THAT COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS.
AND IT MIGHT BE SMALL CITY, IT MIGHT BE SEASON LEAD, IT MIGHT BE, WE DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER YET.
WE ARE, WE HAVE TO LOOK AT THE VIABILITY AFTER ONE YEAR, HOW MUCH MONEY WE MADE, HOW MUCH EFFORT IT TOOK, AND HOW MANY PEOPLE WE SERVED.
AND THEN WE NEED TO FIND ANOTHER COMMUNITY THAT HAS THAT SAME NEED AND SEE WHAT IT WOULD TAKE TO IMPLEMENT THE MICRO TRANSIT.
I AM ALL FOR MICROT TRANSIT, BUT I NEED TO MAKE SURE IT GOES IN THE PLACE WHERE THE COMMUNITY NEEDS IT THE MOST.
MELISSA, I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU.
UM, A LOT OF GOOD INFORMATION.
UM, AND, AND YOU ALL, AS YOU LISTEN, HEAR FROM WHERE KATZ HAS BEEN AND WHERE KATZ IS NOW, I KNOW THAT YOU CAN HEAR AND SEE THE GROWTH.
A LOT OF UPDATING, UH, PROGRESSIVENESS.
WHEN I FIRST GOT THERE, MY QUESTION WAS ABOUT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.
THERE WERE NONE THAT WOULD BE UP TO DATE.
AND SO WE'VE GOTTEN ON THAT AND THAT'S GREAT.
AND WHEN WE LOOK AT, UH, MELISSA JUMPED RIGHT IN ON THAT AUDIT THING.
SHE HAS BACKGROUND WITH THAT, SO THAT'S WHY SHE'S APPEALING TO US ABOUT YEAH, BRING SOMEBODY TO THE TABLE THAT CAN REALLY HELP.
AND THE AUDIT, AND WE TALKED ABOUT THE REPEAT FINDINGS AND THE I R S ISSUES AND ALL OF THAT.
KNOW YOUR PLACE, GET IN YOUR PLACE AND STAY IN YOUR PLACE.
UH, THE OTHER THING IS I'D LIKE TO ASK THAT YOU MAKE SURE WE REACH OUT TO CHRIS WITH THAT HELIX SCHOOL.
THAT WOULD BE, THAT'LL BE A GREAT THING THERE.
AND THEN WE ALWAYS TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, CATS NOT IN THE COMMUNITY.
I DON'T KNOW IF THEY THINK JUST GOING OVER THERE TO THAT BUS STOP ON FLORIDA STREET IS THE COMMUNITY, BUT YOU NEVER SEE THEM OUT IN THE COMMUNITY INTERACTIVE, UH, WITH ACTIVITIES THAT ARE GOING ON.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT MELISSA AND I'VE HAD CONVERSATIONS ABOUT.
AND THEN WHEN REVEREND ANDERSON MENTIONED ABOUT THE LIVE STREAMING MEETINGS, AND THAT IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE.
AND I THINK THAT WOULD BE AN EASY LIFT AND RESPONSIVE, UH, THE RESPONSES TO DISASTER BEING, AGAIN, PROACTIVE INSTEAD OF REACTIVE, HOW THOSE BUSES CAN GET THERE AND HELP MOVE FOLK.
AND THEN WHEN WE EVEN TOOK A LOOK AT THE ATTORNEYS ACTING AS IF WE WERE CASH COWS THERE AT CATS AND THEN SLOWING SOME OF THAT DOWN, THAT WAS ANOTHER, UH, GOOD THING.
SO A LOT OF GROWTH, A LOT OF GOOD STUFF IS HAPPENING, BUT WE ARE NOT FINISHED YET AND STILL GOT SOME WAYS TO GO, BUT YOU'RE TO BE COMMENDED FOR YOUR OPENNESS AND THIS REPORT THAT YOU'VE GIVEN TO US TONIGHT.
AND THEN WE LOOK FOR THE NEXT ONE TO BE EVEN BETTER.
SO WE SAY THANK YOU AND JUST, UH, KIND OF GIVE US A LITTLE BIT ON YOUR BACKGROUND WITH YOUR MONEY, KNOWLEDGE AND ALL OF THAT.
JUST QUICKLY TELL THEM WHAT YOUR EXPERIENCE IS.
WE HAVE A SAND AND GRAVEL BUSINESS.
I WAS JUST LAUGHING WITH HIM SAYING, MY SON AND NIECE ARE WORKING, SO I'LL PROBABLY BE WORKING A LOT LONGER.
THEY'RE DUMB BUNNIES, SO THAT'S GONNA TAKE A LONG TIME FOR THEM TO GET GOING ON IT.
I WAS IN THE READY MIX CONCRETE BUSINESS, SO I UNDERSTOOD TRANSPORTING A PERISHABLE PRODUCT FROM POINT A TO POINT
[01:50:01]
B.SO TRANSIT IS REALLY, OUR PEOPLE ARE PERISHABLE PRODUCTS.
SO YOUR JOB STARTS AT NINE O'CLOCK, YOU HAVE TO BE THERE THEN.
SO IT'S, IT'S JUST THE SAME KIND OF PUZZLE.
AND, UM, I'VE BEEN IN THE GRAVEL TRUCKING BUSINESS.
I'VE BEEN IN A LOT OF BUSINESSES AND IT'S JUST LIKE A TEACHER ONCE A TEACHER, ALWAYS A TEACHER.
COUNCIL MEMBERS, IF YOU WOULD RETURN BACK TO PAGE 18.
[96. 23-00825]
DOING ITEM 96, REQUESTING THE PLANNING COMMISSION TO INITIATE A STUDY TO AMEND THE U D C TO REVISE SECTION 3.1 0.4 COORDINATION WITH OTHERS BY COUNCIL MEMBER BANKS.IS THERE ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ITEM 96? ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ITEM 96? WE NOW GO TO COUNCIL MEMBERS.
NOBODY PRESSURE THE MOTION TO APPROVE BY COUNCIL MEMBER BANKS.
SECONDED BY YOU WANNA SPEAK? GO AHEAD.
NOR SECONDED BY THE CHAIR COUNCIL MEMBER.
NOR SO I, I HAVE AN ISSUE WITH THIS.
UM, I, I THINK THIS IS BROUGHT OUT OF, UH, UH, PERCEPTION THAT THIS, THE ZONE OF INFLUENCE, WHICH IS WHAT 3.1 0.4 IS REFERENCING, IS FOR, UM, I THINK THERE'S A PERCEPTION THAT ZONE OF INFLUENCE IS BEING USED AS AN OBSTRUCTION ITEM, AND THAT COULD NOT BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH.
UM, THIS ITEM HAS BEEN IN PLACE, UH, FOR QUITE SOME TIME WHEN I SERVED ON ZACHARY COUNCIL.
IT WAS UTILIZED, UM, AND I THINK IT'S BEEN UTILIZED, UM, EXACTLY AS INTENDED.
UM, I KNOW COUNCILMAN WELCH WHO SAT IN THIS SEAT BEFORE ME WHEN HE LAID IT OUT TO ME AND OTHERS ON THE ZACHARY COUNCIL YEARS AGO, UM, HE TOLD US ABOUT THE TIMELINE AND WHY THE TIMELINE WAS DEVISED.
UM, BASICALLY, UH, WHAT OCCURS FOR THOSE WHO AREN'T FAMILIAR IS SHOULD SOMETHING, UH, AND THEN THERE'S MULTIPLE SECTIONS IN THIS, UH, THREE, 3.1 0.4.
IT INVOLVES CENTRAL ZACHARY, BAKER AND BRECK.
AND SO FOR CENTRAL AND ZACHARY, IT'S FOR ITEMS THAT COME WITHIN THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS OF CENTRAL AND, UH, ZACHARY, BUT ARE OUTSIDE OF THE CITY LIMITS OF THOSE MUNICIPALITIES.
SO US BEING THE GOVERNING BODY OF, UH, THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE AND THE PARISH CONTROLLING THE, UH, UNINCORPORATED AREAS, UM, THEY BOUGHT UP RIGHT NEXT TO THESE MUNICIPALITIES.
SO IT WAS A WAY TO WORK WITH THOSE MUNICIPALITIES TO HEAR CONCERNS THAT THEY MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE ON ISSUES OF DEVELOPMENT THAT ABUTS THOSE MUNICIPALITIES BECAUSE ULTIMATELY, UM, DEVELOPMENT CAN AFFECT THOSE MUNICIPALITIES WHEN IT COMES TO, UM, TRAFFIC OR ROADS, UH, OUR SCHOOL SYSTEMS. AND ANY OTHER ISSUE THAT YOU CAN THINK OF, DEPENDING ON WHAT TYPE OF DEVELOPMENT IT IS, UH, WITH BAKER, I THINK IT WAS A, IT'S WITHIN A A THOUSAND FEET OF THE, UM, OF THE CITY LIMITS BECAUSE THEIR SCHOOL DISTRICT, UH, AS IT READS, UM, AS A POLITICAL SUBDIVISION IS DEFINED AS THE CITY LIMITS.
AND THEN, UM, I, I FORGET EXACTLY HOW BRECK IS DEFINED, BUT IT'S IN A SIMILAR NATURE.
UM, SO THE REASON THE TIMELINE WAS, WAS, UH, UH, HAD A, UH, BASICALLY IF SOMETHING COMES IN AS A DEVELOPMENT ITEM, IT'S SENT TO THOSE MUNICIPALITIES AND PLANNING COMMISSIONS TO BE PUT ON THEIR AGENDAS SO THAT, UH, THEY CAN GIVE US FEEDBACK AT THE CITY PARISH AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON, UM, UH, HOW THEY FEEL ABOUT IT, IF THERE'S CONCERNS AND IF SO, WHAT THOSE ARE.
UH, UNFORTUNATELY FOR A LONG TIME IT WAS, IT WAS, UH, PROBABLY, UM, IMPROPERLY TOLD TO US THAT IT WAS JUST A, AN UP OR DOWN RECOMMENDATION.
I'VE CLARIFIED THAT HERE RECENTLY WITH ZACHARY COUNCIL TO LET THEM KNOW WE ARE OPEN EARS AND IF THEY HAVE MORE THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO DELIVER TO US, WE'RE OPEN EARS.
BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT TO GET, YOU KNOW, HEY, IF IT'S A, IF IT'S A YES, BUT YOU HAVE A CONCERN, LET US KNOW WHAT THE CONCERN IS ALONG WITH THAT.
YES, IF IT'S A NO, BUT IT'S ONLY A NO BECAUSE OF THIS ONE THING, BUT REALLY IF THAT'S NOT THERE, WE'LL SUPPORT, WE WANT TO KNOW THAT AS WELL.
'CAUSE THE MORE INFORMATION WE CAN HAVE, BOTH FROM THE PLANNING COMMISSION AND FROM OUR BODY, THE BETTER WE ARE ABLE TO MAKE A DECISION.
SO I'VE CLARIFIED THAT WITH THEM, THAT I WOULD ENCOURAGE THEM TO ALWAYS SEND, UH, ZONE OF INFLUENCE, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS WITH AS MUCH INFORMATION AS THEY, UH, FEEL APPROPRIATE TO SEND.
[01:55:01]
THE ZONE OF INFLUENCE IS WORKING AS INTENDED.UM, THEY, THE INFORMATION THE TIMELINE ALLOWS FOR A 60 DAY PERIOD.
AND THE REASON THAT WAS CHOSEN IS BECAUSE IT WAS, IT'S, THEY LOOKED AT A CALENDAR ON WHEN MEETINGS ARE SCHEDULED, BOTH HERE AT CITY PARISH AS WELL AS IN THE MUNICIPALITIES.
AND THERE'S INSTANCES, AND IT'S VERY RARE, BUT THERE ARE INSTANCES, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THAT HAD TO DO WITH THE, THE JULY HOLIDAY THAT WE TEND TO ENJOY, OR IF IT'S JUST ACTUAL CALENDARS WHERE IT FALLS ON WHEN I KNOW LIKE IN ZACHARY, THEY HAVE A PLANNING MEETING AND THEN THE, THOSE ITEMS ARE HEARD AT THE SECOND COUNCIL MEETING.
SO IT, THERE WAS JUST A RARE INSTANCE WHERE, UH, IT MIGHT HAVE TO GO INTO A FURTHER TIMELINE BECAUSE OF WHEN THE ITEM WAS DELIVERED TO THAT BODY.
UM, BUT I KNOW OFTENTIMES IT'S SENT EARLY AND IT'S, IT'S ONLY ON A RARE OCCASION THAT THEY DON'T GET THE INFORMATION BACK SOON.
UH, RYAN, IF, IF YOU'RE HERE, I'D LIKE TO ASK, UH, SO BY AND LARGE, UM, IF, IF YOU CAN RECALL, UH, I KNOW JUST RECENTLY, AND, AND THIS CAME ABOUT BECAUSE THERE WAS AN ISSUE, WHICH I KNOW IS RARE.
I, BUT ZACHARY PLANNING DIDN'T HAVE A, UM, YEAH, PLEASE.
UH, ZACHARY DIDN'T HAVE A, UM, UH, QUORUM THE PLANNING COMMISSION AND SO IT PUSHED IT BACK INTO, UH, I GUESS KNOCKING ON THE DOOR OF THAT 60 DAYS OR DARN CLOSE TO IT WHERE WE HAD TO, UM, PUSH IT BACK.
WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THAT, UH, RECENT, WHICH THE ZACH, I, I KNOW THERE WAS A DEVELOPMENT THAT GOT PUSHED BACK AND A COUPLE OF DECISIONS THAT CAME THROUGH WHICH UL ULTIMATELY WERE APPROVED BY THIS BODY AS WELL AS THE ZACHARY PLANNING COMMISSION.
UM, HAVE THERE BEEN TIMES WHERE, UM, ZACHARY HAS NOT DELIVERED THE ITEMS EARLIER THAT YOU CAN RECALL THAN THE, THE 60 DAY TIMELINE, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE PREVIOUS SITUATION LAST MONTH? I'M NOT AWARE OF A A, A PREVIOUS OCCASION WHERE ITEMS HAD TO BE DEFERRED, UH, AND HAD, HAD THOSE ITEMS MISSED THAT MEETING.
SO THAT MEANS USUALLY THEY GET IT BACK EARLIER THAN EVEN ALLOWED FOR THEM.
SO IF SOMEBODY WAS USING THE ZONE OF INFLUENCE TO TRY TO OBSTRUCT AND DELAY, THEY'D PROBABLY USE THAT WHOLE TIMELINE AND NOT GET IT TO US EARLY, RIGHT? THAT'S CORRECT.
SO I, I WOULD SAY AGAIN, I DON'T THINK THIS IS BEING USED AS AN OBSTRUCTION ITEM.
AND I THINK THE TIMELINE THAT'S GIVEN IS ONLY FOR RARE CIRCUMSTANCES, WHICH WE CAN SEE IT'S ONLY HAPPENED ONE TIME HERE, WHICH WAS BECAUSE OF LACK OF A QUORUM.
BUT I KNOW THE, THE REASON IT WAS SET FORTH THAT WAY WAS BECAUSE OF TIMELINES ON WHEN MEETINGS ARE STRUCTURED BOTH HERE AT THE PARISH AS WELL AS WITH THESE OTHER INDIVIDUAL POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS.
UM, SO I, FOR ME, I THINK THIS IS, UM, ILL-ADVISED AND I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD, UH, WASTE THE RESOURCES OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION STUDYING SOMETHING THAT, IN MY OPINION, IS A SOLUTION TO A PROBLEM THAT REALLY DOES NOT EXIST.
SO, UM, I WON'T BE SUPPORTING THAT AND I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A SUBSTITUTE MOTION TO DENY THE REQUEST MORNING ORDER.
THAT'S WHY I THOUGHT I WAS SUPPOSED TO, I THOUGHT I WAS, I WAS GONNA HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK.
OKAY, SO THAT'S NOT MY FIVE MINUTES.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT SHAUNA, YOU GET TWO, FIVE MINUTE PERIODS WHEN YOU PRESS THE BUTTON, YOU GONNA GET TWO.
I, I JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT COUNCIL MEMBER DUCK.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT HE TALKING RYAN, CAN YOU COME UP PLEASE? SO I JUST WANT A A POINT OF CLARITY ON, I UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING BRANDON SAID AND LAID OUT.
UM, TALKING TO COUNCILWOMAN BANKS SEEMS LIKE HER CONCERN IS ABOUT, UH, WHEN WE REACH A POINT THAT YOU'RE BEYOND THE 60 DAYS AND THERE'S STILL A DELAY, CAN YOU TALK TO ME ABOUT THE POLICY AND, UH, WHAT HAPPENS IF A MEETING IS CANCELED AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE? IN MY OPINION, I THINK THE 60 DAYS SHOULD BE THE 60 DAYS AND, AND WE'RE ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD, NOT IF SOMEBODY DON'T HAVE A MEETING OR DECIDES NOT TO MEET, THEN THAT DELAYS THE PROCESS WITH US MOVING FORWARD AS PLANNING AND METRO COUNCILS.
CAN YOU SPEAK TO THAT? YES, CERTAINLY.
UH, THE EXISTING LANGUAGE IN THE UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE, UH, IT'S, IT'S TITLED UNDER COORDINATION WITH OTHERS AND IT'S BEEN IN THE UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE IN A SIMILAR MANNER FOR OVER 10 YEARS.
IT STARTED OUT PRIOR TO THAT AS A A, A COURTESY NOTIFICATION, WHAT WE CALLED A ZONE OF INFLUENCE, AND WE WOULD SEND, UH, THESE OTHER JURISDICTIONS, UH, A COURTESY NOTIFICATION AND ATTACH ANY, UH, SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL FOR THEIR REVIEW, UH, IN ORDER FOR THEM TO PROVIDE
[02:00:01]
COMMENTS THAT MAY BE HELPFUL TO, UH, THE PLANNING COMMISSION HERE.THERE WAS A CONCERN THAT, UH, COUNCILWOMAN AND PLANNING COMMISSIONER BANKS RAISED, UH, THIS PAST MONTH.
I THINK THERE WAS SOME CONCERNS.
THERE WAS FOUR ITEMS ON THE PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA THAT HAD TO BE DEFERRED DUE TO A LACK OF A QUORUM FROM THE ZACHARY PLANNING COMMISSION.
BUT AS I MENTIONED, UH, PRIOR TO THAT, THERE, THERE, I'M NOT AWARE OF ANY ISSUES.
SO, SO THE LACK OF A QUORUM, THE LACK OF A MEETING OR LACK OF MOVING FORWARD, UH, WITH A REVIEW OF THE REQUEST DOES DELAY OR STOP OUR ABILITY TO MOVE FORWARD CURRENTLY THE EXIST, CORRECT.
THE EXISTING LANGUAGE IN THE UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE READS THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH PLANNING COMMISSION SHALL NOT ACT ON A PROPOSED PROJECT OR DEVELOPMENT UNTIL IT HAS EITHER RECEIVED A RECOMMENDATION FROM THE EITHER ZACHARY OR BAKER ESSENTIAL PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION OR A PERIOD OF 60 DAYS HAS ELAPSED.
I I THINK IT'S, WE, IT IS, WE SHOULD NOTIFY AND INFORM OF THE PLANS MM-HMM.
I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD NOT, UH, BE ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD IF THEY DECIDE NOT TO DUE TO A CANCELLATION OR DELAY OR JUST IGNORE THE, THE REQUEST OR PARTICIPATION.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S MY INPUT ON THIS COUNCILMAN BASS.
SO RYAN, SO FIRST OF ALL, I HADN'T HAD A CONVERSATION, UM, WITH, UM, WITH MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUE NEIGHBOR NOEL.
SO THE OBSTRUCTION PART I'VE NEVER HEARD.
I WAS WONDERING, IS THERE, I KNOW I WASN'T HERE FOR THE INTRODUCTION, BUT WAS THERE SOMETHING IN, UM, THE INTRODUCTION THAT LED THAT INDICATED THAT THIS WAS BEING USED AS AN OBSTRUCTION? I WAS JUST TRYING, FIRST OF ALL, RYAN, 'CAUSE I WASN'T HERE AND I, I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THE WORDING WAS.
UM, SO TELL ME HOW, IF YOU, IF YOU COULD SPEAK TO THAT WAS, WAS IT SOME POINT THIS WAS HAD TO DO WITH OBSTRUCTION OF THE POLICY? I MEAN OF, UM, THE, TO BE USED AS A, THAT THIS WAS LIKENED TO BE USED BECAUSE I MEAN, IT IT IS, UH, I IT'S BEEN USED THE ENTIRE EIGHT YEARS, 12 YEARS I'VE BEEN HERE AND IT'S THREE MUNICIPALITIES AND BRE SO TELL ME WHERE THAT PART CAME IN.
IF, YOU KNOW, THE COMMON PRACTICE IS, IS, UH, FOR THE PLANNING COMMISSION TO SEND THOSE NOTIFICATIONS? YEAH, YEAH, YEAH.
AND WE DO THAT WITHIN THE FIRST FIVE BUSINESS DAYS.
IT'S USUALLY DONE THE VERY NEXT DAY WE INTAKE AN APPLICATION.
AND UH, AS I MENTIONED, I'M NOT AWARE OF A SITUATION OUTSIDE OF THE, THE RECENT ISSUE MM-HMM.
UH, COMMON PRACTICE IS THAT THESE OTHER MUNICIPALITIES MEET IN A TIMELY MANNER, FORWARD A RECOMMENDATION AND ALLOW OUR APPLICATIONS WITHIN THIS, THIS AREA TO MOVE FORWARD IN A TIMELY MANNER.
SO, UM, BASICALLY, UM, FOR EVERYBODY, I THINK THAT, UM, THE ZONE OF INFLUENCE IS VERY MUCH NECESSARY.
I DO NOT HAVE ANY, DON'T GO ANYWHERE.
ANY WISH
UM, BECAUSE FOR ONE THING, WHETHER IT'S A SCHOOL SYSTEM, UH, WHETHER IT IS FIRST RESPONDERS BEING ABLE TO BE ABLE TO RESPOND, WHETHER IT'S INFRASTRUCTURE, ALL OF THAT IS IMPACTFUL.
UM, IT ALSO CAN IN SOME WAY HINDER, UH, THE ABILITY OF ANOTHER MUNICIPALITY FROM THEIR PLANNING PROCESS.
AND SO THIS ITEM AND THE WAY IT PLAYED OUT, UM, ONCE THE APPLICATION, AND AS RYAN INDICATED, THE INFORMATION IS SENT WITHIN FIVE DAYS, RYAN, WITHIN THAT 30 DAYS AFTER THE NOTICE, DO YOU KNOW OF ANYONE OF THESE, UM, ZONE OF INFLUENCE PERSON THAT HAVE, DO NOT HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY IN THE FIRST 30 DAYS TO RESPOND? UH, I'M NOT AWARE OF A SIMILAR SITUATION.
OUR TIMELINE, OUR APPLICATION DEADLINE IS APPROXIMATELY SIX WEEKS BEFORE OUR PUBLIC HEARING, RIGHT BEFORE THE PLANNING COMMISSION.
SO THAT BUILT-IN TIME TIMELINE USUALLY ALLOWS, UH, 99% OF THE TIME FOR THESE, THESE MUNICIPALITIES TO MEET, MAKE A DECISION OR FORWARD THAT RECOMMENDATION ONTO US.
SO I KNOW THAT THIS WAS IT, THAT THE
[02:05:01]
CITY OF BAKER, UH, SO IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE, UH, IT INFLUENCES THE CITY OF BAKER AND THE CITY OF ZACHARY.DID THE CITY OF BAKER RESPOND? MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THE CITY OF ZACHARY, UH, WASN'T UNABLE TO MEET NO.
IN WITHIN THAT 30 DAYS, THE FIRST 30 DAYS, DID THE CITY OF BAKER RESPOND OR NOT? I, I'M NOT AWARE THAT THE CITY BAKER HAVE DO YOU HAVE DATES? I I DON'T HAVE THE DATES IN FRONT OF ME.
SO AT YOU AND I WERE, I MEAN WHOEVER YOUR PERSON, THEY WERE EMAILING ME AND THEY HAD SENT ME THE INFORMATION THEY SENT TO THE CITY OF BAKER, UM, BAKER PLANNING DID NOT HAVE TO MEET.
SO IS IT NECESSARY THAT THE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETS OR CAN THAT RECOMMENDATION BE, UM, FROM AN INDIVIDUAL, LIKE BASED ON WHAT THAT MUNICIPALITY, UH, HAS IN PLACE? I DON'T HAVE THAT SPECIFIC CASE NUMBER, BUT I BELIEVE THE CASE YOU'RE REFERENCING WAS NOT AFFECTED BY THIS SECTION OF THE CODE.
UH, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT WHICH ONE? I, I JUST KNOW ABOUT A B.
BAKER AND CENTRAL WERE BOTH THE TWO IMPACTED ON TWO, ON ALL FOUR OF THOSE.
IT, IT INCLUDED BAKER AND CEN AND I'M SORRY, BAKER AND ZACHARY.
THIS, THIS SECTION REFERS TO, UH, NOT ONLY BAKER AND ZACHARY, BUT ALSO CENTRAL AND BREAD.
I GUESS WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY IS THIS IS NOT AN ISOLATED INCIDENT.
THIS IS NOT BASED ON, UM, ZACHARY, IT'S NOT BASED ON CENTRAL, IT'S NOT BASED ON BRECK AND THIS, AND IT'S NOT BASED ON ANYONE AS TO BEING THIS SEEN AS AN OBSTRUCTION.
HOWEVER, UM, THERE ARE 60 DAYS TO GET A NOTICE.
THAT'S THE WAY THE CODE READS.
RIGHT IN, YEAH, IN EVERY ONE OF THOSE CASES.
DO, DOES THE, IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR AT LEAST TWO MEETINGS IN ANY CAPACITY FOR SOMEONE TO RESPOND AND DID AND DID THEY RESPOND? I CAN'T SPEAK TO THEIR TIMELINE.
YEAH, I'M GETTING, I'M, WHEN I'M SPEAKING NOW, GUESS WHAT? I GOT IT FROM YOU AT THE COMMISSION MEETINGS AND BEFORE I, I DON'T HAVE THE INDIVIDUAL MEETING SCHEDULE FOR DR.
DID, DID YOU KNOW THAT ON THE AGENDA? DID YOU KNOW THAT WAS ON THE AGENDA? CAN YOU RESTATE YOUR QUESTION? OKAY.
SO DURING, LORD HERE, MERCY, WHEN THIS, THE AGENDA ITEMS CAME FORTH AT THE, WHEN WE HAD THE FIRST, WHEN WE, IN THE FIRST 30 DAYS, THE COMMISSION WERE TOLD THAT WE HAD NOT GOTTEN AN ANSWER FROM THE BAKER ZACHARY, THAT'S IN THE FIRST 30 DAYS.
IT, AND YOU'RE SAYING YOU DON'T REMEMBER THAT THERE WAS FOUR ITEMS ON THE LAST MONTH'S PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA THAT HAD TO BE DEFERRED AT THE PLANNING COMMISSION LEVEL BASED ON THIS, THIS PROVISION IN THE UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE.
AND DID THEY THAT WAS THAT WHAT, WHAT DID THAT WAS THERE IN A 60 DAY PERIOD A TIMELINE FOR ANY OF THEM TO HAVE HAD A MEETING? BECAUSE SEE, WE PUT EMERGENCY ITEMS. WE ALSO HAVE ITEMS THAT COME HERE AND SAY, BECAUSE OF A THE 60 DAY TIMELINE, WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO TAKE THIS.
NOW WE MAKE ALL KIND OF CONCESSIONS TO MAKE DEADLINES.
SO THE QUESTION IS, ARE WE GOING TO STAY IN COMPLIANCE WHERE WE ARE MAKING SURE THAT THIS METRO COUNCIL IS MEETING DEADLINES OR ARE WE GOING TO SAY, WELL LET'S JUST DELAY IT FOR WHATEVER REASON.
I MEAN, WE HAVE AN EMERGENCY ITEM TODAY TO MEET A DEADLINE.
WE HAVE GRANTS TO MEET DEADLINE.
I REALLY DON'T, I DON'T WANT TO SAY WHAT I WANT TO SAY BECAUSE I NO, PLEASE.
I HOLD YOU IN SUCH HIGH REGARDS.
UM, BUT SOMETHING AIN'T RIGHT ABOUT THIS WHOLE CONVERSATION.
'CAUSE IF THIS IS BASED ON INFORMATION I GOT FROM THE PLANNING STAFF AND COMMISSIONER ON WHY THESE PROJECTS ARE BEING DELAYED AND THAT IF THEY DO NOT RESPOND IN 60 DAYS, WHETHER THEY HAVE A MEETING OR NOT, WHETHER THEY HAVE A QUORUM OR NOT, 60 DAYS IS AN ADEQUATE AMOUNT OF TIME.
THAT'S THE EXISTING LANGUAGE IN THE CODE NOW AND IT SHOULD AND THERE IS NO,
[02:10:01]
SHOULD NOT BE A DELAY AFTER THAT.THERE HASN'T BEEN A DELAY AFTER THAT.
NO ITEM SHOULD BE DEFERRED BECAUSE WE DIDN'T GET AN ANSWER.
NOW YOU SAYING THAT THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN.
IT WAS ONLY THOSE ITEMS WERE DEFERRED BECAUSE EITHER THEY HAD NOT MET AND FORWARDED A RECOMMENDATION OR THAT PERIOD OF 60 DAYS HADN'T ELAPSED.
SO WHICH ONE HAPPENED FIRST? IN THIS CASE, WE GOT A RECOMMENDATION AND, AND THE 60 DAYS HAD ELAPSE ALL WITHIN THAT EXTRA ONE MONTH PERIOD THAT THEY, THEY WERE DEFERRED.
SO WHY WE DEFERRED IT? BECAUSE 'CAUSE OF THIS SECTION IN THE CODE.
SO WE ARE SAYING THAT THAT SHOULD NOT HAPPEN.
SO YOU'RE SAYING IT'S OKAY FOR IT TO HAPPEN NOW? I, I DON'T HAVE A PREFERENCE.
I SIMPLY ENFORCED THE CODE THAT'S IN THE, IN THE UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE NOW.
I'LL, I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MO AGAIN.
I'VE MADE A MOTION TO APPROVE.
IS THERE A SECOND TO THE SUBSTITUTE MOTION? SO MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER NOLL.
SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER MO.
YOU HAVE FIVE MINUTES ON THE FLOOR.
UH, RYAN, CAN YOU COME ON BACK UP? OKAY.
UH, FIRST I'D LIKE SOME CLARITY ON THE, UH, ITEM UH, PLANNING COMMISSION INITIATE A STUDY TO AMEND THE U D C IN THAT ORDINANCE THAT WAS BEING WRITTEN OR PUT THIS ITEM ON THE AGENDA.
WAS THERE ANY SPECIFIC ITEM THAT YOU WERE ASKED TO LOOK FOR IN THIS STUDY? THIS WAS BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION.
AS I STATED EARLIER, THERE WAS FOUR ITEMS ON A PREVIOUS PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA.
THERE WAS CONCERNS RAISED BECAUSE THOSE ITEMS HAD TO BE DEFERRED BASED ON THIS SPECIFIC SECTION IN THE UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE.
SO WAS THERE ANYTHING IN SPECIFIC TO THE CODE THAT YOU WERE ASKED TO LOOK FOR TO CORRECT OR CHANGE? NO, THIS, THIS ITEM, IF IT'S FORWARDED ON TO ME, THEY WERE JUST ASKED TO DO A STUDY, NOT TO FIND ANYTHING, NOT TO LOOK FOR ANYTHING.
YOU WEREN'T REQUESTED TO GO AFTER ANYTHING IN SPECIFIC IN THIS STUDY THAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR.
THIS ITEM SIMPLY IS WHETHER TO INITIATE THAT STUDY OR NOT INITIATE THE STUDY.
'CAUSE WE HAVEN'T PASSED THIS ORDINANCE RIGHT HERE.
BUT WE, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GONNA LOOK FOR IN THE STUDY IF WE PASS IT.
SO 60 DAYS WHEN THE ITEM GOES ON, WE HAVE TO DO THE ZONE OF INFLUENCE.
THEY'VE GOT 60 DAYS TO RESPOND.
YOU SEND OUT THE NOTICE THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS THEY GOT 60 DAYS AFTER 60 DAYS WE MOVE FORWARD ON OUR PLANNING AND EVERYTHING ELSE, CORRECT? THAT'S CORRECT.
THEY CAN CHOOSE WHETHER TO RESPOND OR NOT.
IF THEY DON'T RESPOND, IT MOVES ON OR IF THEY SEND YOU NOTICE IF THEY'RE NOT GOING TO OR SEND ANY RECOMMENDATIONS IN.
THIS ONE JUST HAPPENED TO OUR PLANNING MEETING CAME BEFORE THE END OF THE 60 DAYS, CORRECT? NO, THESE ITEMS WERE ON A PRELIMINARY AGENDA BEFORE THE 60 DAYS.
THEY HAD TO BE DEFERRED BECAUSE THEY DID NOT MEET AND FORWARD ON A RECOMMENDATION OR THAT PERIOD OF 60 DAYS HAD NOT CORRECT.
THEY, THEY HAD TIME LEFT TO RESPOND BECAUSE THEY HAVE UP TO 60 DAYS TO RESPOND.
SO, SO THEY CAN, THEY CAN GO UP TO THE 60 DAYS.
THIS HAPPENED THIS PARTICULAR TIME THEY JUST HAPPENED TO HAVE NOT HAVE A QUORUM.
SO THE AGENDA CAME UP OR THE, THE MEETING DATE CAME UP BEFORE THE END OF THE 60 DAYS.
SO YOU HAD TO DEFER IT TILL SO ON.
DOES THE MUNICIPALITIES, THEY HAVE THE OPTION THEY CAN CALL AN EMERGENCY MEETING AND GO AHEAD AND GET IT IN WITHIN THE 60 DAYS IF THEY WANT TO.
UM, YOU CAN, IF THEY DO TURN THAT IN, YOU CAN THEN CALL ANY EMERGENCY MEETING, UH, OF THE PLANNING TO GET IT IN.
UH, INSTEAD OF WAITING TILL THE ACTION, ACTUAL NEXT PLANNING MEETING.
IS THAT OPTIONS THAT ARE AVAILABLE ON THE TABLE? CORRECT.
THERE'S CERTAIN ADVERTISEMENT REQUIREMENTS.
SO SO ALL THE TIMELINES ARE STILL THERE.
IT CAN BE, IT, IT CAN BE PULLED TOGETHER.
I MEAN WE'VE HAD TIMES WHERE WE HAD DEFERRED MEETINGS 'CAUSE WE HAVEN'T HAD QUORUMS OR EVERYTHING ELSE.
I DON'T SEE A PROBLEM WITH THE PROCESS WHERE IT'S ACTUALLY WORKED OUT, YOU KNOW, VERY WELL OVER ALL THESE TIMES.
I DON'T AGREE WITH WHAT'S GOING FORWARD WITH THE STUDY.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'RE LOOKING TO CHANGE IN THE STUDY.
THERE HADN'T BEEN ANY DIRECTION GIVEN AND WHAT TO LOOK FOR, ANYTHING LIKE THAT ON THE BAKER SITUATION, THE BAKER ZONE OF INFLUENCE IS ONE MILE OUTSIDE OF THEIR CITY LIMITS, CORRECT? IT'S 1000 FEET.
THIS DEVELOPMENT THAT HAD TO BE DEFERRED OR ONE OF THE
[02:15:01]
DEVELOPMENTS WAS WITHIN THE 1000 FEET.HOW MANY OF 'EM AFFECTED BAKER? I I DON'T RECALL IN THIS PARTICULAR INSTANCE IF IT WAS TWO APPLICATIONS IN ZACHARY AND TWO IN BAKER OR IF ALL FOUR WERE IN ZACHARY COUNSEL, ALL I KNOW IS THERE WAS CONCERNS RAISED FOR THIS PROVISION IN THE CASE COUNCIL MEMBERS, WE, WE CLEARING AWAY FROM THE, THE ITEM ON THE AGENDA TO TALK ABOUT OTHER ITEMS ON THE PLANNING AGENDA.
LET'S STICK TO OKAY THE ON THE AGENDA.
I JUST, I I'M TRYING TO GET, YOU KNOW, I GUESS SET THE TONE AS FAR AS WHATEVER AS FAR AS WHY UH, SOME OF THE THINGS WERE DEFERRED AND THEY DIDN'T MEET THE, THE GUIDANCE THAT WE NEED TO DO THIS STUDY IS ALL I WAS LOOKING FOR IN THAT.
SO I'LL JUST STICK WITH MY MOTION TO UH, DENY THE ITEM.
ALRIGHT COUNCIL MEMBER DUNN RYAN, I JUST HAVE A POINT OF CLARITY.
E EITHER I UNDERSTOOD YOU WRONG OR MAYBE YOU MISSPOKE.
AFTER READING THE ITEM, IT LOOKS LIKE AN EITHER OR TO ME AFTER READING THE ITEM, EITHER THEY CAN RESPOND OR THE 60 DAYS LAPSE.
IT SEEMED AS IF, AND I COULD BE WRONG, I COULD HAVE MISUNDERSTOOD YOU.
IT SEEMED AS IF YOU CONFIRMED THAT THERE COULD STILL BE A DELAY AFTER THE 60 DAYS.
BUT LISTENING TO YOUR RESPONSE TO COUNCILMAN MO, I'M THINKING MAYBE EITHER YOU MISSPOKE OR I HEARD YOU WRONG.
SO JUST AS A POINT OF CLARITY AND AFTER ME READING THE THE LANGUAGE, IT SEEMS LIKE IT CLEARLY STATES THAT YOU GIVE 'EM THE 60 DAYS, EITHER THEY RESPOND OR AFTER THE 60 DAYS HAVE LAPSED CITY PARIS OR PLANNING ZONING CAN MOVE FORWARD.
IT'S AN OR SO IT'S NOT, IT'S IT'S NOT BOTH.
AND AS I STATED, UH, TO COUNCILMAN NOLL, UH, THE MAJORITY OF THE TIME, IN FACT I'M ONLY AWARE OF ONE INSTANCE AND THIS WAS THE, THE PREVIOUS MONTH, WHICH WE HAD FOUR ITEMS THAT HAD TO BE DEFERRED.
BUT IN MOST INSTANCES, UH, WE GET A RECOMMENDATION THAT FIRST MONTH ALLOWING ITEMS TO GO TO THAT VERY NEXT PLANNING COMMISSION.
SO THAT 60 DAYS IS, IS VERY RARE.
IN FACT, I'M ONLY AWARE THAT IT HAPPENED THIS PATH.
BUT IF WE DON'T GET A RECOMMENDATION, IF THAT'S 60 DAYS APPROACHES, THEN YOU CAN MOVE FORWARD.
THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER NOLL, I KNOW I'VE USED MY TIME.
I JUST WANTED TO RESPOND TO CLEAR ONE WITH CLARITY.
THERE CAN STILL BE, UM, IT CAN STILL BE DEFERRED AND PUSHED AND IT WAS EVIDENCE LA OUR LAST MEETING LAST WEEK, THIS BODY CAN DO IT WHERE, YOU KNOW, SHAUNA PUSHED ONE 'CAUSE SHE HADN'T MET WITH THE PEOPLE ON PLANK ROAD.
IT WAS GONNA BE 60 DAYS TILL UH, UH, GIL CAME UP AND SAID, HEY, WE COULD DO JUST 30.
SO YES, IT CAN STILL BE DELAYED BY THIS BODY AS EVIDENCE LAST WEEK AND I WAS REFERRING TO THEM.
NOT NOT AS I WAS REFERRING TO THE OTHER I GAVE YOU ONE MINUTE SHAWN, YOU GOT ONE MINUTE.
SO RYAN, WHY DIDN'T WE MOVE FORWARD THEN? BECAUSE YOU, I WAS NEVER GIVEN THAT AS AN OPTION.
ARE WE STILL TALKING ABOUT THE ITEM ON THE AGENDA? BECAUSE IT SEEM LIKE YOU, OKAY, SO LET FOR FOR CLARIFICATION.
UM, AS IT RELATES TO UM, COUNCILMAN MO, THIS IS NOT THE WORDING THAT I ASKED FOR.
I STRAIGHT UP ASKED FOR, UM, THE U D C TO BE CHANGED.
THAT IF THERE'S EITHER NOT A RESPONSE, IF THERE'S NO RESPONSE IN 60 DAYS THAT THE ITEM MOVES ON, THAT WOULD ELIMINATE THE R THAT WOULD TAKE CARE OF IT, THAT WOULD MAKE IT SOLID, THAT WOULD MAKE ALL OF THOSE THAT HAVE, UM, THAT ARE IMPACTED BY ZONE OF IN INFLUENCE TO TAKE THE METRO COUNCIL AND ITS TIMELINE SERIOUS.
SO FIRST OF ALL, THAT IS NOT WHAT I ASKED FOR.
SO SHAUNA, DO YOU POINT, WAIT, WAIT POINT OF ORDERS.
SHAUNA, WOULD YOU LIKE TO REMOVE YOUR MOTION? SO YES, LIFT THE ITEM AND THEN START ALL OVER? I WOULD, OKAY IF I CAN.
THE REASON THAT THIS ITEM WAS PLACED ON THE AGENDA THIS WAY IS BECAUSE THIS IS THE ONLY WAY FOR YOU TO INITIATE A CHANGE TO THE U D C FROM THE METRO COUNCIL.
OKAY? YOU CANNOT PUT ANYTHING ON THE AGENDA THAT SAYS AMENDING THE U D C.
IT HAS TO GO THROUGH THE PLANNING COMMISSION FIRST.
THAT'S THE REASON IT WAS WRITTEN THIS WAY.
THE UNDERSTANDING WAS YOUR REQUEST.
THIS IS JUST THE MECHANISM TO GET THAT STARTED AND, AND IF, IF Y'ALL REMEMBER, THERE'S MULTIPLE TIMES THAT THIS HAPPENS.
PLANNING COMMISSION IS INFORMED OF A CHANGE THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO MAKE, THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE, THAT YOU WOULD LIKE THEM TO EXPLORE AND THIS IS THE ONLY WAY TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN.
OKAY? SO I THANK YOU ASHLEY FOR THAT AND I THINK WE'RE DOING OUR ENTIRE CITY PARISH A DISSERVICE, SEAN, BY MAKING THIS ABOUT ZACHARY.
[02:20:01]
YOU WANT TO KEEP YOUR MOTION? I I'LL WRITE IT TO THE BUSINESS REPORT.YOU GONNA KEEP YOUR MOTION? MY MY MO MY MOTION IS TO APPROVE THE ITEM BECAUSE I I THAT THAT'S IT.
THERE'S A SUBSTITUTE MOTION BY COUNCIL MEMBER MOCH WITH A SECOND BY COUNCIL MEMBER, EXCUSE ME, BY COUNCIL MEMBER NOLL SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER MOCH.
WE'RE GONNA VOTE ON THE SUBSTITUTE MOTION FIRST, WHICH IS TO DELETE THE ITEM VOTING ON THE SUBSTITUTE MOTION FIRST, WHICH IS DELETE ITEM 96 MACHINES ARE OPEN ON THE MOTION TO DELETE.
[97. 23-00874]
NOW TO ITEM 97, A RESOLUTION OF APPROV THE CALL UNDER THE ELECTION BY THE ST.GEORGE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT NUMBER TWO, PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE STATE OF LOUISIANA ON NOVEMBER 18TH, 2023 FOR THE PURPOSE OF AUTHORIZING THE LEVEE AND COLLECTION OF FOUR MEALS, AVALOR TAX FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OPERATION OF MAINTENANCE FOR THE FIRE PROTECTION FACILITY OF THE DISTRICT AND PAYING THE COST OF OBTAINING WATER FOR PROTECTION PURPOSES.
CHARGES FOR FIRE HYGIENE AND RENTAL SERVICE WITHIN THE DISTRICT FOR A PERIOD OF 10 YEARS BY ST.
IS THERE ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON 97 COUNCIL MEMBERS? IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE AND SO MOVED BY COUNCIL MOROCCO SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER HUDSON.
WE NOW MOVE TO, WITH NO OBJECTIONS.
[98. 23-00875]
RESOLUTION ORDER IN THEIR CALL THE SPECIAL ELECTION TO BE HELD IN THE VILLE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT.NUMBER SEVEN, PARISH OF EAST BAT ROU STATE LOUISIANA DISTRICT ON SATURDAY NOVEMBER 18TH FOR THE PURPOSE OF AUTHORIZING 11 COLLECTION OF 10 MILLS AVALOR TAX FOR A PERIOD OF 10 YEARS COMMENCING WITH A TAX COLLECTION FOR THE YEAR 2024 ANNUALLY THEREAFTER TO INCLUDE THE YEAR 2023 FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING FUNDS FOR FIRE PROTECTION PURPOSES.
ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON 98? WE NOW GO TO THE COUNCIL.
IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE ITEM 98? SO MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER MOR ROCK ARE SECONDED BY THE CHAIR.
ANY OBJECTIONS? WE GO NOW TO ITEM 99,
[99. 23-00876]
THE RESOLUTION ORDER AND THE CALLING SPECIAL ELECTION TO BE HELD IN BROWNFIELD FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT NUMBER THREE FOR THE PARISH OF EASTBOUND STATE OF LOUISIANA ON SATURDAY NOVEMBER 18TH, 2023 FOR THE PURPOSE OF AUTHORIZING RENEWAL OF 11 AND COLLECTION OF 10 MILLION AVALOR TAX FOR A PERIOD OF 10 YEARS FOR FIRE PROTECTION PURPOSES OF THE DISTRICT BY THE BOND COUNCIL.IS ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ITEM 99? WE NOW GO TO COUNCIL MEMBER.
SO MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER BARACK, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ADAMS. NO OBJECTIONS.
[100. 23-00877]
100 A RESOLUTION ORDERING AND CALLING OF SPECIAL ELECTION TO BE HELD IN ALLISON ST.IRMA LEE, FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT NUMBER NINE, THE PARISH OF EAST MARYLAND, STATE OF LOUISIANA ON SATURDAY NOVEMBER 18TH, 2023 FOR THE PURPOSE OF AUTHORIZING 11 COLLECTION OF 10 MILLIONS AVAL ALARM TAX FOR A PERIOD OF 10 YEARS COMMENCING ON THE TAX COLLECTION FOR THE YEAR 2024 AND ANNUALLY THEREAFTER TWO AND INCLUDING THE YEAR 2033 FOR FIRE PROTECTION PURPOSES BY BOND COUNSEL.
IS ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ITEM 100? WE NOW GO TO COUNCIL MEMBER.
SO MOVED BY COUNCILMAN MADAM, SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN MOR ROCK WITH NO OBJECTIONS WE MOVED
[101. 23-00878]
ITEM 1 0 1.A RESOLUTION OF APPROVING THE CALL OF ELECTION BY THE EAST SIDE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT NUMBER FIVE IN PARISH OF EASTBOUND STATE OF LOUISIANA NOVEMBER 18TH, 2023 FOR THE PURPOSE OF AUTHORIZING RENEWAL IN LEVEL OF COLLECTION AT OF ONE HALF 7.5 MILS AVALOR CHECKS FOR A PERIOD OF 10 YEARS COMMISSION WITH INCLUDING A TAX COLLECTION OF THE YEAR 2025 AND ANNUALLY THEREAFTER TO INCLUDING THE YEAR 2034 TO PROVIDE FUNDS AND INCREASE IN MANPOWER, HIRING, TRAINING AND EQUIPMENT PERSONNEL WITH DEVELOPMENT OF OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF THE FIRE PROTECTION FACILITIES OF EAST SIDE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT NUMBER FIVE BY THE BOND COUNCIL DIRECTOR.
IS ANYONE HERE WISHING SPEAK ON 1 0 1? SO MOVED BY COUNCIL MOROCCO SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ADAMS WITH NO OBJECTION.
[102. 23-00879]
A RESOLUTION APPROVING AND CALLING OF SPECIAL LESSON BY THE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT SIX OF THE PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE STATE OF LOUISIANA SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 18TH, 2023 FOR THE PURPOSE OF AUTHORIZING RENEWAL OF A LEVY AND COLLECTION OF 10 MILLS AVALOR TAX FOR A PERIOD OF 10 YEARS COMMENCING WITH INCLUDING THE TAX COLLECTION FOR THE YEAR 2025 AND ANNUALLY THEREAFTER TO AND INCLUDING THE YEAR 2034 TO PROVIDE FUNDS FOR DEVELOPING OPERATION MAINTENANCE AND FIRE PROTECTION FACILITIES IN THE DISTRICT, INCLUDING THE COST OF OBTAINING WATER FOR FIRE PROTECTION PURPOSES AND FIRE HIRES WITHIN THE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT SIX.AND PROVIDING ALL OF THE MATTER AND CONNECTION THAT WERE BY THE BOND COUNCIL DIRECTOR IS ANYONE WHO WISHING TO SPEAK ITEM 1 0 2.
SO MOVED BY COUNCILMAN MOROCCO, SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN MADAMS. ANY OBJECTION? ITEM 1 0 2 HAS BEEN APPROVED.
[103. 23-00851]
AUTHORIZING THE PARISH ATTORNEY'S OFFICE INSTITUTE APPROPRIATION PROCEEDINGS AND OR TO TAKE SUCH ACTION AS MAY BE REQUIRED IN CONNECTION WITH THE ACQUISITION OF LAND NECESSARY FOR MOVE BEYOND CAPACITY.PROJECT HIGHLAND ROAD TO SEA AND LANE BY THE PARISH ATTORNEY.
ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON 1 0 3? WE NOW GO TO COUNCIL MEMBERS.
IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE ITEM 1 0 3.
SO MOVE BY COUNCIL MEMBER ADAM SECONDED BY THE CHAIR.
ANY OBJECTIONS? WE GO NOW TO ITEM 1 0 4.
[104. 23-00894]
AUTHORIZE THE MAYOR PRESIDENT TO EXECUTE AN ACTIVE DECISION WHEREBY THE ACT OF SALE OF REMOVAL PROPERTY FROM MIKE ANDERSON SEAFOOD INCORPORATED UNTO THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE IN THE PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE IS RESCINDED AND RECEIVE A REFUND ON THE SALES PRICE OF SAID SALE BY PARISH ATTORNEY.IS THERE ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ITEM 1 0 4? COUNCILMAN MCDON.
COULD SOMEONE FROM THE PARISH ATTORNEY'S OFFICE COME EXPLAIN THIS TO US?
[02:25:01]
THIS WAS A PIECE OF A SMALL TRIANGULAR PIECE OF PROPERTY THAT WE NEEDED WHEN WE WERE LOOKING TO BUILD THE NEW FIRE STATION ON WESLEY.UH, WE WERE GOING TO BUY THE ADJOINING TRACK BUT WE NEEDED MORE FRONTAGE ON WESLEY.
SO MIKE ANDERSON SOLD US A TRIANGULAR PIECE, A VERY SMALL PIECE.
WELL THE SALE WITH THE OTHER PERSON DIDN'T GO THROUGH A DIFFERENT LOCATION, WAS DETERMINED TO BE THE BEST SPOT FOR THE NEW FIRE STATION AND THIS JUST SAT ON OUR BOOKS FOR A WHILE.
MOTION TO APPROVE BY COUNCIL MEMBER MOR ROCKA SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER DUNN.
ANY OBJECTIONS? ITEM 1 0 4 HAS BEEN APPROVED.
[105. 23-00902]
AUTHORIZING SETTLEMENT OF THE CLAIM OF FLEET RESPONSE.AS SO COX ENTERPRISE FOUR DAMAGES RESULTING FROM AN AUTO ACCIDENT CAUSED BY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS WITH THE EMPLOYEE IN AN AMOUNT OF $28,506 AND 50 CENTS.
IS THERE ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM WE NOW GO TO COUNCIL MEMBER.
SO MOORE BY COUNCIL MEMBER ROCK, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER HURST.
ANY OBJECTIONS? ITEM 1 0 5 HAS BEEN APPROVED.
[106. 23-00899]
1 0 6 AMENDING THE 2023 ANNUAL OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE CHARLES R. KELLY COMMUNITY CENTER.AS SO AS TO APPROPRIATE 12,000 FROM THE FUND BALANCE ASSIGNED TO COMMUNITY CENTERS BY COUNCIL MEMBER DARRYL HURST.
IS ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ITEM 1 0 6 WHEN I GO TO COUNCIL MEMBER? SO MOORE BY COUNCIL MEMBER HURST SECONDED BY THE CHAIR.
ANY OBJECTIONS? ITEM 1 0 6 HAS BEEN APPROVED.
[Items 107 - 114]
THROUGH ONE 14 TOGETHER AUTHORIZE THE MAYOR PRESIDENT TO EXECUTE A SUPPLEMENT AGREEMENT FOR THE CONTRACT OF PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING SERVICE WITH T R C ENGINEERS INCORPORATED FOR SERVICES ASSOCIATED WITH REMOVE CAPACITY PROJECT OLDHAM HIGHWAY SEGMENT TWO AND AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $149,114 AND 21 CENTS.ITEM 1 0 8 AUTHORIZED THE MAYOR PRESIDENT EXECUTE THE CONTRACT WITH APPRAISAL SERVICES WITH ROW ACQUISITIONS L L C FOR SERVICES ASSOCIATED WITH MOVE BEYOND CAPACITY PROJECT JEFFERSON HIGHWAY AND AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $56,320 BY TRANSPORTATION AND DRAINAGE DIRECT ITEM 1 0 9.
AUTHORIZE THE MAYOR PRESIDENT TO EXECUTE A SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT AND CONTRACT FOR PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING SERVICES FOR STANTEC CONSULTING SERVICES INCORPORATED FOR SERVICES ASSOCIATED WITH MOBILE CAPACITY PROJECT AIRLINE HIGHWAY SOUTH AND THE AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $294,108 AND 22 CENTS BY THE TRANSPORTATION AND DRAINAGE DIRECTOR.
AUTHORIZE THE MAYOR OF PRESIDENT TO EXECUTE A SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT WITH ARCADE US INCORPORATED FOR SERVICES ASSOCIATED WITH MOBILE CAPACITY PROJECT LEAD DRIVE TO HIGHLAND ROAD TO PERKINS ROAD AND AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $308,802 95 CENTS BY TRANSPORTATION AND DRAINAGE DIRECTOR ITEM ONE 11.
AUTHORIZE THE MAYOR PRESIDENT TO EXECUTE A SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT TO CONTRACT FOR PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING SERVICES WITH FORTE AND TO INCORPORATED FOR SERVICES ASSOCIATED WITH MOBILE BEYOND CAPACITY PROJECT OLDHAM AND HIGHWAY SEGMENT ONE AND AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $17,591 AND 6 CENTS BY TRANSPORTATION AND DRAINAGE DIRECTOR.
ITEM ONE 12 AUTHORIZED THE MAYOR PRESIDENT TO EXECUTE A SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT FOR PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING SERVICES WITH SIGMA CONSULTING GROUP INCORPORATED FOR SERVICES ASSOCIATED WITH THE MOBILE CAPACITY PROJECT HOOPER ROAD, BLACKWATER BAYOU.
THE JUROR ROLE IN THE MILE NOT TO EXCEED $118,411 66 CENTS BY THE DRAINAGE TRANSPORTATION AND DRAINAGE DIRECTOR.
ITEM ONE 13 AUTHORIZED THE MAYOR PRESIDENT TO EXECUTE THE CONTRACT FOR UTILITY RELOCATION WITH BELLSOUTH TELECOMMUNICATIONS L L C AS JUDGE LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY COMPANY DURING BUSINESS AS AT T LOUISIANA FOR SERVICES ASSOCIATED WITH MOBILE CAPACITY PROJECT UBER ROAD, BLACKWATER BAYOU, THE JIRA ROAD IN THE AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $734,708 AND 73 CENTS BY TRANSPORTATION AND DRAINAGE DIRECT ITEM ONE 14 AUTHORIZED AMER PRESENCE TO EXECUTE A CONTRACT FOR LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE SERVICES WITH RICH WILL REACH LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE L L C FOR SERVICE ASSOCIATED WITH MOBILE BEYOND CAPACITY PROJECT LEE DRIVE HOLLAND ROAD TO PERKINS ROAD IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $78,540 AND 17 CENTS BY THE TRANSPORTATION AND DRAINAGE DIRECTOR.
ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ITEMS 1 0 7 TO 1 1 4.
IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE? SO MOVED BY COUNCILMAN OSA SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN ADAMS. ANY OBJECTIONS?
[115. 23-00849]
REMOVE NOW TO ITEM ONE 15 AUTHORIZING THE APPROVAL OF THE AMY RIVER BASE DRAINAGE IN THE WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT RESOLUTION TO SUBMIT TO THE BAYOU MANCHAC FLOOD REDUCTION PROJECT LOCATED IN VILLE EAST BATON ROUGE AND ASCENSION PARISHES TO LOUISIANA WATERSHED INITIATIVE FOR FUNDING BY TRANSPORTATION AND DRAINAGE DIRECTORS.ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ITEM ONE 15? WE NOW GO TO COUNCIL.
IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE? SO MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ADAMS SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER AMAROSA.
[116. 23-00872 ]
16 AUTHORIZATION FOR THE MAYOR, PRESIDENT AND CHAIRMAN OF THE AIRPORT COMMISSION TO EXECUTE SUPPLEMENTAL NUMBER ONE WITH INFRASTRUCTURE CONSULTING AND ENGINEERING P L L C FOR TAXIWAY B ONE AND PROVIDE ADDITIONAL SURVEY DESIGN BIDDING AND CONSTRUCTION SERVICES IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $46,852 AND 7 CENTS.ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ONE 16 WE GO TO COUNCIL.
IS THERE A MOTION? MOTION TO APPROVE BY COUNCIL MEMBER DUNN SECONDED BY THE CHAIR? ANY OBJECTIONS? WE NOW GO TO ITEM
[117. 23-00873]
ONE 17.AUTHORIZE THE MAYOR PRESIDENT TO EXECUTE A CONTRACT WITH STANTEC FOR CONSULTING SERVICES TO THE PLANNING COMMISSIONS
[02:30:01]
BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2022 E P A COMMUNITYWIDE ASSESSMENT GRANT FOR AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $490,180 BY THE PLANNING DIRECTORS.ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ITEM ONE 17? WE NOW GO TO COUNCIL.
IS THERE A MOTION SHALL MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ADAM SECONDED BY THE CHAIR.
ANY OBJECTIONS? WE NOW GO TO ITEM ONE
[118. 23-00880]
18.AUTHORIZE THE MAYOR PRESIDENT TO EXECUTE A PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT AMENDMENT NUMBER TWO BETWEEN SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY AND LAW CENTER OF VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES AND PEOPLE'S INITIATIVE IN THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE AND EAST BATON ROUGE TO REDUCE THE CONTRACT AMOUNT BY $64,000 DUE TO CHANGES IN THE SCOPE OF WORK BY THE MAYOR'S OFFICE.
IS THERE ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ONE 18? WHEN HOUR OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE? SO MOVED BY THE CHAIR.
IS THERE ANY OBJECTION? I MEAN SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER COLEMAN.
WHAT, UH, IS THERE SOMEONE FROM THE MAYOR'S OFFICE WHO CAN SPEAK TO THIS? HOW DID THE SCOPE OF WORK CHANGE TO REDUCE THE CONTRACT? GOOD AFTERNOON.
DARRYL BLECHER, GRANTS ADMINISTRATOR AND PROJECT DIRECTOR FOR THIS BRAILLE GRANT.
UM, THERE WAS UM, 64,000 THAT WAS ALLOCATED FOR AN OUTREACH WORKER TO BE HOUSED IN SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY AND THAT POSITION WAS NOT FUNDED BY SOUTHERN.
SO MOVED BY THE CHAIR, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER COLEMAN.
ITEM ONE 18 HAS BEEN APPROVED.
[119. 23-00881]
19, AUTHORIZED THE MAYOR PRESIDENT TO EXECUTE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES.AGREEMENT NUMBER TWO, BETWEEN THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE AND THE GROSS SERVICES OF LOUISIANA TO AMEND THE CONTRACT AMOUNT FROM 324,000 TO 388,000 BY THE MAYOR'S OFFICE.
IS ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ITEM ONE 19? WE NOW GO TO COUNCIL MEMBERS.
IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE? MOTION TO APPROVE BY COUNCIL MEMBER KNOWLES.
ARE THERE ANY OBJECTIONS? WE NOW GO TO COUNT ITEM ONE 20.
[120. 23-00882]
AUTHORIZE THE MAYOR PRESIDENT TO EXECUTE, TO ENTER INTO AND EXECUTE A HOUSING LOAN PROGRAM BETWEEN THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE AND MISS CITY REDEVELOPMENT ALLIANCE TO LEND HOME FUNDS ANY AMOUNT OF 488,000 FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF FOUR NEW THREE BEDROOM, TWO BATH SINGLE FAMILY HOMES TO BE DEVELOPED AS A PARKVIEW TWO HOUSING DEVELOPMENT BY THE MAYOR'S OFFICE.IS THERE ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ITEM ONE 20? ASHTON COUNCIL MEMBERS YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED ONE EMAIL, COMMENT AND OPPOSITION TO ITEM ONE 20.
IS THERE COUNCIL MEMBERS, WHAT IS THE PLEASURE OF THE COUNCIL? IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE? SO MOVE BY COUNCIL MEMBER GODDE SECONDED BY THE CHAIR ARE ANY OBJECTIONS? ITEM ONE 20 HAS BEEN APPROVED.
[121. 23-00883]
AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR PRESIDENT TO INSTITUTE AND EXECUTE A HOUSING LOAN PROGRAM CONTRACT BETWEEN C S T LAND DEVELOPERS L L C AND THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE IN EAST BAT ROUGE PARISH FOR THE RESERVE AT JU PLACE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT IN AN AMOUNT OF $300,000 IN THE HOME INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIP FUNDS BY THE MAYOR'S OFFICE.IS THERE ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ITEM 1 21? COUNCIL MEMBER? I MEAN, UH, ASHLEY COUNCIL MEMBER YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED ONE EMAIL, COMMENT AND OPPOSITION TO ITEM 1 21.
SO MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER GODES.
[122. 23-00884 ]
AUTHORIZED THE MAYOR PRESIDENT TO INSTITUTE AND EXECUTE A PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE PARISH OF EAST BAT ROUGE ON BEHALF OF THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND THE Y W C A TO SERVE AS LIAISON BETWEEN HOMEOWNERS AND O C D WITH RELOCATION AND SERVICES TO 97 FAMILIES AND IF SOME NOT TO EXCEED $100,635 AND 93 CENTS BY THE MAYOR'S OFFICE.IS ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ITEM 1 22? WE NOW GO TO THE COUNCIL.
IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE ITEM 1 22.
IS THERE A SECOND? IS THERE A SECOND? SO MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ADAMS. ITEM 1 22 HAS BEEN APPROVED.
[123. 23-00887]
AUTHORIZE THE MAYOR PRESIDENT TO ACCEPT THE NATIONALLY COMPETITIVE GRANT AWARD IN THE AMOUNT OF $4,311,907 UNDER FLOOD MITIGATION ASSISTANCE.SWIFT CURRENT GRANT AND AUTHORIZE THE EXECUTION OF ALL DOCUMENTS IN CONNECTION THEY'RE WITH BY THE HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS DIRECTOR.
IS ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ITEM 1 23? WE NOW GO TO COUNCIL.
SO MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER GODDE.
SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ADAMS. ITEM 1 23 HAS BEEN APPROVED.
[Items 124 - 143]
PROPERTIES 1 24 THROUGH 1 43 TOGETHER.ITEM 1 24 A LOT E PLUS SQUARE 49 SUBDIVISION NICARAGUA DISTRICT 10 HIGH BID RID INVESTMENTS, $13,000.
ITEM 1 25 ABOUT 44 POINT SQUARE 49 SUBDIVISION NICARAGUA DISTRICT 10 HIGH BIDDER RID INVESTMENTS.
ITEM 1 26 LOT C ONE SQUARE 49 SUBDIVISION NICARAGUA DISTRICT 10 HIGH BIDDER DANIEL WEER $11,000.
ITEM 1 27 LOT 14 SQUARE 35 SUBDIVISION GRACIE DISTRICT 10 HIGH BID OF PORTER HOLDINGS L L C $2,500.
[02:35:01]
13 SQUARE 35 SUBDIVISION GRACIE DISTRICT 10 HIGH BID OF PORTER HOLDINGS L L C $6,000.ITEM 1 29 LOT FOUR POINT SQUARE 14 SUBDIVISION GRACIE DISTRICT 10 HIGH BID OF DANIEL WEEMER.
$500 ITEM ONE 30 LOT SEVEN POINT SQUARE ONE SUBDIVISION OF BEAVERTOWN DISTRICT 10 HIGH BID OF RIDDICK INVESTMENTS LLC.
$6,000 ITEM 1 31 LOT 16 POINT SQUARE TWO SUBDIVISION YOUNG DISTRICT 10 HIGH BID OF DANIEL WEEMER.
$5,000 ITEM 1 32 LOT EIGHT SQUARE FIVE SUBDIVISION MOUND CITY DISTRICT 10 COLEMAN HIGH BIDDER PORTER HOLDINGS L L C $22,000.
ITEM 1 33 LOT SIX SQUARE 16 SUBDIVISION PROSPERITY DISTRICT 10 HIGH BIDDER WINFRED GRIFFIN $300 ITEM 1 34 LOT SEVEN POINT SQUARE 16 SUBDIVISION PROSPERITY DISTRICT 10 HIGH BIDDER WINFORD GRIFFIN, $300 ITEM 1 35 LOT SEVEN POINT SQUARE POINT AND EIGHT SQUARE 16 SUBDIVISION PROSPERITY DISTRICT 10 WINFORD GRIFFIN $300.
ITEM 1 36 LOT 16 PLUS SQUARE 47 SUBDIVISION FORTUNE DISTRICT FIVE HIGH BIDDER SCRUGGS $8,500.
ITEM 1 37 LOT 11 POINT SQUARE 14 SUBDIVISION FUQUA IN LAMONT TOWN DISTRICT 10 HIGH BIDDER STEVEN STERLING II $150.
ITEM 1 38 LOT SEVEN SQUARE 33.
SUBDIVISION BANKS, HIGH BIDDER, EXCUSE ME.
DISTRICT 10 HIGH BID OF GLORIA CARRELL $2,100 ITEM 1 39 LOT 3 6 7 SUBDIVISION BE FAIR HOMES DISTRICT SEVEN HIGH BID OF PROSPERITY REALTY L L C $21,500.
ITEM ONE 40 LOT 15 AND 16 SQUARE 15 SUBDIVISION HOLLYWOOD DISTRICT FIVE HEARST HIGH BID OF CLARK FAMILY HOMES $10,000.
ITEM 1 41 LOT 2 0 1 SUBDIVISION WOOD AIR DISTRICT TWO HIGH BID OF SOUTHERN UNITED INCORPORATED $39,000.
ITEM 1 42 LOT 19 SQUARE NINE SUBDIVISION PARADISE PARK DISTRICT TWO HIGH BID IN THE KIA WHITE $1,600 ITEM 1 43 LOT FOUR SQUARE 25 SUBDIVISION BANK DISTRICT 10 HIRED BID OF FARROW JOHNSON II $23,800.
IS ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ITEMS 1 24 THROUGH 1 43? WE NOW GO TO COUNCIL MEMBERS.
IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE ADJUDICATED PROPERTIES? I'D LIKE TO.
THAT'S UM, I MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE ALL EXCEPT NUMBER ONE 30 AND I'VE HEARD FROM ALL THESE OTHER FOLK, BUT ONE 30 AND 1 20, 1 24, 1 25, 1 30.
YOU WANNA DEFER THOSE? YES SIR.
FOR HOW LONG? 30 DAYS? YES SIR.
MOTION TO APPROVE ALL ITEMS AS READ AND DEFER ITEMS. 1 24, 1 25 AND ONE 30 FOR 30 DAYS.
SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER DUNN.
ARE THERE ANY OBJECTIONS? MOTIONS HAVE BEEN APPROVED AND THOSE THREE ITEMS HAVE BEEN DEFERRED.
[ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS]
MATTERS EXCEPT FOR SHEET COUNCIL MEMBERS.A AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR PRESIDENT TO AMEND A PROFESSIONAL SERVICE AGREEMENT WITH BIG BUDDY PROGRAM FOR THE EXPANSION OF THE 2023 MAYOR'S YOUTH WORKFORCE EXPERIENCE.
SO HAS TO INCREASE THE AMOUNT FOR 50,020 MILE NOT TO EXCEED $630,000 TO FULFILL THE STIPENDS FOR 325.
BATON PARISH YOUTH YOUTHFUL AN EIGHT WEEK WORK EXPERIENCE CONTINGENT UPON GRASP REVIEW AND APPROVE REASON FOR EMERGENCY ADMINISTRATIVE MATTER IN ORDER TO FULFILL THE STIPENDS FOR 325 EAST BAT PARISH YOUTHFUL AND EIGHT WEEK WORK EXPERIENCE AND THE 2023 MAYOR'S YOUTH WORK EXPERIENCE.
THE EMOTIONAL WAY, THE RULES, THE EMOTIONAL WAY THE RULES MOVED.
SO MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER GODDE.
SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER COLEMAN.
IS THERE ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE MOTION TO WAIVE THE RULES? AND ARE THERE ANY OBJECTION ON THE MOTION TO WAIVE THE RULES? IS THERE ANYONE HERE TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM? WE NOW CALL FOR A MOTION TO APPROVE THE ITEM.
IS THERE A MOTION? HMM? YOU PUBLIC? YOU HAD A PUBLIC? YEAH.
IS THERE A PUBLIC? IS ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM? SO THERE'S A MOTION TO APPROVE BY COUNCIL MEMBER DUNN.
ARE THERE ANY OBJECTIONS? WE NOW GO TO ITEM B AMENDING RESOLUTION NUMBER 5 7 1 4 5 FOR COMPREHENSIVE WEBSITE DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT, HOSTING AND UPDATE SERVICES WITH SYNERGY CONSULTING AND AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $398,774 AND 78 CENTS TO A FIVE YEAR CONTRACT BY THE LIBRARY DIRECTOR.
REASON FOR EMERGENCY AND ADMINISTRATIVE MATTER IN ORDER TO EXPEDITE EXECUTION OF THE CONTRACT.
NEED A MOTION TO WEIGH THE RULES.
IS THERE A MOTION TO WEIGH THE RULES? SO MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ADAMS BY THE CHAIR.
ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE MOTIONAL WAY OF THE RULES? IS THERE, ARE THERE ANY OBJECTIONS ON THE MOTIONAL WAY OF THE RULES? IS THERE ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM? WE NOW GO TO THE COUNCIL.
IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE? SO MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER HURST.
[02:40:01]
ADMINISTRATIVE MATTER B HAS BEEN APPROVED.[144. 23-00998]
APPOINTMENTS.COMPLETE STREET CITIZEN ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
ONE APPOINTMENT TO CONCUR WITH DENOMINATION FOR THE DIRECTOR FOR HIS DESIGNEE.
IS ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ITEM 1 44? WE KNOW GO TO COUNCIL.
SO MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER GOEY, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER HUDSON VANCE BALDWIN HAS BEEN APPOINTED
[145. 23-00999 ]
COMPLETE STREET CITIZEN ADVISORY COMMITTEE.ONE APPOINTMENT TO REAPPOINT OR REPLACE CAROLYN COLEMAN ON COMPLETE STREET CITIZEN ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
KAREN BALL IS CAROLYN COLEMAN.
SHE'S REQUESTED TO BE REAPPOINTED.
IS ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM? MAY I GO TO COUNCIL? COUNCIL MEMBER KNOW? SO MOVE.
UH, IS THAT SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER HUDSON? CONGRATULATIONS MS. COLMAN, YOU'RE BACK ON THE COMPLETE STREETS COMPLETE STREET CITIZEN
[146. 23-01000]
ADVISORY COMMITTEE.ONE APPOINTMENT TO CONCUR THE NOMINATION OF THE BATONS CHAPTER OF ARP BY DR.
RECEIVED LETTER REQUESTING REAPPOINTMENT.
IS THERE ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM? IS THERE A MOTION TO APPOINT? ARE THERE ANY OBJECTIONS? MOTION BY COUNCILMAN MO.
SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER AMAROSA.
YOU'VE BEEN APPOINTED TO COMPLETE STREETS.
[147. 23-01001]
COMPLETE STREET CITIZEN ADVISORY COMMITTEE.ONE APPOINTMENT TO CONCUR AND NOMINATION OF THE GREATER BATON ROUGE ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS.
CURRENT BALLOT IS NO ONE OR WE'RE GONNA APPOINT SOMEONE FROM THE FLOOR.
UH, WE NEED, WE NEED 30 DAYS ON THIS.
WE HAVE TO GET A RECOMMENDATION FROM THE GREATER BATON ROUGE ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS.
IS THERE ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM THERE? A MOTION TO DEFER FOR 30 DAYS.
A MOVE BY COUNCIL MEMBER ADAM SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER MO.
ITEM 1 30 47 HAS BEEN DEFERRED FOR 30 DAYS.
[148. 23-01002]
MUNICIPAL FIRE AND POLICE CIVIL SERVICE BOARD APPOINTING A REPRESENTATIVE TO THE MUNICIPAL FIRE AND POLICE CIVIL SERVICE BOARD FROM THE NAME SUBMITTED BY LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE STATE LAW.WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO DEFER THIS ITEM AS WELL.
WE'RE GONNA NEED TO DEFER THIS ONE AGAIN FOR 30 DAYS.
UM, AND, UH, GET, WAIT UNTIL WE GET NOMINATIONS FROM L S U.
IS THERE ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM? COUNCIL MEMBER MO ON THESE, HOW THIS HAS JUST BEEN PUT OUT THERE AS FAR AS THIS REQUEST FROM THE, UM, FROM LOUISIANA.
HOW LONG HAVE THEY HAD THIS REQUEST? L S U.
AT WHAT POINT DO WE SAY THEY'RE NOT GONNA RESPOND? DO WE WAIT 60 DAYS AND THEN PICK SOMEONE? I, YES, I WENT THERE.
WE DO NOT HAVE THE OPTION TO PICK SOMEONE.
UM, THAT THE, THE, THIS IS A STATE LAW.
UM, AND THERE'S THE, THE ONLY OPTION IS FOR L S U TO NOMINATE PEOPLE.
SO IF WE WANT TO PUT A TIMELINE ON THIS NOMINATION THING, INSTEAD OF WAITING A WHOLE YEAR, THEN WE NEED TO GO TO THE STATE.
THIS ONE HAS BEEN PARTICULARLY DIFFICULT.
IT IS NOT NORMALLY THIS DIFFICULT.
THIS ONE HAS BEEN, WELL, MAYBE THE DISTRICT 5 65 REPRESENTATIVE WILL TAKE CARE OF IT PARTICULARLY DIFFICULT.
COUNCIL MEMBER HUDSON ASHLEY, WHO IS THE CURRENT, UH, L S U APPOINTEE? SHARON LEWIS.
I THINK YOU MAKE AN APPOINT THAT COUNCILWOMAN BANKS IS MAKING PRETTY MUCH.
UH, ANY COUNCIL MEMBERS? IS THERE A MOTION TO DEFER THE ITEM? SO MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER OSA STATING BY THE CHAIR OF ANY OBJECTIONS.
[Items 149 - 152]
ITEM 1 49 TO 1 42 52.WE'LL TAKE TOGETHER TEMPORARY LABOR SERVICE FOR BUILDING MAINTENANCE CONTRACTOR TO BUILD THOSE STAFFING SERVICES.
ITEM ONE 50 BUT WE THEN A HIGHWAY 64 REGIONAL PUMP STATION IN FOREST MAIN CONTRACTOR ALLEN LEBLANC.
CHANGE ORDER AMOUNT, $179,661 80 CENTS, WHICH IS CREDIT ITEM 1 51 FAIRFIELD AREA AVENUE, AREA 88.
TRANSITION PROJECT CONTRACTOR HONORARY COMPANY'S L L C CHANGE ORDER AMOUNT, $18,131 AND 55 CENTS.
TRAFFIC SIGNAL CONNECTION AND COMMUNICATION INSTALLATION CONTRACTOR.
ERNEST P BRO ELECTRICAL INCORPORATED.
CHANGE ORDER AMOUNT, ONE HUNDRED FIFTY NINE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED NINETY FIVE THOUSAND THIRTY NINE CENTS.
IS THERE ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ITEMS 1 49 AND 1 52? IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE ITEMS? 1 49 AND 1 52.
SO MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ROCKER SECONDED BY THE CHAIR.
ANY OBJECTIONS? ITEM 1 49 AND 1 52 HAVE BEEN APPROVED.
[153. 23-00987]
LOUISIANA HIGHWAY 64 REGIONAL PUMP STATION.ENFORCE MAIN CONTRACTOR, ALLEN AND LEBRON L L C.
FINAL COST $2,211,355 AND 35 CENTS.
IS THERE ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ITEM 1 53? WE NOW GO TO COUNCIL MEMBERS.
IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE ITEM? SO MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER MOOCH.
[02:45:01]
BY COUNCIL MEMBER ROCKER.[154. 23-00918]
ITEM 1 54.JANITORIAL COMMERCIAL WINDOW CLEANING AND TERMINAL BUILDING.
CAJUN SOFT WASH L L C $55,200.
IS ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ITEM 1 54? WE NOW GO TO COUNCIL MEMBER'S.
MOTION TO APPROVE BY COUNCIL MEMBER.
A SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ADAMS. ITEM 1 54 HAS BEEN APPROVED.
[159. 23-00915 ]
GO TO OTHER ITEMS TO BE ADOPTED AS EMERGENCY ITEM 1 59.AUTHORIZATION FOR THE MAYOR, PRESIDENT AND CHAIRMAN OF AIRPORT COMMISSION TO SUBMIT AND EXECUTE A GRANT APPLICATIONS TO FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION FOR THE TAX A L EXTENSION AND DECOMMISSION OF THE RUNWAY OF FOUR.
THAT 22 L AND TAXI AE PROJECT IN THE AMOUNT OF $2,800,000 BY AVIATION DIRECTOR.
THIS ITEM IS DEEMED AN EMERGENCY TO MEET F A A DEADLINES RESULTING FROM RECENT ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE GRANT.
IS ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM? ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM IN ACCORDANCE WITH 1 6 4 4 2.
THIS ITEM MUST BE DECLARED EMERGENCY BY TWO THIRDS VOTE OF THE METROPOLITAN COUNCIL MOTION.
DECLARE THE EMERGENCY REQUIRES A SECOND.
HEARS SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ROCKER.
ARE THERE ANY, EXCUSE ME? ARE THERE ANY OBJECT? MOTION? WE GONNA VOTE ON A MOTION? IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE? NO.
SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ROCKA.
IS THERE ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM? ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM? THE ITEM HAS BEEN APPROVED.
[160. 23-00962 ]
WE GO TO ITEM ONE 60.AUTHORIZATION FOR THE MAYOR, PRESIDENT AND CHAIRMAN OF THE AIRPORT COMMISSION TO SUBMIT AN EXECUTED GRANT APPLICATION OF FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION AND THE STATE OF LOUISIANA OFFICE OF AVIATION FOR THE NORTHWEST AVIATION DEVELOPMENT TAX AWAY PROJECT IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,230,554 BY AVIATION DIRECTOR.
THIS ITEM IS DEEMED WITH AN EMERGENCY TO MEET F A A DEADLINES RESULTING FROM THE RECENT ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE GRANT IN ACCORDANCE WITH 1 6 4 4 2.
THIS ITEM MUST BE DECLARED AN EMERGENCY BY TWO THIRDS VOTE OF THE METROPOLITAN COUNCIL MOTION TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY.
SO MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER DUNN.
SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ADAMS. ANY OBJECTION TO THE MOTION? THE ITEM BEING DECLARED AN EMERGENCY.
WE HAVE A PUBLIC HEARING ON THE ITEM.
IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE? ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM? MOTION TO APPROVE BY COUNCIL MEMBER NOEL.
SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ROCKA ITEM HAS BEEN APPROVED.
[161. 23-00997]
RECEIVING A REPORT FROM THE ADMINISTRATION AND D E S ON THE CHANGES TO SERVICES UNDER THE NEW GARBAGE CONTRACT BY THE CHAIR.A REASON FOR EMERGENCY IN ORDER TO HOLD A DISCUSSION BEFORE CHANGES GOING TO EFFECT ON SEPTEMBER ONE.
I'M GONNA REQUEST THAT WE DEFER THIS ITEM IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE ORDINANCE OF 1 6 4 4 2.
THIS ITEM MUST BE DECLARED EMERGENCY BY TWO THIRD VERDICT IN METROPOLITAN COUNCIL.
MOTION BY COUNCIL MEMBER ROCKER.
SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER HERZ.
ARE THERE ANY OBJECTIONS? IS THERE ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM? I AM GOING TO MAKE A MOTION THAT WE GO AHEAD REAL QUICKLY, Y'ALL SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED ONE EMAIL COMMENT IN OPPOSITION.
I'M GONNA MAKE A MOTION THAT WE DEFERRED ITEM FOR TWO WEEKS.
SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER NO.
THE ITEM HAS BEEN DEFERRED FOR TWO WEEKS.
[162. 23-01004 ]
AMENDING AND REENACTING ORDINANCE 1-863-ADOPTED SEPTEMBER 21ST, 2022, WHICH ESTABLISHES VOTING PRECINCTS WITHIN WARDS ONE, TWO, AND THREE IN EASTBOUND RIDGE PARISH AND DESIGNATED POLLING PLACES BY REGISTER OF VOTERS.REASON FOR EMERGENCY IN ORDER TO MAKE THE CHANGES AND ALERT VOTERS BEFORE ALL THESE ELECTIONS.
IS ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ITEM 1 62 IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE ORDINANCE? 1 6 4 4 2.
THIS ITEM MUST BE DECLARED EMERGENCY BY TWO THIRD VOTE OF THE METROPOLITAN COUNCIL.
SO MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ROCKER.
ANY OBJECTIONS? ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM? MOTION TO APPROVE BY COUNCIL MEMBER ROCK.
ANY OBJECTIONS? THE ITEM HAS BEEN APPROVED.
COUNCIL MEMBER AMAROSA OBJECTION BEFORE WE LEAVE IS DR.
DOC LORENZ, WHY DON'T YOU COME ON UP AND INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO LOUISIANA IN YOUR MANY DIFFERENT ROLES IN THIS CITY AND IN THIS STATE.
FIRST OF ALL, LET ME UH, SAY THAT IT'S A, IT'S A PLEASURE TO BE BACK, UH, INTO, UH, THIS PARTICULAR OFFICE OF, OF SERVICE TO, UH, TO THIS COUNCIL AND TO THIS MAYOR.
IT WASN'T, UH, SOMETHING THAT I ANTICIPATED VERY SOON, BUT I LOOK FORWARD TO IT.
I THINK THIS IS A, UH, IT'S A GREAT COUNCIL AND IT'S AN HONOR TO BE, UH, CHOSEN AND ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE IN, IN THIS PROCESS AND BE A PART OF THIS PROCESS.
SO THANK YOU AND ALL OF YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP.
UH, LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU AND LET YOU KNOW THAT I'M OPEN 24 7 FOR
[02:50:01]
ANYTHING THAT, UH, I CAN BE OF HELP TO THIS COUNCIL BOARD.I WANNA THANK ALL THE CITY PARISH REPORTERS WHO SAT THROUGH THE MEETING THIS EVENING.
WE BACK FROM SUMMER VACATION, SO THAT MEANS WE BACK TO WORK.
EVERYBODY NEED TO BE BACK AT WORK.
UH, ALWAYS, ALWAYS PROTECT YOUR MENTAL HEALTH.
READ TO YOUR CHILDREN AND WHEN YOU'RE DONE READING TO THEM, HAVE THEM READ BACK TO YOU, ESPECIALLY AS WE GET READY TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS.