* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. YOU READY? COUNCIL? [00:00:01] THAT'S IT, RIGHT? COUNCIL, THEY'RE GONNA GO LIVE IN FIVE SECONDS. AND NOW YOU'RE THREE. I'M GONNA GIVE YOU ONE AND DISCUSS. GOOD AFTERNOON, [Presentations and Special Recognitions] LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, AND WELCOME TO THE PRESENTATION PORTION OF OUR METROPOLITAN COUNCIL MEETING SCHEDULED AT THREE O'CLOCK ON THIS WEDNESDAY, MAY 8TH, 2024. FIRST UP FOR PRESENTATIONS WE HAVE MAYOR, PRESIDENT SHARON WESTON BROOM, MYSELF AND COUNCIL MEMBER DARRYL HURST, TO RECOGNIZE MY DEAR FRIEND, DR. WILLIE E. SMITH, CHANCELLOR OF THE BATON ROUGE COMMUNITY COUNCIL COLLEGE MAYOR BROOM. THANK YOU, MAYOR PRO TEM, AND MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL. I AM CERTAINLY HONORED TO RECOGNIZE, UH, DR. WILLIE SMITH, THE DEDICATED CHANCELLOR OF THE BATON ROUGE COMMUNITY COLLEGE, WHO HAS LED WITH OUTSTANDING VISION AND PASSION SINCE ITS FOUNDING IN 1998. BRCC HAS BEEN A PILLAR OF EDUCATION IN OUR COMMUNITY, PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR COUNTLESS INDIVIDUALS, AND CONTRIBUTING TO THE GROWTH OF BATON ROUGE. DR. WILLIE SMITH TOOK THE HELM AS BR C'S SIXTH CHANCELLOR IN 2020 DURING THE TUMULTUOUS TIMES OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. DESPITE THE CHALLENGES, HIS LEADERSHIP HAS BEEN A BEACON OF HOPE, GUIDING THE COLLEGE WITH UNWAVERING COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE UNDER HIS STEWARDSHIP. BRCC HAS BECOME A, A SOUGHT AFTER PARTNER FOR LOCAL BUSINESSES AND A DESTINATION FOR STUDENTS SEEKING QUALITY EDUCATION UNDER HIS LEADERSHIP. BRCC HAS REMAINED A STRONG COMMUNITY PARTNER ON A NU NUMBER OF INITIATIVES, SUCH AS THE COLLEGE TO CHURCH INITIATIVE TO EXPAND THE GROWTH OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS WHO WANT TO ADVANCE THEIR EDUCATION AND FAITH, KNOWLEDGE AND PURPOSE. CHANCELLOR SMITH'S INFLUENCE GOES BEYOND ADMINISTRATION. HE INSPIRES STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND STAFF WITH HIS VISION AND GENUINE ENGAGEMENT. HIS DEDICATION HAS REIGNITED A SENSE OF PER WITH THE INSTITUTION FOSTERING A THRIVING LEARNING COMMUNITY. SO, BATON ROUGE CHANCELLOR, IF YOU WOULD COME, WE ARE CERTAINLY GRATEFUL TO HAVE BRCC AS A VITAL INSTITUTION HERE IN OUR CITY IN PARISH, AND WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP. UH, DR. SMITH, UM, YOU CHANCELLOR, HAVE YOU GO AHEAD, CERTAINLY SHOWN US THROUGH YOUR WORDS AND YOUR ACTIONS AND EVERYTHING THAT YOU'VE DONE, THAT YOU ARE COMMITTED TO OUR COMMUNITY, UH, AND WE APPRECIATE YOUR LEADERSHIP AT BRCC. SO, AS YOUR, UH, OTHER FRIENDS WHO I THINK HAVE A SPECIAL LEVEL OF CONNECTION WITH YOU COME, I AM GOING TO, UH, CERTAINLY PRESENT YOU WITH A CERTIFICATE OF COMMENDATION IN RECOGNITION OF YOUR LEADERSHIP IN ADVANCING BRCC AS A PREMIER INSTITUTION FOR EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU. TURN AROUND. THANK YOU. AND DR. SMITH, ON BEHALF OF THE METROPOLITAN COUNCIL, WE WANNA SAY CONGRATULATIONS, UH, FOR ALL THE WORK YOU DO AT BRCC AND FURTHERING THE EDUCATION OF OUR YOUNG PEOPLE. UH, SINCE YOUR TIME IN THAT OFFICE, IT'S BEEN A PLEASURE TO WORK WITH YOU. UH, AS MANY KNOW, I'M AN EDUCATOR AND I WORK WITH HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, AND EVERY TIME WE'VE CALLED AND ASKED FOR ANYTHING, YOU'VE ALWAYS BEEN THERE, UH, TO PROVIDE THE SUPPORT AS WELL AS THE SERVICE, UH, FOR OUR YOUNG PEOPLE. SO, WE SINCERELY APPRECIATE YOU AND, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER HERY WILL SAY A FEW WORDS, AND THEN WE WANNA PRESENT YOU WITH A SPECIAL GIFT. I'M GONNA TRY TO KEEP IT SHORT, MAN. I THINK MY REAL CALLING WAS A PASTOR, BUT, UH, WATCH YOURSELF. NAH, WATCH YOURSELF. SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ABSOLUTELY. SO, WHAT I WILL SAY IS THAT, UH, WHEN DR. SMITH AND I FIRST MET, HE TOUCHED MY HEART. HE TALKED ABOUT WHO HE WAS, BUT MORE SO WHERE HE CAME FROM AND HOW WADE CAME FROM IMPACTED WHAT HE DOES TODAY. HE'S A, HE'S A, HE'S A, HE'S A HOOD KID, RIGHT? HE GREW UP UNDERSERVED, HE GREW UP CHALLENGED, BUT HE BEAT ALL ODDS. AND HE FEELS THAT IF HE CAN DO IT, SO CAN EVERYBODY ELSE. AND WE TALK ABOUT THE MURDERS IN BATON ROUGE, AND WE TALK ABOUT THE CHALLENGES IN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH. WE NEED SOMEBODY THAT UNDERSTANDS THE PLIGHT OF THOSE COMMUNITIES THAT WE'RE TRYING TO CHANGE. AND THAT'S WHY BRCC HAS GROWN, BECAUSE IT'S NOT JUST AN EDUCATIONAL INVESTMENT, BUT IT'S [00:05:01] A HARD INVESTMENT. AND THROUGH THAT HARD INVESTMENT, HE HAS CHANGED SO MANY LIVES FOR GENERATIONS BY GIVING SOME OF THE FIRST PEOPLE IN THOSE FAMILIES DEGREES TO ENSURE THAT EDUCATION BECAME A PART OF WHAT THEY DID, NOT JUST NOW, BUT LONG TERM. SO ON THIS DAY, UM, MR. PROCLAMATION PRO PROCLAMATION OF RECOGNITION, THE HONORABLE COUNCILMAN HURST, LAMONT COLE MAYOR PRO TEMP TO DR. WILLIE SMITH. DR. WILLIE SMITH, SENIOR AS CHANCELLOR OF BATON ROUGE COMMUNITY COLLEGE. BRCC HAS CHAMPIONED SIGNIFICANT EDUCATIONAL REFORMS AND DEMONSTRATED A EXCEPTIONAL LEADERSHIP RESULTING IN RECORD ENROLLMENT GROWTH, AND ENHANCED SUPPORT FOR DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS. DR. SMITH HAS EFFECTIVELY SECURED OVER $20 MILLION IN DONATIONS FOR BRCC AND HOLDS ESTEEMED POSITIONS ON BOARD, SUCH AS THE BATON ROUGE AREA CHAMBER, AND THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITY COLLEGES SIGNIFICANTLY INFLUENCING EDUCATION OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, RECOGNIZED FOR HIS EDUCATION TO PUBLIC SERVICE. DR. SMITH HAS EARNED NUMEROUS AWARDS, INCLUDING CONGRESSIONAL RECOGNITION AND THE DELTA SIGMA, THE EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AWARD, WHICH HIGHLIGHTS HIS IMPACTFUL CONTRIBUTES TO EDUCATION COMMUNITY WELFARE. SO OUR COUNCIL MEMBER, DARRYL HIRST, ALONG WITH MAYOR PRO TIMBERMAN COLE, RECOGNIZE YOU TODAY, CELEBRATES YOU AND CONGRATULATE YOU ON ALL YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS. WHILE YOU ALL ARE SMILING, UM, I'D LIKE TO JUST ADD THAT NOT ONLY IS DR. SMITH A WONDERFUL EDUCATOR. HE'S VERY, HE'S VERY COMPASSIONATE. I DON'T RECALL, UM, HAVING MET, UH, DR. SMITH, BUT WHEN MY MOTHER PASSED DURING COVID IN 2020, HE SENT ME A THANK YOU CARD AND FLOWERS, AND I JUST LIKE, WAS BLOWN AWAY. 'CAUSE I DON'T KNOW EVEN RECALL MEETING HIM PRIOR TO THAT TIME. BUT AGAIN, I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU FOR BEING A PART OF OUR COMMUNITY. OH, MAY I APPROACH TIP? I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S APPROPRIATE FOR ME TO SPEAK OR NOT, OR YEAH, GO AHEAD. YOU GOT THE FLOOR. I CERTAINLY WANNA SAY, UH, BEFORE I SAY ANYTHING, UH, THANK YOU TO, UH, ALL FOUR IN HEAVEN AND ALL OF YOU HERE, MAYOR BROOME AND MAYOR PRO TEMP AND COUNCIL MEMBERS. UH, ALL OF YOU HAVE BEEN MY DEAR FRIENDS ON MY JOURNEY HERE, UH, IN BATON ROUGE. UH, UM, I NEVER THOUGHT I'D BE THE ONE ON THE DAY LOST FOR WORDS TODAY, BUT I AM. BUT, UH, I'M GONNA PRAY THAT SOMETHING COME OUT. UH, UH, THIS IS APPRECIATION THAT, NOT FOR ME, BUT ALL THE FOLKS I REPRESENT AT BATON ROUGE COMMUNITY COLLEGE, WE HAVE ABOUT 560 SOME EMPLOYEES. THIS IS NOT BY MY SUCCESS, IT IS THEIRS, BUT ALSO THEY SHARE WITH ME OUR PASSION TO MAKE SURE WE SUPPORT OUR COMMUNITY. WE SUPPORT STUDENT SUCCESS. UH, I MAKE NO EXCUSE ABOUT IT. I I CARRY A TOUGH STICK BECAUSE I KNOW THAT PEOPLE WHO HAVE HELPED ME ENDURE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES, COUNCILMAN HER, SAID IN MY LIFE THAT SOMEWHERE THAT'S MENTORS AND PEOPLE OF FAITH WHO DO WHAT'S RIGHT BY OUR COMMUNITY. AND CERTAINLY IN MAYOR BLOOM, YOU HAVE BEEN A BLESSING TO ME SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE. MAYOR PRO TEMP AS, AS WELL AS COUNCILMAN DON AND HURST, AS WELL AS YOU, UH, UH, COUNCILMAN BANKS. UH, WELL, I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART. APPRECIATE YOU GUYS, THE WORK THAT YOU GOT, CONTINUE TO DO THE COURAGE THAT YOU, UH, SHARE EVERY DAY AND THE COMMITMENT YOU SHOW. UH, ALSO EXCITED ABOUT THIS DAY BECAUSE I ALSO GET TO SHARE, UH, MY NEW JOURNEY INTO THE GREATEST FRATERNITY IN THE WORLD. . SO CERTAINLY WANNA SAY THANK YOU, BROTHER, FOR BEING HERE, AND CERTAINLY, I KNOW THEY'RE GONNA BE ON THIS SOON. BUT, UH, IT, UH, THIS CHAPTER SPEAKS WHAT I, I HAVE BEEN DOING ALL MY LIFE. UH, I CERTAINLY WANT SAY AGAIN, THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF US AND CONTINUE TO SUPPORT OF US. I APPRECIATE EVERYTHING YOU GUYS SUPPORT. CONGRATS. BEFORE WE TRANSITION, UH, MAYOR PRO, TIM, IF I COULD SAY A FEW BRIEF WORDS ABOUT PLEASE, UH, CHANCELLOR SMITH AND HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH US INDIVIDUALLY, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, THE COMMUNITY. UM, THERE'VE BEEN A NUMBER OF CHANCELLORS AT BRCC, BUT IN MY RECOLLECTION, AND SOMEBODY COULD CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, UH, THE WAY IN WHICH YOU REACHED OUT TO THIS COMMUNITY PARTNER WITH US ON INITIATIVES AND EVENTS AND BEING ACTIVELY INVOLVED OUTSIDE OF THE, THE, THE, YOUR FACILITY, YOUR GATES, YOUR, YOUR, YOUR, UH, INSTITUTION, IT TELLS, UM, YOUR JOURNEY. IT, IT SHARES THAT YOU UNDERSTAND THE CHALLENGES THAT PEOPLE LIKE YOU AND I, UH, WHAT WE COME FROM. AND, AND YOUR ACTIONS SHOW THAT YOU'RE INTERESTED IN NOT JUST BEING A CHANCELLOR IMPACTING YOUR STAFF AND YOUR STUDENTS, BUT LEVERAGING THAT, THAT PLATFORM, LEVERAGING YOUR RESOURCES TO IMPACT OTHERS WHO OTHERWISE MAY NOT HAVE ACCESS [00:10:01] IF YOU DON'T REACH OUT AND MEET THEM WHERE THEY ARE. AND YOU'VE MODELED THAT AND DISPLAYED THAT, AND WE GREATLY APPRECIATE YOU FOR DOING SO. THANK YOU, SIR. AT THIS TIME, I'LL TAKE A MOMENT OF PERSONAL PRIVILEGE TO RECOGNIZE SOME ELECTED OFFICIALS IN THE HOUSE. I SEE STATE REPRESENTATIVE LARRY SDAS IS HERE. LARRY, THANKS FOR COMING OUT. I ALSO JUST SAW A STATE REPRESENTATIVE, MARCUS BRYAN WAS HERE A FEW MOMENTS AGO. IS HE STILL IN THE BUILDING? OKAY. THANK YOU FOR COMING OUT. LET'S GET HIM GENTLEMEN ROUND UP HERE FOR THIS WORKDAY GOING DOWN AT THE CAPITOL. WE SINCERELY APPRECIATE IT. NEXT, WE'RE GONNA HAVE METROPOLITAN COUNCIL MEMBER SHAUNA BANKS TO RECOGNIZE SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY NAACP JUVENILE JUSTICE COMMITTEE FOR THE SCOTLANDVILLE BEAUTIFICATION PROJECT COUNCIL MEMBER BANKS . GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYONE. UM, FROM APRIL 20TH TO APRIL 27TH, UH, IT WAS CONSIDERED LOVE THE BOOTMAN AS, UH, DECLARED BY, UH, THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR BILLY NUNGESSER. AND SO, ANYTIME THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO BEAUTIFY OUR COMMUNITY IN WHICH, UM, WE HAVE IT AT THE STATE LEVEL, WE HAVE IT AT THE LOCAL LEVEL. MM-HMM, , CERTAINLY I WANNA BE A PART OF THAT. 'CAUSE THERE'S NEVER ENOUGH WORK THAT WE COULD DO, UH, AROUND OUR COMMUNITY TO RID US OF BLIGHT AND ANY OTHER THINGS. SO ON APRIL 20TH, WHICH WAS A SATURDAY, I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY. UH, I TOOK THE OPPORTUNITY TO BEAUTIFY SOME OF THE AREA AT THE SCOTLANDVILLE PLAZA. UH, IT WAS IMPORTANT THAT WE KIND OF, UH, SPUR SOME ENGAGEMENT BECAUSE IT IS PART OF THE MOVE BEYOND, UH, INVESTMENT PLAN FOR BEAUTIFICATION. SO WE KIND OF DID A KICKOFF. THERE WAS A PARTICULAR STUDENT GROUP THAT ALWAYS CALLED ME AND SAY, WE WANNA BE INVOLVED IN THE COMMUNITY. AND THAT WAS NO DIFFERENT THAN THE NA NAACP AT SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY SOCIAL JUSTICE DEPARTMENT, WHICH IS LED BY STUDENT RYAN THOMPSON. TODAY WE HAVE ONLY TWO OF THOSE PERSONS, BUT THIS WAS ALSO JOINED BY, UM, AN ASSISTANT BASKETBALL COACH AT SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY AND FIVE OF THE, UH, BASKETBALL PLAYERS. SO I'M GONNA ASK RYAN JEFFERSON, DID I SAY RYAN THOMPSON? I'M SORRY. RYAN JEFFERSON AND DEANDRE BUTTE TO COME UP. AND THEY WILL REPRESENT ALL THE STUDENTS AT SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY, NOT ONLY WITH THE NAACP, THEY'RE ACTIVE WITH THE SGA. THEY'RE ALSO, UM, UM, AGAIN, REPRESENTING THE SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY BOYS BASKETBALL TEAM. MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM IN THIS GROUP IS, UH, DEMETRIUS THAT WORKS FOR THE, UH, PUBLIC RELATIONS AREA. THEY HAVE DIFFERENT, DIFFERENT COMMITTEES. AND THIS IS THE ONE THAT RYAN AND DERE ARE REPRESENTING TODAY. SO I HAVE A CERTIFICATE OF RECOGNITION, WHICH READS, PRESENTED TO RYAN JEFFERSON, CHAIR SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY, NAACP JUVENILE JUSTICE COMMITTEE, AND DEANDRE CO-CHAIR FOR YOUR EXCEPTIONAL PERFORMANCE AND OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS AS JUVENILE JUSTICE CHAIR AND CO-CHAIR, THANK YOU FOR ASSISTING IN FIRSTHAND PREPARATION FOR THE INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADE OF THE SOUTHERN OF THE SCOVILLE COMMUNITY PLAZA. AIMING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES WHO NEED IT MOST. YOUR HARD WORK, DEDICATION, AND YEARNING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN OUR COMMUNITY DOESN'T GO UNSEEN. WE ARE HONORED TO RECOGNIZE YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS, GIVEN THIS DAY MAY 8TH, WITH SINCERE GRATITUDE CHARTER BANKS, METRO COUNCIL, DISTRICT TWO, AND I'M GONNA PRESENT EACH ONE OF YOU YOUR CERTIFICATE. I HAVE OTHERS FOR THE OTHER STUDENTS. IT WAS IMPORTANT THAT I'M, YOU KNOW, THIS IS WHAT THE LAST WEEK OF SCHOOL FOR SOUTHERN, SO I NEEDED TO GET THIS IN FOR THEM TODAY. UH, I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU A CHANCE TO, UM, GIVE YOU A CHANCE TO RESPOND AND ALSO, UH, ASK, UH, THE, THE MAYOR ALSO JOIN US IN PICTURES BECAUSE AGAIN, THIS IS FUNDING, UM, FOR THE MOVE THE ART PROGRAM AS WELL. HOLD ON. OKAY. Y'ALL WANNA RESPOND? UM, I REALLY WANNA JUST THANK EVERYBODY, UH, MS. BANKS FOR THE OPPORTUNITY. UM, REALLY TAKING A LEAP OF FAITH WITH US AND JUST TRUSTING US, UH, TO GET THE PEOPLE TO COME OUT AND TO BRIDGE THE GAP [00:15:01] BETWEEN SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS AND THE COMMUNITY. 'CAUSE I THINK THAT'S KEY RIGHT NOW. UM, US YOUNG BLACK FOLKS, SEEING PEOPLE IN POWER THAT LOOK LIKE US ACHIEVE SOMETHING IS SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO SEE. AND THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO WORK TOWARDS. I'M TRYING TO INSPIRE THE YOUTH, WHETHER THAT'S ELEMENTARY, ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE SCHOOL, HIGH SCHOOL, TO WHERE THEY CAN SEE ME IN COLLEGE. YOU KNOW, ME AND MY MY BROTHER SINCE WE STARTED FRESHMAN YEAR, JUST SEEING US GROW AND SEEING US WORK. I JUST WANNA SHOW THEM SOMETHING THEY CAN LOOK FORWARD TO AND JUST LOOK UP TO. SO JUST THANK Y'ALL FOR EVERYTHING. AWESOME YOUNG MAN. THAT'S AWESOME. THAT'S AWESOME. THAT'S AWESOME. YEAH, YOU GOOD? CONGRATULATIONS YOUNG MAN. KEEP UP THE EXCELLENT WORK. THANK YOU. Y'ALL TAKE A PICTURE. CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN, AND GENTLEMEN. NEXT WE HAVE MAYOR, PRESIDENT SHARON, WESTERN GREEN METROPOLITAN COUNCIL MEMBER DARRYL HURST TO RECOGNIZE THE REYNOLDS MAGNA HIGH SCHOOL OUTDOOR TRACK TEAM, LOUISIANA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION. THREE, A OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD STATE CHAMPIONS. MAYOR, PRESIDENT. LOOK, THIS IS ALWAYS A PLEASURE WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THINGS THAT AREN'T HAPPENING THAT ARE POSITIVE, SOMETIMES IN NORTH BATON ROUGE, SOMETIMES WE DON'T SHED THE LIGHT ON THE THINGS THAT AREN'T HAPPENING. AND THE ONE THING THAT'S HAPPENING IS JOHNNY DUNCAN AT GLEN OAKS HIGH SCHOOL. YOU SAW THEM HERE EARLIER THIS YEAR. I ACTUALLY GOT A CALL FROM THE MAYOR'S OFFICE SAYING, HEY MAN, IS THIS A DUPLICATE? IT IS A DUPLICATE, IT'S A DUPLICATE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP. ONE INDOOR AND ONE OUTDOOR COACH JOHNNY, COACH JOHNNY DUNCAN. THIS IS ONLY A SECOND YEAR, AND HE IS CHANGING THE CULTURE OF SUPPORTS LEN OAKS, AND HE HAPPENS TO BE A MEMBER OF THE OMEGA SIDE FIVE FRATERNITY INCORPORATED. LEMME MAKE THAT CLEAR. SO I'M JUST EXCITED TO BE ABLE TO CELEBRATE THESE GENTLEMEN. I, I'VE SEEN THEM ON THE TRACK. THEY DO PHENOMENAL. THEY BEAT MY SON. SO, UH, , I TOLD JOHNNY THE ONLY TIME I'M CHEERING LO WHEN MY SON IS ON THE, UH, ON THE TRACK, MAN. BUT THEY DO A PHENOMENAL JOB. AND, UH, I GET TO BE WITH THE SECURITY DAD AND TALK SMACK IN THE STANDS KNOWING THAT Y'ALL ARE GONNA WIN BECAUSE HE'S DONE SUCH AN AMAZING, UH, JOB OF PREPARING YOU FOR NOT JUST A TRACK, BUT FOR LIFE. AND I WILL TELL YOU, THE CONVERSATIONS THAT WE HAVE IS NOT JUST ABOUT TRACK. IT'S ABOUT SHAPING, SHAPING YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN TO BE FUTURE LEADERS IN OUR COMMUNITY. SO I JUST THANK THEM FOR THAT. I THANK YOU. I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO THE MAYOR, AND AS SHE CALLS OUT THE CERTIFICATES, WE'LL PRESENT THEM AT THE SAME TIME. I JUST WANT TO ECHO WHAT THE COUNCILMAN SAID AND TO CERTAINLY CELEBRATE, UH, THE INCREDIBLE SUCCESS OF GLEN OAKS MAGNET HIGH SCHOOL OUTDOOR TRACK TEAM, UH, FOR YOUR REMARKABLE ACHIEVEMENT. UM, YOUR VICTORY CERTAINLY SPEAKS TO YOUR DEDICATION, HARD WORK, AND PERSEVERANCE. AND WE ARE EXTREMELY PROUD OF YOU IN THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE. SO ION DEONE, DARIUS WILLIAMS, CONGRATULATIONS. CATRON HARGROVE. OKAY, I'M GONNA GOOD THAT FROM THE COACH, CHRISTOPHER JACKSON. OKAY. DARIUS GROSS. CONGRATULATIONS. JAMARCUS YOUNG. EXCUSE ME. WE HAVE ANOTHER GROUP THAT'S GONNA BE, UH, COMING A LITTLE LATER. DEREK WASHINGTON. ETHAN WASHINGTON. YES. OKAY. OH, THEN I, DESMOND BAKER. CONGRATULATIONS. ARIAN JOHNSON, COACH JOHNNY DUNCAN. CONGRATULATIONS [00:20:03] COACH. ANTHONY JONES. HEY, IS, UH, MICHAEL NASH HERE, COACH? OKAY, SO THEY'RE ON THEIR WAY. WE, UM, I'LL CALL THEIR NAMES. UM, YES. MICHAEL NASH, JAMES GRAVES, LAKE KENDRICK ROBINSON. OKAY. BYRON WEBBER. WILLIE WILLIAMS, , JUST WONDERING TOY THOMAS DON TOLBERT AND THE PRINCIPAL. MR. RANDALL, IS HE COMING TODAY? OKAY, WELL, WE'RE GONNA GIVE HIM A SHOUT OUT TOO. TWO, WE'LL TAKE, GO AHEAD. I WOULD JUST SAY, MIGHT I SAY ONE THING? WE HAVE ERIC RDA, WHO WAS A MEMBER OF THE GREATEST FRATERNITY ON EARTH, OMEGA SOUTH FIVE FRATERNITY INCORPORATED. JOHNNY DUNCAN, WHO WAS A MEMBER OF OMEGA SOUTH FIVE FRATERNITY AND COACH ANTHONY JONES. RUDE TO THE GOOD BROTHER. ALRIGHT, Y'ALL A LITTLE BIT BACK UP A LITTLE BIT. KIND OF SQUEEZE. I CAN'T SEE COACH RIGHT HERE, AND I CAN'T SEE. THERE WE GO. ALL RIGHT, 1 3, 1 MORE ACTION. GOOD, DOCTOR, CONGRATULATIONS. LET'S GIVE THAT FOR, LET'S GIVE IT UP. ANOTHER ROUND OF APPLAUSE. CONGRATS, COACH. YES, SIR. CONGRATS GENTLEMEN. CONGRATULATIONS AT THIS TIME. UH, SO LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, TODAY, UH, FITTINGLY ENOUGH, IT WAS OMEGA SCI-FI DAY AT THE STATE CAPITOL. AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE SCREENS, UH, THERE IS A PICTURE OF ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE FRATERNITY WHO VISITED THE CAPITOL TODAY, SAT IN COMMITTEE MEETINGS, UH, MET WITH VARIOUS DIFFERENT LEGISLATORS IN AN EFFORT TO UNDERSTAND, UH, WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE STATE AS WELL AS CHAMPION. SOME OF THE INITIATIVES WE BELIEVE ARE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT FOR THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF OUR STATE AND OUR CITY. AND SO, HOW FITTING IT IS THAT TODAY IS ALSO A MEGA SAPPHIRE DAY AT THE METROPOLITAN COUNCIL. SO, WITH THAT BEING SAID, UH, NEXT UP WE'RE GONNA HAVE MAYOR, PRESIDENT SHARON WESTERN BROOM, MYSELF AND COUNCIL MEMBER DARRYL HIRST TO RECOGNIZE OMEGA SCI PHI FRATERNITY INCORPORATED, CAPITAL AREA ACCUSED DAY IN EAST PARISH PARISH, MAYOR, PRESIDENT. OKAY, I'M GONNA WAIT TO YOUR , I THINK. , YOU ARE A THIRD FLOOR IN A FRAGILE BUILDING. NOW A THIRD FLOOR IN A FRAGILE BUILDING. NOW [00:25:01] I'M JUST GOING WITH THE FLOW. I'LL, I'LL TEXT YOU AND TELL ASHLEY MAYOR HAS ASKED TO BY THE 31 31 FROM INTRODUCTIONS ASKED TO, IT'S A REPORT FROM DOTD AND I'M GONNA, SO I'LL I'LL MAKE THE MOTION. I WANT YOU TO KNOW IT'S, IT'S COMING. FRIENDLY. GOTCHA. MAYOR, PRESIDENT SHARON WESTERN ROOM TO RECOGNIZE MEGA PHI FRATERNITY INCORPORATED. MAYOR, PRESIDENT, THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UM, I THOUGHT THAT THE TWO OF YOU ALL WERE GOING TO BE JOINING ME WITH THIS. YEAH, YEAH. WE COMING ON DOWN. OKAY. WE COMING ON DOWN. SO, ABSOLUTELY WOULDN'T MISS IT. OKAY. IT IS MY GREAT HONOR TO PROCLAIM TODAY AS CAPITAL AREA TUESDAY IN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH, IN RECOGNITION OF THE OUTSTANDING WORK AND COMMITMENT OF OMEGA SCI-FI FRATERNITY IN OUR COMMUNITY. I WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE AND EXTEND HEARTFELT CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FOLLOWING CHAPTERS FOR THEIR SERVICE AND DEDICATION. DELTA TODD CHAPTER, LAMBDA KAPPA KAPPA LAMBDA, ALPHA BETA SIGMA AND THETA KAPPA. THESE CHAPTERS HAVE MADE SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS TO OUR CITY, DEMONSTRATING AN UNWAVERING COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITY SERVICE, LEADERSHIP AND DEVELOPMENT. AND THE EMPOWERMENT, OF COURSE, OF YOUNG MEN. THE MEMBERS OF OMEGA SCI-FI FRATERNITY INCORPORATED, HAVE WORKED TIRELESSLY TO ENRICH THE LIVES OF THOSE AROUND THEM. FROM MENTORING YOUNG PEOPLE PROVIDING SCHOLARSHIPS TO ENGAGING IN CHARITABLE WORK AND CIVIC INITIATIVES, THE IMPACT OF OMEGA SCI FI'S WORK IS FELT ACROSS BATON ROUGE, BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER AND FOSTERING A SENSE OF UNITY AND COLLABORATION. AND I WOULD ADD THAT, UM, THE OMEGAS ARE PART OF THE FABRIC OF CITY PARISH GOVERNMENT, UH, APART FROM OUR MAYOR, UM, PRO TEM AND OUR COUNCILMEN, UH, ONE OF MY, UH, CHERISHED, UH, SENIOR STAFF MEMBERS, BRIAN BERNARD, WHO'S OVER HR OMEGA, WHO I UNDERSTAND IS ALSO A STATE REPRESENTATIVE FOR OMEGAS, IS CERTAINLY, UH, ONE OF MY, UH, MOST CHERISHED EMPLOYEES. AND WE HAVE SOME IN SOME OTHER DEPARTMENTS. BUT I'M ALSO SAYING THAT BECAUSE I'M TRYING TO, UH, GET BRIAN TO RENEGE ON HIS RETIREMENT THIS COMING UP. SO EVERY CHANCE I CAN GET TO BUTTER HIM UP, I'M, I'M DO IT. BUT I REALLY APPRECIATE EVERYONE. AND SO I WANNA EXPRESS MY GRATITUDE TO OMEGA SCI-FI FRATERNITY AND ALL OF ITS MEMBERS FOR THEIR DEDICATION AND SERVICE. THANK YOU FOR BEING AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT IT MEANS TO LEAD WITH PURPOSE AND COMPASSION. AND I'M GOING TO, UM, DO YOU TWO GENTLEMEN WANT TO SAY A FEW WORDS AND THEN I HAVE SOME. OKAY. UH, THANK YOU, MAYOR, PRESIDENT. WE SINCERELY APPRECIATE IT. I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT IT HAS BEEN THE PROFOUND JOY OF MY LIFE NEXT TO, UH, HAVING CHILDREN AND BEING MARRIED. BEING A MEMBER OF THIS FRATERNITY HAS BEEN AN AWESOME AND AMAZING EXPERIENCE. AND, YOU KNOW, EVERY DAY, UH, IS CHRISTMAS AND EVERY NIGHT IS NEW YEAR'S EVE. AND, UH, YOU KNOW, OFTENTIMES, UH, MYSELF AND MY FRIENDS, UH, WE SPEND A GREAT DEAL OF TIME, UH, AT BIBLE STUDY JUST TALKING ABOUT HOW WE CAN, UH, IMPROVE, UH, UH, THE FABRIC OF THIS COMMUNITY. UH, AND, AND SO I AM ALWAYS THANKFUL TO BE EMPOWERED, UH, AND IN SUPPORT AND WITH, UH, MEMBERS AT CHURCH SERVICE AS WELL AS IN BIBLE STUDY. AND SO I'M VERY THANKFUL, UH, THAT WE ARE ABLE TO COME HERE, UH, TO CITY PARISH, UH, AND DO THIS WORK AND, AND, AND CONTINUE, UH, TO HELP BUILD THE FABRIC OF THIS COMMUNITY. SO, MAYOR ROOM, I WOULD SAY THAT WE ARE ALWAYS AVAILABLE, UH, SHOULD YOU, UH, NEED TO CALL ON THE MEMBERS OF THE FRATERNITY TO, TO LEAD PRAYER SERVICE, UH, TO LEAD ANY INITIATIVE THAT WE MAY HAVE IN THE CITY. SO, JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT. YES, MA'AM. AFTER, UH, BISHOP BISHOP COLE LEFT THE MIC, UM, THIS IS THE MOST AMAZING GROUP OF MEN IN AMERICA. UH, THE CARDINAL PRINCIPLES OF MANHOOD SCHOLARSHIP, PERSEVERANCE AND UPLIFT SIGNIFY WHO WE ARE, WHAT WE EMBODY, AND HOW WE SHAPE AND MOLD THE FUTURE OF AMERICA, NOT THE FUTURE OF LOUISIANA, NOT THE FUTURE OF BATON ROUGE, BUT THE FUTURE OF AMERICA. WHEN SHE TALKED ABOUT WHO WAS SITTING IN THE CROWD, WE HAVE STATE REPRESENTATIVES, WE HAVE LEADERSHIP IN OUR CITY PARISH, WE HAVE EMPLOYEES OF THE CITY PARISH. WE HAVE PEOPLE WHO FOCUS ON CHANGING VETERANS' LIVES AND UNDERSERVED, UH, PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY. ALL WAY ABOUT IS SERVICE. AND WHEN YOU SERVE OTHERS, YOU PUT YOURSELF SECOND AND YOU PUT THEM FIRST. [00:30:01] AND SO TODAY, WE JUST HONOR YOU. WE RECOGNIZE ALL THE CHAPTERS THAT ARE HERE TODAY, NOT JUST THE CAPITAL AREA CHAPTERS. WE HAVE BROTHERS HERE FROM ALL OVER THE STATE, BUT WE THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. THANK YOU FOR THE UNITY. AND WE JUST ASK THAT WE JUST COME UP HERE AS WE ANNOUNCE AND TAKE THIS PICTURE AS ONE OMEGA. THANK YOU. I'M GOING TO ASK FOR A REPRESENTATIVE OF, UH, DELTA TALK CHAPTER TO COME UP LAMBDA KAPPA KAPPA CHAPTER, LAMBDA ALPHA CHAPTER BETA SIGMA CHAPTER, THETA KAPPA CHAPTER. GOOD AFTERNOON. UM, ON BEHALF OF THE CAPITOL AREA, QS, UH, WE GREET YOU AND WE ARE THANKFUL THAT, UM, Y'ALL ARE HONORED US AND ARE BEHIND US WITH ALL OUR MISSIONS. AND JUST THERE, UM, MR. MAYOR PRO TEMP, UM, BROTHER HURST, MR. HURST, THANK Y'ALL, MAYOR. WELL, WE APPRECIATE IT. AND JUST TO SEE THAT OUR HARD WORK IS NOT GOING UNNOTICED. WE ARE THANKFUL WE ARE BLESSED. THANK YOU. ONE SECOND. . I'M READY. 1, 2, 3. HOLD ON. BOY. TWO, THREE. YEAH, WE CAN GET YOU TO PUSH BACK. THANK. THAT'S PERFECT. 1, 2, 3. [00:35:17] GERMAN BOB STARTED BIBLE STUDY STARTS AT SIX THIS EVENING OVER AT THE CHURCH ON FOSTER. I'LL SEE Y'ALL OVER THERE. I'LL SEE Y'ALL OVER THERE. OUR 14 MEMBER OF THE COUNCIL. MR. BRYCE. I KNOW, RIGHT BRYCE? YOU KNOW, I'M JUST GLAD TO BE HERE. LAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST, A CELEBRATION. CELEBRATION. NEXT, WE'RE GONNA HAVE METROPOLITAN COUNCIL MEMBER SHAUNA BANKS TO RECOGNIZE MS. LUCY VERDU. AM I SAYING THAT CORRECTLY? I WANNA SAY IT RIGHT. MS. LUCY VERDU CELEBRATING 100 YEARS. CONGRATULATIONS ON 100 YEARS AROUND THE SUN. CONGRATULATIONS. ALL RIGHT, ORDER IN THE COURT. ORDER IN THE COURT. MR. HALL, THOSE OF YOU HAVING SOME CONVERSATION. LET'S TAKING MY SIDE PLEASE. MR. HURST, LET'S TAKING MY SIDE. ALL RIGHT, EXCELLENT. ALL RIGHT. SO THIS, UM, IS LIKE A HUGE CELEBRATION, UH, NOT ONLY FOR THE VERDU FAMILY, BUT FOR ME IN PARTICULAR. UM, WHEN I GO BACK AND I WAS JUST THINKING OF ALL THE FAMILY TIES, UH, BETWEEN, UH, DR. VERDU AND MRS. VERDU, UH, DR. VERDU, UM, WHICH WAS MARRIED FOR ALMOST 60 YEARS, ALMOST 60 YEARS, UH, TO MRS. LUCY PITTMAN VERDU WAS THE DIRECTOR OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AT SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY. AND HE WAS, THEY DIDN'T HAVE LIKE A WHOLE LOT OF DIFFERENT TEACHERS. SO HE WAS THE TEACHER FOR MY FATHER WHO WAS IN INDUSTRIAL ARTS. UM, THIS WEEK IS ACTUALLY TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK, UH, MAY 6TH THROUGH THE 10TH. AND AT SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY LABORATORY SCHOOL, MY HOME EC HOME ECONOMICS TEACHER WAS MRS. LUCY VERDU TODAY, WELL, ON FRIDAY SHE TURNED 100 YEARS OLD. WHERE MOST PEOPLE, WHEN YOU HEAR THEM, WHAT IS, WHAT TEACHER INSPIRED YOU AND WHAT DID YOU LEARN? OFTENTIMES THEY WOULD TALK ABOUT THE ABCS AND THE ONE, TWO THREES, BUT MRS. VERDU, UH, CURRICULUM WAS BASED ON THE NEEDS OF THE STUDENT. WHAT DID SHE SAW THAT THEY NEED FOR EVERYDAY LIFE? IRONICALLY, WHAT SHE TAUGHT ME AND WHAT STUCK WITH ME ALL THESE DAYS WAS SOMETHING CALLED A FOUNDATION. AND IT WAS FOR WOMEN TO WEAR TO SMOOTH THEM OUT. SO IN MY MOTHER'S DAY, THEY WERE CALLED GIRDLES. IN OUR DAY, MRS. VERDU TAUGHT ALL THE GIRLS AT SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY LABORATORY SCHOOL TO WEAR FOUNDATION TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE LIFTED AND SEPARATED. AND I'LL MOVE ON TODAY. YOUNG PEOPLE CALL THEM SHAPERS, BUT MRS. DU WAS THAT KIND OF TEACHER. 35 YEARS AGO, I MOVED ACROSS THE STREET FROM MS. VERDU AND SHE WOULD, WHENEVER SHE WANTED TO SEE ME, SHE'D SAY, YOU SO BUSY. SO SHE WOULD WALK OUT HER FRONT DOOR TO MAKE SURE WHATEVER SHE WANTED TO SAY, OR GIVE ME A PIECE OF CAKE OR GIVE SOMETHING TO MY SON. THOSE ARE THE KIND OF NEIGHBORS THAT I HAD ON BOTH SIDE AND MS. VERDU, AND SHE'S THE ONLY ONE THAT IS STILL HERE TODAY. WE ALSO HAVE KITTENS IN THE HOUSE. BOTH OF HER CHILDREN THAT ARE PRESENT HERE. HER DAUGHTERS, LORETTA AND HER HUSBAND, CLARK. CLARK, THAT'S HIS NAME, Y'ALL. CLARK. CLARK AND NETTE AND HER HUSBAND, BENNY LABBRAND, WHO IS ALSO MY GRADUATE, UH, COLLEAGUE ARE HERE. AND THEY ARE ALUMNI OF THE SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY LABORATORY SCHOOL, ALONG WITH MYSELF AND COUNCILMAN HURST. [00:40:01] UM, THE CONNECTION OF THIS FAMILY GOES WAY BACK INTO THE FIFTIES. THIS IS WHERE, UH, DURING THAT TIME WHERE OUR SKYVILLE COMMUNITY GREW BECAUSE OF THE SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY FACULTY MOVING INTO OUR FIRST AND SECOND SUBDIVISION, UH, SOUTHERN HEIGHTS AND PARK PARK VISTA, WHICH IS WHERE, UM, I LIVE AS WELL. SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, I'LL BRING UP MY TEACHER, MRS. LUCY PITTMAN VERDU AND HER CHILDREN. AND Y'ALL GUESS WHAT? SHE WANTS TO MAKE REMARKS. OKAY. YOU GONNA TELL ME? THANK YOU. READY? I'M GOING. OKAY, MAMA. HOW DID YOU GET TO SCHOOL? TO READY STREET AND TO MCKINLEY HIGH SCHOOL? OH, UH, AFTER I FINISHED? UH HUH YOU RODE ON THE FERRY? FERRY. YOU RODE ON THE FERRY. OH, I HAD TO RIDE THE FERRY FROM THE, FROM THE BATON ROU SIDE TO THE FORT ALLEN SIDE. . OKAY. AND WHAT, UH, WHAT DID YOU TEACH IN SCHOOL? HUH? WHAT DID YOU TEACH? I TAUGHT AT THE, THE SCHOOL UHHUH . SO, WASHINGTON PARISH WASHINGTON, HUH? WASHINGTON PARISH. WASHINGTON PARISH, HUH? YOUR FIRST JOB. YOUR FIRST JOB AT WASHINGTON PARISH. WASHINGTON PARISH HIGH SCHOOL, RIGHT? MM-HMM, . AND WHERE DID YOU FINISH UP? UNIVERSITY. I FINISHED AT THE SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY LAB SCHOOL. BLESS. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME HERE. OH, IT'S A PLEASURE. YES. THANK YOU FOR COMING. KELLY, WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE THING TO DO? HUH? WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE THING TO DO? OH, I LIKE TO MAKE THESE KIND OF VISITS. THAT'S RIGHT. COOKING, DANCE. I LIKE TO DANCE AND, UH, OH, YES, I STILL LIKE TO DANCE. PUT THE MUSIC ON . THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING HER HERE TODAY. AND, UH, MY SISTER AND I ARE ALSO EDUCATORS, AND SO WE HAVE A FAMILY HISTORY OF EDUCATORS, AND I SEE FAMILIAR FACES. MA'AM I WORK WITH YES, MA'AM. DID A LITTLE MENTORING WITH AT ONE POINT. YES, MA'AM. AND, UH, AND I APPRECIATE YOU MY COUNCILMAN HERE, HIS SISTER, AND, UH, HIS MOTHER AND I WERE CLASSMATES, SO, AND HIS GRANDMOTHER WAS ONE OF MY MOTHER'S BEST FRIENDS. SO WE HAVE A LONG COLLECTION OF TIME. 100 YEARS IS A LONG TIME TO BE AROUND AND TO BE ABLE TO STAND HERE TODAY AND ADDRESS YOU IS SUCH A BLESSING TO ALL OF US. OH, THANK YOU. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. AND TO THE MAYOR WHO JOINED IN OUR FESTIVITIES ON FRIDAY, UH, IT WAS WONDERFUL. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING AND SHARING WITH US. AND, UH, AND WE ALSO HAVE HER, ONE OF HER FORMER MINISTERS HERE, REVEREND ROBERSON, RIGHT THERE, RIGHT BEHIND YOU. OH, OKAY. THANK YOU. WANTED TO SAY ONE LAST THING BEFORE YOU THANK GOD BLESS, GOD BLESS YOU, SAY GOD BLESS YOU ALL. SAY GOD BLESS YOU ALL. THANK GOD. HUH? SAY GOD BLESS. GOD BLESS ALL OF YOU. AMEN. YES, MA'AM. YES MA'AM. AND LOOK, MY HUSBAND DOESN'T REALLY KNOW I'M HERE BECAUSE I, I, UH, LEFT AND HE HAD, UH, I HAD GONE TO VISIT LORETTA AND I LEFT HIM AT HOME IN FORT ALLEN. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO CHAR BAPTIST CHURCH? YEAH. WELL, WHEN YOU GO TO CHAR TO THE, UH, I'M ON THE CORNER BEFORE THEM AND THEY ARE RIGHT BEHIND ME AND I I AM HEADED DOWN TO THE METHODIST CHURCH. . [00:45:58] HAPPY BIRTHDAY AGAIN, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, AND COUNCIL MEMBERS WILL BE IN RECESS FOR THE NEXT FEW MEMBERS UNTIL FOUR O'CLOCK. HOW ABOUT YOU GIVE YOU ONE? GOOD AFTERNOON, LADIES [CALL TO ORDER] AND GENTLEMEN. WELCOME TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED METROPOLITAN COUNCIL MEETING ON THIS WEDNESDAY, MAY 8TH, 2024 AT 4:00 PM I'D LIKE TO CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER ACTUALLY, DO WE HAVE A FORUM? YES, WE HAVE A FORUM AT THIS TIME. I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO WHO INVITED OUR GUESTS TODAY FOR TO LEAD US. AND I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO COUNCIL MEMBER, HER TO INTRODUCE OUR GUESTS WHO ARE GOING TO LEAD US IN THE INVOCATION, AS WELL AS THE PLEASURE OF LEAVING COUNCIL MEMBER HURST. UH, TODAY I HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO INTRODUCE TWO PEOPLE WHO ARE NEAR AND DEAR TO MY HEART. UH, ONE OF 'EM IS, UH, NO LONGER MY PASTOR, BUT HE'S STILL A SPIRITUAL ADVISOR TO ME, STANDS BY MESSIAH, MEETS WITH ME REGULARLY TO TELL ME WHEN I'M RIGHT AND WRONG AND GIVE ME ADVICE, UH, EARTHLY AND, AND, AND, UH, SPIRITUAL ADVICE. UM, HE'S ONE OF THE GREATEST MEN IN THE CREDIT UNION INDUSTRY. UM, SO AS MUCH AS HE LEADS A FLOCK, HE ALSO HAS A, A GOAL TO CREATE FINANCIAL LITERACY AND WEALTH IN UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES AND CREATED A BEST PRACTICE OF SOUTHWEST CREDIT UNION, WHERE HE LITERALLY TOOK HIS BANK OR TOOK HIS CREDIT UNION TO FOCUS ON THE, THE UNBANKABLE, UH, POPULATION AND GREW IT TO CREATE AND CHANGE MODELS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. UM, SO AS HE DOES A PRAYER TODAY, I WANT TO INTRODUCE MY, MY FRIEND PASTOR RONALDO HARDY, AND THEN ALSO WHO WILL DO THE PLEDGE IS OUR JUNIOR OFFICE MANAGER, OUR JUNIOR, UH, DISTRICT COUNCIL PERSON. IT IS, UH, IT IS, UH, JA. AND SHE IS GOING TO AMAZE YOU GUYS WITH HER VOCAL RENDITION OF THE, UH, PLEDGE OF RELIEF. I'M JOKING WITH YOU, MAN. JUST SAY THE PLEDGE GOING, COME ON, LET'S GO. LET US PRAY. FATHER, WE THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO BE GATHERED HERE THIS AFTERNOON. WE THANK YOU FOR THESE GREAT LEADERS ASSEMBLED HERE, UH, THAT HELP TO STEWARD OUR CITY AND OUR PARISH. GOD, I PRAY THAT YOU GIVE THEM WISDOM AND INSIGHT TO FOLLOW THE PATH THAT WILL CREATE THE GREATEST PROGRESS FOR US, AND THAT THEY WILL DO SO IN PEACE. AND JESUS NAME WE PRAY, AMEN. AMEN. I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU PASTOR HARDY. THANK YOU JOHN. AT THIS TIME, ITEM NUMBER ONE, [ADOPTION AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES] APPROVAL AND ADOPTION OF THE MINUTES OF THE METROPOLITAN COUNCIL MEETING OF APRIL 24TH, 2024 AND THE COUNCIL ADMINISTRATIVE TREASURY. IS THERE ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM COUNCIL MEMBERS? I'LL NOW ENTERTAIN A MOTION. SO MOVE BY COUNCIL MEMBER MAYOR, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER DUN, JR. ANY OBJECTIONS? ITEM ONE HAS BEEN INTRODUCED, I MEAN, EXCUSE ME, ITEM ONE HAS BEEN APPROVED. COUNCIL MEMBERS, I MEAN, [INTRODUCTIONS] ASHLEY, WOULD YOU READ THE INTRODUCTIONS? SECTION 2.12 INTRODUCTIONS NUMBER TWO, CONSIDERATION OF THE IEP APPLICATION FROM HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL INCORPORATED FOR A PROJECT LOCATED IN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH BY THE COUNCIL ADMINISTRATOR TREASURER. NUMBER THREE, AUTHORIZING SETTLEMENT OF THE MATTER ENTITLED TAMIKA PAGE INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF HER MINOR, MINOR CHILD, JA WARREN SCOTT VERSUS CITY PARISH OFFICER ANTHONY LEE IN THE AMOUNT OF $100,000 PLUS A COURT COST IN THE AMOUNT OF $439 AND 39 CENTS AND APPROPRIATING $100,439 AND 39 CENTS FOR SUCH PURPOSE BY THE PARISH ATTORNEY. NUMBER FOUR, AUTHORIZING SETTLEMENT OF THE MATTER ENTITLED LAUREN OLD BEAR VERSUS AARON SEN IN THE AMOUNT OF $71,000 THIS COURT COST THE AMOUNT OF $632 [00:50:01] AND 12 CENTS IN APPROPRIATING THAT SUM FOR SUCH PURPOSE BY THE PARISH ATTORNEY. NUMBER FIVE, AUTHORIZING SETTLEMENT OF THE MATTER ENTITLED CHERRY RHYMES VERSUS JAMARCUS HOLLINS IN THE AMOUNT OF $70,000 PLUS COURT COST THE AMOUNT OF $271 AND APPROPRIATING THAT SUM FOR SUCH PURPOSE BY THE PARISH ATTORNEY. NUMBER SIX, AUTHORIZING SETTLEMENT OF THE MATTER ENTITLED SEAN GOODMAN VERSUS CITY OF BATON ROUGE IN THE AMOUNT OF $170,000 PLUS COURT COSTS IN THE AMOUNT OF $346 AND APPROPRIATING THAT SUM FOR SUCH PURPOSE BY THE PARISH ATTORNEY DISAPPOINTED. NUMBER SEVEN, AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR PRESIDENT TO EXECUTE A PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH GRACE A BEARER CURTIS IN THE AMOUNT OF $142,800. OKAY TO PROVIDE AN EAST BE PARISH JAIL AND JUVENILE JUSTICE COMPLEX PROGRAM AND MASTER PLAN PROPOSAL AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS FROM GENERAL FUND FOR SAID PURPOSE BY THE MAYOR. PRESIDENT NUMBER EIGHT, AMEND THE 2024 PAY PLAN FOR THE CLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED CONTRACT. FIRE POLICE EMPLOYEES OF THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE PARISH EAST BATON ROUGE CHOSE TO MAKE THE FOLLOWING CHANGES EFFECTIVE. MAY 23RD, 2024 ADD NEW CLASSIFICATION COMPLETE STREETS PROJECT MANAGER PAY GRADE 2300 AND AMENDMENT TO THE CLASSIFIED AND UNCLASSIFIED APPENDIX ONE, AMEND ITEM 14, CRITICAL RETENTION HIRING OF ENGINEERING APPLICANTS AND EMPLOYEES SECTION A AND B ON ITEM 22, CRITICAL RETENTION HIRING OF ARCHITECT EMPLOYEES TO ADD THE NEW CLASSIFICATION OF COMPLETE STREETS PROJECT MANAGER BY TRANSPORTATION, DRAINAGE DIRECTOR AND HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR. NUMBER NINE, AMEND THE 2024 ALLOTMENT OF POSITIONS FOR THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE. SO AS TO CHANGE THE ALLOTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND DRAINAGE, TRANSPORTATION AND DRAINAGE ENGINEERING. DELETE ONE, PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER FOUR AND ADD ONE COMPLETE STREETS PROJECT MANAGER BY TRANSPORTATION AND DRAINAGE DIRECTOR AND HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR NUMBER 10, AUTHORIZING SETTLEMENT OF THE MATTER ENTITLED, UNFILTERED WITH KIERAN, LLC ET AL VERSUS THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE IN THE AMOUNT OF $30,000 BY THE PARISH ATTORNEY. NUMBER 11, AWARDING THE CONTRACT, CITY OF BATON ROUGE PARISH EAST BATON ROUGE CORRIDOR, CLEANING TO VENDORS JW CONTRACTORS GROUP, LLC ELITE WASTE AND CONSTRUCTION, LLC AND SUPERIOR CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT LLC AND AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF CONTRACTS FOR AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $450,000 BY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR. MISSION INTRODUCTIONS [CONDEMNATION INTRODUCTIONS] NUMBER 12, ELVIN STERLING AND NORMA STERLING. 1 8 2 4 4. MARTHA DRIVE, COUNCIL DISTRICT ONE KNOLL NUMBER 13, WILLIE MAINE, NETTERS ET AL. 6 3 8 5 CALLAHAN STREET, COUNCIL DISTRICT, UH, SIX DUNN JR. NUMBER 14, BATON ROUGE. MULTIFAMILY HOLDINGS, LLC 8 5 4 NORTH DONMORE AVENUE COUNCIL DISTRICT SIX DUNN JR. NUMBER 15, PAULA A HOLMES 6 1 5 6 AVENUE COUNCIL DISTRICT SEVEN COLE NUMBER 16, MARIE ZACHARY BOOKER 6 3 3 8 UNDERWOOD AVENUE COUNCIL DISTRICT SEVEN COLE NUMBER 17, THE ESTATE OF LARRY WORTHY JUNIOR. 1 4 8 3 2 OLD HAMMOND HIGHWAY DISTRICT EIGHT AMAROSA NUMBER 18, JAMES BRADLEY OAK, OAKLAND 1 5 7 6 O'NEILL LANG COUNCIL DISTRICT EIGHT, AMAROSA NUMBER 19, EDWARD MOORE AND CORDLESS MOORE 2 9 2 5 2 9. THOMAS H DELPE DRIVE, COUNCIL DISTRICT 10 COLEMAN NUMBER 20, SANDY DAVIS AND MALVINA WILSON. 6 3 5 MARCELLUS LANE COUNCIL DISTRICT 10, COLEMAN NUMBER 22, KENYATA WILLIS CLAYBURN 3 8 6 9 KEOKUK STREET COUNCIL DISTRICT 10 COLEMAN. ALL ITEMS THAT REQUIRE READING HAVE BEEN READ AND A MOTION IS IN ORDER. MOTION IS IN ORDER TO INTRODUCE ALL ITEMS WITH THE EXCEPTION. ITEM 31 AS REQUESTED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ATE, I'LL ENTERTAIN THAT MOTION NOW. SO MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ROCKER, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER DUN JR. ON ANY OBJECTIONS. ALL INTRODUCTIONS WITH THE EXCEPTION ITEM 31 HAVE BEEN APPROVED. WE NOW GO TO THE SEPARATE SHEET. [CONDEMNATIONS (Part 1 of 2)] COUNCIL MEMBER SIR CONDEMNATION, I'LL READ THE D-P-D-D-P-W RECOMMENDATIONS AS THEY WERE SENT TO US. THEY ARE TO PROCEED WITH ITEMS 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, AND 42. IS THERE ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON A CONDEMNATION? ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON A CONDEMNATION? COUNCIL MEMBERS? UH, ANY 90 DAYS ON 37TH? GOTCHA. ANYONE ELSE? DELETE NUMBER 42. ANYONE ELSE? I DON'T THINK SO. BUT YOU YOU WANT TO CHECK REAL QUICK GENERAL? I DON'T THINK YOU HAVE ANY. YOU DON'T? ALL RIGHT. I'LL READ THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND STATED CHANGE. THEY ARE TO PROCEED WITH ITEMS 39 40 AND 41. THEY ARE TO DEFER FOR 90 DAYS ITEMS 37 AND 38 AND DELETE ITEMS 42. I'LL NOW ENTERTAIN A MOTION, UH, FOR, UH, CONDEMNATION. SO MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER DUN JR. SECONDED BY THE CHAIR. ANY OBJECTIONS, CONDEMNATIONS HAVE BEEN APPROVED. CHIEF YOU READY? YES, SIR. ALL RIGHT. ITEM 43, [43. 24-00476] AMEND ORDINANCE 1 5 2, 0 1 AND ORDINANCE 1 7 9 9 6 WHICH CREATED A COMPETITIVE POSITION OF DEPUTY CHIEF OF POLICE, SO AS TO AMEND SECTION ONE THEREOF IN ORDER TO REMOVE THE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF POSITION EFFECTIVE MAY 9TH, 2024 BY CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER TO THE MAYOR, PRESIDENT AND HUMAN [00:55:01] RESOURCE DIRECTOR. IS ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM? WE NOW GO TO, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS MOTION BY COUNCIL MEMBER MO, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ROCKER AND THE OBJECTIONS ITEM 43 HAS BEEN APPROVED. WE NOW GO TO ITEM 44 [44. 24-00487] AND ACT THE ORDINANCE AND AUTHORIZE THE MAYOR PRESIDENT AGREEMENT GRANTING V FIBER FRANCHISE FOR INITIAL TERM OF 10 YEARS, PROVIDING THE RIGHT TO LAY, CONSTRUCT, LEASE, AND OPERATE FIBER OPTIC CABLE IN A PER OPPORTUNE, IF I GOT THAT RIGHT IN APPENDAGES TO IS FOR THE PROVISION OF THE SERVICE OF THE CITY PARISH ROLE IN THE OPERATION OF FIBER NETWORK BY THE CHAIR AND COUNCIL MEMBER GODDE, IS ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM? I SEE THERE ARE REPRESENTATIVES HERE. DID YOU WANNA SPEAK? UH, UH, MIKE GALLAGHER WITH VS. FIBER, JUST HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. ANYONE ELSE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM? WE NOW GO TO COUNCIL MEMBERS. GO AHEAD. COUNCIL MEMBER DUN JR UH, I JUST WANNA STATE FOR THE RECORD, HAPPY TO SEE YOU GUYS ENTER INTO THE MARKETPLACE. UM, SOME TWO WEEKS AGO I WAS, UH, REACHED OUT TO BY, UM, SOME OF RESIDENTS IN MY DISTRICT, UH, CONCERNED ABOUT FIBER, ACTIVE CABLE AND ACCESS TO THE INTERNET IN, IN THE UNDERSERVED AREA, AND FELT THAT THE CURRENT MARKETPLACE WASN'T MEETING THAT NEED. SO I'M GLAD TO SEE MORE COMPETITION ENTER INTO THE MARKET. GLAD TO SEE YOU GUYS WILLING TO STEP UP TO THE PLATE AND, AND DO THAT. AND I JUST THINK COMPETITION'S GONNA MAKE THE OVERALL SERVICE BETTER AND GIVE, UH, RESIDENTS MORE OPTIONS. SO HAPPY TO SEE YOU GUYS HERE. THANK YOU. WOULD YOU LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION? COUNCIL MEMBER DUN JR. SURE. MOTION TO APPROVE. SECONDED BY COUNCILOR MOROCCO. COUNCIL MEMBER MOCH. UH, ANYWAY, WELCOME TO THE MARKET, BUT, UH, ARE Y'ALL UM, ON EXISTING FIBER OR ARE Y'ALL LAYING YOUR OWN FIBER OR NO, Y'ALL, WE'LL BE BUILDING, WE'LL BE BUILDING ALL OUR OWN NEW FIBER. OKAY. SO ALL OF Y'ALL'S LINES BE, WILL BE FRESH PUT DOWN TO ANY OF Y'ALL CUSTOMERS. YES SIR. OKAY, THANK YOU. THERE HAS BEEN A MOTION BY COUNCIL MEMBER DUN JR. SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER MOROCCO. ANY OBJECTIONS ITEM HAS BEEN APPROVED. CONGRATULATIONS. WELCOME TO THE MARKET. THANK YOU. WE NOW COUNCIL MEMBERS IF YOU WOULD, I SEE, UH, POINT OF PERSON PRIVILEGE. I SEE OUR FORMER, UH, STATE SUPERINTENDENT, UH, OF STATE POLICE, LAMAR DAVIS IS HERE. I WANTED TO TAKE THIS MOMENT TO RECOGNIZE YOU AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE. AS WE KNOW, YOU JUST, UH, RETIRED. HOW'S RETIRED LIFE? UH, BUT I KNOW YOU ARE HERE ON THE ITEM AND WE'RE GONNA TAKE THAT NOW. SO ITEM 64, [64. 24-00494] COUNCIL MEMBERS AUTHORIZED THE MAYOR, PRESIDENT SHARON WESTERN BRO, AUTHORIZE THE CONTRACT AGREEMENT ON BEHALF OF THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE IN THE OFFICE OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND BATON ROUGE CRIMINAL LAW ENFORCEMENT JUSTICE FOUNDATION FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE YOUTH PUBLIC FACILITY FOR SOME NOT TO EXCEED $750,000 BY THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT. IS THERE ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM? WE NOW GO TO COUNCIL MOTION TO APPROVE BY COUNCIL MEMBER COLEMAN SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER HURST. ANY OBJECTIONS? ITEM 64, UH, HAS BEEN APPROVED. LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU IN DISTRICT SEVEN. LOOK FORWARD TO IT. ALL RIGHT, NOW WE GO BACK TO ITEM 45. [45. 24-00478] COUNCIL MEMBER AMEND THE 2024 PAY PLAN FOR THE CLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED NON-CLASSIFIED CONTRACT FIRE POLICE EMPLOYEE OF THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE, PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE ADOPT ORDER AS 1 9 0 8 3. SO AS TO MAKE THE FOLLOWING CHANGES EFFECTIVE. MAY 9TH, 2024 AT NEW CLASSIFICATION, DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL PROJECT BY PARISH ATTORNEY AND HUMAN SERVICES DIRECTOR. DOES ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM COUNCIL MEMBER? YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED ONE EMAIL, COMMENT AND OPPOSITION TO ITEM 45. WE NOW GO TO COUNCIL MEMBERS ON ITEM 45 IS THE MOTION TO APPROVE ITEM 45. SO MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ROCKER. SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER HUDSON, ARE THERE ANY OBJECTIONS? WE NOW IT'S BEEN APPROVED. WE NOW GO TO ITEM 46, [46. 24-00479] AMENDED 2024. ALLOW OF POSITION FOR THE BATON ROU PARISH ABUSE BANNER ROU IS 1 9 0 8 4. SO AS THE CHANGE OF ALLOTMENTS OF DEVELOPMENT, PARISH ATTORNEY AND POLICE EFFECTIVE, UH, MAY 9TH, 2024. DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION, CODE ENFORCEMENT MANAGER, DEVELOPMENT OF NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION, DELETE, SENIOR CLERICAL SPECIALIST JOB, UH, PARISH ATTORNEY ADMINISTRATION, DELETE ASSISTANT PARISH ATTORNEY AND ADD DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL PROJECTS. DEPUTY CHIEF OF POLICE, CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER TO THE MAYOR, PRESIDENT AND HUMAN SERVICES DIRECTOR BY THE MAYOR, PRESIDENT AND HUMAN SERVICES DIRECTOR. IS ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ITEM 46? COUNCIL MEMBERS? YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED ONE EMAIL, COMMENT AND OPPOSITION TO ITEM 46. SO MOVED BY COUNCILMAN ROCK WAS SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER DUN, JR. ANY OBJECTIONS? ITEM 46 HAS BEEN APPROVED. ITEM 47 AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR, [47. 24-00433] PRESIDENT SHARON WESTERN ROME AUTHORIZING AGREEMENT ON BEHALF OF THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE PARISH, EAST BATON ROUGE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT IN THE STAR CORPORATION BY $50,000 FOR A SUM NOT TO EXCEED $350,000 BY MAYOR'S OFFICE OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT. IS ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ITEM 47 WHEN I WOULD TO COUNCIL MEMBERS, IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE ITEM 47. SO MOVED BY THE CHAIR. IS THERE SECOND ON ITEM 47. [01:00:02] OH. SO SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN HUDSON. ANY OBJECTIONS? ITEM 47 HAS BEEN APPROVED WHEN I WROTE ITEM 48 [48. 24-00436] AUTHORIZING AUTHORIZATION FOR THE MAYOR, PRESIDENT, AND CHAIRMAN OF THE AIRPORT COMMIT AND EXECUTED PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACT WHERE HE LOADS ENVIRONMENTAL LLC TO PREPARE PHASE TWO ENVIRONMENTAL STUDY ON SIX SITES THAT WILL BE ACQUIRED IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE RUNWAY 13 DASH 31 R-S-A-R-P-Z IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $469,684 AND 28 CENTS. IS ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ITEM 48? WE NOW GO TO COUNCIL MEMBER'S MOTION BY COUNCIL MEMBER DUN JR. SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ROCK. ARE THERE ANY OBJECTIONS? WE NOW GO TO COUNCIL ITEM 49 [49. 24-00467] AUTHORIZING THE FINANCE DIRECTOR TO REFUND AN ERRONEOUS RE MAINTENANCE OF SALES TAX TO THE TEXAS DIGESTIVE DISEASE CONSULTANTS P-A-L-L-C IN THE AMOUNT OF $250,940 AND 99 CENTS FOR REMITTING SALE TAX ON EXEMPT PRESCRIPTION DRUGS ADMINISTERED IN A DOCTOR'S OFFICE AND PAID OR ACCRUED SALES TAX. INCORRECT RATE FOR MEDICAL DEVICES BY FINANCE DIRECTOR. IS ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? WE NOW GO TO COUNCIL MEMBERS. IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE ITEM 49? SO MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER GODDE. SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER BARACK. ANY OBJECTIONS? ITEM 49 HAS BEEN APPROVED. ITEM 50, AUTHORIZED [50. 24-00470] MAYOR PRESIDENT TO EXECUTE. AMEND NUMBER FOUR TO THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICE AGREEMENT WITH CB MORGAN EQUIPMENT AND SERVICES LLC TO INCREASE THE CONTRACT AMOUNT BY $100,000 BY THE DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR. IS ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM? WE NOW GO TO COUNCIL MEMBERS. IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE? SO MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER GDAY. SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER HUDSON. ANY OBJECTIONS? ITEM 50 AS AN APPROVE. ITEM 51. [51. 24-00473] AUTHORIZED THE MAYOR PRESIDENT AS ISSUED THE CONTRACT WITH ROBERT AND APPRAISAL SERVICES L LZ TO PROVIDE APPRAISAL REVIEW SERVICES FOR THE COLLEGE DRIVE PERKIN GROVE I 10. PROJECT IN THE AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $186,235 BY TRANSPORTATION AND DRAINAGE DIRECTOR. IS ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM WE'RE NOT WITH TO COUNCIL MEMBERS? IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE? SO MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER HUDSON. SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER BARAKA. ANY OBJECTIONS? WE GO NOW TO ITEM 52, [52. 24-00474] AUTHORIZING SETTLEMENT IN THE MATTER OF PETER DOMINGO, THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE IN AN AMOUNT OF 14,500 PLUS COURT COST IN THE AMOUNT OF $256 FOR A TOTAL AMOUNT OF $14,756 BY THE PARISH ATTORNEY. IS THERE ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM? WE NOW GO TO COUNCIL. SO MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER HU EXCUSE ME, BY COUNCIL MEMBER ROCK OR SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER HUDSON. ANY OBJECTIONS? ITEM 52 HAS BEEN APPROVED. ITEM 53, AUTHORIZED [53. 24-00481 (Part 1 of 2)] SETTLEMENT IN THE MATTER ENTITLED JOSEPH MICHAEL WINCHESTER IN THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE IN THE AMOUNT OF $75,000 PLUS COURT COST IN THE AMOUNT OF $699 AND 69 CENTS FOR A TOTAL AMOUNT OF $75,699 AND 69 CENTS AND APPROPRIATING $75,699 69 CENTS BY THE PARISH ATTORNEY. IS ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ITEM WHEN I GO TO COUNCIL MEMBERS? IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE? SO MOVE BY THE CHAIR. IS THERE A SECOND? YES. SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER COLEMAN. ANY OBJECTIONS? I SO WE HAVE TWO OBJECTIONS. LET'S, LET'S VOTE ON THE MACHINES COUNCIL MEMBERS. WE'RE VOTING ON ITEM. WE'RE VOTING ON ITEM 53 53. COUNCIL MEMBER GOEY. LET'S GO IN EXEC. UH, I'LL, I'LL MOVE TO GO IN EXEC SO WE CAN DISCUSS CONCERNS. UM, CAN YOU STATE THE YEAH. REASON FOR GOING INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION AND YOUR MOTION AS, AS SOON AS YOU TELL ME WHAT TO STATE FOR THE REASON TO GO IN EXECUTIVE SESSION. UM, SO IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE TO MAKE A MOTION, UM, TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR SOMETHING ALONG THE LINES OF, UM, BECAUSE YOU MIGHT NEED TO DISCUSS THINGS THAT COULD, UM, BE DETRIMENTAL TO THE CITY PARISH'S BARGAINING POSITION AND SETTLEMENT NEGOTIATIONS. YES, THERE ARE ITEMS THAT COULD BE DETRIMENTAL TO OUR BARGAINING POSITION. SO I'D LIKE TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION. THERE'S, THANK YOU ASHLEY. MOTION TO GO IN EXECUTIVE SESSION BY COUNCIL MAG GODDE. SECONDED BY THE CHAIR. ANY OBJECTIONS? WE'LL ADJOURN TO EXECUTIVE SESSION. YEAH, LET'S COME BACK TO IT. MAKE A MOTION TO LEAD TO THE END OF THE MEETING. I MEAN TO DEFER TO THE END OF THE MEETING. MAKE A MOTION TO DEFER TO THE END OF THE MEETING. SECONDED BY COUNCILOR MAG GODDE. ANY OBJECTIONS? WE'LL COME BACK TO THAT ONE. WE'LL NOW GO TO ITEM 54, [54. 24-00482] AUTHORIZING MAYOR. PRESENT ENTRY. A PROFESSIONAL SERVICE AGREEMENT WITH SOMEONE ALWAYS CARES. FOUNDATION IN THE AMOUNT OF $125,000 TO IMPLEMENT PROGRAMMING GEARED TOWARD REDUCING DELINQUENCY AND RECIDIVISM BY MAYOR'S OFFICE BETWEEN JUST RECIDIVISM AND JUSTICE. INVOLVED YOUTH AGE 11 THROUGH 17 BY THE MAYOR'S OFFICE. IS THERE ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM? WE NOW GO TO COUNCIL MEMBERS. IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE? SO MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER COLEMAN. SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER GODA. ANY OBJECTIONS? WE NOW GO TO ITEM 55. [55. 24-00484] AUTHORIZE THE MAYOR PRESIDENT TO EXECUTE SUPPLEMENT AGREEMENT NUMBER ONE TO A CONTRACT WITH AGNES CHAMBERS REALTY TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF ASSIGNED PARCELS TO EXISTING MOVE BEYOND ENHANCEMENT PROJECT MAC HOST ROAD. BUT WE IN THE 19 PRIDE PORT HUDSON IN THE AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $27,000 BY THE TRANSPORTATION AND DRAINAGE DIRECTOR. IS [01:05:01] ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM? WE NOW GO TO COUNCIL MEMBERS. IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE? SO MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER COLEMAN. SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER GODA. ANY OBJECTIONS? WE NOW GO TO ITEM 56. AUTHORIZED [56. 24-00485] THE MAYOR PRESIDENT TO EXECUTE SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT NUMBER ONE TO A CONTRACT WITH RUBER THOMAS REALTOR INCORPORATED TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF ASSIGNED PARCEL TO EXISTING MOVE BE ENHANCEMENT PROJECT S ROAD, LOUISIANA 19TH PRIDE PORT HUDSON IN THE AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $30,500 BY TRANSPORTATION AND DRAINAGE DIRECTORS. ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM? WE NOW GO TO COUNCIL MEMBER. SO MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER COLEMAN SETTING BY COUNCIL MEMBER MOROCCO. ANY OBJECTIONS? WE NOW GO TO ITEM 57. [57. 24-00486] AUTHORIZE THE MAYOR PRESIDENT TO EXECUTE A CONTRACT PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING SERVICES WITH T BAKER SMITH, LLC FOR SERVICES ASSOCIATED MOVE BEYOND ENHANCEMENT PROJECT, HOLLAND ROAD TO PICO LANE. AND THE AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $757,401 ON 65 CENTS. DOES ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM WE NOW GO TO? WE NOW GO TO COUNCIL MEMBERS IS IN MOTION TO APPROVE BY COUNCILMAN HUNT. SECOND BY COUNCIL MEMBER DUNGY OBJECTIONS. WE NOW GO TO ITEM 58, [58. 24-00488] AUTHORIZE THE MAYOR PRESENT, EXECUTE A SUPPLEMENT AGREEMENT NUMBER TWO TO A CONTRACT WITH WTAA ENGINEERS FOR ADDITIONAL CONSTRUCTION INSPECTION SERVICE ASSOCIATED WITH MOVE BEYOND HALF FROM PROJECT AMAL GARDEN, PEDESTRIAN IMPROVEMENTS AND THE AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $431,000 BY TRANSPORTATION AND DRAINAGE DIRECTORS. ANYONE HERE WISHING SPEAK ON THE ITEM. COUNCIL MEMBERS YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED ONE EMAIL, COMMENT AND OPPOSITION TO ITEM 58. WE NOW GO TO COUNCIL MEMBERS. MOTION TO APPROVE BY COUNCIL MEMBER ROCK. SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER DUN, JR. ANY OBJECTIONS? ITEM 58 HAS BEEN APPROVED. WE NOW GO TO ITEM 59. AUTHORIZED [59. 24-00489] THE MAYOR, PRESIDENT SHARON WAS BRU NEXT TO YOU THE NO COST CONTRACT EXTENSION ON BEHALF OF THE CITY PARISH, CITY OF BATON ROUGE IN THE PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE MAYOR, OFFICE OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND VOLUNTEERS OF AMERICA FOR A PERIOD OF JANUARY 1ST, 2023 THROUGH AUGUST 31ST, 2024. AND AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF ALL DOCUMENTS IN CONNECTION THEREWITH BY THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT. IS ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM? WE'RE NOW WITH THE COUNCIL MEMBERS. UH, IS THERE A MOTION ON? SO MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ADAMS, SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN ON ITEM 59. ANY OBJECTIONS? WE GO TO ITEM [60. 24-00490] 60, AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR, PRESIDENT SHARON. WE EXECUTE AT NO COST CONTRACT EXTENSION ON BEHALF OF THE CITY OF BATTER PARISH EAST BATTER MAYOR'S OFFICE OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, AN HOUR LADY OF LAKE FOR A PERIOD OF JANUARY 1ST, 2023 TO AUGUST 31ST, 23RD, 24. AND AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF ALL DOCUMENTS IN CONNECTION THEREWITH BY THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT. IS ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM? WE'RE NOW WITH COUNCIL MEMBER'S. MOTION TO APPROVE BY COUNCIL MEMBER ADAMS. SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER HURST. ARE THERE ANY OBJECTIONS? ITEM 50. ITEM 60 HAS BEEN APPROVED. WE GO NOW TO 61 [61. 24-00491] AUTHORIZING MAYOR, PRESIDENT TO ENTER INTO A PROFESSIONAL SERVICE AGREEMENT WITH NEWER COMPANY IN THE AMOUNT OF $75,000 TO IMPLEMENT AND ACTIVATE A SAFE, HOPEFUL AND HEALTHY BR PEACE PIT FOR THE 15 WEEK SUMMER OF HOPE SERIES IN HIGH RISK AND AT RISK NEIGHBORHOODS FUNDED FROM THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT DEDICATED TO COMBATING COMMUNITY VIOLENCE BY THE MAYOR'S OFFICE. IS THERE ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ITEM 61? WE NOW GO TO COUNCIL MEMBER. SO MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER COLEMAN. SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER DUN JR. ARE THERE ANY OBJECTIONS? WE NOW GO TO ITEM 62. THERE [62. 24-00492] HAS BEEN A REQUEST OF DEFER THIS ITEM TO THE APRIL 22ND MEETING AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR, PRESIDENT SHARON TO AUTHORIZE THE CONTRACT ON BEHALF OF CITY OF BATON ROUGE, PARISH OF EAST BATON ROU MAYOR'S OFFICE OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT IN ST. VINCENT DE PAUL FOR CONSTRUCTION OF A NON CONGREGATE HOMELESS SHELTER FOR SOME NOT TO EXCEED $1 MILLION BY THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT. IS ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM? WE GO TO COUNCIL MEMBERS AGAIN. THERE'S BEEN A, A REQUEST TO DEFER THIS ITEM TO APRIL 22ND. SO JUNE 22ND. THIS SAYS APRIL 22ND. OH, CAN'T BE APRIL. APRIL'S ALREADY PASSED. MAY 22ND. MM-HMM, . ALL RIGHT. SO MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER. I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT'S THE DEPARTMENT I DO KNOW. WHERE'S WHO IS, I'M SORRY. I APOLOGIZE. MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER DUN JR. SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER GOEY. ANY OBJECTION? THAT ITEM HAS BEEN DEFERRED. ITEM 63 [63. 24-00493] AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR, PRESIDENT SHARON WESTERN BROOM TO AUTHORIZE A CONTRACT AGREEMENT ON BEHALF OF THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE AND THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FOR FRONT YARD BIKES FOR SOME NOT TO EXCEED $450,000 BY MAYOR'S OFFICE OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT. IS ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM? SO MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER COLEMAN. SECONDED BY THE CHAIR. ANY OBJECTIONS? WE NOW GO TO ADMINISTRATIVE [ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS] MATTERS. COUNCIL MEMBERS ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS. A AUTHORIZATION OF THE MAYOR, PRESIDENT, AND CHAIRMAN OF THE AIRPORT COMMISSION TO CONSENT TO AN ASSIGNMENT OF LEASE AGREEMENT BETWEEN BTR JET CENTER, LLC AND BTR HANGAR PROPERTIES. LLC TO CONSENT TO MORTGAGE LEASEHOLD AGREEMENT. THE REASON THE ITEM IS BEING REQUESTED AS ADMINISTRATIVE MATTER INITIAL DEADLINE FOR AGENDA HAD PASSED THE MOTIONAL WAY. THE [01:10:01] RULES NOT SO MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER DUNN JR. SECONDED BY THE CHAIR. UH, ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE MOTIONAL WAY OF THE RULES? I NEED, UH, ANY OBJECTION TO THE MOTIONAL WAY OF THE RULES? NOW WE NEED A MOTION TO INTRODUCE BY COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, DUN JUNIOR. SECONDED BY THE CHAIR. ANY OBJECTIONS TO INTRODUCE THE ITEM? ITEM A HAS BEEN INTRODUCED. WE NOW LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, GO TO ITEM 65, [65. 24-00527] WHICH IS AN APPOINTMENT GAS UTILITY DISTRICT NUMBER ONE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS CONSIDERATION OF REAPPOINTING AND REPLACING CAROL CAMPBELL. THIS IS A FIVE YEAR TERM. CURRENT BALLOT IS CAROL CAMPBELL WHO REQUESTED REAPPOINTMENT. IS ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM? MOTION? ANYONE? MOTION BY COUNCIL MEMBER BANKS. SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER MOLTZ. CONGRATULATIONS MS. CAMPBELL. YOU'VE BEEN APPOINTED. WE NOW GO TO ITEM 66 [66. 24-00537] LIBRARY BOARD OF CONTROL CONSIDERATION OF REPLACING REAPPOINTING NICOLE ALMOND TON, WHOSE TERM EXPIRES ON MAY 1ST ON MAY 14TH, 2024. THIS IS A FOUR YEAR TERM. UH, THE CURRENT BALLOT IS GARRETT DAMP AND NICOLE MOND LYON, UH, CAN WE OFFER NAMES? OKAY. I I WON'T OFF HER NAME. NICOLE IS GOOD. ALL MOTION. MOTION TO APPROVE. UH, NICOLE LISEN. ADD A MOTION TO APPROVE GARRETT FIRST. THERE'S A SECOND BY LAURIE ADAMS. YOU'D LIKE TO MAKE A SUBSTITUTE MOTION? UH, WE COULD JUST DO THE BALLOT. YEAH, LET'S DO THE BALLOT. 'CAUSE I MEAN, SHE SERVED A LONG TIME AND SHE'S GOOD. WE'LL DO THE BALLOT. ALL RIGHT. TRADITIONALLY WE DON'T REMOVE PEOPLE. IS THERE ANYONE HERE THAT IS GARY DAMP HERE OR NICOLE ALMOND LYON HERE. SAY IT AGAIN. YEAH. GARY DESHAW. OKAY. YES, SIR. YEAH, GARY IS HERE. WE DO THAT. COUNCIL MEMBER ADAMS. GARRETT, WOULD YOU LIKE TO COME UP AND SAY A FEW WORDS? AND I'VE ALSO GOT A, A QUESTION AFTER HE FINISHES. UM, HOW ARE Y'ALL DOING? MY NAME'S GARRETT DAMP. I LIVE AT 8 3 1 2 THURMAN DRIVE, SO RIGHT OUTSIDE THE TERRA UM, NEIGHBORHOOD. I'M A YOUNG HOMEOWNER WITH TWO CHILDREN AND A WIFE THAT LOVED THE LIBRARY. UM, MORE RECENTLY, FOR ABOUT FIVE OR SIX YEARS, THE LIBRARY'S BEEN OUR SUNDAY ROUTINE, OUR THURSDAY ROUTINE. ANYTIME WE NEED TO GET THE CHILDREN, UM, SOME TYPE OF ACTIVITY, WE GO TO THE LIBRARY. UM, MORE RECENTLY WITH, UM, THE LIBRARY BEING IN THE NEWS, WHETHER IT'S LOUISIANA, MISSISSIPPI, IT DOESN'T MATTER WHERE. UM, I'VE TAKEN A MORE ACTIVE APPROACH. I'VE ATTENDED BOARD MEETINGS. I'VE GONE TO THE STATE CAPITOL. UM, I'VE SAT IN COMMITTEE MEETINGS. I'VE MET WITH, UM, THE DIRECT, THE NEW DIRECTOR, MS. KATRINA STOKES. I MET WITH THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, MARY STEIN, AND I JUST ENJOY THOSE PEOPLE. AND I THOUGHT BY GOING THROUGH MY RESEARCH, LOOKING AT THE QUALIFICATIONS OF A BOARD MEMBER, I APPLIED THE LAST TIME, UM, THERE WAS AN OPENING. I'VE APPLIED THIS TIME I DID NOT KNOW THERE WAS A REAPPLICATION, BUT I STILL THINK I'M EXTREMELY QUALIFIED. I MEET ALL OF THE EIGHT QUALIFICATIONS THAT ARE ON THE BATON ROUGE PARISH LIBRARY'S WEBSITE, AND I REALLY WOULD ENJOY, UM, SERVING OUR COMMUNITY, UM, THROUGH THE LIBRARY. SO I WOULD REALLY BE GRACIOUS IF I WAS APPOINTED TO THE LIBRARY BOARD. THANK YOU. ANY QUESTION I NEED TO DO? THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. MEMBER DUN JR. OH, CAN I, I I WAS I NEED GO AHEAD. I, SORRY. MY TURN. UM, SO, UM, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT NICOLE ALMAN, LAREN IS CURRENTLY SERVING ON THE, THE STATE OF LOUISIANA BOARD OF LIBRARY COMMISSIONERS. MM-HMM. . UM, AND SO WOULD SHE BE, THAT WOULD BE TWO PUBLIC BOARDS? IS THAT, ARE YOU, CAN SHE SERVE ON STATE? ARE YOU BRINGING SOME LITIGATION OR JUST I'M NOT BRINGING LITIGATION. I'M ASKING A QUESTION ABOUT I THINK THAT'S THE APPROPRIATE PLACE FOR THAT. I'M RIGHT. OH, BUT NO, BUT NO, I MEAN, YOU CAN READ THE LITIGATION OVER THAT. NO THINGS THAT, THAT'S, WELL, I THINK IT'S UP TO US. I MEAN, WE CAN MAKE THAT JUDGMENT CALL AS THE GOVERNING BODY GO. YOU ASKED THE QUESTION. THERE'S NO PROHIBITION THAT I'M AWARE OF. OF, OKAY, SO THIS, SO THE DUAL THE DUAL APPOINTMENT, I'M NOT AWARE OF ANYTHING STATUTE WOULD I I'M NOT AWARE OF. UH, WE HAVE STARTED, UM, SERVING ON TWO DIFFERENT BOARDS IS NOT DUAL OFFICE HOLDING, BUT DUAL APPOINT APPOINTMENT. SO, NO. SO WHY DID WE DO WHAT WE DID BEFORE ? THAT'S WHY WE, I THINK THAT'S A QUESTION FOR Y'ALL, BUT THERE WELL, SO I, I'M GONNA MOVE THAT WE DEFER THIS VOTE AND GET CLARITY. NO. ON, UM, ON, THAT'S YOUR MOTION TO DEFER. YEAH. IS THERE A SECOND? FOR HOW LONG? FOR HOW LONG? WHO SECOND? HOW LONG DO YOU WANNA DEFER? UM, TWO WEEKS. THERE'S A MOTION TO DEFER FOR TWO WEEKS. SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER MLK. UH, WE'LL GO TO COUNCIL MEMBER DUN JR. AT THIS TIME. THANK YOU. IS THERE, UH, SO THERE'S A MOTION AND A SUBSTITUTE MOTION. THERE'S JUST A MOTION RIGHT NOW. OKAY. WELL, I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A SUBSTITUTE MOTION TO APPROVE OR APPOINT NICOLE. [01:15:01] UH, SHE'S NOT HERE. UH, NICOLE'S BEEN SERVING ON THIS BOARD FOR A WHILE. I'M DOING A GREAT JOB. ALL THE STUFF THE GENTLEMAN SAID, SHE QUALIFIES AS WELL. UM, SHE'S BEEN AN ACT, PLAYED AN ACTIVE ROLE IN THIS COMMUNITY, AND I SEE NO NEED TO REPLACE HER. SO IF THERE'S NO SUBSTITUTE MOTION, I'LL MAKE A SUBSTITUTE MOTION TO APPOINT NICOLE. SUBSTITUTE MOTION TO APPOINT NICOLE BY COUNCIL MEMBER DUN JR. SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER BANKS. UH, WE'LL VOTE ON A SUBSTITUTE MOTION. FIRST. COUNCIL MEMBER, DO HURS. HEY, UH, I'M NEW TO THE BOARD. UM, AND ONE THING THAT I WILL SAY IS THAT, YOU KNOW, ONE THING WE TALKED ABOUT IS BEING LATE. YEAH. WE, SOMETIMES WE COME LATE TO THE COUNCIL MEETING. IT ALL DEPENDS ON WHAT YOUR JOB IS, RIGHT? SO SHOWING UP 15 MINUTES LATE DOESN'T MAKE YOU A BAD BOARD MEMBER. JUST SAYS THAT YOU HAVE OTHER PRIORITIES IN LIFE THAT DON'T ALLOW YOU TO COME TO A MEETING. I DID MEET THIS GENTLEMAN AT THE LAST MEETING, GAVE SOME GREAT IDEAS, UM, HAS A FAMILY, UM, WANTS TO TALK. I REMEMBER TALKING ABOUT STAYING IN BATON ROUGE AND, AND POSSIBLY MOVING IF THINGS DON'T CHANGE HERE. SO, UH, ONE THING I WILL SAY IS THAT NICOLE ALSO GREAT, GAVE SOME GREAT IDEAS, AND ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS SHE TALKED ABOUT IS, I KNOW HOW CAN WE BE MORE ACTIVE, CREATE COMMITTEES, DO OTHER THINGS TO GET MORE INVOLVED IN THE LIBRARY SYSTEM, TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PUBLIC HAS MORE ACCESS, TO GET INVOLVED IN THE SHAPE AND SEE WHAT THEY WANT HAPPEN IN THE LIBRARY SYSTEM ALL ACROSS THE ENTIRE PARISH TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PROPER REPRESENTATION WAS THERE, WHETHER IT BE FROM THE EAST TO THE WEST, OR THE NORTH TO THE SOUTH. AND, UM, I MEAN, EVEN TALKING WITH MARY STEIN AND SOME OTHER FOLKS THAT HAVE BEEN THERE, SHE'S BEEN A GREAT ASSET TO THE BOARD. AND, UH, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO SERVING WITH HER. I JUST HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET HER. BUT I'LL TELL YOU, THERE'S BEEN NO RED FLAGS. THERE'S BEEN NOTHING BUT PASSION FOR LITERACY, PASSION FOR THE COMMUNITY, AND PASSION TO MAKE CHANGE IN OUR COMMUNITY. COUNCIL MEMBER BANKS. UH, YES. UM, I, I MET, UH, NICOLE WHEN SHE, I THINK NICOLE, UM, MY FIRST TERM, NICOLE APPLIED, UH, DIDN'T MAKE IT AND CONTINUED, BUT, UH, NICOLE ALLMAN, UM, LYON, IF YOU KNOW, IF YOU EVER MET HER, UM, SOME OF THE ACCOLADES AND ONE OF THE THINGS BEING ON, UH, LOUISIANA BOARD JUST SHOWS THAT YOU ARE ABLE, UH, TO MOVE UP TO REPRESENT NOT ONLY ON THE LOCAL LEVEL, BUT ON THE STATE LEVEL IN A PARTICULAR PROFESSION. BUT, UM, SHE SERVE A DIVERSE GROUP OF CLIENTS BECAUSE SHE IS A LICENSED, UM, PARLIAMENTARIAN. SO SHE KNOWS AND DOES WORKSHOPS ON THE ROBERTS RULE OF ORDER. UM, SOME OF HER CLIENTS OR NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION, POLITICAL PARTIES, HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS, UM, SHE ALSO IS PART OF THE MUNICIPAL CLERK ASSOCIATION. UH, SHE'S A PROFESSIONAL REGISTERED PARLIAMENTARIAN. SHE HAS A MBA FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW ORLEANS. UH, LET'S SEE. SHE WAS A JUDGE WITH THE, UH, FUTURE BUSINESS LEADERS, UH, STATE CONVENTION PRESIDENT OF THE BATON ROUGE UNIT OF PARLIAMENTARIANS, PRESIDENT OF THE LOUISIANA ASSOCIATION OF PARLIAMENTARIANS. UH, SHE'S PARLIAMENTARIAN OF THE PUBLIC, UH, LIBRARY SECTION FOR THE LOUISIANA LIBRARY ASSOCIATION. UM, IT ALSO SAYS THAT SHE DOES WORKSHOPS FOR THE LIBRARY ON PARLIAMENTARY, HOW TO CONDUCT BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS THAT SHE'S A PART OF, INCLUDING ON A NATIONAL LEVEL. UM, HER, HER ACCOLADES FOR PROFESSION IS ABOVE ANY, UH, EIGHT THINGS THAT WE CHOSE. PLUS, WHEN SOMEBODY OFFERED THEM UP TO SERVICE, WE NEED TO REWARD THEM, NOT ON A WHIM, WANT TO REPLACE THEM. CERTAINLY I WELCOME A NEW LEADERSHIP. UH, BUT, UM, OVERALL, UNLESS THERE'S A PARTICULAR PERSON, WE DON'T JUST REMOVE PEOPLE WHO ARE, UM, BY ALL TERMS DEDICATED TO PUBLIC SERVICE, WHICH THEY DON'T GET PAID FOR. AND I THINK WE'VE OPENED THE DOOR UP, UH, THROUGH SOME RECENT EVENTS WHERE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE ARE TAKING OUR POSITIONS, UM, FOR GRANTED. AND WE ARE SOMEWHAT, AND I I USE THIS LOOSELY, UM, USING IT AS A WHIPPING BOARD WHEN PEOPLE DON'T DO WHATEVER YOU WANT OR THEY ARE NOT, UM, THEY ARE NOT, THEY FIND FAVOR FOR WHATEVER REASON, WHATEVER CONSTITUENCY, WHATEVER PARTY. BUT, UH, NICOLE IS AN HONORABLE PERSON, UM, JUST KNOWING BY WHAT SHE DOES. AND WE'VE NEVER HEARD ANYTHING FROM THE LIBRARY, UH, BOARD TO THE CONTRARY. AND SO I DEFINITELY, UM, THINK THAT WE SHOULD REMAIN. OF COURSE, I APPRECIATE YOU OFFERING YOURSELF UP FOR SERVICE AND I HOPE THIS WON'T BE THE LAST TIME, [01:20:01] BUT I THINK THAT WE DON'T JUST DO THAT. UH, THROW OUT THE BABY IN THE BATH WATER BECAUSE SOMEBODY ELSE COMES TO THE PLAYGROUND. ALRIGHT, COUNCIL MEMBERS, WE'RE GONNA VOTE ON THE SUBSTITUTE MOTION, WHICH IS TO APPOINT, UH, NICOLE ALMOND LYON, UH, TO THE LIBRARY BOARD OF CONTROL. UH, VOTE ON THE SUBSTITUTE MOTION. MACHINES ARE OPEN ON THE MOTION TO APPROVE THE SUBSTITUTE MOTION TO APPOINT MS. RSON FIVE VOTES. MOTION FAILS. NOW GO TO THE ORIGINAL MOTION TO DEFER FOR TWO WEEKS. NOW ORIGINAL MOTION TO DEFER FOR TWO WEEKS. ARE THERE ANY OBJECTIONS TO DEFER FOR TWO WEEKS? WE VOTE ON, THE MACHINES ARE OPEN ON THE MOTION TO DEFER FOR TWO WEEKS. MOTION FAILS. COUNCIL MEMBER, WE'RE GONNA TAKE A COUPLE OF THE ITEMS AND COME BACK TO THAT ONE. COUNCIL MEMBER. LET'S [74. 24-00499] GO TO 74. WE HAVE SOME PEOPLE WHO ARE NEED TO CATCH A FLIGHT AUTHORIZING AN IMPOSITION AND COLLECTION OF THE ANNUAL FEE WITHIN THE MAYOR ROSE EAST CRIME PREVENTION DISTRICT. IN THE AMOUNT OF $200 ON EACH IS THIS IMPROVED RESIDENTIAL PARCEL AND LOCATED ON THE DISTRICT. AND AN INITIAL PARCEL FEE OF $500 ON EACH IMPROVED COMMERCIAL PARCEL AND LAND LOCATED IN THE DISTRICT FOR A PERIOD OF 10 YEARS, BEGINNING 2023 AND ENDING IN 2032 TO AID IN CRIME PREVENTION AND TO ADD TO THE SECURITY OF DISTRICT RESIDENCE BY INCREASING THE PRESENCE OF LAW ENFORCEMENT, PERSONNEL AND DISTRICT AND OTHER PURPOSES PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW BY COUNCIL MEMBER DUN JR. A REASON FOR EMERGENCY TO ALLOW, OH, THIS IS AN EMERGENCY ITEM. I NEED TO READ MY, TO ALLOW THE FEE TO BE IMPOSED IN ACCORDANCE WITH ORDINANCE 1 6 4 4 2. THE ITEM MUST BE DECLARED IN EMERGENCY BY TWO THIRDS VERDICT OF METROPOLITAN COUNCIL. A MOTION TO DECLARE THE ITEM IN EMERGENCY. SO MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER DUN, JR. SECOND BY THE CHAIR. ARE THERE ANY OBJECTIONS TO DECLARE THE ITEM IN EMERGENCY? IS ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ITEM? WE NOW GO TO COUNCIL MEMBER DUN JR. MOTION TO APPROVE BY COUNCIL MEMBER DUN JR. SECONDED BY THE CHAIR. ARE THERE ANY OBJECTIONS? ITEM 74 HAS BEEN APPROVED. WE'LL TAKE ITEM [75. 24-00500] 75 REAL QUICK. WE'RE SENDING THE RESOLUTION 5 7 8 3 6 ADOPTED BY THE METROPOLITAN COUNCIL ON APRIL 24TH, 2024, DIRECTING THE MAYOR PRESENT TO ACCEPT ALL WORK DONE BY THE CONTRACTOR UNDER THE CONTRACT FOR JUVENILE DETENTION CENTER, UPGRADES BY BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS DIRECTED REASON FOR EMERGENCY TO RESCIND A RESOLUTION 5 7 8 THROUGH SIX TO ACCOMMODATE A CHANGE ORDER AND FINAL ACCEPTANCE FOR THE NEXT METROPOLITAN OF ACCOUNTS AGENDA IN ACCORDANCE WITH ORDINANCE 1 6 4 4 2. THIS ITEM MUST BE DECLARED IN EMERGENCY BY TWO THIRDS VOTE OF THE METROPOLITAN. UH, COUNCIL, UH, I MAKE A MOTION SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER COLEMAN, UH, ANY OBJECTIONS? IS THERE ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM? COUNCIL MEMBER COLEMAN MOTIONS TO APPROVE ITEM 75. I SECOND IT. ARE THERE ANY OBJECTIONS? WE NOW GO TO ITEM 76, [76. 24-00543] WHICH IS A REQUEST TO DELETE, RESCHEDULE ON WEDNESDAY, MAY 22ND, 2024 METROPOLITAN COUNCIL MEETING, TUESDAY, MAY 21ST, 2024 AT 4:00 PM COUNCIL MEMBER DUN, JR. READING FOR THE EMERGENCY TO MOVE THE MEETING AGAIN, THERE'S A REQUEST TO DELETE THIS ITEM IN ACCORDANCE WITH ALL 1 6 4 4 2. ITEM IS DECLARED AN EMERGENCY BY TWO THIRDS MURDER. MS. POLL AND COUNSEL IS OKAY. MOTION TO DELETE BY COUNCIL MEMBER DUN, JR. SECOND BY THE CHAIR. ANY, ANY OBJECTIONS? ITEM 76 HAS BEEN DELETED. COUNCIL MEMBER'S GONNA TAKE ITEM 67 [Items 67 - 70] THROUGH 70 TOGETHER, EMS STATION EIGHT PAYMENT IMPROVEMENTS. CONTRACT THE LUSTER GROUP, LLC, CHANGE ORDER AMOUNT, $7,217 59 CENTS. ITEM 68, JUVENILE COURT LOBBY COURTROOM RENOVATIONS, CONTRACT LUSTER GROUP LLC, CHANGE YOUR ORDER CREDIT, $1,685. ITEM 69, BROWNSFIELD FIRE STATION NUMBER 72, CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTOR, LUSTER GROUP, LLC, CHANGE ORDER AMOUNT, $16,451 AND 81 CENTS. AND ITEM 70, PERMANENT COUNT STATION INSTALLATIONS CONTRACTOR, JB GROUP OF LA LLC DB, DOING BUSINESS AS INFRASTRUCTURE SOLUTIONS GROUP, LLC, CHANGE ORDER AMOUNT, $15,208 AND 29 CENTS. IS THERE ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ITEM 67 THROUGH 70? IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE? SO MOVED BY THE CHAIR. SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER HUDSON. ANY OBJECTIONS? ITEM 67 THROUGH 70 HAVE BEEN APPROVED. ITEM 71, [71. 24-00498] CHANGE ORDERS. I MEAN, FINAL ACCEPTANCE IS JUVENILE COURT LOBBY COURTROOM RENOVATIONS, CONTRACT WITH LUSTER GROUP. FINAL COST $106,777 RIGHT HERE. IS ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ITEM 71? WE NOW GO TO COUNCIL MEMBERS. THERE IS A MOTION TO APPROVE BY COUNCIL MEMBER COLEMAN. SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER GOEY. ANY OBJECTIONS? WE GO NOW TO ITEM 72 [72. 24-00501] M MS STATION EIGHT PAVING IMPROVEMENTS. CONTRACT LUSTER GROUP [01:25:01] LLC, FINAL COST $104,117 59 CENTS. IS THERE ANYONE WE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ITEM? WE NOW GO TO THE COUNCIL. IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE? SO MOVE BY COUNCIL MC COLEMAN, SECONDED BY THE CHAIR AND OBJECTIONS, WE NOW GO TO ACCEPTANCE OF LOW BIDS. [73. 24-00518] ITEM 76, SALES TAX, STREET AND ROAD REHABILITATION PROGRAM. RG D**O AND SONS CONTRACTORS, $1,855,189 79 CENTS. IS THERE ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ITEM 73? WE NOW GO TO COUNCIL MEMBER. SO MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER COLEMAN. SECONDED BY THE CHAIR. ANY OBJECTIONS? SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER DUN, JR. ANY OBJECTIONS? ITEM 73 HAS BEEN APPROVED. COUNCIL MEMBERS TO APPOINTMENTS. WELL, LET'S GO. WE'RE GONNA [CONDEMNATIONS (Part 2 of 2)] RECONSIDER CONDEMNATION. WE'RE GONNA RECONSIDER. THERE'S A REQUEST TO RECONSIDER, UH, TWO CONDEMNATIONS. ITEM 38 AND 41 BY COUNCIL MEMBER BY ME. BY THE CHAIR. BY THE CHAIR. UH, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER DUN, JR. ANY OBJECTIONS? I'M REQUESTING THREE. LET'S GO 30 DAYS ON 41. ALL RIGHT. UH, IS THERE A MOTION I'M REQUESTING 30 DAYS ON ITEM 38 AND 90 DAYS ON ITEM 41. SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER, GO THERE. ANY OBJECTIONS? POST CONDEMNATIONS HAVE BEEN APPROVED. COUNCIL MEMBERS, WHAT IS YOUR PLEASURE? WE COULD TAKE THE APPOINTMENT OF THE LIBRARY BOARD OR WE CAN GO IN EXECUTIVE SESSION. THE, THE LIBRARY BOARD ITEM. UM, IF, IF YOU JUST WANT ME TO PUT IT BACK ON THE AGENDA, I WILL. THAT'S, IT'S, THAT'S GENERALLY HOW APPOINTMENTS ARE HANDLED, SO YEAH, WE CAN, WE CAN DO THAT. WE'LL PUT IT BACK ON THE AGENDA. ALRIGHT, AND THEN NOW WE'RE [Executive Session] GONNA GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION. UM, LET'S, LET'S LET MR. GO RE REPURCHASE. RESTATE YOUR REASON FOR GOING INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION. DOG IT. I'M GONNA HAVE TO REMEMBER WHAT I SAID NOW, . ALRIGHT, SO WE'RE RECONSIDERING ITEM 53. 63. I'M SORRY. THANK YOU. 63. YOU HAVE TO KEEP CORRECTING ME AND I'M ASKING THAT WE GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION TO DISCUSS ITEMS THAT MAY COMPROMISE THE CITY PARISH'S POSITION ON THIS LITIGATION. 53. I'M SORRY, I WROTE, I WROTE UP DOWN. ALRIGHT, ANY OBJECTION TO GOING IN EXECUTIVE SESSION? WE ARE ADJOURNED TO EXECUTIVE SESSION. MR. KNOWLEDGE. I'M TIRED OF PAYING ALL THIS A LITTLE BIT. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. WE ARE BACK IN [53. 24-00481 (Part 2 of 2)] ON ITEM 53. I'LL READ IT AGAIN. ITEM 53, AUTHORIZING A SETTLEMENT OF THE MATTER ENTITLED JOSEPH MICHAEL WINCHESTER JR. VERSUS THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE AT ALL. UH, IN AN AMOUNT OF $75,000 PLUS COURT COSTS IN AMOUNT OF $699 AND 69 CENTS FOR A TOTAL AMOUNT OF $75,699 AND 69 CENTS AND APPROPRIATING $75,699 AND 69 CENTS BY THE PARISH ATTORNEY. UH, ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON AN ITEM? WE NOW GO TO COUNCIL MEMBER DUN JR. I'D LIKE TO MAKE THE MOTION TO AMEND THIS ITEM TO APPROVE IT AT $150,000. OBJECTION. OBJECTION. MOTION TO APPROVE AT 150,000. UH, WE CANNOT INCREASE THE AMOUNT THAT IS BEING PAID IN THE SETTLEMENT. OKAY, THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, DO THAT. ALRIGHT, IS THERE, IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE THIS ITEM? SO, MOTION. SO MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER COLEMAN. SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER DUN JR. COUNCIL MEMBER HURST. YEAH. UM, SO THAT'S, WE GOOD ON, WE PASSED THIS, RIGHT? THIS THE LAST ITEM? YEAH. APPROVE IT. YEAH. THIS. OKAY. WILL YOU APPROVE IT? FIRST, UH, ANY OBJECTIONS ON THIS ITEM? ITEM HAS BEEN APPROVED. UH, COUNCIL MEMBER HURST. SO I WOULD LIKE TO INVITE ANYONE WHO'S IN THE CHAMBERS OUTSIDE. IN ABOUT 30 MINUTES, WE'LL HAVE 500 POUNDS OF CRAWFISH SHRIMP, EVERYTHING THAT IS NOT PAID FOR BY CITY PARISH THAT YOU CAN CONSUME, UM, ON THE, ON THE, ON THE, ON THE BACK LAWN. SO IT'S MORE THAN ENOUGH. ONE, ONE SECOND. COUNCIL MEMBER. COUNCIL MEMBER AMAROSA. MOTION TO ADJOURN. MOTION TO ADJOURN BY COUNCIL MEMBER AOSA. SECONDED BY EVERYONE. COUNCIL MEMBER HURST. YEAH. SO AGAIN, UH, UH, CRAWFISH NOT PAID FOR BY CITY PARISH IS OPEN TO THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY. WHETHER YOU BE HOMED OR EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS, YOU CAN COME AND FEED AND ENGAGE WITH YOUR COMMUNITY LEADERS, DIRECTORS OF CITY PARISH, AS WELL AS, UM, OTHER COMMUNITY, UH, ELECTED OFFICIALS DURING THIS PROCESS. THANK YOU SO MUCH. COUNCIL MEMBERS AND LADIES AT HOME. I'D LIKE TO INVITE EVERYONE TO THE SEVENTH ANNUAL PING FOR PEACE. JUNE 7TH, 2024, UH, 6:00 PM 5 3 5 5 GOVERNMENT STREET. WE'LL [01:30:01] MEET AT SHOPPERS VALUE RIDE BIKES, AND WE'RE GONNA PEDAL FOR PEACE ON JUNE 7TH. JEN ROCKER, BRING THAT BRAND NEW BIKE YOU GOT FOR CHRISTMAS, JUNE 7TH, 2024. AS ALWAYS, PROTECT YOUR MENTAL HEALTH. GET THERAPY IF YOU NEEDED, READ TO YOUR CHILDREN AND WHEN YOU'RE DONE READING, HAVE THEM READ BACK TO YOU. HAVE A GOOD EVENING. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.