* 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. [Presentations and Special Recognitions] [00:00:03] WELCOME EVERYBODY TO THE PRESENTATION PORTION OF OUR AUGUST 28TH, 2024 MEETING. UM, TO BEGIN, WE'RE GONNA HAVE MAYOR, PRESIDENT SHARON WESTON BROOME, RECOGNIZE LINDA HUNT, DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE, RETIRED FROM CITY PARISH WITH, HAS TO BE A TYPO. 40 YEARS OF SERVICE. SHE STARTED AT 10. THAT'S RIGHT. COME STAND WITH ME. LINDA HUNT, THE QUEEN OF FINANCE. I AM, UH, DEEPLY HONORED, AND IT IS WITH GREAT APPRECIATION THAT WE RECOGNIZE LINDA HUNT FOR HER EXCEPTIONAL DEDICATION AND COMMITMENT TO THE CITY PARISH OVER THE PAST 40 PLUS YEARS. AS YOU KNOW, LINDA HAS REALLY BEEN A CORNERSTONE OF OUR DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE. SHE HAS EXEMPLIFIED PROFESSIONALISM, INTEGRITY, AND AN UNWAVERING COMMITMENT TO PUBLIC SERVICE. HER WORK HAS SIGNIFICANTLY CONTRIBUTED TO THE FI, FINANCIAL STABILITY AND SUCCESS OF OUR CITY AND PARISH. AND HER IMPACT WILL BE FELT FOR YEARS TO COME. AS LINDA STEPS INTO A WELL-DESERVED RETIREMENT, WE EXTEND OUR HEARTFELT GRATITUDE FOR HER YEARS OF SERVICE AND THE LASTING LEGACY SHE LEAVES BEHIND. WE CERTAINLY WISH HER ALL THE BEST IN THIS NEXT CHAPTER OF HER LIFE FILLED WITH JOY AND RELAXATION, AND SHE'S TELLING ME A LITTLE EXERCISE THESE DAYS THAT SHE SO RICHLY, UH, DESERVES. SO, LINDA, I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR EXTRAORDINARY CONTRIBUTIONS TO, UH, THIS CITY AND THIS PARISH AND, UH, CERTAINLY FOR BEING A SHINING EXAMPLE OF WHAT TRUE PUBLIC SERVICE IS ALL ABOUT AND DEALING WITH REALLY ONE OF THE MOST, UH, UM, INTENSE AREAS OF OUR, UH, CITY. AND THAT'S OUR DOLLARS AND CENTS, BUT ALWAYS HELPING US TO, UH, MAINTAIN GOOD STEWARDSHIP, UM, TO, UM, GET GREAT RESULTS. AND SO, UH, WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR 40 PLUS YEARS OF SERVICE. THANK YOU. HAVE SOMETHING? MM-HMM, , I THINK THE COUNCIL WANTS TO SHARE SOMETHING WITH YOU AS WELL. OKAY. AND IT LOOKS LIKE MAYOR, WE HAVE THE ENTIRE FINANCE DEPARTMENT. I KNOW, I KNOW IN THE CHAMBERS, SO I'M SAYING WE LOCKED UP ALL THE MONEY. , NOBODY CAN CALL FINANCE RIGHT NOW. NO. I'M SO GLAD Y'ALL CAME, UH, TO, TO BE A PART OF RECOGNIZING LINDA. LOOK, WE HAD A, A, A COUNCIL TEXT EXCHANGE ABOUT TODAY. YOU KNOW, WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE EVERYBODY KNEW CERTIFICATE SIGN IT, BUT ONE OF THE RESPONSES THAT MY COLLEAGUE, COUNCIL MEMBER BANKS SENT WAS HOW WONDERFUL IT IS, THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT, THE, THE DEMONSTRATION OF LEADERSHIP, NOT JUST IN HOW YOU LED THE DEPARTMENT, BUT HOW YOU GROOMED OTHERS, HOW YOU PREPARED OTHERS TO STEP INTO THE ROLE. AND I WOULD SAY, LINDA, YOU RECEIVED SOME OF THAT ON YOUR WAY UP, YOU KNOW, FROM OTHERS WHO WENT BEFORE YOU, AND YOU PASSED THAT ON. AND I THINK THAT, AND I KNOW THE MAYOR WILL AGREE, IS THE MARK OF A GREAT LEADER ELEVATING OTHERS SO THAT THEY'RE PREPARED TO TAKE ON THAT ROLE. SO THAT'S ONE OF THE MANY FACETS THAT LINDA, UH, BROUGHT TO THE CITY PARISH FOR SO MANY YEARS. SHE ALSO WAS, UM, RELENTLESS AND, UH, COMPLETELY, UH, NEEDED DURING TIMES OF DISASTERS BECAUSE WHEN HURRICANES ARE COMING, PEOPLE ARE SPENDING MONEY LIKE CRAZY. AND SHE WAS RIGHT THERE TO SAY, WAIT, WAIT, WAIT. LET'S THINK ABOUT THIS AND MAKE SURE WE WERE DOING IT PROPERLY AND APPROPRIATELY AND COULD GET FULLY REIMBURSED. THAT'S ANOTHER AREA WHERE SHE CERTAINLY SHINED. BUT LOOK, 40 YEARS OF SERVICE IS SOMETHING TO BE CELEBRATED. AND I'M SO GLAD THE MAYOR WAS ABLE TO, TO COAX YOU INTO COMING AND CELEBRATING YOUR TIME WITH CITY PARIS. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH, LINDA. WE'VE GOT A CERTIFICATE FOR YOU, BUT WHY DON'T YOU SHARE A FEW WORDS WITH THE GROUP. THANK YOU EVERYONE, AND MAYOR BROOME, THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND THANK YOU FOR HAVING THE FAITH AND THE CONFIDENCE IN ME TO APPOINT ME AS YOUR FINANCE DIRECTOR. I WILL, I WILL FOREVER BE GRATEFUL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY THAT YOU GAVE ME, AND IT HAS BEEN AN ABSOLUTE PLEASURE TO WORK WITH YOU. SO, UM, I HAVE, UM, LIKE COUNCILMAN GADAY SAID, I HAD, I HAD GREAT LEADERS THAT WERE EXAMPLES FOR ME. I HAD [00:05:01] GREAT MENTORS, LYNN SCHOFIELD, MARSHA HANLON. I EVEN HAVE TO THROW WALTER MONSOUR IN THERE, , WHO PRETTY MUCH TOLD ME SOMETIMES IT'S TIME TO SHUT UP AND SOMETIMES IT'S TIME TO GET FIRED UP . AND, UH, SO I, I ALWAYS TOOK THAT. I HAVE TO, UM, YOU KNOW, GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO MAYOR KIPP HOLDEN, WHO WAS A VERY SPECIAL MAYOR ALSO TO ME. UH, MAYOR HOLDEN WAS THERE FOR ME DURING SOME OF THE MORE TRYING TIMES IN MY LIFE. AND HE, UM, WILL ALWAYS HAVE A SPECIAL PLACE IN MY HEART. UH, THE EMPLOYEES OF THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT, THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF 'EM HERE, A LOT OF OUR DIVISION MANAGERS. UM, I WORKED IN PUBLIC WORKS FOR SEVEN YEARS. I DON'T KNOW IF, IF YOU ALL KNEW THAT, UM, AND THOSE EMPLOYEES OVER THERE ARE GREAT AND THEY WORK VERY, VERY HARD. UM, I WANT TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO MY MOM AND DAD WHO TAUGHT ME MY WORK ETHIC AT A VERY YOUNG AGE. YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT THEY HAD ME WORKING IN THEIR PRODUCE STAND SELLING TOMATO, STANDING ON A TOMATO BOX WHEN I WAS EIGHT YEARS OLD. SO I'VE BEEN WORKING FOR A LONG TIME, , UH, AND MY, YOU KNOW, MY DAD TOLD ME ALWAYS BE KIND TO OTHERS AND ALWAYS TREAT OTHER PEOPLE LIKE YOU WANT PEOPLE TO TREAT YOU. AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT I HAVE ALWAYS TRIED, UM, TO LIVE MY LIFE BY NAN AND ANGIE. I HAVE TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO THEM TOO. UM, THEY HAVE BEEN WITH ME AND IT HAS BEEN A PLEASURE TO WORK WITH THEM. NAN REALLY RUNS THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT IN CASE ANY ANYBODY HAS ANY DOUBT ABOUT THAT. BUT IT, IT HAS BEEN A PLEASURE TO WATCH ANGIE GROW AND MENTOR. UM, I'VE BEEN MARRIED TO MY HUSBAND, JIMMY, BEING, WELL, I THINK WE GOT MARRIED ABOUT SIX MONTHS IN FROM WHEN I STARTED. SO WE'VE BEEN MARRIED THE WHOLE TIME. HE DEFINITELY DESERVES A SHOUT OUT. UM, AND, YOU KNOW, MY KIDS, COURTNEY AND AUSTIN, I MEAN, IT, IT, IT TAKES A LOT TO BALANCE A CAREER AND MOTHERHOOD AND, AND I JUST AM SO THANKFUL THAT THEY HAVE ALLOWED ME TO DO THAT. AND I HAVE TO SAY THAT THEY ARE MY GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT. SO THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH. YOU WANNA GET, IT'S UP TO YOU. YOU CAN DO IT NOW. IF YOU WANNA GET THE COUNCIL TO DO UHHUH. I THINK THAT, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS, WOULD YOU LIKE TO TAKE A PICTURE WITH LINDA AND THE COMMENDATION THAT YOU HAD? AND LINDA, WOULD YOU WANT FINANCE DEPARTMENT TO COME UP, TAKE A PICTURE WITH YOU AS WELL? I WOULD LOVE THAT. , EVERYBODY. WE'LL DO ONE WITH THE COUNCIL MEMBERS FIRST, AND THEN WE'LL DO ONE WITH THE, UH, FINANCE DEPARTMENT. ALL RIGHT, PUT A BIG SMILE. EVERYBODY HOLD. ALL RIGHT. ALRIGHT, LET'S GET A BIG SMILE. ALRIGHT, HOLD THAT FOR ME NOW. 3, 2, 1. YOUR FAMILY. Y'ALL WILL COME REAL QUICK. FAMILY PHOTO. THAT'S IT. THE [00:10:15] THANK YOU LINDA. MM-HMM, . NEXT WE'RE GONNA HAVE MAYOR PRESIDENT SHARON WEST BROOM RECOGNIZED NEIGHBORHOOD CONVENTION 2024 CONNECTING EAST BATON ROUGE. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14TH, 2024. I AM EXCITED TO, UH, ANNOUNCE THE 2024 CONNECTING EAST BATON ROUGE NEIGHBORHOOD CONVENTION. IT'S A DAY DEDICATED TO STRENGTHENING OUR COMMUNITY. NOW THIS EVENT WILL BRING TOGETHER NEIGHBORHOOD LEADERS, RESIDENTS, BUSINESS OWNERS, CITY PARISH, DEPARTMENT HEADS, PUBLIC SAFETY LEADERS, AND YOUTH FROM ACROSS OUR PARISH. NOW, THIS IS THE VISION. IT'S REAL SIMPLE, SAFE, VIBRANT NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE EVERYONE FEELS WELCOMED AND CONNECTED. SO THIS CONVENTION IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO GAIN THE TOOLS, THE KNOWLEDGE AND INSPIRATION NEEDED TO BUILD STRONGER, MORE CONNECTED COMMUNITIES. SO ON SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14TH, MARK YOUR CALENDARS. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14TH, FROM 9:00 AM TO 4:00 PM AT THE RAISING CANES RIVER CENTER. WE WILL GATHER TO SHARE BEST PRACTICES, EXPLORE NEW STRATEGIES, AND LEARN HOW TO COLLABORATE EFFECTIVELY WITH CITY PARISH SERVICES. THERE WILL BE WORKSHOPS THAT WILL COVER EVERYTHING FROM ADDRESSING NEIGHBORHOOD CHALLENGES TO CELEBRATING OUR LOCAL HERITAGE. SO I WANT TO ENCOURAGE YOU TO JOIN US TO CONNECT WITH YOUR NEIGHBORS AND WORK TOGETHER TO CREATE THE NEIGHBORHOODS THAT WE ALL ENVISION. A PLACE WHERE EVERYONE FEELS A STRONG SENSE OF PRIDE AND BELONGING. UM, WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING EVERYONE THERE. I KNOW OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS ARE ACTIVELY ENGAGED AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO YOU ALL BEING THERE AND SHARING WITH YOUR CONSTITUENTS, UH, THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING AT THE 2024 NEIGHBORHOOD CONVENTION CONNECTING EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH. UH, THANK YOU MAYOR PRO TEM, DID YOU WANT TO ADD SOMETHING, COUNCILWOMAN? I JUST SAY DITTO TO WHAT YOU'VE SAID. AND THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT WE'VE HAD A NEIGHBORHOOD CONVENTION. SO GET READY, GET READY. AND SO YOU CAN GET A LOT OF YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED HERE AT THIS CONVENTION. SO YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE THERE. SO WE ARE CALLING ALL NEIGHBORS FROM THROUGHOUT BATON ROUGE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MAYOR PROTI TEMP. THANK YOU, MAYOR. NEXT, WE'RE GONNA HAVE METROPOLITAN COUNCIL MEMBER DARRYL HURST TO RECOGNIZE SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF BUSINESS FOR THEIR STUDY ABROAD PROGRAM TO GHANA, WHICH TOOK PLACE FROM MAY 22ND, 2024 TO JUNE 4TH, 2024. COUNCILMAN HURST. UH, GOOD, GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE. I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO REPRESENT THE METRO COUNCIL, AS DID COUNCILWOMAN BANKS PREVIOUSLY TO JOIN THE SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF BUSINESS TO GO TO GHANA TO TALK ABOUT INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS SO THAT WE CAN ADD ECONOMIC GROWTH TO THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE AND CREATE INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS THAT BRING A WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE AND SHARE BEST PRACTICES. DURING THAT TRIP, WE LEARNED SO MUCH. WE LEARNED HOW FORTUNATE WE ARE IN SOME INSTANCES. IN OTHER INSTANCES, WE LEARNED HOW, UH, HOW HOW CLOSE WE ARE IN TERMS OF THINGS THAT NEED TO BE IMPROVED FROM INFRASTRUCTURE TO POLITICS. UM, AFRICA'S A LONG WAY FROM HERE, BUT THE THOUGHT PROCESS ABOUT HOW SOMETIMES POLITICS GET IN, WHAT GETS IN THE WAY OF PROGRESS IS THE SAME THERE AS IT IS HERE. I HAVE THE, THE, AGAIN, THE FORTUNATE OPPORTUNITY AS A COLLEGE OF BUSINESS GRADUATE TO GO WITH SOME OF THE FOLKS THAT SHAPED THE, THE, THE THE WAY FOR ME AND, UH, PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ME TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN LIFE, BUT ALSO TO MAKE AN IMPACT ON THE CITY OF BATON ROU METRO COUNCIL. SO TODAY I WANNA RECOGNIZE SOME OF THOSE AMAZING FOLKS THAT HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, SPEND TIME IN GHANA AND, UH, PROVIDE A TRIP THAT WOULD MAKE ALASKA, UH, IMPRESSION ON MYSELF AND EVERYONE WHO ATTENDED. SO, AS I CALL YOUR NAME, I'M GONNA READ IT ONE TIME, STAND IN THE FRONT, WE'LL TAKE A GROUP [00:15:01] PICTURE. THERE YOU GO. AND I GONNA ASK MAYOR BROOM TO COME UP WHEN WE TAKE THE PICTURE. NOT RIGHT NOW, BUT, UM, THE HONORABLE COUNCILMAN DALE HURST, METROPOLITAN COUNCIL OF DISTRICT FIVE, CITY OF BATON ROUGE, PARIS OF EAST BATON ROUGE, STATE OF LOUISIANA. LEMME TELL Y'ALL THE FIRST ONE GOES TO THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON ON THIS TRIP. IT IS NOT DEAN ANDREWS. HE MAY SAY IT IS, BUT IT IS NOT. THERE WAS A LADY WHO WORKED TIRELESSLY TO ENSURE THAT SHE HAD SEVERAL MEETINGS THAT WOULD PREPARE US FROM HEALTH ISSUES TO, UH, SETTING EXPECTATIONS. CLEVE WAS SUPPOSED TO GO, UH, SO HE WOULD'VE BEEN THERE WITH US, BUT, UH, I MIGHT HAVE MADE ONE OF THOSE MEETINGS, BUT I STILL GOT EVERYTHING I NEEDED ON TIME. THANK YOU. AND WHEREAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY AUM COLLEGE IS COMMITTED TO PROVIDING EXCEPTIONAL EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES TO OUR STUDENTS, INCLUDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT AND CULTURAL EXCHANGE. AND WHEREAS THE SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF BUSINESS HAS ORGANIZED A STUDY ABROAD PROGRAM TO GHANA, AFRICA FOR MAY 22ND, 2024 TO JUNE 4TH, 2024, ENRICHING THE ACADEMIC AND CULTURAL KNOWLEDGE OF ITS PARTICIPANTS. I'M GONNA STOP RIGHT THERE BECAUSE I'M GONNA TELL YOU, I DIDN'T READ ANY OF THIS STUFF. IT WAS SO MUCH, BUT IT WAS WELL THAT I THOUGHT WE WERE GOING FOR A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF DAYS. IT WAS ABOUT FOUR OR FIVE MORE DAYS LONGER. SO LUCKILY I BOTTOM OF CLOTHES . BUT, UH, WHEREAS THIS PROGRAM SIGNIFIES THE UNIVERSITY'S DEDICATION TO FOSTERING GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES AND CREATING IMPACTFUL LEARNING EXPERIENCES FOR BOTH STUDENTS AND FACULTY. AND WHEREAS THE DELEGATION REPRESENTS A DIVERSE AND DISTINGUISHED GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS CONTRIBUTING TO THE PROGRAM'S SUCCESS AND BROADER GOALS OF SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY, THEREFORE BE RESOLVED. THERE ARE THERE. OHIO DISTRICT FIVE METROPOLITAN COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE AND THE PARIS OF EAST BATON ROUGE HEREBY ACKNOWLEDGED SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY'S COLLEGE OF BUSINESS DELEGATION FOR ITS OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO FOSTERING A STRONGER, MORE GLOBALLY AWARE COMMUNITY AND UPHOLDING THE ESTEEMED IDEALS OF ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AND CULTURAL ENRICHMENT. AND THAT FIRST ONE GOES IN MS. MARY COBB MARSHALL. THIS WAS OUR REAL BOSS. OH, HE MOVED OVER. NO, STAND UP THERE. UH, DR. B JOY SAHU, I WANNA SAY YOU GOT YOUR DOCTORATE WHILE WE WERE IN AFRICA. IS THAT RIGHT? BEFORE? SO IT'S, UH, DR. AMAROSA NEWMAN, DR. RETU AND DR. TU HAS BEEN THERE SINCE I WAS AT SOUTHERN. IT KEEPS MAKING AN IMPACT ON PEOPLE THAT LOOK LIKE ME SO THEY CAN IMPACT THE WORLD. SO THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU DO. DR. TU TEAM DEAN DONALD ANDREWS, SHE DID SAY THAT. SO I WENT IN THE MAYOR'S OFFICE AND SHE SAID WE WAS ABOUT THE MEETING, WE WERE TRYING TO MOVE, AND SHE WAS LIKE, WHOOPY, Y'ALL GO IN AFRICA. CHARNA WOULD LAUGH. SHE SAID, I MUST BE MISSING OUT. I SAID, YOU DEFINITELY DID. NOW THIS IS THE, I'M GONNA TELL YOU, IT'S EVERYBODY'S BOSS. SHE IS NOT HERE TODAY, BUT THIS IS MS. AGNES ANDREWS. SO I'M GONNA SET THIS ASIDE FOR MR. JARED WHITE, MR. CHRISTIAN JACOBS. [00:20:10] I AM GONNA TALK TWO SECONDS ABOUT THE STUDENTS. THEY WERE SOME OF THE SMARTEST KIDS THAT I HAVE EVER BEEN AROUND IN MY LIFE. THEY STOOD OUT, THEY ASKED THE RIGHT QUESTIONS, THEY PAID ATTENTION, AND THEY WOULD GO A WHOLE DAY IN THE HOT SUN AND SUN AND THEN BE EDUCATED AND TALK ABOUT IT AT NIGHTTIME OR STILL ENTHUSED ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY. SO AGAIN, THANK Y'ALL FOR GIVING ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO ATTEND, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO GOING IN THE FUTURE. A BIG SMILE FROM EVERYBODY. STAY RIGHT HERE. A UPON OF PERSONAL PRIVILEGE AS YOU GUYS LEAVE, COUNCILMAN HERTZ. I HAD TO TELL OMAR OMAROSA, DR. NEWSOM, THAT I REALLY APPRECIATE HER RECOGNIZING THAT WE'RE FRESH OFF OF, UH, CAPITAL HIGH SCHOOL WEEK. AND SHE CAME HERE TODAY WITH HER HONORARY RED AND GOLD ON TODAY. SO WE REALLY APPRECIATE HER RECOGNIZING CAPITAL. HIGH SPEED. ALL RIGHT, WE'LL RECESS TO THE REGULAR MEETING BEGINS AT FOUR. [00:46:41] [00:50:40] HELLO [00:50:40] EVERYBODY. [00:50:41] WELCOME [00:50:42] TO [00:50:42] THE COUNCIL CHAMBER OF EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH AND ON BEHALF OF OUR METROPOLITAN COUNCIL, SO GOOD TO HAVE YOU TUNED IN. WE ALWAYS WANT YOU TO BE A PART OF OUR GOVERNMENT. WE WELCOME OUR VIEWERS FROM OUTTA STATE TONIGHT, FROM INDIANA, ALABAMA, AND TENNESSEE. WELCOME TO BATON ROUGE. AND SPEAKING OF BATON ROUGE, WE ARE THE HOME OF TWO OF THE GREATEST UNIVERSITIES IN AMERICA, SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY AND LSU. THE JAGUARS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY WILL START THEIR SEASON ON SATURDAY NIGHT, IS THEIR FANS TRAVEL ON I 10 THROUGH LAFAYETTE RAIN CROWLEY, JEFF DAVIS PARISH JENNINGS INTO CALCA SHOE WHERE THE JAGUARS HAVE A DATE WITH THE MCNEESE COWBOYS. THAT KICKOFF IS SEVEN O'CLOCK ON SATURDAY NIGHT, AND THEN ON SUNDAY THE TIGERS ARE IN LAS VEGAS AND THEY WILL BE PLAYING THE SOUTHERN CAL TROJANS. YOU KNOW, SOUTHERN CAL'S NOW A MEMBER OF THE BIG 10. SO THAT'S GONNA BE AT SIX 30 ON SUNDAY NIGHT. AND BEFORE I GET OFF OF THAT SUBJECT, THEY HAD THE TWO BEST BANDS IN AMERICA, THE SHOE HUMAN JUKEBOX BAND FROM SOUTHERN, OFTEN IMITATED, BUT NEVER DUPLICATED , AND THE GOLDEN BAND FROM TIGERLAND. WELCOME EVERYBODY AT THIS TIME. HERE IS THE MAYOR, PRESIDENT PRO TIM OF EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH. COUNCILMAN BRANDON NOAH. COUNCILMAN. THANK YOU DENNIS. WELCOME TO THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH METROPOLITAN COUNCIL MEETING, UH, THIS WEDNESDAY, UH, AUGUST 28TH, 2024. WE'RE GONNA HAVE AN INVOCATION, YET BY LED BY YOLANDA BATISTE, FOLLOWED BY THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE BY CAROLINE TAYLOR. GRACIOUS FATHER, WE COME TO YOU, LORD GOD, FIRST OF ALL, TO TELL YOU THANK YOU, LORD. WE THANK YOU FOR ANOTHER DAY THAT YOU HAVE MADE, AND WE SHALL REJOICE AND BE GLAD THEY'RE IN. DEAR GOD, WE COME ASKING THAT YOU WOULD ALLOW YOUR HOLY SPIRIT TO COME INTO THIS ROOM TONIGHT. LORD GOD, WE ASK, LORD GOD, THAT YOU WOULD GIVE US A VISION FOR WHERE YOU SEE BATON ROUGE GOING SO THAT WE CAN FOLLOW YOU. HEAVENLY FATHER, WE THANK YOU RIGHT NOW FOR ONE ACCORD. DEAR GOD. AND WE THANK YOU FOR EVERYONE THAT IS IN ATTENDANCE. LORD, I ASK THAT YOU WILL BLESS OUR LEADERS IN A MIGHTY WAY. HEAVENLY FATHER, LIKE ONLY YOU CAN, AND GOD, AS EVERYONE SHALL LEAVE THIS BUILDING, BUT NEVER, EVER FROM YOUR PRESENCE. I PRAY THAT EVERYONE ARRIVES BACK HOME SAFELY IN THE NAME OF JESUS. AMEN. IT TIME FOR ME. DO WE SAY NOW? YEAH, GO AHEAD. I TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE STANDS, ONE UNDER GOD. ALL [CALL TO ORDER] RIGHT, CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER. ASHLEY, DO WE HAVE A QUORUM? WE HAVE A QUORUM. ALL RIGHT. FIRST ADOPTION [ADOPTION AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES] AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES. APPROVAL AND ADOPTION OF THE MINUTES OF METROPOLITAN COUNCIL MEETING OF AUGUST 14TH, 2024. SPECIAL METROPOLITAN COUNCIL MEETING OF AUGUST 14TH, 2024, THE METROPOLITAN COUNCIL ZONING MEETING OF AUGUST 21ST, 2024 IN THE GREATER BATON ROUGE AIRPORT COMMISSION MEETING OF AUGUST 13TH, 2024 BY COUNCIL, ADMINISTRATIVE TREASURER. WE HAVE A PUBLIC HEARING. ANYBODY WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? SEEING NONE, WE'LL GO TO COUNCIL. WE HAVE A MOTION. MOTION APPROVE BY COUNCILMAN DUNN JR. SECOND BY COUNCILWOMAN CAROLYN COLEMAN. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. ASHLEY, IF YOU CAN READ [INTRODUCTIONS] INTRODUCTIONS SECTION 2.12. INTRODUCTIONS NUMBER TWO, AUTHORIZING THE APPROPRIATION OF NOT TO EXCEED $183,415,058 OF BOND PROCEEDS AND OTHER FUNDS FROM THE SEWER SYSTEM TO REFUND THE 2028 SEWER [00:55:01] REVENUE BONDS BY DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES AND THE FINANCE DIRECTOR. NUMBER THREE, A SUPPLEMENTAL RESOLUTION AMENDING AND SUPPLEMENTING THE AMENDED AND RESTATED GENERAL BOND RESOLUTION PROVIDING FOR THE EXECUTION AND DELIVERY OF THE LOAN AGREEMENT DATED SEPTEMBER 1ST, 2024 BY IN BETWEEN THE EAST BATON ROUGE SEWAGE COMMISSION AND THE LOUISIANA LOCAL GOVERNMENT ENVIRONMENTAL FACILITIES AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY BY BOND COUNCIL. NUMBER FOUR, AMENDING THE 2024 ANNUAL OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE VILLE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT. CHOSE TO APPROPRIATE $50,000 FROM THE COLLECTION OF 2024 PROPERTY TAXES FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING FUNDING FOR PAYROLL BENEFITS, MEDICAL SUPPLIES AND NECESSARY REPAIRS AND MAINTENANCE ASSOCIATED WITH THE STATION AND EQUIPMENT BY CHENEY. FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT NUMBER SEVEN, CONDEMNATION [CONDEMNATION INTRODUCTIONS] INTRODUCTIONS NUMBER FIVE, THE ESTATE OF MARYLAND ALEXANDER 1 6 4 5 SWAN AVENUE COUNCIL DISTRICT TWO BANKS, NUMBER SIX, EDWIN A EDWIN AVILA, 1 0 4 7 CARDINAL STREET COUNCIL. DISTRICT TWO BANKS, NUMBER SEVEN PDB REALTY AND INVESTMENTS. 9 7 3 2 AVENUE B COUNCIL DISTRICT TWO BANKS, NUMBER EIGHT, NATHANIEL EVANS, JR. 5 0 6 8 ENTERPRISE STREET COUNCIL. DISTRICT FIVE HEARST. NUMBER NINE, TAYLOR TYRON WILLIAMS. 2 8 0 6 EATON STREET COUNCIL, DISTRICT SEVEN DEANNE NUMBER 10. GARY LEE TRAHAN. 3 4 5 7 FAIRWOOD DRIVE. COUNCIL DISTRICT SEVEN DEANNE NUMBER 11, JACK BERNARD NOBLE, JR. AND MICHELLE NOBLE, VINCENT. SIX SIX THREE FIVE WINDBORN AVENUE COUNCIL DISTRICT SEVEN RAZAN NUMBER 12, CAROLINE MCGOWAN AND ED WAYNE MCGOWAN, 2 0 3 0 CHESTNUT STREET COUNCIL, DISTRICT 10 COLEMAN NUMBER 13, ETHEL MAY WILLIAMS IN THE ESTATE OF DANNY WINFREY. 1 5 1 3 MYRTLE WALK. COUNCIL DISTRICT 10 COLEMAN. NUMBER 14, DARRELL BATES. 1 5 5 TAYLOR STREET COUNCIL DISTRICT 10 COLEMAN NUMBER 15, EDDIE LATHERS AND VERUS LATHERS 2 0 5 0 KENTUCKY STREET COUNCIL DISTRICT 10 COLEMAN ADJUDICATED PROPERTY INTRODUCTIONS [ADJUDICATED PROPERTY INTRODUCTIONS] NUMBER 16 LOT 62 SQUARE 11 SUBDIVISION SOUTH BATON ROUGE COUNCIL DISTRICT 10 COLEMAN NUMBER 17 LOT 66 SQUARE 11 SUBDIVISION SOUTH BATON ROUGE COUNCIL DISTRICT 10 COLEMAN NUMBER 18 LOT 26 SQUARE 11 SUBDIVISION SOUTH BATON ROUGE COUNCIL DISTRICT 10 COLEMAN NUMBER 19 LOT 50 SQUARE 11 SUBDIVISION SOUTH BATON ROUGE COUNCIL DISTRICT 10 COLEMAN NUMBER 20 LOT 33 SQUARE 10 SUBDIVISION SOUTH BATON ROUGE COUNCIL DISTRICT 10 COLEMAN NUMBER 21 LOT 45 SQUARE 10 SUBDIVISION SOUTH BATON ROUGE COUNCIL DISTRICT 10 COLEMAN NUMBER 22 LOT 43 SQUARE 10 SUBDIVISION SOUTH BATON ROUGE COUNCIL DISTRICT 10 COLEMAN NUMBER 23 LOT 31 SQUARE 29. SUBDIVISION GREENVILLE EXTENSION COUNCIL, DISTRICT SEVEN DEANNE NUMBER 24 LOT 32 SQUARE 29 SUBDIVISION GREENVILLE EXTENSION COUNCIL, DISTRICT SEVEN DEANNE NUMBER 25 LOT 15 SQUARE FIVE SUBDIVISION VALLEY PARK ANNEX COUNCIL, DISTRICT 12, RACA NUMBER 26 LOT FOUR SQUARE EIGHT SUBDIVISION VALLEY PARK COUNCIL DISTRICT 12 RACA NUMBER 27 LOT 10 A SQUARE 2 73. SUBDIVISION SWART COUNCIL DISTRICT 10 COLEMAN NUMBER 28, LOT 18 SUBDIVISION BROOKSTOWN COUNCIL DISTRICT SEVEN, DEANNE NUMBER 29 LOT 15 SQUARE 32 SUBDIVISION SOUTH BATON ROUGE COUNCIL DISTRICT 10 COLEMAN NUMBER 30 LOT 32 SQUARE 11. SQUARE 11 SUBDIVISION SOUTH BATON ROUGE COUNCIL DISTRICT 10 COLEMAN NUMBER 31 LOT 55 SQUARE 12 SUBDIVISION SOUTH BATON ROUGE COUNCIL DISTRICT 10, COLEMAN NUMBER 32 LOT 37 SQUARE 16 SUBDIVISION EDEN PARK COUNCIL DISTRICT SEVEN, DEANNE NUMBER 33. LOT 21 SUBDIVISION PET PLACE COUNCIL DISTRICT TWO BANKS NUMBER 34 LOT 1 69 SUBDIVISION VISIT CO COUNCIL. DISTRICT FOUR MO ALL ITEMS REQUIRE READING HAVE BEEN READ. AND A MOTION TO INTRODUCE ALL ITEMS. AS AN ORDER. WE HAVE A MOTION. MOTION BY COUNCILWOMAN COLEMAN, SECOND BY COUNCILWOMAN OSA IN THE OPPOSITION. ALL ITEMS ARE INTRODUCED. WE'RE GONNA GO TO [CONDEMNATIONS] OUR SEPARATE CHIEF OF CONDEMNATIONS. RECOMMENDATIONS ARE AS FOLLOWS, TO PROCEED WITH ITEM 70, 71, 73, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, AND 95 TO DELETE ITEM 72, 74 AND 75. AND, UH, REQUEST FOR 90 DAYS ON ITEM 88. IS THERE ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ANY OF THE CONDEMNATIONS? SEEING NONE, WE'RE GONNA GO TO COUNSEL. 30 DAYS ON SEVEN TWO, PLEASE. 72? YES, SIR. 30 ON 77, PLEASE. 30 ON 79. 30 ON 78. SO THAT'S 30 ON 76, 77, 78, AND 79 [01:00:05] CONFIRMING 90 ON 88. MM-HMM. . THANK YOU. COUNCIL. MADDON. IT WAS NUMBER 72. YES, SIR. THE, THE RECOMMENDATION WAS TO DELETE, YOU WANT TO GIVE IT 30 DAYS? WHO RECOMMENDED THE DELETE? DPW. OKAY, THAT'S FINE. LEAVE IT DELETED. YEAH, YOU CAN DELETE. OKAY. ANYONE ELSE? UH, ITEM. OKAY. AND, MM-HMM? . OKAY. SO WE HAVE PROCEED WITH ITEM 70, 71, 73, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84. I'M SORRY, NOT 80. WE'RE GONNA PROCEED WITH ITEM 70, 71, 73, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 30 DAYS, SORRY, NOT 92, 30 DAYS ON ITEM 76. 78. 77. 79, 60 DAYS. ON ITEM 92. 90 DAYS ON 88, WE'RE GONNA DELETE ITEM 72, 74, 75. AND ITEM 80. WE HAVE A MOTION FOR THAT. MOTION BY COUNCILWOMAN ROON. SECOND BY COUNCILWOMAN COLEMAN. ANY OPPOSITION? MOTION CARRIES. OKAY, WE'RE GONNA JUMP TO ACCEPTANCE OF LOW BIDS. ITEM 1 63. [163. 24-01058] BATON ROUGE METROPOLITAN AIRPORT, PHASE ONE, TAXIWAY L, EXTENSION AND DECOMMISSIONING RUNWAY. FOUR R 22 L AND TAXIWAY E HENDRICK CONSTRUCTION INCORPORATED. LOW BID, UH, OR YEAH, LOW BID. $12,796,640 AND 32 CENTS. ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? SEEING NONE WILL GO TO COUNCIL. MOTION TO APPROVE BY COUNCILMAN HUDSON. SECOND BY COUNCILMAN DUNN, JR. ANY OPPOSITION? MOTION CARRIES. ITEM 1 64, [164. 24-01059] BATON ROUGE METROPOLITAN AIRPORT, TERMINAL HVAC UPGRADE SECOND BID. BOB PER AND ASSOCIATES MECHANICAL LLC $2,738,000. ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? SAME. NONE WILL GO TO COUNCIL MOTION BY COUNCILMAN DUNN, JR. SECOND BY COUNCILMAN HUDSON. ANY OPPOSITION? MOTION CARRIES. ALRIGHT, [96. 24-00737] WE'RE GONNA GO BACK NOW TO ITEM NUMBER 96. THERE IS A REQUEST TO DELETE BY THE DEPARTMENT AUTHORIZING METROPOLITAN COUNCIL TO DECLARE LOT TWO BLOCK 2 0 8 SOUTH BATON ROUGE SUBDIVISION MUNICIPAL ADDRESS, 38 80 ETTE STREET, BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA, 7 0 8 0 5 AT SURPLUS PROPERTY AND NOT NEEDING NEEDED FOR A PUBLIC PURPOSE AND AUTHORIZING THE SALE OF THE SAME PURSUANT TO LOUISIANA REVISED STATUTE 33 47 12 ONTO WILFRED JACKSON BY THE PARISH ATTORNEY. AGAIN, THERE'S A REQUEST TO DELETE ANYBODY WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? SEEN NONE. GO TO COUNSEL. DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO DELETE? MOTION BY COUNCILMAN HUDSON? SECOND BY COUNCILWOMAN AMAROSA. ANY OPPOSED ITEM'S BEEN DELETED? 97. THERE'S BEEN [97. 24-00779] A REQUEST TO DEFER FOR 30 DAYS DIRECTING THE PARISH ATTORNEY'S OFFICE TO TAKE ALL STUFF NECESSARY TO TERMINATE THE COOPERATIVE ENDEAVOR AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE AND THE PARISH EAST BATON ROUGE AND SCOTLANDVILLE HIGH SCHOOL HORNETS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION REGARDING THE RIGHT OF OCCUPANCY GRANTED TO THE ASSOCIATION ON THE OLD FIRE STATION. NUMBER 16 BY COUNCILWOMAN SHAWNA BANKS. ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? ALL RIGHT, WE HAVE MS. UH, JANICE MILES. MM-HMM, . AND JUST A REMINDER, THIS IS GONNA BE, UH, THE REQUEST TO BE DEFERRED FOR 30 DAYS. YOU'RE WELCOME TO SPEAK NOW, UM, WHAT THIS WILL LIKELY BE HEARD AGAIN IN 30 DAYS. THAT'S 30 DAYS ON THE 25TH. MM-HMM. . GOOD EVENING COUNCIL MEMBERS. UH, WE ARE HERE TODAY, UH, FROM A DEFERRAL, UH, WHICH OCCURRED [01:05:01] ABOUT 30 DAYS AGO. MM-HMM. . UM, WE ARE STILL STANDING IN OPPOSITION TO THE TERMINATION OF THE CEA, UH, THAT EXISTS BETWEEN, UH, METRO COUNCIL AND, UH, SKYVILLE HIGH SCHOOL. UH, ON THE, THE LAST, UH, ALUMNI ASSOCIATION THAT IS, UH, THE LAST TIME WE WERE HERE, UH, THE COUNCIL GRACIOUSLY GAVE US AN EXTENSION AND, UH, SOME DIRECTIVES AND, UH, DIRECTIONS THAT WE SHOULD GO. ONE OF WHICH WAS TO START SOME OPEN COMMUNICATION WITH OUR COUNCILPERSON, UH, AS WELL AS, UH, PURSUE, UH, SOME POSSIBLE PROPOSED BENCHMARKS TO STRENGTHEN THE CEA THAT WE ALREADY HAVE. UH, AND THOSE TWO THINGS WE'VE DONE, WE'VE REACHED OUT TO COUNCILWOMAN, UM, BANKS A NUMBER OF TIMES. MADE OURSELVES AVAILABLE. UH, AND I THINK WE HAD THE VERY FIRST MEETING A FEW DAYS AGO LAST WEEK, UM, WHICH REALLY, UH, DIDN'T, UH, UH, RESULT IN ANYTHING POSITIVE OR CAUSE US TO, TO MOVE FORWARD. UH, AT THAT MEETING WITH, UM, THE, UH, PARISH ATTORNEY, UM, AARON, WE PROPOSED TO THEM, UH, SOME BENCHMARKS THAT WE THOUGHT WERE REASONABLE AND THAT WE THOUGHT THAT, UH, WAS WORKABLE FOR EVERYBODY. UM, AND WE DO ADMIT THAT PERHAPS, UH, THOSE BENCHMARKS DID NEED TO BE NEEDED TO KEEP EVERYBODY ON, ON TASK. UH, WE HAVE NOT GOTTEN ANY RESPONSE FROM THOSE BENCHMARKS, UH, THAT WE PROPOSED. UH, SO WE ARE STILL, UH, IN A LIMBO. UM, WE'RE, UH, WE ARE STILL SEARCHING FOR WHY, WHAT IS THE REAL REASON THAT WE WANT TO TERMINATE, UH, THE CEA. UH, IT HAS BEEN SAID BY COUNCILWOMAN BANKS THAT NOTHING HAS BEEN GOING ON IN THE PAST 10 YEARS, AND THAT'S JUST NOT TRUE. A LOT HAS GONE ON. WE'VE HAD SOME, UH, INTERRUPTIONS AS WE ALL HAVE. WE HAD THE 2016 FLOOD. WE ALSO HAD COVID THAT KIND OF SET US BACK. UM, BUT, UM, SINCE THIS IS GOING TO BE HEARD AGAIN, WE'LL BE IN A PLACE TO SHOW, UM, ACTION HAPPENING OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS. AND WE'VE NOT JUST BEEN SITTING TWIDDLING OUR THUMBS BECAUSE WE HAVE 99 YEARS. WE'VE ACTUALLY BEEN WORKING TOWARDS, UM, BUILDING AND RESTORING THE, UH, FIRE STATION BACK TO MM-HMM. , THIS UNION. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. AND AGAIN, JUST A REMINDER, THIS ITEM IS, UH, GOING TO BE DEFERRED AND WE'LL, UH, HAVE ANOTHER PUBLIC HEARING AT THAT TIME. 30 DAYS FROM NOW. UH, WE HAVE, UH, RODERICK WELLS COUNCIL MEMBERS, ROD WELLS CLASS OF 1970. UH, IS IT POSSIBLE FOR ME TO ASK THAT YOU ALL VOTE TODAY SIMPLY BECAUSE IT'S ON THE AGENDA FOR DEFERMENT? CAN WE NOT VOTE FOR IT TODAY? I CAN ASK. OKAY. YOU CAN ASK. YOU GOT THREE MINUTES? YOU CAN ASK ANYTHING YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT THIS AGENDA ITEM ? WELL, LET ME MAKE MY THREE MINUTES SHORT. I'D, I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU ALL VOTE FOR IT. WE'VE, WE'VE DONE SOME THINGS. WE'VE, UH, MADE OUR GREATEST EFFORT ON THIS FIRE STATION, AND, UH, WE DON'T WANNA LET IT GO. MM-HMM. . SO, UH, THE SOONER WE ARE OUT FROM UNDER ANY PRESSURES OR ISSUES WOULD BE BEST FOR US. UM, WE DIDN'T JUST START TAKING CARE OF THAT FIRE, UH, HOUSE. UH, WE, WE GOT INVOLVED WITH OUR, SOME LOCAL, THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, THE ARTS COUNCIL. UM, WE'VE DONE THINGS THAT THE SENIOR LIVING, UH, CENTER ON ROSENWALD ROAD. AND AS, UH, OUR ATTORNEY SAID, WE HAD A GOOD GROUP, BUT WE LOST A FEW PEOPLE SIMPLY BECAUSE OF, UH, 2016 FLOOD. AND SOME OF THEM CAME BACK AND SOME DIDN'T. OUR GROUP GOT SMALLER, UH, COVID, WHERE WE ALL LEARNED TO, UH, USE ZOOM. I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT ZOOM WAS BEFORE, UH, COVID CAME AROUND. SO I'M JUST SAYING, I, WE LOVE WHAT WE'RE DOING AND WE APPRECIATE YOU [01:10:01] ALL GIVING US THE OPPORTUNITY. UH, BUT WE CAME HERE READY TO HAVE YOU ALL MAKE A DECISION. AND, AND I WOULD ASK THAT YOU ALL VOTE ON IT TODAY IF YOU COULD. THANK YOU. GLENDA CHAPEL. OF COURSE, OF CHAPPELLE . I APOLOGIZE. , UH, GLENDA CHAPPELLE CLASS OF 1974. I WOULD ASK THAT YOU VOTE NOT TO DEFER THIS TODAY. WE HAVE BEEN WORKING HARD. WE HAVE MET, WELL, WE THINK WE HAVE MET THE CONDITIONS THAT YOU ASKED US TO MEET ON THE LAST, UH, MEETING AND ARE CONFUSED BY THE REQUEST FOR A DEFERRAL, UH, THAT THIS IS HANGING OVER OUR HEADS. AND THAT FIRE HOUSE MEANS TOO MUCH TO US AND TOO MUCH TO THE COMMUNITY TO LET IT KEEP HANGING AND NOT KNOW WHAT DIRECTION WE ARE GOING, BEING LEFT DRIFTING LIKE THIS. WE DON'T KNOW IF WE SHOULD CONTINUE OUR WORK OR IF WE SHOULD WAIT. UM, SO I WOULD ASK THAT YOU VOTE NOT TO DEFER AND LISTEN TO US ON THIS MATTER TODAY AND MAKE A DECISION ONE WAY OR THE OTHER. RANDALL HENRY. I HELLO. GOOD EVENING. I'M RANDY HENRY, AND I AM FROM THE SCOTLANDVILLE HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OF 1976. AND THE BUILDING THAT WE, THAT'S IN QUESTION THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS, IT'S IN A STRATEGIC LOCATION IN SCOTLANDVILLE. IT'S RIGHT THERE BETWEEN SENA HIGHWAY AND SCOTLAND AVENUE. AND I, UH, CONDUCTED SOME WORKSHOPS THERE, AND WE HAD SO MANY, UH, PARTICIPANTS IN THAT WORKSHOP, YOUNG KIDS. AND IT WAS JUST A WONDERFUL WORKSHOP. WE HAD A THEATER PROGRAM THERE, MUSIC PROGRAM. ON ONE OCCASION, WE HAD AN OPEN HOUSE, BUT JUST LOTS OF PEOPLE FROM THE COMMUNITY CAME THERE. AND IT'S JUST A, UH, IT'S, IT'S A GREAT LOCATION AND WE WANT TO CONTINUE DOING PROJECTS THERE. WE, WE HOPE THAT YOU CAN HELP US, TO ASSIST US IN ANY WAY THAT YOU CAN. AND HELPING US TO CONTINUE TO KEEP, KEEP THAT BUILDING IN HAND TO WORK IN AS, UM, ARTISTS AND AS CREATIVE PEOPLE IN ORDER TO UPLIFT THE COMMUNITY. I MEAN, THAT'S WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT. UPLIFT, UPLIFTING NOT ONLY THE COMMUNITY, BUT SCOTLANDVILLE AND ALSO THE ENTIRE CITY OF BATON ROUGE. BUT WE'VE BEEN DOING WHAT WE CAN DO IN ORDER TO KEEP IT IN, UM, IN ACT, AN ACTIVE TYPE OF LOCATION TO WORK IN. PAT LUFF. HELLO, COUNSEL. PAT LEDUFF REPRESENTING, UH, CLASS OF 1978 PRESIDENT AND ALSO KADA AND SCOTLANDVILLE, CDC. GOOD AFTERNOON. UH, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY AGAIN, ON BEHALF OF THOSE ORGANIZATIONS AND THE CLASS OF 1978, UH, THAT THE FIRE STATION IS STILL VERY IMPORTANT TO US. AND, UH, EVERYBODY HAS BEEN ON THE SAME PAGE. AND UNLESS THERE'S A 9 1 1 DEATH EMERGENCY, I DON'T WANT UNDERSTAND WHY OUR REPRESENTATIVE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN HERE TONIGHT. SO, UH, BUT I WANNA THANK COUNCILWOMAN BANKS FOR AT LEAST HELPING US TO BRING THIS TO LIGHT. UH, WE, WE HAVE HAD CLASSES THAT HAVE DONATED. WE HAVE HAD ORGANIZATIONS THAT DONATED AND ALSO, UM, DID LOTS OF VOLUNTEER WORK ON THE BUILDING SINCE OUR LAST MEETING. SO, UM, WHAT WE ASK IS THAT YOU NOT DELAY THIS ANYMORE. AND WE ASK THAT YOU WORK WITH US AND NOT WORK AGAINST US. UH, JOHN BELL, UH, FORMER JOHN BELL, GOVERNOR JOHN BELL, EDWARDS DEAN SCOTLANDVILLE CULTURE DISTRICT. AND THIS ART BUILDING IS RIGHT IN ALIGNMENT WITH THAT. SO WE, THE PROJECT HAS BEEN DELAYED, UH, BUT ONE THING FOR SURE, AND TWO FOR CERTAIN, IT HAS NOT BEEN ABANDONED. UH, WE HAVE CONTINUED TO WORK TOWARDS, UH, THE GOAL OF MAKING SURE THAT IT'S A PLACE WHERE WE ARE PROGRAMS FOR OUR RESIDENTS, YOUNG AND OLD. SO AS YOUR, AS AS A COUNSELOR HERE TODAY, UH, WE ASK THAT YOU WORK WITH US TO RESTORE THAT BUILDING. BUT FOR THAT SAID, PURPOSE, AND, UM, NOT TO BE GUILTY OF DISCOURAGING COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT. 'CAUSE ONE THING WE HAVE NOW IS COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT. AND SO WE HAVE PEOPLE WORKING TO IMPROVE THEIR COMMUNITY. AND JUST AS THE COUNCIL, I WOULD THINK THAT YOU WOULD, YOU KNOW, ACCEPT THAT AND BE GLAD TO HAVE THAT. SO, UM, WE [01:15:01] APPRECIATE YOU AND, UM, PLEASE MOVE FORWARD TODAY. THANK YOU, MS. PENNY, MAY LANDRY. HELLO. UM, I'M IN OPPOSITION TO THE TERMINATION OF THIS CONTRACT. UM, THIS HAS BEEN DEFERRED BEFORE. UM, I WOULD LIKE THE COUNSEL TO VOTE TODAY TO ALLOW THIS CEA TO CONTINUE. THIS GROUP OF PEOPLE IS A WONDERFUL GROUP OF PEOPLE. I'VE SPOKEN WITH THEM. THEY'RE DOING A GREAT JOB. THEY'RE DOING THE BEST THEY CAN WITH WHAT THEY HAVE. UH, THEY'RE WORKING TOGETHER. THEY'RE PROVIDING A SERVICE, A, A FACILITY. THE ONE THING I DO WANT TO SAY IS THAT I HAVE A GRAVE CONCERN, UM, THAT THE COUNCIL PERSON WHO BROUGHT FORTH THIS ITEM HAS BEEN ON A VERY NEGATIVE ADE ON SOCIAL MEDIA AGAINST THIS GROUP. AND I THINK IT IS UNPROFESSIONAL, AND I HOPE THAT ALL METRO COUNCIL MEMBERS WILL HAVE A PROFESSIONAL PROTOCOL WHEN THEY ARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA. AND THIS COUNCIL PERSON HAS BEEN VERY NEGATIVE TO THIS GROUP. SO I ASK YOU TO GO AHEAD AND VOTE TO LET THE CEA PER THE CONTRACT PROCEED. THANK YOU, ED. WE, OR RICHARDSON, GOOD EVENING. I WOULD LIKE TO DEFER MY TIME TO ONE OF THE OTHER SPEAKERS BECAUSE WE THOUGHT WE WERE GONNA BE SPEAKING. SO I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE MY THREE MINUTES UP TO, DO I HAVE TO SAY WHO? MM-HMM. NO. OKAY. WELL, I'M, I'M DONATING MY THREE MINUTES. YOU, YOU CAN'T GIVE YOUR THREE MINUTES. YOU CAN HAVE YOUR MINUTES. UHUH. OKAY. WELL, OKAY. PLEASE VOTE. ALVIN DOUGLAS. GOOD EVENING, EVERYONE. UH, TO SUM UP WHAT THE LAST FEW SPEAKERS HAVE SAID, WE CAME HERE TODAY RESPECTFULLY SEEKING A DECISION. AND SO, AS MS. RICHARDSON JUST SAID, PLEASE VOTE IN SUPPORT OF US KEEPING THE BUILDING OF OH FIVE STATION UNDER THE CURRENT CEA. THAT IS OUR WISHES. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. KEN . UH, GOOD EVENING COUNCIL. UH, MY NAME IS KENDRICK HOR. I AM THE CHAIR OF THE SHAQ STEERING COMMITTEE. UM, I WANTED TO KIND OF TALK TO YOU GUYS TODAY ABOUT SOME OF THE, UH, FACTS THAT COMES TOWARDS, UM, THE BUILDING AND WHAT WE PLAN ON DOING. UM, CURRENTLY, UH, THE SHACK, UM, WILL BE ULTIMATELY A ARTS CENTER AND ULTIMATELY AN INNOVATION HUB AND RESOURCE FOR THE COMMUNITY. UH, THIS WOULD ENCOMPASS ARTS PROGRAMS, TECHNOLOGY PROGRAMS, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT. UM, SO IN THAT, UH, TODAY TO, TO DATE, THERE HAS BEEN, UH, PLENTY OF PROGRESS INCLUDING, UH, GETTING PLANS, GETTING ENVIRONMENTAL, ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTS, UM, ALL OF THE PRELIMINARIES THAT YOU NEED IN ORDER TO, UH, UH, RENOVATE AND MAKE THIS EXACTLY HOW WE WANT TO SEE FIT. UM, THIS ALSO INCLUDES A LOT OF, UM, PLANNING, A LOT OF OUTREACH, A LOT OF RESOURCES GIVEN SINCE THE LAST TIME WE WAS HERE AS WELL. UM, INCLUDING THE DONATION OF, UH, FLOORS, AS WELL AS, UM, QUOTES AS, I'M SORRY, NOT QUOTES, UM, DONATIONS TOWARDS WINDOWS, UH, GLASS, AS WELL AS, UH, THE WORK ON A STRATEGIC PLAN. SO WITHIN THAT STRATEGIC PLAN, UM, WHEN PEOPLE ASK, HEY, HOW DO YOU PLAN TO DO THESE THINGS? HOW DO YOU PLAN TO RAISE THIS MONEY? HOW DO YOU PLAN TO SUSTAIN THIS BUILDING? THAT STRATEGIC PLAN LAYS OUT THAT PLAN. UH, WE THINK THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE, UH, YES, IT TAKES ONE THING TO GET IT WHERE WE WANT IT, BUT IT TAKES ANOTHER THING TO ACTUALLY CONTINUE TO SUSTAIN IT AS WELL. SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE ALSO FOCUSED ON WORKING WITH SDC CONSULTING ON THAT AS WELL. UM, WE HAVE ALSO INCLUDE, UM, INCLUDED IMPROVEMENTS ON, UH, MULTIPLE THINGS AS FAR AS SECURING THE BUILDING, UH, EVEN MORE AS FAR AS SECURING ALL NON-STRUCTURAL, UM, IMPROVEMENTS, AS WELL AS OTHER DONATIONS AND CONTRIBUTION, UM, IN, IN KIND DONATION TOWARDS WHAT [01:20:01] WE CAN DO. UM, ALSO WE'VE PUT EFFORT TOWARDS FUNDING. UH, WITHIN THAT FUNDING WE HAVE STARTED OUR, UH, CAPITAL CAMPAIGN. OUTSIDE OF THAT, WE HAVE BEEN IN TALKS WITH GRANTS, GRANT WRITERS, UM, AS WELL AS FULFILLING THAT STRATEGIC PLAN THAT DOES, UH, OUTLAY US TO, UH, REACH THAT GOAL THAT WE HAVE SET OUT. UH, SO I EMPLOY THE COUNSELOR, UH, TO TAKE A TOUR OF THE BUILDING IF POSSIBLE. I IMPLORE ANYONE HERE WITHIN THE BATON ROUGE COMMUNITY ANYWHERE TO COME OUT AND TAKE A TOUR OF THAT BUILDING. UM, AND ALSO I, UH, IMPLORE US TO, UH, KIND OF TAKE THE LOOK AND GRASP OF YES, UH, YOU HEARD 76, YOU HEARD, UH, 74. ALL THESE, I'M GRADUATE OF SCOTLANDVILLE IN CLASS OF 2014. THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE WANT TO SEE WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY AS YOUNG PEOPLE. SO I WOULD LOVE FOR THE CITY TO BE IN ACCORDANCE WITH US AND WORK IN TANDEM WITH US TO SEE THIS NOT ONLY FOR ME, BUT THE CHILDREN THAT COME AROUND US, THE, AS A HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER, THE KIDS THAT I TEACH TODAY. SO I EMPLOY THAT WE VOTE ON THIS TODAY SO WE CAN MOVE ON, UH, GET THIS WHERE WE NEED TO GET. AND, UH, THANK YOU GUYS FOR HAVING MY, UH, FOR HAVING US. THANK YOU. YOLANDA DAY. GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS YOLANDA DAY. I AM A SCHOLAR MILL GRADUATE OF 1980. UH, I'M ASKING THAT YOU ALL MAKE A DECISION TODAY. TODAY BECAUSE SINCE THE LAST MEETING, WE'VE SPENT MONEY, UH, ON SHEET ROCK FOR THE CEILING. WE DID THE FLOORING, WE'VE DID PUT IN TWO AIR CONDITION UNITS. WE'VE, UM, PAINTED, WE'VE, UM, WHAT ELSE WE DID? OH, PUT IN NEW LIGHTING. SO WE PUT IN LD, REPLACED ALL OUR OLD LIGHTS AND INSTALL NEW LED LIGHTING. AND RIGHT NOW WE HAVE A ESTIMATE FROM BAKER GLASS TO RESTORE ALL THE GLASS ON THE BUILDING THAT IS ON HOLD UNTIL WE KNOW YOUR DECISION. SO THAT'S WHY WE ARE ASKING, 'CAUSE EVERYTHING IS KIND OF ON A STANDSTILL, WAITING ON A DECISION AND DEFERRING FOR 30 DAYS. I DON'T SEE WHAT THE ISSUE IS. WE'VE COMPLIED WITH EVERYTHING YOU ALL HAVE ASKED, AND WE'VE TRIED TO MEET WITH MS. BANKS AND TO RESOLVE THIS, AND WE DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY WE'RE DEFERRING IT FOR ANOTHER 30 DAYS. SO I ASK THAT YOU ALL WOULD SUPPORT US AND, UH, VOTE ON THIS TODAY AND LET US REMAIN WITH THE CURRENT CONTRACT WITH ANY ADDENDUMS THAT YOU ALL MAY, UH, HAVE US TO DO. THANK YOU, SONYA DANIELS. GOOD AFTERNOON, METRO COUNCIL. MY NAME IS DR. SONYA DANIELS. I'M THE FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT AT S DANIELS CONSULTING, WHICH IS A LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED STRATEGY CONSULTING FIRM, WORKING SPECIFICALLY WITH MISSION-DRIVEN ORGANIZATIONS, ESPECIALLY THOSE OH . UM, ESPECIALLY THOSE THAT SERVE UNDER-RESOURCED AND HISTORICALLY EXCLUDED, EXCLUDED COMMUNITIES. I'VE HAD THE PRIVILEGE AND HONOR TO COLLABORATE WITH SCOTLANDVILLE, UM, HIGH ALUMNI ASSOCIATION THIS SUMMER TO HELP THEM ENGAGE IN ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT THROUGH STRATEGIC PLANNING TO CREATE A ROBUST PLAN FOR THE SCOTLANDVILLE COMMUNITY AND THE COMMUNITY CENTER. AS A PERSON WHO GREW UP IN RURAL LOUISIANA, FRANKLIN, LOUISIANA, TO BE SPECIFIC, I WAS RAISED BY A SINGLE MOTHER WHO WORKED FULL TIME. SO HAVING ACCESS TO A COMMUNITY CENTER MEANT HAVING ACCESS TO PROTECTIVE FACTORS SUCH AS COMMUNITY, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL COMPETENCE, SUPPORT, AND OTHER POSITIVE EXPERIENCES TO MITIGATE WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN, UM, A CHILDHOOD FULL OF CHILDHOOD ADVER ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES. GOING TO MY LOCAL COMMUNITY CENTER SOMETIMES MEANT SIMPLY HAVING ACCESS TO HOT MEALS, ESPECIALLY AFTER SCHOOL AND DURING THE SUMMER. SCOTLANDVILLE, UH, HIGH ALUMNI ASSOCIATION AND THEIR COMMUNITY CENTER IS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AT ITS FINEST. THEIR ROBUST PLAN FOR THE COMMUNITY CENTER WILL ADDRESS EVERY SINGLE SOCIAL DETERMINANT OF, OF HEALTH, AND PROVIDE MORE RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR SCOTLANDVILLE COMMUNITY NORTH BATON ROUGE AND THE CAPITAL REGION AS A WHOLE. COMMUNITY CENTERS ALSO PLAY A CRUCIAL ROLE IN CRIME AND VIOLENCE INTERVENTION BY PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUTH DEVELOPMENT, UH, SUPPORT SERVICES AND SKILLS BUILDING TO KEEP DEFERRING THIS MATTER IS A DRAIN ON BOTH MONETARY AND TIME ASSETS, WHICH BOTH ARE VALUABLE TO THIS ORGANIZATION. SO I'LL LEAVE YOU WITH THIS. IF YOU WERE TO DISSOLVE THIS AGREEMENT, THEN WHAT DO YOU MAINTAIN THE STATUS QUO AND POTENTIALLY LEAVE THE BUILDING TO BECOME BLIGHTED? OR DO YOU LEAN INTO THE OPPORTUNITY COSTS, ALLOWING SCOTLANDVILLE HIGH ALUMNI [01:25:01] ASSOCIATION TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE PLANS, UH, TO DEVELOP THIS CENTER? THANK YOU. ANYONE ELSE? WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? SEEING NONE, GO TO COUNCIL. COUNCILMAN HURST. UH, GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYONE, ESPECIALLY TO, UH, SCOTLANDVILLE ALUMNI. A LOT OF THESE GUYS, UH, AND LADIES OF MY CONSTITUENTS, UM, ORIGINALLY OBVIOUSLY FROM THE SCOTT SCOTLANDVILLE COMMUNITY, BUT IN THE BEST DISTRICT IN BATON ROUGE, NOW DISTRICT FIVE. BUT I'VE HAD SEVERAL CONVERSATIONS. I MEAN, I TALKED TO, UH, COUNCILMAN BANKS ABOUT THREE OR FOUR TIMES LAST WEEK. I'VE TALKED TO THEM ABOUT THREE OR FOUR TIMES, AND I ONLY HAD A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS. I SAID MY COLLEAGUES TALKED TO YOU GUYS ABOUT CREATING BENCHMARKS AND STICKING TO THOSE BENCHMARKS, WHICH WERE FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS TO, TO, UH, ABATE THE BLIGHT THAT THE NEIGHBOR SAID WAS THERE. AND COUNCIL THANK SAID WAS THERE. IN THE PAST SEVERAL WEEKS SINCE WE'VE MET, THEY RAISED $10,000. THEY'VE GOTTEN A COMMITMENT FOR THE WINDOWS DOORS. THEY HAVE A PLAN, THEY HAVE BLIGHT REMEDIATION DONE. SO BLIGHT IS ONLY EXTERIOR FACADE, SO WE CAN NO LONGER SAY WE KNOW IT'S STRUCTURALLY SOUND, SO THAT CAN'T BE DONE. SO, UM, THAT, THAT'S OUT THE WINDOW. YOU'VE REACHED OUT TO THE PARISH ATTORNEY, YOU PUT BENCHMARKS IN PLACE, WHETHER IT HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED OR NOT, YOU DID YOUR PART. I REMEMBER WHEN BRANDON, BEFORE HE GOT APPOINTED, I BELIEVE IT WAS, IT WAS HIS COMMENTARY THAT SAID, HEY, REACH OUT TO THE PARISH ATTORNEY. WORK THE NEW AGREEMENT. I GOT THE EMAILS. I DIDN'T READ 'EM ALL. IT WAS TOO MANY TO BE HONEST WITH YOU. UM, BUT I GOT THE BASELINE OF IT, WHICH WAS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO OUR BEST TO MAKE VILLE BETTER. NOW I WANNA TALK TO MY COLLEAGUES ABOUT THE SADIE ROBERTS, JOSEPH AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM. GUESS WHAT? WE DID THE SAME THING. WE CAME 'EM, OLD DI BELIEVE IT WAS THE DPW BUILDING RIGHT HERE ON, IS IT MAYFLOWER? I DON'T KNOW WHAT STREET THAT IS. MAYFLOWER, UH, GUESS WHAT? IT WAS NOT IN THE BEST CONDITION. WE HAD, UH, AIR CONDITIONED VENTS ALL ON THE FLOOR. THEY OPENED THE MUSEUM UP. WE HAD THIS GREAT CELEBRATION, AND GUESS WHAT? IT HAS TO BE REDONE AGAIN. AND GUESS WHO'S FOOT IN THAT BILL? THE CITY PARISH. SO WE DID THAT FOR EVERY FIRE STATION, EVERY MUSEUM. AND I WOULD JUST TELL Y'ALL, WHEN YOU GO TO NORTH BATON ROUGE, WE TALK ABOUT IT BEING THE FORGOTTEN LAND. IF MONEY, IF, IF IT WAS THE LAND OF MILK AND HONEY, YOU WOULDN'T HAVE THE BLIGHT. YOU HAVE, YOU WOULDN'T HAVE A CRIME. YOU HAVE, YOU WOULDN'T HAVE THE LOW EDUCATION YOU HAVE, YOU WOULDN'T HAVE THE LOW HOUSEHOLD MEETING INCOMES. THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY IS COMING BACK, NOT JUST THE FIREHOUSE. SO IT IS VERY HARD TO HAVE A FIREHOUSE. UM, I APOLOGIZE, GOT A LITTLE DISTRACTED. BUT IT IS VERY HARD TO RESTORE THE COMMUNITY ITSELF WITH ALL THE BLIGHT, ALL THE, THE HOPELESSNESS THAT'S THERE. AND I BELIEVE THERE'S ONE BUILDING THAT'S BECOME THAT BEACON OF HOPE FOR SKYVILLE ALUMNI. Y'ALL FOUND AN OPPORTUNITY TO, TO GET TOGETHER, TO, TO COME TOGETHER FOR A COMMON GOAL AND TO TAKE ONE PIECE OF PROPERTY IN THE SKYVILLE COMMUNITY AND MAKE IT BETTER. AND WHILE I WAS BORN IN DISTRICT FIVE, AND I CURRENTLY LISTED AT DIVIN DISTRICT FIVE, I WAS RAISED IN SCOTLANDVILLE. SO MY HEART IS THERE AS WELL. UM, I I I TOLD COUNCILWOMAN BANKS THAT IF YOU GUYS HAD DONE WHAT YOU SAID YOU WERE GOING TO DO WHAT YOU DID, THERE WAS NO WAY I COULD VOTE AGAINST IT. AND SO I WANNA STAND TALL TODAY. I, MY WORD WAS THE SAME WITH Y'ALL. I SAID, IF YOU DIDN'T DO IT, WHAT WAS I GONNA DO? I WAS GONNA SUPPORT IT TO DIE. BUT IF YOU DID EVERYTHING YOU SAID YOU WOULD DO, I WAS SUPPORTED TO LIVE. SO I WANT Y'ALL TO KNOW THAT YOU'VE DONE EVERYTHING THE COUNCIL'S ASKED YOU TO DO. YOU'VE DONE EVERYTHING THAT YOU'VE PERSONALLY COMMITTED TO DO, AND I DON'T SEE WHY WE SHOULD HAVE A DEFERRAL AS WELL. SO I APPRECIATE YOU ALL SHOWING UP. AND I, YOU FOR YOURMAN, GO. THANK YOU. I HAVE A, A PROCESS QUESTION. MRS. BECK, IF YOU DON'T MIND. I THINK SOME FOLKS SHOWED UP TONIGHT AND, AND THIS ISN'T FAMILIAR TO EVERYONE, UH, AS IT IS TO, TO THOSE OF US WHO DO IT, UH, TWO OR THREE WEEKS OUTTA THE MONTH. SO MS. BECK, THERE'S, IF THERE'S A MOTION TO DEFER THIS ITEM FOR 30 DAYS AND THAT MOTION DOES NOT OBTAIN SEVEN VOTES, WHAT WOULD THEN HAPPEN? IF THE MOTION TO DEFER FOR 30 DAYS FAILS? THE, UM, SOMEONE, THE FLOOR WOULD BE OPEN FOR SOMEBODY TO MAKE ANOTHER MOTION. IF THEY SO CHOSE, IF THERE WERE NO OTHER MOTIONS MADE, THE ITEM WOULD BASICALLY FAIL. THE ITEM WOULD BASICALLY BE DELETED. AND IF THE ITEM WERE TO ALSO NOT GET, UH, THE NEEDED SEVEN VOTES, UH, IF, IF, IF SOMEONE WERE TO MAKE A MOTION TO, UH, DELETE THE ITEM, FOR INSTANCE, AND THAT DOESN'T GET THE SEVEN VOTES, THE ITEM GOES AWAY, WOULD COUNCIL MEMBER BANKS HAVE THE OPTION THEN TO BRING THE SAME ITEM BACK IN A GIVEN PERIOD OF TIME? SHE WOULD, SHE WOULD HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BRING IT BACK ONE MORE TIME. WITHIN THE NEXT YEAR. WITHIN [01:30:01] THE NEXT YEAR, YES. SO ESSENTIALLY THE NEXT MEETING, SHE COULD REINTRODUCE THE EXACT SAME ITEM? YES. OKAY. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN HUDSON. UH, UM, IS SOMEONE FROM THE PARISH ATTORNEY'S OFFICE HERE THAT CAN SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? BILLY? UM, THERE WAS SOME TALK ABOUT, UH, FROM THE CLASS OF 2014, DIDN'T GET THE GUY'S NAME, BUT, UH, SOME TALK OF A STRATEGIC PLAN, SOME BENCHMARKS BEING SET, STRUCTURAL IMPROVEMENTS, FUNDING IN A CAPITAL CAMPAIGN. HAVE Y'ALL ENSHRINED ANY, UH, BENCHMARKS INTO AN AGREEMENT? WE HAD MET, I FORGET WHICH DAY WE MET, BUT IT WAS LAST WEEK, AND THEY HAD PRESENTED SOME THINGS. COUNCILWOMAN BANKS MADE AN ANSWER TO THAT. I THINK Y'ALL MAY HAVE BEEN COPIED ON THAT EMAIL. SHE DID NOT AGREE WITH THE THINGS THAT THEY HAD PUT FORWARD. SHE REQUESTED SOME INFORMATION THAT THEY FELT WAS IRRELEVANT AND NOT NECESSARY. SO THERE'S A DISAGREEMENT OVER WHERE WE'RE GOING WITH IT RIGHT NOW. GOTCHA. BUT THE DISCUSSIONS ARE STILL ONGOING AND, UM, THOSE NEW BENCHMARKS JUST HAVEN'T BEEN IRONED OUT YET. WAS THAT SAFE TO SAY? WE'RE OPEN TO ANYTHING? I I HAVEN'T HAD ANY DIRECTION FROM EITHER SIDE ON WHAT THEY WANT DO, 'CAUSE NO ONE'S IN AGREEMENT YET. OKAY. OKAY. GIVEN THAT THIS IS NOT IN MY DISTRICT, UH, I, I DO WANT TO GIVE COUNCILMAN BANKS THE OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS IT. AND, AND LOOK, I I, I JUST KNOW HOW I WOULD FEEL IF THERE WAS A PROPERTY IN MY DISTRICT THAT WAS CITY PARISH OWNED THAT I FELT LIKE WASN'T LIVING UP TO, YOU KNOW, TO AN AGREEMENT. I, I WOULD WANT THE COUNCIL TO ADDRESS IT AS WELL. SO I'LL MAKE THE MOTION TO, UH, DEFER FOR 30 DAYS. DO WE HAVE A SECOND? WE HAVE A SECOND. MY COUNCILMAN DUN JR. COUNCILMAN DUN, JR. I'M GONNA SECOND A MOTION TO, UM, TO DEFER, AS I MENTIONED LAST MEETING, I'M CONFLICTED ON THIS ITEM. I WANNA SUPPORT COUNCIL MEMBER BANKS AND, AND HER DESIRE TO DO WHAT SHE WANNA DO IN HER DISTRICT. AS I'VE TALKED TO HER, AND I'VE TALKED TO MANY OF YOU, UM, I DO NOT SUPPORT, UH, REMOVING THE PROPERTY FROM YOUR, YOU GUYS', UH, OWNERSHIP OR OPERATION SHIFT. UM, AS I MENTIONED AT THE LAST MEETING, UH, IF WE TAKE IT FROM YOU, THEN WHAT'S THE PLAN? YOU KNOW, IT'S LEFT VACANT, BLIGHTED, AND AT LEAST YOU HAVE A PLAN, UH, AND YOU'RE MOVING FORWARD IN PROGRESS WITH THAT PLAN. UH, NONE OF US THOUGHT, I DON'T THINK YOU THOUGHT IT WOULD TAKE 10 YEARS TO GET WHERE YOU ARE. THERE ARE SOME JUSTIFICATIONS IN THAT. UM, BUT HOPEFULLY THIS PUTS FIRE UNDERNEATH YOU TO MOVE A LITTLE FASTER. UM, BUT IF THE PAST ATTORNEY, UH, CAN COME BACK UP ABOUT THE AGREEMENT AND THE BENCHMARKS, ANOTHER COMMENT I MADE, UH, AT THE LAST MEETING, AND I DON'T THINK THIS SHOULD NECESSARILY BE INDIVIDUALLY FOR ANY OF US COUNCIL MEMBERS, WHETHER IT'S COUNCILWOMAN BANKS OR US, BUT I'D LIKE TO SEE A STANDARD AGREEMENT, YOU KNOW, BASED ON INDUSTRY BEST PRACTICES ON SOMETHING LIKE THIS IN PLACE. SO, BECAUSE WE GOT A LOT OF THESE OUT HERE, SPECIFICALLY THESE FIRE, UH, STATIONS, SO THAT THESE INDIVIDUALS OR ORGANIZATIONS CAN KNOW WHAT THE EXPECTATIONS ARE GOING IN. SO IF WE CAN WORK ON DRAFTING THAT, SO WE, WE ARE NOT, YOU KNOW, ONE OFF IN THESE THINGS AND TAKING 'EM ISOLATED, THAT THERE'LL BE A UNIFORM APPROACH TO TO THIS. SURE. UM, I ALSO MENTIONED NOT ONLY, YOU KNOW, BENCHMARKS, BUT YOU KNOW, WE HAVE DEVELOPERS AND ENGINEERS AND, AND ALL OF THAT STUFF AT OUR, UH, DISCRETION THAT WE CAN PARTNER THEM WITH WHEN THEY ENTER INTO THESE TYPE OF AGREEMENTS. UM, OFTENTIMES, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT A RESPONSIBILITY THIS IS. AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S, IT WOULD BE IN OUR BEST INTEREST TO HELP THEM ALONG THE WAY AND PARTNER THEM AND CONNECT THEM WITH RESOURCES THAT CAN COLLAPSE THE TIMEFRAME SO IT WON'T BE 10 YEARS AND, AND THEY DON'T HAVE THE PROGRESS THEY'RE LOOKING FOR. SO I'M GONNA ASK THAT, THAT WE DO THAT, YOU KNOW, WE CAN FORM A COMMITTEE OR, OR WHAT HAVE YOU. WE DON'T HAVE TO FORM A COMMITTEE, BUT LET'S JUST GET SOMETHING IN PLACE THAT'S STANDARD, A GUIDELINE, A TEMPLATE THAT THEY CAN GO BY. AND THERE'S SOME OTHERS OUT THERE. UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE JUST NOT WENT TO THIS, UH, EXTENT TO, TO ADDRESS 'EM. BUT THERE'S SOME OTHERS THAT HAD NOT BEEN, BEEN ADDRESSED AND HAD NOT BEEN PUT BACK IN COMMERCE. SO LET'S JUST AVOID FROM THIS HAPPENING AGAIN AND PUT SOMETHING IN PLACE. UH, AGAIN, THANK YOU. I'M A SUPPORT, UH, COUNCILWOMAN BANKS' DESIRE TO DEFER THIS, BUT I DO NOT SUPPORT, UH, REMOVING THE, UH, RESPONSIBILITY OF THIS PROPERTY FROM YOU GUYS. UH, I AM SURPRISED AND DISAPPOINTED THAT SHE'S NOT HERE TONIGHT. I DIDN'T KNOW SHE WOULD NOT BE HERE. UM, YOU KNOW, I WANT TO TAKE MY HAT OFF TO THE ALUMNI IN THE, IN THE SKYVILLE COMMUNITY FOR SHOWING UP AND ADVOCATING FOR YOUR SCHOOL, FOR YOUR ASSOCIATION, FOR YOUR COMMUNITY. YOU EVEN RECRUITED YOUR NEW SKYVILLE ALUMNI IN PENNY, UM, IN, IN HER AND GOLD TODAY. , UH, SO, YOU KNOW, ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN MY ALUMNI CAPITAL HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI AS THE PRESIDENT FOR MANY YEARS. I'VE WORKED WITH HOWARD AND, AND DALE AT, AT MCKINLEY. AND, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BECOME SOMEWHAT [01:35:01] OF A, UH, A, A FAMILY, YOU KNOW, ADVOCATING FOR OUR HISTORIC HISTORICALLY BLACK HIGH SCHOOLS FOR RESOURCES AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE. SO, YOU KNOW, I SUPPORT WHAT YOU GUYS ARE DOING. UM, UH, IF, IF, IF, IF WE CAN, UH, YOU KNOW, MAKE THIS PROCESS ANY SMOOTHER FOR YOU, WE'RE TRYING TO DO THAT. UM, IT, IT, IT DISAPPOINTS ME AND KIND OF BREAKS MY HEART THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS IS PLANNED OUT IN THIS WAY AND, AND IN A PUBLIC WAY. UM, I WISH WE WASN'T HERE, BUT WE ARE HERE. SO, UH, AGAIN, I'M GOING TO SECOND COUNCILMAN HUDSON'S, UH, MOTION TO DEFER, BUT I JUST WANNA MAKE THE COMMITMENT PUBLICLY. AS I'VE TOLD COUNCILWOMAN BANKS, I DO NOT SUPPORT, UM, THIS APPROACH AND WHAT SHE'S DOING. I DO SUPPORT YOU GUYS TO KEEP THE PROPERTY. SO IF THIS IS DEFERRED IN THE COMEBACK, I WILL BE IN SUPPORT OF YOU KEEPING THE PROPERTY AND NOT, UH, DISCONTINUING THE, UH, AGREEMENT. THANK YOU, COUNCILOR MCC COLEMAN. THANK YOU, SIR. MAYOR PRO TEM. YOU KNOW, AS WE TALK ABOUT THIS, UH, CONNECTING EAST BATON ROUGE NEIGHBORHOOD CONVENTION AND THE BLIGHT TO RIGHT, TO WA WHATEVER, AND THEN WE TALK ABOUT HERE NOT ALLOWING THIS GROUP TO DO SOMETHING WITH THIS FIRE STATION. I DON'T KNOW. I DON'T, I DON'T GET IT. AND THEN TO KNOW THE HISTORY. SO YOU GOTTA KNOW WHERE YOU'VE BEEN, TO KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING AND TO KNOW THE HISTORY OF THIS FIRE STATION, BECAUSE THIS WAS ONE OF THE FIRST, UH, FIRE STATIONS WHERE THE BLACK, YOU TALKING ABOUT FIRE CHIEF WOODS. AND SO I DIDN'T HEAR ANYBODY COME UP HERE AND SAY ANYTHING OF THAT NATURE. AND THEN, YES, THAT'S THE PURPOSE OF THE COUNCIL PERSON TO LEAD OR TO GIVE THEIR CONSTITUENTS, UH, INFORMATION ON HOW TO DO AND WHAT TO DO. AND SEE, I CAN'T, I, I, I CAN'T SAY THAT I'M FOR, UM, GIVING THIS BACK TO, I GUESS THE CITY AND THEN SAYING THAT I'M AGAINST THE DEFERRAL. SO IE I'M EITHER IN IT OR OUT OF IT. AND SO AS I SIT HERE AND, UM, I CANNOT, I CANNOT SUPPORT THE FACT THAT WE'RE GOING TO TAKE SOMETHING FROM THIS GROUP OF, UH, SCOTLAND VIA HAR BECAUSE I KNOW IT WAS HARNESSED THEN BECAUSE BACK, BACK, BACK, WAY BACK I WORKED THERE. SO I CANNOT SUPPORT THE FACT OF TAKING THIS FROM THIS GROUP. I DON'T KNOW OF THIS EVER BEING DONE. AND THEN NOT ALLOWING THEM TO MOVE FORWARD TO HAVE, UH, THIS PIECE OF PROPERTY THAT'S A PART OF HISTORY, UH, JUST DEMOLISHED OR GIVEN AWAY OR WHATEVER, OR BECOMING BLIGHT. SO I AM ON RECORD HERE. YOU KNOW, I CAN STAND ON ALL 10. I AM ON OR ON RECORD HERE SAYING THAT I DO NOT SUPPORT THE, UH, THIS CEA, UH, WITH THE CITY AND WITH SCOTLANDVILLE, UH, NOT BEING GRANTED TO, OR THEY BE ABLE TO HOLD ON TO THEIR CA AND MOVE FORWARD IN WORKING ON THIS PIECE OF PROPERTY. ALL RIGHT. WE HAVE A MOTION BY COUNCILMAN HUDSON, SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN DUN JR. TO DEFER FOR 30 DAYS. DO WE HAVE ANY OPPOSITION? OH, COUNCILMAN DUN, JR. I HAVE A QUESTION. MM-HMM, , COME ON UP. AGAIN, AS COUNCIL FOR THE SCOTTDALE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION, I, I TAKE ISSUE WITH, UH, THE COUNCIL FOR THE CITY, UH, CITY PARISH. UM, JUST IGNORING ALL OF OUR STRIDES AND INDICATE THAT THERE BEEN NO AGREEMENTS WE, WE PUT FORWARD. AND IF THERE'S NOT AN AGREEMENT, IT IS ON THE CITY SIDE BECAUSE WE, WE PUT, GIVE THEM THE BENCHMARKS AND THEY MAKE ABSOLUTELY NO RESPONSE. AND HE STANDS UP HERE AND HE SAYS THAT WE ARE NOT IN AGREEMENT THAT NOBODY IS IN AGREEMENT. AND THAT'S NOT THE CASE. BECAUSE IT IS, IT'S DISCOURAGING WHEN WE ARE PUTTING FORTH EFFORTS AND THE PERSON THAT YOU'RE TAKING ADVICE FROM IGNORES OUR EFFORTS. AND I THINK THAT'S UNFAIR. I REALIZE WE ARE NOT IN A COURT OF LAW, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE WE NEED TO GET THERE SOON. IF WE ARE GOING TO IGNORE THE EFFORTS OF THE CONSTITUENTS, I'M GONNA GIVE HIM A CHANCE TO RESPOND. BUT LET ME, I I THINK WHAT HE'S REFERRING TO IS, YOU KNOW, IN AN AGREEMENT IT TAKES TWO PARTIES TO AGREE. [01:40:01] I DON'T THINK YOU, WELL, I, I GUESS WHAT I WAS TRYING TO SAY IS, IS THEY PRESENTED SOME ISSUES AND COUNCILMAN BANKS DIDN'T AGREE. YES. THAT'S ALL I SAID. YES. SO I DON'T KNOW. I I THOUGHT SO. I, I THINK HE'S JUST SAYING THAT, THAT THERE'S BEEN NO AGREEMENT AND THAT, THAT'S WHY I MADE THE POINT THAT I DON'T THINK THE RESPONSIBILITY THAT THE OWNER SHOULD BE ON ONE COUNCIL PERSON. WE NEED A CITY PARISH APPROACH TO THESE AGREEMENTS. A STANDARD AGREEMENT IN PLACE THAT BOTH PARTIES, THE CITY AND THE ORGANIZATION CAN ADHERE TO. I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD BE DEFERRING TO ONE OF US. THIS IS SOMETHING WE SHOULD BE DOING COLLECTIVELY TO PUT A TEMPLATE IN PLACE THAT WE ALL CAN ABIDE BY. AND, AND MAYBE WE DO IT THROUGH ORDINANCE, MAYBE WE DO IT THROUGH RESOLUTION. BUT RIGHT NOW THERE'S REALLY, THIS IS UNCHARTED TERRITORY. THERE'S NOTHING IN PLACE TO GUIDE THIS, THIS SITUATION. SO I DON'T THINK HE WAS POINTING YOU, PUTTING BLAME ON YOU, WAS NOT COME TO ANY AGREEMENT. ALRIGHT. YOU CAN GO AHEAD. COUNCILMAN HURST. YEAH, LOOK, WHEN I SPOKE EARLIER, IT WAS BEFORE MILLER CAME UP AND I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT THE TERMS WEREN'T AGREED UPON. BUT WHAT I WILL TELL YOU IS, I MEAN, JUST SPEAKING TO MY COLLEAGUES UP HERE, I WON'T SPEAK FOR THEM, BUT I DON'T THINK THAT THE VOTES ARE THERE TO KILL IT. OKAY? BUT I DO THINK YOU NEED IT OVER THE NEXT 30 DAYS. JUST DO YOUR DUE DILIGENCE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE TERMS CAN GO IN PLACE AND IF NOT, WE'LL DO WHAT WE HAVE TO DO IF WE HAVE TO DO 'EM. UM, I THINK FOR RESPECT FOR OUR COLLEAGUE OF WHAT HER EXPECTATIONS AND TERMS ARE, THAT'S THE ONE THING I DIDN'T ASK. THAT'S THE ONE THING I DON'T THINK ANY OF MY COLLEAGUES ASKED OF WHAT THOSE BENCHMARKS SHOULD BE. AND IF SHE DOESN'T COME WITH SPECIFIC BENCHMARKS, THEN THAT LEAVES US DUE DILIGENCE TO, UH, TO, TO MOVE FORWARD IN A DIRECTION WE FEEL LIKE IT SHOULD GO. PUT OUTTA RESPECT FOR OUR COLLEAGUE WITH THAT ONE STATEMENT. I BELIEVE THAT WE ALLOW, WE NEED TO ALLOW HER AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK. AND I DON'T THINK THE FIRE STATION IS GOING ANYWHERE. LEMME BE VERY CLEAR, AND I HATE THAT Y'ALL MAY HAVE TO COME UP HERE ONE MORE TIME AND HAVE HEARTACHE, BUT I DO LOVE THAT YOU ARE CONSISTENTLY COMING, FIGHTING FOR YOUR COMMUNITY, FIGHTING FOR YOUR ALUMNI. AND AGAIN, UH, WHETHER IT'S TODAY OR TOMORROW, YOU STILL HAVE MY SUPPORT. THANK YOU. WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND TO DEFER FOR 30 DAYS. DO WE HAVE ANY OPPOSITION? WE HAVE ONE OPPOSED. ANYONE ELSE? MOTION CARRIES. DEFER FOR 30 DAYS. NUMBER 98 [98. 24-00963] RESOLUTION, APPROVING THE ISSUANCE, SALE AND DELIVERY OF THE NOT TO EXCEED $10 MILLION REVENUE ANTICIPATION. NODE SERIES 2024 OF THE ST. GEORGE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT NUMBER TWO OF THE PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE, STATE OF LOUISIANA, AND OTHER MATTERS RELATING THERE TOO BY ST. GEORGE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT. ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? SAME. NONE WILL GO TO COUNCIL MOTION TO APPROVE BY COUNCILMAN HUDSON. SECOND BY COUNCILWOMAN ADAMS IN THE OPPOSITION. MOTION CARRIES ITEM 99, [99. 24-00990] AUTHORIZING THE PLACEMENT OF THE SCULPTURE, KNOWN AS SPIRIT RISING AT THE CORNER OF GOVERNMENT STREET IN NORTH EUGENE, AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR, PRESIDENT ON BEHALF OF THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE, TO ACCEPT THE DONATION OF SET SCULPTURE FROM MID-CITY MERCHANTS BY COUNCILWOMAN COLEMAN. ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? SEEING NONE WILL GO TO COUNCIL MOTION BY COUNCILWOMAN COLEMAN. SECOND BY COUNCILWOMAN ROA, ANY OPPOSITION? MOTION CARRIES ITEM A HUNDRED, AUTHORIZING [100. 24-00970] MAYOR, PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR OF PURCHASING ON BEHALF OF BATON ROUGE FIRE DEPARTMENT TO DECLARE A LADDER TRUCK SURPLUS AND TO ALLOW DONATION OF SET LADDER TRUCKS TO THE CITY OF GONZALEZ FIRE DEPARTMENT BY THE FIRE CHIEF. ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? SEE, NOW I'M GONNA GO TO COUNCIL. WE HAVE A MOTION. MOTION BY COUNCILWOMAN ROCKA. SECOND BY COUNCILMAN DUN, JR. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. ITEM [101. 24-00947] 1 0 1, AUTHORIZING MAYOR PRESIDENT TO EXECUTE AN INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT ON BEHALF OF THE BATON ROUGE FIRE DEPARTMENT WITH ST. GEORGE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT NUMBER TWO, CONFIRMING THAT EMERGENCY RESPONSE WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES OF DISTRICT NUMBER TWO IS PROVIDED BY DISTRICT NUMBER TWO, CONSISTENT WITH LOUISIANA REVISED STATUTE 33 2 21 BY BATON ROUGE FIRE DEPARTMENT. ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? SEEN NONE WILL GO TO COUNCIL MOTION BY COUNCILWOMAN ROCK. A SECOND BY COUNCILWOMAN ADAMS. ANY OPPOSED? SEEN NONE. MOTION CARRIES [102. 24-00872] ITEM 1 0 2, AUTHORIZED MAYOR PRESIDENT TO ENTER INTO ENHANCE MEDICAID PAYMENT SUPPORT AGREEMENT FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES WITH THE LOUISIANA AMBULANCE ALLIANCE BY EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES DIRECTOR. ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? SAME. NONE WILL GO TO COUNCIL MOTION BY COUNCILMAN GOEY. SECOND BY COUNCILWOMAN ROCKA. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. ITEM [103. 24-00969] 1 0 3 A RESOLUTION RATIFYING THE ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION NUMBER [01:45:01] 5 7 7 5 2 BY THE METROPOLITAN COUNCIL OF THE PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE AND CITY OF BATON ROUGE RELATING TO THE PROPOSED VARIOUS AMENDMENTS TO THE PLAN GOVERNMENT OF THE PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE AND CITY OF BATON ROUGE BY BOND COUNCIL. ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? MS. PENNY MAY LANDRY. I AM IN OPPOSITION TO THIS ITEM AND I WOULD LIKE THE METRO COUNCIL CONS TO CONSIDER DEFERRING THIS ITEM UNTIL FURTHER, UM, CHANGES ARE MADE TO IT. AND TO DEFER THIS UNTIL THERE IS ADEQUATE CITIZEN INPUT. UH, I DON'T RECALL THERE BEING ANY TOWN HALLS OR ANY, UH, OPPORTUNITIES FOR CITIZENS TO HAVE INPUT INTO THE CHANGES OF THEIR PLAN OF GOVERNMENT. UM, SO I WOULD LIKE THIS ITEM TO BE DEFERRED UNTIL AFTER THE ELECTION. UM, SO THAT THE NEW, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS AND POSSIBLY MAYOR CAN HAVE SOME INPUT INTO THIS AS WELL AS THE CITIZENS. I AM, ESPECIALLY IN OPPOSITION TO SECTION, UM, 4 0 8, WHICH MAKES THE MAYOR PRESIDENT BE ABLE TO APPOINT A CITY PARISH MANAGER. AND THEN SHE ALSO HAS THE AUTHORITY. HE OR SHE HAS THE AUTHORITY TO REMOVE IT, THAT PERSON. UM, THE OTHER THING THAT I'M IN OPPOSITION TO IS SECTION 4 0 9, UM, WHICH IS A NEW POSITION OF CHIEF OF STAFF. WE ALREADY HAVE A BLOATED GOVERNMENT. WE NEED SMALLER GOVERNMENT . OKAY? THE TAXPAYERS ARE STRUGGLING HERE AND TO ADD MORE SALARIED POSITIONS, UM, TO AN ALREADY VERY LARGE LOCAL GOVERNMENT. UM, IT'S, YOU KNOW, NOT TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION THE THINGS THAT THE TAXPAYERS ARE GOING THROUGH, AND THE OTHER ONE THAT I'M IN OPPOSITION TO, WHICH ADDS A NEW POSITION OF EXECUTIVE COUNCIL, AKA, AN ATTORNEY TO PROVIDE THE MAYOR PRESIDENT'S OFFICE WITH THEIR OWN LEGAL ADVICE AND GUIDANCE. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE REASON FOR THERE NEEDING TO BE A SECOND LEGAL DEPARTMENT TO JUST SERVE THE MAYOR. SO LOOK INTO YOUR HEARTS BEFORE YOU VOTE ON THIS AND SEE IF THERE SHOULD BE SOME AMENDMENTS. AND ALSO TO ALLOW THE CITIZENS OF EAST BATON ROUGE SOME INPUT INTO THE CHANGES TO OUR PLAN OF GOVERNMENT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION. ANYONE ELSE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? COUNCIL MEMBERS, YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED ONE EMAIL, COMMENT AND OPPOSITION TO ITEM 1 0 3. COUNCILMAN DON JR. JUST A POINT OF INFORMATION, UM, AND ANYBODY ELSE CAN CHIME IN ON THIS. UM, THIS ITEM, AS I UNDERSTAND IT, IS, IS JUST BASICALLY A PROCEDURAL THING, A FORMALITY. WE BASICALLY VOTED ON THIS TO SEND THIS TO THE VOTERS TO DECIDE ON IT. UH, IT'S GONNA BE ON THE BALLOT IN NOVEMBER. ALL THOSE ITEMS AND MANY MORE YOU, YOU CAN READ IN THE SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS. SO WE'RE NOT APPROVING THIS TO BE INTO POLICY OR INTO LAW. THIS IS BASICALLY A FORMALITY. AND IF ANYBODY FROM THE PARISH ATTORNEY OFFICE OR FROM BOND COUNSEL HERE WANNA SPEAK TO THAT AND WHY THIS IS, THIS IS NEEDED. THIS IS ALREADY VOTED ON BY THIS BIDEN ALREADY ON THE BALLOT IN NOVEMBER. THANK YOU. COUNCILWOMAN ROCKA. OH, SORRY, MR. HESBERG, PLEASE. HI. GOOD AFTERNOON. UH, TOMMY HESBERG BOND COUNSEL. SO, UH, COUNCILMAN DUNN JR. IS CORRECT THIS, THIS MATTER WAS BEFORE THE COUNCIL ON MARCH 27TH. AT THAT TIME, IT WAS VOTED UPON TO PRESENT THE ITEMS, UH, THE, THE PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE PLAN OF GOVERNMENT, TO THE ELECTORATE. THEY, IT HAD TO BE ADOPTED AT THAT TIME BECAUSE, UH, THE, THE SECRETARY OF STATE PROPOSITION DEADLINE WAS JUNE 19TH. AND SO THE PLAN OF GOVERNMENT, UH, CURRENTLY SECTION 1109 REQUIRES THAT ANY PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE PLANNING GOVERNMENT BE PRESENTED AT AN ELECTION AFTER VOTED ON BY THE COUNCIL. NOT LESS THAN 90 NOR MORE, OR PROBABLY NOT LESS THAN 60, NOR MORE THAN 90 DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF ADOPTION. AND SO, IN ORDER TO COMPLY WITH BOTH THE PLAN OF GOVERNMENT AND THE SECRETARY OF STATE PROPOSITION DEADLINE, THIS COUNCIL HAD TO ADOPT A RESOLUTION CALLING [01:50:01] THE ELECTION IN MARCH SO THAT WE COULD SUBMIT FOR STATE BOND COMMISSION APPROVAL IN MAY TO MEET THE SECRETARY OF STATE DEADLINE IN JUNE. WE ARE NOW HERE TO RATIFY THAT THE CALLING OF THAT ELECTION TO COMPLY WITH SECTION 1109 IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO VALIDLY WELL, THE ELECTION WILL BE VALIDLY CALLED, BUT IN ORDER FOR THE AMENDMENTS, IF THEY WERE VOTED UPON PURSUANT TO SECTION 1109, WOULD HAVE TO HAVE THIS RESOLUTION ADOPTED. THANK YOU, COUNCILWOMAN. AKA. SO JUST TO GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF INSIGHT, THANK YOU, MR. HESBERG. HE EXPLAINED THIS VERY, VERY WELL WITH HOW THIS WORKS. BUT, UM, LET'S ALL REMEMBER AND NOT HAVE SHORT TERM MEMORY WITH REGARD TO HOW LONG WE'VE PUT, UM, EFFORTS INTO CHANGING THE PLAN OF GOVERNMENT. IN FACT, WHENEVER I WAS APPOINTED TO THE FORMER COUNCIL, THERE WERE SEVERAL COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT HAD PUT EFFORTS TOWARDS MODERNIZING THE PLAN OF GOVERNMENT. AND THEN WE WERE LUCKY ENOUGH TO HAVE COUNCILMAN GODDE TAKE THOSE EFFORTS, REFORM THOSE THINGS, AND HAVE, UM, THIS COUNCIL COLLABORATE AND MOVE FORWARD TO MODERNIZE THE PLAN OF GOVERNMENT. SO THIS WASN'T BIRTHED OUT OF AN IDEA THAT HAPPENED A YEAR AGO. IT'S BEEN FIVE YEARS IN RUNNING QUITE SOME TIME, MAYBE EVEN CLOSE TO EIGHT. UM, AND ALSO WITH REGARD TO THE PLAN OF GOVERNMENT, THIS IS FOR THE PEOPLE. THE PEOPLE DECIDE, THE PEOPLE GO AND VOTE. THE PEOPLE GET TO CHOOSE WHETHER OR NOT THEY WANT TO MODERNIZE THEIR PLAN OF GOVERNMENT AND MOVE FORWARD. AND WHEN THE PEOPLE CHOOSE WHENEVER THEY'RE DECIDING AND MAKING THESE DECISIONS, I WOULD ASK THEM TO POTENTIALLY GO AND GOOGLE SOME NEWS ARTICLES THAT HAVE HAPPENED OVER THE PAST FOUR YEARS WHERE WE'VE HAD ISSUES WITH REGARDS TO WHETHER THE PARISH ATTORNEY WAS OUR COUNCIL, OR WHETHER OR NOT HE WAS THE MAYOR'S COUNCIL, WHETHER OR NOT HE WAS ADVISING US OR WHETHER HE WAS ADVISING THE MAYOR. AND SOMETIMES THAT LEGAL ADVICE CONFLICTS, SOMETIMES ETHICAL ISSUES ARISE. AND, UM, IT'S, THOSE THINGS ARE CALLED INTO QUESTION. WE TOOK ALL OF THOSE THINGS INTO CONSIDERATION. WE DISCUSSED ALL OF THOSE THINGS, AND WE HAD THE FORESIGHT AND HISTORY TO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT ISSUES WE'VE RUN INTO ON THIS COUNCIL AND WHAT DEFICIENCIES WE'VE HAD WITHIN THE DEPARTMENTS THAT WE HAVE SERVED OVER THE PAST FOUR YEARS. SO WE HAVE NOT TAKEN THESE THINGS LIGHTLY. UM, WE DON'T JUST COME BEFORE YOU ON A WHIM AND SAY, THIS IS WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN AND IT'S GONNA HAPPEN, AND THIS IS HOW WE'RE GONNA DO IT. WE PUT HOURS, WEEKS, MONTHS, YEARS, UM, INTO SERVICE, INTO MAKING SURE THAT WHAT WE PUT BEFORE YOU ON THESE AGENDA ITEMS HAVE BEEN PROPERLY STUDIED AND, UM, HAVE BEEN PROPERLY VETTED BEFORE WE SEND THEM TO THE PEOPLE. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR ANYBODY THAT'S LISTENING. UM, THANK YOU FOR ALL THE CITIZENS THAT WILL BE REVIEWING THIS. I ALSO WANNA WARN, BECAUSE I'VE SEEN THIS ONLINE AND SOME OF THE FORUMS, UM, THERE ARE, PLEASE GO AND LOOK AT THE CURRENT PLAN OF GOVERNMENT. SOME FOLKS HAVE GONE NUTS ABOUT IMMINENT DOMAIN LANGUAGE THAT, UM, HAS BEEN IN THE PLAN OF GOVERNMENT FOR DECADES. AND THAT'S, UM, GIVEN TO US FROM THE STATE GOVERNMENT, FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, THOSE LAWS THAT HAVE, UM, BEEN THERE FOREVER. AND WE JUST ADOPTED THAT LANGUAGE INTO THE NEW FORM BECAUSE THAT'S THERE, WE NEED, WE HAD TO KEEP THAT. UM, SO CAUTION YOURSELF ON, ON WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT AND WHAT THE ACTUAL CHANGES ARE AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE. SO, UM, PLEASE JUST READ, READ AGAIN, REREAD, AND THEN HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH US. WE ARE HERE TO HELP. THEY'RE, UM, PEOPLE THAT HAVE DONE THIS LONG BEFORE US THAT ARE HERE TO HELP AND THAT CAN HAVE DISCUSSIONS. BUT AGAIN, IT'S PREMATURE FOR US TO START MOVING FORWARD ON THIS UNTIL WE GET WE GET THROUGH THESE PROCESSES THAT WE'RE DOING HERE TONIGHT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. COUNCILWOMAN NAZA. THANK YOU. SO JUST TO PIGGYBACK ON WHAT SHE WAS SAYING, THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON. I GOT ON THE COUNCIL SIX YEARS AGO AND THEY WERE HAVING COMMITTEE MEETINGS, UM, PUTTING THESE THINGS TOGETHER SO IT GOES BACK EVEN FURTHER THAN SIX YEARS. SO THIS IS NOT ANYTHING NEW. ALSO, UM, WHEN, UH, COUNCILMAN GODDE FIRST GOT ON THE COUNCIL AS WELL, HE MADE HIMSELF AVAILABLE, WENT AROUND THE PARISH, OFFERED HIMSELF FOR, UM, DISTRICT MEETINGS, WHICH HE CAME TO MY DISTRICT. AND WE HAD A DISTRICT MEETING EXPLAINING SOME OF THESE CHANGES. UM, AND HE HAS MADE HIMSELF AVAILABLE AGAIN, IF I AM CORRECT. SO KEEP YOUR EYES OUT. I KNOW THAT I AM GONNA MAKE [01:55:01] ARRANGEMENTS FOR HIM TO COME INTO MY DISTRICT TO EXPLAIN, UM, SOME OF THE CHANGES THAT THEY'RE LOOKING AT, UH, BEING THE TEACHER THAT I AM. I LIKE PEOPLE TO HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE AND THE INFORMATION BEFORE WE GO OUT AND MAKE ANY KIND OF DECISION. SO KEEP YOUR EYES OUT AND SEE IF YOUR, UH, COUNCIL PERSON IS GOING TO HAVE A MEETING IN THEIR DISTRICT. SO, THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. WE HAVE A MOTION FROM COUNCILMAN GOEY. WE HAVE A SECOND TO APPROVE THE ITEM. SECOND BY COUNCILWOMAN MORRO. ANY OPPOSITION? MOTION CARRIES. WE'RE GONNA JUMP TO [105. 24-00981] ITEM 1 0 5, AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS TO SERVE, SERVE AS THE GOVERNING AUTHORITY OF THE HARVEST AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT. APPOINTING THE INITIAL MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF THE HARVEST AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT, AND PROVIDING FOR OTHER MATTERS IN CONNECTION THERE WITH BY COUNCILWOMAN COUNCILMAN RODDY GODDE AND COUNCILWOMAN CAROLYN COLEMAN. DID ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? MS. LANDRY? PENNY. MAE LANDRY. THIS IS AN INTERESTING ONE. I KNOW THAT THE BOARD HAS ALREADY, OR THE DISTRICT HAS ALREADY BEEN, UM, FORMED. UH, WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IN THE ORDINANCE IN THIS BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BEING APPOINTED IS THAT THE MEETINGS OF THE HARVEST AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT TAKE PLACE HERE IN THE CHAMBERS. AND, UM, THAT ALSO THE MINUTES FROM THIS COMMISSION, THAT THERE'S A TRANSCRIBED VERSION OF THE MINUTES THAT'S AVAILABLE THAT INCLUDES EVERYTHING THAT IS SAID THIS WEEK. I WENT TO TWO MEETINGS. ONE, THE COR, EXCUSE ME, THE CORTANA CARTER, EDD, AND THE BILL BATON ROUGE COMMISSION. BOTH OF THOSE MEETINGS TOOK PLACE AT THE LAW OFFICE. FISHMAN HAYGOOD. I THINK THAT ALL COMMISSION MEETINGS, ALL EDD MEETINGS NEED TO BE HELD HERE AND THEY NEED TO BE RECORDED. AND THOSE RECORDINGS ARE AVAILABLE AS TRANSCRIPTS FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND OR HARD OF HEARING. SO I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THIS AMENDED TO INCLUDE THAT THE MEETINGS OF THE HARVEST AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS TAKE PLACE IN THESE CHAMBERS, AND THAT THERE ARE TRANSCRIPTS OF ALL MINUTES MADE AVAILABLE TO THE CITIZENS. THANK YOU. ANYONE ELSE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? COUNCIL MEMBERS, YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED ONE EMAIL, COMMENT AND OPPOSITION TO ITEM 1 0 5. COUNCILMAN DON JR. I DON'T HAVE A OPPOSITION TO ALL THE COMMISSION MEETINGS BEING HELD HERE. UM, MS. LANDRY, THERE ARE A LOT OF THEM. I THINK WHAT YOU'RE GONNA RUN INTO WITH THAT IS AVAILABILITY OF THE CHAMBER. AND NOW MAYBE YOU CAN DO 'EM SOMEWHERE IN CITY HALL AND NOT IN THE CHAMBER. 'CAUSE IT'S, IT IS A LOT OF BOYS AND COMMISSIONS. UM, BUT I ALSO DO SUPPORT, UH, YOUR IDEA OF ALL BOYS AND COMMISSION MEETINGS BEING RECORDED. UM, SO I KNOW WE HAVE SOME, BUT I THINK IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA IF ALL, ALL OF 'EM WAS VIDEO RECORDED, A, B, C BOARD, YOU KNOW, AIRPORT BOARD, ANY OTHER BOARD OF COMMISSION. SO THAT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING WE CAN LOOK INTO. WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE BY COUNCILMAN HUDSON, SECOND BY COUNCILWOMAN COLEMAN. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. IS THERE ANYBODY THAT WANTS TO RESPOND TO FOR NO, WE'RE GOOD. OKAY. THANK YOU. I CAN TELL YOU THIS. A BC IS RECORDED. [104. 24-00985] ITEM GOING BACK TO ITEM 1 0 4. NOW AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE, CREATING THE RIVER CENTER ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT WITHIN THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA. ON THE PROPERTY DESCRIBED AT ON EXHIBIT A, DEFINING THE BOUNDARIES OF THE PROPERTY FROM WHICH AREA, AREA NEW SALES AND USED TAXES AND NEW HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAXES MAY BE LEVIED BY THE DISTRICT AND USED TO FUND ALL, OR A PORTION OF THE COST OF AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECT AS DESCRIBED HEREIN. ALL IN ACCORDANCE WITH AND AS AUTHORIZED BY CHAPTER 27 OF TITLE 33, LOUISIANA REVISED STATUTES IN 1950 AS AMENDED, DESIGNATING THE GOVERNING AUTHORITY OF THE DISTRICT, REQUIRING THE BASELINE SALES AND USE TAX AND HOTEL OCCUPANCY, TAX COLLECTION RATE IN THE DISTRICT TO BE CERTIFIED, REQUIRING THE NUMBER OF REGISTERED VOTERS IN THE DISTRICT TO BE CERTIFIED AND PROVIDING FOR OTHER MATTERS IN CONNECTION WITH THE FOREGOING BY COUNCILWOMAN CAROLYN COLEMAN, [02:00:01] COUNCILWOMAN JEN ROA, COUNCILMAN CLEVE DUN JR. COUNCILMAN AARON MOOCH AND COUNCILMAN DWIGHT HUDSON. ANYBODY HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? MS. PENNY? MAY LANDRY. I'M IN THE OPPOSITE OPPOSITION TO THIS ITEM, AND I KNOW YOU RECEIVED A COUPLE OF COMMENTS IN OPPOSITION. UM, ONE OF THE CHA CHANGES TO THE PLAN OF GOVERNMENT I'D LIKE TO SEE IS THAT ALL COMMENTS IN FAVOR OF OR IN OPPOSITION TO AGENDA ITEMS ARE ACTUALLY READ INTO THE MEETING MINUTES. UM, THIS IS AN EXCERPT FROM A LETTER THAT WAS SENT TO Y'ALL LAST YEAR ABOUT ANOTHER EDD, AND I'M GONNA READ IT. UM, IT WAS FROM SOMEONE I KNOW, I BELIEVE THE EAST BAT, AND I CONCUR WITH WHAT THIS PERSON SAID. I BELIEVE THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO REVISE IN RECURRENT ORDINANCES RELATED TO CREATION OF EDDS AND TIF DISTRICTS, INCLUDING THE REASONS THEY'RE CREATED AND WHO ACTUALLY PROFITS FROM THEIR CREATION. TOO MANY AGENCIES NOW HAVE THE LEGAL RIGHT TO CREATE EDDS THE IDEA THAT THE E-D-A-R-D-A CAN CREATE DISTRICTS WITHOUT HAVING THE APPROVAL OF THE CITY PARISH GOVERNMENT. ONE ECONOMIC DISTRICT USES ABOUT 50% OF ITS REVENUES FOR EMPLOYEES SALARIES AND BENEFITS. TOO MANY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN OTHER DISTRICTS ARE BEING CREATED THAT DIVERT LOCAL AND TAX STATE FUNDS AWAY FROM THE USES THAT TAXPAYERS APPROVE THE USES FOR THESE TAXES. I BELIEVE SOME OF THESE ECONOMIC DISTRICTS AND TIFFS ARE SET TO MAKE PROFITS FOR SOME WELL-CONNECTED INDIVIDUALS IN GROUPS AND ARE NOT IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE LOCAL TAXPAYERS. I DO AGREE WITH THAT AT LOOKING AT THE INDIVIDUALS WHOSE NAMES REPEATEDLY, REPEATEDLY SHOW UP FOR THESE EDDS AND THESE TIFFS. WE DO NOT NEED TO BE IN THE HOTEL BUSINESS UNTIL WE FIGURE OUT TRAFFIC SOLUTION, UNTIL WE FIGURE OUT CRIME SOLUTIONS. TAXPAYERS HAVE PAID FOR THE REVITALIZATION OF DOWNTOWN. I'M 67 YEARS OLD AND I CAN THINK OF SEVERAL. HOWEVER, DOWNTOWN DOESN'T REALLY GET REVITALIZED BECAUSE OF THE ISSUES LEADING TO DOWNTOWN STREETS. IF YOU'VE DRIVEN DOWN FLORIDA BOULEVARD OR NORTH BOULEVARD, YOU HAVE TO GET A NEW PAIR OF TIRES, UH, REGULARLY. OKAY? UM, WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH CRIME DOWNTOWN. PEOPLE ARE SCARED TO GO DOWNTOWN. YES, YOU DO HAVE A SELECT GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO GO DOWNTOWN, BUT MOST PEOPLE MY AGE ARE NOT GOING DOWNTOWN AFTER DARK. OKAY? WE ALREADY HAVE HOTELS. THE OTHER ISSUE IS WHERE ARE GONNA PEOPLE, PEOPLE GONNA PARK TO COME TO THIS NEW HOTEL. I TRIED TO PARK LAST WEEK. I DID THE LITTLE QR CODE WITH THE LITTLE FLY WHATEVER BIRD IT SAID, GEOLOCATION NOT FOUND. I SPENT 20 MINUTES ATTEMPTING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO PARK DOWN THERE. IT'S A HUGE ISSUE. NO, NO. ALL OF Y'ALL HAVE A PASS. I AM IN OPPOSITION TO THIS. THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT HERE TONIGHT WHO ARE IN OPPOSITION TO IT. AND I ASK THAT YOU DEFER THIS UNTIL AFTER THE ELECTION. THANK YOU. LAST NICHOLSON. MM-HMM. HELLO? UH, MY NAME IS DOC LARSON. I LIVE 6 7 3 NORTH SEVENTH STREET, BATON ROUGE, WHERE IT FLOODS. UH, I'M IN OPPOSITION TO THIS. I'M IN OPPOSITION TO ANY TAX THAT THE CITIZENS DON'T GET A RIGHT TO VOTE ON IT, BUT ALSO REPRESENT THE SOCIETY FOR THE PRESERVATION OF LANAP IN LOUISIANA. BUT YOU MAY KNOW US AS A SPANISH TOWN MARDI GRAS, WE DERIVE A BIG PART OF OUR BUDGET FROM THE RIVER CENTER WITH OUR BALL. THIS TAX WILL TAKE 2%. THIS 2% WILL COME FROM, UH, DONATIONS THAT WE WOULD GIVE TO THE BATON ROUGE FOOD MONEY. BATON ROUGE CHILDREN'S ADVOCACY CENTER. YOU KNOW, WE HAVE ABOUT 20 DIFFERENT CHARITIES AND YOU'RE GONNA BE TAKING 2% AT LEAST FROM EACH ONE OF THEM. SO I'M IN OPPOSITION TO THIS PROPOSAL. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, JOE GETTER. [02:05:01] THANK YOU MAYOR PROTO JILL KITTER WITH VISIT BATON ROUGE. AND I'M ALSO THE VICE CHAIR OF THE MAYOR'S RAISING IN CANS RIVER CENTER OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE, ALONG WITH OUR CHAIR, CAROLYN COLEMAN. UH, THE MCC COMMITTEE HAS MET A COUPLE OF TIMES ALREADY AND IS BEGINNING ITS WORK TO PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS BACK TO YOU, UH, FOR AN OWNER'S REP, AND HOPEFULLY SOON DEVELOPERS WHO MAY BE INTERESTED IN WORKING WITH OUR CITY, UH, TO REALIZE OUR DREAM FOR REVITALIZING OUR RIVER CENTER COMPLEX. OUR RESEARCH OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS HAS UNEQUIVOCALLY SAID WE HAVE TO FORM PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS. AND I THINK ALL OF YOU KNOW THAT WE'VE COME TO YOU IN WITH THAT, THAT MESSAGE OVER AND OVER AGAIN IN ORDER TO REALIZE OUR PLANS. THE ENABLING ORDINANCE YOU ARE CONSIDERING THIS EVENING TO CREATE AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT IS A NECESSARY TOOL IN OUR TOOLKIT WHEN SEEKING POTENTIAL DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS FOR YOU AND OUR CITY. ANY DEVELOPER WILL WANT TO KNOW THAT THE CITY IS REALLY SERIOUS, UH, ABOUT THE PROJECT AND IS WILLING TO WORK WITH THEM TO MAKE THE PROJECT HAPPEN. SO THE CREATION OF THE DISTRICT WILL SPEAK VOLUMES TO THOSE POTENTIAL FOR DEVELOPERS. WE TRULY RESPECT. THOSE WHO HAVE CONCERNS, UH, CERTAINLY CAN UNDERSTAND THEM AND HOPE WE CAN WORK THROUGH THOSE. BUT THIS IS JUST AN ENABLING ORDINANCE AS I UNDERSTAND IT, UH, OUTLINING A SMALL DISTRICT THAT RIGHT NOW I DON'T BELIEVE INCLUDES ANY RESIDENTS. I MAY BE WRONG. I'M NOT AN ATTORNEY, BUT NO TAXES ARE BEING INITIATED AT THIS POINT. UH, AND THERE WILL BE TIME FOR MORE SPECIFIC CONVERSATIONS AND A VOTE ON THOSE SPECIFICS AS THE COUNCIL HAS A BETTER IDEA OF WHAT THE ACTUAL SCOPE AND SCALE OF THIS PROJECT IS GOING TO BE. AND AS I ALSO UNDERSTAND IT, THIS BODY IS ALSO THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT. SO YOU'LL BE MAKING THOSE DECISIONS IN THE LIGHT. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH. MATHEO. HELLO, UH, WHITNEY HOFFMAN, SEL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT. I ALSO SERVE ON THE RIVER CENTER OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE. UM, JUST WANTED TO NOTE FIRST THAT, UH, OUR COMMISSION DID NOT TAKE A POSITION ON SUPPORTING OR, UM, OPPOSING THIS, BUT WE DO KNOW THAT RIVER CENTER UPGRADES AND TRANSFORMATION WILL REQUIRE FUNDING. UM, AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DISTRICTS ARE ONE TOOL IN THE TOOLBOX TO BE ABLE TO HELP, UH, MAKE THOSE FINANCING DEALS WORK. UM, IT IS ALSO A VALUABLE ATTRACTOR IN ATTRACTING A DEVELOPER TO RESPOND TO THE RFP THAT THE COMMITTEE IS WORKING ON, UM, PUTTING TOGETHER, UM, AND SPEAKING WITH SOME OF THE STAKEHOLDERS WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES OF THE DISTRICTS. ALTHOUGH I BELIEVE ALSO THERE ARE NO RESIDENTS, BUT THERE ARE SOME STAKEHOLDERS AND, AND VENUES. UM, THEY SEEM GENERALLY COMFORTABLE WITH THE FORMATION OF THE DISTRICT. UM, AND WE DO HOPE TO SEE THE RIVER CENTER BECOME A MORE VIABLE ASSET TO THE DOWNTOWN COMMUNITY. THANK YOU, MS. HAWTHORNE. THANK YOU PRO TEM AND, UM, COUNCIL MEMBERS, UM, APRIL HAWTHORNE, UM, WITH THE BATON ROUGE NORTH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT. I AM ALSO ON THIS OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE AS A COMMUNITY MEMBER AND A RESIDENT AND REPRESENTING BRINED. AND I WANTED TO COME BEFORE YOU, UM, IN SUPPORT OF THIS. I DID, UM, EMAIL THIS, UH, TO YOU AS WELL. AND I WANTED YOU TO ALSO KNOW THAT OUR, OUR BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS HAS NOT, HAS NOT OFFICIALLY SUPPORTED THIS AS WELL, BUT IT IS BROUGHT BEFORE THEIR ATTENTION. AND I JUST WANTED YOU TO KNOW THAT THIS INITIATIVE CLOSELY ALIGNS WITH THE MAYOR'S INITIATIVES AS WELL. AND IT'S, UM, PARTICULARLY DRIVING ECONOMIC REVITALIZATION AND JOB CREATION ACROSS BATON ROUGE. AND THE CREATION OF THIS, UH, DISTRICT IS A CRITICAL STEP TOWARD ENHANCING OUR CITY'S LANDSCAPE. AND THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENTS WILL SERVE AS A CATALYST FOR BROADER ECONOMIC GROWTH AND SEVERAL BENEFITS FOR THE NORTH BATON ROUGE COMMUNITY, SUCH AS, UH, ECONOMIC SPILLOVER EFFECTS, UM, INCREASED REVENUE FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS, JOB CREATION, AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND REGIONAL INTEGRATION. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THIS DISTRICT WILL NOT ONLY REVITALIZE THE DOWNTOWN, BUT IT'S GOING TO JUST CONTINUE TO GROW AS WE MOVE FORWARD, UM, WITH OUR CITY. SO IF, UM, YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, UM, WE ARE ALSO WELCOME, BUT I ACTUALLY YOU TO SUPPORT THIS, UM, ON THE AGENDA. THANK YOU . ANYONE ELSE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? DEAN, I'M GONNA GO TO COUNCIL COUNCILWOMAN ADAMS. UM, I WANT TO A ADDRESS, UM, THE DISCUSSION THAT, THAT DOWNTOWN IS A SCARY [02:10:01] PLACE WHERE PEOPLE DON'T TO WANT TO COME. UM, AND IT HASN'T BEEN REVITALIZED. I, MY FIRST BIG GIRL JOB WAS WORKING, UM, FOR STATE GOVERNMENT DOWNTOWN IN THE, THE BUILDING ON THIRD STREET THAT IS NOW THE WATERMARK. UM, IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL BUILDING WHOSE, WHOSE TIME HAD PASSED, AND I GOT STUCK IN THE ELEVATOR IN THAT BUILDING, UM, HEADING UP TO THE OFFICE MORE TIMES THAN I WANT TO REMEMBER. AND I STILL HAVE A LITTLE PTSD WHEN I GET IN THE, THE ELEVATOR AT THE WATERMARK. UM, THE, THE RENOVATION OF THE WATERMARK IS AMAZING. AND AS SOMEONE WHO WORKED IN THAT BUILDING WHEN IT WAS IN A DECLINING OR JUST BARELY HOLDING ON, UM, STATUS, TO BE ABLE TO GO BACK INTO THAT BUILDING AND SEE IT RETURNED TO THE BEAUTY THAT IT HAD WHEN IT WAS, UM, ORIGINALLY, UM, BUILT IS AMAZING. IT IS A GORGEOUS HOTEL. IT REPRESENTS OUR CITY BEAUTIFULLY. UM, WHEN I WORKED DOWN HERE IN THE, THE MID NINETIES, THERE WERE, I REMEMBER THREE RESTAURANTS, A CHINESE RESTAURANT, DESIREE'S, WHICH IF YOU WERE A LOBBYIST, THAT'S WHERE YOU WENT. I WASN'T A LOBBYIST, BUT THAT'S WHERE, THAT'S WHERE THE FANCY PEOPLE WENT. AND THEN, UH, THERE WAS A PIZZA PLACE AND MAYBE, UM, MAYBE THE SUBWAY WAS THERE, I REALLY CAN'T REMEMBER, BUT THREE RESTAURANTS. AND NOW WHEN I'M DOWNTOWN AND I AM DOWNTOWN ALL TIMES OF THE MORNING, AFTERNOON, AND EVENING, I AM HERE, UM, AT COUNCIL, WORKING WITH MY COLLEAGUES UNTIL 9, 9 30 10 10 30 AT NIGHT. AND I AM NOT AFRAID, UM, THE DOWNTOWN BATON ROUGE AREA HAS BEEN REVITALIZED, AND THIS IS THE NEXT STEP. AND I TELL YOU, WHEN I TALK TO MY CHILDREN AND THEIR FRIENDS, OUR YOUNG PEOPLE ARE ENTHUSED AND ENCOURAGED THAT WE ARE CONTINUING TO, UM, LOOK FORWARD AND MAKE PLANS TO MOVE BATON ROUGE, UM, TO MOVE BATON ROUGE FORWARD, TO HAVE THIS BE A TOWN WHERE PEOPLE VISIT FOR CONFERENCES AND CONVENTIONS. THE OTHER THING I'VE LEARNED BEING DOWNTOWN ALL THE TIME IS Y'ALL, THERE ARE TOUR GROUPS. LIKE WHEN YOU GO TO NEW ORLEANS AND YOU HAVE SOMEONE WITH THE HEADSET TALKING TO PEOPLE AS THEY TOUR, UM, BATON ROUGE, I RUN INTO TO TOUR GUIDES, TOURING PEOPLE IN BATON ROUGE. THIS IS EXCITING. I LOVE MY CITY. I'M EXCITED ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE OUR CITY, UM, WITH, WITH PEOPLE IN THE AREA AND ALSO WITH PEOPLE FROM ACROSS THE UNITED STATES AND HOPEFULLY ACROSS THE COUNTRY. SO, UM, I'M NOT SCARED TO BE IN DOWNTOWN BATON ROUGE. UM, I AM ENTHUSED WITH THE PROGRESS WE HAVE MADE, AND I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE US MAKE ADDITIONAL, UM, PROGRESS IN THIS BEAUTIFUL CITY. COUNCILMAN MO? YEAH, I, UM, I'M GONNA CONCUR EVERYTHING THAT, UH, COUNCILWOMAN ADAMS SAID ABOUT THE SECURITY AND EVERYTHING ELSE, I, I PROBABLY, OTHER THAN THE COUNCILWOMAN OF THIS DISTRICT, I MAY BE DOWNTOWN MORE THAN A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THE EVENINGS AND STUFF LIKE THAT. I WALK WITH MY HEAD HIGH, I FEEL COMFORTABLE. I'M OKAY WALKING AROUND. I KNOW THINGS HAPPEN. I KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, WE COULD USE MORE SECURITY. I THINK COUNCILWOMAN COLEMAN, UH, HAS ACTUALLY ALREADY LOOKED INTO THAT AND A POLICE DISTRICT, UH, DOWNTOWN, UM, THAT'S BEEN WORKED ON. BUT LET'S GO TO THE REVITALIZATION PART AND WHERE THIS EDD COMES IN, YOU TALK ABOUT CRIME AND, AND, AND STREETS AND CLEANING UP DOWNTOWN AND EVERYTHING ELSE. IF YOU DON'T REVITALIZE, KEEP UP WITH THE TIMES AND EVERYTHING ELSE, THEN YOU CONSTANTLY GO INTO A GOOD DECLINE TO WHERE MORE OF THAT SECURITY, UH, DEGRADATION OF THE AREA AND ALL KEEPS COMING IN TO BE A FACTOR. I TELL YA, UH, WAYNE'S HERE WITH THE RIVER CENTER AND WHEN WE FIRST CAME ON THIS COUNCIL, ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THAT WAS PUT BEFORE US WAS I THINK FOUR TO $5 MILLION FOR RENOVATION STUFF. AND I BEAT THE DRUMS AND I WAS LIKE, NO, THERE'S NO WAY WE NEED TO SPEND THIS MONEY INTO THE RIVER CENTER. AND BECAUSE I ALWAYS KNEW IT COULD BE MORE, IT NEEDED TO BE MORE, IT NEEDED TO BE DIFFERENT. WE NEEDED TO CATCH UP WITH THE TIMES. AND I'M REALLY PROUD OF THE FACT THAT HERE WE ARE ALMOST FOUR YEARS INTO EVERY, MOST PEOPLE HERE ON OUR FIRST TERM THAT WE'VE GOT A COMMITTEE FORMED, THAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR PARTNERSHIPS. WE ARE PUTTING TOGETHER AN IDEA AND A PLAN FOR ALL OF DOWNTOWN BATON ROUGE IN THE FOUR YEARS THAT WE'VE BEEN HERE. AND I HAVE TO GET SAY, AND, YOU KNOW, KUDOS TO WAYNE AND THE RIVER CENTER CREW. I WENT OVER THERE TODAY TO LOOK AT THE RIVER CENTER ITSELF AND THE MONEY THAT THEY'VE PUT IN THAT I WAS FIGHTING AGAINST, IT LOOKS AMAZING IN THERE NOW, JUST THE RIVER CENTER PART, THE NEW SEATS ARE IN AT THE BOTTOM. IF YOU DON'T GET A CHANCE, GO BY THERE AND TAKE A LOOK AT IT. THE SCOREBOARDS IN THE LIGHTING, EVERYTHING ELSE. SO DO I NOW THINK THAT, THAT THOSE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS WERE WORTH IT AS FAR AS UPGRADING THAT? YES, BECAUSE THAT IS BEING LOOKED AT NOW AS INCORPORATING THAT IN WITH THE UPDATED PLAN OF THE HOTEL EXTRA BALLROOM AND SO ON AND SO FORTH, WHICH TAKES ME TO THE NEXT THING WITH [02:15:01] RIVER CENTER AND THE LARGER CONVENTIONS THAT WE CAN BRING. WE'RE BRINGING PEOPLE DOWNTOWN LONGER. WE'RE KEEPING 'EM HERE OVER THE WEEKEND. WE'RE KEEPING 'EM HERE FOR THE WEEK. WE'RE KEEPING 'EM HERE POSSIBLY FOR THE MONTH. HOW LONG IS THE BOWLING THING SUPPOSED TO LAST? SIX MONTHS. IMAGINE IF WE COULD EXPAND THAT AND BRING MORE IN, BRING MORE TECHNOLOGY STUFF IN BY CREATING THIS EDD. THIS GIVES DEVELOPERS MORE OPPORTUNITY AND THE CITY PARISH MORE OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK INTO, WAYS TO LOOK INTO PARTNERING TO GET THESE JOBS DONE QUICKER AND FASTER. PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS WORK, AND THIS IS ONE OF THE TOOLS IN THE ARSENAL. PLUS AS THAT HAPPENS OUTSIDE OF THAT EDD DISTRICT, DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT, THIRD STREET, EVERYTHING ELSE, COUNCILWOMAN ADAMS BROUGHT UP THE WATERMARK, THE RIVER MARK, THE OLD ADVOCATE BUILDING IN THE HILTON, THE HOTEL DOWN THE STREET FROM THERE, THAT'S THE HAMPTONS, UH, INN. THE, THE NEWER RESTAURANTS AND THINGS THAT HAVE OPENED HAPPY'S HAS MOVED ACROSS THE WAY. UM, SEVERAL OTHER PLACES HAVE OPENED RIGHT IN THIS AREA BEFORE WE'VE EVEN STARTED. THE RIVER CENTER ITSELF PUT A HAMMER TO IT ITSELF, OTHER THAN THE UPGRADES, WE'RE ALREADY SEEING PEOPLE LOOKING AT DOWNTOWN BATON ROUGE AND EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH. SO I AM MORE THAN READY TO TAKE THIS CHANCE ON THE EDD AND WHAT WE CAN ACCOMPLISH IN BRINGING PEOPLE IN. AND I HOPE THE CITIZENS COME ON BOARD, GO LOOK AT WHAT YOU'RE GETTING, COME TO THE MEETINGS. UM, I I'M NOT ON THE COMMITTEE, BUT I'VE BEEN TO EVERY MEETING THAT THEY'VE HAD AND MADE TIME FOR IT SO THAT I CAN KEEP UP WITH IT, NOT ONLY AS A COUNCIL MEMBER, BUT AS A CITIZEN THAT WANTS TO HAVE INPUT AT THOSE COMMITTEE MEETINGS AND THEY OFFER PUBLIC INPUT EACH SINGLE TIME. SO COME BE A PART OF IT. THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN. SO I'D LIKE TO GIVE THIS INFORMATION. I'M PRETTY SURE EVERYBODY IN THE CHAMBERS UNDERSTANDS THIS, BUT FOR THE PEOPLE AT HOME, LET'S TALK ABOUT WHAT AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT IS, BECAUSE OFTEN YOU'LL SEE ONLINE AND, UM, IN DIFFERENT PLACES AND CONVERSATIONS THAT PEOPLE DON'T FULLY UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT MEANS AND WHAT THE IMPACT IS TO OUR AREA AND WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE DOWNTOWN. SO FIRST WITH REGARD TO THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT, WHENEVER WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE 2% TAX, THAT'S AN ADDITIONAL TAX THAT WOULD ONLY APPLY TO, UM, THE BUSINESSES IN THE AREA WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES OF THE EDD. SO WHEN WE THINK ABOUT 2% TAX, LET'S THINK ABOUT THAT. WE'RE GONNA GO RENT A NICE NEW HOTEL ROOM AT A HOTEL DOWN, UM, AT OUR, OUR BRAND NEW HOTEL THAT'S GONNA BE MADE. IT'S $150 A NIGHT. THAT'S $3. THAT'S $3 THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. UM, I'M GONNA HOST A CONVENTION AND I'M GONNA RENT THE RIVER CENTER OR THE NEW CONVENTION HALL OUT FOR $50,000. UM, THAT'S A THOUSAND DOLLARS. THAT'S THE PRICE THAT WE'RE PAYING AS A VENDOR, AS SOMEONE THAT'S STAYING IN A HOTEL. AND IF I DON'T LIKE THAT $3 CHARGE, THEN WHAT I DO IS I GO TO A HOTEL THAT DOESN'T HAVE THAT 2% SALES TAX AND THERE ARE PLENTY IN THE CITY TO GO TO, BUT WHAT THAT 2% SALES, SALES TAX WILL DO, AND NOW, AND I SAY WILL, BECAUSE IT DOESN'T GO INTO PLACE UNTIL, UM, EVERYTHING'S SOLIDIFIED. AND WE HAVE THAT VENDOR, WE HAVE THAT HOTEL, WE HAVE THAT CON CONVENTION CENTER. THIS IS NOT, THE TAX DOES NOT HAPPEN OVERNIGHT JUST BECAUSE WE APPROVE THIS ITEM TONIGHT. BUT WHAT IT DOES DO IS IT GOES BACK INTO THE AREA, IT GOES BACK INTO THAT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT AND IT BENEFITS OUR RIVER CENTER. IT BENEFITS OUR NEW HOTEL. IT BENEFITS THE USS KID. IT BENEFITS THE LOUISIANA ART AND SCIENCE MUSEUM. OKAY? IT'S AN IMPACT THAT'S FAR BROADER THAN JUST ATTRACTING A NICE NEW HOTEL AND IT, AND IT STAYS THERE AND IT'S AN INSURANCE PLAN TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE THINGS STAY NICE. IT'S AN INSURANCE PLAN TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ATTRACT THOSE VENDORS THAT COME IN AND WANNA BUILD A BETTER BATON ROUGE. SO THAT'S WHAT IT MEANS WHENEVER WE'RE TALKING ABOUT AN EDD, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT IT GOES TO VOTERS, IT WOULD GO TO VOTERS IF THERE WERE RESIDENTS WITHIN THAT DISTRICT, AND THEN IT WOULD BE UP TO THE VOTERS TO DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT THAT GOES FORWARD AND WHETHER OR NOT THEY WANT THAT TAX. BUT CURRENTLY, AS IT STANDS, THE AREA DOES NOT HAVE RESIDENTS IN IT. SO THEN IT BECOMES OUR OBLIGATION AS A COUNCIL TO MAKE THAT DECISION AS TO WHETHER OR NOT WE WANT AN ADDITIONAL 2% SALES TAX ON A HOTEL THAT HAS NOT COME TO FRUITION YET IN AN AREA THAT NEEDS MORE ATTENTION AND NEEDS ADDITIONAL FUNDS TO CONTINUE TO BE RENOVATED, UPDATED, AND ATTRACT [02:20:01] PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE STATE AND ALL OVER FROM OTHER STATES. DOWNTOWN ONCE WAS AN EYESORE. IF YOU'VE BEEN, IF YOU LOOK AT DOWNTOWN 15 YEARS AGO AND COMPARE IT TO WHAT DOWNTOWN LOOKS LIKE TODAY, IT'S A BEAUTIFUL PLACE TO WALK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY TO GO HAVE LUNCH, UM, TO STROLL AT NIGHT. UM, GO. IF YOU COME DOWNTOWN DURING THE CHRISTMAS SEASON, GO LOOK AT THE BEAUTIFUL LIGHTS THAT ARE THERE. AND I CAN ASSURE YOU, AND THIS IS NOT A POPULAR OPINION, BUT I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND TELL YOU, IF YOU'RE NOT TRYING TO BUY HEROIN OR A PROSTITUTE, YOU'RE PRETTY SAFE DOWNTOWN. OKAY? SO THAT'S JUST MY OPINION. THANK YOU SO MUCH. COUNCILMAN MOGUE. I JUST WANTED . I I, ONE LAST THING I WANTED TO ADDRESS. UM, IT WAS BROUGHT UP ABOUT OTHER, OTHER THINGS BEING DONE IN THE PARISH AND EVERYTHING ELSE. I, I DON'T THINK THAT, ESPECIALLY FOR MY DISTRICT, I FIGHT EVERY DAY TO DO PROJECTS IN MY DISTRICT TO DO PROJECTS IN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH TO HELP OUT MY FELLOW COUNCIL MEMBER DO PROJECTS AND EVERYTHING. I DON'T THINK BY THE CITY PARISH, WALKING AND CHEWING BUBBLE GUM AT THE SAME TIME AFFECTS WHAT WE CAN DO IN OTHER AREAS OR TAKES AWAY FROM THE OTHER THINGS THAT WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE TO DO FOR THIS PARISH. THIS IS JUST SOMETHING THAT, THAT WE DO AS ELECTED OFFICIALS, PUBLIC OFFICIALS, AND ANYONE ELSE THAT CAN TAKE CARE OF MULTIPLE ITEMS AT ONE TIME AND FOCUS ON THE NEEDS OF THE WHOLE OF THE PARISH. THANK YOU. I'LL JUST ADD, WHEN TALKING ABOUT EDDS, I'VE BEEN A PART OF PLENTY OF THEM. UH, OFTENTIMES IT'S USED AS AN INCENTIVE TO BRING INVESTMENT AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INTO AN AREA. AND, AND YOU HEAR IT PHRASED SO OFTEN AS WELL, IT'S BETTER TO HAVE A PERCENTAGE OF SOMETHING RATHER THAN A HUNDRED PERCENT OF NOTHING. SO IF IT'S UTILIZED TO BRING A PROJECT, THEN IT'S ALWAYS, I THINK, FAVORED. UM, AND IT'S A WAY TO KEEP LOCALIZED DOLLARS EVEN MORE LOCALIZED. AND OFTENTIMES WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT A PENNY OR TWO ON TOP, IT'S A SELF-IMPOSED TAX AND SAYING, HEY, WE WANT TO CHARGE MORE HERE AND KEEP THOSE DOLLARS HERE TO HELP REINVEST. AND SO THAT'S A POSITIVE THING WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT TRYING TO BRING DOLLARS IN. AND WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT WITH A HOTEL, OFTENTIMES YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT A WAY TO INCREASE DOLLARS FROM PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF THE AREA. SO IT'S ALMOST LIKE A TAX ON PEOPLE NOT FROM HERE. AND MOST PEOPLE, WHEN THEY'RE LOOKING TO COME, WHETHER IT'S A CONVENTION OR ANYTHING ELSE, AND THEY'RE GONNA STAY, ANYBODY WHO GOES ANYWHERE, TRAVELS ANYWHERE AND GOES AND STAYS AT A HOTEL, UH, YOU FULLY RECOGNIZE THAT THE RATE THAT YOU SEE SOMEWHERE IS VASTLY DIFFERENT THAN WHEN YOU GET YOUR BILL. THERE'S UMPTEEN FEES. SO I DON'T THINK IT DISSUADES PEOPLE FROM COMING BECAUSE I THINK PEOPLE KIND OF EXPECT IT NOW. AND SO OFTENTIMES WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UM, SOMETHING THAT ALLOWS PEOPLE FROM OUTSIDE OF OUR PARISH TO COME AND ENJOY THIS AREA, AND IN DOING SO, THEY'RE GONNA KEEP DOLLARS THERE MORE LOCALIZED AND HELP ENHANCE THE PLACE THAT THEY'RE AT SO THAT NEXT TIME THEY COME IT'S EVEN BETTER. SO I THINK IT CAN BE VERY POSITIVE. COUNCILWOMAN COLEMAN, I BELIEVE WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE. WE HAVE A SECOND BY COUNCILWOMAN ROA. ANYONE OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES A MOMENT ON THIS. NO SIR. PUBLIC HEARINGS CLOSED ITEM [106. 24-00987] 1 0 6, AMENDING ORDINANCE 89 31, WHICH ESTABLISHED AN ENGINEER AND SURVEY SELECTION BOARD. SO TO AMEND SECTION FIVE THEREOF IN ORDER TO INCREASE THE FEE FOR SELECTION UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF SET BOARD FROM 150,000 TO 300,000 AND TO AMEND SECTION SIX THEREOF IN ORDER TO INCREASE THE FEE FOR SELECTION UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF SET BOARD FROM 150,000 TO 300,000 BY TRANSPORTATION AND DRAINAGE. ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? SEE, I'M GONNA GO TO COUNCIL MOTION APPROVE BY COUNCILMAN HURST. SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN DUN, JR. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. OH, COUNCILMAN HUDSON OPPOSED ANYONE ELSE? MOTION [107. 24-00988] CARRIES. ITEM 1 0 7, AMENDING ORDINANCE 89 32, WHICH ESTABLISHES DESIGN PLANNING SELECTION BOARD SO AS TO AMEND SECTION FIVE THEREOF IN ORDER TO INCREASE THE FEE FOR SELECTION UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF SET BOARD FROM 150,000 TO 300,000 TO AMEND SECTION SIX THEREOF IN ORDER TO INCREASE THE FEE SELECTION UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF SET BOARD FROM 150,000 TO 300,000 BY BUILDING AND GROUNDS ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM, SEEING NONE WILL GO TO COUNCIL MOTION BY COUNCILMAN HER SECOND BY COUNCILMAN DUN, JR. ANY OPPOSED? OPPOSED BY COUNCILMAN HUDSON. ANYONE ELSE? MOTION CARRIES. [108. 24-00966] ITEM 1 0 8 AUTHORIZING SETTLEMENT, THE CLAIM OF ERR RONI GONZALEZ FOR DAMAGES RESULTING FROM AN AUTO ACCIDENT CAUSED BY A PUBLIC WORKS EMPLOYEE IN THE AMOUNT OF 41,000 BY THE PATCH ATTORNEY. ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? I SEE NONE. I'M GO TO COUNCIL. [02:25:04] ANYONE DO WE HAVE A MOTION? MOTION TO APPROVE BY COUNCILMAN HUDSON, SECOND BY COUNCILWOMAN COLEMAN? ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. ITEM 1 0 9, ANOTHER NO, THAT WAS, THAT WAS 1 0 8 ITEM 1 0 9 AUTHORIZING [109. 24-00968] SETTLEMENT IN THE MATTER ENTITLED MICHAEL PETRI AND THERESA WAGES VERSUS CITY OF BATON ROUGE ET. ALL IN THE AMOUNT OF $50,000 PLUS COURT COSTS IN THE AMOUNT OF $344 AND 20 CENTS FOR A TOTAL AMOUNT OF $50,344 AND 20 CENTS BY THE PARISH ATTORNEY. ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? SAME. NONE WILL GO TO COUNSEL. MOTION TO APPROVE BY COUNCILMAN HURST, SECOND BY COUNCILWOMAN COLEMAN. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. [110. 24-00995] ITEM ONE 10 AUTHORIZING SETTLEMENT OF THE CLAIM OF RES MA ANDERSON FOR DAMAGES RESULTING FROM AN AUTO ACCIDENT CAUSED BY A BATON ROUGE POLICE OFFICER AND THE AMOUNT OF 12,000 BY THE PARISH ATTORNEY. ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? WE'RE LOSING A QUORUM. , ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? THE CITY NONE WILL GO TO COUNCIL. WE'RE GOOD. MOTION BY COUNCILWOMAN DEANNE. SECOND BY MCCOMB. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. ITEM ONE [111. 24-01003] 11, AUTHORIZING MAYOR PRESIDENT TO AMEND THAT CERTAIN CONTRACT FOR PROFESSIONAL LEGAL SERVICES WITH JAMES BALLER AND SEAN STOKES OF KELLER AND HAGMAN LLP TO EXPAND SCOPE OF REPRESENTATION TO INCLUDE ADDITIONAL FRANCHISE AGREEMENT AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS ISSUE OF LAW INCREASING AND APPROPRIATING FROM THE GENERAL FUND FUND BALANCE UNASSIGNED 50,000 FOR SAID PURPOSE FOR A TOTAL COMPENSATION NOT TO EXCEED A HUNDRED THOUSAND BY THE PARISH ATTORNEY. ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? SEE NONE. I'LL GO TO COUNSEL. DO WE HAVE A MOTION? DO WE HAVE A MOTION? MOTION BY COUNCILMAN T SECOND BY COUNCILWOMAN. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. [112. 24-00971] ITEM ONE 12. PURSUANT TO ORDINANCE 1 6 6 1 2, THE BATON ROUGE CITY COURT JUDGES WILL RECEIVE THE EQUIVALENT SALARY OF THESE BATON ROUGE PARISH DISTRICT JUDGE. THEREFORE, EACH CITY COURT JUDGE WILL REQUIRE AN ADDITIONAL ONE TIME PAYMENT AMOUNT OF $10,006 AND 26 CENTS. ADDITIONALLY, DISTRICT COURT JUDGES RECEIVED $1,500 FROM THE JUDGE'S SUPPLEMENTAL COMPENSATION FUND BOARD. CITY COURT JUDGES RECEIVED A ONE-TIME SUPPLEMENTAL PAYMENT OF $808 AND 45 CENTS. THE CITY COURT JUDGES WILL NEED TO RECEIVE AN ADDITIONAL $691 AND 55 CENTS. IN SUMMARY, EACH CITY COURT JUDGE WILL RECEIVE A TOTAL ONE TIME PAYMENT OF $10,697 AND 81 CENTS BY CLERK OF COURT. JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATOR, ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? SEEING NONE WILL GO TO COUNCIL MOTION BY COUNCILMAN HURST, SECOND BY COUNCILWOMAN ROCKA. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. ITEM ONE 13 AUTHORIZING [113. 24-00939] THE MALE PRESIDENT TO ACCEPT THE GRANT AWARD FOR, UH, FISCAL YEAR 2025 HIGHWAY SAFETY GRANT AND AMOUNT UP TO 98,500 ON BEHALF OF BATON ROUGE CITY COURT FROM LOUISIANA HIGHWAY SAFETY COMMISSION FOR THE OPERATION OF THE BATON ROUGE CITY COURT'S DWI SUB SOBRIETY COURT BY CLERK OF COUNCIL, JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATOR, ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? SEE, NONE WILL GO TO COUNCIL. DO WE HAVE A MOTION? MOTION BY COUNCILMAN GOEY? SECOND BY COUNCILWOMAN COLEMAN, UH, ROCA. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. ITEM ONE [114. 24-00942] 14 AUTHORIZING MAYOR PRESIDENT TO ACCEPT FUNDING FROM THE US DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, HEALTH RESOURCES AND SERVICES ADMINISTRATION ON BEHALF OF THE DIVISION OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES FOR THE RYAN WHITE HIV AIDS PROGRAM IN THE AMOUNT OF $3,248,777 BY HUMAN SERVICES DIRECTOR. ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? SEEN NONE WILL GO TO COUNCIL MOTION BY COUNCILMAN GO DAY. SECOND BY COUNCILWOMAN DARAN. ANY OPPOSED? I APOLOGIZE, . ANY OPPOSITION? MOTION CARRIES. ITEM ONE 15, [115. 24-00943] AUTHORIZING MAYOR PRESIDENT TO ACCEPT FUNDING FROM THE US DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, HEALTH RESOURCES AND SERVICES ADMINISTRATION ON BEHALF OF DIVISION OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES FOR THE RYAN WHITE HIV AIDS PROGRAM, WHICH INCLUDES RYAN WHITE ENDING THE HIV EPIDEMIC FUNDING IN THE AMOUNT OF 1,285,200 BY HUMAN SERVICES DIRECTOR. ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? SEEING NONE WILL GO TO COUNCIL MOTION BY COUNCILMAN GOD DAY. WE HAVE A SECOND. SECOND BY COUNCILMAN HUDSON. [02:30:01] ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. ITEM ONE 16 [116. 24-00944] AUTHORIZING MAYOR, PRESIDENT ON BEHALF OF THE DIVISION OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND SERVICES, HEAD START AND RYAN WHITE PROGRAMS TO AMEND THE CONTRACT WITH CLAY, CLAY YOUNG ENTERPRISES IN THE AMOUNT OF 60,000 NOT TO EXCEED 170,000 BY HUMAN SERVICES DIRECTOR. ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? STATE NUMBER WILL GO TO COUNCIL MOTION BY COUNCILMAN DUNN, JR. SECOND BY COUNCILMAN HURST. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. ITEM ONE 17 AUTHORIZING [117. 24-00945] MAYOR, PRESIDENT ON BEHALF OF THE HU DIVISION OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND SERVICES HEAD START PROGRAM TO AMEND THE CONTRACT WITH THE MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE IN THE AMOUNT OF $40,000 NOT TO EXCEED $121,000 TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL CONSULTATION SERVICES AS NEEDED FOR THE SUBMISSION OF THE HEAD START GRANT APPLICATIONS BY HUMAN SERVICES DIRECTOR. ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? SAME. I'M GONNA GO TO COUNCIL. WE HAVE A MOTION. MOTION BY COUNCILWOMAN COLEMAN. WE HAVE A SECOND. SECOND BY COUNCILWOMAN RAZAN. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. ITEM [118. 24-00946] ONE 18 AUTHORIZING MAYOR, PRESIDENT TO ACCEPT AN AMENDMENT ON BEHALF OF THE DIVISION OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND SERVICES, OFFICE OF SOCIAL SERVICES WITH THE LOUISIANA WORKFORCE COMMISSION FOR A COMMUNITY SERVICES BLOCK GRANT IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,424,732 BY HUMAN SERVICES DIRECTOR. ANY ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM SEAT. SEE NONE. WE'LL GO TO COUNSEL. WE HAVE A MOTION. MOTION BY COUNCILMAN HUDSON, SECOND BY COUNCILWOMAN COLEMAN. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. ITEM ONE 19 [119. 24-00948] AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR, PRESIDENT ON BEHALF OF THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE AND PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE TO EXECUTE AN ACCEPTANCE OF ACTIVE DONATION AND ANY AND ALL DOCUMENTS IN FURTHERANCE OF THE ACCEPTANCE FROM FLORIDA THREE LLC OF THE TURN LANE RIGHT OF WAY, LOCATED AT NORTH DENWOOD DRIVE AT THE ROUS GROCERY ON FLORIDA BOULEVARD BY PARISH ATTORNEY. ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? GO TO COUNCIL MOTION BY COUNCILMAN DUN JR. SECOND BY COUNCILWOMAN ADAMS. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. ITEM [120. 24-00950] ONE 20, AUTHORIZING MAYOR PRESIDENT TO EXECUTE A SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT NUMBER FOUR TO THE CONTRACT WITH THE STANTEC, FORMERLY BRADLEY STER AND ASSOCIATES FOR ADDITIONAL DESIGN SERVICES IN CONNECTION WITH THEIR CONTRACT FOR THE RENOVATIONS TO THE SCOTLANDVILLE BRANCH LIBRARY IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $11,000 BY BUILDING AND GROUNDS DIRECTOR, ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? COUNCIL MEMBERS YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED ONE EMAIL, COMMENT AND OPPOSITION TO ITEM ONE 20. GO TO COUNCIL. DO HAVE A MOTION. MOTION BY COUNCILMAN HUDSON? SECOND BY COUNCILWOMAN AMAROSA. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. ITEM [121. 24-00967] 1 21, AUTHORIZING MAYOR PRESIDENT TO ENTER INTO A PROFESSIONAL SERVICE AGREEMENT WITH INFORMATICS IN THE AMOUNT OF 180,000 TO FUND DATA ANALYTICS SUPPORT SERVICES FOR THE DEPARTMENT SPECIFICALLY FOCUSED ON SAFE, HOPEFUL HEALTHY INITIATIVE BY THE MAYOR'S OFFICE. ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? SEEING NONE WILL GO TO COUNCIL. WE HAVE A MOTION BY COUNCILMAN DUNN JR. SECOND BY COUNCILWOMAN COLEMAN. UH, I DO HAVE A QUESTION, UM, IF SOMEONE CAN COME UP TO SPEAK ON THIS. I WAS JUST CURIOUS, IS THIS, UM, IS THIS FUNDED OR HOW IS THIS FUNDED? IS IT FUNDED THROUGH GRANT PROGRAMS? YES, SO IT'S, UM, FUNDED THROUGH ARPA DOLLARS. UM, AND SO THAT'S HOW WE'RE FUNDING IT. IT'S NOT GENERAL FUNDS. WONDERFUL. THAT'S WHAT I NEED. THANK YOU. ANYONE OPPOSED? YEP. COUNCILMAN HUDSON. I'M SORRY IF, IF YOU COULD COME BACK AND JUST EXPLAIN TO US WHAT, WHAT DATA THEY'RE ANALYZING AND YEAH. SO SAFE, WELL HEALTHY HAS BEEN EXISTENT IN EXISTENCE FOR ABOUT FOUR YEARS. AND SO INFORMATICS HAS BEEN OUR DATA PARTNER SINCE IN INCEPTION. SO THEY LOOK AT CRIME DATA, THEY ALSO LOOK AT, UM, OUR MULTIPLE PARTNERSHIPS AND HOW UM, THE WORK THAT THEY DO AFFECTS, UH, CRIME DATA. THEY, EXCUSE ME, AFFECTS CRIME IN OUR CITY. UM, THEY ALSO ARE HELPING US AS WE LOOK AT SUSTAINABILITY OF SAFE, HOPEFUL, HEALTHY, AND THAT THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING SPECIFIC TO COMMUNITY VIOLENCE INTERVENTION. AND SO IT'S IT'S PRETTY MASSIVE THE DATA THAT THEY DO. UM, IN THE PAST WE HAVE SHARED WITH YOU ALL ANNUAL REPORTS, UM, WHICH HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH INFORMATICS. UM, AFTER THE SUMMER OF HOPE, WE'LL ALSO HAVE SOME REPORTING, UM, THAT THEY HAVE COLLECTED RELATIVE TO ALL OF THE WORK THAT WE HAVE DONE. SO IT'S, IT'S VERY ROBUST. THEY ALSO HAVE A DATA DASHBOARD THAT THEY ARE CREATING PRESENTLY. ALL RIGHT, WE HAVE A MOTION. SECOND. ANY OPPOSITION MOTION CARRIES. ITEM 1 22, [122. 24-00972] AUTHORIZATION OF THE MAYOR, PRESIDENT AND OUR CHAIRMAN OF THE AIRPORT COMMISSION TO EXECUTE WORK AUTHORIZATION NUMBER NINE TO THE CONTRACT FOR THE AIRPORT MANAGEMENT GROUP, LLC FOR PROGRAM MANAGEMENT SERVICES AT THE BATON ROUGE METROPOLITAN AIRPORT IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $3,497,206 AND 2 CENTS BY THE AVIATION DIRECTOR. ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? SEE, NONE WILL GO TO COUNCIL. WE HAVE A MOTION. MOTION BY COUNCILMAN DUN JR. SECOND BY COUNCILMAN HURST. ANY OPPOSITION? MOTION CARRIES ITEM 1 23 [123. 24-00975] AUTHORIZING THE FINANCE DIRECTOR TO REFUND [02:35:01] AN ERRONEOUS USE TAX REMITTANCE TO CENTRO ENERGY SOUTH LLC IN THE AMOUNT OF $143,081 AND 2 CENTS FOR ACCRUING USE TAX ON NON-TAXABLE REPAIRS TO MOVABLE PROPERTY BY THE INTERIM FINANCE DIRECTOR. ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? SAY NONE WILL GO TO COUNCIL. DO WE HAVE A MOTION? MOTION TO APPROVE BY COUNCILMAN HUDSON. SECOND BY COUNCILMAN GOEY. ANY OPPOSITION? MOTION CARRIES. ITEM 1 24 AUTHORIZING [124. 24-00983] MAYOR PRESIDENT TO EXECUTE THE FULL SIGNALS MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30TH, 2025 BETWEEN THE PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE AND THE STATE OF LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND DEVELOPMENT. FUNDING FOR THE SIGNAL MAINTENANCE SHALL BE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE AGREEMENT. 177 TRAFFIC SIGNALS $2,440 PER SIGNAL BY TRANSPORTATION AND DRAINAGE. ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? YES SIR. MR. PRICE? GOOD AFTERNOON. MY NAME IS GARY PRICE. MY WIFE AND I ARE TAXPAYING LANDOWNERS IN THE NORTHEASTERN PART OF THIS PARISH. UH, I AM JUST WONDERING HOW DID THEY MANAGE TO COME UP WITH $431,880? WHEN YOU'RE DEALING WITH THE STATE AND THE PARISH AND THE FUNDING FROM LICENSE PLATES, ROAD TAX FUEL, AND ALL THE OTHER SOURCES OF FUNDING THAT'S GOING TO THIS FACILITY, HOW DO THEY JUSTIFY 2,400 AND SOME FEW DOLLARS PER SIGNAL WHEN THEY SHOULD BE AN ONGOING MAINTENANCE? HOW, HOW IS THAT JUSTIFIED AND WHY MUCH MONEY ARE THEY WORKING WITH OTHER THAN THIS? IT'S JUST A QUESTION BECAUSE I'VE BEEN SITTING HERE AND I AM TOTALLY AMAZED AT HOW MUCH FREE MONEY IS GIVEN AWAY. AND I USE THE BIBLICAL TERM AND FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, CASTING PEARLS TO THE SWINE. BUT IT IS JUST A QUESTION, HOW DID THEY MAKE IT AND WHERE'S THE REVENUE COMING FROM? BECAUSE I COME TO TOWN AND I DRIVE AROUND THESE SIGNAL PLACES AND I WATCH WHAT'S HAPPENING. JUST SO HAPPENS, I KNOW A FEW OF THESE PEOPLE THAT WORK THERE. YOU GOT THE MONKEYS RUNNING THE CIRCUS. THERE'S NO ACCOUNTABILITY. THERE'S NO ONE DISPLAYING ANY, I WOULD CALL RESPONSIBILITY OF ANY ETHICAL LEVEL. IT'S REALLY A SAD STATE OF AFFAIRS. IF YOU WERE TO GET OUT, PUT YOUR FEET ON THE GROUND WHERE THIS IS TAKING PLACE, YOU WOULD SEE A LOT OF THINGS THAT YOU ARE DISAPPOINTED IN FUNDING. IF IT WAS YOUR MONEY, I DON'T THINK YOU'D BE QUITE THAT FAST TO CAST IT TO THE SWINE. JUST A QUESTION I HAVE YET TO EVER GET AN ANSWER FOR ANY QUESTION, BUT THANK YOU FOR MY OPPORTUNITY. ANYONE ELSE WISHES TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? TINA, I'M GONNA GO TO COUNCIL. COUNCILWOMAN AMAROSA. UM, FRED? YES. THANK YOU. FIRST OFF, THIS IS, WE'VE DONE THESE AGREEMENTS FOR MANY, MANY, MANY YEARS. I DON'T NECESSARILY AGREE WITH THE PRICE PER SIGNAL BECAUSE IT'S COST US MORE, BUT QUITE FRANKLY, DOTD DOESN'T DO, UH, THE JOBS THAT THEY WANT AND THAT'S WHY THEY'RE CONTRACTING OUT A LOT OF THEIR SERVICES. THIS HAS BEEN ONGOING FOR MANY YEARS. I KNOW ABOUT WHAT IT COSTS. WE ARE PAYING, WE ARE ACTUALLY SPENDING MORE TIME AND MORE EFFORT TO ADDRESS THESE ISSUES. BUT WHAT'S GETTING BETTER IS THE FACT THAT WE'VE UPGRADED A LOT OF OUR SIGNALS AND ALSO OUR CONTROLLER BOXES, WHICH IS REALLY WHAT COSTS US THE MOST AND DEAL WITH TIME AND EFFORT THAT WE DEAL THAT YOU CAN LOOK ON AN HOUR PER HOUR BASIS. UH, I I FEEL THAT NUMBER ONE, THAT MY DEPARTMENT, BECAUSE THAT'S MY MY SECTION I DEAL WITH, WE DON'T OVERLOOK ANYTHING. WE DO WHAT WE NEED TO DO. I'M NOT GONNA SPEND TIME GOING OUT WATCH GRASS GROW BECAUSE WE ALL NOW HAVE THE CAPABILITY BECAUSE OF THE NEW SIGNAL SYSTEM. WE'LL BE ABLE TO MANAGE OUR SYSTEM FROM THE, FROM OUR LOCATION AT THE CENTER AND BE ABLE TO DETERMINE WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO BE ADDRESSED. I DON'T LIKE THAT THE DOLLAR AMOUNT. I THINK WE SHOULD BE ENTITLED TO MORE, BUT QUITE FRANKLY, UH, IF WE DON'T DO IT, I DON'T KNOW WHO ELSE IS AND THEN WE WILL REALLY SEE WHAT, UH, CONFUSION AND CONGESTION WOULD BE. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN HUDSON. MOTION TO CAST IT TO THE SWINE. I SECOND. ANY OPPOSITION. MOTION CARRIES. ITEM [125. 24-00984] 1 25, AUTHORIZED MAYOR PRESIDENT TO EXECUTE A SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT WITH PAVEMENT MARKINGS LLC FOR TRAFFIC RE RETRIP AND INSTALLATION [02:40:01] OF RAISED PAYMENT MARKERS ASSOCIATED WITH PARISH WIDE PAVEMENT, REMARKETING AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $798,080 BY TRANSPORTATION DRAINAGE AND TRANSPORTATION AND DRAINAGE DIRECTOR. ANYONE WISH ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? SEEN NONE. WILL GO TO COUNCIL MOTION BY COUNCILWOMAN COLEMAN. SECOND BY COUNCILWOMAN ROA. ANY OPPOSITION? MOTION CARRIES. ITEM [126. 24-00989] 1 26 AUTHORIZING MAYOR PRESIDENT TO EXECUTE A SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT NUMBER TWO FOR PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING SERVICES WITH FORT DELO INC. FOR SERVICES ASSOCIATED WITH MOVE VR ENHANCEMENT PROJECT FLORIDA BOULEVARD, SEGMENT TWO CORRIDOR ENHANCEMENT, UH, 22ND STREET TO AIRLINE HIGHWAY AND AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $1,393,546 AND 77 CENTS BY TRANSPORTATION AND DRAINAGE DIRECTOR, ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? ITEM MS. LANDRY? PENNY MAY LANDRY. UM, THESE SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENTS, I'M GLAD TO SEE WE ONLY HAD ONE THIS MEETING. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW THE 1.4, ALMOST $1.4 MILLION FIGURE HERE. IS THAT THE SUPPLEMENT, AN ADDITIONAL 1.4 MILLION FOR ENGINEERING SERVICES? 'CAUSE IT SAYS NOT IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED. SO IS THE TOTAL CONTRACT ONE THREE OR IS JUST THIS SUPPLEMENT ALMOST 1.4? THAT'S THE QUESTION. AND THEN IT SAYS, FOR ENGINEERING SERVICES, DOES THAT INCLUDE ANY ACTUAL CONSTRUCTION? COULD SOMEONE PROVIDE AN ANSWER? OH, MS. LANTER, THIS IS YOUR TIME. OH, WELL I WANNA GIVE IT TO FRED TO ANSWER. NO. OKAY, SO MY QUESTION IS, I'M AGAINST THIS BECAUSE IT'S, THIS IS NOT CLEAR AND I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE METRO COUNCIL AGENDA ITEMS BE A LITTLE CLEARER, UH, LAID OUT. I GUESS THAT'S YOU, ASHLEY. UM, SO THAT PEOPLE CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS THAT OUR TAX DOLLARS ARE GOING TOWARDS. THANK YOU. ANYONE ELSE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? WELL, THAT WE'LL GO TO COUNCIL, COUNCIL MEMBERS. YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED ONE EMAIL, COMMENT AND OPPOSITION TO ITEM 1 26 COUNCILWOMAN ADAMS. SO WHEN YOU ARE GOING THROUGH THE AGENDA ON SATURDAY NIGHT AND YOU'RE READING ALL THE ATTACHMENTS, YOU WILL SEE, UM, IN THE ATTACHMENT. THIS IS A PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACT TO OBTAIN FINAL DESIGN ENGINEERING SERVICES, WHICH WILL INCLUDE SURVEY, ROADWAY DESIGN, AND SIGNAL DESIGN. UM, ANYWAY, IT'S, IT'S IN, IT'S, IT'S ATTACHED. SO YOU HAVE TO CLICK IN AND READ THE ATTACHMENT. AND IT'S AN OFFICIAL, IT'S AN OFFICIAL MEMO ON, ON, ON, UM, ON, ON LETTERHEAD. THANK YOU. I NEEDED THAT WORD. UM, CAN SOMEONE, UH, FROM PURCHASING PLEASE COME EXPLAIN WHAT SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENTS ARE AND HOW AND WHY WE USE SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENTS. DO WE HAVE, DO WE HAVE ANYBODY FROM THE CITY OF PARISH WHO CAN EXPLAIN THE USE OF SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENTS? OKAY. IF, IF NOBODY'S HERE, WE'LL GET SOMEBODY FROM PURCHASING HERE TO DISCUSS THAT IN THE FUTURE. UM, FOR FRED, WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO AHEAD AND ADDRESS THE OTHER ISSUES? YES, MA'AM. FIRST OFF, UH, WHEN YOU GO INTO AN ENGINEERING CONTRACT, YOU HAVE SOME BASIC SERVICES THAT YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR, WHICH WE NEGOTIATE WITH THE CONSULTANT TO LOOK AT THOSE ISSUES. WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE. THIS JOB HERE IS A LITTLE INTERESTING BECAUSE IT IS PART OF THE MOVE VR PROGRAM. IT IS FROM 22ND TO AIRLINE AND WE'VE HAD NUMEROUS MEETINGS ON ABOUT WHAT PEOPLE EXPECT AND WHAT THEY WANT ON THIS PROJECT. WITH THAT BEING SAID, SOME THINGS THAT WE HAVE, BUT YOU GET BASIC SERVICES THAT YOU WOULD DO IN ENGINEERING. THIS IS TO DO, TO FINAL PLANS BECAUSE YOU DON'T EVER KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO END UP WITH AT AT ANY POINT BECAUSE A LOT OF THINGS HAVE CHANGED ON THIS FLORIDA BOULEVARD PROJECT. IF YOU'VE BEEN IN ANY OF THE MEETINGS, YOU'LL SEE THE CHANGES AND THE REASON FOR THOSE CHANGES IS BECAUSE THE PUBLIC HAS ASKED FOR, CAN WE CONSIDER THAT THAT IS THE REAL PURPOSE OF LOOKING AT ENGINEERING WORK TO DO SO WE CAN ACCOMMODATE WHAT THE PUBLIC IS REQUESTING. WITH THAT BEING SAID, UH, THE CHANGE A SUPPLEMENT, YES, WE ARE DOING IT BECAUSE THERE WERE A LOT OF CHANGES OF THIS PLAN THAT NEEDED TO TAKE PLACE, INCLUDING SIGNALS THAT WE ARE WORKING WITH DOTD ON. WE'VE GOTTEN TO A CONCLUSION WHERE WE AGREE ON WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE. WE WANT THE FINAL PLANS TO BE PREPARED SO WE CAN ACTUALLY GO OUT TO, TO GET CONSTRUCTION. BUT MY DEFINITION OF SUPPLEMENT IS REALLY WHEN, WHEN YOU HAVE YOUR BASIC SCOPE AND YOU'RE GOING AWAY OUTSIDE YOUR SCOPE, AND WE AGREE TO THAT SCOPE, THEN [02:45:01] WE WORK TOGETHER WITH WHAT THAT VALUE FOR THAT SCOPE IS GONNA BE. AND THAT'S WHERE WE ARE. UM, I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION, BRAD. YES, MA'AM. MOVE VR. DID THESE PROJECTS GO BEFORE THE VOTERS AND WERE THEY APPROVED BY THE VOTERS? THE FLORIDA BOULEVARD PROJECT WAS APPROVED, UH, UH, TO DO THE ENHANCEMENTS AND WHAT WE WANTED TO DO. THERE HAD BEEN A LOT OF ADDITIONS TO IT. AND, BUT THAT WAS BASED ON PUBLIC MEETING. AND I KNOW THIS COUNCIL, AND I KNOW MY MAYOR ALSO WOULD SAY, I WANT TO DO WHAT THE PUBLIC IS EXPECTING AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH. BUT, AND JUST GETTING DOWN TO THE INITIAL PROJECT, THE DESIRE TO DO THIS CAME OUT OF A, A LOT OF PUBLIC MEETINGS AND THEN A PACKAGE THAT WAS PLACED BEFORE THE VOTERS AND THE VOTERS VOTED ON. AND NOW WE ARE CONTINUING TO DEVELOP. BUT, BUT WE'VE HAD TREMENDOUS PUBLIC INPUT AND, AND A VOTE ON THE THESE. YES MA'AM. THERE'S NO QUESTION ABOUT THAT. BUT I ALSO SAY IT WAS PART OF THE MOVIE R PROGRAM AND IT WAS ALSO TO DO ROAD IMPROVEMENTS, WHICH WE ARE GONNA DO. I KNOW I HEARD MS. LANDRY MADE COMMENT ABOUT NORTH BOULEVARD AND ALSO ABOUT FLORIDA BOULEVARD GETTING TO DOWNTOWN, AND WE ARE GONNA DO ROAD IMPROVEMENTS. YOU'RE GONNA GET THE ROAD'S GONNA GET OVERLAY. THERE WILL BE SOME, UH, ALSO SOME DRAINAGE WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE AT NUMEROUS LOCATIONS BECAUSE OF THE POOR DRAINAGE. AND REMEMBER, THIS IS NOT OUR HIGHWAY, THIS IS DODD'S HIGHWAY, BUT THAT COMMITMENT WAS MADE UNDER THE MOVIE ALL PROGRAM. THEY'RE WORKING WITH US TO TRY TO ACCOMPLISH THAT. AND I THINK THIS IS A GOOD, A GOOD PROJECT FOR THE, I THINK THE COMMUNITY WILL BE APPRECIATIVE OF. THANK YOU FRED. COUNCILMAN MO? YEAH. AM I THE ONLY ONE MISSING ANDERSON OR FRED, IF YOU COULD COME UP AS FAR AS THIS PROCESS, A LOT OF THESE THINGS, SO YOU HAVE YOUR INITIAL DESIGN WITH, OR WHAT ROADS WE'RE GONNA DO AND EVERYTHING ELSE, BUT THEN A LOT OF THESE SUPPLEMENTALS COME IN ONCE YOU GET INTO THE, UH, I GUESS THE START DIGGING IN THE DIRT PART AND, AND WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE. BUT DOES A LOT OF THESE SUPPLEMENTAL THINGS COME IN WITH CHANGES IN REQUIREMENTS, LIKE, LIKE DEALING WITH STATE ROADS AND STUFF LIKE THAT? YOU, YOU HAVE YOUR INITIAL PLAN. YOU CAN GO THROUGH A WHOLE DESIGN THING OR, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. AND THEN OTHER REQUIREMENTS START KICKING IN. YOU HAVE TO TAKE THOSE INTO ACCOUNT AND START ADDING THOSE IN TO YOUR, YOUR PLANS AND EVERYTHING. SO YOU'RE GONNA KICK IN SOME SUPPLEMENTAL ENGINEERING STUFF AND, AND ENHANCEMENTS AND STUFF LIKE THAT AUTOMATICALLY AS, AS REQUIREMENTS CHANGE. AND THAT'S COMING DOWN FROM THE STATE? YES, SIR. THAT'S CORRECT. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN DON JR. FRED COMEBACK, PLEASE, SIR. YEAH, WE WANTED DO TO. YEAH. YES, SIR. I QUESTION, UH, A UH, POINT OF INFORMATION WAS REQUESTED SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE SUBJECT TO, UH, NOT SUBJECT TO, NOT TO EXCEED, I'M SORRY, LANGUAGE. COULD YOU TALK ABOUT THAT IN GENERAL, BUT TALK ABOUT IT SPECIFICALLY AS IT RELATES TO THIS ITEM. WHERE ARE WE NOW? AND EXPLAIN HOW, YOU KNOW, THAT NUMBER APPLIES TO THE NOT TO EXCEED LANGUAGE. WHEN WE LOOK AT THIS PARTICULAR ITEM, THE FINAL PLANS BASED ON WHAT WE HAVE COME TOGETHER TODAY WITH WE WORKING WITH THE OTD, THIS NUMBER CANNOT EXCEED FOR THE ENGINEERING PLANS AND WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE. EVEN OTHER CHANGES THAT MAY TAKE MINOR CHANGES OR YOU SEND THE PLANS BACK TO DOTD AND IT GETS REVIEWED FOUR TIMES INSTEAD OF THREE TIMES. WELL, THAT STILL REQUIRES ADDITIONAL TIME FOR THAT CONSULTANT TO BE WITH THEM TO MAKE SURE IT GETS DONE. IT WILL NOT EXCEED THIS NUMBER. AND THAT DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN THAT YOU WILL SPEND THAT NUMBER. IT JUST MEANS THAT YOU WON'T EXCEED IT. AND IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT YOU'RE AT THAT NUMBER. NOW, YOU, YOU'RE TYPICALLY AT A NUMBER BEFORE THAT NUMBER OR LESS THAN THAT NUMBER. IS THAT NOT CORRECT? YES, SIR. THAT'S CORRECT. DO YOU KNOW THE EXACT NUMBER THAT WE NO, I DO NOT, SIR. BUT IT, BUT IT IS NOT AT, AT THE NUMBER THAT'S PROPOSED. IT JUST GIVES YOU LATITUDE TO GO UP TO THAT NUMBER. IS IS NOT CORRECT? YES, SIR. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. IS THERE A MOTION? MOTION TO APPROVE. MOTION TO APPROVE BY COUNCILMAN DUNN JR. SECOND BY COUNCILWOMAN AMAROSA. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. ITEM 1 27, [127. 24-00991] AUTHORIZING MAYOR PRESIDENT TO ACCEPT FUNDING FROM THE US DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, NATIONAL EMERGENCY FOOD AND SHELTER BOARD PROGRAM FOR EMERGENCY HOUSING ASSISTANCE ON BEHALF OF THE DIVISION OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND SERVICES, OFFICE OF SOCIAL SERVICES PROGRAM IN THE AMOUNT OF $24,103 BY HUMAN SERVICES DIRECTOR. ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? SEEING NONE WILL GO TO COUNCIL. WE HAVE A MOTION. MOTION BY COUNCILWOMAN AND SECOND BY COUNCILWOMAN COLEMAN. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. ITEM [128. 24-00997] 1 28, AMEND THE 2024 ALLOTMENT OF POSITIONS FOR THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE AND THE PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE, ADOPTED BY ORDINANCE NUMBER 1 9 0 8 4 [02:50:01] AS TO CHANGE THE ALLOTMENT OF THE METROPOLITAN COUNCIL, JEWEL J NEWMAN COMMUNITY CENTER, EFFECTIVE AUGUST 29TH, 2024. METROPOLITAN COUNCIL. JEWEL J NEWMAN COMMUNITY CENTER. DELETE ONE BUILDING ATTENDANT, ADD ONE HOUSEKEEPER BY COUNCIL, ADMINISTRATIVE TREASURER AND THE HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR. ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM NOW? I'M GO TO COUNCIL. DO WE HAVE A MOTION? COUNCILMAN MOGUE. SECOND BY COUNCILWOMAN AMAROSA. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. ITEM 1 29, [129. 24-00982] CREATING AN ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO PROVIDE AN EXECUTION STRATEGY TO ADDRESS ADJUDICATED PROPERTIES TO BE KNOWN AS THE BLIGHT TO BRIGHT OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE BY COUNCILWOMAN CAROLYN COLEMAN. ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? LAQUITA BOWERS. LAQUITA BOWERS? YES, MA'AM. GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE. I'M NOT HERE TO E EITHER OPPOSE OR SUPPORT IT. I DO HAVE SOME COMMENTS IN GENERAL, UM, I AM A RESIDENT AND A HOMEOWNER IN DISTRICT 10, AND I DO WANNA THANK, UH, COUNCILWOMAN COLEMAN FOR BRINGING THIS ISSUE TO THE ATTENTION OF THE METRO COUNCIL. AND I URGE THE COUNCIL TO, AGAIN, WHENEVER I THINK ABOUT SOMETHING, I ALWAYS THINK ABOUT THE WHY, UH, WHY WE WANNA DO THESE THINGS. SO WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE A PERSISTENT, UM, THIS IS A PERSISTENT ISSUE OF ADJUDICATED PROPERTIES IN THE PARISH. AND I WOULD HOPE THAT THE PROPOSED, UM, COMMITTEE, IF APPROVED, WILL ASSESS WHAT'S WORKING AND WHAT'S NOT WORKING, UH, REGARDING THE, THE PROGRAM IN GENERAL, THE BLIGHT ELIMINATION PROGRAM. AND YES, WE KNOW THAT, UM, ADJUDICATED PROPERTIES HAVE TITLE ISSUES AND HAVING A CLEAR TITLE IS ESSENTIAL IN TRANSFORMING THAT PROPERTY. UM, PLACES LIKE NEW ORLEANS LAKE, CHARLES, UH, LAFAYETTE, OR JUST A FEW OF THE CITIES THAT HAVE MADE PROGRESS IN PART AND, AND IN BATON ROUGE ALSO. BUT THEY'RE ALSO THINKING MORE OUT OF OUT THE, OUT OF THE BOX AND, AND MAKING RADICAL DECISIONS ABOUT, UH, HOW THEY WANT TO DEAL WITH THOSE. AND THAT'S HAPPENING ACROSS THE NATION. BUT I, I LIVE IN, UM, IN A COMMUNITY PREVIOUSLY KNOWN AS OLD SOUTH BATON ROUGE. AND WE KNOW THAT THE ISSUE OF ADJUDICATED PROPERTY IS WIDESPREAD. AND I CAN'T AVOID, UM, WITHIN A FIVE MILE RADIUS OF MY HOME, THERE'S ADJUDICATED PROPERTY. UM, FOR EXAMPLE, SOMEONE PURCHASED, UM, A HOME ON THE BLOCK THERE ACROSS NEAR ME. AND, UM, THEY WORK ON IT SPORADICALLY AND I KNOW IT TAKES TIME, BUT THEN YOU'RE GONNA LET THE, THE GRASS OVERGROW ON THE LOT. AND SO I LIKE TO POLICE MY STREET. IF SOMETHING'S GOING ON, THEN I'M GONNA REPORT IT. UM, SO WE KNOW THAT MY COMMUNITY AND NORTH BATON ROUGE, WE NEED, UM, ASSISTANCE IN REALLY HAVING A MORE AGGRESSIVE STRATEGY IN TRYING TO ADDRESS, UM, BLIGHT. COUPLE OF THINGS I'D LIKE TO PROPOSE. IF THIS HAPPENS, THEN I WOULD LIKE TO, UM, MAKE A PROPOSAL REGARDING SOME THINGS THAT YOU MIGHT WANT TO CONSIDER. FIRST OF ALL, REFORMING POLICIES THAT RELATE TO BLIGHT, ORDINANCES, CODES, AND STATUES AT THE LOCAL AND STATE LEVELS. ALSO, UM, A BIG ELEMENT OF ANYTHING WE'RE GONNA DO IS ABOUT INCLUDING COMMUNITY VOICES. CONTINUING THAT COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT IN BUILDING, UH, EFFECTIVE AND WORKABLE SOLUTIONS. ALSO, EMBRACING INNOVATION AND INTENTIONALITY. BY THAT I MEAN YOU TURN INTENT INTO ACTION BY WELCOMING IDEAS, TEST THE GREAT IDEAS AND THEN SCALING THEM THAT WORKS. UTILIZING THE TOOLS WE KNOW THAT YOU HAVE TIMELY. SO IN-HOUSE, BUT WE NEED MORE TOOLS. DATA ANALYTICS ARE BEING USED ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO HELP TO DO THIS WORK. CHANGING FALSE NARRATIVES ABOUT DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES. WE GOTTA CHANGE THAT NARRATIVE SO PEOPLE CAN COME IN AND BUY. THANK YOU. SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME, MA'AM. OH, CAN I COME BACK UP AND FINISH MY LAST PIECE? NO MA'AM. YOU'VE HAD YOUR THREE MINUTES. OH, ANYBODY WANNA HELP ME OUT? GIMME JUST A COUPLE MORE MINUTES. DOES ANYONE ELSE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? YEAH, MY BUDDY HERE. YES MA'AM. HOW YOU DOING? MY NAME IS S RENEE SMITH. I'M A DIS UH, MEMBER OF DISTRICT 10. I LIVE AT 2042 GEORGIA STREET AND I HAVE BEEN IN THE COMMUNITY FOR OVER 60 YEARS. I'VE BEEN A COMMUNITY FOR ACTIVIST FOR OVER 50 AND I'VE SEEN A LOT OF BLIGHT AND ADJUDICATED PROPERTY AND OUR AREA JUST INCREASED. WE HAVE COME IN WITH A LOT OF, UH, PLANS. PLANS AND I WANNA COMMEND YOU ON BRINGING THIS FORTH COUNCILMAN WITH THE BLIGHT AND ADJUDICATED AND BRINGING IT BACK. BUT WE WOULD LIKE MORE COMMUNITY [02:55:01] INVOLVEMENT. AND SAYING THIS, I'M SAYING THIS, I'VE SEEN PLANS COME INTO OUR COMMUNITY FROM THE, UH, REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY. I HAVE BEEN, UH, ON BOARD WITH LOU THOMAS IN THE PAST IN OUR COMMUNITY, JOHN SPAIN. WE HAVE HAD PLANS, PLANS, PLANS. WE HAVE BEEN LEFT OUT, BUT IT'S A LOT GOING ON WITH ADJUDICATED PROPERTY THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE. A LOT OF OUR PEOPLE HAVE CALLED IN SEVERAL TIMES ABOUT GETTING THINGS. DID. I CAN GIVE YOU A LIST OF NUMBERS HERE THAT I'VE KEPT THAT'S BIDEN ADJUDICATED. THERE HAS NOT BEEN ANYTHING DID. SO WITH THIS, WE WOULD LIKE COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT. WE WOULD LIKE, UH, STAKEHOLDERS NOT OUTSIDE, BUT INSIDE OUR COMMUNITY AT THE TABLE. AND WE WOULD JUST LIKE COM COMMUNITY VOICE AND WE WOULD LIKE REALLY TO BE INVOLVED 'CAUSE IT'S TIME FOR OUR AREA AND DISTRICT 10 TO GET RID OF THE BLIGHT AND MOVE FORWARD. THANK YOU. ANYONE ELSE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? SEE NONE. I'M GO TO COUNCIL. COUNCILMAN MOOCH. THANK YOU. UH, THANK YOU. COUNCILWOMAN COLEMAN, I THINK THIS IS, IS SHOULD BE, CAN BE A GREAT PROGRAM. AND I'M, I'M, I'M GLAD TO SEE YOU BROUGHT IT UP. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DEAL WITH A LOT OF THE TIMES, UH, AS FAR AS BLIGHT IS TIME. IT TAKES TIME AFTER TIME AFTER TIME. AND YOU GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS AND THEN YOU, UH, IT COMES INTO CONDEMNATION AND, AND THEN YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH THAT PROCESS. AND IF SOMEBODY WANTS 6 30, 60, 90 DAYS AND YOU GO THROUGH ALL THAT AGAIN, AND I KNOW THIS COUNCIL SEVERAL TIMES HAS BEEN VERY FOCUSED ON JUST GETTING RID OF THE PROBLEM. I KNOW WE'VE HAD A COUPLE OF 'EM THAT, THAT WE'VE JUST SAID. LET'S JUST GO AHEAD AND LET IT GO, LET IT GET TORE DOWN. BUT, YOU KNOW, ONE THING I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE COMMITTEE FOCUS ON, UM, AND I'D LOVE TO SEE JUST AN IDEA, IS I KNOW I'VE GOTTEN PHONE CALLS, SEVERAL PHONE CALLS FROM INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE READY TO PURCHASE A CONDEMNED HOME. WE'VE ALREADY GOT IT ON THE CONDEMNATION LIST. THEY'RE READY TO PURCHASE A, A POSSIBLY CONDEMNED HOME 'CAUSE NOBODY ELSE WAS READY TO TAKE CARE OF IT. THEY'RE READY TO GO IN AND BUY IT AND PUT IT BACK INTO COMMERCE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. I WOULD LOVE TO SEE ON THIS COMMITTEE IF THERE'S ANY KIND OF EXPEDITED PROCESS, IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE THAT HAS THE RESOURCES AND THEY GET X AMOUNT OF TIME TO BE AT X AMOUNT OF POINT, IF THERE'S ANY KIND OF EXPEDITED PROCESS THAT THEY CAN GO THROUGH TO GET IT DONE QUICKER AND MAYBE DIRECT CONTACTS IN CITY PARISH THAT THEY COULD HELP WITH. AND WITH THAT BEING SAID, WITH UH, THREE MINUTES AND 21 SECONDS, THE, THE LADY THAT WAS SPEAKING A WHILE AGO, I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR YOU FINISH OFF. 'CAUSE I FELT LIKE WE WAS GOING TO CHURCH. , SHE STILL HERE. THERE YOU GO. I I WILL, I WILL GIVE YOU THE REMAINDER OF MY TIME TO HEAR IT OUT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. BUT AFTER THAT, HE TAKES OVER AGAIN. THANK YOU SO MUCH. I JUST WANT TO END IT BY SAYING, YOU KNOW WHAT I SAID PREVIOUSLY THAT THOSE ARE VERY LARGE THEMES THAT WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT OVERALL, BUT I DO HAVE THE CONCERNS ABOUT THE COMMITTEE. IT'S ONLY FOR ONE YEAR. IT'S GONNA TAKE ABOUT THREE TO FOUR MONTHS, MAYBE A YEAR, YOU KNOW, TO EVEN ESTABLISH A, A GOOD SOLID PLAN. AND MY CO COLLEAGUE, YOU KNOW, SHE TALKED ABOUT THE COMPOSITION OF THE, UM, COMMITTEE, YOU KNOW, WE WANNA STILL LEVERAGE THE VOICES OF THE COMMUNITY FOLKS. AND THEN THERE'S THIS LOOMING ISSUE ABOUT THE CUTS IN NEXT YEAR'S ANNUAL OPERATING BUDGET THAT WE ARE GONNA NEED TO CONSIDER ABOUT WHAT KIND OF SERVICES AND PROGRAMS WE'RE GONNA HAVE AS WE START THE, THE NEXT YEAR. SO I RECOGNIZE, LIKE YOU SAID, IT TAKES TIME, BUT WE'RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME IN PLACES, SO, YOU KNOW, WE CAN'T KEEP DOING THE SAME THING AND EXPECTING A DIFFERENT RESULT. SO WE'VE, WE'VE GOTTA REALLY THINK CRITICALLY ABOUT HOW WE'RE GONNA ADDRESS, UH, ADJUDICATED PROPERTIES AND GLIDE IN GENERAL. THANK YOU SO MUCH. YOU DO. COUNCILWOMAN MCCOMB? YES, I'M, I'M GLAD THAT THE BLIGHT TO BRIGHT OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE THING HERE ON THE AGENDA HAS BROUGHT FOLK OUT TO, UM, TONIGHT. AND SO WITH THE ADJUDICATED PROPERTIES, THERE ARE TITLE ISSUES AND THIS COMMITTEE WILL ADDRESS THAT ALONG WITH, UM, THERE WILL BE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE COMMUNITY TO COME OUT AND, UH, NOT JUST [03:00:01] VOICE OPINIONS, BUT UH, BE IN THE WORKS WITH WHAT WILL GO ON. AND SO AN AMENDMENT AND THEN BACK TO THE ADJUDICATED PROPERTIES. I AM ON RECORD FOR ASKING FOLK WHO ARE GETTING THE ADJUDICATED PROPERTIES TO MAKE SURE THEY GIVE ME A PLAN AS TO WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO DO WITH THIS ADJUDICATED PROPERTY. AND I DON'T THINK THAT THIS HAS BEEN DONE BEFORE, BUT IF SO, OH, WELL. AND SO I WOULD LIKE TO ASK FOR AN AMENDMENT TO THIS TO MAKE SURE THAT I INCLUDE THAT THE OFFICE OF DEVELOPMENT IS INCLUDED, INCLUDED AND BILL BATON ROUGE ON THIS, UH, COMMITTEE AND WE FORGE AHEAD. IS THAT A MOTION? YES, IT IS. THANK YOU. WE HAVE A MOTION. WE HAVE A SECOND BY. OH, COUNCILMAN MO COUNCIL. I LIKE SHAUNA FOR A SECOND. MIKE WASN'T WORKING. UM, COUNCILWOMAN COLEMAN, SHE BROUGHT UP A GOOD POINT ABOUT AS FAR AS, UM, ONE YEAR. DO YOU FEEL LIKE THAT'S SUFFICIENT ENOUGH, UM, TO GET OFF THE GROUND AND RUNNING WITH ALL THE DIFFERENT AGENCIES AND, AND WHAT WE COULD DO? OR DO YOU THINK YOU MIGHT NEED A LITTLE MORE TIME? AND I KNOW WE CAN BRING IT BACK TO US TO EXTEND IT OUT LATER, BUT WITH THE, WITH THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF JUST GOING AHEAD AND GIVE IT A LITTLE EXTRA TIME, I DON'T MIND IF THAT'S SOMETHING YOU WANT TO THINK ABOUT. I THOUGHT YOU BROUGHT UP A GOOD POINT WITH THAT FOR SURE. AND KNOW THAT YOU GOTTA START SOMEWHERE. AND SO THIS IS A START AND I AM DEFINITELY ONE THAT BELIEVES IN FINISHING A THING, SO THAT'S FOR SURE. AND SO WE CAN DEFINITELY COME BACK AND ASK FOR, UH, MORE TIME. BUT THIS IS A GREAT START, UH, TO HAVE REALLY CONCERNED FOLK THAT WANT TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT BLIGHT AND THEN COME TO THE TABLE AND THEN A PLAN IS ESTABLISHED AND THEN STARTING WITH IT. I THINK IT'S TO BE COMMENDABLE. WE HAVE A MOTION BY COUNCILWOMAN COLEMAN, SECOND BY COUNCILMAN MOOCH. ANY OPPOSITION? MOTION CARRIES. ITEM ONE [130. 24-01004] 30, AUTHORIZED MAYOR, PRESIDENT TO ENTER INTO A SUB-RECIPIENT AGREEMENT WITH THE BIG BUDDY AND THE AMOUNT OF 215,000 BY WAY OF SAFE, HOPEFUL, HEALTHY TO PROVIDE PLANNING, COORDINATION, AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MAYOR'S SCHOOL BASE OUTREACH DREAM ACADEMY BY THE MAYOR'S OFFICE IN ONE WISH TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM, SEEING NONE WILL GO TO COUNCIL. WE HAVE A MOTION BY COUNCILMAN GODDE. SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN DON JR. COUNCILMAN MOE, CAN WE HAVE SOMEONE COME UP PLEASE? AND THANK YOU. JUST LET US, UH, KNOW ABOUT THIS PROGRAM. WHAT SURE. SO SCHOOL-BASED, UH, OUTREACH HAS BEEN HAPPENING AT FIVE OF OUR HIGH SCHOOLS. UM, FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS. BIG BUDDY HAS BEEN THE CONTAINER, UM, FOR THIS PROGRAM IS FOCUSED ON WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AS WELL AS SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL, UM, LEARNING. AND SO BIG BUDDY DOES THE WORKFORCE PORTION. AND THEN WE ALSO, WE AS IN THE MAYOR'S OFFICE PROVIDE, UH, CLINICIANS WHO ARE ABLE TO CONNECT WITH YOUNG PEOPLE. WE'RE PRESENTLY, AT LEAST LAST YEAR WE'RE IN MCKINLEY, UM, GLEN OAKS, UH, CAPITAL, UH, SCOTLANDVILLE, AS WELL AS ESMA. SO, OKAY. WHERE, AS FAR AS FUNDING FOR THIS, WHAT, WHAT SPECIFICALLY IS THE FUNDING COMING FROM? IS THIS GRANT PROGRAMS THAT WE'RE MATCHING THIS, THIS PARTICULAR, UM, PORTION OF FUNDING IS COMING FROM BRIGHT DOLLARS, WHICH ARE SAMHSA DOLLARS. UM, AND THAT FUNDING IS FOCUSED SPECIFICALLY ON MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORTS. IS THAT, IS THAT A GRANT? IT'S A GRANT, YES. OKAY. SO THAT'S A GRANT. UM, ANY OF THE OTHER FUNDING AS FAR AS GENERAL FUND OR NO, NOW AS FAR AS THESE PROGRAMS GO, WHEN THAT GRANT'S OUT, WHEN THAT GRANT IS OVER, THEN WE WILL LOOK FOR OTHER WAYS IN WHICH TO FUND THE PROGRAM. BUT PRESENTLY IT IS BEING FUNDED BY, UH, THAT GRANT. OKAY. AND HAS THIS PROGRAM BEEN PROGRAMS BEEN IN EFFECT FOR A WHILE? YEAH, WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR ABOUT FOUR YEARS, YEARS. WE'VE BEEN DOING IT FOR A LONG TIME. SO OBVIOUSLY Y'ALL ARE CONTINUALLY ABLE TO GET THE SAME GRANT OR HAVE Y'ALL HAD TO SWITCH DIFFERENT GRANTS? NO, WE'VE HAD TO DIVERSIFY IN HOW WE FUND SAFE, HOPEFUL, HEALTHY, AND SO, UM, BIG BUDDY HAS BEEN FUNDED BY ARFA DOLLARS IN THE PAST. UM, SO IT JUST DEPENDS ON WHAT IS AVAILABLE AND WHAT FUNDING SOURCE FITS THE WORK THAT THEY'RE DOING AT THE TIME. OKAY. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN GODDE, JUST ONE MORE QUESTION. YES. HOW DO YOU, HOW DO Y'ALL GO ABOUT FINDING COMMUNITY PARTNERS FOR THIS? SO IN TERMS OF SAFE, HOPEFUL, HEALTHY CLASSROOMS, BIG BUDDY, UM, STOOD UP HELPED US STAND THAT UP, UM, THREE YEARS AGO. UM, BUT IN TERMS OF PARTNERING WITH THIS PROJECT, UH, FOLKS CAN APPLY TO PARTNER WITH THIS PROJECT THROUGH SAY, FOCAL HEALTHY. UM, WE DO HAVE AN APPLICATION THAT, UM, WE UTILIZE [03:05:01] IF PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED IN PARTNER. YOU TALKING PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS, DIFFERENT ORGS? YEAH. YES. SO, UM, IN THE PAST WE'VE HAD, UM, VARIOUS LINE FOR LINE HAS PARTNERED WITH BIG BUDDY AS WELL AS, UM, I'M TRYING TO THINK OF OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, BUT OTHER ORGANIZATIONS CAN COME INTO, SO BIG BUDDY BASICALLY SERVES AS A CONTAINER. OKAY. BUT THEN THEY OFFER OTHER AWARDS TO COME IN TO SUPPORT PERFECT. AND, AND CAN STILL DO THAT. CORRECT? CAN STILL, ABSOLUTELY. WE'RE LOOKING FOR ALL KINDS OF PARTNERS. PERFECT. THANK YOU JEN. APPRECIATE IT. ITEM'S BEEN PROPERLY MOTION AND SECONDED. DO WE HAVE ANY OPPOSITION? SEEING NONE. MOTION CARRIES. ITEM 1 31, [131. 24-01005] AUTHORIZING MAYOR PRESIDENT TO EXECUTE AN AMENDMENT TO THE CONTRACT WITH LAZ PARKING TO EXTEND THE CONTRACT TIME FOR TWO ADDITIONAL YEARS THROUGH AUGUST 31ST, 2026 BY THE OFFICE OF BUSINESS OPERATIONS AND PUBLIC WORKS. DOES ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? SEEING NONE WILL GO TO COUNCIL. COUNCILMAN DUN JR. CAN DPW UH, LAY PARKING OR SOMEONE COME UP AND ANSWER A FEW QUESTIONS? COUNSEL BOB COLMAN WITH LAST PARKING. LAST PARKING, I'M SORRY, WE HAD, UH, A SERIES OF MEETINGS WITH YOU ALL WITH DPW ABOUT SOME OF THE CONCERNS THAT WE ADDRESSED THAT WE HAD FACED HERE, UM, WITH, UH, YOUR COMPANY, THE PARKING AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE. ARE YOU AWARE OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS AND HAVE YOU GUYS ADDRESSED ANY OF THOSE CONCERNS THAT WE BROUGHT TO YOU? BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW THAT YOU WAS IN THE MEETING. CAN YOU BRIEF ME JUST BASICALLY ON WHAT CONCERNS SPECIFICALLY YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT SO I MAKE SURE I ADDRESS THE CORRECT THING? SURE. ONE OF THE CONCERNS, UM, MANY OF US OFTENTIMES EITHER MISPLACED OR LEAVE AT HOME OUR BADGE TO GET IN. UM, I KNOW COUNCIL MEMBERS DO IT, MAYBE STAFF MEMBERS DON'T. UM, AND OFTENTIMES WE'LL PRESS THE BUTTON TO CALL TO INFORM THAT, HEY, WE DON'T HAVE OUR BADGE, OR MAYBE THE BADGE MAY NOT BE WORKING AND WE NEED SOME ATTENTION TO HELP US GET THROUGH. AND IN, IN MY EXPERIENCE, THAT NUMBER GOES TO A 800 NUMBER. SOMEBODY THAT'S NOT ON SITE, THAT IS NOT AWARE OF BATON ROUGE OR, UH, OR WHAT'S GOING ON HERE. SO WE WANTED THAT NUMBER TO GO TO SOMEONE ON SITE THAT COULD ADDRESS IT VERSUS IT GOING OUT OF TOWN. UH, WHAT'S YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF THAT PARTICULAR SITUATION? YEAH, I'M FAMILIAR. I THINK WE'VE ADDRESSED SOME OF THE ISSUES WITH THE ACCESS CARDS NOT BEING PRESENT AND ALLOWING FOLKS TO, TO GET OUT WITHOUT THEIR ACCESS CARD ON THOSE DAYS. AND THEN IN ADDITION TO THAT, THE INTERCOMS ARE DIRECTED TO OUR LOCAL MANAGER RENEE, UH, DURING REGULAR BUSINESS HOURS. OKAY. THE OTHER THING, UH, AS IT RELATES TO THAT, TO TRY TO SIMPLIFY ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THEY SAID THEY WOULD HAVE, UH, SOME SORT OF DIRECTORY WITH STAFF MEMBERS, DEPARTMENT HEADS, COUNCIL MEMBERS THERE. SO IF WE CAME AND HAD AN ISSUE, YOU KNOW, THEY CAN, UM, YOU KNOW, BE AWARE OF WHO WE ARE AND KNOW THAT WE HAVE ACCESS IF WE HAVE AN ISSUE. I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT HAS TAKEN PLACE OR NOT. HAD RENEE'S GOT THAT DIRECTORY NOW. YEAH. OKAY. ALRIGHT. THAT'S THE ONE OR TWO THINGS THAT I'M FAMILIAR WITH. UM, I'M GONNA ASK MY COLLEAGUES, YOU KNOW, WHO WAS IN THOSE MEETINGS AND BROUGHT UP OTHER CONCERNS TO SEE IF THOSE WERE ADDRESSED, BUT THOSE WERE THE TWO THAT WAS AN ISSUE FOR ME. SO GLAD TO HEAR YOU'VE ADDRESSED THOSE. COUNCILMAN MOOCH. YEAH, I KNOW, RIGHT. TOTALLY SHOWING IT TONIGHT. KEEP TOTALLY FORGETTING THE MIC. UH, Y'ALL HANDLE THE, THE, THE PARKING METERS AND STUFF TOO, CORRECT? WE DO NOT CURRENTLY HANDLE THE PARKING METERS. WE OPERATE THE, UH, TWO GARAGES. JUST THE GARAGE IN THE BASEMENT. YEAH. OKAY. WHAT, UH, AS FAR AS WHAT THE CONTRACT'S BEEN SO FAR AND EVERYTHING, GIVE IT SO THE PUBLIC CAN KNOW AND STUFF, WHAT HAVE Y'ALL DONE SO FAR AS FAR AS ENHANCEMENTS AND STUFF THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE SOME OF THE THINGS DONE WITH THE PARKING GARAGE. ABSOLUTELY. UM, I HAVEN'T BEEN WITH EL LZ, UH, FOR THE FULL TERM OF THE CONTRACT. I JOINED THEM ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF AGO. BUT I AM FAMILIAR WITH SOME OF THE, THE PROJECTS THAT HAVE BEEN COMPLETED. WE'VE, UH, ADDED STATE-OF-THE-ART PARKING EQUIPMENT TO THE LOCATION, UPGRADING ALL OF THAT. WE'VE, UH, PROVIDE PA UH, SOLUTIONS FOR FOLKS TO PAY BY PHONE TO ALLOW A SEAMLESS EXIT. SO WE'RE PROVIDING LOTS OF TECH PARKING TECHNOLOGY IN ADDITION, STRUCTURALLY. UM, WE'VE COMPLETED SOME LIGHTING REPAIRS TO THE FACILITY AND THEN ALSO SOME ACCESS CONTROL. THERE'S SOME GRILL GATES THAT HAD NEEDED TO BE REPLACED TO SECURE THE FACILITY AFTER HOURS. OKAY. SO EXTENDING THIS CONTRACT BY TWO YEARS, WHAT, WHAT DO YOU SEE OR WHAT IS LAZ LOOKING TO, UH, DO ANY ENHANCEMENTS OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS? FUTURE PLANS OR DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'VE DONE THE CONTRACT AND NOW WE'RE JUST GOING FORWARD? NO, NO, NO. WE, WE HAVE ALREADY GOT PLANS TO ADD ADDITIONAL TECHNOLOGY TO ALLOW FOR EXPEDITED [03:10:01] INGRESS INTO THE FACILITY, UH, FROM A PARKING STANDPOINT. AND WE'RE ALSO WORKING WITH A CONSULTANT TO, UH, PROVIDE A MORE DETAILED ASSESSMENT OF THE FACILITIES AND PROJECTS THAT MIGHT NEED TO BE COMPLETED IN THE FUTURE. OKAY. WHAT IS, WHAT YOU LOOKING AT FOR A TIMELINE WITH THAT? CURRENTLY? UM, THE CONSULTANTS ALREADY VISITED THE SITES AND SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE JUST WAITING ON A SECOND VISIT AT THIS POINT. SO I WOULD SAY THAT COULD HAPPEN WITHIN THE NEXT POTENTIALLY TWO MONTHS. OKAY. 60 DAYS. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MCC COLEMAN? YES. WHAT ABOUT OUR PARKING SPACES? UH, BEING MADE AVAILABLE TO US? NOBODY PARKING IN OUR PARKING SPACES DURING EVENTS THAT MAY YEAH, DURING OTHER EVENTS. YEAH. I BELIEVE THAT, UM, THAT CAN BE ADDRESSED. I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH THAT. YOU KNOW, UH, RENEE PROBABLY WOULD NEED TO ADDRESS THAT MORE SPECIFICALLY, BUT IF YOU ARE RESERVE, IF YOU HAVE A RESERVE SPACE, IT SHOULD BE RESERVED 24 7. THAT'S RIGHT. IT SHOULD BE, BUT IT HASN'T. OKAY. YEAH. SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE DEFINITELY NEED NO PROBLEM TO HAVE ADDRESSED. AND ALSO THE ABILITY TO ENTER MORE THAN ONCE A DAY OR AFTER FIVE, UH, WITHOUT BEING CHARGED AGAIN. THAT'S SOMETHING ELSE THAT WAS AN ISSUE. SURE. YOU MEAN WITH AN ACCESS CARD? SURE. YEAH. YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO ENTER MORE THAN ONCE A DAY, IS MY UNDERSTANDING. THE SAME THING I SAID, BUT WE WEREN'T ABLE TO WITHOUT BEING CHARGED AGAIN. WE CAN LOOK INTO THAT FOR YOU. THAT'S NOT A PROBLEM. OKAY. IF YOU HAVE A SPECIFIC DATE, I, I CAN PROVIDE YOU MY EMAIL ADDRESS. WE CAN DIG IN TO SEE IF THERE WAS A TECHNOLOGY PROBLEM OR WHATEVER THE ISSUE WAS. NO TECHNOLOGY PROBLEM. IT WAS SAID THAT, UH, AFTER FIVE THAT WE COULD NOT COME IN AND NOT BE CHARGED AGAIN. I DON'T SEE WHY THAT WOULD BE AN ISSUE. I WOULDN'T EITHER. SO COUNCILMAN COLEMAN, THAT HADN'T BEEN ADDRESSED. IT SHOULD BE. BUT WE ARE HERE TONIGHT TO TALK ABOUT RENEWING A CONTRACT, SO WE WANNA BRING THOSE THINGS UP TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY HAVE BEEN ADDRESSED AND THAT THEY'RE NOT OCCURRING, UH, ANYMORE. SO, OKAY. WE, I'M JUST MAKING SURE IT HASN'T IT HASN'T BEEN ADDRESSED, UM, BECAUSE I HAVEN'T HEARD ANY CONCERN SINCE THE LAST TIME WE MET. AND IT IS MY HOPE THAT THAT CONCERN NOT BE, I DON'T EVEN LOOK AT THAT, BUT IT IS MY CONCERN THAT IT NOT BE. OKAY. YEAH. THANK YOU GUYS. ANYTHING ELSE? COUNCILMAN DOUG JR. I, I WANNA REINFORCE THAT POINT TOO 'CAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE YOU ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH THAT ISSUE AS WELL. I KNOW TRINA, UM, HAS BEEN BRIEFED ON THIS ISSUE. UH, IT WAS, UH, SEVERAL SITUATIONS WHERE A FEW OF OUR COLLEAGUES HAD BEEN, UH, IN MY OPINION, NOT HANDLED IN A PROFESSIONAL MANNER AS IT RELATES TO THEIR PARKING SPACES AND WAS RESTRICTED FROM THEIR PARKING SPACES. YOU KNOW, WE COMMUNICATED TO OUR STAFF AND YOUR STAFF THAT OFTENTIMES WE ARE ASKED TO COME DOWNTOWN FOR EVENTS. MM-HMM. COME DOWNTOWN TO COME TO OUR OFFICES HERE AND DO WORK AT ALL HOURS OF THE NIGHT. YEP. UH, SO WE THOUGHT THAT THOSE SPACES SHOULD BE, YOU KNOW, RESERVED FOR US BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW, UH, UH, HAVE, UH, ADVANCED NOTICE WHEN WE WOULD USE THOSE SPACES AND WE DIDN'T WANT TO BE, UH, RESTRICTED FROM USE OF THOSE SPACES ARE RESTRICTED OF WHEN WE CAN COME AND GO INTO THIS FACILITY TO HAVE ACCESS TO THIS FACILITY. SO WE NEED THAT COMMITMENT FROM YOU ON THE RECORD, THAT THAT WILL BE IN PLACE, THAT WE WON'T HAVE ANY ISSUES WITH GAINING ACCESS TO OUR PARKING SPACES AND GAINING ACCESS TO THIS FACILITY AT ANY TIME, 24 HOURS A DAY. MY UNDERSTANDING OF THE SITUATION WAS THAT THAT WAS ADDRESSED IN THE LAST MEETING AND THAT THE THOUGHT WAS THAT THEY WERE JUST FOLLOWING WHAT THE, THE RULES WERE FOR THE FACILITY. UM, AND SO I, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT'S ALREADY BEEN ADDRESSED. OKAY. YEP. THANK YOU. AS FAR AS FOLLOWING THE RULES, DOES THAT INCLUDE CALLING THE POLICE ON THE COUNCIL MEMBER? BECAUSE I'LL TAKE UP WHAT HE JUST SAID RIGHT THERE. WHEN I TRY AND GET IN MY PARKING SPOT AND I'M TOLD NO AND I'M LIKE, HEY, CAN WE CALL SOMEBODY AND THEY GO TO CALL SOMEBODY AND THEN THE POLICE SHOW UP IS WHO THEY CALL. SO I THINK IT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED PRETTY, PRETTY QUICK IF IT HADN'T ALREADY. SURE. I KNOW WE HAD ONE DISCUSSION ABOUT THIS, BUT YEAH, I THINK GOING FORWARD THAT NEEDS TO DONE, BE DONE VERY, VERY QUICKLY BECAUSE WE BROUGHT THIS UP A LONG TIME AGO WHEN, LIKE MY FELLOW COUNCIL MEMBERS [03:15:01] HAVE SAID, MM-HMM WHEN WE GET CALLED DOWN FOR EVENTS AND EVERYTHING, SURE. I DON'T EXPECT, I, YOU KNOW, I MIGHT JUST HAVE TO RUSH DOWN HERE, DO A CERTAIN THING OR, OR APPEAR FOR A CERTAIN THING OR WHATEVER, AND THEN I MIGHT GO AHEAD AND, YOU KNOW, LEAVE OR, OR STAY FOR THE EVENT. BUT WHEN I DO THAT AND I'M HERE FOR THE EVENT AND I GET THE POLICE CALLED ON ME 'CAUSE I'M TOLD I CAN'T GO TO MY PARKING SPOT WITH MY NAME ON IT. THAT'S A PROBLEM. I AGREE. THANK YOU. ANYONE ELSE? OKAY. I CAN TELL YOU, UM, JUST FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, AND I DON'T KNOW HOW RECENT THAT WAS FOR ANY OF YOU, BUT, UM, LAST TIME WE HAD A LENGTHY DISCUSSION ABOUT THIS, UH, SHORTLY AFTER I CAME, UH, AFTER HOURS AND THERE WAS AN EVENT GOING ON. SO THE AT ATTENDANTS WERE THERE. UM, I LET MYSELF IN WITH THE, UM, ACCESS CARD AND THERE WAS SOMEBODY PARKED, UH, AN ATTENDANT PARKED ACROSS OUR SPOTS SPECIFICALLY MAKING SURE NO ONE ELSE PARKED IN OUR SPOTS AND THEY MOVED FROM ME AND LET ME PARK. AND SO I APPRECIATED THAT. I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S AN ONGOING SITUATION THAT THAT'S GONNA CONTINUE. I THINK THAT'S THE RIGHT MOVE THOUGH, JUST TO MAKE SURE, BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY IF NOBODY'S THERE, YOU CAN'T CONTROL 'EM ONCE THE CAR'S THERE. IT'S VERY DIFFICULT. UM, BUT THAT I THINK WAS THE, THE RIGHT MOVE IS TO HAVE AN ATTENDANT NOT ONLY CHECKING PEOPLE IN, BUT IN THERE MAKING SURE THAT THE RESERVE SPOTS ARE IN FACT, UH, RESERVED FOR THE PEOPLE WHO, WHO COULDN'T USE IT 24 7. SO THAT WAS MY EXPERIENCE. COUNCILMAN HURST. HEY. SO I, I DON'T, I THINK I LOVE WHAT BRANDON SAID, AND I THINK THAT, UM, IT IS DOABLE, BUT I THINK THE EASIEST THING TO DO WOULD BE TO TAKE A LITTLE EYE BOLT AND PUT IT IN THE WALL AND THEN PUT A CHAIN ACROSS IT SO THAT NOBODY CAN GET THERE. AND AT THAT POINT, IF WE DECIDE TO COME TO AN EVENT, WHICH A LOT OF US DO, WE, BUT IT'S RANDOM. IT'S NOT ALL OF US AT ONE TIME, RIGHT? SO SOMETIMES WE HAVE TO PRESENT, WE HAVE TO DO A WHOLE LOT, SOMETIMES WE GET WORKING. UM, BUT AS AN EVENT GOING ON, THEN WE CAN SAY, HEY, I'M A COUNCIL MEMBER, CAN YOU COME UNBOLT OR UNHINGED, WHATEVER THIS MAY BE. I DON'T THINK AN ATTENDANCE IS NECESSARY, BUT I THINK A MEASURES SHOULD BE TAKEN SO THAT ALL, INCLUDING NOT JUST OURS, BUT OTHER DESIGNATED PARKING MAYOR, WHOEVER ELSE IS NOT TAKING, THAT'S THE EASIEST WAY TO DO JUST CHAIN IT OFF AND WE WANT TO GET IN THERE. SOMEBODY OPEN UP FOR US. SURE. WE CON 'EM, WE CAN CON 'EM OR CHAIN 'EM OR, YEAH. COUNCILMAN HUDSON? UH, I'M GONNA TAKE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT APPROACH. I REALLY THINK SIDEWALK CHALK IS THE WAY TO GO. UM, I'M JUST JOKING. , BY ALL MEANS, IF Y'ALL NEED TO SELL THE DISTRICT NINE SPOT STILL, YOU'RE STILL WELCOME TO, UH, USE MY SPOT AND I'LL LET YOU KNOW IF THERE'S AN ISSUE, BUT, UM, PLEASE CONTINUE TO MAKE OUR GARAGE AS PROFITABLE AS POSSIBLE. THAT'S THE MAIN POINT. UH, AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE NEED TO BE FOCUSED ON, IS MAKING THE GARAGE AS PROFITABLE AS POSSIBLE. SO THANK YOU. WE'LL FIND ANOTHER ONE FOR YOU IF YOU, BUT KEEP IN MIND WE DO PAY, SO YEAH, PROFITABLE IS GOOD, BUT KEEP IN MIND WE PAY FOR OUR SPOTS. UNDERSTOOD. SAID COUNCILWOMAN ROCKA. SO VERY SHORT AND SWEET. I, I UNDERSTAND SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT WE'VE HAD AND I'VE EXPRESSED MY CONCERNS TIME A AND TIME AGAIN. UM, COULD YOU PLEASE CONVEY TO YOUR STAFF, BECAUSE THIS IS MY CONCERN IF THE PEOPLE WITH THE NAMES ON THE WALL ARE GETTING TREATED IN A CERTAIN WAY, I'M A LITTLE WORRIED, CONCERNED, AND ALARMED THAT POTENTIALLY ALL THE PEOPLE THAT COME HERE THAT WORK, UM, THE REGULAR EIGHT TO FIVE EVERY SINGLE DAY MIGHT BE DEALING WITH SOME OF THE ISSUES. AND I'VE, I'VE HEARD THAT STAFF HAS BEEN SOMEWHAT AGGRESSIVE TOWARDS THEM IN THE PAST, SO JUST IF YOU COULD CONTINUE TO CONVEY TO THEM THAT WE'D RATHER THEM LIKE TREAT THEM WITH THE UTMOST RESPECT BECAUSE WE ARE PAYING YOU AS A VENDOR TO GIVE US A SERVICE. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH, SIR. YEAH, I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT'S NOT A STANDARD, THAT L REPRESENTS IT ALL. AND SO WE'RE DEFINITELY GONNA ADDRESS THOSE WITH INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEES AND ALSO THE GROUP. I'LL MAKE A POINT TO SEND EVERYONE THROUGH CUSTOMER SERVICE TRAINING IN THE NEXT 30 DAYS, SIR. I APPRECIATE THAT. MM-HMM? . COUNCILMAN MO? YEAH, REAL QUICK. I'M GLAD YOU BROUGHT THAT UP. COUNCILWOMAN ROCA, JUST A FEW MINUTES AGO WE WERE SITTING BACK HERE AND A FEW COUNCIL LEADS CAME IN TO THE BACK AFTER WE HAD ONE OF OUR DISCUSSIONS. WENT BACK THERE, UH, TO GET A CUP OF COFFEE. SEVERAL COUNCIL LEADS CAME IN AND I WAS LIKE, WHERE Y'ALL BEEN? THEY SAID, WELL, WE WENT AND MOVED OUR CARS, MOVED YOUR CARS IN THE MIDDLE OF A COUNCIL MEETING THERE. SOME OF THE CONCERNS ARE, IF, IF Y'ALL HANDLE THIS GARAGE UNDERNEATH HERE AND EVERYTHING IS, I, I GUESS AND WHERE THEY'RE PARKED AT, MAYBE THE LIGHTING'S DEFICIENT, MAYBE THEY HAVE SOME CONCERNS OF SECURITY. I'D LIKE YOU TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT AS QUICK AS POSSIBLE, UM, TO [03:20:01] ADDRESS THOSE THINGS. AND THAT'S, IT'S, IT'S WEIRD THAT I WAS BACK THERE WHEN THEY CAME IN AND, AND THAT ACTUALLY CAME UP. SO I WOULD LOVE TO SEE YOU ADDRESS THAT FOR OUR WORKERS HERE. ABSOLUTELY. WE'VE BEEN GUESS, UH, ADDRESSING SOME OF THE ONGOING LIGHTING ISSUES AS THEY CONTINUE TO OCCUR. SO IT'S A JUST RULING ISSUE. ALRIGHT. ALL RIGHT. DO WE HAVE A MOTION? MOTION BY COUNCILMAN MOOCH? SECOND BY COUNCILMAN HUDSON. ANY OPPOSITION? MOTION CARRIES. ITEM 1 32 [132. 24-01006] AMENDING THE ANNUAL OPERATING BUDGET SO AS TO REALLOCATE $420,000 IN PROCEEDS FROM THE LOCAL FISCAL RECOVERY FUNDS THROUGH THE AMERICAN RESCUE ACT. FROM THE PUBLIC HEALTH BLIGHT ELIMINATION EXPENSE CATEGORY TO THE INFRASTRUCTURE STORMWATER CATEGORY FOR STORMWATER CAVE IN SLASH POINT REPAIRS AND COUNCIL DISTRICT THREE AND NINE BY THE MAYOR, PRESIDENT. ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? SEE NONE. WE'LL GO TO COUNCIL. COUNCILMAN GOEY. I'LL CERTAINLY THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I'LL CERTAINLY MAKE THE MOTION. I WANTED TO EXPRESS MY GRATITUDE TO, UH, THE MAYOR, THE MAYOR'S OFFICE, UH, DANTE AND UH, TRINA FOR THEIR WORKING WITH ME ON THIS TO MAKE IT HAPPEN. I APPRECIATE IT VERY MUCH. WE HAVE A MOTION. DO WE HAVE A SECOND? SECOND BY COUNCILMAN HUDSON. ANY OPPOSITION? MOTION CARRIES. ADJUDICATED PROPERTIES. [Items 133 - 155] WE'RE GONNA TAKE ITEMS 1 33 THROUGH 1 55 TOGETHER. 1 33 LOT. FOUR, FIVE AND SIX SQUARE 31 SUBDIVISION BANKS METRO COUNCIL DISTRICT 10 COLEMAN HIGH BIDDER CHELLE WILSON, $8,700. ITEM 1 34 LOT EIGHT EIGHT DASH A SQUARE 39 SUBDIVISION BANKS METRO COUNCIL. TIM COLEMAN HIGH BIDDER KEITH AND KEITH INVESTMENTS. LLC 3000. ITEM 1 35 LOT 28 SUBDIVISION SCHWART PLACE METRO COUNCIL DISTRICT. TIM COLEMAN HIGH BIDDER KEITH AND KEITH INVESTMENTS. LLC 5101 36 LOT 2 81 SUBDIVISION EAST DATE AND METRO COUNCIL DISTRICT SEVEN DARAN HIGH BIDDER KENKO LLC 9,500 LOT 24 SQUARE 22 SUBDIVISION SOUTH BATON ROUGE METRO COUNCIL DISTRICT 10 COLEMAN HIGH BIDDER KENKO LLC 6,900 LOT 16 PLUS SQUARE ONE 10 SUBDIVISION IN STRE METRO COUNCIL. DISTRICT 10 COLEMAN HIGH BIDDER ROBINS RENTALS. LLC 45,000 LOT. 12 SQUARE 27 SUBDIVISION GREENVILLE EXTENSION METRO COUNCIL DISTRICT SEVEN DEANNE HIGH BIDDER STALWORTH REALTY LLCA HUNDRED DOLLARS LOT 180 4 SUBDIVISION COLONIAL HILL METRO COUNCIL DISTRICT SEVEN DEANNE HIGH BIDDER VOTE, LOUISIANA $8,100 LOT 180 2 METRO COUNCIL DISTRICT SEVEN RAZAN HIGH BIDDER VOTE, LOUISIANA $600 LOT SIX SQUARE FOUR. SUBDIVISION GREENVILLE EXTENT, UH, EDITION METRO COUNCIL DISTRICT SEVEN DRAZAN HIGH BIDDER. ISIS. RIGHT $9,500 LOT FIVE SQUARE SIX SUBDIVISION SCOTT METRO COUNCIL DISTRICT 10 COLEMAN HIGH BIDDER. ISIS WRIGHT $5,300 LOT EIGHT POINT SQUARE 2 51 SUBDIVISION SWART METRO COUNCIL DISTRICT 10 COLEMAN HIGH BIDDER KEITH AND KEITH INVESTMENTS. LLC 5,600 LOT SEVEN SQUARE 11 SUBDIVISION JORDAN TERRACE METRO COUNCIL DISTRICT TWO BANKS HIGH BIDDER. KING KADO 1600 LOT 32 SUBDIVISION SOUTHERN HEIGHTS METRO COUNCIL DISTRICT TWO BANKS HIGH BIDDER KEITH AND KEITH INVESTMENTS. 33,900 LOT I ONE SUBDIVISION IDAHO STEWART TRACK METRO COUNCIL DISTRICT ONE NOEL HIGH BIDDER NAKIA WHITE $80,000 LOT 23 AND 24 SQUARE 32 SUBDIVISION FORTUNE METRO COUNCIL DISTRICT FIVE HEARST HIGH BIDDER SHANDY MARSHAL $200 LOT ONE A SQUARE 41 SUBDIVISION. FORTUNE METRO COUNCIL DISTRICT FIVE HEARST HIGH BIDDER SHANDY MARSHAL $200 LOT 1 1 4 1 A SUBDIVISION SHERWOOD FOREST METRO COUNCIL DISTRICT FOUR MOOC HIGH BIDDER TD REAL ESTATE GROUP $2,000 LOT SIX SUBDIVISION RIVERLAND METRO COUNCIL DISTRICT THREE GO DAY HIGH BIDDER TD REAL ESTATE GROUP $2,000 LOT 23 SUBDIVISION. SHERWOOD OAKS PARK METRO COUNCIL DISTRICT SIX DUN JUNIOR HIGH BIDDER TD REAL ESTATE GROUP $2,000 LOT 20 SUBDIVISION. SHERWOOD OAKS PARK METRO COUNCIL DISTRICT SIX DUN JUNIOR HIGH BIDDER TD REAL ESTATE GROUP $2,000 LOT. ONE 50 DASH A ONE 50 DASH A AND 1 51 51 DASH AND 1 51 DASH B SUBDIVISION. ASHLEY METRO COUNCIL DISTRICT SIX DUN JUNIOR HIGH BIDDER TD REAL ESTATE GROUP $6,000 LOT 12 SQUARE 13 SUBDIVISION GREENVILLE EXTENSION METRO COUNCIL DISTRICT SEVEN ANNE. HI BIDDER. BEN RIDLEY JR. $12,700. DO WE HAVE A MOTION? OH, I'M SORRY. UH, ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON ANY OF THESE ITEMS? 1 33 THROUGH 1 55. SEEN NONE WILL GO TO COUNCIL COUNCILMAN DUNN JR. MOTION TO APPROVE. SECOND BY COUNCILMAN HURST. [03:25:02] ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. ALRIGHT, WE'RE GONNA GO TO OUR SEPARATE SHEET FOR ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS. READ ITEM MAY 1ST. OKAY, ITEM A 24 0 0 8 7 3 TO AMEND THE 2024 CURRENT EXPENSE BUDGET FOR EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES TO APPROPRIATE $5 MILLION FROM FUND BALANCE UNASSIGNED TO PROVIDE FOR INTERGOVERNMENTAL TRANSFERS TO THE LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HOSPITALS FOR THE UPPER PAYMENT LIMIT MEDICAID REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAM BY EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES. MEDICAL SERVICES DIRECTOR, DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO WAIVE THE RULES? MOTION BY COUNCILMAN HUR. SECOND BY COUNCILMAN DUNN, JR. ANY OPPOSED? I'M GONNA HAVE A PUBLIC HEARING ON A MOTION TO WAIVE THE RULES. ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? SEEING NONE, DOES ANYONE OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. NOW WE'LL CALL FOR A PUBLIC HEARING ON THE ITEM. ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? SEEING NONE WILL GO TO COUNCIL. DO WE HAVE A MOTION ON THE ITEM? MOTION BY COUNCILMAN HURST? SECOND BY COUNCILMAN DUNN, JR. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. ITEM B, ACCEPTANCE OF LOW BID CITY COURT FACILITY DUCT CLEANING REMEDIATION. DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO WAIVE THE RULES? MOTION BY COUNCILMAN HURST. SECOND BY COUNCILWOMAN ADAMS. ANY OPPOSED? WE'RE GONNA HAVE A PUBLIC HEARING ON THE MOTION TO WAIVE THE RULES. ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK? SEEING NONE. ANYONE OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. ALRIGHT, WE HAVE A, UH, A HEARING ON THE ITEM. ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THE ITEM? SEEING NONE. MOTION BY COUNCILMAN HURST. WE HAVE A SECOND. SECOND BY COUNCILMAN DUNN, JR. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. ALL RIGHT. OKAY, WE'RE [Items 156-160] GONNA GO TO APPOINTMENTS. ITEMS 1 56 THROUGH ONE 60. FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT NUMBER ONE ADVISORY BOARD, UH, CONSIDERATION OF REAPPOINTING AND REPLACING, UH, C JORDAN. CHARLIE, CHARLES HALL, JESSE MOLEN, LARRY POLINSKY, THOMAS SCOTT. I'M GONNA ASK THAT THIS, THESE ITEMS BE, UM, DEFERRED FOR TWO WEEKS. UH, IT DOES SAY REQUESTED REAPPOINTMENT AND I DO BELIEVE THAT'S THE DIRECTION WE'RE GONNA GO. HOWEVER, I HEARD SOME CONFLICTING INFORMATION THAT SOME ONE OR TWO MAY ACTUALLY NOT BE REQUESTING REAPPOINTMENT. SO I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY BEFORE WE MOVE FORWARD. SO I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO DEFER THOSE ITEMS. DO HAVE A SECOND? SECOND BY COUNCILMAN GOEY. ANY OPPOSED MOTIONS DEFER FOR TWO WEEKS. ITEM [161. 24-01081] 1 61, GROUP PROJECT TRAFFIC AND TRIPE STRIPING IMPROVEMENTS. THUMB, BERG LANE ROUNDABOUT STIPEND IMPROVEMENTS. BACARDI AVENUE TRAFFIC IMPROVEMENTS CONTRACTOR ERNEST P BRO. ELECTRICAL LLC. CHANGE ORDER IN AMOUNT OF $13,815 AND 95 CENTS. IF WE HAVE ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM, SAY NONE WILL GO TO COUNCIL. WE HAVE A MOTION. MOTION BY COUNCILMAN HURST, SECOND BY COUNCILMAN HUDSON. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. [162. 24-01082] FINAL ACCEPTANCES ITEM 1 62. GROUP PROJECT TRAFFIC AND STRIPING IMPROVEMENTS. HUMBERG LANE ROUNDABOUT STRIPING IMPROVEMENTS. BACARDI AVENUE TRAFFIC IMPROVEMENTS CONTRACTOR, EARNEST PEOPLE ELECTRICAL LLC. FINAL COSTS $402,251 AND 95 CENTS. ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? SEEING NONE, WE'LL GO TO COUNCIL. WE HAVE A MOTION. MOTION BY COUNCILMAN HUR, SECOND BY COUNCILWOMAN AMAROSA. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. OKAY, WE'RE GONNA GO TO ITEM 1 65, RECEIVING A REPORT ON BRECKS. UH, ACTUALLY WE'RE GONNA JUMP [166. 24-00740] TO, FIRST WE'RE GONNA GO TO 1 66 AS A REQUEST TO DELETE THIS ITEM, RECEIVING A REPORT FROM THE EAST BATON ROUGE ASSESSOR BRIAN WILSON ON THE MELROSE EAST CRIME PREVENTION DISTRICT BOARD REGARDING THE RECENT PARCEL FEE CHANGE AND OR REDUCTION, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE PROCESS, FOLLOWED BY THE PARCEL FEE REDUCTION BY COUNCILMAN CLE DUNN JR. ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? SEEING NONE WILL GO TO COUNCIL COUNCILMAN DUNN JR. MOTION TO DELETE. SECOND BY THE CHAIR. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. ITEM 1 67. SAME. WE HAVE [167. 24-00741] A REQUEST TO DELETE RECEIVING A REPORT FROM THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH ATTORNEY GREG ROMAN, COUNCIL ADMINISTRATOR ASHLEY BECK ON THEIR FINDINGS AND OR COMMUNICATION WITH THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH ASSESSOR, BRIAN WILSON AND THE ASSESSOR'S OFFICE REGARDING THE MELROSE EAST CRIME PREVENTION DISTRICT AND THE RECENT PARCEL FEE CHANGE AND OR REDUCTION BY COUNCILMAN CLEVE DUN JR. ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM, SEEING NONE WILL GO TO COUNCIL MOTION TO LEAD BY COUNCILMAN DUN, JR. SECOND BY CHAIR OPPOSED. MOTION CARRIES. [165. 24-00560] ITEM 1 65, RECEIVING A REPORT ON BREX 2024, ECONOMIC OUTLOOK, STRATEGIC PLAN AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS FROM BRECK SUPERINTENDENT COREY WILSON BY COUNCILWOMAN SHAUNA BANKS. WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND HAVE THE [03:30:01] REPORT AND THEN WE'LL HAVE THE PUBLIC HEARING. MR. WILSON, UM, THANK YOU MAYOR PRO TIM, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS, THANK YOU FOR, UM, HAVING ME HERE THIS EVENING AMONGST THE IMPORTANT BUSINESS YOU HAVE TO DO BEF. UM, BEFORE I GET INTO THE PRESENTATION, JUST WANTED TO PUBLICLY THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE. UH, I, I KNOW IT'S A LOT OF HARD WORK IN TERMS OF THE SERVICE OF A, OF A PUBLIC SERVANT. UH, SO I JUST WANT TO TELL YOU GUYS PUBLICLY HOW MUCH I APPRECIATE YOU WORKING WITH ME, COLLABORATING WITH ME. UM, AS I, AS I ALWAYS SAY, WE'RE SERVING THE SAME PEOPLE, SO, UH, WE CAN DO THAT BETTER WHEN WE WORK TOGETHER. CERTAINLY WANNA RECOGNIZE ALL THE STAFF IN HERE WHO, WHO, WHO DO THE REAL WORK, RIGHT? , WE APPRECIATE ALL THEIR SERVICE AND, UM, ESPECIALLY TO TO, TO ONE OF YOUR STAFF MEMBERS. YOU, UM, UH, OUR COMMISSIONER TRINA HALL, UM, SHE DOES THE WORK OF, OF NOT ONLY WORKING HERE FULL TIME, BUT ALSO SERVING ON BREX BOARD, WHICH IS ALSO LIKE A FULL-TIME JOB AS WELL TOO. SO WE REALLY APPRECIATE HER SERVICE AND COMMITMENT. I'M NOT JUST SAYING THAT 'CAUSE SHE'S MY BOSS, BUT, UH, REALLY APPRECIATE HER HELPING GUIDE OUR COUNCIL, UH, OUR COMMISSION ON A LOT OF, UH, PUBLIC GOVERNMENT QUESTIONS THAT COME UP AND, AND SHE'S A ABLE TO HANDLE THAT IN HER ROLE SERVING HERE WITH DPW. UH, LAST BUT NOT LEAST, RECOGNIZE, UH, THE BRECK STAFF THAT, THAT IS WITH US TODAY. UM, ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT REED RASHARD, WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR SYSTEM-WIDE PLANNING AND INCLUDING, UM, OUR MOST RECENT 10 YEAR PLAN, WHICH WAS APPROVED BY COMMISSIONER HALL AND THE REST OF OUR BOARD LAST THURSDAY. WE'LL GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON THAT AS WELL AS OUR CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, ANDREA ROBERTS, WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL OF OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EFFORTS, PARTNERSHIP EFFORTS, AND TODAY SHE'S, UH, DRIVING THE SLIDESHOW. SO APPRECIATE THEM BEING HERE AS WELL TOO. UM, I WAS GONNA SAY MOST OF THIS PRESENTATION, ALL OF THIS PRESENTATION WAS PUT TOGETHER BY THOSE TWO INDIVIDUALS. I HOPE YOU LIKE IT. IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, I APPROVE IT, SO BLAME IT ON ME. UM, AND WE CAN GO TO THE FIRST SLIDE, ANDREA, JUST JUMP RIGHT INTO IT. THIS IS A SLIDE THAT COMMISSIONER HALL IS FAMILIAR WITH. WE PRESENTED TO OUR COMMISSION, UH, ON A MONTHLY BASIS. SOMETHING I STARTED DOING, I BECAME SUPERINTENDENT. UM, MOST OF OUR PRESENTATIONS TALK ABOUT THE STUFF WE BUILD AND PROJECTS AND, YOU KNOW, FOLKS LIKE TO SEE THEIR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE ARE PEOPLE SERVING PEOPLE. AND SO I LIKE TO LET THE COMMISSION KNOW WHERE WE'RE SERVING PEOPLE. UM, AND AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THIS REPORT, THE END OF 23, UM, 1.6, ALMOST 1.7 MILLION, AND THESE ARE PEOPLE WE CAN COUNT COMING THROUGH THE DOORS, RIGHT AT OUR RECREATION CENTERS GOLF DEPARTMENT, UH, COMING THROUGH THE TURNSTILES AT THE ZOO. BUT YOU SEE THE BULK OF THE WORK. THIS IS ALSO A REMINDER THAT HA AT THE COMMISSION, THE CORE SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE OR THOSE RECREATION, UH, CENTERS, AS WELL AS, UH, OUR ATHLETIC FIELDS WHERE A LOT OF YOUTH PLAY, UH, OVER 1.3 MILLION OF THAT 1.6 OR 7 MILLION IS AT OUR, OUR RECREATION CENTERS. AND SO I LIKE TO REMIND FOLKS THAT AT THE HEART OF WHAT WE DO, IT'S, UH, HAVING SAFE PLACES FOR KIDS TO, TO PLAY, LEARN, AND GROW. UH, NEXT, THIS IS THROUGH THIS YEAR. AS YOU CAN SEE, WE'RE ALREADY AT CLOSE TO 1.2 MILLION THROUGH THE END OF JULY OF 17%. UM, AS FOLKS CONTINUE TO COME AND, UH, USE OUR FACILITIES THAT WE HAVE OFFERED. THE NEXT SLIDE GOES INTO MORE DETAIL. WE CAN SEE EXACTLY WHICH RECREATION CENTERS, UH, NORTH SHERWOOD FOREST, AND, UH, DISTRICT FIVE IS OUR MOST FREQUENTED RECREATION CENTER. THAT'S BECAUSE THAT'S THE ONE THAT HAS A INDOOR, UH, TRACK. AND, AND, UH, WE ARE HERE IN SOUTH LOUISIANA. AND IF YOU CAN BE INDOORS AND EXERCISE, IT'S ALWAYS BETTER. SO LIBERTY LAGOON, UH, WE HAVE OUR SPECIAL USE FACILITIES, OUR OUR ATHLETIC FACILITIES. YOU SEE OAK VILLA, A LOT OF PEOPLE WENT THERE IN JULY. DIFFERENT EVENTS, OUR TENNIS CENTERS. UH, BUT THIS IS JUST A SNAPSHOT THAT, THAT WE PROVIDE TO OUR BOARD ONCE A MONTH. THE NEXT SLIDE PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE FIRST SLIDE. 'CAUSE WE ALWAYS LIKE TO START OFF WITH OUR MISSION. AND FORGIVE ME, I HAVEN'T MEMORIZED THIS YET BECAUSE THIS WAS JUST ADOPTED WHEN WE PASSED OUR NEW 10 YEAR PLAN ON THURSDAY. AND SO, UM, SOME, SOME KEY WORDS I LIKE TO JUST, UH, FOCUS ON, TALK ABOUT ENHANCING THE WELLBEING AND CONNECTIVITY OF EAST BATON ROUGE. UH, ANYTIME WE TALK TO THE PUBLIC ABOUT WHAT THEY WANNA SEE WITH THEIR, UH, RECREATIONAL DOLLARS, THAT CONNECTIVITY PIECE IS A BIG ONE. UH, IT'S HARD TO SIT HERE, UM, OR, OR, OR, OR, OR TO BE IN BATON ROUGE WITHOUT GETTING AN ALERT ON YOUR PHONE. GOT ONE WHILE I WAS SITTING IN A MEETING ABOUT A PEDESTRIAN BEING HIT. UH, FORTUNATELY IT [03:35:01] WASN'T NEB OR PARISH, BUT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE DEAL WITH. SO THAT CONNECTIVITY IS A BIG PIECE. PRESERVING, UM, MAINTAINING THAT, THAT, THAT SPEAKS TO OUR CONSERVATION EFFORTS AND, AND PRESERVING WHAT WE HAVE HERE, MAINTAINING THAT'S OBVIOUSLY IMPORTANT AND IMPROVING OUR PARKS. UH, ALL OF THESE ASSETS THAT WE HAVE ARE LIVING ASSETS AND THEY HAVE, UH, LIVES, YOU KNOW, EXPECTANT LIVES, AND THEY, THEY, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES, UH, WE EXCEED THOSE EXPECTED LIVES. AND SO WE HAVE TO IMPROVE OUR PARKS, RECREATIONAL FACILITIES, NATURAL RESOURCES AND RECREATIONAL EXPERIENCES FOR THE BENEFIT OF, OF CURRENT AND FUTURE GENERATIONS. AND SO WE CERTAINLY HAD AN EYE TOWARDS FUTURE GENERATIONS. AS I LISTENED TO OUR PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE EARLIER TODAY, I THOUGHT ABOUT ALL THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING, UM, IS FOR THOSE FUTURE GENERATIONS. TALK ABOUT SOME TRANSFORMATIVE PROJECTS. AND I'M, I'M GONNA MOVE FAST. WE GOT A LOT OF SLIDES, BUT I, I'LL OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS AS SOON AS WE GET THROUGH THIS. THE ZOO IN GREENWOOD COMMUNITY PARK. UM, WE'RE, WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT AND WE'LL, WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT LATER ON. UH, HOW COMMUNITY PARK RIGHT THERE IN, UH, DISTRICT SEVEN, WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT NEW RECREATION CENTER IN THE 7 0 8 0 5 FRENCHTOWN CONSERVATION AREA. UM, COUNCILMAN MO'S DISTRICT WHERE WE HAVE A BEAUTIFUL NATURE STATION THERE. SAFE ROOMS AT MEMORIAL AND HAIRLINE IS, IS SOMETHING WE WORK DIRECTLY WITH CITY PARISH ON THAT, THAT IS A RESULT OF HAZARD MITIGATION DOLLARS THAT, THAT THE CITY RECEIVE AS A RESULT OF THE 2016 FLOODS. UH, AND THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF HOMELAND SECURITY REACHED OUT TO US TO SAY, HEY, WOULD YOU BUILD THESE TWO SAFE ROOMS AT, AT MEMORIAL IN AIRLINE? AND WE SAID, SURE, BUT WHAT'S THE SAFE ROOM? AND SO A SAFE ROOM IS, UM, A PLACE WHERE THE EMERGENCY OPERATION CENTER, THEY ALL COME TOGETHER WHEN THERE'S TIMES OF DISASTER THAT, THAT THEY'LL HAVE HURRICANE RESISTANT WALLS, THEY'LL HAVE ALL THE ELECTRONICS TO MAKE SURE WE'RE ABLE TO OPERATE DURING AN EMERGENCY. BUT 99.9% OF THE TIME WHEN THEY'RE NOT BEING USED FOR THAT STATE OF THE ART RECREATION CENTERS, MULTIPLE BASKETBALL COURTS, INDOOR RUNNING FACILITIES, UH, STRATEGICALLY PLACED THAT MEMORIAL AND AIRLINE, UH, SO THAT WE CAN GET IN AND OUT OF THAT LOCATION. BUT WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT. WE'RE, WE'RE VERY THANKFUL, UH, FOR CITY PARISH WORKING WITH US ON THAT AIRLINE HIGHWAY COMMUNITY PARK. WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT BRINGING OUR 13 COMMUNITY PARK TO DISTRICT NINE, UH, WHERE WE ALSO HAVE A, A NEW RECREATION CENTER AS PART OF THAT SAFE ROOM THERE. BUT THAT'LL BE, UH, A NEW COMMUNITY PARK, SPLASH PADS, PLAYGROUNDS, ALL, ALL BALL FIELDS, ALL SORTS OF THINGS THAT WE HAVE AT OUR OTHER 12 COMMUNITY PARK. THE GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE PIECE WE'RE ALWAYS WORKING ON. AND WE HAVE A BIG LOUISIANA WATERSHED INITIATIVE. WE WERE FUNDED SOME MONEY TO IMPROVE CYPRUS BAYOU, THAT'S ALSO AT GREENWOOD COMMUNITY PARK. UH, THE TRAILS, THE BIKE PEDESTRIAN MASTER PLAN IN 2020, UH, CITY PARISH, YOUR, YOUR COUNCIL AS WELL AS OUR BOARD APPROVE OVER 400 MILES OF CONNECTIVITY TRAILS. AND WE'RE VERY PROUD OF THAT AND WE'RE CONTINUE TO WORK ON THAT. AND IT'S ABOUT TIME FOR AN UPDATE ON THAT. AND THE LAKES PROJECTS, UH, WE MAINTAIN TWO OF THE LAKES THAT YOU OWN, UH, BUT WE ARE ABLE TO WORK WITH NOT ONLY CITY PARISH, BUT THE STATE LSU, UM, UM, LSU FOUNDATION AND, AND, AND SEVERAL OTHERS BRA TO BE ABLE TO BRING THAT PROJECT TOGETHER. IT'S A $5 MILLION COMMITMENT FROM BRECK. $5 MILLION COMMITMENT FROM CITY PARISH FOR A, UM, LAST TIME I CHECKED THE NUMBER WAS I BELIEVE $70 MILLION PROJECT THAT CONTINUES TO GROW. SO THAT'S A GREAT USE OF LEVERAGING TAXPAYER DOLLARS TO BRING THAT. WE'VE BEEN SHARING THIS GREAT NEWS WITH EVERYBODY WE CAN. UM, WE HAD A THREE YEAR STUDY WITH THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND, VERY REPUTABLE ORGANIZATION THAT LOOKS AT PARKS ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY. UM, IT RANKS PARKS, IT DOES ALL SORTS OF THINGS, BUT, AND SO WE WANTED TO KNOW WHAT THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THE WORK THAT WE DO. AND SO WE WORK WITH THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND AND THEY DETERMINED THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF ECONOMIC IMPACTS THAT WE PROVIDE. UH, THE TOP NUMBER OVER UP TOP 1.7 MILLION PEOPLE VISITED OUR FACILITIES IN 2022. THAT'S A LITTLE HIGHER THAN THE NUMBER THAT WE HAVE, BUT WE, WE, WE TRUST THEIR NUMBER AS WELL. UM, 20.8 MILLION IN PROPERTY VALUE IMPROVEMENTS, WHICH BRINGS 1.7 MILLION ANNUALLY IN TERMS OF AVALOR TAXES. BY HAVING OUR PARKS, UH, WE HAVE, WE SAVE $8 MILLION IN HEALTHCARE COSTS JUST BY PEOPLE GOING OUT, MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE HEALTHY. UH, THAT [03:40:01] BOTTOM NUMBER, I'M, I'M HOPING ADAM AND, UH, FRED IS LOOKING AT THAT. UH, BUT THERE'S A, UH, UH, ALMOST A $3 MILLION ANNUAL SAVINGS IN TERMS OF STORM WATER MANAGEMENT THAT WE CONTRIBUTE TO THE PARISH BY HAVING OUR, UH, OUR PARKS, WHICH HOLD, UH, SLOWLY RELATES CLEAN A LOT OF STORM WATER THAT WE RECEIVE, UM, $26 MILLION IN TOURISM EACH YEAR. FOLKS COME INTO, UM, UH, PARTICIPATE AT DIFFERENT, UH, THE, THE ZOO OR OUR GOLF COURSES OR PLAY IN DIFFERENT LEAGUES. YOU KNOW, LAST YEAR WE HAD THE EVENT OF THE YEAR IN LOUISIANA, UH, ACCORDING TO LOUISIANA TRAVEL ASSOCIATION, THAT STATE ASSOCIATION GAVE US THE EVENT OF THE YEAR, UH, ALL ACROSS THE STATE FOR THE, THE SOCCER TOURNAMENT THAT WE HAD AT BURBANK, UH, IN DISTRICT THREE, WHERE OVER 20,000 PEOPLE WERE IN TOWN FOR A WEEK AND IT HAD A $26 MILLION IMPACT, JUST THAT ONE EVENT ITSELF. SO WHAT THAT MEANS IN 2021, WE RECEIVED ABOUT $73 MILLION IN TAX REVENUE AND WE PROVIDED OVER $318 MILLION OF ECONOMIC BENEFITS. THE BIG NUMBER THERE WAS THE RECREATIONAL BENEFITS THAT WE PROVIDE, UH, THE ABILITY TO, TO WALK OR HAVE A PICNIC OR TO GO TO THE PLAYGROUNDS. ALL OF THOSE THINGS PROVIDE SOME SORT OF BENEFIT TO OUR CITIZENS. SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT. AND SO LET'S TALK ABOUT, IMAGINE YOUR PARKS BRING YOU BACK TO 2000 AND 2004 WHEN OUR PARK SYSTEM WAS AT A CROSSROADS. AND WE DID ASK THE COMMUNITY, UH, TO, TO PASS A NEW TAX BACK IN 2004 IMAGINING PARKS. AND THAT'S WHAT BROUGHT US OUR NEW REC, UH, OUR NEW, UM, COMMUNITY PARKS. WE, WE, WE CREATED A LOT OF COMMUNITY PARKS. WE BROUGHT LIBERTY LAGOON, WE BROUGHT DOG PARKS, WE BROUGHT SKATE PARKS, ALL SORTS OF THINGS. WE INTRODUCED TO THE COMMUNITY AS A RESULT OF THAT. FIRST IMAGINE YOUR PARKS TAX, WHICH WAS BUILT ON OVER A HUNDRED COMMUNITY MEETINGS, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE DOING WHAT THE COMMUNITY SAID. AND SO THAT TRANSFORMED OUR PARK SYSTEM AND YOU CAN SEE SOME OF THE TRANSFORMATIONS THERE. BOTANICAL GARDEN AT THE LEFT THERE, HOWELL COMMUNITY PARK. WE HAVE THAT OUTDOOR FITNESS CENTER AT HOWELL. UH, AS WELL AS I BELIEVE THAT IS HOW ON THE RIGHT AS WELL, SHOWING THOSE IMPROVEMENTS. ULTIMATELY THOSE IMPROVEMENTS FOLLOWING THAT PLAN LED US TO BEING RECOGNIZED. AND I THINK YOU SEE COMMISSIONER HALL IN THAT PICTURE THERE, PHOENIX, ARIZONA, UM, OCTOBER, 2022 IN THE, IN THE CONVENTION CENTER, 5,000 A PLUS, UH, PARK AND RECREATIONAL PROFESSIONALS. AND THEY ANNOUNCED, UH, BRECK BATON ROUGE IS HAVING THE BEST PARK SYSTEM IN THE COUNTRY. BUT IT WAS BECAUSE OF THAT PLAN THAT WE GOT COMMUNITY INPUT ON IMPLEMENTED, UM, AND WAS SUCCESSFUL IN THAT 20 15, 20 14. WE HAD, IMAGINE YOUR PARKS TWO THAT'S BASICALLY CONTINU AND ENHANCE THE QUALITY OF OUR PARK SYSTEM. THAT ALLOWED US TO HAVE THE BIKING PEDESTRIAN MASTER PLAN TO DO THE IMPROVEMENTS AT GREENWOOD TO DO THE LAKES PROJECTS. UM, AND CONTINUE THE WORK THAT WE STARTED BACK IN 2004. AND SO THAT BRINGS US NOW TO IMAGINE YOUR PARKS THREE. THAT'S SORT OF WHERE WE'RE AT NOW, OUR 10 YEAR PLAN JUST APPROVED BY OUR COMMISSION LAST, UH, THURSDAY. AND THAT PLAN FOCUSES ON EQUITY. UM, BUT IT ALSO FOCUSES ON SUSTAINABLE OPERATIONS. A LOT OF DISCUSSIONS TONIGHT. UM, AGAIN, WE, WE, WE HAVE SOME OF THE SAME CHALLENGES WHEN WE TALK ABOUT OLD FACILITIES AND REVITALIZING OLD FACILITIES AND SOME OF THOSE CHALLENGES. AND SO WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE AS WE BRING ON THESE NEW AND EXCITING THINGS, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY DON'T COME WITH A BAG OF MAINTENANCE MONEY, RIGHT? WE STILL HAVE THE SAME MAINTENANCE DOLLARS TO MAINTAIN EVERYTHING. AND SO WE HAVE TO SHIFT THESE DOLLARS AROUND TO MAKE SURE, AND SO WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT. BUT THE PLAN, AS ALL OF OUR PLANS ARE BASED ON COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, KNOCKED ON OVER 7,000 DOORS. WE ACTUALLY HAD 15 COMMUNITY ADVISORY MEMBERS AS PART OF OUR TEAM WHO ASSISTED, UM, STATISTICALLY VALID SURVEYS. YOU PROBABLY GOT ONE OF THOSE IN THE MAIL. AND MANY OTHER FORMS OF COMMUNITY INPUT HELP DEVELOP THE PLANS. 12 STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS, INCLUDING, UH, SOME OF THOSE MEETINGS, WHICH YOU GUYS AS WELL. NEXT SLIDE TALKS ABOUT THAT FOCUS ON EQUITY, UH, AND BEING ABLE TO INCLUDE LANGUAGE. AND THEN LOOK, WE ASK THE COMMUNITY, WHAT'S YOUR DEFINITION OF EQUITY? AND YOU CAN SEE THE, THE VARIOUS THINGS THAT WE RECEIVE, AFFORDABLE AMENITIES, UH, RECTIFYING LACK OF INVESTMENT [03:45:01] IN, IN COMMUNITIES, UM, YOU KNOW, REMEMBERING CULTURAL IMPORTANCES AND A DA ACCESSIBLE AND MAKING SURE THAT EVERYBODY, REGARDLESS OF YOUR ABILITIES, REGARDLESS OF YOUR BACKGROUND INCOME, THAT EVERYBODY HAS ACCESS TO A GREAT PARK. UM, THESE ARE FIVE KEY THEMES THAT WE, WE RECEIVED AND HEARD, AND BASICALLY STRUCTURED OUR PLAN ON. THE NEXT SLIDE GIVES YOU A LITTLE MORE DETAIL ABOUT HOW, UH, THOSE FIVE GOALS ARE SO WELCOMING. EVERYONE THAT TALKS ABOUT EQUITY AND IN TERMS OF QUALITY AND, UH, THOSE SORT OF THINGS, CONNECTED PEOPLE. THAT'S, THAT'S THE PROGRAMMING, THE PARTNERSHIPS, MAKING SURE WE'RE CONNECTED. UH, THE ENVIRONMENT IS A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE HEARD FROM THE COMMUNITY ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF OUR PARK SYSTEM IN TERMS OF HOLDING STORM WATER IN TERMS OF PROVIDING TREES FOR CLEAN AIR AND GREEN SPACE. AND SO THAT'S A BIG THING THAT WE WANT TO CONTINUE CONNECTED PLACES THAT TALKS ABOUT THE CONNECTIVITY AND, AND WHAT WE'VE HEARD FROM OUR BOARD AND FROM THE COMMUNITY. HOW DO WE MOVE FORWARD SUSTAINABLY? HOW DO, HOW DO WE, YOU KNOW, EVERY TIME I GO TO THE COMMISSION WITH A NEW PROJECT, HOW'S IT GONNA BE FUNDED? HOW'S IT GONNA BE MAINTAINED? THIS NEW PLAN ACTUALLY REQUIRES US FOR EVERY NEW PROJECT TO ATTACH A MAINTENANCE PLAN TO IT. AND SO THAT IS SOMETHING WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT. WELL, MAYBE REED'S NOT EXCITED ABOUT IT, BUT WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT DOING THAT WORK AND MAKING SURE WE ARE MOVING FORWARD SUSTAINABLY. UH, THE PLAN RECOGNIZES THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ONE PARISH, BUT WE'RE DIFFERENT, RIGHT? THERE'S DOWNTOWN, THERE'S URBAN, THERE'S SUBURBAN, UH, AND THEN THERE'S RURAL AREAS. ALL OF THOSE DIFFERENT AREAS HAVE DIFFERENT NEEDS. UM, AND THE NEXT SLIDE, I THINK EVEN GOES FURTHER INTO THAT. WHAT, YOU KNOW, THIS, THIS IS A PIECE THAT I'M MOST EXCITED ABOUT. I ACTUALLY ASKED, UH, READ TO, TO MAKE A BIG POSTER OF THIS SO I CAN KEEP IT IN MY WALL. YOU KNOW, ON MY WALL. THIS, THIS IS A MAP OF OUR PARISH, BUT, UM, AT LEAST FOR THE FIRST TIME IN OUR HISTORY, IT, IT RECOGNIZES THAT THERE ARE AREAS WITHIN OUR PARISH THAT HAVE HIGHER NEEDS THAN SOME OF THE OTHER AREAS. AND SO, AS YOU CAN EXPECT, UM, OLD SOUTH BATON ROUGE, UM, GLEN OAKS AREA, UM, THE GAR DIRE AREA, YOU SEE DOWN AT THE BOTTOM OF THE MAP, THOSE IN THOSE DARK AREAS ARE AFTER WE OVERLAID ALL THESE INDICATORS ABOUT LOW INCOME AND HIGH POVERTY AND, UH, LACK OF ACCESS AND ALL THESE DIFFERENT INDICATORS, IT HA AND, AND LOOK, WE EVEN INCLUDED, WHERE HAS BRECK INVESTED AT HISTORICALLY, OR WHERE HAVEN'T WE OR HAVEN'T WE INVESTED HISTORICALLY? ALL OF THAT INPUT IS WHAT MADE UP THIS MAP, WHICH IDENTIFIES WHERE THE GREATEST NEEDS ARE IN OUR PARISH, AND THAT'S THE WAY WE INTEND TO MOVE FORWARD. THE NEXT SLIDE TALKS ABOUT OUR, OUR VAST SYSTEM. AND SO, UM, THIS SLIDE COMPARED US TO OUR PEER COMMUNITIES AND SAID THAT WE HAVE 38 MORE RECREATION CENTERS THAN THE AVERAGE COMMUNITY. OUR SIZE SOUNDS GOOD, BUT WE'LL, WE'LL KEEP TALKING ABOUT THAT. 87 MORE SPORTS FIELDS, 111 MORE, UH, BASKETBALL COURTS THAN OUR PEER COMMUNITIES. AND SO YOU SEE THOSE PEER COMMUNITIES LISTED DOWN THERE, UH, PROVIDES GREAT AMENITIES AND, UH, CHOICES FOR OUR COMMUNITY, BUT ALSO PUTS A BIG, UH, BURDEN ON US IN TERMS OF MAINTAINING ALL OF THIS, UH, UH, INVENTORY. NEXT SLIDE TALKS ABOUT OUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE, AND THAT'S THE 56 RECREATION CENTERS. WE HAVE, AGAIN, 38 MORE THAN THE AVERAGE, UM, COMMUNITY, OUR SIZE OR PARK SYSTEM OUR SIZE. AND YOU CAN SEE SOME STATISTICS ON THOSE RECREATION CENTERS. UM, WE HAVE 27 OF THEM WHO ARE OLDER THAN 30 YEARS. THREE, THREE OF THEM ARE OLDER THAN 50 YEARS OLD, WHICH IS, UH, I WOULD SAY THAT'S, THAT'S BEYOND ITS USEFUL LIFE THERE. UM, BUT WE DID THE ANALYSIS AND, AND THAT'S, THAT, THAT QUOTE DOWN THERE, THAT'S FROM OUR SCIENTIFIC SURVEY IS AN IMPORTANT ONE. 72% OF THE PEOPLE THAT WE SURVEYED ARE SUPPORTIVE OF FEWER BUT HIGHER QUALITY FACILITIES. AND THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT'S OUR FOCUS. THAT'S THE COMMUNITY'S FOCUS. HOW DO WE HAVE BETTER QUALITY FACILITIES? OUR, OUR COMMUNITY DESERVES STATE OF THE ART RECREATION CENTERS, BUT HOW DO YOU DO THAT AND STILL MAINTAIN ALL OF THESE OLD ONES? AND SO HERE'S THE RECOMMENDATION THAT THEY GAVE US. THE CURRENT MODEL SHOWS THAT WE HAVE A BUNCH OF THE SAME SORT OF RECREATION CENTERS [03:50:01] ALL ACROSS THE PARISH. AND SO THE RECOMMENDATION IS TO GO TO A TIERED MODEL WHERE YOU HAVE NOT ONLY DIFFERENT SIZE RECREATION CENTERS, BUT YOU, AS YOU CAN SEE, SOME OF THOSE RECREATION CENTERS ARE COMING OFFLINE, UM, TO ALLOW US TO PROVIDE BETTER QUALITY WHILE MAINTAINING A HIGH LEVEL OF SERVICE. AND SO WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, UH, WE TALK ABOUT THE TIER ONE AND, AND WHAT THAT MEANS IN TIER TWO. YOU SEE A PICTURE OF A, A STANDARD RECREATION CENTER THERE THAT WE HAVE THAT SORT OF LOOKS LIKE MOST OF OUR RECREATION CENTERS, THE TIER TWO CENTERS. WE TALK ABOUT HAVING INDOOR CENTERS AS WELL AS OUTDOOR RECREATION HUBS. WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT INTRODUCING OUR COMMUNITY TO A LOT OF THE BENEFITS OF THOSE OUTDOOR RECREATION HUBS. AND WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT OUR CURRENT, UH, RECREATION CENTERS, SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THERE, LACK OF AIR CONDITION, UH, SOMETIMES IT, IT BLOCKS THE SITE IN, IN TERMS OF SAFETY AND THOSE THINGS. IT'S LIMITED IN TERMS OF WHEN YOU CAN USE IT. YOU HAVE TO HAVE A STAFF MEMBER THERE. MOST OF OUR RECREATION CENTERS ARE OPEN FROM THREE TO EIGHT, UH, SORT OF COINCIDES WHEN SCHOOL GETS OUT. UM, BUT, BUT THAT PREVENTS A LOT OF CHALLENGES IN REGARDS TO MAINTENANCE. AND SO SOME OF THE BENEFITS OF OUTDOOR RECREATION OBVIOUSLY CAN, YOU CAN USE THEM MORE OFTEN. UM, YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE STAFF THERE. YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE THESE MAJOR HVAC SYSTEMS TO KEEP IT RUNNING. AND SO THAT'S PART OF OUR STRATEGY TO SHIFT OUR MAINTENANCE DOLLARS. AGAIN, WE'RE NOT GETTING NEW MAINTENANCE DOLLARS TO TAKE CARE OF THAT NEW RECREATION CENTER, THAT AIRLINE OR THAT NEW RECREATION CENTER THAT'S COMING TO MEMORIAL, THAT'S SAFE. 'EM, SO WE HAVE TO SHIFT THOSE DOLLARS. HERE ARE SOME, UH, WHAT WE CALL PRECEDENT IMAGES OF, OF EXISTING PLACES ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY. BOTH OF THOSE ARE OUTDOOR FACILITIES. YOU CAN BARELY TELL. THE ONE ON THE LEFT IS A, IS A OUTDOOR FACILITY, BUT IT IS, YOU CAN SEE THE FANS AND ALL SORTS OF THINGS AS, UH, COUNCILMAN HURST TOLD ME, HEY MAN, IT'S, IT'S A HUNDRED DEGREES OUTSIDE AND WHEN I GO INTO YOUR FACILITY, IT'S 115 DEGREES. AND SO WE RECOGNIZE THAT AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PROVIDING, UH, DIFFERENT OPTIONS THAT ARE, OR HIGH QUALITY THAT ADDRESS THE HEAT HERE IN SOUTH LOUISIANA. THAT'S NOT GOING AWAY ANYTIME SOON. SO YOU CAN HAVE A COVERED PLAYGROUND, COVERED PICKLEBALL, COURTS. I THINK THE NEXT SLIDE SHOWS COVERED BASKETBALL COURTS, ALL SORTS OF THINGS YOU CAN DO. STATE OF THE ART, HIGH QUALITY THAT WILL SERVE OUR COMMUNITY BETTER THAN SOME OF OUR CLOSED SMALL SHUTDOWN RECREATION CENTERS THAT WE HAVE, UH, IN EVERY ONE OF YOUR DISTRICTS, I'VE, I'VE TALKED TO PRETTY MUCH EVERYBODY EXCEPT ASHLEY, ABOUT A RECREATION CENTER, UH, THAT NEEDS AIR CONDITION IN IN THEIR DISTRICT. THIS IS, UH, JUST SOMETHING ELSE IN TERMS OF ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS. WE'VE TALKED ABOUT ALL THE DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS OUR PARK PROVIDE. THAT WAS A THEME THAT CAME UP FREQUENTLY WHEN WE ASKED PEOPLE. AND SO EVEN IF YOU DON'T GO TO YOUR PARK, YOU'RE STILL BENEFITING FROM YOUR PARK BASED ON THESE ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS. THIS IS A, A NICE EDUCATIONAL SLIDE THAT WE'VE BEEN SHARING WITH EVERYONE, INCLUDING OUR STAFF WHEN WE TALK ABOUT HOW BRECK IS FUNDED. UM, TOTAL TAX, TOTAL MILLAGES, YOU SEE THERE ARE 14.463. WE HAVE ONE PERMANENT MILLAGE THAT WAS CREATED BACK IN 46. UH, WE REALIZED PRETTY QUICKLY THAT THAT WASN'T ENOUGH TO EVEN MAINTAIN THE SYSTEM BACK THEN. UH, WE GREW, WE ADDED TWO 10 YEAR MILLAGES AROUND 1964 OR SO. AND THEN IN 2004, WE ADDED THE IMAGINE YEAR PARKS TO BRING US TO THAT 14.4. IT ROUGHLY BRINGS ABOUT $80 MILLION IN A YEAR, AND IT'S 80% OF OUR, OUR, OUR, OUR REVENUE. WE ALSO BRING IN ADDITIONAL REVENUE, WHICH ALLOWS US TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL SERVICES, UM, GOLF RECREATION IN THE ZOO. UM, BUT THAT TOTAL, YOU KNOW, BRINGS US CLOSE TO A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS, UM, IN, IN REVENUE. BUT THAT, THAT'S HOW IT BREAKS DOWN WHEN FOLKS SAY, OH, I SEE BREAKS SO MANY TIMES. THAT'S BECAUSE OVER OUR 75 PLUS YEAR HISTORY, WE'VE ADDED, YOU KNOW, BIT BY BIT. WHEN WE WERE CREATED IN 46, IT SAID, BRECK, YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO, TO LEVY 18 MILL. WE, WE'VE NEVER JUST WENT TO 18 MILLS. WE SAID, OKAY, WHAT DO WE NEED? LET'S GO UP A LITTLE BIT. WHAT DO WE NEED? AND AGAIN, WE'VE GONE UP ONE TIME SINCE 1964 AND DO NOT INTEND TO GO UP. AT LEAST I DON'T, I CAN'T SPEAK FOR FUTURE SUPERINTENDENTS WITH THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS OF ME. THIS ALL TALKS ABOUT, UM, THANKS TO MR. MCCALLISTER, WE ALL KNOW THAT BRECK IS ON THE BALLOT, UM, TWO OF OUR MILLAGES 6.2 MEALS, OUR REGULAR MEALS, AND THEN AT 2004, [03:55:01] THAT 20 YEAR IYP, BOTH OF THOSE ARE UP. I TOLD YOU, YOU KNOW, 14.4, YOU'RE LOOKING AT A TOTAL OF NINE RIGHT THERE. AND SO THAT'S, THAT'S 65% OF BRECKS BUDGET IS ON THE NOVEMBER 5TH BALLOT. THAT THAT IS A HUGE NUMBER. I YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A MATHEMATICIAN TO KNOW, YOU KNOW, 65 IF YOU, AND THAT EQUATES TO ABOUT 50 MILLION OF THE 80 MILLION. AND SO, UH, WE, WE LOSE $50 MILLION. WE, WE HAVE A TOTAL DIFFERENT PARK SYSTEM THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. IT'S IMPORTANT THAT THE MILLAGE WILL REMAIN THE SAME. AND IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE MAINTAIN OUR CURRENT LEVEL OF WHAT WE LIKE TO SAY IS GOLD MEDAL SERVICE. COME CELEBRATE WITH US OCTOBER 5TH. WE'RE GONNA HAVE THREE RIBBON CUTTINGS OUT AT GREENWOOD COMMUNITY PARK. I REMEMBER MARCH OF 2018 WHEN SEVERAL COUNCIL MEMBERS, MAYBE YOU'RE NOT SITTING UP HERE NOW, BUT SEVERAL COUNCIL MEMBERS BACK IN MARCH OF 2018 CAME TO OUR BOARD MEETING AND DEMANDED THAT THE ZOO REMAIN AT ITS CURRENT LOCATION. THEY WERE SUPPORTED BY ABOUT A HUNDRED COMMUNITY MEMBERS, AND OUR BOARD MADE THE DECISION TO KEEP IT AT ITS CURRENT LOCATION. WE IMMEDIATELY WENT INTO PLANNING HOW WE CAN HAVE A WORLD CLASS ZOO AT THAT LOCATION. UH, AND WE'RE EXCITED THAT WE'VE COMPLETED THE FIRST PHASE. AND SO OCTOBER 5TH, COME AND CELEBRATE WITH US OUT AT GREENWOOD COMMUNITY PARK. UH, THESE ARE SOME EVENTS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN SEPTEMBER. ALL OF THIS IS AT BREAK.ORG/THIS MONTH. AND THE FINAL SLIDE, YOU CAN SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER. AND A GREAT THING ABOUT OUR NEWSLETTER, YOU CAN CUSTOMIZE IT SO THAT IT ONLY GIVES YOU INFORMATION THAT YOU WANT TO HEAR ABOUT. SO IF YOU ONLY WANT TO HEAR ABOUT, UH, WHEN WE STOCK THE PONDS TO FISH, JUST CHECK. I'M INTERESTED IN FISHING. IF YOU ARE ONLY INTERESTED IN PICKLEBALL, JUST CHECK PICKLEBALL AND THAT'S ALL YOU'LL RECEIVE INFORMATION ON. I APPRECIATE YOUR TIME, AND NOW I'LL ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE. WELL, WE NEED TO OPEN A PUBLIC HEARING, SO ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? YES, MA'AM. YES MA'AM. JUST STATE YOUR NAME PLEASE FOR THE RECORD. MY NAME IS TRUDY SUMTER. I'M A TAXPAYER IN TWO DIFFERENT DISTRICT, DISTRICT TWO AND DISTRICT FIVE. I VISITED THE PARK ON 72ND STREET, JULY 22ND OR THE 23RD. AND THAT PARK IS DEPLOYABLE. I TOOK PICTURES, SENT IT TO BRECK, TRYING TO GET ANSWERS AS TO WHY THE GRASS WASN'T CUT, WHY TREES WAS DOWN. UH, I'M SORRY, I'M LITTLE NERVOUS, BUT, UH, THE PARK, IT WAS A LOT OF STUFF THAT WAS IN THE STREAMS. A LOT OF DEBRIS, TREES AND TIRES AND DIFFERENT THINGS. FOUR BRIDGES WAS OUT. AND I HAVE NOT GOTTEN THE ANSWER BACK. AND I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT, HE'S TALKING ABOUT ALL THESE OTHER PARKS, BUT WHAT IS YOUR PLANS FOR THE 72ND PARK? DOES THAT, THAT MY QUESTION. THANK YOU. ANYONE ELSE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? STATE YOUR NAME FOR THE RECORD, PLEASE. MY NAME IS GARY PRICE. I LIVE IN THE NORTHEAST SECTION OF THE NORTHERN PART OF EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH. THERE ARE, THERE IS A BRICK PARK ACROSS THE ROAD FROM THE 130 ACRES THAT I OWN AND PAY TAXES ON. WHENEVER THE LOCALS WANT TO HAVE A FUNCTION AT THIS PARK, THEY HAVE TO RENT PORTA-POTTIES, BECAUSE ALL THE BATHROOMS ARE LOCKED. THERE'S NO ONE WATCHING ANYTHING THERE. A LITTLE FURTHER DOWN THE ROAD, FIVE MILES DOWN THE ROAD, WE, IN CHENEY, BILL REEMS ROAD PARK, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF CITIZENS OUT THERE. THIS LAND WAS DONATED TO BRICK WITH THE AGREEMENT AT THE TIME OF THE DONATION THAT THE FACILITY THAT THEY WOULD BUILD WOULD BE FOR USE OF THE PEOPLE AND BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE. WELL, IT HAS BEEN LOCKED. THEY CAN'T GET IN IT. THE BATHROOMS CAN'T GET IN IT. THEY WOULD RATHER, ANYWAY, THAT'S WHERE THAT IS. AND PRIDE. LOUISIANA, ANOTHER PORTION OF LAND WAS DONATED, AND RIGHT NOW IT'S ALL LOCKED UP. THEY'VE STOLEN THE ALUMINUM SEATS OFF OF THE STADIUMS. THERE'S NO, I HAVE NOT. AND I LIVE ACROSS THE ROAD. I TRAVEL THOSE [04:00:01] ROADS REGULAR THERE. YOU NO LONGER SEE THE GA, WHAT THEY CALL A, UH, GUY THAT WENT AROUND AND OPENED THE GATES AND CHECKED ON EVERYTHING YOU PARK RANGER. I HAVE NOT SEEN A PARK RANGER IN SEVERAL YEARS. I USED TO SEE 'EM MULTIPLE TIMES A DAY. THEY'RE STILL GETTING TAX DOLLARS THAT WE ARE PAYING FOR. THAT'S THEY'RE TAKING MONEY AND THEY'RE NOT, WE ARE NOT GETTING ANY BENEFIT FROM THE MONEY THEY'RE TAKING. AND THIS DID NOT JUST START. THEY WOULD RATHER THIS MAN SITTING THERE BRAGGING ABOUT THESE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. BUT YOU KNOW WHAT? EVERYONE OUT THERE IS NOT A MILLIONAIRE. THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO WILL NEVER GO TO THE ZOO. THERE'S A LOT OF 'EM THAT'LL NEVER PLAY GOLF, BUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD LAND THAT WAS DONATED BY THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS, THEY ARE BEING DEPRIVED OF THE USE OF IT. NOW, THAT'S JUST ONE OF THE THINGS. BUT ANYWAY, ALSO THE TAXES PEOPLE OUT THERE IN THIS CONFUSED AREA, UH, BECAUSE OF THE ROAD MISTAKE THAT MADE IN THE MAPPING DEPARTMENT NAME AND THE ROAD, THESE PEOPLE ARE UNABLE TO GET THEIR TAX ASSESSMENTS BECAUSE THEIR ADDRESS IS NOT RECOGNIZED BY BATON ROUGE NOR ZACHARY. THANK YOU. ANYONE ELSE? WE SHOULD SPEAK ON THIS. YES, MA'AM. AS YOU KNOW, UM, BRACK FINALLY, UH, RELEASED TO THE STATE LEGISLATIVE AUDITOR, THEIR 2021 FINANCIALS, AND IT SHOWED FOR 2021 A $16 MILLION DEFICIT. WHAT I HAVE HERE ARE SOME INTERNAL DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE YEARS 2022 AND 2023. UM, SO I'M KIND OF QUESTIONING THE $16 MILLION BASED ON THESE REC DOCUMENTS. FOR INSTANCE, MAINTENANCE SHOWS A $13.5 MILLION DEFICIT OPERATIONS SHOWS A $10,600,000 DEFICIT. RECREATION SHOWS AN $11 MILLION DEFICIT. CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS FUND SHOWS AN $18 MILLION DEFICITS FOR THE 22 AND 23. NOW, ONE OF THE PROBLEMS IS BECAUSE BRECK FILED THEIR FINANCIALS LATE, THERE ARE ALL KIND OF RESTRICTIONS NOW ON BRECK AS AN ENTITY. SO I WOULD LIKE FOR THIS COUNCIL TO MAKE SURE THEY KEEP A KEEN EYE ON BRECK AS AN ENTITY THAT IS COSTING TAXPAYERS MONEY THAT HAS CLOSED PARKS. SOMEONE JUST SHOWED ME A PICTURE OF SOME HORRIFIC PICTURES OF, OF SOME OF THE CONDITIONS OF PARKS. SO WE NEED TO HAVE A, A KEEN EYE. I DO REALIZE IT IS A, UH, WHATEVER YOU CALL IT, A, A POLITICAL SUBDIVISION. HOWEVER, WE DO HAVE A SAY SO, AND THE TAXPAYERS WILL HAVE A SAY SO WHEN THEY VOTE, AND HOPEFULLY ALL OF THESE THINGS WILL BE LOOKED AT AND THAT YOU WILL ASK FOR THE CURRENT FINANCIALS THAT SHOW THIS LEVEL OF DEFICITS. THIS IS JUST FIVE PAGES. I HAVE 12 PAGES SHOWING DEFICITS IN DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS. THANK YOU. ANYONE ELSE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? COUNCIL MEMBERS, YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED ONE EMAIL. COMMENT ON, ON ITEM 1 65. GO TO COUNCIL COUNCILMAN HURST COURT IF YOU WANT TO ADDRESS ON THAT. SO YOU CAN TAKE MY FIRST FIVE. I SAW YOU KIND OF ITCHING TO THE MIC. SO YEAH, JUST, JUST REAL QUICKLY. AND, AND SO, NO, I MEAN, I THINK ALL OF THAT SUMS UP WHAT I JUST PRESENTED, RIGHT? WE, WE HAVE A LOT OF PARKS TO TAKE CARE OF. UH, A LOT OF PARKS WERE DONATED AND ACCEPTED AND, AND, AND WITHOUT A EYE FOR THE FUTURE ON HOW WE'RE GONNA MAINTAIN ALL OF THIS. SO WE CERTAINLY ARE, ARE, ARE THANKFUL FOR PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS ACCEPTING A LOT OF DONATIONS, BUT NOW WE HAVE TO MAINTAIN THAT. [04:05:01] AND SO LOOK, WE JUST COMPLETED A MASTER PLAN FOR SCOTLANDVILLE, UM, PARKWAY PARK, WHICH IS, UH, THE PARK THAT RUNS ALONG, UH, UH, ONE 10 RIGHT ALONG, UH, HOARDING IS, IS IS THE BIG ENTRANCE THERE. AND 72ND OVER THERE BY HOWELL PLACE. AND SO THAT MASTER PLAN WAS JUST COMPLETED, ACTUALLY, WHITNEY, UH, VAN SALE, WHO'S THE DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR, HELPED DEVELOP THAT MASTER PLAN. AND JUST LIKE WE COMPLETED A MASTER PLAN FOR THE ZOO IN 2019 AND ARE CELEBRATING THE FIRST PHASE OF THAT IN 2024, IT TAKES TIME FROM THE MASS. SO THERE, THERE ARE PLANS IN PLACE FOR SCOTLANDVILLE, UH, CERTAINLY CHENEY V WE RECOGNIZE THE CHALLENGES OUT THERE. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID LOOK AT IS WHERE HAVE WE NOT HISTORICALLY INVESTED IN, IN CHANEY GROWS TO, TO A HIGH LEVEL THERE. SO THEY ARE A PRIORITY FOR US, UH, MOVING FORWARD AS EARLY AS 2025. WE ARE ACTIVELY TRYING TO SCHEDULE COMMUNITY MEETINGS RIGHT NOW TO TALK ABOUT REAMS, SANDY CREEK AND PRIDE. AND SO WE ARE AWARE OF THE CHALLENGES THERE AND WE'RE WORKING TOWARDS 'EM. AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT OUR FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND AUDITS. SO ALL OF OUR FINANCIAL STATEMENTS WE PRESENT TO OUR COMMISSION ON A MONTHLY BASIS. COMMISSIONER HALL SITS ON OUR FINANCE COMMITTEE. SHE CERTAINLY SCRUTINIZES ALL OF OUR FINANCES IN TERMS OF MAKING SURE WE'RE DOING THINGS PROPER. ALL OF OUR FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CAN BE FOUND ONLINE. OUR AUDITS, WE'VE TALKED A LOT ABOUT OUR AUDITS AND WHY ARE THEY OUTSTANDING. SOME OF THAT WAS WITHIN OUR CONTROL RECONCILIATION OF BANK ACCOUNTS. UH, SOME OF IT WASN'T IN OUR CONTROL. WHEN ARE THE AUDITORS AVAILABLE? WE HAD AN UNTIMELY DEATH OF A CFO. UH, AND SO THERE, THERE, THERE CHALLENGES. THE GOOD NEWS IS THE 21 AUDIT WAS RECENTLY COMPLETED, THE 22 AUDIT. WE SUBMITTED IT TO THE AUDITORS, WE'RE WAITING FOR THEM TO REVIEW IT. BUT AGAIN, THEY HAVE MANY OTHER CLIENTS. AND SOON AS THEY COMPLETE THAT ONE, WE HAVE A STACK OF THE 23 INFORMATION READY TO GIVE THEM, UH, TO WORK ON THAT AS WELL. LOOK, WE TAKE OUR RESPONSIBILITY AS STEWARDS OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS VERY, VERY SERIOUSLY. AND, UH, WE KNOW OUR SUCCESS IS BASED ON THE TRUST OF THE COMMUNITY. AND WE KNOW THAT THAT AUDIT IS ONE PIECE OF THAT TRUST. BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF OTHER THINGS IN TERMS OF OUR DELIVERING ON WHAT WE PROMISE, UH, THAT THAT THINGS THAT WE SAY WE'RE GONNA DO, WE ULTIMATELY DO. AND WE THINK THAT THE COMMUNITY DOES TRUST US, BUT WE, WE CERTAINLY UNDERSTAND AND IT'S A PRIORITY FOR US TO COMPLETE THOSE OUTSTANDING AUDITS. I TOOK MORE THAN A MINUTE. I'M SORRY. YEAH, SO YOU HAVE OUR FIRST 5, 2 5. SO IT'S ALL OKAY. SO, YOU KNOW, UH, PARKS AND RECREATION, YOU KNOW, PROUD OF ME BEING IN OFFICE HAS BEEN MY PASSION MET ON A NUMBER OF THINGS. SO STILL IS YOUR PASSION. HOPEFULLY IT STILL IS MY PASSION. THAT'S WHY I GOT A BUNCH OF QUESTIONS. . SO, UM, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT OUTDOOR PARKS, WE ALREADY HAVE AN EXAMPLE OF GREENWOOD ESTATE OF COVERING, UH, BRECK PARK, WHICH COVER IT'S COVERED BASKETBALL COURT, BEEN THERE FOR YEARS. WHICH ONE? WHICH ONE? GREENWOOD ESTATES OFF OF, UH, FOSTER ROAD. OKAY. FOR A LONG TIME. IT'S HOT AS HELL, WHETHER IT'S COVERED OR NOT. AND SO, UH, THE FAN SYSTEM LOOKS GREAT, UH, BUT I WANNA KNOW WHAT PART OF THE COUNTRY ARE THEY USING THOSE FANS IN? 'CAUSE IF IT'S NOT HAPPENING IN FLORIDA, LOUISIANA, TEXAS, OR SOUTH, THE SOUTHERN PARTS OF THOSE STATES, THEN I, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T CREATE A, WHAT WE THINK IS THE BEST PRACTICE THAT WON'T ADD VALUE, BUT JUST BLOW HOT AIR ON A BASKETBALL GAME. AND I MAY BE WRONG, BUT I MEAN, IF YOU CAN JUST TELL ME YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH THAT. UH, I SAW THE MODEL LOOK GREAT, BUT WE'VE ALREADY HAD THAT AND IT WAS STILL HOT AS HELL. YEAH. WELL, UH, I, AND I APPRECIATE THAT AND I THINK THAT IS A VALID POINT IN TERMS OF WHERE WE LIVE IN THE, THE ABILITY TO HAVE THOSE SORT OF OUTDOOR FACILITATORS. I, I'LL FIRST SAY DON'T, DON'T, DON'T USE WHAT YOU SEE NOW, WHAT WE DEVELOPED, YOU KNOW, 10, 20 YEARS AGO, AS, AS A PICTURE IN YOUR MIND OF WHAT WE'RE BRINGING. YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT JUST GONNA KNOCK DOWN THE WALLS AND DO IT. AND SO, UM, BUT YEAH, I MEAN IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S GONNA BE A PILOT PROGRAM. UH, QUITE FRANKLY, WE, WE, WE, WE WILL DETERMINE THE SUCCESS OF THAT AND WE WILL HAVE LESSONS LEARNED AS WE MOVE FORWARD. BUT IT DOESN'T REMOVE THE REALITY OF 56 RECREATION CENTERS. UH, MORE THAN HALF OF THEM OVER 30 YEARS OLD, MORE THAN HALF OF 'EM WITHOUT AIR CONDITION. AND SO THE, THE SOLUTION IS, IS NOT TO, TO RETROFIT, UM, YOU KNOW, THESE OLD, IN FACT, WE DID THAT. WE, WE HAVE EXPERIENCE BACK FROM 2018 WHERE WE TOOK SEVEN RECREATION CENTERS, UH, ANTIOCH AND, UH, BAKER AND, UH, MANY OTHERS WHERE WE ADDED AIR CONDITION. UM, AND NOW WE'RE ON THE [04:10:01] NEWS BECAUSE THOSE AIR CONDITION SYSTEMS ARE FAILING. UH, AND WE ON SPENT WELL OVER A MILLION DOLLARS FOR THE, THAT AIR CONDITION. SO, HOLD ON, HOLD ON A SECOND. LEMME GET SOME MORE OF MY TIME. ALRIGHT. OKAY, GO AHEAD. BECAUSE I GAVE YOU FIVE MM-HMM, . ALRIGHT. YOU NEED TO BE A COUNCIL MEMBER. LONG WINDED AS ME . UM, THE OTHER PART OF IT TOO IS TALK ABOUT THE RENOVATIONS. I I'M NOT MAD THAT YOU PUT AIR INSIDE. I MEAN, THE KIDS NOWADAYS, HATE TO SAY THIS, BUT YOU'RE TRYING TO HAVE TO CONFORM TO WHERE THEY ARE TO DO RECREATION. KIDS DON'T PLAY OUTSIDE ANYMORE IF IT'S NOT AIR CONDITIONED. IF IT'S NOT COMFORTABLE, THEY'RE NOT GOING TO DO IT. SO WE NEED TO SOMEWHAT PROVIDE RESOURCES AND UNDERSTAND THAT, NUMBER ONE, PROBABLY THE HIGH GYMS RAN 'EM OFF JUST LIKE THE HIGH SUN DID TOO. SO, UM, AND I, I'M GONNA GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE THAT I GAVE COREY. YOU KNOW, WE TALK ABOUT EVERYBODY ELSE'S WATCH AND BE VERY TRANSPARENT. MAPLEWOOD PARK HAD A RIBBON CUTTING LAST YEAR, HAS NO AIR. SO I'VE NEVER DONE A RIBBON CUTTING IN SOUTH LOUISIANA IN 20 24, 20 23 WITHOUT AIR CONDITION. AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE TALKED ABOUT MAYBE THE ADDITIONAL 500,000 TO A MILLION DOLLARS. I WOULD'VE WAITED TO MAKE SURE THAT WHEN HE HAD AARON IN THOSE FACILITIES, AND I ENCOURAGE AARON AND ALL OTHER FACILITIES TOO, I, I KEEP AND YOU KEEP BROUGHT BRINGING UP, LEMME FIRST OF ALL SAY THANK YOU FOR THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE. MM-HMM. . 'CAUSE 'CAUSE NO MATTER HOW MUCH WE IMPROVE CITY, PARISH, GOVERNMENT, B REC, THERE'S ALWAYS GONNA BE MORE THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE, RIGHT? IT, IT, IT'S THE, IT'S THE NO NO GOOD DEED GOES I ON RIGHT? IN ANYTHING THAT YOU DO. SO I WANT TO, I KNOW THE GOOD WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING, THE GREAT WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING, BUT ALSO KNOW ABOUT THE 72ND EXPERIENCES. I KNOW ABOUT, UM, SOME OF THOSE OTHER CHALLENGING PARKS THAT ARE OUT THERE. AND THEY'RE NOT JUST IN NORTH BATON ROUGE. I'VE SEEN 'EM IN OTHER PLACES WHERE THEY'VE KIND OF BEEN LEFT BY THE WAYSIDE. BUT IF WE ALWAYS DO, WE ALWAYS DO, WE ALWAYS GET WHAT WE ALWAYS GOT. AND IF WE KNOW THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY UNDERFUNDED, AND NOT THAT I'M FULL OVER TAXATION, OVER TAXATION, BUT YOU PUT A SLIDE UP THERE THAT PROVED THAT THE TAX IMPACT WAS GREATER THAN THE INVESTMENT. SO THE RETURN WAS GREATER. SO IF YOU GO UP TO 18 MILL AND SOLVE YOUR PROBLEM, I KNOW DWIGHT HUDSON IS CRINGING IN THE SEAT WHEN I MAKE THAT STATEMENT, . BUT WHY WOULD WE KEEP GOING FOR THE SAME MILLAGES KNOWING THAT IT'S NOT GONNA BE ENOUGH TO SERVE THE PEOPLE AND SERVE OUR FACILITIES? I'D RATHER DO IT THE RIGHT WAY AND GO FOR THE GUSTO ON TAKE OUR TIME THAN DO IT THE WRONG WAY. I DO LIKE THAT YOU'RE THINKING OUTSIDE OF THE BOX WITH THE FANS. I JUST, I HOPE IT WORKS. BUT, BUT I WOULD LOVE TO FOR YOU TO GO BACK AND DO AN ASSESSMENT OF IF I DID EVERYTHING A HUNDRED PERCENT THE RIGHT WAY, WHAT WOULD THAT COST US? AND AT THAT POINT, WE'LL KNOW WHAT IT TAKES TO TRULY RUN OUR PARK SYSTEMS. 'CAUSE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT GAPS. AND I DON'T FOCUS ON PROBLEMS, I FOCUS ON SOLUTIONS. BUT WE'RE STILL TALKING ABOUT THE PROBLEM, WHICH IS LACK OF FUNDING. SO IN A PERFECT WORLD, WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO RUN THAT SYSTEM AND THEN COME BACK TO THE COUNCIL AND FIGURE OUT IF IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S AMENABLE AND THEN DETERMINE WHAT THEIR RETURN ON INVESTMENT WOULD BE. 'CAUSE TAXATION IS NOT BAD IF IT'S GOOD TAXATION. MM-HMM. . SO, THANK YOU. THANK YOU COUNCILWOMAN ADAMS, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. UM, MR. WILSON, UH, 65% OF YOUR BUDGET ON THE LINE IN NOVEMBER. THAT'S A, THAT'S, THAT'S PRETTY SIGNIFICANT, RIGHT? YES. UM, HAVE Y'ALL CONTRACTED WITH OUTSIDE HELP, UM, TO COMMUNICATE, UM, THE MILLAGE AND SHARE THE INFORMATION, UH, ABOUT THE MILLAGE WITH THE PUBLIC? AND, UM, AND IF SO, WHAT KIND OF, WHAT KIND OF CONTRACT HAVE YOU MADE? WHAT KIND OF COMMITMENT HAVE YOU MADE? YEAH, NO, WE HAVE, UM, YOU CAN, YOU CAN GET A A A A NICE PARKS, UM, MAKES LIFE BETTER. AND I'M A PARK PERSON SIGN THAT'S RIGHT OUT THE DOOR. WE PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE PUT, TAKE ONE OF THESE SIGNS, UH, PUT A NOTE ON THERE. AND SO WE HAVE, UH, INFORMATION LIKE THAT. WE DEVELOP, WE WE'RE PROHIBITED RIGHT? FROM USING PUBLIC DOLLARS TO, TO SAY VOTE YES OR VOTE NO. BUT THE PUBLIC INFORMATION THAT WE JUST SHARED WITH YOU, WE DO HAVE BRE.ORG PARK PERKS. THAT GIVES A LOT OF THE FACTUAL INFORMATION ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHICH MILLAGES ARE UP, RIGHT? THAT, THAT 65% THAT, THAT OUR, OUR 10 YEAR PLAN IS RELYING ON THESE SORT OF THINGS. AND SO WE'VE DONE SOME INFORMATION LIKE THAT. WE, WE DON'T, WE HAVEN'T HIRED ANYONE. 'CAUSE AGAIN, WE CAN'T REALLY SPEND DOLLARS FOR SOMEONE TO GET NO. WE, WE HAVE A LOT OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, YOU KNOW, FOLKS THAT WE WORK WITH THAT KNOCK ON DOORS AND THAT SPREAD THE WORD FOR US. UH, BUT NOTHING SORT OF OFFICIAL OR LOBBYIST OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. YEAH. THANK YOU. UHHUH , UM, TALKING, LOOKING AT THE AUDITS. MM-HMM. . UM, SO THE, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE, THIS, YOU'RE KIND OF BACKED UP, I MEAN MM-HMM. . UM, AND IN THE ORGANIZATIONS I'VE BEEN A PART OF, YOU KNOW, OUR AUDIT WAS ALWAYS SCHEDULED. WE WERE ON THE SAME KIND OF SCHEDULE YEAR AFTER YEAR AFTER YEAR. UM, SO, [04:15:01] SO Y'ALL DID GET PRETTY BACKED UP ON THIS? YES. UM, WHAT, AND, AND SO WHEN DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GONNA HAVE 22? WHEN, WHEN, WHEN ARE YOU EXPECTING THE 22 AUDIT INFORMATION TO GET BACK? THE, THE, AGAIN, WE'VE, WE'VE SUBMITTED THAT INFORMATION AND SO WE'RE, WE'RE WAITING ON THE AUDITORS TO REVIEW IT. I'M SURE THEY'LL HAVE SOME QUESTIONS THEY'VE COMMITTED TO US AND TO OUR COMMISSION, QUITE FRANKLY, THAT THAT WILL BE FINISHED BY OCTOBER. NOW WE'RE HOPING THAT WE CAN FINISH SOONER THAN THAT, BUT THAT'S THE COMMITMENT THAT THEY'VE GIVEN, GIVEN US OUTSIDE. AND THESE ARE YOUR, THIS IS YOUR INDEPENDENT AUDIT FIRM. THIS IS NOT THE LEGISLATIVE AUDITOR? CORRECT. THIS IS THE AUDITOR THAT YOU HIRED? THIS IS EISER ER, FORMERLY POSTED, WAIT, VILLE. YEAH. OKAY, PERFECT. AND THEN, SO 23 IS ALREADY TO THEM TOO. AND, AND A LOT OF PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ONLY GETTING 23 BACK AT THIS POINT IN 2024. SO ONCE THAT HAPPENS, YOU SHOULD BE BACK ON TRACK. YOU, YOU THINK IS THERE ONCE THE 20, THE 24 AUDIT IS, IS DUE JUNE OF, OF, UM, JUNE 30TH OF 25 NEXT YEAR. AND SO THAT, THAT'S REALLY THE TARGET THAT WE'RE SHOOTING FOR. FINISH 23 AND THEN MAKE SURE WE FINISH 24 ON TIME SO THAT WE ARE MOVING FORWARD. BUT THAT'S, THAT'S THE COMPLETION OF FOUR AUDITS IN THE 12 MONTH PERIOD. AND, AND SO WE'LL SEE HOW BETWEEN THE AUDITOR'S TIME, UM, WHICH AGAIN, WE HAVE NO CONTROL OVER THAT. THATS GONNA BE THE BIG VARIABLE THERE. RIGHT. BUT IT'S, YOU'RE EXPECTING TO BE BACK ON TRACK IS WHAT I HEAR YOU SAYING. THAT IS WHAT THE GOAL IS. YES. IN IN THE, THE 24 YEAR. YEAH. I MEAN, WELL, 25. 25. IN 25. YOU SHOULD GET THE AUDIT ON TIME. CORRECT. 24 MM-HMM. . UM, OKAY. AND I, I JUST CAUGHT THIS TONIGHT. SO LEMME MAKE SURE I'M UNDERSTANDING THIS CORRECTLY. ARE THE IMAGINEER PARKS MILLAGE IS A 20 YEAR MILLAGE AND WE, WE HAVE A 10 YEAR PLAN. IS THAT RIGHT? IS THAT WHAT YOU SAID? YEAH. SO THE, THE IMAGINEER PARKS ACT THAT WE PASSED IN, UM, 2004 WAS, WAS A, WAS A 20 YEAR MILLAGE. AND SO, AND IT WAS BASED ON A 2004 PLAN IN AN EFFORT TO NOT CONFUSE THE COMMUNITY. 'CAUSE THERE, THERE, THERE WAS AN OPTION FOR US TO SAY, LET'S MAKE IT 10 YEARS. BUT THEN THE BIG WORDS NEW WOULD'VE BEEN EVERYWHERE ON IT BECAUSE IT WOULD'VE BEEN NEW. AND SO EVEN THOUGH WE WOULD'VE BEEN REDUCING IT, WE THOUGHT THAT WOULD JEOPARDIZE THE PASSING OF IT. AND SO WE SIMPLY DECIDED TO KEEP IT THE SAME THING AS IT WAS BEFORE. IT'S NOT REFERRED TO AS A RENEWAL, ALTHOUGH IT'S THE SAME MILLAGE, SAME YEAR, BECAUSE THIS IS BASED ON THE 2024 PLAN AND NOT THE, UH, UH, UH, 2004 PLAN. SO THAT'S WHY WE COULDN'T CALL IT A RENEWAL. AND SO WE HAVE THE 2014 TAX, WHICH IS A 10 YEAR TAX, AND THEN WE HAVE THIS 20 YEAR TAX. BUT YEAH, OUR, OUR, OUR, OUR PLAN, AND EVEN THOUGH IT'S A 10 YEAR PLAN, THAT PLAN INCLUDES STRATEGIC PLANS FOR EVERY THREE YEARS. SO AFTER THE FIRST THREE TO FOUR YEARS OF THIS PLAN, WE WILL STOP AND TAKE A LOOK AND SAY, HEY, THE THINGS THAT WE SAID THREE OR FOUR YEARS AGO, ARE THEY'RE STILL RELEVANT? ARE THOSE STILL THE PRIORITIES OF THE COMMUNITY? AND SO IT'S, IT'S, IT'S AN ONGOING PROCESS AND I CERTAINLY UNDERSTAND, UM, UM, UM, THE POTENTIAL CONFUSION TO THAT. BUT I DO, UM, SO, AND, AND FROM YOUR PRESENTATION, WHAT I'M, ONE OF MY TAKEAWAYS IS THAT, UM, YOU FEEL LIKE MAYBE Y'ALL ARE SPREAD TOO THIN AND YOU NEED TO FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU CAN DO REALLY, REALLY WELL AND ONLY DO THOSE THINGS THAT YOU CAN DO REALLY, REALLY WELL. IS THAT A FAIR INTERPRETATION? NO, THAT'S, THAT'S THE EXACT INTERPRETATION WE NEED. WE NEED TO, TO, FOR LACK OF A BETTER TERM, RIGHT SIZE, THE AGENCY. UM, WE, WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO, UH, FOCUS ON HIGH QUALITY IN, IN ALL AREAS, BUT CERTAINLY THOSE AREAS THAT NEEDED THE MOST OF. BUT IN ORDER TO BRING THOSE NEW THINGS ON, AS I MENTIONED, THEY DON'T COME WITH A BAG OF MAINTENANCE DOLLARS. AND SO WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW DO WE SHIFT OUR MAINTENANCE DOLLARS FROM WHAT WE'RE TAKING CARE OF NOW TO SOME OF THIS NEW STUFF, WHICH MEANS SOME OF WHAT WE'RE TAKING CARE OF NOW, WE NEED TO EITHER FIND PARTNERS LIKE SCOTLANDVILLE, ALUMNI ASSOCIATION TO POTENTIALLY RUN THOSE FACILITIES AND MAINTAIN THEM. OR WE NEED TO LOOK AT DOING SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T REQUIRE STAFF, THAT DOESN'T REQUIRE HVAC AND THOSE SORT OF THINGS. SO, UM, OKAY. SO, UH, ONE, ONE MORE QUESTION. THE, THE BRETT COMMISSION DID JUST ROLL FORWARD YES. THE, THE MILLAGE, IS THAT CORRECT? CORRECT. AND HOW, WHAT IS THE TOTAL AMOUNT THAT'S GONNA BE COLLECTED FROM TAXPAYERS FROM THE ROLL FORWARD? MILLAGE, DO YOU KNOW? IT, IT WAS A DIFFERENCE OF $5 MILLION. OKAY. UM, I, I JUST WANNA SAY IT. I, WE'RE COUNCILMAN HURST, AND I THINK MAYBE IN DIFFERENT PLACES ON THIS, UM, AND, AND [04:20:01] I'M GONNA SAY THIS NOT JUST TO YOU, BUT TO, TO ALL THE ENTITIES THAT ARE LOOKING AT, AT ROLLING FORWARD. SO THIS IS FOR MORE THAN YOU, YOU DON'T TAKE THIS PERSONALLY. UM, BUT THE, THE TAXPAYERS OF THIS, UM, PARISH ARE VERY HARDWORKING FAMILIES. AND, UM, THEY ARE NOT AN INEXHAUSTIBLE MONEY TRAIT. UM, IN TALKING WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE WORKING WITH, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WHO ARE, ARE, ARE STRUGGLING RIGHT NOW, I AM BEING TOLD THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE LITERALLY PUTTING THEIR GROCERIES ON A CREDIT CARD. THEY'RE FINANCING THEIR GROCERIES. UM, WE KNOW, I'M HEARING FROM PEOPLE THAT THEIR AUTO INSURANCE IS DOUBLING. UM, I'VE HEARD OF HOMEOWNERS POLICIES GOING UP 80, 90, AND A HUNDRED PERCENT. AND SO I'M SAYING THIS TO ALL ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE CONSIDERING ROLLING FORWARD AT THIS TIME. THE PEOPLE IN THE HOUSES ON THE STREETS, THEY CAN'T ROLL FORWARD. THEY CAN'T ROLL FORWARD MORE MONEY, UM, IN, IN THEIR JOBS. THEY ARE TRYING TO MAKE THEIR ENDS MEET AND THEY'RE TRYING TO MEET THEIR BUDGETS. AND THERE ARE PEOPLE IN THIS COMMUNITY WHO ARE UNDER SIGNIFICANT STRESS. STRESS. I UNDERSTAND THAT WE HAVE BIG PLANS AND WE HAVE WONDERFUL THINGS WE WANNA ACCOMPLISH. AND THAT, THAT ALL OF THIS, YOU KNOW, I BELIEVE COMES FROM A GOOD PLACE. PEOPLE WANNA DO THE BEST, RIGHT? WE WANT AS, AS, AS, AS ORGANIZATIONS, AS AGENCIES. WE WANNA GIVE OUR PEOPLE THE BEST. BUT WE ALSO NEED TO BE VERY MINDFUL OF THE, THE FINANCIAL STRESSES AND STRUGGLES THAT THE PEOPLE IN THE HOMES, ON THE STREETS IN THIS, IN THIS COMMUNITY ARE EXPERIENCING. THANK YOU. THANK YOU COUNCIL MAGO DAY, COREY. OOPS. THANKS TO YOU AND YOUR TEAM. THE, THE IMAGINE YOUR PARK THREE PROCESS WAS A VERY OPEN, VERY TRANSPARENT PROCESS. I KNOW I WAS ON YOUR EMAIL LIST, GOT SEVERAL INVITATIONS TO COME AND PROVIDE INPUT, UH, SURVEYS, ALL OF THOSE THINGS. SO I APPRECIATE THE EFFORTS YOU ALL PUT IN TO MAKING SURE PUBLIC INPUT WAS GATHERED ON THAT. UM, AND, AND THANKS TO YOUR LEADERSHIP TEAM AS WELL, UM, THEY ARE, UH, ALWAYS VERY RESPONSIVE. UH, IN FACT, REED AND I HAD AN EMAIL EXCHANGE TODAY OVER SOME INQUIRIES. I GOT, I THINK YOU GOT COPIED ON THAT. SO, MM-HMM. , UM, VERY APPRECIATIVE THAT, THAT YOUR TEAM, AGAIN IS VERY RESPONSIVE. UM, AM I CORRECT? UM, MY QUESTIONS ARE PROBABLY MORE CLARIFICATION THAN ANYTHING. AM I CORRECT? BRE HAS A $90 MILLION BUDGET? DO I, DO I HAVE THE MATH RIGHT FROM THE MILLAGES AND THE SELF-GENERATED? YEAH. I MEAN IF YOU ADD A LITTLE STATE REVENUE SHARING AND, UM, SOME DIFFERENT GRANTS, WE, WE, WE WE'RE CLOSE TO A HUNDRED MILLION. OKAY. ALRIGHT. GIVE OR TAKE 5 MILLION. YEP. WITH THE ROLL FORWARD, WHAT DID YOU SAY THE ADDITIONAL WOULD BE? YEP. SO WE WENT, UM, FROM 80 MILLION, UM, IN PROPERTY TAXES COLLECTED THIS YEAR AND NEXT YEAR AS A RESULT OF ROLL FORWARD, WE WILL, UH, RECEIVE 85. AND SO THE OPTION WAS TO, TO STAY THE SAME RIGHT. AND THEN RECEIVE 80 MILLION AGAIN NEXT YEAR OR, OR TO RECEIVE 85. AND AGAIN, WITH SOME OF THE CHALLENGES YOU'VE HEARD TONIGHT, SCOTLANDVILLE PARK, VILLE PARK, DEPLORABLE PARKS, YOU KNOW, WE, WE, WE ARE IMPACTED BY THE SAME INCREASES THAT ALL OF US ARE IMPACTED ON. AND SO IF WE WANT TO TRY AND CONTINUE TO ADDRESS THOSE THINGS AND MAINTAIN THE HIGH LEVEL OF, OF SERVICE, WE, WE NEED ALL THE, UH, THE SOURCES WE CAN GET TO HELP WITH THAT. THE 10 YEAR TAX, UH, RENEWAL, 6.2 MILS, WHAT DOES THAT TRANSLATE TO IN DOLLARS FOR Y'ALL? I NEED MY CALCULATOR. CAN SOMEBODY HELP ME WITH THAT? 14.4 IS 80 AND SO, SHOOT, I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO DO THAT. DIVIDE, DIVIDE SIX BY 14.4 AND MULTIPLY THAT BY 80. OKAY. I CAN DO THAT MATH LATER. WHAT'S THE SECOND ONE? 33. 33. 33 MILLION. 33 MILLION. SO I GUESS THE SECOND ONE PROBABLY BRINGS ABOUT 22,000,002. IT'S 3.2. YEP. OKAY. OKAY. SO 55 TOTAL ON THE BALLOT. UM, DOES, IMAGINE YOUR PARKS THREE LAY OUT WHAT PARKS WILL BE OFFLOADED, WHAT PARKS WILL BE ENHANCED? DOES IT GIVE VISIBILITY ON, HEY, WE'RE GONNA GET RID OF THIS PROPERTY, CLOSE THIS PLACE DOWN, BUT WE'RE REALLY GONNA STEP UP THIS PLACE? YEAH, NO, I, I AND I APPRECIATE YOU ASKING THAT QUESTION 'CAUSE I FAILED TO, TO, I LEFT OUT THAT IMPORTANT FACTOR. AND SO THE PLAN DOES RECOMMEND, UH, UH, REPURPOSING, UH, 10 TO 15 OF OUR RECREATION CENTERS OVER THE 10 YEAR PERIOD. THE PLAN THEN SAYS THAT 2025 WILL BE THE YEAR OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TO DETERMINE, HEY, YOU GOT THESE THREE OLD [04:25:01] RECREATION CENTERS WITHIN A MILE OF EACH OTHER. WE THINK YOU DESERVE A BRAND NEW ONE, BUT THAT'S GONNA REQUIRE US TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT TO THE OTHER TWO. WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE THE BRAND NEW ONE? WHAT ARE SOME IDEAS? AND SO THAT'S, THAT'S GONNA BE A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS THAT I'M GONNA NEED EVERY COUNCIL MEMBER'S, UH, SUPPORT ON THAT TO BE ABLE TO ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY AND HAVE THOSE DISCUSSIONS. AND SO WE AREN'T IN A SITUATION WHERE WE ARE REPURPOSING SOMETHING WHERE THE COMMUNITY HASN'T PROVIDED THEIR INPUT. SO FOR INSTANCE, WE'LL, WE'LL BE IN YOUR DISTRICT SAYING, I KNEW YOU SAY GAR DEER, I KNEW YOU WERE GONNA SAY GAR GUARD, OR I MEAN, DO YOU WANT IT AT GAR PARK OR DO YOU WANT IT AT BEN BERG PARK? AND WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE THOSE DISCUSSIONS. OKAY. ALRIGHT. UH, HOW ABOUT, UH, PARK PROPERTIES? HAVE Y'ALL LOOKED AT A LIST OF IF WE GOT RID OF THIS OPEN SPACE, WE'RE NOT MAINTAINING ALL OF THOSE THINGS. WE COULD SAVE X DOLLARS AND THEREFORE THAT GOES TOWARDS MAINTENANCE. Y'ALL ARE DOING THAT? YEP. YEP. SO THAT'S THE SAME CONCEPT AS, AS THE RECREATION CENTERS. I MEAN, EVEN THE PREVIOUS PLAN, IMAGINARY PARKS TWO, 2014, IT CAME OUT WITH A, A LIST OF OBSOLETE LAND. AND, AND SO WE, TODAY WE HAVE A LIST OF PROPERTIES THAT THE COMMISSION HAS VOTED ON AND SAID THEY'RE NO LONGER NEEDED FOR RECREATIONAL USE. WE CAN SELL 'EM WHENEVER WE WANT TO. AND WE'VE TRIED TO DO THAT. WE'RE ACTUALLY WORKING WITH THE COUNCIL ON HOMELESS, UM, UH, TO SELL A PIECE OF PROPERTY NEAR CORTANA. UM, AND SO, SO THAT WE SOLD A PIECE OF PROPERTY THAT WE BOUGHT FOR $90,000, UH, 40 YEARS AGO FOR $4 MILLION. SO WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING ON THAT. AND SO AS AN ENTITY, THANK YOU. THAT LED ME TO MY NEXT QUESTION. COUNCILMAN GODA, YOU WANNA TAKE YOUR TIME? WELL, OF COURSE. YEAH, PLEASE. SO AS AN ENTITY, Y'ALL HAVE THE ABILITY TO SELL REAL ESTATE, REALIZE THE BENEFITS OF THAT SALE, 90,000 PURCHASED TO 4 MILLION SALE. YES. YES, YES. THE COMMISSION HAS TO DECLARE IT NO LONGER NEEDED FOR RECREATIONAL PURPOSES. AND WE HAVE CRITERIA, REDUNDANT AREAS OR AREAS THAT'S NOT DEVELOPED OR, OKAY. AND SO YEAH, WE HAVE A LIST OF CRITERIA. OKAY. SO YOU, BRETT, GETTING TO A TARGET NUMBER OF PARKS IS A, IS IS NOT NECESSARILY IN A IYP THREE, BUT YOU'LL START THAT PROCESS AND AND VET THE PUBLIC TO GIVE INPUT ON THAT PROCESS? YEAH, I MEAN THAT, THAT, THAT GOES FOR EVERYTHING THAT GOES FOR GRASS CUTTING. PART OF THE PLAN SAYS WE NEED TO CUT LESS GRASS THAN WHAT WE'RE CUTTING RIGHT NOW. SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH THE COMMUNITY THAT SAYS, ARE YOU OKAY WITH LETTING THIS BE A LITTLE MORE NATURAL? AND SO THAT WE CAN TAKE CARE OF THIS, THAT THE KIDS PLAY ON A LITTLE BETTER THAN WE TAKING CARE OF IT NOW. SO. OKAY. GOOD. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU FOR, UH, DOING THE PRESENTATION. I APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN MO. YEAH, I WANNA FOLLOW UP ON THE, UH, THE, BASICALLY THE VACANT LAND NOW. I MEAN, I, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE POLICY WAS BACK THEN, BUT I FELT LIKE A LOT OF PEOPLE A WHILE BACK, LONG TIME AGO, MAYBE BEFORE YOU WERE HERE, UM, HEY, I'M GONNA DONATE THIS LAND TO BRETT AND GET A TAX WRITE OFF. AND BRETT JUST TOOK THE LAND IN AND EVERYBODY GOES, OKAY, WELL BRETT OWNS IT. WE SHOULD HAVE A PARK HERE. SO ABOUT HOW MANY OF THOSE PARCELS OF THE LAND DO YOU THINK WE HAVE THROUGHOUT THE PARISH? HOW MANY? IT'S, IT'S, IT'S IF, IF WE HAVE 175 PARKS, I, I WOULD SAY, AND, AND REED PROBABLY CAN ANSWER THAT BETTER THAN ME. I, I WOULD SAY THERE'S MAYBE 10 THAT ARE NOT DEVELOPED THAT ARE JUST LOTS THAT SOMEBODY GAVE TO US. I MEAN, WE HAD ONE OFF OF HIGHLAND ROAD, UM, LEITE HILLS, SO IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT A HUGE BUNCH OF PIECES OF VACANT LAND NO. SITTING THROUGHOUT THE PARISH. NO. AND THOSE PIECES OF VACANT LAND, DO YOU CONSIDER THOSE QUOTE PARKS OR, I JUST THINK THEY DO. I THINK THEY DO COME ON OUR LIST AS PARKS NOW. I'M, I'M, I'M POSITIVE 99% SURE THEY'RE LISTED AS A PARK IF BRECK OWNS IT AND IT'S A, YEAH, SO SOMEBODY COULD GO OUT THERE AND USE IT. WE CUT THE GRASS. I MEAN, PEOPLE ARE WELCOME TO GO OUT THERE, THERE AND USE IT. YEP. OKAY. I JUST KNOW THAT FOR A WHILE THERE AND, AND THERE, THERE, I KNOW THERE WERE SEVERAL PARCELS, UM, IN CENTRAL AND IT'S LIKE JUST VACANT LAND AND YOU KNOW, YOU JUST SEE THESE, SOMEBODY MENTIONS, OH, THAT'S A BRICK PIECE OF LAND. IT'S JUST SITTING THERE AND, AND DOING DIFFERENT SWAPS AND EVERYTHING. SO, UM, HOPEFULLY Y'ALL CAN OFFLOAD A LOT OF THAT AND SAVE A LOT OF MONEY. I'M GLAD TO HEAR THAT. THAT IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT Y'ALL ARE LOOKING AT. UM, JUST ADD A LITTLE CAVEAT ON THAT. WE DID RELY ON LAND WATER CONSERVATION FUNDS TO BUY A LOT OF THESE PARCELS. SO IF IT WAS $6,000 AND WE GOT A THOUSAND DOLLARS FROM THE FED TO HELP US BUY THAT, THEN WE CANNOT DO ANYTHING WITH THAT PIECE OF PARCEL UNTIL WE GO BACK TO THE FEDS AND SAY, HEY, WE WOULD LIKE TO SELL [04:30:01] THIS. AND THEY'RE GONNA SAY, YOU NEED TO REPLACE THAT PIECE OF PROPERTY WITH ANOTHER PIECE OF PROPERTY. SO THAT, THAT, THAT MAKES IT A CHALLENGE FOR A LOT OF OUR PARKS AS WELL TOO. SO YOU CAN'T JUST OFFLOAD A PIECE OF PROPERTY, THOSE THAT DON'T HAVE FEDERAL DOLLARS TO IT. WE CAN, BUT WE, WE DO HAVE, UH, AND AGAIN, RE CAN TELL ME A BETTER NUMBER ON THAT, BUT I, I'LL, I'M, I'M, I DON'T WANT TO GIVE A NUMBER ON IT, QUITE FRANKLY, BUT WE HAVE A LOT OF PARKS THAT ARE TIED TO THAT. OKAY. SO LET'S GO INTO THE FACT, AND I KNOW Y'ALL HAVE DONE A LOT OF WORK AT YOUR PARKS FOR, ESPECIALLY SINCE 2016 AND HELPING WITH DRAINAGE AND RECONFIGURING TO, UH, MAINTAIN AND SUSTAIN WATER AND EVERYTHING ELSE. UM, A LOT OF THOSE EMPTY LOT PARKS, UM, IS, IS THERE ANY THOUGHT OF WORKING WITH MUNICIPALITIES AND USING THOSE FOR, UH, DETENTION OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT WHERE THE, THE LOCAL MUNICIPALITY, WHETHER IT BE THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE, BAKER CENTRAL ZACHARY, THE NEW ST. GEORGE, UH, USE SOME OF THOSE FOR JUST MAINLY DETENTION AND MAYBE JUST PUT A WALKING TRAIL AROUND IT. UM, YOU KNOW, THAT WAY IT, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT WOULD HELP QUALIFY FOR ANY OTHER FEDERAL DOLLARS OR, OR STATE DOLLARS TO, TO USE IT AS RETENTION. YES. WE, WE ARE OPEN TO THAT IDEA AND CERTAINLY HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH THE, UH, THE CITY OF CENTRAL ON THAT. NOW WE'RE NOT GONNA TAKE A ACTIVE PARK THAT WE'RE, UH, WE'RE NOT GONNA TAKE CENTRAL SPORTS PARK AND, AND DIG. OH, NO, I'M TALKING ABOUT THE EMPTY LAND PARK. YES, THE EMPTY WHERE YOU, THAT IS ABSOLUTELY LAND THAT, BUT UP TO IT AND EVERYTHING ELSE THAT THAT'S A POSSIBILITY. CERTAINLY. AND, AND ESPECIALLY IF SOMEONE ELSE IS PAYING FOR IT. YEAH. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. AND LOOK, I, I WISH, WELL, I DON'T WISH, THERE'S NO WAY I CAN SIT HERE AND SAY, OKAY, YOU KNOW, BRICK JUST SUCKS. YOU'RE, YOU'RE TOP HEAVY, YOU'RE ALL THIS KIND OF STUFF. I THINK Y'ALL HAVE GOT A GREAT SYSTEM. I THINK THE, OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS, Y'ALL HAVE MADE MUCH LARGER INVESTMENTS. UM, I REMEMBER GOING TO PARKS OR, OR LET'S TAKE JACKSON PARK FOR INSTANCE. IT WAS A FLAT PIECE OF LAND THAT THE, WE WOULD SHOW UP THERE AS A, AS A BITTY FOOTBALL TEAM. WE MARK OUT OUR OWN LITTLE AREAS AND THEY HAD A SLIDE AND THEY HAD TREES AND A SMALL PAVILION. THAT WAS A PARK BACK THEN. NOW WE'VE GOT THE CENTRAL COMMUNITY PARK, JACKSON COMMUNITY PARK, AND IT'S GOT WATER FEATURES, IT'S GOT MULTIPLE SLIDES, IT'S GOT MULTIPLE AREAS, IT'S GOT DIFFERENT THINGS. IT'S GOT, IT'S STILL GOT THE OPEN FIELD FOR EVERYTHING ELSE. UM, CONSTABLE MODE, DO YOU WANT TO EXTRA TIME? YES, PLEASE. LET'S JUST GO AHEAD AND RUN 'EM ALL. UM, SO I THINK YOU'VE DONE A FANTASTIC JOB. NOW, ON TOP OF THAT, I, I WILL JUST SAY FOLLOWING IN, IN, IN COUNCILWOMAN ADAM'S STEPS, IT'S KIND OF HARD. YOU HAD AN $80 MILLION BUDGET, DID, WAS THE $5 MILLION NEEDED AT THIS MOMENT WHEN WE'RE TRYING TO RENEW THE THINGS OR SO ON AND SO FORTH. UM, I THINK WITH THAT ROLL FORWARD AND WITH THE, THE MILLAGE COMING UP AND EVERYTHING, YOU KNOW, DEFINITELY PUT A LOT MORE OUT THERE ABOUT THE VALUE OF WHAT THEY'RE GETTING. JUST, JUST SOMETHING TO, TO TELL YOU. I, WE, I DON'T KNOW IF I SHOULD TOUT THIS OR NOT. WE HAVE SO MANY AMAZING THINGS OUT IN CENTRAL. UH, WE HAVE THE LARGEST CONSERVATION, UH, AREA 460 OR 70 SOMETHING ACRES WITH A COUPLE MILLION DOLLAR EDUCATIONAL FACILITY THAT'S BUILT OFF THE GROUND FOR FLOODING AND EVERYTHING. AND LOOK, THAT WAS AN AREA THAT PEOPLE WENT BACK THERE ANYWAY AND HIKED ALREADY. BRETT TOOK IT OVER AND SAID, OKAY, IT'S ALREADY BEING USED. UM, BUT WE HAVE A, I THINK ONE OF THE LARGEST SPORTS PARK AS FAR AS BASEBALL GOES, THAT OUR ASTROTURF WITH SEVEN FIELDS, I EVEN CHECKED ON THE OAK VILLA PARK, AND I THINK THE OAK VILLA IS ONLY FOUR FIELDS. UM, SO WE HAVE A LOT TO BE THANKFUL FOR. UH, AGAIN, FOLLOWING ON THE FOOTSTEPS OF FORWARDING, THAT IS AN OPTION THAT COMES UP EVERY FOUR YEARS, AND IT DEFINITELY NEEDS TO BE LOOKED AT TOTALLY ON WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE ENVIRONMENT TO THE PUBLIC AND WHAT THEY'RE GOING THROUGH AND SO ON AND SO FORTH. THAT WOULD BE THE ONLY NEGATIVE I WOULD GIVE RIGHT NOW. BUT OTHER THAN THAT, I THINK Y'ALL ARE DOING A GREAT JOB. THANK YOU. WE'LL TRY NOT TO JUST SUCK. THAT'S GONNA BE OUR NEW VISION STATEMENT, RIGHT? RIGHT. JUST DON'T SUCK. AND I, AND I, AND I DO WANT TO GIVE A, I DO WANNA GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO THE OWNER OF BRETT KATRINA. I KNOW SHE HELPS OUT, HELPS YOU OUT A LOT AND EVERYTHING. OH, YEAH. MAKE SURE TO TELL KATRINA I SAID HELLO. I, WELL, COUNCILMAN DON JR. THANK YOU, COREY. THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. UH, VERY DETAILED, VERY IN DEPTH, VERY IMPRESSED WITH THE, UH, ECONOMIC IMPACT NUMBERS. I THINK OFTENTIMES, [04:35:01] UH, WE'RE NOT AWARE OF OR SOMETIME OVERLOOK, UM, THOSE INDIRECT ECONOMIC AND, AND HUMAN CAPITAL IMPACTS. UH, YOU EVEN HAD THE HEALTHCARE IMPACT, THE STORM WATER IMPACT THINGS I THINK THAT WE DON'T OFTENTIMES CONSIDER. SO GLAD TO SEE THAT YOU AND YOUR TEAM PUT THAT INFORMATION TOGETHER. WANT TO TIP MY HAT TO YOU PERSONALLY FOR LEADING THE ORGANIZATION, UM, YOUR STAFF, YOUR LEADERSHIP TEAM, AND YOUR BOARD. UM, I THINK THIS IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE ARE DOING RIGHT IN THIS PARISH. ONE OF THE MANY THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT IN THIS PARISH. I DON'T KNOW IT UNLESS I, UH, CHECKED OUT FOR A MINUTE. DID YOU MENTION THE NUMEROUS AWARDS YEAR AND THE YEAR OUT THAT YOU GUYS HAVE RECEIVED, UH, FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND RECOGNITION OF THE WORK IN THE TYPE OF PARKS WE HAVE HERE? YEAH. NO, WE, WE DID RECOGNIZE THAT IN 2022, UM, FOR THE THIRD TIME IN OUR 75 PLUS YEAR HISTORY, UM, WE WON THE GOLD MEDAL AND WAS RECOGNIZED AS THE BEST PARK SYSTEM IN THE COUNTRY. WE'VE, WE'VE BEEN RUNNER UP FOR THAT PROBABLY 18 TIMES OVER THE LAST 75 YEARS, UH, IN TERMS OF BEING ONE OF THE FOUR FINALISTS. AND SO WE'RE, WE ARE RECOGNIZED NATIONALLY FOR, FOR THE WORK THAT WE PROVIDE OUR COMMUNITY. THANK YOU. UM, I THINK MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC BROUGHT UP SOME, UM, VERY GOOD POINTS ABOUT SOME AREAS OF NEED, WHICH I THINK SOME OF THAT YOU HAD HIGHLIGHTED IN YOUR PRESENTATION. SO IT KIND OF, UH, CONFIRMED SOME OF THE THINGS THAT YOU HAD SAID, UM, THAT YOU GOT SOME AREAS OF NEED TO WORK ON. MM-HMM, WHAT I WOULD ALSO SAY, I THINK AS A COMMUNITY, WE NEED TO, UM, ASSESS AND TAKE INVENTORY OF WHAT WE WANT THE PARK SYSTEM TO LOOK LIKE, HOW WE WANT TO INVEST IN IT. UM, HOW DO WE WANT IT TO LOOK? DO WE WANT TO DOWNSIZE? UM, WE JUST HAD A ITEM, UM, WITH THESE FIRE STATIONS FOR THE, WITH THE SCOTLANDVILLE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION, WHERE THE CITY PARISH, PRIOR TO ANY OF US GETTING HERE, LOOKED AT OUR PROPERTIES AND SAID, YOU KNOW, WE GOT ALL THESE SURPLUS PROPERTIES, FIRE STATIONS AND OTHER THINGS, AND WE WANNA PARTNER WITH ORGANIZATIONS TO GET THIS RESPONSIBILITY TO MAINTENANCE OFF OF US. PARTNER WITH SOMEBODY WHO CAN PUT IT BACK INTO, UM, INTO USE, UH, UH, PUT IT BACK INTO COMMERCE. MM-HMM. , UH, WE'VE DONE THAT. SCHOOL SYSTEMS ARE DOING THAT. UH, GOVERNMENTS ARE DOING THAT. UH, UH, COMMERCIAL ENTITIES ARE DOING IT TO REDUCE THE MAINTENANCE, REDUCE THE OVERHEAD COSTS, LOOKING AT CONSOLIDATIONS, LOOKING AT, UH, ELIMINATING, UM, BRICK AND MORTAR AND MINIMIZE THE OVERALL OPERATIONAL COSTS. SO YOU ARE DOING WHAT, WHAT MOST ORGANIZATIONS AND COMPANIES ARE DOING AROUND THE COUNTRY. UH, WE JUST NEED TO DETERMINE WHAT THAT WANTS TO LOOK LIKE. I KNOW, UM, COUNCILMAN HERTZ MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, MAXIMIZING THE MILLAGE AND, AND, YOU KNOW, DOING EVERYTHING YOU WANNA DO. I UNDERSTAND YOUR HESITATION IN THAT WITH HAVING THE LANGUAGE NEW OR INCREASE AND, YOU KNOW, THAT MAY, YOU KNOW, RUN SOME PEOPLE OFF OR GET SOME PEOPLE NOT TO SUPPORT IT. SO I UNDER UNDERSTAND YOUR HESITATION FOR MAXIMIZING THE MILLAGE, BUT I JUST THINK THESE ARE REALISTIC CONCERNS WE NEED TO CONSIDER AND LOOK AT, UH, WHEN WE TALKING ABOUT, UH, THE DIRECT AND THE INDIRECT BENEFIT OF, UH, AND THE PARKINSON REC SYSTEM. UM, WE HERE IN THE STATE OF LOUISIANA, THAT'S, THAT'S OFFICIALLY KNOWN AS THE SPORTSMAN'S PARADISE, RIGHT? YOU KNOW, FOOD, MUSIC, CULTURE AND RECREATION IS ESSENTIAL TO WHO WE ARE, RIGHT? UM, NOW HOW WE WANNA FUND IT, HOW WE WANT TO PAY FOR IT. I CAN TELL YOU MANY PARENTS, MANY RESIDENTS ARE THANKFUL FOR SOME OF THESE SUMMER PROGRAMS THAT THEY HAVE LINES A WAITING LIST TO GET ON, AND THEY'RE TRYING TO BLOCK PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF THE PARISH FROM, FROM STEALING THOSE SLOTS. YOU KNOW, SOME OF THESE PARKS AND RECREATION FACILITIES I UTILIZE FREQUENTLY, AND I KNOW MANY PEOPLE UTILIZE 'EM FREQUENTLY, AND, AND THERE'S NO, UM, AT THE MOMENT OUT OF POCKET, UH, COST. BUT THERE IS SOME TAX COSTS. AS, AS COUNCILMAN WHITE ADAM MENTIONED, AND I'M SENSITIVE TO, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE THINGS SHE TALKED ABOUT THAT, YOU KNOW, JOE CITIZEN CAN'T ROLL FORWARD. SO, YOU KNOW, WHEN THEIR BUDGET IS STRAPPED, IT IS STRAPPED. THEY, THEY CUT COSTS. AND SO WE NEED TO EVALUATE HOW WE WANNA HANDLE THAT SITUATION. DO WE WANT TO INVEST MORE INTO THE SYSTEM? AS COUNCILMAN HEARST SAID, DO WE WANT, YOU KNOW, CONSOLIDATE AND ELIMINATE AS, AS, AS YOU EVALUATING AND DOING RIGHT NOW? THOSE ARE SOME REALISTIC CONCERNS THAT WE HAVE AND WE NEED TO DISCUSS. I KNOW YOU'VE DONE A LOT OF OUTREACH, UM, EVEN IN OUR DISTRICT SIX COMMUNITY CENTER OUTREACH AND, AND NEEDS ANALYSIS. YOU GUYS PARTICIPATED AND GAVE FIT FEEDBACK AND WAS AT EVERY, EVERY MEETING TALKING ABOUT AREAS AND NEEDS AND TALKING ABOUT COLLABORATION AND HOW WE CAN, YOU KNOW, POOL RESOURCES TO MAKE THE GREATEST IMPACT. SO I KNOW YOU'RE DOING THAT AND LOOKING AT ALTERNATIVE WAYS TO, TO SERVE THE PEOPLE AND, AND DO IT AT A LOWER OPERATIONAL COST. SO I WANNA COMMEND YOU FOR THAT. UM, THE OTHER THING WE NEED TO LOOK AT, COUNCILMAN, YOU WANNA YOUR TIME, PLEASE, SIR. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, . UH, WE NEED TO LOOK AT THE RISING, UM, COST INFLATION. I MEAN, YOU KNOW, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT [04:40:01] PRE AND POST COVID, YOU KNOW, UH, MATERIAL AND, AND SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES. UM, I, I KNOW WE ANTICIPATED SOME INITIAL ONE, TWO YEAR RISING COSTS POST COVID, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF ANYBODY ANTICIPATED, YOU KNOW, FOUR YEARS LATER THAT THESE COSTS WOULD BE STILL RISING. UM, IN, IN, IN, IN MY BUSINESS, OUR INSURANCE COSTS, UH, WENT UP 65% FROM LAST YEAR TO THIS YEAR. SO, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE REALISTIC RISING COSTS THAT GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS, UH, COMMERCIAL ENTITIES ARE DEALING WITH. SO YESTERDAY'S MAINTENANCE COST IS NOT TODAY'S JUST MAINTENANCE COST. SO THESE ARE SOME THINGS YOU GOTTA LOOK AT. SO AGAIN, I WANT TO COMMEND YOU, UM, FOR THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE. UH, YOU KNOW, IN MY DISTRICT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE OAK VILLA, YOU KNOW, IT'S FILLED WITH RESIDENTS AND GUESTS USING, UTILIZING THAT PARK. AND THEN WE HAVE SOME OTHER ONES, YOU KNOW, LIKE, UH, BLUEBERRY AND TOWN THAT MAY NOT BE AS UTILIZED. SO JUST IN, IN MY DISTRICT, YOU KNOW, I KNOW WE NEED TO LOOK AT HOW WE, YOU KNOW, UTILIZE THE PARKS. WE HAVE LOOK AT SOME CONSOLIDATION, LOOK AT SOME ENHANCEMENTS, UM, AND WE'VE HAD SOME OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS. SO I WANNA COMMEND YOU FOR THE WORK YOU'RE DOING. UM, LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUE WORKING WITH YOU AND PARTNERING. I WANT TO ECHO, UM, COUNCILMAN GOD'S, UH, SENTIMENTS ABOUT THE RESPONSE AND THE RELATIONSHIP THAT YOU AND YOUR TEAM AND YOUR STAFF HAS HAD WITH, WITH OUR OFFICE AND OUR OFFICES. AND, UH, AGAIN, APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION. THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN. ALL RIGHT, MOVING ON. [168. 24-00986] ITEM 1 68, RECEIVING A REPORT FROM SAFE. B. THANK YOU, COREY. THANK YOU. WE'RE RUNNING SHORT ON TIME BY COUNCILWOMAN LAURIE ADAMS AND COUNCILWOMAN JEN ROKA. DO WE HAVE ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? I, I, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THERE'S GONNA BE A MOTION TO DEFER THIS ITEM UNTIL, UH, THE OCTOBER 23RD MEETING, BUT DOES ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? GOD BLESS YOU, MARY. YES, MA'AM. MARY JANE MARKELL. I LIVE IN DOWNTOWN BATON ROUGE. WHEN THIS ITEM, UH, SHOWED UP ON THE AGENDA, IT WAS QUITE A SURPRISE. I DID A PUBLIC RECORD TO REQUEST TO TRY AND GET THIS DOCUMENT THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE PRESENTED HERE, BOTH TO THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE AND TO THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE. ONLY TO BE TOLD Y'ALL DIDN'T HAVE IT. WELL, I'VE GOT IT AND IT'S VERY DISAPPOINTING THAT I COULD NOT GET IT THROUGH AN OFFICIAL PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST THAT THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE, WE DON'T HAVE IT. AFTER READING THIS REPORT, I UNDERSTAND WHY IT'S BEING HIDDEN AND UNDERSTAND WHY IT'S BEEN WITHDRAWN FROM TODAY'S AGENDA. IT'S ONE OF THE MOST ONE-SIDED DOCUMENTS IN WHICH IT WAS TO BE AN A SURPRISE IN AN ATTEMPT TO FORCE THIS DOWN THE THROAT OF THE CITY CITIZENS OF BATON ROUGE, AFTER IT BEING PAID FOR BY SOME PRIVATE CITIZENS AND SUPPORTED BY WHAT I CALL THE TWO SHADOW GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, THE BATON ROUGE AREA FOUNDATION AND THE BATON ROUGE CHAMBER LEARNED FROM THIS REPORT WAS THE FACT THAT PARTICIPANTS IN THE CONTENT OF THE REPORT WERE VOLUNTARY AND SELF-SELECTING ANOTHER WORDS, ONE-SIDED. EVEN THE REPORT STATES THAT SOME IMPORTANT VIEWS LIKELY DID NOT SURFACE. AND TO KEEP THIS REPORT THE DOUBLE SUPER SECRET, THEY DID NOT REQUIRE THE IDENTITIES OF THE FOCUS GROUPS NOR THE PEOPLE THEY INTERVIEWED NOR RECORDED THE INTERVIEWED. IN OTHER WORDS, THERE'S NO WAY TO DETERMINE THE ACCURACY OF ANY OF THIS INFORMATION. IT'S JUST CERTAIN SELECTED PEOPLE'S ONE SIDED POSITIONS THAT WE CAN'T EVEN IDENTIFY WHO AND WHO THEY REPRESENT. AND THE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENT OF THIS, THE STUDY IS TRYING TO CONVINCE THE CITY'S CITIZENS OF BATON ROUGE THAT THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE SHOULD TAKE OVER ALL THE POLICING. YET THIS GROUP WANTS TO IGNORE THAT THE SHERIFF HAS PUBLICLY COME OUT STATING HE IS NOT IN FAVOR OF THIS. AND SUCH A MOVE WOULD CAUSE THE LOSS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT, PERSONNEL, AND LOSS OF PROTECTION FOR OUR PARISH AS A WHOLE. FURTHER, HE WILL NOT SUPPORT ANYTHING THAT IS DESTINED FOR FAILURE. AND IF YOU THINK THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE IS THE ANSWER, I CAN LAY OUT SOME ISSUES I'VE RECENTLY HAD WITH SOME POOR POLICING BY THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE. UM, MORE IMPORTANTLY, IF THE SHERIFF REALLY WANTED TO HELP THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE, HE WOULD ALREADY BE HERE. BUT HE'S YET AFFIRMATIVELY REFUSED TO PARTICIPATE IN SOME ACTIVE POLICING HERE RECENTLY. I THINK THIS WAS TOTALLY IRRESPONSIBLE FOR THIS THING TO HAVE BEEN DONE AND PRESENTED. I GOT CALLS FROM POLICE OFFICERS WHO ARE NOW CONVINCED THEY'RE GOING TO USE THEIR JOBS, LOSE THEIR JOBS. WE ARE ALREADY HAVING PROBLEMS HIRING PEOPLE, AND NOW WE'RE GONNA HAVE PROBLEMS KEEPING PEOPLE BECAUSE OF PURE POLITICS. 30 YEARS AGO, I MOVED INTO DOWNTOWN BATON ROUGE. [04:45:01] I KNOW WHAT DOWNTOWN BATON ROUGE WAS. I'M GLAD Y'ALL RECOGNIZED WHAT HAPPENED IN DOWNTOWN AND IT WAS DONE BY THE BATON ROUGE POLICE DEPARTMENT, SHERIFF OFFICE. THANK SHERIFF. ANYONE ELSE, SHERIFF'S OFFICE TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? I'M SORRY. DOES ANYONE ELSE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? SEE NOW I'LL GO TO COUNSEL. I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO DEFER TO OCTOBER 23RD. ALRIGHT, WE HAVE A MOTION. WE HAVE A SECOND. SECOND BY COUNCILWOMAN ROCKA. ANY OPPOSED SAY NONE. MOTION IS DEFERRED. COUNCILWOMAN AMAROSA. THANK YOU. ANY ANNOUNCEMENTS? AGREE, HEAR. I WOULD SAY THANK YOU FOR CONTINUING TO SERVE, SERVE EACH OTHER, SERVE YOUR FAMILIES. MOST OF ALL, SERVE GOD. GOD BLESS. THANK YOU. * 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.