Regular Meeting: April 2, 2008

TOWN OF ADDIS MINUTES

The regular meeting of the Mayor and Town Council for the Town of Addis was held at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 2, 2008 at the Addis Municipal Center. The Pledge to the Flag was recited.

Roll Call: Present: Mayor Bourgeois; Councilmen Cazes; Gauthreaux; Landry; Parrish; Toups.
Absent: None

Minutes: The minutes of the March regular meeting were approved, as corrected, on a motion by Councilman Gauthreaux, 2nd by Councilman Landry and adopted.

Correspondence: Mayor Bourgeois advised that a “loop” meeting will be held at the Addis Community Center on April 23rd from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Mayor Bourgeois announced that Mr. Paul Ramagos with the WBR Parish Task Force is having a poster contest for school children. He also advised that a member to the Task Force is needed for the Addis area.

Update on Street Projects: Mr. Oscar Boudreaux, engineer, advised that the blacktopping of West River streets should be completed tomorrow. There will still be some work left to do on some driveways.

Washington Street: Mr. Boudreaux advised that information on this street should be available by the middle of next week.

Railroad Bore: Mr. Boudreaux advised that quotes were received from Tullier Services for $38,500.00 and L. King for $135,000.00. A motion was made by Councilman Gauthreaux, 2nd by Councilman Landry to award the bid for the railroad bore to Tullier Services in the amount of $38,500.00. The motion was adopted.

A motion was made by Councilman Landry, 2nd by Councilman Toups to authorize Mr. Boudreaux to design the sewer main from Acadian Crossing to the Shaw property line, and to get information necessary to tie-in Dickies and Lucas at the same time. The motion was adopted.

Parish Council: Mr. Mouch announced that the Kite Fest will be held this Friday and Saturday. He also reminded everyone to vote this coming Saturday.

A lengthy discussion was held on the Parish’s ordinance concerning pit bulls. Mr. Berthelot advised that animal control will follow the ordinances of the area in which he is, i.e., Brusly, Addis, Port Allen or the Parish.

Police Report: The monthly police report, given by Assistant Chief Jones included 78 traffic citations issued; 8 misdemeanor arrests; 1 felony arrests and 9 vehicle crashes worked. The misdemeanor arrests were: traffic-4; simple battery-2; disturbance-1 and dangerous animal-1. The felony arrest was 1 for narcotics.

Sewer Report: The monthly report, given by John Artigue, included 20 equipment failures; 3 jammed pumps; 1 lead; 1 grease problem and 3 miscellaneous calls. One pump was replaced; one inspection was made in Acadian Crossing and four in Sugar Mill #2.

Town of Addis Minutes
Regular Meeting – April 2, 2008
Page 2

Planning & Zoning Commission: Administrative Approval: At the recommendation of the Planning & Zoning Commission, an Ordinance was introduced to abolish administrative approval of subdivisions and repeal the Ordinance that gives this authority, and have all proposed subdivisions come before the Planning & Zoning Commission. The motion was adopted.

Home Occupation: A motion was made by Councilman Landry, 2nd by Councilman Cazes to accept the recommendation of the Planning & Zoning Commission and grant a Home Occupation license to Miller. The motion was adopted.

Annexation: A motion was made by Councilman Gauthreaux, 2nd by Councilman Parrish to introduce an Ordinance to annex property owned by Shaw and the property immediately north of the Shaw property known as the Loup, etal property. The motion was adopted.

A motion was made by Councilman Gauthreaux, 2nd by Councilman Landry to authorize Entergy to install lighting along Highway 1 at a cost of $442,686.36, said amount presented by Entergy. The motion was adopted.

Health Insurance: A motion was made by Councilman Parrish, 2nd by Councilman Cazes to continue the Health Insurance for the Town’s employees with the 7% increase in premium as quoted by Blue Cross/Blue Shield. The motion was adopted.

Grass Cutting: A motion was made by Councilman Parrish, 2nd by Councilman Toups to advertise for the grass cutting contract along LA 1 through the Town of Addis. The motion was adopted.

Fuel Rate: A motion was made by Councilman Gauthreaux, 2nd by Councilman Parrish to pay 55 cents per mile to employees who use their personal vehicle on town business. The motion was adopted.

Public Comments: Mrs. Faye Watts was recognized and spoke on the Relay for Life held by the American Cancer Society. The West Baton Rouge Relay will be held on Friday, May 2nd beginning at 5:00 p.m. An elected officials walk race will be held at 8:00 p.m. with a $50.00 entrance fee. Purple ribbons are being sold to anyone interested. Purple is the official color for the American Cancer Society.

Open Container: A request by Mrs. Adele Comeaux, for an open container for a shower/announcement party to be held at Myhand Park on April 26, 2008, was approved on a motion by Councilman Parrish, 2nd by Councilman Gauthreaux and adopted.

Credit Bureau: A motion was made by Councilman Toups, 2nd by Councilman Cazes to allow W.B.R.T. Federal Credit Union to offer membership to Town employees. The motion was adopted.

Town of Addis Minutes
Regular Meeting – April 2, 2008
Page 3

Public Comments: Mrs. Bonnie Kleinpeter was recognized and presented a 5- year Clean City project utilizing the use of alternative fuel. Following her presentation, Mayor Bourgeois asked the Council to consider the proposal and be prepared to discuss it at future meetings.

Mrs. Donna Drinkwater approached the council for permission to move a 1992 trailer from Myhand Street to property on Myrle Street. Following a discussion of the Mobile Home ordinance, Mrs. Drinkwater was advised that she could move the trailer after obtaining a trailer moving permit from the Town Hall office.

Mrs. Faye Watts thanked the police department for the information sign which has been placed on their front door.

Fire Department meeting: At 8:10 p.m. a motion was made by Councilman Toups, 2nd by Councilman Cazes to temporarily adjourn the meeting and hold the regular meeting of the Board of Commissioners for Fire Sub-District #1 of WBR. The motion was adopted.
At 8:16 p.m. a motion was made by Councilman Cazes, 2nd by Councilman Gauthreaux to reconvene the meeting of the Mayor and Town Council. The motion was adopted.

Committee Reports: Finance: A motion to pay bills found in order was made by Councilman Parrish, 2nd by Councilman Gauthreaux and adopted.

Sewer: The purchase of spare parts for inventory for 8 lift stations at a cost of $2,727.59 was approved on a motion by Councilman Landry, 2nd by Councilman Toups and adopted.

Police: Following a discussion on the need of more police vehicles, a motion was made by Councilman Landry, 2nd by Councilman Cazes to repair the 2001 police car to put into service, and order one new car now, with the expectation that another car would be ordered in 90 days, if the need remains, and one more car ordered towards the end of the year. The motion was adopted.

Mayor Bourgeois asked Assistant Chief Jones for a copy of a report, for the Town's files, concerning an incident involving a police car in which some mailboxes were damaged.

Personnel: None Drainage: A discussion was held on the Town's responsibility for damages to culverts and/or gratings on town servitudes. It was decided that the Town would repair such damage.

Buildings: Councilman Cazes advised that a youth group "People to People" would like to use the Chambers for their meeting on Saturday, May 3rd from 9 am to 12 noon. A motion was made by Councilman Parrish, 2nd by Councilman Landry to allow "People to People" the use of the Chambers on Saturday May 3rd from 9 am to 12 noon, with Councilman Cazes in attendance. The motion was adopted.

John Artigue reported that the repairs to the front porch and back porch of the Town Hall were completed, but no statement has been received.

Town of Addis Minutes
Regular Meeting – April 2, 2008
Page 4

Park/Museum: A motion was made by Councilman Landry, 2nd by Councilman Parrish to authorize Mayor Bourgoeis to contact Brian Budd, architect, to start work on the park/museum project. The motion was adopted.

A discussion was held on removing vehicles from the Town lot on the corner of First and Harris Streets. A motion was made by Councilman Cazes to have vehicles moved from the lot immediately. The motion failed for lack of a second.
It was decided that a letter will be written to Mr. Waldrop to apprise him of the Town's plans for starting work on the park/museum project and he will have to move the vehicles from the town lot.

Executive Session: At 8:42 p.m. a motion to go into Executive Session to discuss personnel was made by Councilman Gauthreaux, 2nd by Councilman Landry and adopted.
A motion to return to regular session was made at 9:06 p.m. by Councilman Toups, 2nd by Councilman Parrish and adopted.
Mayor Bourgeois advised that the purpose of Executive Session was to discuss police personnel.
As a result of Executive Session, a motion was made by Councilman Toups, 2nd by Councilman Cazes, and adopted, to accept the recommendation of Assistant Chief Jones, on behalf of Chief Anderson, to move Officer Dustin Hebert from unpaid auxiliary to a full-time, paid officer, at a salary of $1,700.00 per month, effective upon his notice to his present employer.

A motion was made by Councilman Cazes, 2nd by Councilman Parrish, and adopted, to accept the recommendation of Assistant Chief Jones, on behalf of Chief Anderson, to put Mr. Wade Beard on the force as an unpaid, auxiliary officer to fill the vacancy of Officer Dustin Hebert' s move to full-time.

A motion was made by Councilman Parrish, 2nd by Councilman Toups to authorize the purchase of uniforms, as needed. The motion was adopted.

A motion was made by Councilman Cazes, 2nd by Councilman Parrish, and adopted, to accept the recommendation of Assistant Chief Jones, on behalf of Chief Anderson, to suspend Officer Ken DeCook for a period of three days, without pay, and have him refund to the Town, pay for the Mardi Gras holiday which he was paid for, did not work, based on his signed affidavit to repay money to the Town.

Adjourn: A motion to adjourn was made at 9:10 p.m. by Councilman Parrish, 2nd by Councilman Gauthreaux and adopted.

Carroll P. Bourgeois
Vera T. Lucas Mayor
Town Clerk