CITY OF JEANERETTE JEANERETTE, LA
MINUTES REGULAR MEETING-BOARD OF ALDERMEN Monday March 13, 2023
Proceedings of the Mayor and Board of Aldermen of the City of Jeanerette, State of Louisiana, at their Regular meeting held Monday March 13, 2023 at 6:30 p.m.
Those present were: Mayor Carol Bourgeois Jr., Alderman Clarence Clark, Alderwoman Charlene Moore, Alderman Garland Bourgeois, Alderman Ray Duplechain and Alderman Willie Ward.
Alderman Ward. led in prayer and Alderman Bourgeois led the Pledge of Allegiance. Mayor Carol Bourgeois Jr. determined that a quorum was present. – The Mayor requested to move item 8E as item 8A.
5. A Approval of Minutes of the Last Regular Meeting on Feb 13, 2023- Alderwoman Bourgeois moved and Alderman Clark seconded to approve Minutes of the Last Regular Meeting on February 13th, Motion carried by voice vote of all yea, no nay and no abstain.
B Approval of Minutes of the Last Special Meeting on February 10, 2023- Alderwoman Moore moved and Alderman Clark seconded to approve Minutes of the Last Special Meeting on February 10th, Motion carried by voice vote of all yea, no nay and no abstain.
6. Correspondence by Mayor – The Mayor reported that the City received a Pre-Application acknowledgement for a loan request for $4,400,000 at 0.95% interest. And these funds could work for the matching funds required for the sewer project, if needed.
7. Announcements by Mayor. – Tomorrow there will be a candidates forum hosted by the Jeanerette Chamber of Commerce at Ward 8 starting at 6 pm. On Saturday March 25 there will be the Creole Fest at Albania Mansion from 10 am-5 pm featuring Gumbo Cookoff, food vendors, live music, mansion tours, craft booths and more. There will also be a Jam Fest held at the Main Street Pavilion from 10 am-5 pm. The 25th is also election day so please get out and vote.
8. Reports
A. Community Surveillance Security Cameras by Chris Thibodeaux of Acadian Home Protection and Rodlyn Cochran and Kristina Sarai of Cox Business. The Mayor explained that the ARPA funds were dedicated to this project and that he and Police Chief Vallot had meet with Mr. Thibodeaux previously. Mr. Thibodeaux logged into the cameras on Main Street in Saint Martinville to show everyone how the system works. Questions centered around storage capacity which can go up to 164 terabytes and backup process and search process. Next Kristina Sarai, Director of Government and Public Affairs and Rodlyn Cochran the business account manager for the city addressed the board concerning the wireless internet for the cameras. The council asked about speed and bandwidth for the cameras and cost. 50meg by 10 meg upload with capacity up to 2 gig. There is a $25 one-time fee, and $64 per site. There were questions about upgrades in future but agreement with system. CLECO is donating the poles.
B. Personnel Committee: Report from March Regular Meeting-Present- Alderwoman Charlene Moore, Susan Colden City Clerk, and Treasurer Liz Verdun, and Mayor Carol Bourgeois Jr. The Mayor reported 1 new officer and 2 individuals in public works have been recently hired. The group reviewed the City’s response to the determination by the EEOC. The City will need to develop new policies and training regarding EEOC policies including the Americans with Disabilities Act. This information will be created with input from the employment attorney. The group also discussed recent accidents and determined the need for a checklist to ensure critical information is obtained. After a brief discussion on various updates, the meeting was adjourned.
C. Finance Committee Report from March Regular Meeting- Present - Alderwoman Charlene Moore, Alderman Ray Duplechain, Treasurer Liz Verdun and City Clerk Susan Colden and Mayor Carol Bourgeois Jr. The Mayor outlined discussions with Cabot and the possible funding sources for matches for upcoming grants. Utility Billing has 1935 customers Collection of Utility payments is good and the City is following policies and collecting on bad debts. Sales tax is down from last month and but up 8% from last year. Franchise payments were received from Cox. Bank balances are good. Cash Flow Projections were reviewed and it was noted that the transfers were needed from the Occupational license and 106,000 from Ad Valorem. The payables are inline and the downpayments for the insurances were paid. The P & L for period ending 2/28/2023 was available and % used should be at or under 66%. The revenues are at or above budget. The committee reviewed the P & L and the Mayor stated that the new budget is being drafted. With no other business to consider, the meeting was adjourned.
D. Public Works Committee Report and Safety Meeting from March Regular Meeting Present- Mayor Carol Bourgeois Jr., Alderman Butch Bourgeois, City Clerk Susan Colden, Public Works Director Howard White, Supervisor Wade Tillman, Fire Chief Sherry Landry, Police Chief Vallot and Treasurer Liz Verdun. The Mayor reported that Cleco will be sending a driver at night to survey the street lights in the City. The work at the water tower should start soon. Chief Landry reported for the month there were 68 total calls, 60 city and 8 auto aid. There were 27 medical calls with 8 alarm investigations, 3 vehicle fires and 5 vehicle accidents, and 25 calls cancelled by chief. The engineer will look at the concrete driveway that is sinking at fire station. Chief Landry said there is a company that will come and test all of the hydrants and also perform maintenance. Chief also said there is 4 hydrants that need to be replaced right away. Chief Vallot reported 180 total calls. There were 7 misdemeanors arrests, 3 felony arrests and 41 citations issued. There was an individual that hit a police unit and fled the scene and was pursued to New Iberia and arrested, one officer was injured. Two dirt bikes and a four-wheeler were towed. The Chief is working to get the surveillance cameras installed. Wade Tillman reported 28 Dottie marking, repaired 2 potholes and repaired entrance on city side to 6 driveways, there were 16 sewer backups and 3 water leaks, and trash was picked up after the parade and grass was cut at 19 locations and 2 signs were replaced. With no other business to consider the meeting was adjourned. The Mayor reviewed the new projects at the water tower and water plant and that Centerpoint is doing a lot of work in the area. Alderman Clark asked about the additional lighting and the Mayor said that the City is waiting for a response from CLECO’s engineer.
E. Statewide Electric on Sewer and Water Operations by Neal Swain-On the Water side there was a site visit by LDH on February 15, 2023. Most of the findings from LDH should be addressed by the two project that are starting soon at the plant and water tower. There were a few minor complaints about discolored water and they added a few auto flushers for example in the Katherine Street area and the auto flushers across the Bayou had to be shut off because of the work DOTD is doing. Alderman Bourgeois asked how long the auto flushers run and Mr. Swain said it depends on the area, they run full blast for a time and then slowly close. Alderman Duplechain asked about the what the brine and potassium permanganate were used for. Mr. Swain said the potassium permanganate is injected into the system to pull the iron and manganese from the water and the salt brine is to soften the water. So when the plants does a back wash they will inject the brine, purge the filters and the softeners and then come back online. Alderman Duplechain said he was wondering because he is on the finance committee and that these two items are way under budget. Mr. Swain said that the plant has valves that are not working correctly and it is causing the plant to backwash up to eight times a day, so they are having to backwash manually and there is one filter isolated at a time and one softener isolated at a time and neither the engineers or the operators can pinpoint which valve is malfunctioning. Alderman Duplechain again asked why we are not using these chemicals and Mr. Swain said they are using the Potassium Permanganate and the Alderman pointed out that we have purchased zero this year and Mr. Swain said it doesn’t take much and they have 5 buckets on hand. Mr. Swain also stated that the potassium permanganate is to remove iron and manganese before the water enters the filters. The discoloration that you see at your house is from the distribution system, The Mayor said wouldn’t the discoloration at the homes be solved by more flushing? On sewer operations, construction at the plant continues and the contractor pulled the sludge transfer pumps, the system is still in bypass so we can’t screen out a lot of the trash. The Mayor asked why the metal trash bin has not been emptied, Mr. Swain said it is difficult to get the trash hauler to come out there. The Mayor then said that DEQ visited because there is discharge in the bayou because the Pellerin Station was not operating. Mr. Swain said the station was operating that morning.
9. A. Approval of contract change order #1, for Water System Upgrade/Phase 1 New Valves, Piping and Painting, #9327-06, Decrease of -19,878.00 to reflect credit of Sales Tax. Contingent upon the State’s approval. on motion by Alderman Clark and second by Alderwoman Moore to approve, Roll call vote
Yeas: Alderman Clark, Alderwoman Moore, Alderman Bourgeois, Alderman Duplechain, Alderman Ward
Nay: None
Absent: None
Abstain: None
Motion Carried
B. Approval of PPE#7 for Sewer System Rehab project 8227-15. On motion by Alderman Bourgeois and second by Alderman Ward to approve partial payment, Roll call vote
Yeas: Alderman Clark, Alderwoman Moore, Alderman Bourgeois, Alderman Duplechain, Alderman Ward
Nay: None
Absent: None
Abstain: None
Motion Carried
10 Proclamation
11. Resolution
12. Ordinances
On motion by Alderman Clark and second by Alderwoman Moore to leave regular session motion and enter into executive session carried on voice vote of all yea, no nay and no abstain.
13. Executive Session
Response to EEOC Determination letter, Benoit
Cabot Lease
On motion by Alderman Clark and second by Alderwoman Moore to leave executive session motion and return to regular session carried on voice vote of all yea, no nay and no abstain.
14..Adjourn -On motion by Alderman Clark and second by Alderman Bourgeois to adjourn carried on voice vote of all yea, no nay and no abstain.
______________/s/_________________
Carol Bourgeois Jr., Mayor
ATTEST:
__________/s/_____________________
Susan Colden City Clerk
MINUTES REGULAR MEETING-BOARD OF ALDERMEN Monday March 13, 2023
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