MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING-BOARD OF ALDERMEN Monday February 3, 2025

[City Clerk]

CITY OF JEANERETTE JEANERETTE, LA
MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING-BOARD OF ALDERMEN Monday February 3, 2025
Proceedings of the Mayor and Board of Aldermen of the City of Jeanerette, State of Louisiana, at their Special meeting place held Monday February 3, 2025 at for the Public Hearing/Meeting at 6:30 p.m. The Mayor called the meeting to order and the Mayor led the prayer, Alderman Bourgeois. led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Those present were: Mayor Carol Bourgeois Jr. Alderwoman Mariah Clay, Alderwoman Charlene Moore, Alderman Garland Bourgeois, Alderwoman Christia Simmons, City Attorney Lucretia Pecantte and City Clerk Susan Colden. Alderman Ray Duplechain was absent
Mayor Carol Bourgeois Jr. determined that a quorum was present. There were 4 speaker cards turned in for item 6.
The Mayor reviewed the guidelines regarding speaker participation in tonight’s meeting. Acting police chief Terrance Moore outlined the meetings regarding the parade, the route, timing, vendors staging of floats. He then went on to say that January 29 the groups decided to approve a route which is the original route, and prior to that there hadn’t been any problems. Mr. Moore then stated that after that time the city had experienced a series of shootings. Moore also reported that currently they have 33 officers for the event. In light of the uptick in violence and limited amount of officers Officer Moore proposed changing the route to down Main Street stating that it was wider with sidewalks on both side and easier to barricade as well as video surveillance. He also has made a request to LSP to get drones and to our state representative Marcus Bryant to get help form the State Police. He then addressed the influx of visitors from outside the community. Parade will line up at 11:30 and roll at 1 pm and they have 50 entries. Officer Moore said if the route moved to Main St. the food trucks would move from King Joeseph to Main and Minvielle, and Main and Church and by the Pavilion. The first speaker Norma Bazar a member of the Mardi Gras Association. Ms. Bazar provided a history of the formation of the organization and how it was unfair to change after the agreement was reached, that people have a lot of money invested in it. Next was LaTessa Hardy who is a member of the Mardi Gras Association, who addressed the discussion and outlined the planning discussions with the police and Mayor that occurred in September of 2024. She then went on to discuss the planning in January involving the chief and the Mayor, the plan and route was agreed upon and today we are hearing that we need to change the route to just be on Main Street or no parade, which doesn’t seem fair. We doubled security, and don’t have as many entries as last year also by going down Martin Luther King first that part of the city will disburse sooner, this is the route they still support, Martin Luther King to Pellerin to Main back to Canal and up to Admiral Doyle. Next speaker is Leigh McGowen, and he address his concern that the route prevents persons from getting to or leaving their homes and it was made worse by all the visitors parking and often blocking the streets. He asked when the parade will start and end so he can plan. The Mayor then stated that no one is against the parade, last year there was an enormous amount of people that came. The entire city was gridlocked and if there was an emergency it was hard to respond. The Mayor went on to say that there were discussions with Chief Vallot and the association but nothing was solidified. Officer Moore stated that the extra police will only be available for 6 hours and then it will just be the Jeanerette Police and possibly the Marshal’s. The suggested route will reduce the congestion and allow vital services to respond. Officer Moore called Fire Chief Landry to the podium. Chief Landry stated that the 2024 parade had such congestion that it was nearly impossible to respond to calls for service. She was stuck for 45 minutes with an unresponsive male before the ambulance could arrive. To Care for the individual, she had to leave her 4 wheeler and walk. Because vehicles were blocking the roads so tightly that you couldn’t even get a 4-wheeler past. It was also difficult to respond to a car fire. Chief Landry said she is not against the parade but it is her job to make sure patients are taken care of. Chief Moore stated that they going to be holding unified command meetings with Chief Landry, Public Works Director Howard White and the Marshal’s will also be invited to discuss logistics and come up with an operation plan. They don’t yet have the support of the Parish Sheriff, but he will contact again. Alderwoman Clay stated that this meeting is to provide information and transparency to the residents. There were questions regarding where the vendors would be located Main and Minvielle, and Main and Church and by the Pavilion. Attorney Pecantte then asked who pays for permits and insurance Terrance stated that they talked to the Association that the vendors get the permit from the Parish and then bring that to City Hall to get the Occupational license for the event. The Mayor agreed and detailed the process. Attorney Pecantte stated she wanted everyone to be aware of the rules then she recognized Council Woman Lady Brown. Ms Brown stated that as an elected official it is her duty to keep the public informed and she felt there was some meetings that the public was not aware of. She continued that the majority of the people want the Mardi Gras parade to be held and in the thirty years there was only one incident was a life was lost. She stated addressing violence should be a daily focus while protecting the traditions. Next Firenza Alexander Sr. and said if you put the parade only on Main St that if you put everyone on Main St. He stated that he felt it would be more of a hassle then having it on the four blocks. He continued that the history of the group had been formed among the black community so the parade should be held in the black community. Officer Moore commented that he understands and one of the suggestions was to run the parade just on Martin Luther King but that idea was rejected. He said we need to come up with the safest route. The Mayor asked the Chief if there was still room for discussion and he said yes but if something happens in that time frame and we are obligated to providing these services and we can’t then it’s going to be us, Ms. Pecantte, me, the Fire Chief that will have to answer these questions why certain things did not take place. The Mayor asked for another meeting tomorrow. The Mayor then called Mr. Anderson Clay forward. Mr. Clay stated as a public works employee since the event started, all you can do is try and make it as safe as you can. He said that if needs to keep it moving to cut down on people congregating and causing trouble. We need to make the parade run smoother, we have a traffic problem there should be a plan for parking and for traffic to move out and not in. He discussed how the streets should be blocked to divert traffic blocking from Monnot to Copp St. Everyone should park facing south. We need to sit down and talk about it. Anderson offered to Chief Moore to help develop a plan. Chief Moore stated that they were looking at posting no parking signs on Monnot for a way to move traffic and emergency services. He also added that St. Mary Fire District 11 will be staging fire equipment on the other side of Main Street. Chief Landry will have to move her trucks and stage and man the trucks because the route will make both stations will be inoperable. Any Crime will be on the City police department, which involves staging and preplanning. Unfortunately, the additional barricades ordered is on back-order. Chief Landry asked Acadian if they can provide a unit with a paramedic and EMT on standby. Ms. Bazar said that this route should reduce the clutter.
Adjourn-On motion by Alderwoman Simmons and second by Alderwoman Clay, the meeting was adjourned.



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Carol Bourgeois Jr., Mayor
ATTEST:



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Susan Colden City Clerk