City Hall, Monroe, Louisiana
January 28, 2025
6:00p.m.
The Honorable Chairman Juanita G. Woods, called the meeting to order. She then asked the clerk to call roll.
There were present: Mr. Harvey, Mrs. Ezernack, Ms. Woods, Mr. McFarland, & Mr. Muhammad
There was absent: None
Chairman Woods announced that a quorum was present, and that the Invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance would be led by Mrs. Ezernack or her designee.
The Invocation was led by Mrs. Susan Cordell.
COMMUNICATIONS & SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:
(1) Mr. Harvey wished his grandfather a happy 94th birthday. He thanked the Monroe Chamber of Commerce and friends that put together the Council’s meetings last week in Washington. He said they had an opportunity to speak with the delegation about the needs in the area.
(2) Mrs. Ezernack welcomed everyone this evening, and she said happy birthday to Mr. Harvey’s grandfather 94 years wise. She thanked Mrs. Cordell for the inspirational message this evening and she appreciated her and her kind words in prayer. She echoed Mr. Harvey, and she stated the Council had a great meeting last week with the delegation and other departments that are integral to what the City is trying to do. She thanked everyone who organized it, and she said it was quite cold the whole week. She said they did a lot of walking but they also kind of intersperse some cab rides because it was fairly brutal for Louisiana people who aren’t used to it.
(3) Mr. McFarland echoed the same as his colleagues. He said the Council had excellent dialogue with our representatives and they definitely learned a lot. He noted the last meeting he went to with the Delta Regional Authority really opened his eyes to some things that they probably can get done without a lot of pain and agony in Monroe. He thanked everyone that made that possible for the Council and the Monroe Chamber Commerce. He thanked Uncle Roy (Mr. Roy Heatherly) for all he did with the Council and for them to make sure they made all connections and meetings.
(4) Mr. Muhammad noted Washington was very eye opening and he got a chance to meet a lot of people. He said he was able to introduce the Council to people who are in positions to make things happen. He further noted it was a good experience to listen and learn. He said it was really cold, and he has never been so cold in his life, but it was a great experience, and he is looking forward to it next year.
(5) Ms. Woods said ditto to the Council’s comments, and she said it was an absolutely amazing experience. She said the thing she found so interesting is Northeast Louisiana is the hottest thing in the nation right now. She said everybody is talking about them here in this little area. She said they tried to steal their thunder for a quick minute by stating Central Louisiana have the largest meta data center being built. She noted she appreciated Congresswoman Julia Letlow when she gave her remarks she said who would have ever thought that they would have the largest meta data center coming to her hometown in Richland Parish. She said Congresswoman Letlow very graciously took it back from them. She further noted it has been a number of years when the community was a subject of discussion at all the meetings. She said ditto’s to everyone who had a hand in doing this and she stated along that I-20 corridor it is going to be an absolutely great place to live, play, and raise a family.
Upon motion of Mrs. Ezernack and seconded by Mr. McFarland, and the minutes of the Legal and Regular session of January 14, 2025, were unanimously approved. (There were no public comments.)
PROPOSED CONDEMNATIONS:
(1) 2411 Georgia St. (D4) – Owner Donald Ezra Murphy. Notice to show cause was served. Photographic evidence was presented. Upon motion of Mr. McFarland, seconded by Mrs. Ezernack and unanimously approved, the building was condemned, and the property owner given 30 days in which to bring the structure into compliance with the Code or demolish the Structure and clean the lot.
Mr. Tommy James, Code Enforcement Officer, stated this is a dilapidated structure and they are asking the owner be given 30 days to be brought up to compliance. He said there has been no contact with the owner.
Mr. Donald Murphy, 705 Alabama Street, said he didn’t understand when he started working on the storage building that he had to have a permit. He said when he found out he went to the permit office and told them he would like to get a permit to put a chain fence around his storage building. He said he then told them he needed a permit to roof it, and he said a man gave him a better idea to put a metal cover over the whole building. He said he is here tonight for the permits.
Ms. Woods wanted to know what does the City do in this situation.
Mr. James stated he would pull Mr. Murphy to the side but he would still like to go forward with condemnation of this property. He said once he gets the permit they would hold up and let Mr. Murphy do what he is doing.
Mr. McFarland motion to condemn the property giving the owner 30 days to move forward with his permits. He said if he get the permits and start moving forward than everything will be okay.
Ms. Woods noted for Mr. Murphy to get with Mr. James after or during the meeting to talk about step by step of what Mr. Murphy need to do.
(2) 111 Mouton Ave. (D4) – Owner: Fredrick Little & Aragorn Dev. Notice to show cause was served. Photographic evidence was presented. There was no one present. Upon motion of Mr. McFarland, seconded by Mr. Muhammad and unanimously approved, the building was condemned, and the property owner given 30 days in which to bring the structure into compliance with the Code or demolish the Structure and clean the lot. (There were no public comments.)
Mr. James stated this is an unoccupied dilapidated structure. He said they would like to have the property condemned and there has been no contact with the owner.
Mr. McFarland moved for the condemnation of the property giving the owner 30 days to bring the property up to code.
(3) 1408 South 9th St. (D4) – Owner: Shakeitha U. Williams. Notice to show cause was served. Photographic evidence was presented. There was no one present. Upon motion of Mr. McFarland, seconded by Mr. Muhammad and unanimously approved, the building was condemned, and the property owner given 30 days in which to bring the structure into compliance with the Code or demolish the Structure and clean the lot. (There were no public comments.)
Mr. James said this is also an open, unsafe dilapidated structure. He said he talked to one of the owners who said she brought it from someone else and they might fix it.
Mr. McFarland motion to condemn the property giving the 30 days to bring the structure up to code and obtain a permit in order to make modifications to the building.
(4) 1509 South 3rd St. (D4) – Owner: Latasha and Don Pleasant. Notice to show cause was served. Photographic evidence was presented. There was no one present. Upon motion of Mr. McFarland, seconded by Mr. Harvey and unanimously approved, the building was condemned, and the property owner given 30 days in which to bring the structure into compliance with the Code or demolish the Structure and clean the lot. (There were no public comments.)
Mr. James said he had contact with the owner and she started cleaning it, but he told her they would go with the process to condemn the property. He said if she pull her permits they will work with her on it. He said she has made a little progress with cleaning it, but the structure needs a lot of work. He said they are asking this property be condemned as well.
Mr. McFarland wanted to know if as of today any permits have been pulled for this property.
Mr. James said no sir.
Mr. McFarland noted he passed this property earlier today and he saw a big bin. He wanted to clarify there are no permits.
Mr. James said no, but she started cleaning it up and it looks a lot better.
Mr. McFarland motion to condemn this property giving the owner 30 days to bring it up to code.
RESOLUTIONS AND MINUTE ENTRIES:
Council:
(a) Upon motion of Mr. McFarland, seconded by Mr. Muhammad and unanimously approved Resolution No. 8874 authorizing a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement with the Northeast Louisiana Delta African Museum for Black History Month and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no public comments.)
(b) Upon motion of Mr. McFarland, seconded by Mr. Harvey and unanimously approved Resolution No. 8875 granting an exception to the Open Container Ordinance to Damon Williams dba Doc Chilly (Crawfish Festival at the Zoo) pursuant to Monroe City Code Sec. 12-231 D. (Open Container Ordinance) and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no public comments.)
Department of Administration:
(a) Upon motion of Mr. Muhammad, seconded by Mr. McFarland and unanimously approved Resolution No. 8876 providing for canvassing the returns and declaring the results of the Special Election held by the City of Monroe, State of Louisiana, on Saturday, December 7, 2024, and to promulgate the results thereof. (There were no public comments.)
(b) Upon motion of Mr. McFarland, seconded by Mrs. Ezernack and unanimously approved to Consider request from the Purchasing Department for authorization for a city representative to advertise for bids for WPCC Headworks Structure Improvements Plans & Specifications. The Engineer’s estimate is $1,200,000.00 The DBE Goal is 8.75% and the source of funds is the Sewer Funds. (There were no public comments.)
Mr. Morgan McCallister, City Engineer, noted this project is for replacement of the headwork structure at the wastewater treatment plant. He said it is a critical component leading into the wastewater treatment plant operations. He further noted this essentially filters out any large debris in order for the raw sewage to enter into full treatment through a series of other filters. He said the project is $1.2 million and $850,000.00 of is for the purchase placement and startup of the equipment. He said the DBE committee met on this project and calculated a goal of 8.75%. He said they understood this was below the typical 12% threshold they try to meet, and they had extensive conversations about this. He said it is safe for the operator, and it has a 20 year lifespan if maintained properly.
Ms. Woods clarified for the record this item is to advertise for bids for this project.
Mr. McCallister said yes.
Mr. Muhammad stated he wants to continue to speak up that the DBE goal get to 12%. He said he knows there are a lot of factors, but he want to keep pressing to reach the DBE goal.
Mr. McCallister said they agree with the move to increase the DBE percentage and it’s a give and take on these projects. He said some are a little low some are a little high but across the board they are running 20.18% on projects.
Mr. McFarland stated the public need to know how much the part is costing and that is what he doesn’t think everyone is understanding. He said the part is $850,000.00 and that is factored out of the 1.2 million. He said he wanted to be sure the public understood the calculations and how it was explained to him.
Mr. McCallister said they look at the overall cost of these projects and on the tabulation sheet it gives a breakdown of percentages. He said roughly $100,000.00 for mobilization, roughly $98,000.00 demolition component, concrete 27.5 thousand, and then the far right column show the percentage allocated as part of those DBE goals.
Mr. Harvey noted if the City have 8.75% of the total project and look at the amount of service work. He said if the City hit their target it would actually be 30% of the service work.
Mr. McFarland said that is correct and that is why he asked Mr. McCallister to speak on it for the public can really get the true effect of what this 8.75% really is.
(c) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey, seconded by Mr. Muhammad and unanimously approved to Consider an Application by Papi Taco Bar, LLC dba Papi Loco taco Bar, 523 DeSiard St., Monroe, LA 71201 for a New 2025 Class A Alcoholic Beverage Permit. The Monroe Police Department has no disqualifying records and Sales Tax has been approved. (Distance Report Cleared, Cert. of Occupy Cleared) (There were no public comments.)
Mr. McFarland wanted to know if this is a new permit.
Mrs. Stacy Rowell, Director, said yes sir.
Mr. McFarland wanted to know if this was brought before the Council once before.
Mrs. Rowell said maybe with a similar name.
Mr. McFarland wanted to know where this is located.
Mr. Brandon Creekbaum, City Attorney, said downtown DeSiard.
Mrs. Rowell stated this is a change in ownership.
(d) Upon motion of Mr. Muhammad, seconded by Mr. Harvey and unanimously approved to Consider an Application by Gurpreet Singh dba Smoker’s paradise & Daiquiris 7830 DeSiard St., Monroe LA 71203 for a new 2025 Class B Alcoholic Beverage Permit. The Monroe Police Department has no disqualifying records and Sales Tax has been approved. (Distance Report Cleared, Cert. of Occupy Cleared) (There were no public comments.)
Department of Public Works
(a) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey, seconded by Mr. Muhammad and unanimously approved Resolution No. 8877 approving a Work Authorization (102400) between the City of Monroe and KSA Engineers, Inc. for the Monroe Regional Airport Passenger Boarding Bridge Replacement Project and further providing with respect thereto. (Thee were no public comments.)
Mr. Muhammad wanted to know the timeframe. He said he just recently flew out and had to go outside to get on the plane.
Mr. Johnathan Farmer, Aviation Practice Leader P.E., said this project is one the Airport was announced 2.5 million dollars in funding through the airport terminal program from FAA. He said they are going to put together a bid package for potential replacement of four passenger boarding bridges and ground services equipment. He said the funding the City have now they feel they will be able to get two of those bridges replaced. He said hopefully if there are rollover access dollars because the 2020 funds from the FAA through this program will be expiring. He said they are hoping to capture some of that expiring money. He said the bridges will take typically about 6 to 7 months lead time for procuring the equipment for the bridges.
Mr. Charles Butcher, Airport Director, noted the bridges at the end of their useful life.
Ms. Woods wanted to know how they will accommodate passengers going forward doing that period of time.
Mr. Butcher said they will still have 2 jet bridges reserved, and they shouldn’t have problems with passengers going through the jet bridges or being out in bad weather.
(b) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey, seconded by Mr. McFarland and unanimously approved Resolution No. 8878 authorizing the City of Monroe to accept any grant offers from the Federal Aviation Administration or Louisiana Division of Aviation through December 31, 2025, that do not require matching funds and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no public comments.)
(c) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey, seconded by Mr. McFarland and unanimously approved Resolution No. 8879 authorizing the City of Monroe to apply for FTA Section 5307 Funds for Transit Facilities and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no public comments.)
Mr. Muhammad wanted to know about the 20% match, and he said when he talked to Mr. Keenan he stated the longer the City waits to break ground the higher this project increase. He wanted to know if the 4.1 will stay in line for the 20% match or will the City have to get more money.
Mr. Marc Keenan, General Manager, said because the cost of supplies and construction has escalated the City need to get more federal funding. He said the federal funding is the 4.1 million and the local match is about 1.04 million. He said the longer the City wait to actually start construction the cost is going to escalate.
Police Department:
(a) Upon motion of Mr. McFarland, seconded by Mr. Harvey and unanimously approved Resolution No. 8880 authorizing an agreement with the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement, accepting $19,235.00 in funding for the D.A.R.E Program, and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no public comments.)
INTRODUCTION OF RESOLUTIONS & ORDINANCES:
(a) Upon motion of Mrs. Ezernack, seconded by Mr. Muhammad and unanimously approved to Introduce an Ordinance declaring a ± 0.146 acre tract of immovable property (north ½ of a revoked portion of Grammont Street) no longer necessary for public use and authorizing said property to be sold at private sale to Choice Brands, Inc. and further providing with respect thereto. (This item was passed over at the last meeting until January 28th.) (There were no public comments.)
RESOLUTIONS AND ORINANCES FOR SECOND READING AND FINAL ADOPTION AND SUBJECT TO PUBLICE HEARING:
(a) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey, seconded by Mr. McFarland and unanimously approved Ordinance No. 12,254 authorizing the City of Monroe to take corporeal possession of and sell to Kevin Lee, all rights, title, and interest that the City may have acquired to lot 3, N2 of lot 4, square F, Lovers Lane Addition, Ouachita Parish, 2705 Lee Ave, District 4, Monroe,2019 and Adjudication at Tax Sale dated May 29th & 30th, 2019, and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no public comments.)
Citizen’s Participation:
(1) Mr. Curtis Garth, 2300 Georgia Street, said it seems to him that the City of Monroe is violating his civil rights and deliberately doing so. He said he has called his Councilperson and over and over again they did not return his calls. He said he can’t discuss these things with the Council if they don’t call.
Ms. Woods said she do understand because he has been coming with the concern, but she is just not sure what the Council’s position is on it. She said she had conversations with Mr. Creekbaum, and she wanted to know if Mr. Garth had conversations with Mr. Creekbaum as well.
Mr. Garth said no ma’am, he said years back someone told him to talk to Mr. Creekbaum, but he never got in contact or set up an appointment.
Ms. Woods said basically Mr. Garth want someone to set up an appointment and she wanted to know who he wanted to talk to.
Mr. Garth said as far as his civil rights being violated he is being barred from places and basically all people are doing are telling him he is barred. He said Monroe Police Department harass him and the so called ban aren’t constitutional or lawful. He said this has been going on a long time and the Council know he has reported crimes, and nothing is happening.
Mr. Muhammad wanted to know if Mr. Garth have any restraining orders on his person.
Mr. Garth said no sir and that is the problem.
Mr. Muhammad said if there is no restraining order than he is not banned.
Mr. Garth said he went to Ouachita Parish Police Jury to take care of some business and once he was home the Monroe Police Department came to harass him. He said they told him if he go back there he would be arrested for trespassing. He said he had to get a document and the next thing he knew the Monroe Police Department had him blocked in and arrested him for stuff that any lawful citizen have the right to do.
Mr. Muhammad said he doesn’t know how the Council can help.
Ms. Woods said she will sit with Mr. Creekbaum and Mr. Garth to have a better understanding.
Mr. Garth said he just want proper treatment under the law.
Ms. Woods said she understands that because Mr. Garth is here every meeting, and she thinks it matters looking really hard into. She said she will speak with Mr. Garth after the meeting.
(2) Mr. Paul Mazant, 2829 Murray Street, Richwood, La, said last meeting they talked about things that went on at the Civic Center with him renting the kitchen for a catering event. He said he understands Mr. Creekbaum mentioned they have some caters doing that, but he wanted something in black and white not just take somebody word that they stop, and your name is on the list. He said he pay taxes to the City of Monroe, taxes to the State, and he is a licensed cater. He said he doesn’t think it’s right what they are doing over there, and somebody gave people keys. He said he need for Mr. Creekbaum to take his card and address this problem.
There being no further business to come before the council, the Chairman adjourned the meeting at 6:48 p.m.
Ms. Juanita G. Woods
Chairman
Ms. Carolus S. Riley
Council Clerk
Ms. Ileana Murray
Staff Secretary
For extended details on the council meeting please call the Council Clerk Monday-Friday at 318-329-2252 to schedule an appointment to listen to the minute recording.
