Monroe City Council Legal and Regular Session
March 28, 2017
6:00 p.m.
City Council Chambers-City Hall
MINUTES
There was a legal and regular session of the City Council of the City of Monroe, Louisiana held this date at the Council’s regular meeting place, the Council Chamber, City Hall Building 1st Floor, 400 Lea Joyner Memorial Expressway, Monroe, Louisiana.
Council members present: Mrs. Ezernack, Ms. Woods, Mr. Clark, Mr. Wilson, Mr. Echols.
Council member (s) absent: NONE.
Chairman Echols declared a quorum and he stated the Invocation/Pledge would be led by Councilwoman Ezernack’s designee, Mr. Tom Janway, Public Works Director.
Chairman Echols thanked everyone for being present this evening and proceeded by acknowledging the time for Special announcements and/or Communications.
1. Mrs. Ezernack had no special announcements.
2. Ms. Woods thanked everyone for coming out and wished all parents a happy spring break and the children in the city and said they have their hands full because they are home with them this week; she announced the applications for the summer youth job program are now ready to be picked up at the Human Resources Department, City Hall; she said there will be an Easter egg hunt in District 3 and the location is to be determined.
3. Mr. Wilson thanked each one for being present and see new faces in the audience and is glad they are interested in City government; he announced to the citizens there is bad weather coming and do know the experience of it, he asked that citizens would look at the ditches, debris and if there is any debris to remove it and bag it up and on the day of pick up, that it can be picked up; he said he doesn’t want anyone to flood because of the debris that is left in ditches; he said the Council, Mayor and Public Works would appreciate it; Mr. Wilson thanked the citizens and calls regarding the transit route, a couple of routes in his and Councilman Clark’s District and a little in Vice Chairman Wood’s District; he said they weren’t aware that the routes had been changed and cut back, but thanks to the Mayor, the Administration, Tom Janway and Mr. Keenan, that he understands that it is back to normal; he said if there are changes ever to come that there would be a community meeting and make the public aware and doesn’t want to put anyone in jeopardy of losing their jobs getting to work late.
4. Mr. Clark wished everyone a good evening, and had no other communication.
5. Mayor Mayo announced former Council Chair, Gene Tarver’s wife passed away and he asked prayers for him; Mayor Mayo stated Mr. Tarver was one of the first Council members who set up the dais, and he has always been very much involved in the processes as it relates to the City of Monroe and is one of the first council members along with four others that put together the Home Rule Charter for the Mayor-Council form of Government that the City has right now.
6. Mr. Echols stated if anyone wanted to speak at tonight’s meeting, everyone is allocated three minutes and to sign in at the back, on the sheet and to right your name legibly and he will try to read it; he said when you come up to speak, state your name, and address, but will recognize the general public on any comments or issues at the end of the meeting, unless it’s a topic that is being talked about on the agenda; he brought notice to the Hazardous Waste Day coming up on this Saturday, April 1, 2017 from 9am-1pm at Brown Stadium, and if you haven’t received one of the fliers, Ouachita Green is a part of the Parish wide effort to clean and to dispose of household waste and it’s a great opportunity to get rid of the old paint cans, tires, and other unusual household waste items and you can see the announcement on Social Media; he announced to those who live in District 1, the upcoming Belle Point community meeting on April 4, 2017 at 5:30 p.m., St. Alban’s Church, and the Belle Point community is organizing this for the Belle Point Subdivision; he said about a week ago he had a community meeting at St. Alban’s for District 1 and this is one of about four community meetings that he has had and he thanked Chief Holmes for being present, as it was a very intimate setting and was able to have great dialogue with the neighbors about lighting, security, patrols and appreciates the Chief for being there to assist with the meeting as well as members of Public Works, Mr. Westrom, and Ms. Golden were in attendance along with Mr. Holland thanking them for their participation and alerting the neighbors to one of the projects that has started and some that have finished and the ones that will happen in the years to come; he said in that meeting he failed to recognize the Council Staff, team, Jackie Benjamin for her work and to recognize her publicly for being there and coordinating the meetings and thanked her for her help; he said Carolus is the Council Clerk and thanked her for all that she does behind the scenes and keeping the Council running efficiently.
Upon a motion of Mr. Clark and seconded by Mr. Wilson, the minutes of the Legal and Regular session of March 14, 2017 were approved unanimously. (There were no comments from the public).
PRESENTATION: NONE.
PUBLIC HEARINGS: NONE.
PROPOSED CONDEMNATIONS:
1. 1308 N. McGuire (D2) (Owner – ALJJ 1 LLC). Upon a motion by Mr. Clark, second by Ms. Woods and unanimously approved to remove item from the agenda (There were no comments from the public).
2. 1113 Olive Street (D2) (Owner – Dan & O’Neal L. Watson) Upon a motion by Mr. Wilson, second by Mr. Clark and unanimously approved for property owner to be given 30 days or April 28, 2017, in which to bring the structure into compliance with the code or demolish the structures and clean the lot. (There were no comments from the public).
Comments:
Mr. Echols stated the property should reference District 3. Ms. Robinson apologized and stated that it should reference District 4, as it is on the west side of the railroad track and it should be District 4; Ms. Woods and Mrs. Ezernack said they think it is District 3; Ms. Robinson stated it is on the west side of the railroad track; Mr. Wilson asked if anyone was present for the property; Ms. Summersgill stated they do have service; Ms. Robinson said they did have service and had contact with the property owner, the property owner would like for the City to demolish the structure and she called and stated that the property belongs to her grandfather and she has moved him in with her and she doesn’t have the means to fully take care of the demolition costs and asked that the City would take care of the demolition for now; Mr. Wilson said he appreciates what Code Enforcement does and understands that they only have $20,000 to work with and asked that his $20,000 be put into demolition grants and hopefully this can be worked out; he spoke with Ms. Nanci and she is supposed to be getting with Mr. David Barnes and hopefully we will have some money in that area so that we can help some of the citizens that are on a fixed income.
3. 903 Robin Drive (D5) (Owner – Alvin & Letha Jackson) Upon a motion by Mr. Clark, second by Mr. Wilson and unanimously approved to remove item from the agenda. (There were no comments from the public).
Comments:
Ms. Robinson asked for the removal of the property because upon inspection today, they found the property owner had done enough and they want to work with her to complete the work that she has already done.
ACCEPTANCE OR REJECTION OF BIDS:
(a) Upon a motion by Mr. Wilson, second by Mr. Clark and unanimously approved to Accept the bid of Ouachita Electric of West Monroe, LA for Variable Frequency Drive (VDF’s) for WPCC Ref # 2017-00000045 as recommended by the Director of Administration as being the low bidder and meeting the specifications of this bid. The Vendor is the low bidder and meets the specifications for this bid and cleared by the Tax & Revenue Division. The cost of this project is $59,360.00 funds will come from the WPCC Capital Account. (There were no comments from the public).
(b) Upon a motion by Mr. Wilson, second by Mr. Clark and unanimously approved to Accept the bids of Ouachita Electric of West Monroe, LA for Variable Frequency Drive (VDF’s) for Sewer Division Ref #2017-00000046 as recommended by the Director of Administration as being the low bidder and meeting the specifications of this bid. The Vendor is the low bidder and meets the specifications for this bid and cleared by the Tax & Revenue Division. The cost of this project is $59,360.00 funds will come from the WPCC Capital Account. (There were no comments from the public).
Comments:
Mr. Toney Gibson stated the account was the Sewer Account and not WPCC; Mr. Echols stated it would be noted.
RESOLUTIONS AND MINUTE ENTRIES:
Council:
(a) Upon a motion by Mr. Wilson, second by Ms. Woods and unanimously approved to Adopt Resolution No. 6910, granting an exception to the Open Container Ordinance to the American Red Cross of Northeast Louisiana Chapter (The BASH) pursuant to Monroe City Code Sec. 12-231 D. (Open Container Ordinance), and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no comments from the public).
(b) Upon a motion by Mrs. Ezernack, second by Ms. Woods and unanimously approved to Adopt Resolution No. 6911, granting an exception to the Open Container Ordinance to the Monroe Masur Museum (Twin City Art Foundation Fundraiser- Off the Wall) pursuant to Monroe City Code Sec. 12-231 D. (Open Container Ordinance), and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no comments from the public).
(c) Upon a motion by Mr. Wilson, second by Ms. Woods and unanimously approved to Adopt Resolution No. 6912, granting an exception to the Open Container Ordinance to the Blackheart Affiliates LLC Spring Picnic (SpringNiq) pursuant to Monroe City Code Sec. 12-231 D. (Open Container Ordinance), and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no comments from the public).
Department of Administration:
(a) Upon a motion by Mr. Wilson, second by Mrs. Ezernack and unanimously approved to Consider request from the MIS Utilities Operation Division of the Administration Department for Council approval for Purchasing to advertise for a one (1) year supply contract of Mobile Refuse Containers with the option to renew two times. Funds for these purchases will be derived from the Utility Operation Supply Account. (There were no comments from the public).
Department of Planning & Urban Development:
(a) Upon a motion by Mrs. Ezernack, second by Mr. Wilson and unanimously approved to Adopt Resolution No. 6913, authorizing James E. Mayo, Mayor to enter into and execute a Memorandum of Understanding by and between the City of Monroe and Ouachita Council on Aging in the amount of $10,000.00 from the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) B-16-MC-22-0005 and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no comments from the public).
(b) Upon a motion by Mr. Wilson, second by Ms. Woods and unanimously approved to Adopt Resolution No. 6914, authorizing James E. Mayo, Mayor to enter into and execute a Memorandum of Understanding by and between the City of Monroe and Opportunities Industrialization Center of Ouachita, Inc. in the amount of $24,000.00 from the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) B-16-MC-22-0005 and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no comments from the public).
Legal Department: NONE:
Mayor’s Office: NONE.
Department of Public Works:
(a) Upon a motion by Ms. Woods, second by Mrs. Ezernack and unanimously approved to Adopt Resolution No. 6915, authorizing the Monroe Regional Airport to purchase a new 2017 John Deere 6105E Tractor off state contract and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no comments from the public).
(b) Upon a motion by Ms. Woods, second by Mrs. Ezernack and unanimously approved to Adopt Resolution No. 6916, authorizing the Monroe Regional Airport to purchase two new 2017 Ford F150 pickup trucks off state contract and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no comments from the public).
Comments:
Mr. Echols asked Mr. Phillips what would the use of the trucks be for; Mr. Phillips said they are to replace two 2007 trucks plus they need the maintenance workers out in the air field. Mr. Echols said maintenance, and air crew, that’s what he needed.
Department of Community Affairs:
(a) Upon a motion by Mr. Wilson, second by Mrs. Ezernack and unanimously approved to Adopt Resolution No. 6917, of the City Council of the City of Monroe, Louisiana, authorizing James E. Mayo, Mayor to enter into and execute the attached Cooperative Endeavor Agreement between the City of Monroe and Twin City Disc Golf Association and further providing with respect thereto.
Comments:
Mr. Smith stated, this began as a project request of Bill Baker, Chennault to work with putting an additional disc golf course in place; Ms. Connie Stewart with the Twin Cities Disc Golf Association is coming up to give further information on this, but it is to help replace the old, we have a historic course and it is one of the last trash can courses, that’s what it is called that’s out there and they want to upgrade to the same type that is in West Monroe; Ms. Stewart said to make things clear, they aren’t wanting to remove the historical course, they are wanting to get another course also, because it is one of the last ones in the United States; the Chennault Course is historical; she said they have actually raised the funds for the entire course, the baskets are $8500 and they would just like to install them into Chennault Park; she said she has a PDGAB chair event coming up in May and each course they have can have 90 people coming from out of town, touring pros, amateur players, you name it, 270 people and their families will be coming to this town Mother’s Day weekend; she said they will spend roughly $100,000 in this town, $10,000 in taxes plus hotel tax, stuff like that; she said each course they get that’s another 90 people that can come and play and they run anywhere from three to five big major tournaments a year and this really helps the citizens also with the quality of life in Monroe; Mayor Mayo said get $200,000; she said they can try and she is talking about touring pros and when getting them here, she’s talking about Emporia Kansas where you can get, if we can get five or six courses in Ouachita parish, the more they can bring in, the more money they can bring into the City as well; she said they would like to donate those to Chennault as long as they do go into the ground; Mr. Echols said that is great, we are accepting donations and appreciates the donations and thanked them for their commitment of self-starting and funding them; Ms. Stewart said she had maps if they were interested in seeing what they have come up with, as they have two different ones; Mr. Echols said that would be great, and they will take a look.
Police Department:
(a) Upon a motion by Mrs. Ezernack, second by Ms. Woods and unanimously approved to Consider request from the University of Louisiana Monroe Police Department for Council approval to piggy back off the City of Monroe Police Department Uniform Bid. The bid was awarded to Guidry’s Uniforms of LaFayette, LA . The Contract will expire on November 16, 2017 and University of Louisiana Police Department is aware of the expiration date. Guidry uniforms have been notified. (There were no comments from the public).
Fire Department: NONE.
Engineering Services:
(a) Upon a motion by Mr. Clark, second by Mr. Wilson and unanimously approved to Adopt Resolution No. 6918, accepting as substantially complete work done by and between the City of Monroe and Wye Electric, Inc., for the Levee Drive Raw Water Pump Station Switchgear Project, and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no comments from the public).
(b) Upon a motion by Mr. Clark, second by Mrs. Ezernack and unanimously approved to Adopt Resolution No. 6919, accepting the Base Bid of Wye Electric, Inc. in the amount of $83,500.00 for the Monroe Civic Center West End Electrical Upgrades Project, and further authorizing James E. Mayo, Mayor, to enter into and execute a contract for said work. (There were no comments from the public).
(c) Upon a motion by Mrs. Ezernack, second by Ms. Woods and unanimously approved to Adopt Resolution No. 6920, authorizing James E. Mayo, Mayor, to execute Change Order No. Ten (10) to the Wastewater System Improvements Program Basin MR-04/05/07 (A) 2 Rehabilitation Contract, between the City of Monroe and Don M. Barron Contractor, Inc., for an increase of ninety (90) days in the contract time and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no comments from the public).
Comments:
Mr. Echols asked Mr. Holland if this would have an impact on any of the wastewater treatment processes by it laying another ninety days, and not that anything can be done about it, but just wondered; Mr. Holland said no, they just need more time to complete the contract and its all sewer work, but it will have no effect.
(d) Upon a motion by Mrs. Ezernack, second by Ms. Woods and unanimously approved to Adopt Resolution No. 6921, authorizing James E. Mayo, Mayor, to execute Change Order No. Seven (7) to the Forsythe #2 PS # 38 Pump Station and Force Main Upgrade River Oaks PS #45 and Hwy 165 North PS #47 Rehabilitation Contract, between the City of Monroe and McInnis Brothers Construction, Inc., for an increase in the contract amount of $18,482.00 and for an increase in the contract time of fifteen (15) days and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no comments from the public).
(e) Upon a motion by Mrs. Ezernack, second by Ms. Woods and unanimously approved to Adopt Resolution No. 6922, authorizing James E. Mayo, Mayor, to execute Change Order No. Two (2) to the North Area Sewer System Improvements Basin MR-27(A)30/31 Rehabilitation Contract, between the City of Monroe and Jabar Corporation, for an increase in the contract amount of $65,797.00 and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no comments from the public).
(f) Upon a motion by Mr. Wilson, second by Ms. Woods and unanimously approved to Adopt Resolution No. 6923, authorizing James E. Mayo, Mayor, to execute Change Order No. One (1) to the Walnut Street Overlay H.011740 Contract, between the City of Monroe and Forby Contracting, Inc., for an increase in the contract amount of $28,655.00 and for an increase in the contract time of seven (7) days and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no comments from the public).
Comments:
Mr. Wilson asked Mr. Holland to elaborate on Walnut, as he and Mr. Holland talked last week concerning the calls that Mr. Wilson has received from some of the businesses concerning the street; Mr. Holland stated the contract consists of doing the repairs on Walnut from the Northside of KCS railroad track, North to Hudson Lane; the first portion is asphalt, which they started patching and will overlay, doing patch work on the concrete area, bringing it back up leveled and they patched the eastside first, then moved to the west side and now they are working on the center line and they aren’t working this week, but when done with the whole contract, everything will be taken care of; as they move to the north of Arkansas, they will overlay that section as well; Mr. Holland said the change order involves some additional storm drainage work that will have to be repaired and they did some cctb and found some bad pipe and the change order allows them to take care of it and the contract is an 80/20 split with the State, the majority of the change order will be done by the City because the State contract does not take care of drainage, but it is not a problem, everything is in order and it will be a neat clean job, and it has been a long time coming; Mr. Wilson stated he appreciated them and do know the owner of the Warehouse and other businesses appreciate it as well; Mr. Echols asked Mr. Holland at the conclusion of the project if the side walk, and curbing would be repaired; Mr. Holland said they are doing some sidewalk replacement as needed and some curb work as well and they are not replacing all of the curb and not replacing all of the sidewalks, but they are trying to cover the worst of it and keeping it within the contract dollars; Mr. Echols said there is some substantial seepage of the sidewalk in front of the Coca Cola building, and deterioration along the road; he asked Mr. Holland if that area would be repaired; Mr. Holland stated that is one of the better sides, there are some areas they will repair the curb and they have a good bit of quantity of sidewalk, they will use it all and they found some other areas; Mr. Holland said that area is in real good shape, the rest will look as good or better when they are done; Mr. Echols asked if all areas of the road from Louisville where it starts as an asphalt section then it goes to concrete, then it gets closer to the railroad tracks, will the asphalt be leveled out and the areas smoothed out; Mr. Holland said yes, that’s the purpose of milling, patching and overlaying; Mr. Echols stated they made some of the repairs; Mr. Holland said they are making some of the repairs now, because they are trying to maintain traffic while they work, but it will be a lot smoother and better when the work is done; Mr. Holland said to keep in mind, they may not get every spot that need it as far as the curb, but they are trying to make the curb handicap accessible, they have found some of the sidewalks that were completely buried, so they are taking care of that and there are some other issues being worked on with the sidewalk, but they are doing a lot of improvements and they are again improving the handicap accessibility for the street as well; Mr. Echols thanked Mr. Holland.
(g) Upon a motion by Mr. Clark, second by Mr. Wilson and unanimously approved to Adopt Resolution No. 6924, authorizing James E. Mayo, Mayor, to enter into and execute Supplemental Agreement No. 1 to a contract with Arcadis U.S., Inc, to provide Professional Services during construction for the WPCC Digester Roof Improvements Project and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no comments from the public).
Comments:
Mr. Echols asked Mr. Holland for a briefing on the agenda item; Mr. Holland stated the contract was with Arcadis, and what they have done is they put the job out for bids for the digester roof covers, they awarded it; he said the contract will allow Arcadis to do the construction inspection on the installation of the roof, reviewing the materials, etc.; Mr. Echols said this is the audit to make sure that it all comes out right at the end of the day; Mr. Holland stated, they want everything to fit and everything to work; Mr. Echols asked for the total cost of the project; Mr. Holland said he didn’t have the numbers, but that it is three plus million; Mr. Echols said he is glad Mr. Holland has some one checking behind to make sure it all comes out just right; Mr. Holland stated, yes sir.
(h) Upon a motion by Mr. Clark, second by Mr. Wilson and unanimously approved to remove from the agenda to Adopt a Resolution authorizing James E. Mayo, Mayor, to enter into and execute Supplemental Agreement No. 1 to a Contract with Dumas & Associates, Inc., to provide Professional Engineering Services and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no comments from the public).
(i) Upon a motion by Mr. Wilson, second by Mr. Clark and unanimously approved to Adopt Resolution No. 6925, authorizing an agreement with Smith R/W Specialist, LLC for services related to Georgia Street Pump Station and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no comments from the public).
Comments:
Mr. Wilson asked Mr. Holland to elaborate on Georgia Street; Mr. Holland said they are in the process of buying right of ways, they have the right a way dedicated for the station, itself, but they are in the process of buying the right a way for the discharge line, the trunk line, the force line that they will pump the storm water to Ouachita river and Ronnie Smith is the guy they are using to help facilitate it; Mr. Wilson asked when will they start turning dirt on the Georgia Street project; Mr. Holland said he dare not give Mr. Wilson the date and that Ms. Golden has the date; Ms. Golden said they have submitted the project through the hazard mitigation grant program as well and they are continuing to buy right a ways and continuing to work with the railroad to get the permits and will probably start looking at some utility relocations and things like that; she said until they land the hazard mitigation money, they can’t get ahead of themselves with the design, they are still well ahead of schedule in terms of what the State is expecting, but really cannot even give him a real good guess right now for when they are going to start, except they are going to do it as soon as they can and still get your money; Mr. Wilson asked if the canal on Mississippi was still functioning and doing what it needs to do; Ms. Golden stated she didn’t hear his question; Mr. Wilson stated the canal that was done; Ms. Golden said, you know it was full of tires there for a while; Mr. Wilson asked if the debris had been removed; Ms. Golden said she would think so, yes, public works took care of it; Mr. Wilson said he is just ready to make the announcement and wants the public to know that they are working hard to get it done and the funding for it.
(j) Upon a motion by Mrs. Ezernack, second by Ms. Woods and unanimously approved to Adopt Resolution No. 6926, authorizing a contract for Water Treatment Land Acquisition Appraisals with Richard K. Moore & Associates, Inc. and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no comments from the public).
(k) Upon a motion by Mrs. Ezernack, second by Ms. Woods and unanimously approved to Adopt Resolution No. 6927, Adopt a Resolution authorizing an agreement with Smith R/W Specialist, LLC for services related to Land Acquisitions for a Water Main Infrastructure Improvement and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no comments from the public).
Comments:
Mr. Echols asked Mr. Holland for a brief on what the project entails; Mr. Holland stated they just bided the project for the extension of a sixteen inch, ten inch and a twelve inch water main along 165 North and it will go all the way to the Century Village; he said in the process of running the water line along Venable Lane, they will have to buy some property from a local Church, that is on the Southside of the road of Venable Lane and they will have to have it appraised, surveyed, which the survey is already done; he said it involves a small piece of property, but it will allow them to make their tie-ins to get water to the Century Village.
INTRODUCTION OF RESOLUTIONS & ORDINANCES:
(a) Upon a motion by Mrs. Ezernack, second by Mr. Wilson and unanimously approved to Introduce an Ordinance amending Article II of Chapter 5 of the Monroe City Code Entitled “Ambulance Service Advisory Board” and further providing with respect thereto. (Legal) (There were no comments from the public).
Comments:
Mr. Echols asked Mrs. Summersgill for audience purposes and brief overview of the Ambulance agenda item; Mrs. Summersgill said the primary change in it, the other two, the parish and West Monroe alderman have already changed this, there was a seven member board and if you look at Article 2, it says members and methods of appointments, it says the Board shall consist of seven members and that should be changed to five; she said this is what they are doing, they are lessening the amount of members and who they are appointed by, they had a hard time getting seven members on the Board and they just can’t move forward and get things done; Mr. Echols asked if part of this Ordinance centered around appointing leadership from some of keep your hospitals in the community, as well as appointments from area Mayors and Police Jurors, etc.; Mrs. Summersgill said, yes that’s what it is and they just lessened the amount of members and they think it will be much more effective having those members on the board than what was there previously; Mr. Echols stated the Parish and the City of West Monroe has already adopted this; Mrs. Summersgill said yes, they adopted it.
(b) Upon a motion by Mrs. Ezernack, second by Mr. Clark and unanimously approved to Introduce an Ordinance declaring certain immovable property in the Monroe Air Industrial Park as not being needed for public use and authorizing the same to be sold at private sale to Joe Banks Drywall & Acoustics, Inc., pursuant to Louisiana Revised Statute 33:4712, and further providing with respect thereto. (Legal) (There were no comments from the public).
Comments:
1. Mrs. Ezernack asked if Council could get a copy of the appraisal before it comes back for final adoption; Mrs. Summersgill stated she is sure they do and she will make sure Council gets it.
(c) Upon a motion by Ms. Woods, second by Mr. Wilson and unanimously approved to Introduce an Ordinance adopting a Budget of Revenues and providing for an estimate of items and expenditures for the fiscal year 2017-2018. (Admin.) (There were no comments from the public).
Comments:
Mr. Echols asked Mr. Barnes if he wanted to talk about this item; Mr. Barnes stated he has talked enough about it; Mr. Echols stated, we still have a couple of weeks left and we will keep talking.
(d) Upon a motion by Mr. Wilson, second by Mrs. Ezernack and unanimously approved to Introduce an Ordinance adopting a Capital Improvements Program for the City of Monroe and providing for a detailed statement of the contents for a five (5) year period from May 1, 2017 to April 30, 2022. (Admin.) (There were no comments from the public).
Comments:
Mr. Echols asked Mr. Barnes if he would highlight some of the high points of the five year capital plan as presented; Mr. Barnes said the five year capital plan is a revolving (inaudible)and they put more capital projects which primarily comes from CIC, Ms. Golden’s engineering; Mr. Barnes said the primary would be capital items like Georgia Street and things like that; Mr. Echols said he was fortunate to attend one or two of the meetings and was not at the last one, but asked if there were any future projects that are high points that maybe weren’t there a year ago that are included in this capital plan; Ms. Golden said it was few months ago, that she put it together and would need to refresh her memory; Ms. Golden said those are the big, big projects and she did update it to be sure that they are including all of their urban systems projects and the ones they have a particular interest in knowing that it is on the radar, they are always on there, the sewer projects and she put some organization to it so that they could see the category, and may have put a little more detail about our water system improvements in there because that is the direction we are going; she said they do have the fire stations on there but they were probably on it previously and believes she already added the sidewalk enhancement projects on the last one and the airport projects; she said they have the runway project that’s on there, the runway extension and the taxiway realignment and those are probably the biggest projects that are new and first time on this budget; Mr. Echols said some of those projects are 18, 19, rollouts, the largest spend; Ms. Golden said, right, she said this is something that is called for by the Charter and it’s a rolling five years, so it is always the next five years and believes it’s just a snapshot for them to see what’s in the works.
Mr. Echols asked Mrs. Summersgill if the rolling five year budget also meet the standard for some of the other Boards like the I-20 among other taxing Districts for their reports; Mrs. Summersgill said it does, and the Capital Infrastructure, they do it and Council gets updates from the I-20 Board and other stuff, they are required to do that and this is all that she can tell him; Mrs. Summersgill said the I-20 Economic Development Board isn’t necessarily mandated to give Council the updates, they will do it anytime Council wants them to do it and they do it for their purposes, the Capital infrastructure is absolutely mandated to do that every five years; Mr. Echols stated their charter says an annual update to the City Council, if you read their charter and is not certain on all other taxing bodies that the City have, but wants to make sure that this covers part of that; Ms. Golden stated she noticed that she does have the Kansas Lane and the Kansas Garrett projects on there and also have lumped all of the I-20 Frontage Roads projects together, just so that they are on the radar and it is kind of big picture and trying not to leave any of the big ones out; Mr. Echols asked if any of it was subject to State funding and other dollars that roll down; Ms. Golden said yes, in fact she is using and they are the total projects and aren’t broken down from where the source of funding is coming from, they are certainly not coming from just the City of Monroe; she said to the far right she has had a column that mentioned some of the sources of funding, but again, it’s just an information document for Council and the public to know what the big projects are that we have going on.
(e) Upon a motion by Mr. Wilson, second by Ms. Woods and unanimously approved to pass agenda item to Introduce an Ordinance to enact Article VII Titled “Transportation Network Companies” to Chapter 35 of the Monroe City Code Entitled “Vehicles for Hire” and further providing with respect thereto. (Legal) (There were no public comments).
Comments:
Mr. Echols said he has been working with the Legal Department for the last several weeks and the big supporter of the movement to create digital transportation networks, Uber, Lyte, etc., He said he doesn’t favor one over the other, but have utilized the services and having talked with business owners, people in the restaurant business, bar business and the technology companies that are here in our community, that there has been a resounding vote of confidence that these are the types of services that we need to consider as we move our City to the future and focus in a more technology based community; Mr. Echols stated said he as well as his colleagues are very supportive of the initiative, but he also respects the fact that the Mayor wants to continue to look into the logistics of the Ordinance and he is more than happy to work with him and the Administration to make the necessary tweaks; Mr. Echols said it is a complicated issue and as you look at the issue and he has worked with people in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and Council members in other places, that there is no perfect Ordinance and will continue to refine it and he is more than willing to work with, the Administration, the Legal Department as they continue to tweak it; he said he will note that he will bring it back up very soon, but wants it to be in its best order as it can; he said another complicating factor and as he has talked with the Parish Police Jurors and Aldermen in other Cities like West Monroe or Sterlington, as it does have a multiple municipality impact; he said if they move on the items, they need to work alongside the other municipalities to ensure that they can get home from Monroe to Sterlington or from West Monroe to Monroe, and will be working very diligently; he said he does want to provide a lot of thanks to both, Angie Baldwin and Mrs. Summersgill for their help so far and the Council men and women from other municipalities that have shared their data with them and this is something that they will continue to pursue; he said he has received dozens, if not, well over a hundred messages, comments, phone calls, text messages for this effort and again it’s something that is a priority and it is important to our community; Mr. Echols said there are a number of people in the audience that would like to speak on behalf of it and or against it and he is more than happy to entertain it; he said he wants Council to vote on it to pass it over for tonight and they are more than welcome to speak in the public comment portion and whether they are supporting it or not supporting it, to save it for the very next thing they will do, which is public comment; he thanked everybody and his fellow Council men and women for being supportive of the effort and wants to make sure they get it right and that they will continue to pursue it.
Ms. Woods thanked the Chairman for his willingness to pass over the item, because it is definitely one that she truly can support, but again, it does need to go through the proper vetting process.
Mrs. Ezernack stated that she wanted to echo those sentiments, and that we all realize if the City is going to grow that we need to look at new opportunities for our citizens, but also need to make the opportunities safe and profitable for the City as well as for the people that have the service; she said she thinks it’s time to study the issue, refine it and make sure that we have the best Ordinance, that we can have and it’s certainly where we want to go with this plus we do need to bring on board our fellow communities, West Monroe, as well as Sterlington and other areas in the Parish where we can travel around the Parish using one of the services if that is what we decide to do; she said she appreciates the time that will be given to look into it a lot deeper and come up with the best that we can.
Mr. Echols stated that he would call for the vote and then will have public discussion right after that. Mr. Echols stated we would move on to public comment, Citizens participation and that he has a list, but if the audience hasn’t had time to place their name on the list and would like to speak about the transportation Ordinance, then we will discuss it in a second. He called for the first person on the list. The Clerk stated there was an Emergency Ordinance to be introduced before proceeding.
RESOLUTIONS AND ORDINANCES FOR SECOND READING AND FINAL ADOPTION
SUBJECT TO PUBLIC HEARING: Public Comment: None.
Add-On Emergency Ordinance: (a) Upon a motion by Mr. Clark, second by Mr. Wilson and unanimously approved to add to the agenda to Adopt an Emergency Ordinance declaring the media and underdrains for filter No. 2 at the Monroe Water Treatment plant to be an emergency necessitating immediate replacement and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no public comments).
(a) Upon a motion by Mrs. Ezernack, second by Mr. Echols and unanimously approved to Adopt Emergency Ordinance No. 11,759, declaring the media and underdrains for filter No. 2 at the Monroe Water Treatment plant to be an emergency necessitating immediate replacement and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no public comments).
Comments:
Ms. Woods asked for more information on the agenda item; Mr. Janway stated they have significant increase in the amount of leakage they have had in filter number two in the plant, over time it has gotten to the point where they have to do something; he said as they took that one off line, they discovered they had a leak in filter number one also, and at this point and time they are going to be addressing filter number two and it will probably be a sixty to ninety day project and they will come back in the Fall when the water demand is less and take out filter number one and do the same thing to it; Mr. Echols asked if there was any implication in the City’s water supply by bringing down the one; Mr. Janway said as it stands right now, the load on the plant and there is no implication on the water supply; Mr. Janway asked if Mr. Echols was talking about the supply to the citizens; Mr. Echols said right; Mr. Janway said they have plenty of water at this time and the capability, they also have portable units on standby, one million gallon trailer mounted units and they say they can have them set up within a forty eight hour period, should they have to do it; Mr. Echols asked if there was any expectation that those would be needed; Mr. Janway said right now they are not anticipating it, but if the weather turns out real hot and dry and the demand for water increases, then they may have to do it; Mrs. Summersgill added that the reason it is an emergency, is that when Denmon Engineering went down, the thought was let’s go down and see what’s going on and then can do whatever is needed to replace or repair it; she says when they got in there, they had to pull all of the stuff out to get to where the leakage was and so the emergency is that we had to immediately order all of the parts and especially when they found there was another leak in number one and the emergency is that they will have to order this stuff immediately and get it done; Mr. Echols said his only concern is mostly about the water supply and ensuring it’s there; he said he thinks anyone on the Council will support making sure all of the repairs that are needed in the immediate basis are done; he asked a longer term question, if we are doing an analysis and know that we have looked at expanding the water plant and making some longer term repairs and said he had the opportunity to tour the plant and that it is aging; he said maybe it’s part of that long term capital budget, and asked if we had any plans to repair and mend and bring up to the twenty first century, the current plant that we have; Mr. Janway stated, we are in the process of closing out an engineering study to expand the capacity of the plant by eight to twelve million gallons a day and that has not been finalized at this point and time so he would be a little bit too premature; Mr. Janway said in the very near future they will know what those numbers will be to expand the plant because they do run it and do have a twelve million gallon design filter system and they are continually running eighteen, nineteen million gallons of water a day; Mr. Echols said if you look from above the water plant, it is in different pockets, the water supply that they push through to treat it and asked how many treatment plants where there, three or four? Mr. Janway said there are two main treatment tranes, there are two sedimentation basins connected to that and when you look at the old drawing of the water treatment plant, they consider filter number two, it’s actually two filters, but it’s just piped together and so there are two filters associated with each one of the treatment tranes; Mr. Echols asked if we had two plants in one; Mr. Janway said he was right; Mr. Echols said by making the repairs, that we will still have one of the systems; Mr. Janway said we would have one and a half, if that makes sense; Mr. Echols said it does; Mr. Janway said it is an interesting project; Mr. Echols said it was a very complex system.
CITIZENS PARTICIPATION:
1. Mr. Michael Wade, citizen of Monroe stated he was back again about the City of Monroe tearing his house down without proper protocol and to tell them that there is something that they can do; he said the City Council oversees whatever the City does and any two of the Council members can call a meeting about anything that is questionable and they have to attend and it can be talked about; he said Council can do something, which they haven’t yet; he wanted to talk with Chief Holmes to see why he filed fraud charges against the City because they gave him papers saying that we signed papers that they could tear their house down and why the police department won’t validate him filing the charges and it comes down to the City Attorney and she tells him that she believes her people and that’s the end of that; he said he filed fraud charges because they didn’t sign anything and they saying they did, and that’s a felony, malfeasance in office and all kinds of stuff; he asked why can’t anything be done, if they don’t mind speaking on it, so that he and everyone present can know for next time; Mrs. Summersgill said Mr. Wade has been told and guess he still doesn’t understand is that service is to whomever is at the house and signs for it, and it doesn’t have to have personal service, it’s whoever signs for it at that address; Mr. Wade stated he has papers where they say they signed and they did not and that’s fraud; Mrs. Summersgill said they have been through this with Mr. Wade; Mr. Wade said that’s fraud, if they present him with papers that say he signed some papers and they didn’t, then it’s fraud, that’s fraud, there is nothing else to it, it’s fraud and we outa get some justice and equal protection under the law, and not getting anything; Mr. Wade said everybody is passing the buck and he wants some equal protection under the law and wants his police department, where he pays his taxes to do its job and arrest Ms. Robinson, and whoever they have to, but he wants it put on the table and to take care of it; Mrs. Summersgill said she is telling him right now, that she will take one hundred percent of the blame for it and it’s nothing to blame; Mr. Wade stated, his house is gone and what does she mean there’s nothing to blame, and asked who will replace his house; Mr. Wade said don’t let them sit here and do that to him, they keep twisting it away and no one will do anything, do something and during the next election time, some people will have to go; Mr. Echols stated he has to rely on the City attorney; Mr. Wade stated the same thing he said the last time, and to say it in basic words, man kiss our a**, say it to me.
2. Mr. Muhammad Tujani, said he is pretty sure they will see him a lot of times in these meetings and he is getting sick and tired of what they are doing Mr. Echols, sick and tired behind his back harassing him on his business; he said last Sunday, he had two police officers on the parking lot where his patrons could not park, but understand that they had an agreement with the downtown business owners that they could park on his parking lot during the day time and his patrons could park on theirs at night time; Mr. Tujani said, let him open up everybody’s eyes too, he has a building downtown and he doesn’t want to sell, and somebody wants to buy, Mr. Echols at a price that you want him to pay; he said you cannot, this is America, you cannot force me to sell my building at the price you want to buy it and all these things about historical and all these backstabbing, sir, if you want to talk to me, talk to me face by face, don’t send your investors, don’t send your partners, this is what’s called a financial holocaust; Mr. Echols asked Mr. Tujani to please speak with an appropriate tone; Mr. Tujani said he has a building and he doesn’t have to sell it and unfortunately for him, he is not Mr. Willie, he’s not old, he’s not sick, and he’s not senile and he’s not going to sell his $400,000 property as Mr. Willie did for $90,000 and you were the buyer; he said that day you came to my building; Mrs. Ezernack stated, this sounds like this is a personal issue; Mr. Tujani, said it is not personal, because he is misusing his authority to; Mrs. Ezernack said she thinks it’s an outside type of issue; Mr. Tujani said it is not an outside issue and he wants the Council to know why and to let him know why is he harassed and why is his business harassed every week and asked Mrs. Ezernack if she could answer that; Mrs. Ezernack said she had no idea and doesn’t have any of the information and it doesn’t have anything to do with harassment; Mr. Tujani said for fifteen years, everything was okay and suddenly you get calls for rubbish garbage on the back of his building and he took care of that; Mrs. Ezernack said, she will tell him as a Council person, that she has had calls, not on his building, but on other people’s buildings where there is trash and they turn it over to the proper people who take the proper steps and doesn’t know if this is what’s going on with him; she said she is talking about it from a citizen’s perspective, when they call Code Enforcement and if they are calling Code Enforcement and Code Enforcement goes out there and decides that he is not living up to the code, then they are going to come and tell him that and he will make the corrections; Mr. Tujani said he made the corrections and every time he makes the corrections, something else pops up and just this week there were two police cars, parked there and asked who paid for the police officers; Mrs. Ezernack stated Chief Holmes would answer that, but that is another question that he needs to call Chief Holmes and find out how to do that and this is not the venue for that particular argument; Mr. Tujani said she just doesn’t realize what’s going on and you guys need to know; he said you serve here to serve the people, the people are black, white, Asians, whatever race and you are here to serve us and if you can’t serve all of us, please step down, because right now it doesn’t look like you are serving everybody; he said he knows what’s going on, and to open up your eyes, you don’t want Black people downtown, that’s the plain simple thing; he asked how many Black businesses are downtown; Mr. Echols thanked Mr. Tujani and told him, that his time had been exceeded; Mr. Tujani asked if next time, could he have six minutes; Mr. Echols said he could have three minutes and thanked him.
3. Mr. Mark Johnson, stated that something has been bugging him for quite a while and quite a few others; he said the I-20 service road, what’s the deal? When will we be able to use it? He said to the Mayor, that he knows this is an I-20 service board deal, right, but is sure that you guys know more about it than he does; he asked what is the story; Mayor Mayo stated, basically in a nutshell, it is in the lawyers hands and the I-20 is out of it until that can be resolved and that’s all that he can say about it right now; Mr. Johnson stated, well okay, that doesn’t really answer the question; Mr. Johnson said you say that it’s in the lawyers hands and thinks the case is made, because it’s all about the soil underneath one of the approaches and knows that it heaves and he did see a soil boring rig on that site over a month ago, so there’s your case; he asked why can’t all of that be digged up, replace it and then go with your case and use it; Mr. Johnson stated, silence is not golden; Mayor Mayo asked Mr. Johnson what more does he want him to say; Mr. Johnson said he knows; Mayor Mayo stated, he just told him that it is in the lawyers hands; Mr. Johnson said he knows, but anyway that’s his gripe and a few others; Mrs. Summersgill stated, there are some legal issues involved and it’s in Court right now and we have a hearing in a couple of weeks and there is a hearing on something and hopefully, we can move forward with it, with the information that we are gathering and will go through the Court process; Mr. Johnson said, at the expense of everybody else; Mrs. Summersgill said it is just a matter of who’s going to pay to have that road fixed and so that’s what it’s in Court about right now; Mr. Echols stated to Mr. Johnson, that hopefully by the next I-20 Board meeting, that maybe there will be some update to the status and just hang in there with us and maybe we can get some resolve soon; Mr. Johnson said, and maybe; Mr. Echols said, maybe.
4. Mr. Tyrone Dickins, stated his name and that everybody knows him by K-9, everybody on this Council and is going to just pick on one tonight; Mr. Dickins stated, everybody knows that it is about to be May and needs to ask one question, who handles Chennault Park area; Mr. Echols asked Mr. Dickins to repeat his question again; Mr. Dickins asked who handles the Chennault Park area; Mr. Echols asked as far as the Council person; Mr. Dickins said, yes, as far as Council, cleaning; Mr. Echols said it was in Ms. Woods’ District; Ms. Woods stated it was in her District; Mr. Dickins stated to Ms. Woods, okay, that he would contact her and wants to try to discuss some stuff to be put on the agenda, because as they know, it’s all over and of course they will see it on the news pretty soon about Joe Delaney Day; he stated Mr. Delaney risked his life and is quite sure everybody in here know this and he do it every year and he is asking, and do understand people get tired of working sometime and they have things to do and go out of town on Memorial Day; he said last year they had over 2,000 people and no fighting, no nothing and thank God, it’s a kid event, no cursing, none of that; he said he would also get with the chief, and also both chiefs always participate with them, by bringing some type of exhibit out there as they do over on Forsythe and would like to bring a fire truck out and probably a sky cam like they do and let the kids see; he said if you know the old saying and lot of you are probably young and don’t know what this means, “if you get the calf, you get the cow”, so meaning, if I can get the kids, I can get the parents out there to listen to us and stop the violence, stop the shooting, stop the fighting and will never give up on community because he will never back down for nobody; he asked the Council members to participate in the event and asked them if they are willing to talk with someone or who he needs to talk with about seeing that the Chennault Park can be sponsored by the City or whatever, with the Police Department and what protocol he needs to go by so that their overhead won’t be as high, so they can give more tickets away; he said they have a cost and proceed and someone has to pay to get in the gate and they are trying to give away a lot of tickets to get kids out there because they will be giving a lot of stuff away, and will have two guest speakers; he said a District Attorney is coming, one of Joe Delaney’s friends are coming to be a guest speaker and is asking all of the Council members and will give them all some paperwork and the Mayor; he said of lot of them participated last year, but he is giving them some paper work and asking them and if they can’t make it and understand this and is giving them this option, because he knows that he blowed up last time, so he is giving them a chance to redeem everybody and if you can’t make it at least say, okay here it go and don’t just throw them under the bus, please don’t; they think Monroe is, he is gone, he risked his life, the kids died, he died and he is forgotten and don’t think it should be like that; he asked that they would please step up and said what if that was you, he have kids, they will be down here and we take some of the proceeds and give to them; he stated the date will be May 28th which is a Sunday afternoon and will get paper work to everybody and he also thanked Mr. Steven Tew and Mr. Christian Creed and Cher Mar Tenney for stepping up because they will be giving away free barbecue; he said he had a beef, but he is going to go, they will be giving away free food, free and is asking for their help. Mr. Echols thanked Mr. Dickins.
Mr. Echols asked if anyone wanted to speak on behalf, as he mentioned before to speak in support of or opposition of the Digital Transportation Network conversation.
Public comments regarding the Digital Transportation Network:
1. Mr. Carrick Inabnett, stated that he was speaking tonight on behalf of Century Link to discuss the ride for hire services that are under discussion; he stated, first, from Century Link’s perspective, they defer to the Council and to the Mayor as to how the back room Administration vetting needs to be done for this Ordinance to get passed, so we certainly trust that you guys will be able to properly vet it; he said the one thing they would ask is just to keep in mind and he doesn’t think that it will be a problem at all, but there were some cities they think like Austin and others that ended up putting too many restrictions on the ride for hire services, and they just ended up going on to other cities; he said beyond that they appreciate very much, the Mayor and Council’s looking at this issue and this possibility; he said, from a general benefit standpoint, they see the possibility of bringing a popular, credible service used in urban markets, it’s a positive step for Monroe, that reflects both growth and progress in our area as well as an efficient way to address rapidly evolving transportation needs in our area; Mr. Inabnett stated from Century Link’s direct standpoint, we can easily make the case for this service and there are hundreds of employees that are being recruited and dozens of vendors who fly into Monroe on a daily basis to call on them and IBM and having the Uber, Lyft or other services available will help them out getting to their hotels, restaurants or to their headquarters; he said they have questioned them as to why we don’t have this service yet in the community and bringing this service to the community will enhance their relationships both with the vendors and their abilities to recruit for those perspective employees; he said from a competition standpoint, they do hope competition will end up bringing improvement across the board and so from the taxi standpoint, they would hope that by the acknowledgment of people, that this type of service is available that it actually improves the taxis opportunities too; he said they would only ask that on the taxis behalf, that the Mayor, the Council and the Administration would make sure that it is a level playing field for all of the services; Mr. Inabnett stated finally, as he covered that point before and in conclusion, he would say that Century Link would offer their help in the vetting process to the extent that it is needed or requested; he said the multi-jurisdiction issue was also brought up and Century Link would be happy to help as a go between in that respect of the various local governments that the City required; Mr. Echols thanked Mr. Inabnett and said they appreciate his support; Mr. Echols asked Mrs. Summersgill if they would work with the Administration to craft this policy going forward as we share with our Police Jurors, the City of Monroe, West Monroe and would suggest that they have a very dynamic local economic development team at Century Link and if they are offering their support, that we sure as heck outa take them up on it; Mr. Echols thanked Mr. Inabnett and Century Link’s support and encouragement.
2. Mr. Tommy Stewart, stated that he has a business downtown and seconded everything that Mr. Inabnett said; he thinks with the DUI rate and things like that, people can get home a lot safer from the bars, the restaurants and what not. He said they plan to open another business downtown very soon and this is just another stepping stone to help with all of that; he said people can get to and from the business whether they have a glass of wine with their meal or if they come out to celebrate a birthday, or what not and just drink; he said this will help them keep the traffic incidents down.
3. Ms. Kyrston Brooks, stated that we already have Uber and Lyft here in Monroe, and it’s called ask a friend for a ride and give them gas money; she said it would really be great if we had a good service, had cars that were checked, registration, everything that Uber does to make sure that the cars are in good shape for people; she said she has been to a lot of cities, and she uses Uber when she goes to cities and she cut out using car rental companies because Uber can get her where she needs to go and always know that there is going to be somebody available; she said sometimes you call a cab service and someone has already called them, all of those people are dispatched, and the way Uber and Lyft work is, if somebody wants to make some money real quick, they can get on and work for one ride, two rides and get right back off; she thinks it’s a great thing for the citizens of Monroe, because it gives people job opportunities, just by them coming and thinks it’s good for people who do want to go out and enjoy their time, have a drink and not want to drive home or call a friend and wait, or wait for a cab; she said she just saw in this meeting that there were three ordinances or resolutions for open container parties that are going to happen and it would be great that for all of the people that want to drink and have an open container that they would have a ride home.
4. Mr. Nazur Muhammad, stated that it has been a long night and he has a concern; he said it concerns Fight the Blight and the City has some abandoned fire stations here in Monroe and doesn’t know what the City is planning on doing with those; he said the one on Jackson Street actually had a dead person found in it years ago and the front of it is still open, it hasn’t been boarded up or anything; Mr. Muhammad asked what could be done about the fire stations; Mr. Echols asked the Chief if they could check on securing that location and he said he saw the same opening a couple of weeks back on Jackson St., the front right hand door and a panel on the bottom; Mr. Echols asked if they could check on securing it; Mr. Wilson says he understands the OKAY program is taking it over and thought they were working with it and certainly wants to get it taken care of.
5. Mayor Mayo stated he thinks he needs to make a comment as it relates to the Administration’s position on Uber, and thinks they did that this past Monday at their press briefing and it was on the front page, which he believes it was maybe today; he said he hears them loud and clearly concerning some of the interests that they have as it relates to Uber and the services, but not only Uber, but also Lyft and Fare; he said the Administration’s position is to make sure that anything new such as this be vetted properly; Mayor Mayo said it was their position that the City Attorney had been communicated with, but the Administration other than the City Attorney had not been, the Police Department, the Tax and Revenue; he said as he looks at this ordinance, it includes things that have to be vetted by those divisions and others and quite frankly, they weren’t; he said he does appreciate the Council’s position in honoring his request to table it such that they can go back, and quite frankly do it right because it should come before the Administration first and then vet it with input from Council members and then ultimately be voted on by the Council; he said he thinks everybody knows how they feel about Century Link and he can go on, Chase, Vantage, Gardner Denver Thomas and not only the large companies but mid-size companies, small companies and individuals that would be using those services; he said he loves Glenn Post, but Glenn Post will not allow him to call him and tell him that he has an idea and he not put it before his executive team as well as his board, and that’s how it works here; Mayor Mayo stated he had an opportunity to talk to the Attorney from Shreveport and believes this ordinance on the agenda is modeled after Shreveport and believe you, me, or believe it or not, it took, they told me the City Attorney in Shreveport a whole year, a whole year before they actually presented it to the Council; he said it started off with the city attorney, and the city attorney actually communicated with the Mayor, then they have a public safety committee which is similar to our police department and they had a couple of hearings on that, they had some hearings with the taxi cab drivers and a number of other people and then it was submitted; he said there were some negotiations that went on with the, not only Uber, but also with the other for hire companies; he said this is not something that you can just do in two weeks, or three weeks, it has to be vetted, there is some liability exposures here and that’s just not the way we do business; he said just because something is good, we just throw it on and at least that’s not the way they have done it for the last 15 years, and he thanked the Council for their support in allowing them to go back and look at it and make sure that the ordinance is fair and once it is presented to the Council, it is voted on or whatever way the Council votes on it, that it has gone through the proper channels.
Mr. Echols stated just so folks knows from a Legislative process, when they introduce those things, they have hold over periods of at least two weeks before they adopt them finally; Mr. Echols said some of them like the blight initiative and many others could sit and lay over for six weeks, a year, five years as they vet the responsibility of the ordinances and they certainly want to be prudent and certainly have tried to work with Administration as a Council to ensure that everything is vetted and meets the standard that passes the Administration’s test and they will certainly do that. He thanked everyone for being present and asked for a motion to adjourn.
There being no further business to come before the Council, the meeting was adjourned at 7:22 p.m., upon a motion of Mr. Clark and seconded by Mr. Wilson.
Mr. Michael Echols
Council Chairman
Mrs. Carolus S. Riley
Council Clerk
Ms. Jacqueline Benjamin
Council Secretary
*For extended details on the Council meeting please call the Council Clerk Monday-Friday at 329-2252; also, a recording of the minutes can be sent via email to you.
