City Hall, Monroe, Louisiana
August 9, 2022
6:00p.m.
There was a legal and regular session of the City Council of the City of Monroe, Louisiana held this date the Council’s regular meeting place, the Council Chamber, City Hall Building, Monroe, Louisiana.
The Honorable Mrs. Kema Dawson, Chairman called the meeting to order. She then asked the clerk to call roll.
There were present: Mr. Harvey, Mrs. Ezernack, Mr. Marshall, & Mrs. Dawson
There was absent: Ms. Woods
Chairwoman Kema Dawson announced that a quorum was present, and that the Invocation would be led by Ms. Woods’ designee in her absence. The Pledge of Allegiance would be led by Mrs. Ezernack.
The Invocation was led by Reverend Montgomery of New Faith Missionary Baptist Church.
Communications & Special Announcements:
Mr. Harvey said he has no announcements on tonight.
Mrs. Ezernack wanted to welcome everyone here on this evening. She thanked everyone for coming out on a rainy afternoon to be with the Council at the meeting.
Mr. Marshall wanted to thank everyone for coming out. He said Ms. Stephanie Henderson is opening the JW Brown Laboratory School located at 1114 Jackson Street and she has a wealth of knowledge, over 18 years of home schooling. He said her focus is reading and math, but she teaches on all levels. He said she will be taking about 50 kids and she is taking applications now. He said the doors will open on the August 17 and he wanted to thank Ms. Henderson for putting the school in District 4 as well. On another note, he stated the A’mir Lewis family are having a childhood cancer awareness event on September 3, 2022, at Forsythe Park from 12pm until 5pm. He stated they are looking for volunteers, ventures, and anyone who would like to come out to participate. He further stated this weekend the Omega Si Psi and the Monroe Regional Black Chamber will have a school supply give away. He said it will be held at the Civic Center at 9am until 1pm. He wanted to thank everyone that has been giving out school supplies as well and those blessing the kids in community.
Mayor Friday Ellis said it is good to see everybody out and he congratulated Ms. Hailei Beckwith for being a young entrepreneur with the LoveLit Candles Co. and Candle Bar Grand Opening. He said she is an inspiration to her peers and adults with dreams, in his opinion. He asked everyone to go out to the Louisiana Purchase Gardens and Zoo to see the art installations that are outside. He said it is a welcoming addition to the entrance for the zoo and it is a beautiful art installation. He said he noticed on Walnut Street the City has about five to six more art installations and the City did an all call for local artist to be able to provide walking art murals for downtown. He noted Campo has a design camp and more information can be found on the City’s social media page. He further noted this is another way to create community engagement to know what the community would like to see downtown.
Mrs. Dawson said it is inspiring and encouraging to see so many people giving back to the community. She thanked everyone that have started their back-to-school drives and she said it is a blessing to see so many people giving to the children. She also wanted to congratulate Ms. Hailei and she stated Ms. Hailei is an amazing young lady. She wanted to thank everyone for the art murals that have been going up around the City and in her opinion it has given the city so much life.
Upon motion of Mr. Harvey, seconded by Mr. Marshall the minutes of the Legal and Regular Session of July 26, 2022, 4:30PM and 6:00PM meeting were unanimously approved.
The following condemnation was removed from the agenda:
(1) 1905 Richard Drive (D2) (Owner – Carey Lynn Davis Day). Upon motion of Mrs. Ezernack, seconded by Mr. Harvey and unanimously approved to remove this item from the agenda. The owner has pulled the necessary permits to continue progress on the property. (There were no public comments.)
The following condemnation was considered:
(2) 702 Alabama Street (D4) (Owner – Frank S. Harbor & Sharon Davis Harbor) Notice to show cause was served. Photographic evidence was presented. There was no one present. Upon motion Mrs. Ezernack, seconded by Mr. Harvey and unanimously approved the building was condemned, and the property owner was 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. Tommy James, Code Enforcement Officer, stated this is an open dilapidated structure and it was presented in environmental court in August. They are asking that the property be condemned, and the owner given 30 days. He noted he talked for a representative for the property owner a few weeks ago and he advised him of his intentions. He further noted the property owner was okay with the time given.
ACCEPTANCE OR REJECTION OF BIDS:
(a) Upon motion of Mrs. Ezernack seconded by Mr. Harvey and unanimously approved a Resolution No. 8332 accepting the base bid of Covington Sales & Service, Inc., in the amount of $474,980.00, for the combination Sewer Cleaner & Vac Truck, and further authorizing an authorized city representative, to enter into and execute a contract for said work. (There were no public comments.)
RESOLUTIONS AND MINUTE ENTRIES:
(a) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey seconded by Mr. Marshall and unanimously approved a Resolution No. 8333 appointing Carday Marshall, Sr. to the Monroe Capital Infrastructure Commission, and further providing with respect thereto. (Dawson) (There were no public comments.)
Department of Administration:
(a) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey seconded by Mrs. Ezernack and unanimously approved to consider an application by Kenyonya Williams – Williams & Williams LLC dba Executive Cigars, 408 Washington St., Monroe LA 71201 for a New 2022 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.)
Mrs. Dawson asked Mr. and Mrs. Williams, who were present in the audience, if they had anything they would like to say. (They had no comments.)
Mr. Marshall wanted to welcome Williams & Williams LLC dba Executive Cigars to District 4 and thanked them for all the business they do. He said it will definitely be something for everyone to enjoy in the City.
(b) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey seconded by Mr. Marshall and unanimously approved a Resolution No. 8334 authorizing an authorized city representative to enter into an agreement with CMA Technology Solutions, for the purchase of a NetApp System and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no public comments.)
Mayor’s Office:
(a) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey seconded by Mrs. Ezernack and unanimously approved a Resolution No. 8335 approving and authorizing an agreement for local services by and between the City of Monroe and the Monroe Chamber of Commerce and further providing with respect thereto.
Mr. Roy Heatherly, President & CEO, Monroe Chamber of Commerce, said their mission at the Chamber is to create an environment where local businesses thrive and the Chamber is excited about the partnership with the City, Council, and with the Mayor. He said they appreciate the leadership, and they are excited about the future.
Mayor Ellis thanked Mr. Roy for loving Monroe.
Department of Public Works:
(a) Upon motion of Mrs. Ezernack seconded by Mr. Harvey and unanimously approved a Resolution No. 8336 authorizing an authorized city representative, to execute Change Order No. One (1) to the WPPC Influent Pump No. 2 Repairs Contract, between the City of Monroe and Red River Pump Specialists, for an increase in the contract amount of $7,172.00 and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no public comments.)
Engineering Services:
(a) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey seconded by Mrs. Ezernack and unanimously approved a Resolution No. 8337 authorizing an authorized city representative, to execute Change Order No. One (1) for the parking lot improvements DeSiard Street at Walnut Street, between the City of Monroe and Amethyst Construction, Inc., for a decrease in the contract amount by $12,311.39 and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no public comments.)
Mrs. Ezernack wanted to make note that this is for a decrease in the contract, in the amount of the $12,000.
(b) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey seconded by Mr. Marshall and unanimously approved a Resolution No. 8338 accepting as substantially complete work done by and between the City of Monroe and Amethyst Construction, Inc., for the parking lot improvements DeSiard Street at Walnut Street, and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no public comments.)
(c) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey seconded by Mrs. Ezernack and unanimously approved a Resolution No. 8339 authorizing an authorized city representative, to enter into an Agreement for Professional Services with Neel Schaffer, to provide engineering services on a part-time basis for the civil division. (There were no public comments.)
Mr. Marshall wanted the Engineering Department to explain to the audience what the City is doing with this Professional Service Agreement.
Mr. Morgan McCallister, City Engineer, said this is an extension of the Professional Service Agreement that the City has with Mr. Neel Schaffer. He said the City currently have a six months Professional Service Agreement for $60,000 and based on what has been done over a period of time, it has been extended for twelve months but it’s a $70,000 Professional Service Agreement. He said it includes an inhouse transportation engineer that will provide services such as permits, reviews, invoice reviews, traffic control and among other things. He noted the service they provide is on an as needed basis.
(d) Upon motion of Mr. Marshall seconded by Mr. Harvey and unanimously approved a Resolution No. 8340 authorizing an authorized city representative, to execute Change Order No. Two (2) for the Texas/Standifer Trunk Sewer Emergency Repair Project, between the City of Monroe and Dixie Overland Construction, for an increase in the contract amount by $1,386,770.00 and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no public comments.)
Mrs. Ezernack wanted to know of why the City has to extend and spend on this project.
Mr. McCallister said Mr. Peter McMaster, Vice-President of Arcadis, will give a general description of the work being done and provide more detail. Mr. McCallister said this is an emergency project that was approved a while ago, and they ran into a lot of issues with the sewer system. He said the proposed pipe that would tie into the existing pipe, there is nothing to connect the pipes. He said fortunately there is a near by area where the pipe can be rerouted.
Mr. Peter McMaster with Arcadis said the project started awhile ago where an older pump station almost fell into one of the existing pipes. He said the initial part of this program was to locate about 12 to 13 hundred feet of that pipe. He said it can’t be laid in its current alignment because the current pipe has to stay in service. He said the condition of the pipe at this point they do not believe they can make a good connection at this point and time. He noted rerouting up Lee Ave and cutting across to Dick Taylor Street allows them to keep the existing pipe in service while the new pipe is being installed.
Mrs. Ezernack wanted to know should the Council expect any other changes.
Mr. McMaster said as far as they know right now, they think that section of the pipe is completed.
(e) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey seconded by Mr. Marshall and unanimously approved a Resolution No. 8341 authorizing an authorized city representative, to execute Change Order No. Six (6) for the Water Treatment Plant Renovation and Expansion, between the City of Monroe and Max Foote Construction Company for an increase in the contract amount by $115,714.00 and further providing with respect thereto.
Mr. McCallister apologized to the Council for interrupting, but explained he was expecting questions on this item. He said he invited Burns & McDonnell to do a five-minute presentation to update the Council on what is going on at the water treatment plant.
Ms. Rachel Drain, Burns & McDonnell Engineering, stated this project involves bringing the existing water plant that was built in the sixties up to the current needs of the City. She said it expands the treatment compacity from twelve to twenty-four million gallons per day. She stated it includes an addition of a new treatment training, new administration facilities for staff, new chemical feed, and storage facility as well as modifications to the raw water piping. She showed Photographic slides of the work being done at the water treatment plant were shown on the screen. She said there is a lot of work going on at the site and everything is going well.
INTRODUCTION OF RESOLUTIONS & ORDINANCES:
(a) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey seconded by Mr. Marshall and unanimously approved to introduce an Ordinance to amend the Zoning Map for the City of Monroe, Louisiana and authorize the Clerk to publish notice of a Public Hearing to rezone a ±0.193-acre tract of land, from being B-1 (Neighborhood Mixed-Use) District to the B-3 (General Business/Commercial) District, for the applicant to operate a used car dealership, at 916 Arkansas Avenue – Lot in Square 99, D. A. Breard Sr’s Addition – APPLICANT: Ahmad Kelly (P&Z) (There were no public comments.)
RESOLUTIONS AND ORDINANCES FOR SECOND AND FINAL ADOPTION AND SUBJECT TO PUBLIC HEARING:
The Chairman opened the Public Hearing and seeing no one come forward the Hearing was declared closed.
(a) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey, seconded by Mr. Marshall and unanimously approved an Ordinance No. 12,131 authorizing the City of Monroe to take Corporeal Possession of the property described below and sell to Bryant Newton all rights, title, and interest that the City may have acquired to the Lot 12, JS James Construction Co resub of part of Square 6 Terminal Heights Addition, Ouachita Parish, 2104 Georgia St., District 4, Monroe, La, by Adjudication at Tax Sale dated June 12, 2017, and further with respect thereto. (Legal) (There were no public comments.)
The Chairman opened the Public Hearing and seeing no one come forward the Hearing was declared closed.
(b) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey, seconded by Mr. Marshall and unanimously approved an Ordinance No. 12,132 authorizing the City of Monroe to take Corporeal Possession of the property described below and sell to Rennada Smith all rights, title, and interest that the City may have acquired to the Lot 4, Sq. 21, Alexander’s Land Co. Addition, Ouachita Parish, 3906 Polk St., District 4, Monroe, La, by Adjudication at Tax Sale dated June 12, 2017, and further with respect thereto. (Legal) (There were no public comments.)
The Chairman opened the Public Hearing and seeing no one come forward the Hearing was declared closed.
(c) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey, seconded by Mrs. Ezernack and unanimously approved an Ordinance No. 12,133 adopting a Collective Bargaining Agreement for 2022-2025 by and between the City of Monroe and the Amalgamated Transit Union Local No. 1160, AFL-CIO and further providing with respect thereto. (Transit) (There were no public comments.)
The Chairman opened the Public Hearing and seeing no one come forward the Hearing was declared closed.
(d) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey, seconded by Mr. Marshall and unanimously approved an Ordinance No. 12,134 declaring certain immovable property in Monroe, La, identified as Parcel 76532 by the Ouachita Parish Tax Assessor and, identified by Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) of Louisiana, State Project No. H.007300 as Parcels 22-1, 22-1-C-1 and 22-3 as no longer being needed for public use and necessary for DOTD project No. H.007300, and authorizing the same to be sold to the DOTD pursuant to Louisiana Revised Statute 33:4712, and further providing with respect thereto. (Legal) (This item was passed over at the last meeting.) (There were no public comments.)
The Chairman opened the Public Hearing and seeing no one come forward the Hearing was declared closed.
(e) Upon motion of Mrs. Ezernack, seconded by Mr. Harvey and unanimously approved an Ordinance No. 12,135 amending Section 22-33 of Chapter 22 of the Monroe City Code Entitled Monroe Air-industrial Park Development Ordinance and further providing with respect thereto. (Airport) (There were no public comments.)
The Chairman opened the Public Hearing and seeing no one come forward the Hearing was declared closed.
(f) Upon motion of Mr. Marshall, seconded by Mr. Harvey and unanimously approved an Ordinance No.12,136 extending and enlarging the boundaries of the City of Monroe, Louisiana, providing for the recordation of the entire boundary as amended: establishing the effective date thereof, and providing further with respect thereto: – Applicant – Love’s Travel Stop (PUD/P&Z Div.) (There were no public comments.)
The Chairman opened the Public Hearing and seeing no one come forward the Hearing was declared closed.
(g) Upon motion of Mrs. Ezernack, seconded by Mr. Harvey and unanimously approved an Ordinance No. 12,137 adopting and amending the Zoning Map for the City of Monroe, Louisiana to zone a ±12-acre tract of land, from being located in Ouachita Parish to the I-1, (Industrial Business Park) District, in order for the applicant to have a commercial truck stop, retail sales and restaurant facilities, at 355 HWY 594. (23.867-acres more or less)– Applicant – Love’s Travel Stop (PUD/P&Z Div.) (There were no public comments.)
CITIZEN’S PARTICIPATION
(1.) Mr. Darian Belton, Community Garden, wanted to remind everyone tomorrow is the Ester Gallow Community Garden, 1401 Sherrouse Street, they will have their first volunteer day. He said there will be activities for the kids, free food, and resources for seeds. He said it is not too late to start growing your own food and people can come out to Ester Gallow Community Garden for assistance with seeds. He noted they want to empower individuals to grow their own food with the rising food cost and growing your own food saves money. He further noted they will be growing food to stock local food pantries, teach individuals how to grow food, and partnering with local elementary schools for kids to know where real food come from.
(2.) Eugene Payne, 1705 Reed Street, said he is concerned about the transit system in Monroe, Louisiana and the payments of the management company has not been discussed. He said he is concerned because the City is paying them for something anybody can do. He said First Transit has abused their rights in the way they control and treat their employees. He said he is concerned about the progress that the transit system has made, which is none. He said this particular company is not worth the amount of money that is being paid to them. He stated there are no night runs, they changed routes, they eliminated the park the ride program, and the route for students to travel to Delta Votech has also been eliminated. He further stated if anyone can answer any of his questions, he is free to discuss these issues at any time.
(3.) Ms. Kenya Roberson, Executive Director, Monroe Regional Black Chamber of Commerce, said she was sure the City would acknowledge that this month is National Black Business Month but wasn’t sure if they were aware. She said the Black Business Month was established for black businesses to be recognized in 2004. She stated this was done by Mr. Frederick E. Jordan who partnered with Mr. John William Templeton to start this as an annual National Event. She said this gives us a time as a City, State, and as a culture to acknowledge and appreciate black own businesses across the nation and all that they represent in the country’s continual stride for diversity and equality. She further stated, hopefully this month everyone will patronize black owned businesses within our city. Ms. Roberson asked for some of the members of the Black Chamber to please stand and she said to them job well done. She encouraged them to keep striving, focusing, keep doing what they are doing, and she noted it is an honor to serve as the Executive Director for the Monroe Regional Black Chamber of Commerce.
There being no further business to come before the council, the meeting was adjourned at 6:50 p.m., upon motion of Mr. Harvey and it was seconded by Mrs. Ezernack.
Mrs. Kema Dawson
Chairman
Carolus S. Riley
Council Clerk
Ileana Murray
Staff Secretary
