Monroe City Council: May 23, 2023 Minutes

City Hall, Monroe, Louisiana

May 23, 2023

6:00p.m.

The Honorable City Clerk Carolus Riley, called the meeting to order.
Ms. Riley stated that due to the Council Chair and Vice Chair being absent the Council will designate a temporary Chairman.
Mr. Marshall nominated Councilwoman Juanita Woods. Ms. Woods second the motion.
Ms. Riley called the roll. The vote was unanimous.
Ms. Riley handed the meeting over to Councilwoman Juanita Woods.
There were present: Mr. Harvey, Ms. Woods, & Mr. Marshall
There was absent: Mrs. Ezernack & Mrs. Dawson
Chairman Woods announced that a quorum was present, and that the Invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance would be led by Mr. Marshall or his designee.
The Invocation was led by Minister Ortadius Brass, Associate Minister at The Well Church.
Ms. Woods said that Councilwoman Chair Dawson is absent due to her son graduating and Councilwoman Vice Chair Ezernack was absent due to her being ill. Ms. Woods solicited prayers for both congratulatory prayers for Mrs. Dawson and get-well prayers for Mrs. Ezernack.
COMMUNICATIONS & SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Mr. Harvey announced that he had the opportunity to check out the new Sloth Exhibit at the Zoo. He said he really enjoyed the exhibit and thanked everyone that put that together, it was very exciting with the amount of people that were there. Mr. Harvey wanted to commend a couple of members of the community from Saturday night. There were a few citizens that were put in a place to help out somebody in a life saving situation, Ray Morrison, Fred Bennett, and other people associated with VCOM (Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine). Mr. Harvey said he really appreciated them and wanted to commend them publicly.
Mr. Marshall thanked everyone for coming out tonight. He wanted to give a special thanks to Anthony Garcia and the delegations for the groundbreaking on the Wilson Street Revitalization Home. He said this is the first of many houses that will be built along that corridor to help enhance the area and quality of life. There is also some career development, where they have about ten guys being trained along with that project as well, so he wanted to commend them for their efforts. Mr. Marshall mentioned State Representative Pat Moore, State Representative Adrian Fisher, and Senator Katrina Jackson for helping with the funds for this project. He also mentions the Bike for Hope that took place this weekend, it was a great success. He wanted to thank everyone that came out for the conclusion of the MPD (Monroe Police Department) Week. Mr. Marshall also thanked Hayward Foy for donating 15 bikes for that cause. He thanked Pastor Brass for the prayer. Mr. Marshall is looking forward to the Juneteenth Festivities the Black Monroe Chamber of Commerce and Marie Brown have going on and more. He urged everyone to check their social media outlets and the news stations for these events.
Mayor Ellis thanked Monroe Police Department for Bike for Hope . He said it was a great opportunity to get involved with the community members, the youth, and the Police Department as they went through the communities. Mayor Ellis again thanked the Police Department for that event and said that they look forward to it next year. He acknowledged that it is National Public Works Week and mentioned if you see any public works employees, pat them on the back and tell them what they do in our community is well appreciated, loved, and cared for. He also thanked the good folks and the society out at the Zoo, Tom Pearson, Director of the Louisiana Purchase Gardens & Zoo with the new sloth exhibit. He said there were a lot of fun activities going on at the event and he encouraged everyone to go out and visit the exhibit.
Ms. Woods stated that Councilman Marshall told her that Ms. Rosyln Downs, Social Worker for the Department of Veteran Affairs, was here to give a presentation on behalf of Councilwoman Dawson. Ms. Downs came forward.
Ms. Rosyln Downs, Social Worker for the Department of Veteran Affairs, Healthcare for Homeless Veterans Outreach Specialist, said they have a new initiative to house our homeless veterans in this area, including all of Region 8. She has noticed that there are more veterans in the streets, places that aren t meant for habitation, and at risk of becoming homeless. She stated all of our Veterans deserve to be housed and to be safe in an affordable place. Ms. Downs introduced herself as the outreach specialist representative and urged others that if they encounter any homeless veterans or are at risk of becoming homeless, she would be your point of contact. She is located at the Monroe VA Outpatient Clinic 1691 Bienville Drive, and she will leave information and will be available to speak after the meeting tonight. She says they have several housing plans that are specifically for the area, veterans can even go to Shreveport for services such as counseling, rehabilitation, and whatever else they need as well as providing case management services to refer them to whatever resources they may need. She thanked everyone and encourages people if they know of anyone that is a veteran that needs assistance, urge them to come to the VA Monday through Friday and she would be more than happy to assist.
Ms. Woods stated there were some very special people in the audience, they are recipients of the Councilwoman Juanita Woods Award . This award is given to a deserving student that shows exemplary character, an outstanding student, well rounded, and respected by their peers and faculty, from Roy Neal Shelling Elementary, Kameko Hopkins and Logan Allen. Ms. Woods said these two young ladies have shown exemplary character and they were nominated by their faculty and their peers to receive this award. Ms. Woods mentioned that this was Roy Neal Shelling Elementary School s first year having caps and gowns for their graduates and that they were donated by Chase. (Carroll Jr. High award recipient Adryanna Tippit) She also presented the same award to Jawon Hines from Carroll High School, and he has won different awards for playing basketball. Ms. Woods acknowledges the Valedictorian & Salutatorian from Swayze Elementary School, their names Rhandi Armstrong (Valedictorian) & Calvin Williams (Salutatorian). She invited them to come to the meeting to show the City of Monroe, the goods that come from the Southside of Monroe.
Ms. Woods stated the City Council passed a piece of legislation saying that we would celebrate Juneteenth for the entire month of June. She continues by saying contrary to what other people are saying, we did it last year and it went without incident . She is certain that we will do it again this year and it s going to be without incident. Ms. Woods says it s time to come together to better understand where we come from, how we got to where we are. She said it gave us an opportunity to get everyone s events in and we didn t have to squeeze it all in one weekend. She said that she appreciated the council for approving celebrating Juneteenth for a month and it will go well without any incidences. All the events are starting on June 2nd due to the Mayor being out of town on June 1st. We want to be about one united force and being inclusive we decided to push the start date so that the Mayor can come and celebrate with us. Ms. Woods had Ms. Kenya Roberson and Ms. Marie Brown to come and speak about the events that are taking place. She thanked the City again for placing the events on the City s website and calendar and will have the option to add to it at any time.
Ms. Kenya Roberson thanked the Council and the Mayor. She stated that they have been working extremely hard to have activities for Juneteenth. They are doing the kickoff events the first weekend of the month on June 2nd. They will be having an R & B (Resources & Brunch) on June 2, 2023, at 11:00am at The W Center. On that evening they will have their All White Networking Event at 7:00pm at The W Center. On June 3rd at 10:00am, they will have their Juneteenth Parade, line up will start at 8:00am at Monroe Civic Center and it will end at the Eastgate Shopping Center. That evening at the River Market from 5:00pm-9:00pm, there will be many performances, different vendors, activities for the kids, and food trucks. She encourages all to come out and support. On Sunday, June 4th, there will be an Old School Musical at the Greater New Antioch Baptist Church, where Rev. John L. Russell, Pastor at 4:00pm. If you have any questions, please see Ms. Roberson after the meeting.
Ms. Marie Brown announces their 12th Annual Juneteenth Celebration. She said that if anyone would like to nominate a great teacher, send her their name and they are going to honor them with a meal and showing appreciation by closing out the school year and opening up Juneteenth this year. They will start their celebration off on Saturday, May 27, 2023, by honoring Teachers and Support Staff of the Monroe City Schools and Ouachita Parish Schools at the Greater New Antioch Baptist Church, Rev. John Russell, Pastor at 5:00pm. On June 17th, they will have their annual parade. They will line up at Wossman High School at 9:00am and pull off at 10:00am, going down Burg Jones Lane and ending at the Pavilion at the Louisiana Purchase Gardens & Zoo with a free family picnic. Louisiana Seafood will be sponsoring the food for this event. She encouraged everyone to come out with their families and lawn chairs for a great afternoon from 11:00am-5:00pm.
Ms. Woods asked Mrs. Sonya Jacobs to read a statement that they received from Senator Katrina Jackson.
Mrs. Sonya Jacobs, 700 University Avenue, reads the following, From the Office of State Senator District 34, Katrina R. Jackson, State Representative Adrian Fisher, To the Monroe City Council, Reason Booker T. Community Erosion Flood Project. Dear City Council Members, In the fall of 2022, as a State Senator and State Representative of the Booker T Community, we were informed of serious erosion amongst the canal that runs parallel of White Street as well as issues that cause flooding in 2016 that continues to perpetuate a risk of flooding in the Booker T. Community. We were further informed that this issue has been ongoing for a number of years and the City Administration was aware. After learning of this concern in meeting to review the City s Capital Outlay Request we urged the administration to add it as a Capital Outlay Request. After this item was finally added we placed it as one of our main priorities on our list to the Governor. However, on the City of Monroe s list of priorities, it was listed as number fourteen out of fourteen projects in their request to the Governor s office and as a result was not included when the bill was introduced. After inquiring to the Governor s office, it was confirmed that it was not included in the Governor s legislative priority because it is the last priority on the city s list. We then requested that Councilwoman Woods place it on tonight s agenda, a resolution to authorize the city to submit this project to the Louisiana Watershed Initiative. However, the administration did not add it. They did finally agree to include it with the airport project. We are requesting that tonight, this project is added to the agenda as a renamed project, Booker T./Monroe Regional Airport- Offsite Drainage Improvements in the amount of $10,500,000.00. We further request that phase one of this project should be in the Booker T area. The area where both ours and the city s constituents reside. We believe it is important to put people first. Sincerely, Katrina R. Jackson, Adrian Fisher, State Senator, and State Representative, Respectfully.
Ms. Woods said that she wanted to make sure that that was on the record.
Upon motion of Mr. Harvey, seconded by Mr. Marshall, the minutes of the Legal and Regular Session of May 9, 2023, were unanimously approved. (There were no public comments.)
ACCEPTANCE OR REJECTION OF BIDS:
(a) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey seconded by Mr. Marshall and unanimously approved Resolution No. 8517 of the Value Engineering (VE) Proposal of the Lemoine Company, LLC, in the amount of $729,900.12 for the WPCC Flow Equalization Basin Project, and further authorizing an authorized city representative, to enter into and execute a contract for said work. (There were no public comments.)
(b) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey seconded by Mr. Marshall and unanimously approved Resolution No. 8518 the Base Bid of the Lemoine Company, LLC, in the amount of $1,389,000.00 for the WPCC Ultraviolet Disinfection System Replacement Project, and further authorizing an authorized city representative, to enter into and execute a contract for said work. (There were no public comments.)
(c) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey seconded by Mr. Marshall and unanimously approved Resolution No. 8519 bids of the Base Bid of Hi-Lite Airfield Services, LLC, in the amount of $107,755.00 and additive Alternate No. 1 in the amount of $62,250.00 for the Monroe Regional Airport Runway 14-32 Rehabilitation Project, 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:
Council:
(a) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey seconded by Mr. Marshall and unanimously approved Resolution No. 8520 granting an exception to the Open Container Ordinance to the Chennault Golf Course for a Golf Tournament Scholarship Fundraiser (The Mayor s Cup) pursuant to Monroe City Code Sec. 12-231 D. (Open Container Ordinance), and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no public comments.)
(b) Upon motion of Mr. Marshall seconded by Mr. Harvey and unanimously approved Resolution No. 8521 granting an exception to the Open Container Ordinance to the Fleet Feet of Monroe for a global running day (The Big Run) pursuant to Monroe City Code Sec. 12-231 D. (Open Container Ordinance), and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no public comments.)
(c) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey seconded by Mr. Marshall and unanimously approved Resolution No. 8522 authorizing a designated city representative to enter into a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement between the City of Monroe and Free Me Association d/b/a Monroe City Academy League (MCAL) and further providing with respect thereto. (Dawson)

Mr. Marshall wanted to commend MCAL on the work they are doing, continuously in the community, Keep up the Good Work.

Ms. Woods agreed with Mr. Marshall s statement.

Mr. Stonewall Hunter, III, Vice President of Free Me Association, stated, On behalf of Free Me Association and MCAL s Board of Directors as well as staff, to family, and of course the youth, they thanked the City of Monroe and Council Members for their continuous support. The season opener of baseball and softball this past Saturday was amazing, we have about 78 youth that benefit from the baseball & softball programs starting as young as age three. They currently have about 135 soccer athletes that will participate this summer and expect over 1000 football, cheer, and dance athletes again for season three. Mr. Hunter believes it s safe to say that MCAL Sports is definitely a staple in the city now. Fall will commence the third year of MCAL providing children in our communities with year-round activities, so not just one sport, and also the emphasis on the whole student athlete with a couple of non-sport initiatives they have partnered together. They are aware of the Parks & Recreation Plan that the City currently has on the way, and they are definitely excited to be able to come in front of the council in the upcoming weeks to be able to talk about things that can help to discuss a plan for all sports. They have worked tirelessly and endlessly on all of these programs, building and funding has been the biggest roadblock, so again they want to shift focus on this summer fundraising for their organization and programs and to invite anyone that has any other resources as well as contributions out of your own heart or your own organizations to help them move forward. Tyree Hollins will have business cards afterwards or www.FreeMeAssociation.org.

Mrs. Jessica Hollins, Treasurer of Free Me Association & MCAL Sports, said she had a few pictures that she wanted to share with the council that one of their involved parent volunteers takes at all the games. She wants to give everyone on the Council a visual representation of what MCAL really does in the community. Mrs. Hollins invites Mayor Ellis to season opener for soccer and football personally because they would love to see him.

Mayor Ellis asked for those dates.
Mrs. Jessica Hollins said Soccer would be June 10th at Benoit Community Center at 9:00am and Football will be September 16th at 9:00am at Carroll High School.
Ms. Woods commends them for all MCAL does in the community.
Department of Public Works:
(a) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey seconded by Mr. Marshall and unanimously approved Resolution No. 8523 authorizing a designated city representative to enter into an agreement with Volaire Aviation Inc., related to air service development at the Monroe Regional Airport and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no public comments.)
Mr. Charles Butcher, Airport Director, explains the agreement is to develop new air service and new roofs for the airport. He mentions that they had their service last year and the contract runs out at the end of the month, this company is assisting them with developing new airline services.
Ms. Woods asked if it was similar to a renewal.
Mr. Butcher answers yes.
(b) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey seconded by Mr. Marshall and unanimously approved to consider a request from the Monroe Airport Division for Council approval for an authorized City representative to advertise for bids for the Monroe Regional Airport Taxiway D Construction Project. The engineer s estimate is $5,161,350.00. The DBE Goal is 8.31% and the source of funds is FAA.

Mr. Kurt Kelly, Director of Purchasing, mentions there is a correction that needs to be made on the DBE Goal this project is actually 8.31%, which was approved by FAA and the DBE committee. He said that he made a mistake by putting the overall goal for other projects which is where they got the 10.75%, but the actual goal is 8.31%.

Department of Community Affairs:
(a) Upon motion of Mr. Marshall seconded by Mr. Harvey and unanimously approved Resolution No. 8524 authorizing a designated city representative to enter into a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement between the City of Monroe and Free Me Association d/b/a Monroe City Academy League (MCAL) for a Baseball/Softball Program and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no public comments.)
Engineering Services:
(a) Upon motion of Mr. Marshall seconded by Mr. Harvey and unanimously approved to consider a request from the Monroe Engineering Department for Council approval for an authorized city representative to advertise for bids for the Monroe Civic Center Banquet Hall Air Handling Unit Replacement Project. The engineer s estimate is $430,000.00. The DBE Goal is 1.74% and the source of funds is the Capital Fund. (There were no public comments.)
(b) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey seconded by Mr. Marshall and unanimously approved to remove from the agenda item (b) authorizing an authorized city representative to enter into a Professional Services Agreement with Harboe Architects, PC, to provide architectural services for the Cooley House Project and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no public comments.)
Ms. Woods states that she was asked by her constituents to add an item to the agenda this evening. The item that she is attempting to add is what Senator Katrina Jackson stated in her letter to the council during Communications and Special Announcements. Ms. Woods says that it is the Booker T. Washington Stormwater Evaluation and Upgrades-Airport Offsite Drainage Improvements Project.
Upon motion of Mr. Marshall seconded by Ms. Woods to add-on the Booker T. Washington Stormwater Evaluation and Upgrades-Airport Offsite Drainage Improvements Project, as stated in the above paragraph. Upon the nay vote of Mr. Harvey this item failed to be added. (RS42:19)
Mr. Charles Sewell, 4316 White Street, greets the council and the Mayor and says that he believes that it is very urgent that this item is added on to the agenda, due to the last seven years there has been several individuals to come out and look at the canal ditch right next to his home. He says that it s been seven years, from 2016 up to date that nothing has been done concerning the erosion. Mr. Sewell says that his house is 8ft from being in a ditch currently. He says that we, as in the Booker T. Community citizens, taxpayers would like to urge the council to add this to the agenda. He continues on by saying not to just add it but make the Booker T. Project priority. He says throughout the city he looks at the television and noticing there are funds being allocated for other projects and districts and nothing being done in District 3. He says that he s lived in Booker T. since 1977, and has seen many engineers look, put out stakes, and it goes no further. He believes the cheapest thing anybody wants to purchase on Wall Street is talk. He s spoken with the current and previous Mayor, council members, engineers, etc., but nothing has been done. Mr. Sewell says this is important to him that the city takes his request seriously. He said as he drives all over this beautiful city what some may call it, but its beautiful where he lives, it may be beautiful in the Garden district, Marie Place, Pointe Place, but not where he resides. He said that Mayor Ellis has come by his residence and stated that he couldn t believe it has gone on this long, but still nothing has been done about it. He didn t mean to put the Mayor on the spot, but he s been going through this for years and is really wanting more action to be taken than talk. Mr. Sewell says that he understands that the airport is important, but the issue that this happening in his community needs to be handled soon. He wants the administration to have more empathy when it comes to this issue.
Mayor Ellis asks Mr. Kevin Crosby, City Consultant, to come and explain more in depth about the project. Mayor Ellis agrees with Mr. Sewell about how talk is what got us in this situation and the project that we are putting forth this year, Mr. Crosby will talk more about it as to why it is important that it s put in this bucket and the money that we are going to seek in Baton Rouge as to why it should be a priority. Mayor Ellis stated in his opinion Capital Outlay is not the way to go. He says that he has 15 projects that has been held up for 15 years in Capital Outlay and if anyone is informing you that Capital Outlay is the best way to go, you are being misinformed. He said that Kansas Lane Extension has been there as a 30-year project, there are financial buckets that have opened up in Baton Rouge right now that we can fund said projects. He said last year the bucket they are going after funded three projects, Youngs Bayou Retention which got built, Georgia Street pump station which was given its final funding, and West Parkview Drainage design & construction. He says there are conversations that are happening right now, and he would argue that the bill is in the Senate, so if any of our legislators wanted to fund it, he would argue that the money is there, and they would fund it. Mayor Ellis says that it is his job to present the projects, it s our delegation s job to go fight for the funding. He says that they presented the project by request a portion of the project, but he has an engineer that will tell you right now, if we start where we say we re going to start with this resolution, we are going to take problems that have caused for years and create bigger problems to people downstream. He says their goal is to fix the entire issue and not just piecing this project over years. He says that the City has an opportunity to fund the entire project, and its number one priority on the Watershed Initiatives priority list.
Mr. Kevin Crosby, City Consultant, says to Mr. Sewell that he hasn t spoken to him, but he s been to his house several times; Ms. Atkins, he s spoken to her and been to her house as well. He says that prior to Morgan McCalister, Director of Engineering, becoming the City s engineer, he was the interim city engineer. He says the first thing the Mayor tells him is that he needs to get a solution to this canal ditch in Booker T. He goes out to look and based on his evaluation there are numerous solutions, all of them with a different price tag, they would all have to come from different pots of money. He says that this particular pot of money that is available right now is the Louisiana Watershed Initiative. He says that the City has applied three other project in round one along with this airport canal project, but specifically this project here, just as the Mayor said is the number one project for the City. He said that the cost is right at $11,000,000.00 dollars, it s the north, south portion of the canal that Mr. Sewell is referring to, the east west canal that goes from where Mr. Sewell s ditch hits the KCS Railroad track out to Chenault Drive, there s multiple ditches leaving from the airport. He said that it s important to keep the name of the project exactly the way it is. In other words, there are certain guidelines you have to follow when receiving state and federal funding. The project has to be named what it is in order for the City to be eligible for those specific funds. Whatever those state or federal funds are, you are obligated to use the funds the way they are written up, if not, you risk losing funds altogether and or having to pay the money back. He adds emphasis on naming the project appropriately and using the funds correctly based on what they are allocated for. He continues to say that doing the opposite of that will throw a red flag up to the State and they will think we are using it incorrectly. He says that these funds are not used for routine maintenance, lack of maintenance, or erosion control, but you can use the money for enhancing the drainage ditch that can line a drainage ditch, widen a drainage ditch, not toward Mr. Sewell s house, because he does have a problem. Mr. Crosbey says that part of Mr. Sewell s problem wasn t caused by drainage, it was caused by spraying someone other than Mr. Sewell, that killed the trees, which was the only thing that was holding his bank up. He says that the city just finished with a Drainage Detention Project that was in the southeast corner of Booker T that cost $1.13 million dollars, typically those type of projects helps with what s below them. With this particular project it will help with what s above and below them which is in the Booker T area. He says if you come in and carve out this north south park, what will happen is that you will take water from College Pointe, Booker T, and the airport, where it will flow all the way to KCS Railroad and it will not go under the railroad track quick enough, it will back up and Booker T will flood worse than what it already does now. He said that if we do the one ditch first and a large quantity of rain comes, it will flood Booker T area. He says that you must have this other ditch coupled with that project which is why it s being presented to the Watershed Initiative as an overall project. The airport canals up to a certain point at the east west runway, at the east end of that runway there is a highpoint in that airport canal lateral way, everything east of that goes towards Bennett Bayou, everything west goes toward Target. It goes under Kansas Lane, goes to Target, and goes south, there is a structure under the railroad spur that comes into the Industrial Park. Once the flood waters reach a certain elevation, it all goes back toward Bennett Bayou. That is what relieves that area in Booker T, because it has to go back to the east opposite of where it does under normal rainfall. That is why that canal has to be widened and deepen to be able to get the amount of flood waters out of Booker T and the westside of the airport it has to have that built in order to get that water to the east. In Mr. Crosby professional opinion, with the project costing $11 million dollars and the deadline for these funds is May 31st, which is this week, this is the project he would recommend the City continuing to follow through with.
Ms. Woods said that she respects Mr. Crosby s opinion and Mr. McCalister, but according to the Senator that one, it wasn t in the Capital Outlay until she started asking questions about it.
Mr. Crosby said that is true it wasn t in Capital Outlay,
Mayor Ellis says they requested this portion of the overall project get broken into its own Capital Outlay Request. With hesitation from what you re hearing tonight, you have engineers telling the city that if you move this as an individual project, you re going to take their problems that they are having right now and create more problems for people south. Mayor Ellis asks who do you think holds the liability for that as well.
Ms. Woods says the City.
Mayor Ellis says that is correct, and he explains that we are trying to fix the entirety of this canal. So, the request was to break it out from the overall project to fund it in Capital Outlay while we still pursue funding through water sector. They gave that request and submitted it to Capital Outlay, so arguably, if it needs to be funded there s still time to fund it through Capital Outlay.
Ms. Woods asks Mayor Ellis if it is the Overall Project in the Watershed Initiative.
Mr. Crosby answers not yet, they have to turn in the application by May 31st.
Ms. Woods said that she wanted to make sure that it was included in the Watershed Initiative Overall Project. She says that her concern is if you re working on a project and the money runs out, and the other part of the project will go without. She says that the Senator has found funding for this project, but it has to be a stand-alone project in order to get it taken care of. She said per Senator Jackson, our person that is down fighting to find and get funding to bring back here to get things taken care of in our area. She says that she doesn t want to lose the Booker T part of the project if you have it included in the Watershed Initiative.
Mayor Ellis says this is why we suggest that we run this as a total project, not break it out. He says that it causes multiple problems, this is what happens when we don t listen to people who are the content experts, the engineers. He says this is the reason why we hire them as our consultants to guide our decision making. When you start piece mailing projects together and don t understand the down stream impacts of each project. He stated that politicians got us in this problem, and we don t need politicians guiding this process anymore, it should come down to the work, the council approving the work, and us putting it as a priority. This is a priority, and we need to ensure we do it right and we don t cause any more problems with the work we put forward, that s our responsibility. Mayor Ellis says he doesn t want to take someone s pain and suffering and turn it into somebody else s pain and suffering, if we have an opportunity to get it fixed. He says this is why the Watershed Initiative is so important. He said that Monroe was the second most affected region after the floods of 2016, so ultimately, we have one of the better advantages in order to receive funding and we saw it last year through the funding source round one. He says that round two is there and we are submitting this entire project as our priority project. He says we have the ability to get that money, our legislators and delegation can help us get it, because that is our priority to make it happen.
Ms. Woods says to the Mayor, so what I hear you saying is that right now this is going in round two which has to be submitted on May 31st, this Booker T Initiative, along with the Offsite drainage project for the airport is the only thing that is in this project or if its not the only thing in that, its number one, is that what you just said.
Mayor Ellis didn t understand the question.
Mr. Harvey says that it is apart of the whole total project. He said there is a whole total project that addresses what this resolution is attempting to be a part of.
Ms. Woods says that she understands that part, but she is wanting to know with the project that is being submitted on May 31st, how many projects are in there.
Mayor Ellis answers one and says that it s all-inclusive. He said that this submission is and was always going to include this project.
Mrs. Angie Sturdivant. City Attorney says that there are a total of four projects being submitted for the Watershed Initiative.
Mayor Ellis said there are four projects that the City is submitting for the Watershed Initiative, this is the City s number one priority for it. He asks Ms. Woods if she is asking how many projects are within this one airport Offside Drainage Project.
Ms. Woods answers yes.
Mayor Ellis answers just one. He says that it is a one part project that is all inclusive.
Ms. Woods asks the Mayor if this is included, because she said that it wasn t apart of it at first. She asked was it expanded to include it.
Mr. Crosby says that the maps that he has shown the lower side ditch from UP railroad to KCS, from that point all the way to Chennault Drive. He said that it has a ditch that goes from the golf club house over to Bennett Bayou and then it has two small ditches going to the north of Bennett Bayou, all of that is one project.
Ms. Woods asks if it s all one project.
Mayor Ellis says that the good thing about this and why the City chose this was because of last year the house requested that anything that can be funded through Watershed Initiative be broken out and submitted and that s when you noticed last year you d see some of these items that were in Capital Outlay last year and they weren t necessarily in priority, they were broken out so they could be funded in this large bucket. He says that there is a lot of money available at this time. This is why this particular project fits the criteria for the Watershed Initiative. This is a great project for LWI (Louisiana Watershed Initiative) and we re not having to wait year after year for the funding.
Ms. Woods says that this is the part that she understands, because she understands that this is one time money that we need to get in on it. Ms. Woods just wants to make sure that the Booker T part is included in that. She stated that on the initial onset, she received her information from Senator Jackson, the reasoning behind the uproar about it, because it was not included, but it was expanded to include it.
Mr. Crosby says that he was not sure about the statement Ms. Woods just made.
Ms. Woods asked if it was true.
Mr. Crosby and Mr. Harvey both said that it was not true.
Ms. Woods asked if, they were sure.
Mr. Harvey said that a part of this Watershed Initiative Project was not in Capital Outlay as a separate project as what she is claiming by the letter read to the council prior. It was not broken out separately in Capital Outlay, but it has always been a part of this initial project that takes care of upstream and downstream effects, so it is not a standalone project.
Ms. Woods says that she understands that it was never a standalone project, according to the engineer that it wasn t viable enough to be a standalone project.
Mr. Harvey said that both things that were said can be true, what was in her letter was true, and it was still apart of the project, both of those things can be true.
Mayor Ellis says the resolution is for renaming the project and this is what Mr. Kevin Crosby was explaining as to why it would not be a good idea to rename the project. Secondly, the other request to start at that portion is going to cause some serious issues downstream when you start in that area first.
Mr. Crosby says once you handle the east west part before you handle the other small ditches, you can come do the one that goes north south, that isn t the issue, you just have to handle the big ditch on the south of the airport dredged out and in the right size. The other ditches in the application can be postponed until that north south ditch is done. That is not the problem. There is a $15,000,000.00 dollar cap per project, so there is still $4,000,000.00 dollars there.
Ms. Woods asked if they were to run into any other problems, you still have some money to use.
Mr. Crosby answered yes and if you can request additional funding for that project, it will still be in the cap. On the benefit cost analysis, the initial part, the middle of it, you don t have to do a benefit cost analysis. He wanted to make certain that he had all the facts before he said anything. The Detention Basin Project, the area it said it benefited from was the Booker T area. With federal money you can only claim an area once benefitted, because once you have benefited from the area, it should be fixed. The Booker T area would not bring anything to that BCA (Benefit Cost Analysis). They do have the BCA in other locations as part of that project. He believes that we would be able to go up to College Pointe and get benefits up there that wasn t used under that Detention Basin Project.
Ms. Woods asks when he says College Point, what s the location of it.
Mr. Crosby says just north of the railroad.
Ms. Marie Brown says she believes the problem came when they didn t understand why the project was removed or taken off from one of the fourteen projects that was submitted. She said that they were told that the administration went and asked for it to be removed from the original project.
Mayor Ellis says on the record for everyone who is listening online that is false. It is still in E courts right now, arguably if it needs to be funded it can be funded, he said that he doesn t make those decisions. If you look at the Governor and HB2 budget right now, they didn t fund what was in order, Tiechili Road, US 165 got $2.5 billion dollars that is sitting in P2 right and that was number eight on the list and it got funded, when the other ones above it, didn t get funded. Arguably, you can still fund that if you talk to it, but again, if you break this out as an individual project.
Ms. Marie Brown asks is there a point when the City submits this that the community and the citizens can see what you re submitting before you submit it before you submit it on the 31st of May. That we would know that you and your word will not take this off or say that something happened, we ran out of money, and all these excuses.
Mayor Ellis says on record that you have his commitment to show the community the project as well as have the engineer willing to help explain this project in detail and answer any questions that need to be answered. He says that it is a good project, and it will show relief and it will help people especially on this drainage canal. He thinks that it will complement what the city has already done with the Retention, Detention, and with the project we moved that $6 or so million, project between subservice drainage throughout the south. Mayor Ellis again reassures that she and the community have his commitment for this project.
Ms. Marie Brown asks will he call a special meeting.
Mayor Ellis and Mrs. Angie Sturdivant, City Attorney, stated that we can hold a community meeting.
Mayor Ellis says yes, we can have a community meeting.
Ms. Marie Brown says that we are in a catch 22 now, do we believe you all and not do it, or do we trust you and you to do it. If it doesn t get voted on tonight, we are in a catch 22.
Mayor Ellis says that we do not have to vote on it tonight to submit to the Louisiana Watershed Initiative, the project is being submitted as a pre application, and once that s done there is also some confusion about if the council had to approve it. Yes, the council approves it once we submit the application, we get into final process saying that you have a match for it, and again it will eventually come to Council, but the council approval is not needed for us to submit for that project.
Ms. Marie Brown asks how long it will take to write this up.
Ms. Woods says that it has to already be written out because it has to be submitted by May 31st.
Mayor Ellis and Mr. Crosby answered that is correct.
Ms. Marie Brown asked if this had already been written up.
Ms. Woods said that this is about the Watershed Initiative.
Mr. Harvey says this has already been voted on. The only thing we were considering tonight is something that would break this project out and make it a lesser project, which he doesn t support, it doesn t make sense to him. What we are trying to do tonight is actually harm said project.
Ms. Marie Brown says that she understands why it doesn t make sense to you, but it makes sense to us because we are hearing so many different stories, we don t see any movement on it and the things is, all we have to go on is what people are telling us and if we are getting it from higher authority, we want come and ask you guys what is going on.
Mayor Ellis said that he is glad that you came tonight because we all have gotten a different perspective because as Paul Harvey says, there s the rest of the story . He said that he appreciates her for coming as she always does. He said that he was not offended by being put on the spot, it offends him that Mr. Sewell is placed in this situation, but it doesn t offend him that he is fighting for his community, that is what you should do. He says that if we had more people like you guys, this community would be a lot better off. He says that this is our problem to fix, and he thinks the council is ready to fix the problem, engineering knows it s a priority of ours, and we are going to go to Baton Rouge, and I ve already been talking to our members that actually sit on the Watershed Commission informing them about this project and saying this is our number priority on this. Outside of a meeting with the Chair of that committee Senator Mike Reese, we are getting set up, but our goal is to take this project as a package to say this is our number one priority as the City and we are going to fight for those dollars as well as we fight for other projects. Again, it s imperative that we get this thing funded and we get it moved. I don t like the fact of holding this up in Capital Outlay, because we don t know what is going to happen this session, they are already talking about the budget over prescribed by $100,000,000.00 dollars in projects and who do you think is going to get cut, Northeast Louisiana has always gotten the short end of the stick. Then it doesn t mean that you are going to get funding year over year, that just says, here s a little money this year, a little next year, our goal is to get it funded once and for all and to keep going back down there to get these one-time dollars so that we can put them to work quickly. He told Ms. Brown that he would work with her to host this community meeting to bring our engineers with you so we can talk about the project because it is important, and he think people need to have the right information and once it comes from the City the people who actually engineers and moving as progress.
Ms. Woods said that she is offended because Mayor Ellis said that he would work with Ms. Marie and it s in my district, she would hope that he said he would work with her.
Mayor Ellis said that you would be included in this.
Ms. Woods said that he should say that he would work with Council woman Woods and Marie, you need to include me on this, that s why we are in this predicament right now, because she is never included, and I don t know what s going on in my district because it s always a secret.
Mayor Ellis said respectfully, Marie had invited me to do it and she asked me to work with her and I gave her my commitment.
Ms. Brown says that Ms. Woods knows that she supports her wholeheartedly, she was raised in Booker T, but she no longer lives there anymore, and there s nothing that happens that she doesn t confirm with Ms. Woods. She said that is a thing that they have witnessed with this Council about three or four meetings back when you said that district four and five would be funded, and Ms. Woods asked, what about my district and nothing is going on in her district. She said that you all vote together so whatever your community needs, Ms. Woods votes with you, so we need the Council members, all five of them, to start voting with Ms. Woods because she stands on vote alone. She said that most of the things she sees her fighting for her community she s alone, so that has to change because Mayor Ellis said, this City is OneRoe, and she needs to see more people on that Roe.
Ms. Woods wanted to make a correction on the record, she was referring to the letter, but it s not just this letter, it s been the Senator, the Representative Fisher, and the conversations that we ve had that brought us to this point, along with the conversations with Mr. Morgan McCalister. She said that we ve had conversations and they have been valid conversations. Ms. Woods said that she knows Kevin Crosby, Tom, and Morgan have been talking.
Mr. Crosby said that they had been talking. He said that they will continue to talk until this pre application gets submitted.
Ms. Woods asks what would happen if you were to write Booker T s name in the line item.
Mr. Crosbey says that he doesn t know, but he can defend, here s the airport, here s where all the drainage goes, it just so happens that we are going to have a big impact in Booker T, by improving the drainage canal, but it can t be called Booker T Erosion Control.
Ms. Woods states that she understands that this money is in place for flood control.
Mr. Harvey states that naming it something wrong that damages it. What s asked to be introduced at this moment is changing the name. We have had the benefit of conversation before this a while back to really get informed on this and to understand what we are doing here and we are obviously getting a lot of support at least a lot of feedback from all different pieces mainly in Baton Rouge of what these projects have to look like and we are trying to fit that, I encourage all the people that are in that letter to really push this when it gets into the application process. Because it is an encompassing project and the stuff is put out there for however it arrives here, is stuff that puts the project at risk.
Ms. Woods asks, when this project first came around, for the record, was that Booker T, piece included or was it just the airport.
Mr. Crosby said the maps that he has which we were one of the consultants that did the maps for the airport, it had all these ditches and canals north of Kansas City Southern Railroad, all the way up to UP, and it went from this ditch right along the eastside of Booker T, all the way to Bennett Bayou, that was the drainage study around the airport. As they continued to dig deeper into the study, he was made aware by the Mayor, that we have some issues on this canal. He said that you had two or three things working in the same sense on that, we had some higher water when it needed to be in the mall area, all of that was inclusive in that initial Airport drainage Study that we did with Garver.
Mr. Harvey asks is it fair to say that we defined the scope a little better as we continued to dig deeper into this; first this was the first pass at this.
Ms. Woods said that all she needed for him to say is that we better defined the scope as we dug into it, but on the initial onset the ditch wasn t in it.
Mr. Harvey and Mr. Crosby both said that is not what he said.
Ms. Woods said that s not what you said.
Mr. Crosby stated that all of these ditches, not just the one you re talking about the ditches through Chennault Park, ditches north of the airport, all of that was in the study area that we looked at from the very beginning.
Ms. Woods said thank you and she was going to allow the other people to speak.
Rev. Clarence Jackson, Pastor of the Riverside Baptist Church, asked when you re talking about the airport stopping the flooding over there, in 2016, he has a $1.5 million dollar church that was flooded on Powell Avenue, that whole area flooded, we need something done in that area. The airport is fine, and he understands the airport brings in revenue, but the revenue that that brings in has no barrier at all to equate the souls that come to that church on Sunday morning and throughout the rest of the week. He said that he is at this point where he would rather have a little bit than to have none at all. That is what s important to him and his constituents, he has a few people with him tonight because, Senator Jackson is a member of his church, he baptized her himself, and reared her up into this state. Pastor Jackson is asking that the Mayor and council would look out, he noted that he knew the Mayor s daddy. Who was a fine fellow and he would like to see what you are going to do at this point to try and resolve some of these issues that we are having. He said because they are flooding over there just like the airport is doing and if you are to fix one side of it, it s important that you fix the other side of it and where they are flooding. The church burned initially in the beginning and then they moved where they are currently and he s prepared at this point to build a senior citizen housing by the railroad track, but he can t do it because it is flooding in that area. He said they need the Mayor to do something about that, if you re going to fix one issue you have to do something about the other. He is looking forward to that getting done. He said they are still dealing with water in that particular area.
Mr. Crosbey says that he wanted to discuss this watershed initiative. He stated that the federal government sent funding to Louisiana because of all the flooding. He said that he didn t want Pastor Jackson to walk away from the podium thinking that when this project is completed, we are no longer going to have any more flooded. He continues to explain that the ditch that leads from the airport, Booker T, and from Riverside Baptist Church, it goes straight south through the Mall, it continues just under the new service road just to the west of Lowes, all of that has been thirty years plus ever having a track coat putting a bucket in it. He says that if it isn t cleaned out and widen, all the way to Young s Bayou, to Bayou LaFouche; this is what this type of program is setup for. It was to look at the larger scale projects.
Pastor Jackson said that he was glad he mentioned that, because if it s a larger scale project, that area was not included.
Mr. Crosby said that it s part of a larger scale project.
Pastor Jackson said that its part of the area, but it was not included. He said that houses along with the church where he pastors Riverside Missionary Baptist Church, floods in that area.
Mr. Crosby says just north of the railroad track. He said that everything south of his church has to be cleaned out.
Ms. Woods asked if that is a part of this project.
Mr. Crosby said no ma am.
Pastor Jackson said that is what he is talking about.
Mr. Crosby said that you are talking about hundreds of millions of dollars.
Pastor Jackson said that it is not going to take a hundred million dollars to include that in there. He says with all due respect Mayor, you all can say whatever you want to say, but the fact still remains that they have problems in their neighborhood, it may not be the best furniture in his house, but it s his furniture. When we spent the kind of money we spent for a House of Worship, he said he is concerned about his people. He said you all fixing some things and leaving some of it undone, that dog just doesn t hunt, with all due respect. He stated that they had to have known that the area flooded when they applied for that money.
Mayor Ellis asked if he has seen the Young s Bayou Detention pond that s been out there to help alleviate flooding.
Pastor Jackson answered no.
Mayor Ellis said that Phase 2 is a $1.3 million dollar project that was moved, he doesn t remember the gallons, Phase 2 is a 70 acre pond that s been funded through this same bucket of money that has been put forward. These are a series of projects that have funding behind them that are being engineered. We just cut ribbon on that one, just south by the railroad. Phase 2 is being funded and engineered through the same bucket of money that was funded where we are able to move quickly on. These are series of projects that we go and get funding for so we can get engineered and moved. We move in a way that does not cause damage to other people, and we have to do it responsibly. Mr. Kevin is correct; you can give him $300 million today and it will not fix the woes of the City of Monroe.
Pastor Jackson said that, that is the Mayor s problem, your problem as Mayor is to fix the City of Monroe.
Mayor Ellis said that we have been discussing this for 40 minutes about this problem we are facing and why this project is important to your neighborhood and the constituents here tonight. We are talking about fixing this problem and the problems in your community and that is why this project s dialogue and discussion is important, so we can talk about the benefit of this project to you and your church.
Pastor Jackson asks so what you are saying to me is that the part or broader scale that s happening now that you all will fix, will that fix the flooding over there on Powell Avenue.
Mr. Crosby said that it will significantly help it.
Pastor Jackson said so it is not going to fix it.
Mr. Crosby said that it s not going to totally fix it. He said that he couldn t stand here and tell him that it would never flood.
Mayor Ellis said that there are pieces of this that don t even come.
Pastor Jackson asked how much money Senator Jackson said there was.
Ms. Woods said $10.5 million.
Pastor Jackson asked the amount that she got the Governor to appropriate.
Mayor Ellis, Mr. Harvey, Ms. Woods all answered no.
Mayor Ellis said this is what we are saying, it is not funded.
Pastor Jackson asked how that money got left out of there.
Mayor Ellis said that is a good question, he doesn t control that. He said that is not my job, he presents the projects to our representatives in Baton Rouge, they champion to bring home money, he does not have any control on how things get funded in Baton Rouge outside of we present our requests and that s what our delegation does go down to fight for funding for these projects.
Ms. Woods said that she has to speak right now to the defense of Senator and to the State Representatives. She said this is no disrespect anywhere here. She said she wanted to be on record for this, that money it was our understanding that and Mr. McCalister kind of said that this project in it initially, he said that it wasn t until, according to Senator Jackson and Representative Fisher, it wasn t until they said they were not going to write anymore letters of support for the City of Monroe, wasn t until then they put our project in this whole project we are talking about. She said that she understands that it was not there, and it wasn t until they said that they would not write anymore letters of support for City of Monroe until that part about Booker T, was added to this Watershed and if it wasn t in that then put it in Capital Outlay. But they say that piece was not anywhere at all. It was also said that when we went to Baton Rouge, the administration and it was said there was a conversation between our administration and the commission that we know that you can t fund all fourteen of these projects and we understand that, but number fourteen is not really that important. Now that s the story that they were told.
Mr. Harvey said that the note that was literally just read to us talked about that it was not in Capital Outlay, that doesn t mean that it wasn t in the Watershed Initiative, those are two different things. What she said could be true.
Ms. Woods said that it wasn t in either one of them.
Mr. Harvey said that is not true.
Ms. Woods said that is what was in the initial statement. She said somewhere along the line, it was added, and it wasn t there always. She said that she just wants to keep it straight and she s going to leave it at that.
Ms. Kenya Roberson said she knows that everyone is asking why she is here and she said she has two properties in that area. She says that she appreciates Senator Jackson, Representative Fisher, Councilwoman Woods, Councilman Marshall. She said that we have had to stand here tonight for 40 minutes if the conversations would have been had prior to today, and we wouldn t had to rally up the people to get in here to let the people know what was going on. She said if someone picked up the phone and sent out some notices or said Black Chamber of Commerce or anybody, we need all the residents to come so they can be aware of the different things we are applying for that would benefit your district. Those conversations weren t had and that didn t happen. Then you have the huffing and puffing, looking at the watches, ok, this is where we have to do it because if we had it clear and transparent from the beginning we wouldn t have to stand here, beg and plead and rave and all of this, but if we would have the conversations prior to the Council meeting and not feel like we have been disclosed or secret or meetings had if we are at the table in the beginning, I promise you wouldn t have these kinds of meetings. But unfortunately, when we are not privileged like we should be, we have to stand and knock and beat and yell and scream to get our point across, we are given pieces of cheese. That s not right. Unfortunately, it takes up time, but sometimes it s necessary and this is one of those times it s necessary. She said there are people in that district that can t stand up here for an hour, they are handicapped, they can t come out of their homes, they have people that can come and bring them, so we have to be that voice, we have to do what s necessary. She says that she doesn t like that the Senator is put on blast, and saying what she s doing, not doing, and shouldn t have done and its like she is trying to make them do something that is not right. What she is doing is listening to the people who have elected her, and she is being quite transparent and she s letting her people know what s going on and nothing is wrong with that. In fact, as an elected official that s what we have challenged all of you guys to do, so there is nothing wrong with her rallying the people and telling them I m fighting for you all, I hear you, I m listening, but you gotta make them do their part too.
Supt. Odell Riley, 6214 Cypress Point Drive, said that Pastor Jackson and he are neighbors in Cypress Point and in the community where he pastors Riverside Baptist Church, and he pastors Powerhouse Church of God in Christ just up the street from him. He said that when he hurts, we all hurt in the community, he thinks a lot of conversations went on tonight, but it sounded like we ended up in a good place and we don t need to rehash how we got here, at the end of the day what I m understanding is that the Booker T flooding issue is in the Watershed Initiative Project and it is number one as I understand. He continued to say that, that was the objective we were trying to get to, we can discuss how we got there, its pretty fruitless at this point, but I do appreciate Senator Jackson and Representative Fisher and Councilwoman Woods and anybody that had a piece in making this happen because at the end of the day we want this solved. He s been to Mr. Sewell s house and walked that canal and he s been over to Millie Atkin s, he has 8ft and Millie has about 1ft, the last time I was over there before that house starts to go into that ditch, so we do need to get it resolved and get it resolved quickly.
Ms. Woods thanked everyone for speaking and she said that she believes that everyone is in a good place. She said she wanted to make sure that this project is going to be submitted to the Watershed Initiative Project and it was going in on May 31st of this month and wanted to make sure it was a number one priority. She said that we all have to take the good with the bad on your watch. She said that it has been a journey and I believe that everyone has been to your house. She said when the Mayor took office the first thing, I told him is to meet me at Mr. Sewell s house. Its been an ongoing thing and we wanted to see some resolve there. The flood of 2016 was unprecedented, places flooded that have never flooded before. The amount of water that fell on this city and on the state of Louisiana, we just couldn t accommodate that water. She said that she wants us to make strides, she appreciates the watch dogs that tell you what s going on and continue to keep us informed so that we don t miss it.
Mrs. Sturdivant stated for the record, the City has been having multiple meetings, Mr. McCalister has met with you, Senator Jackson, Representative Fisher, herself, Mr. Crosby, Mr. Malmay, multiple people, it hasn t all been done in a vacuum. She believes they spent Friday evening, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, today and have tried phone conferences and answered every single question that has been asked, so she just wanted it to be clear that it wasn t done in a vacuum, these meetings have gone back for months. She said that they ve had meetings in the Mayor s office with you all (Council), Senators and other Representatives, she wanted to state that they have been communicating. They spent the majority of the weekend and Monday on the phone talking back and forth.
Ms. Woods said yes, talking back and forth.
Mr. Marshall said that there has been a lot of concern for the Booker T area, Pastor Riley has been very involved with Mr. Sewell and Ms. Atkins, so it s a concern and been going on for years and people just want to know when something is going to get done. He said the transparency I do believe that it must be more of it in giving that information out whether via mail or whatever, but the overall downfall is the communication aspect of it. He also said that we have some work to do, but just like Pastor Riley said we are in a good place, and we understand what needs to be done and what s involved.
Ms. Woods asked the Clerk to call the roll.
Madame Clerk says this motion is to add and she calls the roll.
Mr. Harvey answers nay.
Mr. Marshall says aye, but for the record he wants to see this thing move forward.
Mr. Harvey said we are doing a project for and adopting a resolution to rename it, we ve already established that, you want to say yes to something that goes against it go for it. You can vote yes despite me voting nay and killing it, if you want to feel good about yourself for doing that then do it.
Mr. Marshall said that he just wanted everyone to know that we are for them.
Mr. Harvey said if we are doing stuff gamesmanship and we ve all agreed that we all don t want to support it and then vote yes, he doesn t think it s very genius.
The Council discuss amongst themselves.
Ms. Woods asked can she withdraw it.
Madame Clerk noted that the roll has been called, the vote fails because Mr. Harvey voted nay.
Ms. Woods says that the vote has to be unanimous in order to add it and it wasn t.
(Louisiana Revised State 42:19 states: Upon unanimous approval of the members present at a meeting of a public body the public body may take up a matter not on the agenda.)
INTRODUCTION OF RESOLUTIONS & ORDINANCES:
(a) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey seconded by Mr. Marshall and unanimously approved to Introduce an Ordinance declaring certain immovable property no longer necessary for public use, authorizing a Lease Agreement between the City of Monroe and Biomedical Research and Innovation Park, and further providing with respect thereto. (Legal)
Mr. Joe Holyfield, 2371 Tower Drive, said that he would like to just say thanks to the Council and Mayor for the support you all have given the Biomedical Research Park. He said that it s a phenomenal project sixty thousand square foot research facility that is going to be built there, almost half a mile of roads, it s a great project and it couldn t have been done without the city and the support you all have given on that. He said that once the lease is completed, they would be able to move forward with engineering and we hope to have roads under construction by late summer early fall and hopefully under construction of the building as soon as funds from Capital Outlay come forth in June, which he feels pretty good there are. He wanted to thank everyone for their help and support on that.
(b) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey seconded by Mr. Marshall and unanimously approved to pass over item (b) to Introduce an Ordinance authorizing a designated city representative to execute an Amended and Restated Lease Agreement between the City of Monroe and Ouachita Grand Plaza, Inc. and further providing with respect thereto. (Legal) (There were no public comments)
Legal requested This item be passed over until the next meeting June 13, 2023.
RESOLTIONS AND ORDINANCES FOR SECOND READING AND FINAL ADOPTION
AND SUBJECT TO PUBLIC HEARING:
The Chairman opened the Public Hearing and seeing no one come forward the Hearing was
closed.
(a) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey seconded by Mr. Marshall and unanimously approve an Ordinance No. 12,165 Finally adopt an Ordinance declaring certain movable property of the City of Monroe as being no longer needed for public use and authorizing Henderson Auctions to proceed with the sale of the said movable property and further providing with respect thereto. (Admin.) (there were no public comments.)

The Chairman opened the Public Hearing.
(b) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey seconded by Mr. Marshall and unanimously approved an Ordinance No. 12,166 Finally adopt an Ordinance declaring certain immovable property in Monroe located at 3901 Jackson Street as no longer being needed for public use and authorizing the same to be sold to HP Investments, LLC, pursuant to Louisiana Revised Statute 33:4712 and further providing with respect thereto. (Admin.)

Mr. John Flipo, 6601 North Park Road, HP Investments, Developer, said the company he works for covers central Louisiana up to the Arkansas border and then to eastern Texas. He said that this particular store is our 12,000 square foot prototype, this one has special produce, fresh vegetables, fruits, and a larger cooler and freezer area for more food. This particular one is 2,025 square feet more than their previous prototype and he wanted to thank the City for the work they did on this to get this store here.

Mayor Ellis asked Mr. Flipo for the ones that are watching at home, where will this store be located.

Mr. Flipo said it is on Jackson Street just past the old Engineering building.

Ms. Woods asked what this is going to be, is it a grocery store.

Mr. Flipo said it is a Dollar General, a new prototype, before they had the other coolers and freezers for the milk and stuff, but the feedback they got was there wasn t any fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, so they added 2500 square feet and created an area to have that. He said that they are hard to get, it took a lot of hard work.

Ms. Woods said it s going to be a Dollar General store with all of the things that would be in a Dollar General store plus fresh produce and other stuff.

Mr. Flipo said they will still have coolers and freezers all along the wall, they just added the fresh produce.

Ms. Woods & Mayor Ellis thanked Mr. Flipo.

The Public Hearing was closed.