City Hall, Monroe, Louisiana
November 10, 2025
6:00 p.m.
There was a legal and regular session of the City Council of the City of Monroe, Louisiana held on this date at the Council’s regular meeting place, the Council Chamber, City Hall Building, Monroe, Louisiana.
The Honorable Rodney McFarland I, Chairman called the meeting to order. He then asked the clerk to call roll.
There were present: Mr. Harvey, Mrs. Ezernack, Ms. Woods, Mr. McFarland, & Mr. Muhammad
There was absent: None
Chairman McFarland announced that a quorum was present, and that the Invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance would lead by Mr. Muhammad or his designee.
The Invocation was led by Rev. Eddie R. Stewart, Triumph Baptist Church.
The Chairman noted that he would move communications and special announcement to the top of the agenda before Rules of the day. There were no objections from the council.
III. COMMUNICATIONS & SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Mr. Harvey had no announcements.
Mrs. Ezernack wished all the Veteran in our community and as in the invocation tonight those that are with us and those that have served previously and no longer with us, we remember them tomorrow and every day for the service they gave for us to assemble here tonight. Thank you to the Veterans and active members for their service.
Ms. Woods prepared recognition for Carolyn Danceland Royal Court, and noted they had a very successful season, they had an amazing homecoming and invited her to come out and visit with them on last week. Ms. Woods has invited them this evening to visit with her and show them how much they are appreciated and she is personally appreciating them from District 3 with all the great things they are doing in this community and working so tirelessly. Ms. Wood asked all 17 of the royal court members to come forward as she recognized each one ranging from age 4years to 17years old and presented them with a small token of appreciation. Council took pictures with the royal court.
Mr. Muhammad wanted to solute all the Veterans for Veteran’s Day and announce that the Council will help feed on tomorrow at the veteran’s home and he plans to volunteer in the feeding of our Veterans. Mr. Muhammad noted that there was a shooting in Parkview a young man with injuries to the chest succumbed to those injuries this afternoon. He noted that we must get a grip on this violence in our city, prayers or whatever we can do to pull together to curve some of this violence. It is too much as we go into the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holiday, so there was a murder in Parkview this afternoon.
Mr. McFarland echoed the same from all of our council members and tomorrow the council will be at the nursing home serving those who have served this country well. He noted that his wife served 20 years as part of the Army and he thanked them again for their service and will continue to celebrate the Veterans on tomorrow.
IV. Rules of the Day: The Chairman welcomed everyone to the City Council meeting and outlined the rules: speakers on action items must use the podium to the right, have three minutes, and cannot return once finished. Citizens on the participation list may speak on any topic respectfully and orderly. Comments on agenda items must be germane to that item. The Chairman asked that order is kept in this chamber if not he will be asking the Marshal to escort you out. He will keep order in this Chamber, he asked that you follow the rules when someone is up speaking, do not interrupt and respect those as they come up to give their remarks.
The Chairman recognized State Representative Pat Moore.
Upon motion of Mr. Harvey, seconded by Mr. Muhammad, the minutes of the Legal and Regular Session of October 28, 2025, were unanimously approved. (No comments from the public.)
V: PROPOSED CONDEMNATIONS:
- 801 Beauregard St. (D4) – Owner: Herman Williams, III and Bonnie Williams. Photographic evidence was presented. There was no one present. Upon motion of Mr. McFarland, seconded by Mr. Harvey and unanimously approved, the building was condemned, and the property owner given 30 days 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, said this is an open dilapidated burnt structure, service has been rendered and there has been no contact with the property owner. They are asking that the property owner be given 30 days to bring it into compliance.
Chairman McFarland thanked Mr. James for what he is doing with them and for them to clean up our neighborhoods, and communities with these structures. He noted that he knows how he feels and they want to reach out to the property owners to try and get them to fix these properties and if not, we have to move forward with condemning the property. If they don’t bring it up to code, we must move forward having it torn down. He motioned to condemn the property and giving the owner 30 days to bring it up to code or tear the structure down and clear the property.
VI. RESOLUTIONS AND MINUTE ENTRIES:
1. Council:
Upon motion of Ms. Wood, seconded by Mr. Muhammad and unanimously approved Resolution No. 9030 appointing Vicki Lang to the Board of Commissioners for the Southside Economic Development District. (Woods)
Ms. Woods asked Ms. Lang to come forward and introduce herself and thank her for her service.
Vicki Lang, 2704 Sutton Lane, Monroe La., one of the Chief Operating Officer of Miller Funeral Home and Life Insurance Company.
(b) Upon motion of Ms. Wood and seconded by Mr. Muhammad and unanimously denied the removal of Roosevelt Wright Jr. from the Board of Commissioners for the Southside Economic Development District. (Rep. Moore) (Muhammad, Harvey, McFarland, Ezernack, Woods-Nay)
Motion by Ms. Woods and seconded by Mr. Muhammad.
Representative Pat Moore came forward and thanked the council for the opportunity to come before them, before she discuss the requested resolution, she wanted to thank all the SEDD board members for their service and the work that they have done. She especially wanted to thank Mr. Roosvelt Wright Jr. for his service. He appointed him in 2023 to serve because he knew the mission, the plan and the vision for the Districts 3, 4 and 5. She want on to say our community depends on SEDD, their progress and when she says “we” she is referencing Senator Katrina Jackson Andrews, Representative Adrian Fisher and herself. For years they have been supportive of SEDD with the founder former Senator Charles Jones and Representative Hunter, all of them working together to create this district and she thanked them for their efforts. They have continued to support SEDD whether it was funds or through State dollars, so they will continue to do that, but as they begin to look at year 2027, the three of them along with others has done some assessments, looked at where SEDD is moving and the things they are doing in our community, the improvements they are making and again they thank them for that. Rep. Moore thanked the council for all the things they are doing; it takes all of us community, mayor, city council, nonprofit organizations like with the royal court we just saw and everybody else working together. But when we look at where we are and where we are trying to go, we felt like there were some changes needing to be done. When she appointed Mr. Roosvelt Wright it was a need and changes are made all the time, community leaders make changes, pastors and all make changes when it’s warranted. Sen. Katrina Jackson-Andrews, Rep. Adrian Fisher and herself, on her appointee it was time to make a change and to continue the work and they all have done a lot of good things for this community and there are still a lot of things to do. Rep. Moore asked that tonight they honor her and approve the change that she has requested.
Attorney Ben DuBose came forward on behalf of Mr. Wright, and he believes on November 7, Rep. Moore sent a letter to this council requesting the removal of Mr. Wright from the Southside Economic Development District. The Southside Economic Development District was created under Statute and pursuant to that Statute a member can only be removed for cause upon vote of this council, and he believe it require ¾ of this council to be removed. The for cause is important because it’s not just for a desire for change it generally connotes some type of wrongdoing or gross neglect of duties and none of that has been alleged against Mr. Wright this evening. All that has been alleged is some vague want for change and additionally in her letter other than stating cause vaguely Mr. Wright has been provided with no notice of what misconduct or allegation are being alleged against him. Without knowing the specific conduct, he can’t adequately defend himself, so it would be manifestly unfair to consider removal of Mr. Wright from the Southside Economic Development District Board for some ambiguous want or ambiguous feeling the need for change. That is not proper under the Statute, and it is not proper before this council. Mr. DuBose presented a printed copy of a text to the council and read it for the record: (The text is from Rep. Moore to Mr. Wright – Roosevelt, Juanita will not remove Tony unless you and Tony are removed. Other members and citizens think this is the best way to move SEDD forward. This is about the future of SEDD. I have to agree with this. I know you care about SEDD and our community, but I am replacing you with someone who will protect SEDD’s plan.) Mr. DuBose noted that it is pretty clear that the resolution to remove Mr. Wright was just merely pretext to remove Mr. Tony from SEDD in absence of any cause the removal of Mr. Wright is wholly improper, and no cause has been stated.
TJ Stevenson, (mayor of Adam’s Street) 1915 Adam Street, serves at the pleasure of the Mayor on the SEDD Board and she is here to discourage you from voting for the removal of Mr. Wright. She named those who were on the district board originally as well as Mr. Wright, who has knowledge of the law, regulations, and stipulations. He was there to inform us when we were in compliance, and she thinks if you are considering to remove him you are looking to dissolve SEDD. They need someone there who has knowledge of this, they have just increased the board from 7 members to 10 members, and the members are not aware of the projects. They have not been allowed to move forward with them, and she strongly suggests and asks to please not vote to have him removed, if you want to see SEDD go forward.
Mondrian Douglas, 5513 Long Drive stated that in 1969 Roosevelt Wright Jr. started what we know as the Monroe Free Press. This free press newspaper outlet was created with the sole intention of providing information to people as a reliable source keeping them informed on important issues as they pertained to ensuring the overall integrity of government and exposing corruption while protecting the general welfare of citizens affected during the civil rights movement. He remained an advocate for the disenfranchised even today. This means to deprive someone of a right or a privilege; how does Commissioner Wright feel about being disenfranchised and were his actions justified by the many unethical actions and violations of social and civil rights? The civil rights veteran was left with no choice after feeling disenfranchised once again deprived of his legal and social rights he was not allowed access to the privilege of the power he processed to vote or inquire about matters pertaining to his fiduciary responsibility as a commissioner and to perform his civic duty as a stakeholder to the City of Monroe. It could be argued that lead Commissioner Wright feeling a sense of powerlessness, an exclusion from the majority of his colleagues who share the same responsibilities and will the same power that he processes thus rendering his vote void and his inquiries falling on death ears. Plainly put, he was denied the right to vote and inquiries not included in the decision making process. The majority were stacked against him and placed him between a chaotic government and a hard place. He exercised his first amendment right as a citizen, expressing his opinions and thoughts without censorship or restraints. The right to share public information in personal editorialized views. He utilized his freedom of the press through his Monroe Free Press. He was prevented from participating in the political process of conducting SEDD business, forcing him to breach the causes of integrity surrounding his fiduciary responsibilities, his rights were ignored, and his voice was silenced, but he fought against a systemic oppression with the freedom of the press.
Lakinya Covin, 137 Brookwood Drive stands here representing Pastor Wright who is a pillar of this community, very knowledgeable and she is here as a parent of the SEDD Board as Pastor Wright is still out here with booths on the ground for the community. He is 76 years old and still trying to see that the generations that are ages seven and up have a life. His organization called the Black Tie Guy shows young men how to be the elite of the elite. She is a true believer that if you never see it, how do you know you can be it. Pastor Wright has given knowledge to the community, to the SEDD Board and educated everyone. She noted that her daughter went to Excellence Academy school under Pastor Wright and she is a surgical tech now. Pastor Wright is the ram in the bush to keep this SEED organization going forward on the right side and removing him would be a detrimental change.
Debra Hudson has known Roosevelt Wright for 15 years and she has never met a man with more integrity than him. She has watched him take on the youth and so many are thrown to the streets now. He cares about this city, and he has a passion inside of him she wishes was infectious. She sees his love for the city and fighting for youth and she believes to take him off this board would be a loss. He has helped her son, and she has watched young men come up to be successes under him and if we stifle him, we lose that.
Kenya Roberson 116 Glenwood Drive began going to the SEDD meetings and when she first started, she had to learn, see what was going on, understand the jargon that was utilized and try to decipher and figure out what the plan was how to move SEDD forward. She began to see why SEDD was not moving forward, it’s because it did not have a cohesive board. It is because there were many tactics that came about that took hours and hours to even get a vote or attempt to vote. Reverend Wright has been on the board for years and SEDD has not been able to move forward, I agree with removing Reverend Roosevelt Wright, he been a pillar in the community however he has not been able to be a cohesive player in reference to SEDD. Ms. Roberson strongly encouraged, and she has listened to those say they want to see SEDD move forward, so they are going to have to start over and move SEDD forward. It doesn’t take away what he has done in the past, for youth and all of that, this is about SEDD moving forward a cohesive team. She asked the Council to remove Reverend Wright.
Herb Guillory, 1801 Woodhaven Drive is one of the Commissioner on the SEDD Board and he is the Secretary of SEDD, and he is here to encourage the removal of Mr. Wright. Herb has been a part of this community since he came to college at Northeast in 1993 and he has worked with the prior mayor’s administration and when SEDD first came about and he has seen some of the highs and lows that SEDD has had over the years. Within these last 5 to 6 years, he has seen some of those highs and lows as well and he was appointed to the board this past year hoping he could be someone who could help make a change or improve what’s happening or not happening on the southside. It has been a circus this past year because the board can’t get anything done, because it’s always an issue with minutes, or other members encouraging other members not to come to meeting so we can’t have a quorum. There has not been a meeting in the last couple of months, we talk about SEDD but it’s about economic development. They tried to partner with the City with Paint Monroe with Community Development but couldn’t get it passed to donate money because we couldn’t get a quorum. Herb commends Mr. Wright for what he has done in the past with the kids and things, but this is about economic development, moving forward, changing the landscape of the southside. If you look in the past 5 or 10 years when Mr. Wright was involved in SEDD can anyone say what has been improved that SEDD has done. That’s why we have new commissioner coming in because if you continue to keep things the same nothing’s going to ever change.
Quincy Gardner, 16 Leslie Lane serves as the pastor of St. Mathews Church of Christ of Holiness and the question asked what has been done since Pastor Wright has been on the SEDD Board and he can say he has advocated for funds for St. Mathews to start Celebrate Recovery, a Christian base recovery program, that has served all of Monroe thou it is in or on the southside Monroe. Someone from the Garden District answering a survey said that never would he have thought that he would be in the neighborhood were he once bought drugs to get help. That is an impact, a needed impact in this community when we say that violence is going up because Celebrate Recovery is not only for those recovering from drugs and alcohol but also those that have experience trauma. Pastor Wright was the only SEDD member to come to secure additional funding so they could continue the project at St. Mathews, No Council person has visited to see what was going on or see what they are doing with the money they provided for Celebrate Recovery. Mr. Gardner said he is for progress and he has not been to a SEDD meeting to see what happens there, but he knows Pastor Wright personally, he has a wealth of knowledge to offer one way or the other. What is being asked now is to be fair and as good Christians and how you hold on to your faith, he knows the right thing will be done on tonight.
Markeshia Badger speaks to the very clothe that governs these proceeding grows weary and bends beneath the weight of what’s left unsaid in our city. She refuses to relinquish time because itself has been stolen from honest people of Monroe taken by greed, monopoly, by those who wear the mask of public servants while proudly feasting from our treasury. For too long she traced the flow of the money through Monroe the same path her husband John Robert Badger candidate for president in 2028 has built his life on. John has said if you want to know the soul of corruption follow the money, the path lead not to progress, programs, lifting families or meaningful work but to Tony Little and a web of cronies left facing an investigation for allege contract abuse and discretionary fund misuse. These facts are not rumor, these numbers, the ledgers, the testimonies, public and private all the same direction and what is happening is nothing short of monopolization. Power has been concentrated not by community consciousness but by the handfuls who treat this council like their private boardroom. Watch the chest board the king never moves, the pawn representing our citizens, small businesses and taxpayers are the first sacrifices for a private profit. Ask yourself why year after year these contracts always go to the same familiar circle, why descending voices suddenly lose seats or face retaliation for asking too many questions which brings us accountability. There are those eager to purge Roosevelt Wright Jr. a man whose only disruption has been his quest for transparency, y’all call him disruptive others call him courageous, y’all call him difficult and others call him diligent. In a sea of unanswered questions somebody must be bold enough to insist on answers, his scrutiny of last year’s budget, his attention to suspicious line items, his threats of smooth passage asserting initiatives these have earned him not respect but attempt to removal.
Disruption occurred the chairman got the meeting back in order.
Mr. John Badger expressed his displeasure and left the meeting.
Marie Brown, 1002 South 5th Street came to speak on behalf of Reverend Wright and noted that she started with SEDD year ago, she worked on the tax to get SEDD going, the 25 year plan and SEDD was in the process of moving forward but because Roosevelt Wright won’t every (i) dotted and every (t) crossed it is a problem. They say that nothing has been done but there’s a lot that has been done. When others don’t come to the meetings and shut it down there’s no questions but now they want to bring up saying Roosevelt is controlling voters not coming to the meetings. This was used by the others and there have been complaints about it and some council have been coming to the meetings seeing where the problem is. To remove someone without cause you are opening a door that the same thing can happen to the next group. They had a lawsuit where they tried to remove Dhaliwal, so we are going to continue down this same rabbit hole, that’s a problem. Roosevelt Wright made sure that some youth had a youth program through the SEDD program, and Ms. Brown ran that program for the youth because nobody else was interested in the community. He made sure there were bookbags given to youth and uniforms. He insisted that funds would go the right way, he insisted on the minutes, there were always two sets of minutes, the recorded minutes, and the other minutes. This board has not moved forward, not because of Roosevelt Wright because he wanted to do things right. At this time, Ms. Brown doesn’t think there is anyone with knowledge on that board that is ready to move this board forward if you remove Roosevelt. If you are not in agreement there’s a problem.
Roosevelt Wright, 2406 Oak Street stated it has been a pleasure to work with you and stand with you. He had previously served on the SEDD Board and then was appointed by Ms. Moore last year and he has been keeping up with SEDD since it started in 2001. He has been going to all it’s meetings, recording and reporting on the outside. He has served on the executive committee that was appointed by the city council so basically, he is about the most informed person about SEDD on the board. He has heard a lot of things but what he didn’t hear for cause, and to remove a person according to state law for cause, they broke a law, stole, been indited, did something illegal, out of sync with Ethics Board and he didn’t hear anybody say that he had broken any laws. All the other things are not for cause, so if there is no cause then the law says you really can’t remove a person unless they have been doing something wrong. You just can’t go in because you don’t like the way they vote or raise a question, you simply can’t do it that way. Mr. Wright said he would like to continue to serve, and he believes the council has taken some action tonight that will fix it such that SEDD will move forward at a rapid pace, and he thinks the council will be pleased with what happens. He would prefer to serve out the remainder of his term if it’s council’s will.
Chairman McFarland noted to be clear that he will not be disrespected, and he will not have that foolishness in this chamber. He has instructed the Marshals and if anyone else gets out of line to escort them out. He further noted that the people of District 4 have voted and that’s why he is in this seat, so he doesn’t worry about deep pockets. He knows what he can and cannot do and he serves the people. This seat is open every 4 years for whoever desires to run, he doesn’t take threats kindly and it rubs him the wrong way. Whoever wants to run for this seat so be it, it’s the people choice, but while he’s in this seat he is going to serve and serve well. He is never scared to stand up for what’s right.
Councilman Harvey asked for the record has any cause been given for Mr. Wright’s removal.
Chairman McFarland said all he had was this letter.
Sydnee Clary, Assistant City Attorney said no cause was given to her.
Chairman McFarland noted the attorney said you have to show cause and is that written.
Assist. City Attorney Clary said the section referred to in the SEDD Statute is just a little section in there that states, “Members may be removed for cause by a 2/3 vote of the membership of city council. In the actual statute cause isn’t specifically defined, but she has looked into some case law and attorney general opinions on this and based on what she can find causes is going to mean serious and intentional misconduct, a few of the examples that the attorney general opinions give are: felony conviction during the term, malfeasant or gross misconduct and that how cause has been defined based on her research. Ms. Clary noted that she doesn’t know all the facts surrounding this and doesn’t know exactly what has been stated as the cause for removal, but that’s the legal definition of cause as far as she can find.
Councilman Muhammad stated that he read the resolution, and it says that the council has determined that a cause exist.
Assist. City Attorney Clary explained that this is for the future after tonight if the council had decided that cause existed that when the resolution would be signed.
Councilman Muhammad noted that it is predetermining their actions saying they have determined that a cause exist. He has heard a lot of pros and cons, and he is very much aware that this has to be right, and he sees Mr. Wright has his attorney. We have to be careful, and he is trying to understand the wording “council has determined a cause exist,” saying that the council has decided something exist and he don’t think that’s true.
Assist. City Attorney explained that would be implied by the vote if council does vote to move this forward, then that’s the only way that resolution will get signed.
Councilman Muhammad noted that he knows Rep. Moore is here but the resolution is what’s troubling him.
Chairman McFarland noted that he had nothing to do with putting the resolution together.
Assist. City Attorney Clary explained that the only reason that was included because cause is required, though it is implied that if the council votes for his removal that the city council found cause since it is a requirement.
Councilwoman Ezernack said she didn’t know if there was some underline something that was not in the letter but if you outline those items that’s looked at as cause, then no one has mentioned any of those things tonight. If there is something else that council doesn’t know, should council then table it until the next meeting if Ms. Moore wants to share anything else. This is coming at her request so council may not have all the information that they may need.
At the Chairman’s privilege:
Rep. Moore came back to respond to councilwoman Ezernack and went on to say when listening to the definition of cause as Mr. Roosevelt Wright has stated she did not say that it was for those reasons. She has attended many of the meetings there were disruptions, can’t move forward, a lot of just not being able to move forward and trying to do the business of SEDD and that was one of her main concerns. Again, she cannot say that it was because of the things that he had stated, this has been going on for a long time. When she looks at if they are moving forward and she has to look at the things that have been done. It was mentioned about the grant dollars etc. and she has given Mr. Roosevelt 250,000.00 for his program, so that’s not a problem and she has let him oversee millions of dollars that have come through. There was a clean audit no problem, but she has not seen where they have been moving forward with the SEDD business. Based on the community and people she has been consulting with they cannot see moving forward. She did make the change on what she saw and what they were doing with the district and trying to make the right decision.
Councilwoman Ezernack wanted to know if they moved forward with this what repercussions would it be on the council and will this initially cause legal action that would even harm SEDD more.
Assist. City Attorney Clary said it could in the future.
Councilwoman Ezernack thinks that it proves to us that when council appoints someone to a position what responsibilities are and that we all are on the same page.
Rep. Moore stated that she certainly don’t want to ask council to do anything that’s illegal or unconstitutional, but from what she is looking at with the community involvement and concerns about SEDD if you remove one person others are not going to be happy, they are not going to work together, there’s going to be divisiveness and still won’t be able to move SEDD in the way that’s wanted. She can assure there are too many concerns and issues to be solved, Districts 3,4 and 5 need to move forward and she wants to do her part as a state representative. After listening to everything that’s been said, his attorney and his representatives she just want to make sure council do what’s right, that no one is doing anything illegal that would cause further concerns and that’s not the intent of her request and the resolution. It was to try to get a district that had been created to move District 3, 4 and 5 forward and we couldn’t do that, and you have documentation, recordings and you can see that. As far as any definition we heard about illegal acts, she cannot say that was part of it.
Councilwoman Woods noted that she probably have known Reverend Wright longer than anybody in this room. She worked with him when it was to change things in Monroe. In 1971 the only year Carroll High did not have a graduating class because it was closed and made into a 9th grade center. Ms. Wood was in the 11th grade at Neville High School and Roosevelt Wright and her worked tirelessly to open Carroll High School back up and in 1972 it opened back up and she graduated, so to say she knows him and the person that he is and know what he is capable of, she knows so no one can tell her who he is because she knows. She knows how he helped children in our community, how he makes things change but her concerns here are economic development with SEDD. Setting on the council for the last 8 years she has not seen anything happen and that’s unfortunate. This board in her opinion was designed to make things happen, she knows when the money came in when they worked hard to get the hotel tax approved to bring money so that it would be a funded commission. What concerns her the most is bring the people together and moving the board in a direction in which it needs to go so that it can benefit constituents in 3, 4 and 5. She has been in some of those meetings and have not seen anything happen as a result of those meetings, two hours and nothing accomplished, that’s not the intention of this board so that’s her position. It’s not to take anything away from Roosevelt Wright, it’s to make sure that a board operates in the manner in which it was designed.
Chairman McFarland wanted the record to state that the statement that Mr. Badger made that I allowed Rep. Moore to have all the time she wanted, that is untrue. He questioned the clerk about the timer, and she said she forgot to cut it on. He said, so don’t go out there telling these tales that he just allows certain things to happen without rules you have no order. Always remember that you have got to have rules in order to have order.
Mr. Ben DuBose who is here for Mr. Wright noted that a lot of what they heard and he thinks the negative comments really focused on wanting to take minutes and cross (t) and dot (i) which for an economic development Board seem very important for a board that’s overseeing money, grants and trying to establish a positive impact in the community and crossing (t) and dotting (i) is definitely something you want on that board. A lot of the complaints assume that Mr. Wright is the sole arbiter and decision making authority on the board when he is one of ten members. It seems from the comments being made he’s one of the only members who is attempting to uphold the integrity of the board. From the positive comments heard, Mr. DuBose thinks it would be a great disservice to the community of Monroe to remove him or even consider removing him. He is a thorough man, professional man and everybody who knows him knows he is a man of good character. You can’t remove him because you disagree with his decision making, you can only remove him for cause and the only definition we have of cause is gross misconduct, none of which is being alleged tonight. It’s just nothing that has been alleged against him is cause, he is trying to develop the community and because nothing can get done can’t be placed on one individual there are 9 others who need to be held accountable. One of the council members asked about repercussions and they intend to appeal any adverse actions by this council.
Chairman McFarland noted that he knows that the assist. city attorney is filling in tonight, but they need some sound advice after hearing all of this.
Assist. City Attorney Clary explaines that all she can really do is go off the definition that she has found for cause and she can go through those again and what she has found based on researching case law and attorney general opinions and the definition she has landed on is that cause means serious and intentional misconduct. She went through the examples felony conviction during the term, malfeasant and gross misconduct and that’s looking at cases and attorney general opinions that she found for similar boards. She further noted that all she can do is give that definition and it’s the council’s determination on whether that has been proved tonight and if it meets that standard.
Chairman McFarland asked about the letter Rep. Moore sent out and should it have had the cause in that letter or how would the council know the cause.
Assist. City Attorney Clary explained that the cause is not required to be stated in the letter but she would have imagined that tonight was her chance to state the cause for the council so they would know. There are no requirements that it’s in writing in the letter.
Chairman McFarland asked so it has met that threshold.
Assist. City Attorney Clary said correct.
Chairman McFarland note that Assist. City Attorney Clary is our legal council tonight and they got to get some understanding, clarity on this matter.
Assist. City Attorney Clary explained that she has given the definitions she found of cause and again the Statute states removal is only for cause and it is the council’s determination whether that cause has been met. She stated that she can’t make a determination on whether there’s sufficient cause.
Chairman McFarland noted that Councilwoman Ezernack stated that they may need to table this until the next meeting and wait until Mr. Creekbaum comes back. The Chairman is going to entertain the motion, but they won’t table it because according to Robert’s Rules of Order tabling this matter it must be taken up at the end of this meeting so it must be passed over until the next meeting.
Councilwoman Ezernack motioned to pass over this matter until the next meeting.
Councilman Muhammad stated that too vague, pass it over and do what, come back like we are tonight.
Chairman McFarland stated that his issue tonight is the uncertainty of the language that’s in the Statute. The Statute is saying cause.
Councilman Muhammad stated that the resolution says they have determined the cause of this and that’s troubling to him.
Assist. City Attorney Clary explained in the Legal Department they draft their resolutions in the affirmative as if the council would approve it. If the council affirms it, then the resolution goes forward as is and is signed by the council chair and clerk. If it’s not approved by the council, then nothing is done with the resolution.
Chairman McFarland noted that the will and pleasure of the majority of this council will be his please, because after hearing all this tonight there is a lot of uncertainty, and gray areas in this after hearing the word cause. That’s where he has his uncertainty, the cause part.
Councilman Harvey question was are they going to know more in two weeks than they know tonight.
Councilwoman Ezernack noted that this would give each one an opportunity to speak with our council, which they have not done at this point. They have listened to testimonies, Ms. Moore has spoken, Mr. Wright has spoken and those on either side of the situation have spoken. What council haven’t had is the opportunity for each individually to get more information and ask our questions to our council so she would like to move that they pass over it until the next meeting to give them that opportunity.
Councilwoman Ezernack motion to passed over this matter until the next meeting November 25, 2025, and it was seconded by Councilwoman Woods.
The Chairman open the floor for comments:
TJ Stevenson, 1915 Adams Street came forward and stated that this city council is holding them up from moving forward by even considering removing Roosevelt Wright. They have had problems, and they have not been able to agree on things. They had bad leadership at the top and that is why they always had arguments. Ms. Woods was there, Ms. Moore was there one time, but they have struggled with this, fought each other trying to move forward. Ms. Stevenson said this is further delaying them and making them look bad in the community, which makes council look bad and she hopes they come to the right decision. She asks that they don’t put this off any longer they need to move forward. If this is your interest, then make the right decision.
Mondrian Douglas, 5513 Long Drive, she is glad to hear that the council would like to move this to the next meeting, hearing the un-comfortability and confusion here. In the court of law opinions and feeling do not supersede the law, they didn’t hear any cause, and he brought an attorney and exercised his first amendment right, freedom of the press to inform the public because he was not heard.
Kenya Roberson, 116 Glenwood Drive stated she appreciated the council wanting the guidance and to be educated more on what they are acting upon. As a council person, we trust them to do the homework, to have the incite, to be educated to make a wise decision and having heard both sides, but it’s clear in reference to madam attorney that council needs further information. This is nothing different than what the council has had on previous agendas, they have needed more time, and more information. There have been discussion at another meeting, so what’s different about tonight, nothing. You have that right to do that, get the information, think on it, ponder on it and you come back and make a decision at that time.
Ben DuBose on behalf of Roosevelt Wright, thinks they have all the information they need, they have heard the good, the allegedly bad and it wasn’t bad, it was just thoroughness. He doesn’t see what this council will gain from pushing it to another week and the Statute says may remove for cause. If the legislator wants to give unfretted discretion to remove for any reason the legislator would have drafted the Statute to read may remove. But they obviously didn’t want to give unfretted discretion because they want appointees like Mr. Wright to be able to make decisions that some people disagree with without the threat of being removed for just that alone, because they dislike him, his reasons and that’s why the for cause is there. The for cause posses a higher standard or burden if you will or showing of some action for removal and there has not been any cause heard tonight.
Quincy Gardner,16 Leslie Lane is urging council to make your vote on tonight, he has served at the council’s pleasure since 1993, a junior in high school, and he has served in every district from the master plan to recreation committee, CDBG Block funding, he served with Ester Gallow and a number of others. The people business is being halted, council have the information, and he know that you all are very smart and if Pastor Wright is a hindrance to the board the board can figure it out. The council can figure it out or Rep. Moore and the SEDD Board can figure it out, it just takes pressing through and figuring it out.
Roosevelt Wright, 2406 Oak Street said he is going on 77 years old and he is disturbed because if he is removed and council can only remove him for cause which means he committed a crime, he would have broken the law, stole something, out of sync with the Ethics Board or broken something, to him that is tremendously a fault and he don’t want that said about him. That’s the only reason he is challenging this he don’t want it said that he is a criminal, because the only way you can remove him is that he’s a criminal, not because they don’t like what he says, not because he insist that (t) cross and (i) dotted and minutes are correct, that’s not the problem. To remove says that he is a criminal, that he did something illegal and all that the assist city attorney just read are criminal acts. Council has been at this for an hour and a half, so are they going to go through this another hour and a half two weeks from now or resolve it now and get it over with. It’s one way or the other, the facts are not going to change, Creekbaum is going to set there and read the same laws. The law says real simple for cause, meaning the person committed a crime and he is a criminal and must be removed. Mr. Wright said he is not a criminal and he has not broken the law and no one who came up has said that, even Ms. Moore didn’t say that, and she is like a sister to him, and he understands where she is coming from. The reality is she couldn’t say a law was broken; no one has said that and if that’s the case make a decision and get it over with.
Clifford Thomas, 500 Hudson Lane stands here in fairness of our State Rep. Pat Moore, two weeks won’t kill anything in this process. She didn’t come here tonight prepared to show cause or show reason behind anything, because that was not requested of her and she thought she was following normal procedures to give her recommendation because it’s her appointment. So, in fairness to Rep. Moore and to the council getting an understanding from Mr. Creekbaum when he is here that they do actually dot the (i) and cross the (t) to give Rep. Moore an opportunity to present those causes to council, just cause as she see or as council requested and as the madam attorney has said that just cause needs to be shown. He wanted to know why the rush as if a week or two is going to stop the whole process of the city. Mr. Thomas thinks she deserves that.
Councilman Harvey said he thinks Rep. Moore said that there was no criminal or was never part of it, so he thinks that question has been answered.
Chairman McFarland note since it’s councils opportunity to speak he is going to call Rep. Moore back up to speak. He asked Rep. Moore if the council puts this off for two weeks will she come back with cause or no cause.
Rep. Moore stated that her understanding about the definition of cause she can not say that she can bring any more information on that and she would prefer that they do not table this and she will leave it up to the council because she is not going to be able to but maybe someone else but she cannot see any more information as far as the definition of cause. They have too much to do, they have to move forward, and her heart is prick because she is hearing about another death, they have just experienced all this stuff going on and trying to make changes in the community. They just want to move forward, and she will leave it up to the council, but her opinion is to move forward on this, but don’t table it. She asked the council to make their decision because she will not be up here herself and present cause. She does not have cause other than disruption, disagreement, divisiveness, looking at what we’ve seen in the last year, and someone said she has only gone to one, but she has gone to several meetings. She was distraught at what she saw and thought that changes needed to be done, so that is her purpose for the resolution. She said if it were up to her, she would withdraw it, but she will leave it up to the council. She said even if it’s tabled and came back; unless there is someone else, she cannot present the definition because she has not seen any of those things, she is not aware. Maybe there is somebody else.
Councilwoman Ezernack noted that Rep. Moore said that she would withdraw this, but it was in our hands tonight, so she is hearing her say that if it was up to her, she would withdraw this from the agenda tonight.
Rep. Moore stated that if you all are depending on me to present cause because if there is something else, I don’t know about she cannot add anything else.
Herb Guillory, 1801 Woodhaven Drive noted that what Ms. Moore is saying she can’t make any cause, then who can make cause.
Chairman McFarland explained that it is Rep. Moore’s appointment, and he didn’t know the council had to take this matter up, he thought it was a matter that the representative could just say this is how it’s going to be. He was advised that it would have to go on the agenda and the council had to vote it up or down because Pastor Wrights term has not expired. The more we talk about it the more people are putting things on the record that he does not like, and it puts council more in the pickle barrel.
Herb. Guillory just wanted to know because as a member of SEDD and as secretary any of the SEDD members could create just cause, because everybody has an opinion or says things, but they are not in those meetings all the time.
Chairman McFarland ask the Assist. City Attorney Clary to answer the question Mr. Guillory had.
Assist. City Attorney Clary restated the question from Mr. Guillory as to where cause can come from and she said it can come from anybody it doesn’t have to be just from Rep. Moore.
Chairman McFarland asked who would have the power to remove and would it have to be a recommendation from Rep. Moore.
Assist. City Attorney Clary stated that it would have to be a recommendation from Rep. Moore because it is her appointment.
Herb. Guillory noted with that being said he would hope that council would pass it over to give them a couple of weeks. Rep. Moore placed Mr. Wright on the board because she felt it was going to have some progress with SEDD, but for her to come back and want to remove him obviously there is reasoning behind it. It’s not because of progression looking at the past few years with SEDD nothing has really been occurring.
Councilman Muhammad called for the Question.
Councilman Harvey stated that he thinks it’s worth noting and in fairness to Mr. Wright that they can base their decision on what they know now that doesn’t preclude anything else from coming back if there’s more information. But to pass it over for a few weeks and you keep it in a limbo that’s not good for the board or anybody involved. He thinks the have information is in front of the council to make a decision.
The Chairman called for the vote.
The motion to pass over by Councilwoman Ezernack and seconded by Councilwoman Woods has failed. (Muhammad, Harvey, McFarland – Nay: Ezernack, Woods – Yea)
Chairman McFarland noted the nays have it and that they will now go back to the original motion to adopt a resolution to remove Reverend Wright.
The Chairman called for the vote.
The motion to remove by Councilwoman Woods and seconded by Councilman Muhammad has failed. (Muhammad Harvey, McFarland, Ezernack, Woods – Nay) (unanimous)
Councilman Muhammad voted nay because he doesn’t like the language in the resolution, he need a clear cause.
Chairman McFarland wanted the record to show that the chair of this council had absolutely nothing to do with the authorship of the resolution, none whatsoever.
Councilwoman Ezernack stated that we heard Rep. Moore who she respects greatly say that she would probably have withdrawn this motion if it hadn’t been brought to this point, so she votes nay.
Councilwoman Woods noted this is not one that she favors because if she was serving at the pleasure of someone and they wanted me to resign or step down, she would step down and then all of this wouldn’t be going on. Ms. Moore sent something saying she want to remove Pastor Wright from this position and he refused to resign, and as the great playwright that he is he knew there was a loophole, and he found it and he’s sticking with it. With that she votes nay.
Chairman McFarland stated the nays have it and this matter is resolved, and he called for a 10min. break. (7:46pm)
Upon return after the break (7:58pm) the Chairman stated that the attorney would like to make a statement.
Assist. City Attorney Clary stated just to clear up the record on the discussion just had the section of the Statute that allows for the removal for cause by 2/3 of city council, that is at city council discretion, it does not have to be presented by Rep. Moore for it to be considered by the council. So, any time cause comes up the council can determine by a 2/3 vote for removal.
The Chairman then move to the rest of the agenda as follows:
(c) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey, seconded by Mrs. Ezernack and unanimously approved Resolution No. 9031 granting an exception to the Open Container Ordinance to Heather Dampier for a (Graduation Party) pursuant to Monroe City Code Sec. 12-231 d. (Open Container Ordinance) and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no public comments.)
- Department of Administration:
(a) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey, seconded by Mrs. Ezernack and unanimously approved Resolution No. 9032 accepting the base bid and alternate no. 1 of Dixie Overland Construction, LLC for the Georgia Street Pump Station Project and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no public comments.)
(b) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey, seconded by Mrs. Ezernack and unanimously approved Resolution No. 9033 accepting the bid of Ouachita Electrical Contractors, LLC for the Kansas Lane-Garrett Road Connector & I-20 Improvements Project (MALSR ONLY) and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no public comments.)
(c) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey, seconded by Mr. Muhammad and unanimously approved Resolution No. 9034 accepting the quote of Level Tech Foundation & Concrete Repair for the Fire Station No. 3 Repairs Project. (There were no public comments.)
(d) Upon motion of Mr. Muhammad, seconded by Mr. Harvey and unanimously approved Resolution No. 9035 accepting the quote of Womack & Sons Construction for the Bartholomew Intake Cleaning Project. (There were no public comments.)
(e) Upon motion of Mr. Muhammad, seconded by Mr. Harvey and unanimously approved Resolution No. 9036 authorizing a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement with the Louisiana Department of the Treasury and the State of Louisiana to provide funding for United Way of Northeast Louisiana, Inc. (There were no public comments.)
(f) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey, seconded by Mr. Muhammad and unanimously approved a request from the Purchasing Division for authorization to advertise for bids for the Monroe Civic Center Drainage Repairs – South Parking Lot Project. The cost estimate is $547,560.00. The DBE Goal is 10.00%. (There were no public comments.)
(g) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey, seconded by Mr. Muhammad and unanimously approved a request from the Purchasing Division for authorization to advertise for bids for the Thomas Ave. & Georgia St. water improvements Project. The cost estimate for the Thomas Ave. & Georgia St. Water Improvements Project is $737,775.00. The DBE Goal is 12.52%. (There were no public comments.)
(h) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey, seconded by Mrs. Ezernack and unanimously approved thirty-one (31) Renewal Applications for a New 2026 Class A Alcoholic Beverage Permit. The Monroe Police Department has no disqualifying records and Sales Tax has been approved. (There were no public comments.)
(i) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey, seconded by Mr. Woods and unanimously approved thirty-four (34) Renewal Applications for a New 2026 Class B Alcoholic Beverage Permit. The Monroe Police Department has no disqualifying records and Sales Tax has been approved. (There were no public comments.)
(j) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey, seconded by Mr. Muhammad and unanimously approved a two (2) Renewal Applications for a New 2026 Class C Alcoholic Beverage Permit. The Monroe Police Department has no disqualifying records and Sales Tax has been approved. (There were no public comments.)
(k) Upon motion of Mr. Muhammad, seconded by Mr. Harvey and unanimously approved a one (1) Renewal Applications for a New 2026 Class D Alcoholic Beverage Permit. The Monroe Police Department has no disqualifying records and Sales Tax has been approved. (There were no public comments.)
(l) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey, seconded by Mr. Muhammad and unanimously approved a two (2) Renewal Application for a New 2026 Class G Alcoholic Beverage Permit. The Monroe Police Department has no disqualifying records and Sales Tax has been approved. (There were no public comments.)
3. Department of Planning & Urban Dev.:(a) Upon motion of Mr. Muhammad, seconded by Mr. Harvey and unanimously approved Resolution No. 9037 authorizing a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement with the Louisiana Department of the Treasury and the State of Louisiana for neighborhood improvements. (There were no public comments.)
4. Mayor’s Office:(a) Upon motion of Mr. Muhammad, seconded by Mr. Harvey and unanimously approved Resolution No. 9038 authorizing a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement with Friends of Chennault Aviation and Military Museum. (There were no public comments.)
(b) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey, seconded by Mr. Muhammad and unanimously approved Resolution No. 9039 authorizing a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement with the Ouachita African American Historical Society (Northeast Louisiana Delta African American Heritage Museum). (There were no public comments.)
(c) Upon motion of Mr. Muhammad, seconded by Mr. Harvey and unanimously approved Resolution No. 9040 authorizing a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement with the Northeast Louisiana Arts Council, Inc. (There were no public comments.)
- Department of Community Affairs:
(a) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey, seconded by Mr. Muhammad and unanimously approved Resolution No. 9041 authorizing a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement with the Louisiana Department of the Treasury and the State of Louisiana for Community Affairs Equipment. (There were no public comments.)
- Engineering Services:
(a) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey, seconded by Mrs. Ezernack and unanimously approved Resolution No. 9042 approving Supplemental Agreement No. Four between Volkert, Inc and the City of Monroe for the Georgia Street Pump Station Project. (There were no public comments.)
(b) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey, seconded by Mr. Muhammad and unanimously approved Resolution No. 9043 approving Supplemental Agreement No. Five between Volkert, Inc and the City of Monroe for the Georgia Street Pump Station Project. (There were no public comments.)
(c) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey, seconded by Mr. Muhammad and unanimously approved Resolution No. 9044 approving Task Order 4-18-2548 with Neel-Schaffer for the Calypso Street Crosswalk Improvements Project. (There were no public comments.)
(d) Upon motion of Mr. Muhammad, seconded by Mr. Harvey and unanimously approved Resolution No. 9045 approving Task Order 4-18-2555 with Neel-Schaffer for the US 80 (Louisville Avenue) Crosswalk and Hawk Signal Project. (There were no public comments.)
(e) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey, seconded by Mr. Muhammad and unanimously approved Resolution No. 9046 authorizing a Professional Services Agreement with Intermountain Renovations for the Monroe Civic Center Renovation and Enhancement Project. (There were no public comments.)
VII: INTRODUCTION OF RESOLUTION & ORDINANCE:
(a) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey, seconded by Mr. Muhammad and unanimously approved to introduce an Ordinance amending Section 9-21 (Buildings) of the City of Monroe Code and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no public comments.)
(b) Upon motion of Mr. Harvey, seconded by Mr. Muhammad and unanimously approved to introduce an Ordinance amending Section 9-25 (Buildings) of the City of Monroe Code and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no public comments.)VIII: RESOLUTIONS 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. Muhammad and unanimously approved Ordinance No. 12,278 approving a Lease Agreement between the City of Monroe and DaveAir, LLC at the Monroe Regional Airport and further providing with respect thereto. (There were no public comments.)
IX: PRESENTATION: GrowNELA (due to the length of the meeting the presentation will be at the next meeting.)
X: CITIZENS PARTICIPATION: The sign in sheet was not put up so the chairman asked if there was any one who wish to speak during citizen participation, and the following came forward:
TJ Stevenson, 1915 Adams Street (mayor of Adams Street) came forward to let the council know that Grambling State University has lost a warrior, Dr. Curtis Bayham, services will be Friday in Lake Providence and buried at the Veterans Cemetery in Rayville, La.
Ms. Mondrian Douglas 5513 Long Drive came forward to say on record the council kicked tale tonight and she know Creekbaum was not here but that was some wise council work and great job on that, Happy Veteran’s Day.
Mr. Herman LeVern Jones came forward to give council a flyer announcing his Project in Monroe MLK “I Have A Dream” at the Jack Howard Theatre January 7-13, 2026. He thinks this will be a great project for the community. He has 52 years in the industry, and he looks forward to a resolution from an email he sent to the council what his proposition is about and he looks forward to an answer.
XI: ADJOURN.
There being no further business to come before the council, the Chairman adjourned the meeting at 8:13 p.m.
Mr. Rodney McFarland I
Chairman
Ms. Carolus S. Riley
Council Clerk
Staff Secretary
For extended details on the council meeting please call the Council Clerk Monday-Friday at 318-329-2252 to schedule an appointment to listen to the minute recording.
