[0:12] Good. Yes, sir.
Madam cler,
[0:23] if you can please, sir. You want to
please go ahead.
[0:28] God, you're good, too. We just ask that
you watch over us, God. We ask that you
[0:31] watch over this town, God. We ask that
you give us discernment and decisions
[0:35] for this town. God, we love you. We
thank you. We ask all this in Jesus
[0:38] name. Amen.
>> Amen.
[0:40] » Mr. McGee, can you lead us in the
pledge, please?
[0:43] » I pledge algiance to the flag of the
United States of America and to the
[0:48] republic for it stands. One nation,
indivisibley
[0:55] for all.
>> Thank you.
[1:03] Madam clerk, if you could please conduct
their roll call name.
[1:07] » Alderman Doug Adams.
>> Commissioner Adams is going to be asking
[1:12] tonight.
>> Alderman Matthew Kenny
[1:15] » presc.
[1:21] » Alderman Jordan
>> here.
[1:24] » Alderman Mike R. Present.
>> Mayor Hunter Tim
[1:28] » present.
>> Town attorney Neil Earl
[1:31] » here.
[1:34] » Council, first up, we'll have approval
of minutes. This is the approval of
[1:37] minutes from September 9th, 2025 regular
council meeting at this time. Is there
[1:42] any comment from the public?
Is there any comment from the council
[1:49] council? At this time, I'll entertain a
motion.
[1:57] I have a motion for Mr. Kenny and a
second from Mr. Jordan Shrink. Council
[2:02] at this time, please cast your votes.
[2:06] » I
[2:09] motion carries. Continuing on to old
business, council, you will have accept
[2:15] reject the budget and financial
statements for August 2025. Is there any
[2:19] comment from the public on this matter?
Seeing none, is there any comment from
[2:24] the council?
[2:28] Also none. Council, at this time, I will
entertain a motion.
[2:33] Make a motion to accept the financial
budget for the month of August 2025.
[2:40] » Second. I have a motion, Mr. Reigns and
a second for Mr. McGee. Council, this
[2:45] time, please cast your business. I
>> carries. Council, we'll be continuing on
[2:51] the new business. At this time, you are
uh in the possession of the current
[2:56] budgeted financial statements for
September 2025.
[3:00] Continuing on, we'll have accept or
reject the amended ordinance for 2025.
[3:06] This is an amendment to the introduced
ordinance amending article two of
[3:10] chapter 24 of the town of hobby code
ordinance to include a fireworks clause
[3:15] aim to correct clerical and formatting
issues related to the noise regulation
[3:20] provisions. Is there any comment from
the public on this matter?
[3:26] Seeing none, is there any comment from
the council?
[3:31] » Also none council at this time I will
entertain a motion. Make a motion to
[3:41] » I have a motion and a sec a second for
accepting the amended ordinance for
[3:46] 2025. Council at this time, please cast
your votes. [clears throat]
[3:50] » I I
carries. Continuing on, we have accept
[3:56] or reject ordinance for 2025.
This is an ordinance amending the
[4:01] article two of chapter 24 of the town of
Hoffman code ordinance to provide scope
[4:05] purpose and general definitions as well
as exemptions in relation to noise
[4:08] regulations. This will be as amended
based on your previous vote council. Is
[4:13] there any comment from the public on
this matter?
[4:19] Seeing none, is there any comment from
the council?
[4:23] » Also none. Council at this time I will
entertain a motion. Make a motion to
[4:27] accept ordinance 4 2025. Second.
>> Have a motion and a second.
[4:33] Council at this time. Please cast your
votes.
[4:36] » I I
>> Continuing on, we'll have accept reject
[4:41] resolution 29 to 2025. This is a
resolution authorizing the town of Hall
[4:45] to enter into a software as service
agreement with my government online,
[4:51] also known as DGO. Uh at this time, I'll
call Mr. Dis our town administrator up
[4:55] here to give a little bit of context and
depth to this resolution.
[5:02] » Good evening council.
So this year it's for NGO. Uh it's
[5:07] actually
software as a service. It's done through
[5:11] an actual government agency um which
affords us opportunity to have them at a
[5:16] much lower rate. This is going to be
used for online permitting processes.
[5:22] Right now, if you go to Boer Parish and
you're, you know, applying for a permit
[5:25] for anything, um, building out the, um,
well, anywhere in the parish right now,
[5:30] this is the same software that you use.
There's a big push to send it out across
[5:34] the state and, uh, get everybody on
board with it. We have our permitting
[5:39] office that's moving in house in
January. Then we need to uh, make sure
[5:43] that we have the software already in
place, up and running before that date.
[5:47] So, this will not give us three months
to get it in place. uh they don't
[5:50] actually start billing us until
we use it in January. So everything
[5:55] leading up to that and getting it online
and all the workflows there is included
[6:00] you know
any questions about it for me.
[6:05] » I know this is the standard not just in
the parish but even cat and stuff as
[6:11] well. Isn't and I might miss speak on
this so correct me but is this something
[6:15] that's going to be mandated eventually
or allegedly possibly that all
[6:20] government agencies are going to have to
go to this platform? I have heard about
[6:23] that from Houston field. I know right
now shadow back there using it for you
[6:29] know several things on right now that
comes through a login and I think he's
[6:34] heard the same thing that eventually it
may be mandated that we use it but at
[6:38] this time it's not
getting ahead of the game.
[6:45] Is there any questions from the council
while Mr. Gillison's up here?
[6:51] Thank you, sir. Any questions or
comments from the public?
[6:58] Seeing none, council at this time, I
will entertain a motion.
[7:02] » Make a motion that we accept resolution
[clears throat] 21, 2025. Second.
[7:08] » Have a motion and a second. Uh, councel,
at this time, please cast your votes. I
[7:13] » I
[7:18] » carries. Continuing on, we have accept
or reject resolution 30 of 2025. This is
[7:23] a resolution authorizing the mayor to
execute all contracts, documents, and
[7:26] instruments necessary for the top skin
value drainage project improvement
[7:31] project, excuse me. Um,
I I'm sure Jeremy will kind of touch
[7:37] base on this, but again, we talked about
it a lot, but this is essentially giving
[7:42] me the the right sign to get this thing
kicked off and going because we're right
[7:47] there on it. So, I'll let Jeremy touch
on that. Council, if you have any
[7:51] questions for him in reference to this,
I'm sure he'll cover that when he comes
[7:55] up here to give his uh give his briefing
to us. Is there any questions or
[8:00] comments from the public in reference to
this?
[8:03] » Yes, sir.
[8:08] » Do you mind coming up here real quick so
we can keep it?
[8:11] » If you don't mind, sir,
>> state your name and address for me,
[8:14] please.
>> Uh, that's the back of my property. I
[8:17] was just concerned because I have not
heard anything on this or seen any
[8:21] documentation to even ask any question.
>> Okay. Um
[8:27] Mr. Huber, if you want to come up here
real quick uh as well. Uh
[8:32] this is just to allow me to sign for
this project, but I don't mind since
[8:35] it's in reference to it. We can we can
talk about this. He'll cover this as
[8:39] well and we can also sit down and talk
about it after this. But you haven't
[8:42] seen anything in reference to to what is
that? The just the project itself.
[8:48] » Just the project itself because year
year and a half ago they were talking
[8:54] about digging a ditch back there to
alleviate the drainage. Is that part of
[8:59] it? That would have been going across my
project. My property.
[9:04] » Nothing's on your property.
[9:08] We were hiding the skin and
[9:17] which is also on the town's property.
>> But you're I think I know a little bit.
[9:23] » Yeah. So you're this will actually
budget proof going through my property.
[9:31] And yes, this will actually improve.
It's going to drop the actual water
[9:37] elevation
when those particular storm water events
[9:40] come
periods of the past history that we've
[9:44] had with this.
>> I can tell you this, it's looking it's
[9:49] looking good and Mr. Jeremy will hit on
we'll probably get a little more in
[9:52] depth for us, but we're we're right on
the cusp of getting this thing going. Uh
[9:57] you you certainly would have been
notified, made aware uh if it if it was
[10:01] going to be something that was impacting
your property there. That might have
[10:04] been a different idea in the past, but
that's not going to be in reference to
[10:07] this project. No, sir.
>> I'll make a comment. They got it pretty
[10:11] solid.
>> I like him, too.
[10:15] » Thank you, sir. Is there any questions
or other comments from the public in
[10:19] reference to this matter?
>> Any from council?
[10:26] Seeing none council, this time I will
entertain a motion for resolution 30 of
[10:30] 2025.
>> Make a motion to Resolution 30 of 2022.
[10:37] Second.
>> I have a motion and a second. Council at
[10:40] this time, please cast your votes.
>> I I
[10:46] » Continuing on, we have accept or reject
resolution 31 to 2025. This is a
[10:50] resolution authorizing the advertisement
for bids for the waste water treatment
[10:55] plant improvements phase 3, also
contract three. Is there any questions
[11:01] or comments from the public in reference
to this?
[11:06] Seeing none, is there any from the
council?
[11:10] » What is this?
>> So, this was this was all uh at least
[11:16] for all was except for Mr. McGee, Mr.
Adams uh before us. Jeremy again
[11:21] probably is going to go over it in his
but but come up here because it's a
[11:25] reference to Jeremy right now. uh this
is kind of been a long project in the
[11:30] the making that I also had to codle
myself.
[11:32] » So these are available these were
remaining available forms from the uh
[11:36] new wastewater treatment plant and so
use it or lose it. So this is an ability
[11:41] to actually use those funds and improve
the old treatment plant that was
[11:45] actually
not producing what it's going to. This
[11:48] right here will get the old plant back
up to what it was originally supposed to
[11:51] be at in addition to doing some other
small improvements around the waste
[11:56] water
mainly the chlorine
[12:00] he's not having to change out 150 lb
cylinders he's getting stuff that
[12:07] all is
pretty simple terms Jeremy uh I spent a
[12:13] good bit of time down there we're we're
sitting somewhere around a billion on
[12:16] capacity with our new Right. I'm not too
far off with that and getting this one
[12:21] up and going for picking up 400 or so.
>> I'll put you put you right back close to
[12:26] 1.5.
>> All right. So, kind of at our uh just
[12:29] for everybody's awareness, it's kind of
at peak. I've seen us operate at 60% or
[12:33] so capacity when it's up and going. So,
600,000 out of a million. If we get if
[12:38] we get this uh drop down uh by having
more capacity, it's really going to set
[12:43] us up for for some of these projects
knowing that all the developments coming
[12:48] to try to get ahead of
>> get ahead of
[12:52] Jordan. I think this was directed at
USDA
[12:55] » and that's what that's the remaining
fun.
[13:05] » That's it. Thank you, sir.
Is there any more questions or comments
[13:10] from the council?
Seeing none council at this time, I will
[13:14] entertain a motion. Make a motion to
accept resolution 31 to 2025.
[13:21] Got a motion from Commissioner McGee and
a second for Mr. Shine. Council at this
[13:26] time, please cast your votes.
[13:30] » Carries.
Continuing on, this will be accept
[13:34] reject resolution 32 to 2025. This is a
resolution authorizing town to a
[13:38] participate in the Louisiana Asset
Management Pool, also known as Lamp. Uh,
[13:44] Mr. Gillis, you can come up here if you
want. I can touch base on something too
[13:48] here. Uh, this is the asset management
pool that is governed and ran through
[13:53] the state.
without getting too CPAish on it for you
[13:58] guys because I'm not a CPA and I don't
deserve to go down that road. I would
[14:02] say the average yield on most of the
accounts that we have currently uh for
[14:06] our funds is about 010%.
Uh Lambs is
[14:12] 01. Uh Lambs is a uh it's through the
state. It's
[14:18] 24 hours or same day. Even if you put it
in early enough, you can have your funds
[14:22] transferred back to your accounts. It's
a floating variable rate right now as of
[14:26] today. I just checked it five minutes
before I got up here. It's 4.21%.
[14:31] So, um you can do the math on how many x
more interest rate that would uh drive
[14:37] to the town in our accounts and it's
100% secure. Uh we're just trying to
[14:43] be good fiduciary members with the money
that we do have on hand and giving
[14:48] something that's acrewing uh a little
bit more interest while also being 100%
[14:52] secure. So, there's any
comments from you, Mr. Gillis, on that
[14:56] as well.
>> It's going to give us an opportunity to
[14:57] take the funds that are not needed for
the day-to-day expenses and operations
[15:01] of municipality, place them in area, you
know, accounts they're holding. Those
[15:06] accounts are designed for municipalities
in state Louisiana. Um, and it's all in
[15:12] compliance with state law as well. So,
and as well as all the investment
[15:17] strategies that they're utilizing with
government funds, it's all in
[15:21] compliance.
And just for clarification, I want I
[15:25] wanted to make everybody aware obviously
you would have seen this if this was the
[15:29] case. We we are still doing all of our
banking locally here with Bombadoo Bank.
[15:33] Uh we're simply just going to transfer
some funds that uh are essentially I
[15:39] don't want to use the word excess, but
have the ability to acrue interest um
[15:43] into lamps
money we're not using on our dayto day,
[15:47] but it didn't operate an expense. But
since the ballpark, what do you think we
[15:51] may use?
Uh it's tough to tell obviously it does
[15:56] dayto day so it's floating variable you
know the most I could do is if you
[16:00] looked at this year for example so forth
this year um and the rate of what it's
[16:05] been this year that could be close to
200,000 roughly additional interest that
[16:09] the town could have
[16:15] the average most accounts around 01 or
so I think we have one last 400 times
[16:20] that amount
[16:22] We do have a few and like I said I say
that the hash rate because we do have a
[16:26] few CDs um that uh that are starting
mature but uh but pretty pretty limited
[16:33] I would say 90% of our funds are sitting
in almost a non-interest bearing account
[16:37] I mean minimal interest bearing
>> and some some of them are restricted to
[16:40] that you know there's certain grants and
funds like that that we may have set
[16:43] aside also that will not be able to be
eligible because they have not
[16:49] on that grant
But we're working with the CPA as well
[16:54] and making our way to them making sure
that the vast majority of fun
[17:00] we'll get get some type of return on
>> and I think it's same day transfers back
[17:04] to us if it's before like noon or
>> yeah we can it's same day as long as you
[17:09] put the request in by noon and um it you
know after working with lane and most of
[17:15] our dayto-day stuff
I don't see anywhere that's hindrance on
[17:20] that it's a phone call and we're able to
move it. We'll have a log in order as
[17:23] well. So, shouldn't shouldn't have any
issues with operations.
[17:30] Thank you.
Is there any comment from the public in
[17:34] reference to resolution 32 of 2025?
Seeing none, is there any further
[17:41] comment or questions from the council?
Also none. Council, this time I will
[17:46] entertain a motion.
Make a motion to accept resolution 32
[17:51] 2025.
[17:55] » I have a motion and a second. Council at
this time and please cast your votes.
[17:59] » I
[18:03] motion carries.
>> Mr. Mayor.
[18:06] » Yes, sir. I made a copy of what you had
>> included if anybody out.
[18:14] Yeah, that's and you can go to the it's
actually a really user friendly website
[18:19] for anybody here that wants to look at
it. Um, just for expectation management,
[18:23] keep in mind as we're on the topic of
this, it is a variable it is a variable
[18:27] rate. So, we're in a pretty high
interest rate environment. Um, so we
[18:31] want to capitalize on that while we can
just like everybody sees their bank CDs
[18:34] looking good and things of that nature.
Um, if you start seeing prime and things
[18:39] like that go down, I would expect this
to trend down as well. But at the same
[18:43] time, it appears to be much more
competitive than anything we have
[18:46] locally available to us. Uh being
through the state here,
[18:49] » I bet it doesn't go down to 401.
>> I bet it doesn't. Historically, I went
[18:54] back to 2011 and it doesn't. So, you're
right. Yes, sir. [laughter]
[18:57] Did have a little bit of time to look
into that. So, uh but no, the the
[19:02] website's very user friendly to look
into. It's actually um
[19:07] surprised it's not widely known for
municipalities around. So, good good
[19:11] deal.
>> Yes. I didn't know until that. I saw
[19:14] that because I heard about the state
treasurer is the president.
[19:18] » He is.
>> Yep. It actually is. So, it uh it's as
[19:21] good as you can get when it comes to uh
operating within the laws and rules that
[19:26] we have to operate within. So, um when
we continue on council, this time we'll
[19:32] have accept or reject resolution 33 of
2025. This is resolution recognizing
[19:37] November 6th of 2025 Jack Prescott day.
At this time, I will ask Coach Turner to
[19:43] come up here to the podium, please, to
give a little bit more context as to why
[19:47] I'm proposing this to you all, the
council uh speak a little bit about Mr.
[19:51] Prescott uh career and I would argue
most importantly what he's done for the
[19:56] town as well.
>> Yeah, like you said, my name is David
[19:59] Turner. I'm the athletic director at
Halton High School and as many of you
[20:04] know um back built uh or made a large
donation
[20:10] um to Halton High School for us to um
erect the largest I guess you could say
[20:17] it's the largest we do know it is the
largest video scoreboard high school
[20:22] scoreboard in the entire state of
Louisiana. Um he also redid the entire
[20:28] weight room. Um and so we have a day
planned. Um you know as as a
[20:34] professional athlete it's hard to get
somebody to come in. Um it was hard
[20:40] getting the scoreboard and the weight
room done. Um once you know we got all
[20:45] of that planned uh and done uh we wanted
to dedicate the field to him and so
[20:50] we're having a special day on November
the 6th, Thursday uh for him to come in.
[20:55] He I talked to him last week. He is
coming in November the 6th with his uh
[21:00] fiance, their two girls, his dad and his
brother Tab. And I just think it would
[21:05] be real special um to you know to kind
of name that day back.
[21:12] Yeah, this is something uh we hope to be
able to present to Mr. Prescott. Um just
[21:18] acknowledging, you know, not like I
said, not only his career, but uh him
[21:23] him remembering his hometown and
contributing back to it when he does
[21:27] come to town over the 6. And I I think
coach is going to put out a little bit
[21:31] more information, but it sounds like
there [clears throat] might be something
[21:34] done at the field that there'll be an
opportunity to buy a pretty pretty cheap
[21:37] ticket and be able to attend and see the
ceremony. Yeah, that's good.
[21:40] » Yeah, real cheap tickets.
>> I know the school will put out some more
[21:43] information on that. Sounds like
>> Yeah, we'll publicize that probably
[21:46] about a week and a half um before
November the 6, sometime in October. Um
[21:51] you'll be able to purchase a ticket. Um
come to the field dedication. Uh it's a
[21:57] lot of we got a lot of stuff planned. So
it's going to be a real special night uh
[22:02] for us and him at
>> this is something we wanted to get
[22:07] knocked out of this council meeting so
uh we could have that um if so approved
[22:12] by the council but he'll have that
present to to Dak uh getting that that
[22:16] will be before our November council
meeting. Is there any questions for
[22:20] coach while he's up here for the
council?
[22:25] Appreciate you, sir.
>> Yes, sir. Thank you.
[22:27] » Is there any questions or comments from
the public in in reference to resolution
[22:30] 33 to 2022?
>> Any other questions or comments from the
[22:35] council?
Seeing none, council at this time, I
[22:39] will entertain a motion.
>> I'll make a motion to strongly accept
[22:43] resolution 33, 2025.
>> I have a motion and a second. Council,
[22:49] this time, please cast your votes.
>> I
[22:54] carries. We'll be moving on to reports
at this time. Mr. Tyler Dillis, town
[22:58] administrator will come up to present.
[23:09] » Good evening. Again, uh just a couple
things to go over. I just want you to
[23:12] know that one pilot so far, we do have
it integrated with our maintenance crew.
[23:16] We now have uh we have
three of those positions filled. the one
[23:21] still being filled with the temp right
now and they're they've been getting
[23:23] after it um and it's working as planned
so far. And then additionally um I've
[23:28] already met with um Spencer from the
fire department and we've been working
[23:33] to get together on getting the flow path
for NGO laid out. So with what y'all
[23:38] approved today, we'll be able to contact
them tomorrow and start scheduling to
[23:41] get that rock and roll. Um I'm also
happy to announce that on that 2526 LCD
[23:48] grant for our sewer improvements on the
south side of town all the conditions
[23:51] were met for that last week. So um we
will move forward into the next step of
[23:56] that tenatively uh we got the
environmental review that's going to
[23:59] roll next on that and maybe over the
next two months I believe for that and
[24:05] and that would get us into hopefully
January to start opening up vending for
[24:09] that project.
Uh we are still working in and out on
[24:13] the 26th budget and we should stuff for
yall at the next council meeting as far
[24:18] as budgetary concerns go. Outside of
that, Fox's got some more legal items
[24:23] that were published last week and we're
letting them know of course I believe
[24:26] their 10 and 14 day stint on that. Those
will be wrapping up and then Jur.
[24:35] You have any questions for me?
>> No, you just hit on it first there. how
[24:40] we were uh talking about the maintenance
crew. Uh and I know Jackie's Mr. Hates
[24:45] will be coming over next, but the when
we had that workshop several months
[24:50] back, Jackie essentially let us all know
that he was low on staffing. Uh we all
[24:55] agreed to need some help and we probably
for the first time that I'm aware of
[25:01] formulated a truly dedicated maintenance
crew and I can tell you firsthand, I
[25:05] know Mr. deal that testified to this.
The amount of digs that we've conducted
[25:11] with our own equipment and our own
personnel since we formulated that crew,
[25:16] which isn't even 100% yet, uh, a set of
outsourcing has blown my mind. I mean,
[25:21] multiple multiple gigs a day,
>> but a lot less invoices coming in.
[25:24] » A lot less invoices from third, you
know, third party, private contractors,
[25:29] and um,
>> it's it's paying for itself.
[25:32] » It is very much.
>> It truly is. So, I just want getting
[25:36] accurate.
>> Yeah, just want to put that out there.
[25:38] Thank you. At this time, we will have
Sergeant Freeman present the police
[25:43] department report
[25:48] council. Uh for September, police
department 210 calls for service, 53
[25:54] written reports, 20 external reports. Uh
we just had one hit and run. You guys
[26:00] wrote 265 citations,
made six massive violence calls, 26 drug
[26:06] arrest, five or 26 arrest made, five
felonies, 13 drug charges, and two UWIS.
[26:15] Um during September, we had three tours
of the school by special needs classes
[26:20] from the elementary school. That's
always a highlight for us, probably more
[26:24] of them.
[clears throat] attended the law
[26:27] enforcement day at First Baptist Church
preschool at ground breaking at Galilee
[26:34] Baptist Church for their new
multi-purpose building. Of course, the
[26:37] homecoming parade.
Um we are working on a joint venture
[26:42] with Bon
two crime cameras
[26:46] um that we would hopefully place
somewhere between West Jackson and West
[26:52] McKinley on 157 to cover that side of
the bank. The businesses there
[26:57] uh to give us a little bit more coverage
there. Um the Axon cameras are complete
[27:02] and done. Um
right now we've got two officers going
[27:08] through motorcycle certification at the
school. That's kind of a big thing for
[27:12] us. Be good. And then if I just have a
short window of your time. Received a
[27:17] couple of letters in the last couple
weeks on some of the guys which is uh
[27:21] it's always good to see. [clears throat]
This one was in reference to officer
[27:26] Edmunds
says he may be a concern when I was
[27:29] recently pulled over in Harlem,
Louisiana.
[27:32] Although I did receive a few tickets,
I've never had such a professional kind
[27:36] of officer. I explained my situation to
him uh
[27:41] [clears throat]
I explained my situation to him. I
[27:44] recently entered a 13-year relationship
and was down on Monday to pay bills and
[27:49] keep up with things. I appreciate the
professionalism and kindness that your
[27:52] officer showed me.
That was that was for offic
[28:02] [clears throat]
[28:04] 23:30. My daughter Christine made an
improper turn was pulled over by HP
[28:09] officer MS. Two other Holland officers
arrived as well.
[28:14] myself. Matthew was in the backseat of
the car and her friend Christine was in
[28:18] the front passenger seat. Del has bad
anxiety and immediately started
[28:22] panicking, grabbed the purse and started
looking for her license as Mr. Mons was
[28:26] approaching. As I started to tell her to
wait, he was already at the window.
[28:30] Instead of Mr. Mons panicking himself
with her digging in the purse, he
[28:34] immediately noticed her anxiety
and [clears throat] acted accordingly.
[28:38] Using her might calm her down enough she
could focus. We all ended up outside the
[28:43] vehicle and more officers arrived on the
city. They were professional and human.
[28:47] They treated us as equals while also
doing their job. They listened, they
[28:51] talked, they interacted, made us all
comfortable. They treated us as people.
[28:55] Not one time. Were they arrogant, nor
was their badge used as them being
[29:02] better than us. Christine's anxiety
turned the happiness during a period
[29:06] where it would have gotten much worse.
But because Mr. the homes and uh
[29:12] uh other officers, the way they spoke to
us and interacted with the common
[29:17] situation. For her first ticket, she
took it pretty well and that was due to
[29:20] the way they were handling things. He
was respectful, kind, and professional.
[29:24] It was my pleasure to meet such great
officers and see Christ through their
[29:28] words and their actions. These guys were
great, perfect examples of what law
[29:33] enforcement should be and strive for.
Actually, they're the perfect example of
[29:38] what we should all
pretty cool.
[29:50] » Thanks, sir.
[29:54] » Next up, we'll have Chief Holland with
the Holland Fire Department.
[30:03] Uh September report, we had 65
responses.
[30:08] uh fires. On 15th, we had a vehicle fire
at exit 33 off ramp. On the 16th, we
[30:16] responded to mile marker 36 on I 20
mutual aid for 18 wheeler fire. Um and
[30:22] then on the 18th, we had a structure
fire at 28 20 coastal drive mutual aid
[30:29] with both fire district one as well.
Public education, we had two field trips
[30:34] uh for the elementary school, one on the
19th and one on the 25th.
[30:39] Personnel 42 career, 10 parttime, 20
volunteer. Uh firefighter Leon continues
[30:46] his shadowing role with the city of
Rustin. That will conclude on 102425,
[30:55] so two weeks. and then he will begin
working with city hall staff as Tyler
[31:00] was talking about to prepare for the
implementation for a launch date of
[31:04] January 2026 for inspections. Um he is
getting very confident uh every time I
[31:11] talk to him he's more and more
confident. Um I still feel confident
[31:14] about this confident about this work. Uh
equipment all apparatus are in service.
[31:21] So, we had to have a valve place on the
ladder truck on the 29th and tire put on
[31:26] the brush truck on the 30th. Uh, new
sprint one we actually received. So,
[31:32] sprint one is in um we should be able to
take ownership of that tomorrow or the
[31:37] next day. Uh the radio and lights are
already in stock, so we just have to get
[31:43] it over to TCO, get that installed. Uh
Nick just received the uh decal
[31:49] approved. So we'll be able to do
anything right.
[31:52] » That's part of the uh that's the second
F150 that you all voted on
[31:59] » uh with government capital finance we
did. We finally got that second one in.
[32:03] » So that should be all the vehicles now.
>> That's it. Yep. You're the last one.
[32:07] Yep. We got the P in and then you had
your one outstanding F-150. That does
[32:11] it.
>> So that's good. We'll get that in. uh
[32:14] training daily training continues. Uh we
held two classes and instructor one
[32:19] class with 15 students and inspector one
and two with five students. Um
[32:25] additional information the forestry
grant has been approved. That equipment
[32:29] has been ordered. Um and then on a
really really bright note
[32:35] » give me a second. Chief Palmer if you
can come up here as well. I want to give
[32:39] uh uh I know which one this is and I'm
very impressed. I like to have both the
[32:46] chiefs up here. I know the joint effort
on this one.
[32:49] So, um
we have received approval for the AFG
[32:54] grant, the assistance of firefighters
grant from FEMA. Uh we have been awarded
[32:59] $230,000
in federal funds. Uh we have a cost
[33:04] match of 11,500.
Um, this grant will be to replace 26
[33:10] SCBAs.
Um, and we're exploring the possibility
[33:16] of piggybacking off the city of New
Orleans to to purchase those. Um,
[33:21] this is the biggest this is the most
difficult grant in the country when it
[33:24] comes to the fire service. Um,
roughly $376 million are allocated to
[33:31] this grant. And that sounds like a lot
of money. making there's 600 fire
[33:36] departments in the state of Louisiana
alone. Um
[33:40] the the work that went into this this
this is absolutely not that Jimmy
[33:44] Holland did this. He pat me on the back.
This was a group effort. It couldn't
[33:48] have been done without Chief Palmer. Um
it just continues to prove the testament
[33:54] of how well he has done and how much he
has brought to the table since we made a
[33:59] decision to [snorts] bring him home. I
think we're probably approaching4
[34:03] to $500,000 in grant funding and he's
been here for two years. Um, so I just
[34:12] cannot stress you enough how big of a
deal it is to get the AF grant and u we
[34:17] are very excited about this. We will be
working at a very fast pace to get this
[34:22] accomplished as soon as the federal
government opens back up uh because it's
[34:27] their money again. Um, so
>> and just a heads up, we will need y'all
[34:33] for a couple of things.
Um, resolutions to piggy back off of New
[34:39] Orleans if we end up going that route.
Um,
[34:43] so
it's like we did with Shreport for the
[34:47] bunker gear and to follow the RF
statute, there's just some mandatory
[34:52] documentation that we'll have to bring
before y'all to to appease the auditors
[34:56] when they come in. So, uh, we'll be
we'll be working this year to get this
[35:00] started. It'll obviously be
next year before all this comes in. Uh,
[35:06] we won't request the funding until the
equipment is in because once they give
[35:11] us that federal funding, we have to
distribute it within 30 days or we have
[35:15] to start paying interest on the funds.
So, uh, that'll be a 2026 expenditure.
[35:21] So, we're talking about budget. So,
that'll be on. So, this is this is
[35:26] something that both the Chiefs here did
on their own. I don't know if they just
[35:31] thought maybe they weren't going to get
it, so they didn't say much about it to
[35:34] me or they wanted to be surprised. But,
I did some looking into uh into it. It's
[35:39] a uh yeah, it's it's it's a big deal.
You know, very easy simple simpleton
[35:45] terms. It's a it's a big deal. So,
that's that's strong work on that one
[35:50] from both of you.
>> And that's all I have. How long again?
[35:54] » Two of them. I rounded it. It's a little
over 230,000 in federal and 11,000 in
[36:00] RI.
>> Pretty good cost match. It's pretty
[36:03] good.
>> Yeah, because we are in the FEMA mind a
[36:07] rural community, we only have a 5%
match, which is fantastic. So that's a
[36:14] the matching is such a big deal because
uh especially as you trickle up in those
[36:19] projects amount when you get to your 26
30% match or even a 50% match I mean
[36:25] even for somebody our size it's such a
great deal but it's still burdensome on
[36:29] the municipality and to to get something
out of 5% like that that's
[36:33] » we will end up having to surplus the old
uh air packs. Uh the company we're
[36:39] looking at purchasing these through will
discard those for us. Um
[36:43] » which is mandatory.
>> It's mandatory. It's part of the grant.
[36:46] We can't sell them. We can't do that. We
got to get rid of them.
[36:49] » I mean that's something that's a dated
doesn't even I mean we're to the point
[36:52] where we should probably be
>> firehawks
[36:55] firehalts is what we got. We still got
some old trunks laying around too. So
[36:59] we'll be able to get rid of all of that.
These big ones. Yeah. We got some old
[37:03] stuff. So it's a big deal. had a head
full of hair when they used
[37:09] » probably.
>> It was
[37:12] that was back when you rode on a tail
board uh
[37:16] » on the back.
>> Yeah, on the back.
[37:20] » That's all I got. Any question?
>> I I do. So, what about the when
[37:24] firefighter Leon comes in, are we still
sending the other gun?
[37:28] » Yeah, we're we're discussing that. We We
absolutely have the ability to do that.
[37:32] Um, and I think with firefighter Leon on
staff trained as well and he's going to
[37:36] be able to shadow with firefighter Leon
as well. Uh, but I absolutely would like
[37:41] to find time to send him probably more
to Rustin. Uh, because Rustin
[37:46] is more like Hall Street was great. I'm
not I thank them for everything they
[37:51] did, but they operate differently. You
know, they have an electrical inspector,
[37:55] they have a plumbing inspector. Um,
Rustin's like the one-stop shop like
[37:59] what we're trying to go to. may have
been so hospitable. Both of them have,
[38:03] but um
>> and they would put Spencer with an
[38:07] electrical inspector and that's all he
would see for 2 weeks and he's like, I
[38:13] really need to see some HVAC and I
really need to see, you know, but
[38:16] Rustin, they do everything just like
he's going to have to do everything. So,
[38:21] so let me ask you this. When he gets
certified,
[38:25] is there anything to keep him from going
somewhere else?
[38:28] » His pension. Um he he is that's one
thing that the fire department offers
[38:34] that you know uh they're in MS over
there and MS is a government pension but
[38:40] it can't compete with firefighting. Um
and he still has
[38:46] five years before he was vested in FRS.
So he would have a have a tough decision
[38:51] to make to walk away from a pension. Um
I don't think that that's his intention.
[38:57] Um he's a Halton guy. Um so is Sean.
>> Yeah.
[39:01] » So um you know and we did that
you know not only to to have two guys in
[39:08] case we grew but also to have a
redundancy in case that situation
[39:13] situation ever came to fruition to where
we had a backup plan. And we may look in
[39:17] the future to send another guy to get
this done. you know, once once the
[39:21] revenues start to come in and um you
know, we're starting to see green
[39:26] instead of red, then we can discuss, all
right, let's invest in somebody else and
[39:31] get somebody else, right? Um and it's
setting these guys up when they retire
[39:35] as well. any one of these guys, you
know, what we've done for what they're
[39:38] doing for us is great, but what we're
doing for them is when they do retire at
[39:42] 20, 25 years at 45, 50 years old, they
have another profession sitting right
[39:48] there. They're ready to go into it's
it's a win-win situation for everybody.
[39:53] Um, and you know, they'll be at
captain's pay, uh, Spencer, captain,
[39:58] even though it's not captain, it will be
officer pay. Um, so he he's not we
[40:04] always need to pray more, but he he will
absolutely see a pay home doing this as
[40:08] well. All right. He'll still have
firefighting obligations. So, um, he
[40:12] will have to respond structural fire
alarms. So, he continue to receive state
[40:16] supplemental pay as well.
[40:21] Any other questions or comments from the
council?
[40:25] » Good job. Appreciate y'all both.
>> Thank you. You're welcome.
[40:30] Next up, we'll have Mr. Hicks with the
public works fun.
[40:42] Um, I guess we'll just go over the the
digs.
[40:48] The maintenance has really been doing.
They've done more than I mean, what I
[40:54] can put down here, they're averaging one
to three digs pretty much a day.
[40:58] Um the amount of money we are water we
have saved in this town by fixing these
[41:04] lines is tremendous. We are fixing 2 in
lines, one inch lines and it's just
[41:11] every every movement in this town we do
we say. So it's it's definitely helping
[41:15] our waters. Um it's just helping all
around that they ain't got to call
[41:20] somebody in come out and do it for us
because we didn't have the time and
[41:25] [clears throat] they're real good. plays
are real good
[41:28] by learning. I can go out there and I
can show them how to do it and they know
[41:32] it after I I tell them they they can
repeat it. So, they're doing real good
[41:36] at that. I'm real proud of what they're
doing. I was going to go into some digs,
[41:41] but there's just more than I can really
tell you. I mean, it's just that many.
[41:46] Um the the cutting grass, they are still
cutting grass when they have any type of
[41:51] downtime. They were up on East Mass and
Jackson uh McKinley. I got Blaze on
[41:57] sideb. He's doing good with it now. So,
uh we're proud of him and that the
[42:04] equipment repair this month has been
fairly [clears throat] good. Um we had a
[42:09] 60-inch X mark we had to go get
repaired. Uh the cap the boom on the cap
[42:14] was repaired and we had just like the
sewer plant a transfer switch was
[42:18] installed and sort of thing. Other than
that, they just been working.
[42:23] So, that's really all it is. They're
just Y'all can see the digs everywhere.
[42:26] We got holes everywhere.
>> It's not going unnoticed. It's like I've
[42:31] had people come up to me and say, "This
is the best the tunnels in 20 years."
[42:34] » They are really I mean, I have some
things in there. These guys are up their
[42:39] neck and mud and water trying to fix
this stuff. So, they're doing good.
[42:43] » Talk to them that same thing. See the
see the changes. We appcate
[42:51] So wait for a long time. I've been
waiting for
[42:56] help.
>> Yeah. So that's why I got why I have
[42:58] some pics up here. Some other things uh
uh we're starting to work on. We just
[43:03] about got personnel to where we need it.
We're still we're still probably a
[43:07] person shy on that. Um it's been we kind
of had expectations of how many people
[43:13] it would take to run. We knew we were
under staff, but you're always kind of
[43:16] guessing how many it's actually going to
take to run it. But what's been what's
[43:19] been very functional to see is we're
bringing on one good guy at a time and
[43:24] our guesstimate was right when it came
to we probably need four in the
[43:27] maintenance and that probably makes us
pretty whole. Uh me and Jackie and uh
[43:32] Jonathan, our new maintenance
supervisor, we uh we've sat down now for
[43:36] budget season to kind of look at some
equipment needs obviously to keep them,
[43:40] you know, we got the people and then
what do we need equipment to keep them
[43:43] functional and so that's something you
all will be uh presented with as we kind
[43:47] of look at the numbers. There's a
there's a few pieces of equipment, you
[43:51] know, we want to invest in that's going
to uh make us even more functional in
[43:56] what we're doing and really in turn keep
more we keep in house. It it saves
[44:01] everybody saves everybody and and time
money and time.
[44:04] » Well, we're also we're on fixing day of
123 fire hydrants has to be done.
[44:10] » Yeah. So, we're on that. So, it's just
dig after dig every day. So you'll see
[44:17] it. That's right. We appreciate that.
Next up, we have the NBC director
[44:34] PC met.
We did not have any cases by the time.
[44:40] So it was business meeting.
We presented the proposed budget.
[44:45] 26 approved last night. Actually,
uh the budget was raised uh a mere
[44:54] $1,000
because of the new fee schedule and what
[44:59] the fees that we're proposing next year.
The amount to the town and parish is
[45:05] going to go down $2,000 if our fees
projection is correct. So this budget
[45:11] was approved and now it will be sent to
the police jury and the town for the
[45:16] final approval.
We also uh had proposed fee changes and
[45:24] they were adopted last night. There was
a lot of things we were doing here that
[45:28] wasn't charged for and we adjusted those
fees. So we are projecting quite a
[45:35] increase in our fees overall. uh we put
a fee on site plan and as of yesterday
[45:42] we had done 80 site plans this year in
the town. So uh we're expecting quite a
[45:49] bump in those results in our overall
feed. We also approved the 2026
[45:57] calendar. Uh the dates the second Monday
say the same for the NPC meeting. The
[46:05] second policy will be the board of ad
being if needed. So that was a pretty
[46:12] another thing that was talked about last
night uh the parish uh back in August uh
[46:18] placed a moratorum on developments in
the parish and the uninorporated areas.
[46:25] This is not applying to Benton or Hton
uh city limits
[46:32] and the parish wanted to place more
tournament until a study could be done
[46:40] and develop ordinances and procedures
for use development. The good thing is
[46:46] we're going to benefit from this study
that they're doing. Even though the town
[46:52] of all kind of business has not got more
when this is complete should be about
[46:58] eight or nine months since this study
will complete and we will all
[47:02] participate to in the study. We're going
to benefit from the ordinance policy
[47:08] procedure and the criteria for bringing
a HUD into town. So, we're going to
[47:15] benefit uh there the RFP they put out,
they didn't get the one response
[47:22] from a South Louisiana company. Uh they
were requested to put out a second time
[47:27] was the same response, the same company.
So the parish accepted that company to
[47:33] do the study. It's going to start rather
quickly. Uh we'll be participating. Uh I
[47:38] can't tell you right now if there uh who
all be participating.
[47:44] Uh but we will keep you up to date on
the participation. Uh and I'm sure as we
[47:50] got further along there'll be probably
more people participating in the study
[47:55] and we'll be able to develop our polic
procedures according to this study.
[48:04] Is there any questions?
[48:09] » Thank you.
>> Thank you.
[48:13] » Next up, we'll have Merry Fire
Engineering.
[48:32] So, as the uh one of your items on item
five on the new business was for the
[48:38] thought value drainage project as the
mayor mentioned. Um
[48:44] and I think Tyler also mentioned ERR is
actually in the advertising process.
[48:49] Seemed like that ERR kind got off in the
ruts for a while but it's finally moving
[48:54] forward. I think everybody's happy at
that. So just to give you a quick update
[48:57] on that one. Uh the RR is expected to be
done I think this month or November. So
[49:02] that means then once that's done then
you can move into the next phase which
[49:07] is the rightway and servitudes. Uh so
that's expected timelinewise November
[49:13] December and then hopefully advertise
for bids will be in the January February
[49:18] range and then commencing construction
sometime around May and completion where
[49:24] can improvements will be sometime in
December of 2026.
[49:30] A lot of work going on there, but those
improvements will definitely
[49:35] uh the next item was wastirewater
treatment plant that we're going to be
[49:39] advertising. It's actually going in the
first advertisements going in the paper
[49:43] tomorrow. U
get that one done and then we'll receive
[49:49] bids uh on November 13th and then the
December meeting will be awarded the
[49:56] contract
and construction will start in the first
[49:59] quarter.
Uh as Tyler mentioned also on the LCBG
[50:07] project for the sewer rehab that the
plans are are submitted for for review
[50:13] through agency review. I'm not sure how
long that'll take. I'm assume probably
[50:17] 45 to 60 days.
[50:21] » Is there any update on the uh elevated
the tank project. Jeremy, I know we I
[50:27] know I think y'all had some
correspondence with the uh which I know
[50:32] Keith runs a lot of point on this and
Tucker, but y'all had some
[50:34] correspondence I think with the tank
manufacturer. Um
[50:41] » I actually have some sanity here for
your colors on your tank colors.
[50:57] I know they've had some uh struggles
with
[51:02] » what was the foundation?
>> Yeah, the the foundation
[51:07] project wise, just everybody's
awareness. We're glad to see both of
[51:10] them going, but 3227 project
going on in the same time with this in
[51:16] the same same area has been
>> a lot of different contractors moving
[51:20] around doing a lot of things and they're
definitely impacting the timing was
[51:23] hoping to get that done before, but the
state started a little bit earlier than
[51:27] anticipated on getting the road done,
which is not a bad problem. It's just
[51:31] » it wasn't anticipated at the time.
[51:41] I know it's broken out a bunch of
different days.
[51:46] » Yeah, I have that.
>> I want to say it's not it's not pushed
[51:52] back, but it's maybe a couple.
[52:01] Any other questions or comments from the
council?
[52:18] I'm
>> sure they charge for the same one if you
[52:21] want.
>> You sure?
[52:21] » Yeah.
>> Don't for
[52:27] no problem.
>> Thank you, sir.
[52:32] » Uh Mr. Irwin, do you have any
announcements to make, sir?
[52:34] » No, sir.
Madam clerk?
[52:38] » No.
>> Uh, any announcements from any council
[52:41] members that they'd like to make?
[52:46] » Uh, not really business, but the county
is a lot of y'all know my mom served up
[52:51] here for many years. Council mayor,
today her 90th birthday.
[53:00] » Um, 3227. I'm sure some folks uh up here
and have gotten some some calls on it.
[53:09] Um
that uh I've been in talks with DOD and
[53:14] Senator Bass and we actually had the uh
Mr. James Sharpley with Ben Brown sit
[53:20] down with us that that lane closure that
I think they put out to March. Was it
[53:26] Tyler? Was it Marid March? Something to
that effect. Um it doesn't really make
[53:32] sense cuz you look what they have shut
down right now. That's a multiplephase
[53:35] closure until it's 100% operational. I
just kind of want to clear the the air
[53:39] on that. Um because they're doing tying
in and deleting roadways. So just for
[53:43] the record putting that out there um it
was a little confusing because everybody
[53:47] thought that one section of road was
going to be closed down arbitrarily for
[53:51] months at a time, but that's not the
case. They're they're breaking up into
[53:54] multiple phases and uh they're rolling
on it. So we're hoping for good weather
[53:57] on that because it's going to be good
for the town and and good for those
[54:00] businesses located in that area. So uh
if there's no other announcement from
[54:05] » Yes, sir. One thing nothing about the
town. I want to kind of give a hat tip
[54:10] my hat. Thank you. Ner was last Thursday
and the ones that showed up the police
[54:17] and fire and everything that showed have
direct traffic. There's a lot of people
[54:21] showed up. I thought family noticed one
thing.
[54:24] » Yes, sir. Yes sir.
>> Uh council at this time is there any
[54:29] objection to during this meeting?
>> No objection.
[54:32] » No objection.
[54:41] » [laughter]