The Washington Parish Council held its first meeting of 2025 on Monday, January 13, at the Washington Parish Courthouse.
Prior to the meeting being called to order, the council conducted an election for Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson. District 3 Councilwoman Kim Wagner became the first female to ever serve as Council Chairperson. Wagner was Co-Chair to Chairman Joe Culpepper in 2024. District 6 Councilman Reginald McMasters was elected to serve as Vice Chairman.
A public meeting was then opened concerning an ordinance to acknowledge the change of the preface to the Washington Parish Development Ordinance. This was approved during the regular meeting. Prior to the invocation, Councilman Steven Branch asked for a moment of silence for the DeLee family who recently lost a daughter, the late President Jimmy Carter family, and the victims of the recent Bourbon Street terror attack. This was followed by the prayer and Pledge of Allegiance and the approval of minutes from the December 16 regular council meeting.
Following an update from Washington Parish Library Director Sonnet Ireland, two ordinances were introduced that will approve the extension of contracts with Workforce Group, LLC for the purpose of disaster debris monitoring and management services and DRC Emergency Services LLC for the purpose of debris removal and disposal services. These extensions were also approved by the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness and will be voted on at the next meeting of the Council.
The meeting included seven resolutions of appointment for various parish boards. Derek Dantin replaced Donald Westmoreland on the Board of Control of the Washington Parish Library effective immediately with his term to expire on December 31, 2026. Perry Talley was reappointed to the Library Board of Control effective January 1, 2025, with his term expiring on December 31, 2029. Stuart Varnado was appointed to the Fire Protection District 1 Board of Directors effective January 1, 2025, and term expiring December 31, 2025.
Also, John Seal and Tish Desmares were reappointed to District 1 Board with terms also expiring December 31, 2026. Kendall Temples and Thomas Kevin Barber were reappointed to Fire Protection District 4 Board of Directors with terms expiring on December 31, 2026. Sonja Kerbow was appointed to Fire Protection District 9 Board of Directions with her term expiring on December 31, 2026.
Ronald Owens was reappointed to the Varnado Water Works District Board of Directors effective January 1, 2025, and term expiring on December 31, 2025. Carolin Bridges was reappointed to the Bogue Lusa Waterworks District Board of Directors with her term expiring December 31, 2029. And Tim Pigott was reappointed to the Washington Gas Utility District 1 Board of Directors with his term expiring on December 31, 2029. In the President's Report, Parish President Ryan Seal thanked all those who willingly serve on these boards. He stated, "The parish could not run without volunteers."
Appointments were followed by authorizing the Parish President to sign four Intergovernmental Agreements to assist the city of Bogalusa, the town of Franklinton, the village of Angie and the village of Varnado with skilled labor and merchandized equipment towards driveway, parking area, road rehabilitation, and drainage and flood control. During the President's Report, Parish President Ryan Seal noted that he is pleased that the parish can assist these municipalities with such services and enables each to forego a bid process and delay in needed improvements.
A resolution also authorized entering a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement with the Louisiana Diamond Cutters Baseball organization. This is in reference to the Plainview baseball field that the organization will maintain for workout and practice purposes.
The final action of the night by the Council was the authorization of the Parish President to enter into a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement with the Louisiana Department of Treasury. Grants Administrator Landon Tims explained that State Representative John Wyble has procured $250,000 from the state budget for Washington Parish to be used for improvements. Tims further explained that time is of the essence and a plan needs to be developed on how to best use the funds.
During public participation Sheriff Jason Smith gave an update on the Washington Parish Jail. There are currently 256 inmates with 214 being housed in the jail built for 144 beds; 42 of the inmates are housed in other places with 25 of these outside the parish at a cost of $25,000 per month. The architect's plan for the proposed temporary facility in Varnado has been scaled back as it is not intended as a permanent facility. The move to the 911 facility in Sheridan should take place by the end of February.
William Lee of the Hackley community expressed his concern and frustration about the Wi-Fi situation in his rural area. "We need help from the parish to help make our kids better," he stated. Councilman Reginald McMasters who represents this area, explained that Senator Beth Mizell confirmed that this will be taken care of as "every road in every community has been assured by the state to have Internet service made available." McMasters further explained that the project is being done in phases and he plans to investigate what phase is currently being addressed. He assured Mr. Lee and Donald Marks, who also spoke of his concerns, that he is working on this problem.
During the President's Report, Transportation Supervisor Danny Knight reported that in December his crews, along with other duties, installed five culverts, graded 26 roads for 48 miles, bushhogged 124 roads for 233 miles, installed 24 signs on 17 roads, and picked up 535 bags of trash on 51 roads. Public Works Director Alex Sumrall emphasized during his report that the number of bags of trash is "ridiculous." He elaborated that Mr. Kelvin Brown's crew is constantly picking up trash on parish roads every day and often return to roads a week later to similar messes. Along with thanking Brown and his crew, Sumrall challenged residents that "We can do better." Sumrall also reported that after a recent storm, the roads were cleared in a timely manner and debris was cleared until every road was passable. He ended his report with thanking everyone who donated blood in memory of the late Terry Morgan and made the blood drive a huge success.
President Ryan Seal offered thanks to Representative John Wyble, Parish Finance Director Donna Graham and Grants Administrator Landon Tims for their commitment to use additional money is the most productive way possible. Seal also addressed recent 911 issues and noted that Chairman Jim Coleman and others who did a fantastic job getting the 911 service back online.
He also reported on the improvements being made to the Varnado Recreation Center as well as the Plainview baseball field and Atoki Recreation Park.
Seal added that the parish is becoming more aggressive on blight and gave the example of a large debris pile being removed from a residential area. He also praised Code Enforcement officer Kelvin Brown for his work on this issue. He ended by assuring the residents of Blackjack Road and Jenkins Road that "we will hold them [state and internet providers] accountable."
The Council ended the meeting with congratulations all around for new Chairman Kim Wagner and Vice Chairman Reginald McMasters. There was also good-natured teasing that Wagner was named Queen of MCCA and kept it a secret from everyone. Mrs. Wagner ended the meeting by thanking all in attendance and expressing her honor at being elected Chairman. She also invited everyone to attend MCCA's parade in Bogalusa on Saturday, March 1.
The Council's next meeting will be held on Monday, January 27, 2025.
