The Town of Franklinton Board of Aldermen held its December meeting on Tuesday, December 13. New business began with the introduction of an ordinance to authorize the Town to charge a $25 fee to each water customer and $25 to each gas customer for connecting or transferring services. Mayor Greg Route explained that there is currently no disconnect fee; however, often folks move from one address to another and are not currently charged for connections at the new home. Citing the manpower utilized for these, the town will begin assessing a fee. Public Works Superintendent Reginald McMasters pointed out that all other utility companies charge such fees and $25 will be the least expensive in the area. The board will vote on this ordinance at the January 10 meeting.
The town's insurance agent Henry Powell was on hand to present the final numbers for insurance coverage discussed in a previous meeting. Town employees will now have insurance coverage through Blue Cross/Blue Shield with lower premiums, deductibles, and drug costs. Employees will also have new enhanced benefits of dental and vision coverage paid for by the Town. Mr. Powell explained that the Town is saving approximately $71,000 by switching to the new plan. Alderman TJ Butler, a retired educator with Blue Cross/Blue Shield coverage, praised the new insurance program and expressed his own satisfaction with BC/BS.
In other business, the Board approved a resolution prohibiting the location of a methadone clinic in the Town of Franklinton. Alderman Darwin Sharp did gain approval for a Methadone Emergency Moratorium dated December 13, 2022, to June 30, 2023, in case the Town needs to look at where a clinic could possibly be located if this is brought before the council again. (Methadone is a medication used to treat Opioid Use Disorder as a medication-assisted treatment, as well as for pain management.)
The Board also approved the hiring of Jimmie Slade as a part-time sergeant school resource officer and Linda Payne as a part-time dispatcher at the FPD.
he next item on the agenda was approving adding Webb Street to the Town's inventory of streets to pave. Mayor Route explained that due to an intergovernmental agreement, Washington Parish Government has been maintaining Webb Street. According to Attorney James Knight, the road was originally donated to the parish by the Bickham family and was assumed by the Town when the city limits expanded. Webb Street must be listed on the Town's inventory for the Parish to pave it. Attorney Knight noted that this is the road only and not the utility right-of-way.
During departmental reports Superintendent Reginald McMasters addressed the recent Boil Water Advisories in Franklinton. Mr. McMasters was notably frustrated with misinformation that circulated during the advisories and urged everyone to become aware of the facts before making public statements through social media, newspaper, and television. The superintendent subsequently explained that if water pressure falls below 15 pounds, the state requires that a Boil-Water Advisory be put in place. He further explained that the Town of Franklinton is currently operating on two of three wells and operates on a chlorine residual. The first incident occurred on the weekend and was due to lightening striking a well which caused water pressure to drop. It was not town-wide, but Mr. McMasters called for a boil-water advisory out of an abundance of caution. He said this did not and does not indicate that the water is "bad."
After samples taken on Monday after the repair of the well, the advisory was lifted on Tuesday. Further electrical problems caused a new boil-water advisory the following weekend. The Chess Jones Well experienced a problem with the electrical box which had to be upgraded. Again, out of an abundance of caution, a boil-water advisory was called for until samples taken on Monday led to the advisory being dropped on Tuesday. Mr. McMasters noted that urban areas as large as Houston, Texas, were under a boil-water advisory at the same time as Franklinton, and that it is not a cause to immediately assume the water is tainted. He said he and his staff worked diligently each time to return water operations to normal as quickly as possible.
Mr. McMasters concluded with information on MISSION, a program that will put all wells on one system that will alert pertinent people to potential problems so that they can be caught in a timely manner and remedied. Finally, he thanked the news outlets that helped to inform residents of the advisory. The Board did acknowledge that the current telephone system does not allow for cell-phone notifications, but this is an area that will be addressed in the new year.
In other departmental reports, Fire Chief Brandon LaSalle stated that the new reporting system will be up and running on January 1, 2023. Meanwhile, the Fire Department responded to 39 calls since November 9, 2022. Chief LaSalle also informed the Board that the newly ordered fire truck's specifications are being finalized.
Town Clerk Ellen Waskom reported that for November 2022, the Town collected $269,940 in sales taxes. This number was a $9795 increase over the same period in 2021.
Mayor Route informed the Board that a new auditor is needed for the Town of Franklinton. After speaking with the Legislative Auditor's office, he sees the need to move as quickly as possible on this. Therefore, he proposed engaging Kushner LaGraize, LLC to perform audit services for the Town of Franklinton and this was approved by the Board.
Mayor Route and the Board of Aldermen were presented a plaque by the Franklinton Youth Football Organization in appreciation of their efforts to assist in providing needed equipment.
The mayor reminded everyone that the town offices will be closed December 23-28 for Christmas. The next Town Council meeting will be on January 10, 2023.
