The Washington Parish Council held its regular meeting on Monday, July 8, 2024, in Council Chambers at the Washington Parish Courthouse. Prior to the meeting the Washington Parish Road Committee met regarding the dedication of Barney Lane, in the Stony Point area, to the Washington Parish Government Road Inventory. Residents on hand were asking for the road (which is apparently in poor shape) to be repaired if for no other reason but to enable a school bus to pick up and drop off a handicapped child.
Parish Attorney Wayne Kuhn explained that while a right-of-way was established, the developers Smith & Core and RAH Enterprises LLC did not deed the roadway property to the parish. The right-of-way is owned by the property owners whose lots extend to the center of the roadway. Mr. Kuhn added that the roadway must be 60 feet wide and is currently only 50 feet and that is another reason the parish cannot add the road to the road inventory.
The residents were notably frustrated and were even more so when at 6:00 pm the Road Committee meeting was forced to adjourn, and the regular meeting of the Parish Council was called to order.
Following the Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance, the Council voted to approve the minutes of the last regular meeting held on June 24, 2024.
The first item on the agenda was to introduce an ordinance to facilitate the implementation of a voluntary buyout and housing incentive program for certain portions of the Bogue Chitto Heights Subdivision. Public Works Director Alex Sumrall explained that this program's purpose is to mitigate future risks and damages resulting from flooding and other impacts from disasters by buying out high-risk flood properties and returning these properties to open and/or green space. Mr. Sumrall reiterated that it is a voluntary program and will hopefully provide money for residents to purchase or build somewhere outside the flood area.
Next, the Council approved a resolution to appoint Danielle Folks as Interim Council Clerk. Longtime Council Clerk Sarah Cook resigned effective July 5, 2024.
Mrs. Folks is currently employed as Administrative Assistant to Parish President Ryan Seal and has graciously offered to provide service at no cost to the parish. President Seal agreed to allow Mrs. Folks to share time with the Council until a new clerk is hired.
The final item of business on the agenda was the adoption of a resolution to accept the lowest bid and to authorize the Parish President to sign a contract between Lowe Bros., L.L.C. and Washington Parish Government. Transportation Supervisor Danny Knight added that this is 21 roads all over the parish.
In public participation, Mr. John Brown, a resident of Highway 16, came forward to address the solar panel sites on Highway 16. He is concerned that while a cane barrier has been planted on the LSU Ag side of the road, this has not been completed and it appears that a poisonous substance has been sprayed on the grass near CC Road and Hwy 16. He also explained that on the north side of the highway, all the construction equipment and trailers have vacated the property, and nothing has been planted per the parish ordinance that requires a barrier of plant life. The Council explained that the LSU Ag side was established pre-ordinance; however, Public Works Director Alex Sumrall shared that he has been to the site and his understanding is that there will be planting of "barrier plants" during the proper season for such. This is a situation that the parish government will stay abreast of.
Newly-sworn-in Sheriff Jason Smith next spoke to the Council. He had (at the time of the meeting) been on-the-job for one week and wants to make sure the Council knows where renovation money has been spent. He invited the Council along with Parish officials to tour the jail with Senator Beth Mizell. Sheriff Smith wants the people of the parish to know what's going on in the jail. Councilman Clark Harry noted that COVID is over, and people are wondering when visitation will be reinstated. Sheriff Smith is anticipating this within the next month. He shared that currently there are currently 232 inmates and 144 beds. 208 are housed in the Washington Parish Jail, 8 are housed in Plaquemines Parish, and 16 in the Bogalusa City Jail. He added that he and District Attorney Colin Sims are working together to address the overcrowding issue.
In the President's Report, Director of Finance Donna Graham was pleased to report that per the financial report of June 30, all major funds have a positive balance with steady revenue. Sales tax collections are currently above what was anticipated at this time. Mrs. Graham said, "We are doing well." The only negative balance is the Courthouse Maintenance fund. However, this account has paid for the jail renovation and the parish is expecting a $217,000 reimbursement from the state and the fund will be positive.
Transportation Manager Danny Knight reported that in the past month crews have bush hogged 180 roads for 357 miles; picked up 415 bags of trash on 43 roads; hauled 352 yards of gravel on 9 roads; graded 23 roads; and has been busy installing sigs and cleaning/cutting parish sites. Mr. Knight also reported that asphalt crews are currently working on in-house projects on Ed Carroll Road and Old Columbia Road in Angie. The Mitchell City project with Barriere was scheduled to resume on Tuesday, July 9.
Public Works Director Alex Sumrall further explained the buyout program in Bogue Chitto Heights and that is a voluntary program. Mr. Sumrall also reported that the Permit Department and Annex remodel is complete as of Thursday, July 4 with new flooring, baseboards and shoe molding. His office also met with the fire marshal at the Sheriff's office on Tuesday, July 2, and he gave the 'go-ahead" for them to move in. This is expected to be completed by the end of July. The Public Works Department will soon be advertising for renovations at the courthouse including electrical panels, basement area courtroom, Courtroom 1, restrooms and the Clerk of Court Mortgage Department. On Wednesday, July 10 the office was scheduled to meet with debris removal company DRC and Workforce, a monitoring company, in a pre-hurricane meeting to go over items in case of a named storm. Finally, he reported that the permit for Poole's Bluff to remove the silt at the mouth of the canal has been submitted to the Army Corp of Engineers.
Parish President Seal praised the recent 4th of July parade in Bogalusa and the Watermelon Festival in Franklinton. Both events were well planned and very nice. He reminded everyone that applications for a Council Clerk and Landfill Director are being accepted. President Seal also thanked Danielle Folks for her willingness to help with the Council Clerk position and asked for continued prayers for former administrative assistant Terry Morgan.
