The Washington Parish Council met on Monday, June 10, at the Washington Parish Courthouse. Council Vice Chairman Kim Wagner presided in the absence of Chairman Joe Culpepper. Following the prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, the minutes dated May 20 were approved.
First on the agenda was a status report on Riverside Medical Center delivered by CEO Darrell Lavender. Mr. Lavender reminded the Council that May 12-18 was National Hospital Week. With that in mind, he shared that Riverside Medical Center employs 315 people and has 125 advanced practitioners affiliated with the hospital. With 57,000 patient visits annually, Washington Parish is currently underserved with primary care physicians, but Mr. Lavender assured the Council that everyone does his or her best to ensure those patients receive the best possible care.
Riverside now has or will shortly have an ophthalmologist, a general surgeon, a gynecologist, as well as a gastroenterologist on staff. A psychiatric nurse practitioner will be joining the team later this summer. He reminded the board that a Community Health Needs Survey will be administered in July and August and urges everyone who receives one to respond so that all needs are met. Mr. Lavender also shared that the hospital is doing well financially with 100 days of finance available.
The Council then heard a presentation made available through ADAPT, Inc. Executive Director and former Parish Councilman Rusty Fornea briefly explained that ADAPT offers social services, behavioral health and does prevention work; for every $1 spendt on prevention of alcohol and drug use, $20 is spent on treatment. Thus, prevention is one of ADAPT's primary focuses.
He then introduced Jana Pounds and Regina Meyerchick who coordinate the Washington Parish Youth Coalition. This group is available at all public and private schools in the parish and targets informing their peers about the dangers of alcohol and drug use. The group provides not only information to others their age, but they also conduct surveys and have informal questions and answer sessions where their peers can feel free to seek information.
The high school members then presented the Council with some sobering information concerning alcohol usage and availability to 6th to 12th graders in the parish. When done, Parish President Ryan Seal added that the group is doing "God's work" in the parish.
Mrs. Meyerchick outlined some of the many activities the coalition sponsors and plans for the 2024-25 school year. The Council was notably impressed with the youth and pledged their support for their future endeavors.
Next was the approval of a resolution of appointment of Cheryl Wainright for the Washington Parish Fire Protection District No. 1. Board of Directors. Ms. Wainright's term will expire on December 31, 2025. A second resolution was approved by the Council to authorize the Parish President to accept the low bid of $1,276,866.20 from Barriere Construction Company on the FY2023 LCDBG Road Rehabilitation Project and authorize the Parish President to execute a contract with Barriere and all other documents necessary to administer said project. The Louisiana Community Development Block Grant for funding this project was in the amount of $1,510,000.00.
During public participation Judge William "Billy" Burris, Chief Judge for the 22nd Judicial District gave a status report on some of the items he and other judges have been working on. Currently there is no fulltime judge in Washington Parish and Judge Burris is working on this. He cautioned, however, that everyone should remember that "the wheels of justice sometime move slowly" and four of the twelve 22nd District Judges are working on this. Another issue Judge Ellen Creel has worked tirelessly to remedy has been a calendaring problem. Washington Parish has seen several judges in court sessions on some days and then up to two weeks at a time with no judges or court. Judge Creel tackled this issue and there is now a more even schedule of judges and court dockets. Judge Burris added that most importantly, the judges appreciate the Council and Parish Government and are working not only for them but for the folks of Washington Parish and offered a "thank you" for all the parish does for him and fellow judges.
During the President's Report, Financial Director Donna Graham made several announcements to the Council. The Era Leader will continue to serve as the official journal of the Parish Council for July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025. She also gave a status report on the Opiod Lawsuit Settlement money the parish is receiving. A stakeholders meeting will be held on Thursday, June 13 to begin to develop community-minded, evidence-based, forward-looking proposals for the money.
Mrs. Graham also shared the exciting news that bids will soon be opened for constructing the soccer fields at Atoki Recreation Park north of Franklinton off of Highway 25..
She said the auditors are done, and she is waiting for a comprehensive report and exit conference. Also, each Council member has a report on finances through May and all balances are in a positive situation. No funds need revision at this point.
Transportation Supervisor Danny Knight's report included that among other things crews bushhogged 135 roads for 243 miles; installed 25 signs on 24 roads; graded 38 roads for 77 miles; completed drainage projects on 22 roads for 38 miles; and picked up 404 bags of garbage on 32 roads. He added they are also looking forward to beginning the LA Community Development Block Grant project. \
Quality Assurance Officer Alex Sumrall praised crews for the work following the storms on Tuesday, June 4. There are currently renovation projects in the Annex and Permit Offices and the Hwy 10 Maintenance Shop will have an addition completed by next week. The Washington Parish Jail renovations are nearing completion and will be a huge upgrade from the old facility.
Mr. Sumrall also mentioned that new growth to Washington Parish is evidenced by 20 to 25 Base Flood Elevations completed in the past few weeks. He also wants boaters to know that the Army Corp of Engineers are cleaning the waterways where Poole's Bluff meets the Pearl River. This will allow boats to go through the waterway. The bid process for new sidewalks in downtown Franklinton through a DOTD grant will take place in August. Finally, The AC system in the back half of the Bogalusa Health Unit is out and quotes are being obtained to fix this.
Parish President Ryan Seal ended with kudos to employees for responding to the June 4 weather event. He also noted that the Opiod Lawsuit funds are critical and the parish "must manage this right." The code enforcement office is getting more aggressive with blight in the parish and citations are being written, so he encourages citizens to clean up property. President Seal also gave dates of upcoming Juneteenth celebrations being conducted across the parish.
