The regular meeting of the Washington Parish Council was held on Monday, August 25. Following the invocation, pledge, and approval of minutes for August 11 the Council and Parish President Ryan Seal recognized Kimberly Adams. Adams was recently awarded the STEM Capstone Service Award which goes to a student whose final STEM project goes beyond academic standards. She has been a volunteer firefighter since 1998, and her project was bringing the parish fire departments into the digital age. It included ways to modernize and organize the department's digital storage and be cloud-based and more encrypted. On August 26 she began a position at the Louisiana State Department of Education as a contract and grant reviewer. This was followed by recognition of Roger Stephens. Stephens is retiring after 22 years of service with Parish Government. He poignantly reminisced on his time with the Drainage Department after being hired by then Parish President Toye Taylor. The department was discontinued in 2016, but Stephens enjoyed working with the crews and seeing great improvements in the parish.
Next on the agenda was a brief audit report from Michelle Treschwig of the accounting firm Kushner LaGraize. She was happy to report a clean audit for parish government. The audit has been submitted, approved, and posted on the website of the Louisiana Legislative Auditor. There were no issues except for a budget not being amended in a timely manner and this has been resolved. Treschwig reported that the parish has no fund deficits and no long-term debt. She added that the parish is low-risk related to grants which is attractive to organizations that award grants.
Each Council member was given a hard copy of the audit. Finance Director Lacy Burris gave retired Donna Graham and Kristen Spears the credit for a sound financial situation. This was followed by Heather Seal who explained a condensed, short Community Needs Assessment survey to determine future actions by Riverside Medical Center. Public Works Director Alex Sumrall pointed out that Riverside has completed some remodeling and the hospital looks "really nice."
The Council then moved to ordinances and resolutions. The first approved item authorized Parish President Ryan Seal to sign an Intergovernmental Agreement to assist the Washington Parish School Board with skilled labor and mechanized equipment towards driveway, parking area, road rehabilitation, drainage, and flood control. Public Works Director Sumrall explained that this protects parish workers when assisting the school system and gave the example of the recent removal of a tree on a campus. A resolution was also adopted authorizing Washington Parish Government to accept and administer grant(s) through Keep Louisiana Beautiful. Finance Director Lacy Burris explained this was in conjunction with a $5000 grant for the spring Love the Boot litter campaign.
A Resolution of Reappointment to the Varnado Water Works District Board of Directors was adopted. Joe Lewis Sr. recently passed away and is being replaced by John Nathaniel, effective immediately and term expiring December 31, 2028. Next the Council adopted a resolution authorizing the Parish President to Sign a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement with the Washington Parish Economic Development Foundation. The foundation's payroll will run through the parish government with reimbursement. The next item was adopting a resolution to amend Resolution No. 25-1409, to correct the term expiration date of a member of the Florida Parishes Humann Services Authority Governing District Board of Directors. The original resolution listed the expiration date of the term as December, and it should have been July. The final item adopted was a resolution to authorize the Parish President to sign a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement with the Washington Parish Sheriff's Office for use of a parish-owned recreational vehicle (camper donated in 2006) as lodging during trainings.
Sheriff Jason Smith reported during public participation that the jail is still the most over-crowded in the state per capita with 267 inmates and 233 of those housed at the parish jail. Clerk of Court employees have received transport training and inmates should be moved to the Department of Corrections in the coming weeks. Smith all strongly emphasized the need for jurors now that there are two weeks of court in Washington Parish instead of only one. He stated, "We don't want to release anyone because of lack of jurors." The bidding process for a jail camera system is taking place and the department is in negotiations for property on 28 acres for a new jail. The appraisal is the next step. Christopher Shay McCarra spoke to the Council about updating the parish's district maps for the fire departments. He feels strongly that a better fire service is needed.
In the President's Report, Lacy Burris announced the upcoming purchase of a paver and screed from Caterpillar. The current paver is being auctioned off to help pay for the new one. Parish Code Enforcer Kelvin Brown reported that since August 11, crews have collected 336 bags of litter on 33 roads and cut and cleaned 11 parish locations. Of note, he is concerned that 38 road signs on 36 roads have been replaced at a cost of $19 each. He is especially concerned about stolen stop signs that can cause accidents.
Public Works Director Alex Sumrall reported that in August the permit department issued 124 permits with 65 reconnects, 12 mobile home permits, and 6 residential new construction bringing the 2025 total to 1316. He noted that Ashley Sumrall has received her Permit Technician Certification and is one of only 30 in the state. The Animal Shelter hosted a spay and neuter clinic with 147 animals; 31 were from the Franklinton area. Sumrall also implored folks to stop dumping animals around the Winn Dixie area. He ended with high praise for Kelsey Knight and the work being done at the Shelter.
President Ryan Seal gave a timeline leading up to the recent explosion in Roseland and afterwards as the air, water and vegetation in Washington Parish has been tested. There has been no air contamination in the parish. 150 people have been working on this incident, and the number one priority is citizen safety. President Ryan Seal noted the passing of Donald Westmoreland and former Bogalusa Fire Chief James Dunaway. He also thanked administrative assistant Danielle Folks for being his "rock" during the post explosion event.
The meeting ended with the Council thanking everyone for their efforts and congratulating Roger Stephens on his retirement. The next meeting will be held on September 8, 2025.
