The Regular Meeting of the Washington Parish Council was held on Monday, September 22. The meeting began with a public hearing on four ordinances that were later adopted by the Council. Following the hearing Councilman Steven Branch offered the invocation preceded by a moment of silence for the late Iris Kennedy, Libby Magee, and Charlie Kirk.
During the Regular Meeting, the minutes were approved from September 8. The Council then heard a presentation from the Washington Parish Health Unit with a large number of employees in the audience. Nurse Supervisor Megan Bickham Thomas detailed all the programs the two health units in the parish offer. These included reproductive health, immunizations, tuberculosis testing, WIC, vital records, and environmental/public health. Thomas reiterated that no one is denied service, and the goals are prevention and promotion of health in the community. 925 children receive WIC in the parish which equates to 4,000 visits to the health unit per year. There are also other services available to WIC recipients. The units are also open for extra hours one day per month for reproductive health for ages 13 and up.
Amy Becaes explained the vital records department which issues death certificates and connects with the public to get copies of birth certificates. Ashley Guy added that the environmental/public health sector issues 400-500 sewer permits and conducts 800 inspections per year. They also conduct water samples on private wells.
Council members said they are impressed with what the health units offer to the citizens of the parish.
Council President Kim Wagner then gave the Assessor's Board of Review for the 2025 Tax Roll in the absence of Assessor Jimbo Stevenson. The most important takeaway from that is that no formal complaints have been made regarding the report.
The Council adopted four new ordinances. These were accepting Luna Lane as a parish road; granting a Predial Servitude of Way and Passage to the Washington Parish Communication District for the benefit of a 0.028 acre parcel of land including the communications tower; authorizing the Conveyance of Immovable Property Owned by the Washington Parish Government including improvements, if any, being 28.228 acres, more or less, located in Section 32, Township 3 South, Range 12 East in Washington Parish, Louisiana and authorizing the Washington Parish President to sign any and all documents necessary to accomplish this act of sale.
The final adopted ordinance was to amend the 2025 Annual Operating Budget for the Washington Parish Government. Following the adoption of four ordinances discussed during the Public Hearing, the Council adopted a resolution removing 746 Feet of John Jones Road from the Washington Parish Road Inventory List. Public Works Director Alex Sumrall explained that a gate is in place at the end of the road and the upkeep of the road is being returned to the property's new owners. Washington Parish Government will retain servitude rights.
In public participation, Sheriff Jason Smith shared that the Washington Parish Jail is the most overcrowded jail per capita in the state at 160 percent capacity. The jail was cited by the Fire Marshal as the population is 77 inmates over the 144 the jail is intended for. 70 of these are Department of Corrections inmates who have not been relocated to a state facility. 32 are probation holds and 8 are parole holds. Smith added that half of the Louisiana prisoners in the state are held in local jails and since inmates must now serve 85 percent of their sentence, there are less places to house them. Sadly, he said, Washington Parish is paying the cost of that.
Smith is still negotiating for property for a new jail. He also shared that the department is deficient in plans for the Courthouse, schools, and other venues if there is a critical incident such as a shooting, but there is ongoing coordination to remedy this as soon as possible.
William Morris, who works with animal control, informed the Council of a set of animal control ordinances that he has presented to parish attorney Matt Garver and emailed to Council members. They are extensive but very much needed. He also reminded the Council that any are welcome to ride with him on any given day to see the conditions animals in the parish are forced to endure.
In the President's Report, Finance Director Lacy Burris explained to the Council that the budget for 2026 is nearing completion and she is obtaining reports from each department. There will be a Finance Committee meeting soon and the budget should be ready for adoption in late November.
Public Works Director Alex Sumrall gave the Ground and Maintenance Report for Location 3 as compiled by Code Enforcer Kelvin Brown. Crews collected 303 bags of litter on 40 parish roads. The largest numbers were collected on Choctaw, Frank Dillon, Nobles Cemetery, Mitch, Penton, and Bethel Roads. Brown also ordered six new road signs, installed two signs, and crews cut and cleaned at the Hwy 10 Memorial, the Franklinton and Bogalusa Health Units, the storage facility at the Courthouse and the Varnado Recreation Center.
Sumrall additionally reported that the project in the Conveyance Room at the Courthouse is complete as well as the basketball court at the Varnado Recreation Center. In-house asphalt crews will be working on the parking lot at Franklinton Junior High School and have recently helped with potholes around Franklinton High School and the baseball field. Painting is completed in the office area at Choctaw Landfill and quotes are being received for flooring. There are multiple projects ongoing at the permit, Courthouse Annex and Animal Shelter. Sumrall, Lacy Burris, Tommy Thiebaud, and Bobbie Jo Breland have been working on RFPs (requests for proposals) from six companies for debris removal and three companies for monitoring; however, Sumrall is hopeful that the parishwill not need either and will remain hurricane/storm free for 2025. The permit office has been busy with 7 new construction and 15 mobile home permits issued in August and a total of 425 inspections.
Parish President Ryan Seal reported that he and Councilwoman Kim Wagner recently attended a Legislative Town Hall Meeting with road, education, criminal justice, and insurance updates. He has also issued a burn ban for 30 days due to the dry conditions in the parish. Barriere is just about done with road paving and has moved swiftly. He also reminded deer hunters to secure empty deer corn bags that may fly from the backs of trucks and litter the parish.
Seal added that early voting will be conducted until October 4 with a millage election on October 11. The Washington Parish Democratic and Republican organizations have endorsed the renewal of all the taxes on the ballot which ensure funding for the library, health unit, Courthouse, and roads.
Councilmen thanked the employees of the Health Unit for their informational presentation and encouraged everyone to support local high school teams. Councilwoman Wagner reported a Parish Pulse meeting will be held on October 10 at the Bogalusa Country Club. Ellen Burford of Moving Mountains Ministry will be the guest speaker. The Washington Parish Free Fair will open on October 15, and volunteers are always needed for this great blessing to the parish.
The next meeting will be held on October 6.
