The Washington Parish Council met on Monday, September 14. Prior to the invocation, Parish President Ryan Seal asked that everyone pause to remember the late Johnny D. Crain. Crain was a longtime public servant in Washington Parish and involved with numerous community activities. He also was a former parish council/police juryman as well as Clerk of Court for Washington Parish.
Following the prayer and Pledge of Allegiance, the Council voted to approve the minutes for the August 24 Regular Council Meeting. As with any approval item, the public was given an opportunity to speak before the Council voted.
Andy Jones, who has spoken during public participation at recent meetings as an opponent to solar farms, came forward. Despite being asked by Attorney Matt Garver if what he wanted to share concerned the approval of minutes and current agenda item, he pushed forward and shared scripture that he thought the Council should hear as well as his thoughts on the contentiousness he viewed when watching a video of the previous meeting. This basically foreshadowed the evening's culmination in the Council voting 5 to 1 to lift the July 9, 2026, moratorium placed on the approval of and/or permitting of all solar panel farms, commercial solar power plants, battery energy storage systems (BESS), and similar energy generation or storage facilities.
Prior to the Council's final vote of the evening, Ben E. Clayton, Candidate for 22nd Judicial District Court Judge Division G introduced himself. Clayton, a current resident of Slidell, wants to relocate to Washington Parish and stated he and his wife formerly lived in Bogalusa for three years. He has 40 years' experience as a litigator and is also a minister of a nondenominational church.
Clayton was followed by David Merlin Duke, Bogalusa City Judge, who is seeking reelection in the 4th Ward. He covered his 34 years as a lawyer and six as city judge and listed the changes he has implemented and those he plans to make.
The Council then voted to adopt three resolutions reappointing Colton Forne, Judy Howard, and Huey Newcomb to the Washington Parish Fire Protection District No. 5 Board of Directors. Each term will expire on December 31, 2028.
Next was the resolution amending resolution No. 26-1506 concerning solar farms. Before the Council voted, a time of public comment was held. Tim Tackett urged the Council to vote no and detailed what he believes are loopholes in the current ordinance. He reiterated that batteries and storage are necessary at such complexes and added that there is no cybersecurity in place.
Ben Sarro read from the Home Rule Charter and reminded the Council of its responsibility to protect parish welfare and that the Charter is the foundation of authority. He urged the Council to demonstrate that lifting the moratorium does not protect the parish.
Christopher Weintrit questioned if the Council had a response from Taylor Porter, the law firm that recently evaluated the solar farm ordinance. Parish Attorney Matt Garver replied that the law firm saw no "holes" in the ordinance and is focusing on a BESS ordinance. There is currently a moratorium on BESS until an ordinance is created. Weintrit asked, "If we haven't heard back from Taylor Porter concerning new documents, should we lift the moratorium?"
Shellie Thomas issued a heartfelt plea as a mother to not allow the proposed solar farm to affect the quality of life in the parish, as it matters. She urged the Council to think about the people it will affect and what kind of Washington Parish we want to leave future generations.
BJ Couvillion from Entergy then spoke briefly and introduced the Power Development Team that will work directly with the solar farm. They explained that they have met all requirements of the ordinance as well as state and federal guidelines. They have also paused until a BESS ordinance is in place. Couvillon added that Bogalusa West will be a $400 million project with 200-250 construction jobs, 82 million in property taxes and $1.4 million in sales tax for 30 years. The permit fee alone will cost $2.9 million. All this money will be paid to the parish.
Anthony Chavez from Weyerhaeuser said he appreciated the concerns of the community and ensured that the company has chosen a developer carefully. With over one million acres owned in the state, one-tenth of that is in Washington Parish and a small percentage will be set aside for solar.
The Council then voted to lift the solar moratorium, a decision that was met by dismay from the assembled residents.
In public participation, anti-solar farm activist Tammy Adams stated that Washington Parish has been left defenseless. The Council was handed a proposed ordinance to add a new section establishing a parish-wide cumulative capacity cap for utility scale solar project facilities. The Council has 30 days to accept or reject. She added, "If you reject, we will get votes from citizens. We are confident to take to a parish-wide vote to decide how much solar the voters are willing to have." Tim Tackett also handed out a proposed BESS ordinance.
In the President's Report, Public Works Director Alex Sumrall explained that Warner Construction was awarded the bid for Segments D and E of the sidewalk project in Franklinton. A pre-construction meeting for the Sidewalk Project A2 is also scheduled.
Crews have started clearing and grubbing along Mitch Road Bridge over Peters Creek. The current bridge will be replaced with a concrete structure.
Asphalt crews overlaid West, Bankston, Richard and Boone Streets and finished the entire Meadows Subdivision totaling 3,350 tons of asphalt on 18 roads measuring 2.6 miles.
Sumrall and crews will be decorating the Courthouse for the Fair Flag Raising on September 25 and to show the parish's pride in the fair season.
In other news, crews bushhogged 107 roads for 216 miles and picked up 291 bags of litter on 37 roads along with other tasks. Sumrall also responded to a question concerning enforcement of the current solar ordinance in relation to solar farms located on Hwy 16 west of Franklinton. Sumrall explained that Eagle Environment comes out for inspections on existing solar farms and they are the experts.
Parish President Ryan Seal thanked Steven Branch for hosting the recent Parish Pulse meeting and noted the Empty Chair ceremony to be held at the Courthouse to note opioid deaths in the parish.
In Council Discussion, Councilwoman Kim Wagner explained her "why" for her "yes" vote to lift the moratorium on solar. Wagner stated that she has listened to and heard the public's views for six years concerning solar and feels the ordinance in place is a strong one. However, our parish needs the money, and she wants to keep the parish from dying. Businesses are not "knocking on the door" to come in the parish. The tax money will be a huge boost to the economy and Entergy has agreed to pay full taxes. She added that the Council voted to never give a solar company an incentive and this would not happen in this case.
Steven Branch admitted the vote was a hard decision for him as a farmer, but the same thing is happening around the country. He urged landowners to pray about decisions. Despite some audience members wishing to speak, Branch firmly informed them that comments from the public were over for the night and they will have to do so at the next meeting to be held on September 28, 2026.
