The Washington Parish Council met on Monday, April 6.
The minutes of the March 23 meeting were approved and the Council then heard an appeal filed March 18 concerning the decision of the Washington Parish Planning Commission on March 17 in the matter of a Conditional Use Permit Application proposing a new cell tower.
The tower, set to be placed on Austin Varnado Road, is not supported by nearby property owners and residents of the area. Karen Danos lives across the road from the site and is concerned about adverse health effects and electro magnetic sickness. The tower will have a 40-year lease, and she feels it will be a great injustice to the residents. Presleigh Varnado is also a resident on Austin Varnado Road and she added, "We live here. We pay taxes and I hate to see a potential 'its okay till it's not' situation." She said residents will have to deal with the possible side effects, and it may deter people from coming and making homes in the area. She ended by asking the Council, "How would you feel?"
Doug Leblanc is the property owner and stated he lives in Pineridge Subdivision in Franklinton. He works from home and has no cell service on Austin Varnado Road as he is an AT&T user. It should be noted that Spectrum does have cell service in the area. Leblanc also feels that local law and emergency services will benefit from the tower and this will ultimately benefit the parish.
Tyler Varnado added, "I understand we need towers. We don't need them on top of everyone's homes. Can't we find bigger pieces of property not so heavily populated."
Cameron Lee with Diamond Communications LLC represented the cell tower company. He asked the Council to affirm the Planning and Zoning Commission’s approval. He cited a federal law from 1996 that states no state or local government can regulate cell tower placement due to health concerns. AT&T has all equipment approved by the FCC, he said.
Council President Reginald McMasters questioned who benefits from the tower. Lee said AT&T will be the anchor tenant, and other wireless carriers can be added. He also noted that the nearest tower is three miles away and there is no cell service in the area currently.
When McMasters explained that the concern is potential health problems, Lee again stated that there is a federal mandate that supersedes making a determination of tower locations based on potential health worries. Parish attorney Matt Garver confirmed that this is correct and added that the permit packet was complete.
The Council needs time and information to decide, so it was agreed to take the matter under advisement and bring it back to the next Council meeting.
Next, the Council adopted a resolution authorizing the Parish President to enter into a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement with the Washington Parish Fair Association for infrastructure improvements at the Washington Parish Fairgrounds. Public Works Director Alex Sumrall explained that there are needs at the fairgrounds the parish can assist with such as asphalt, gravel, and sand. The Fair Association will pay for all materials with the parish providing labor. President Ryan Seal added that everyone knows the value of the fair to the community, and he is glad the parish can assist in these areas.
The final item of business was the adoption of a resolution to authorize the Parish President to execute any and all agreements, amendments, and related documents with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development and to enter into an Intergovernmental Agreement with the Town of Franklinton for the funding and implementation of more sidewalk improvements in downtown Franklinton through the Louisiana DOTD Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP). Public Works Director Sumrall explained that this phase will include the eastern side of Main Street from Dobson Street north to Bene Street.
In Public Participation, Sheriff Jason Smith gave an update on the parish jail. Currently the jail is housing 222 inmates with 68 of these being in the Department of Corrections system and waiting for transfer to a state facility. He noted that one year ago there were 100 more inmates than currently, so progress is being made. He reported that new razor wire is being installed on the fencing and the new camera system is nearly complete.
The sheriff recently met in Baton Rouge with state officials seeking support for the new jail and he put in a request for a capital outlay project. He also explained the need to add a housing unit to the 911 center so that during emergency and post storm situations, employees on duty for extended periods of time will have an area to rest and recover between shifts. He is seeking grant funding to pay for this.
The sheriff's office is entering into a contract with DOTD to provide inmate labor to pick up litter on parish roads. He feels this will help stem the litter problem in the parish.
Deann Davis with Economic Development gave a summary of work her office is doing to attract businesses to the parish.
Chris McCarra is continuing to push for a centralized parish fire department. Councilman Carley King explained to McCarra that this would be a major realignment, and the Council appreciates his concerns and efforts but reminded McCarra that there is much to consider.
In the Parish President's report, Alex Sumrall reported that on April 1 there was a bid opening for the 2025 Asphalt Overlay Project and Barriere Construction was awarded the contract. This project will include 29 parish roads and six of the highly traveled roads will be getting soil cement as a base to preserve the roads from heavy trucks.
Code Enforcer Kelvin Brown reported that in March, along with other projects, crews completed 18 drainage projects on 36 roads, installed 21 culverts, graded 17 roads, bush hogged 126 roads for 251 miles, and picked up 370 bags of litter on 42 roads. Brown ending by expressing his pride in the young men who work on these crews.
President Ryan Seal noted that April is Child Abuse Prevention Month and the courthouse is lit in blue to mark this. He added that there is a lot of infrastructure improvement going on in the parish and the Hwy 60 bridge in Bogalusa is nearing completion. Seal went all the way to the governor about this and the DOTD has moved quickly. (Note: Not long after the meeting the bridge was completed.) The parish will see four other bridges replaced in the next year.
Seal noted that parish government employees are receiving CDL training, free of charge, and this will go a long way with the new equipment the parish has recently invested in. The parish has also partnered with GoJobs and there will be 6 to 8 weeks of employment for applicants in the maintenance department. This is paid for by the state and participants are learning a lot.
Seal also congratulated Rev. Bruce Brown with 32 years on the Washington Parish School Board and Paul Kate with 28 years on the Bogalusa City School Board.
Finally, he reminded everyone of the Team Up to Clean Up and Love the Boot litter campaigns and events occurring on April 18 in Bogalusa and April 24 in Franklinton.
The next Parish Council meeting will be held on April 20.
