City Council

MINUTES OF REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING TOWN HALL MEETING ROOM 112 W. ALABAMA AVE. VIVIAN, LOUISIANA MONDAY, JULY 13, 2020 6:00 PM CALL TO ORDER - Mayor Festavan called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. INVOCATION - Alderman Raymond Williams opened the meeting in prayer. PLEDGE - Mayor Festavan led all present in the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL - VERIFICATION OF QUORUM - Board of Aldermen present for Roll Call were James Martin, Michael Guthrie, Raymond Williams, and Angela Channell; absent was Denise Alexander. Following Roll Call the Town Clerk verified that a quorum was present. Also present were other elected officials and/or staff members: Ronnie Festavan - Mayor, Ryan Nelson - Chief of Police, Kellie Morris - Town Clerk, and Douglas Dominick - Town Attorney. APPROVE AGENDA - Motion to approve Agenda as presented was made by Raymond Williams and seconded by James Martin. All approved. 1. PUBLIC COMMENTS - There were none. 2. MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT - Financial report including budget-to-actual comparisons was presented by Mayor Festavan. Following the report and discussion, motion to accept as presented was made by Michael Guthrie, second by Raymond Williams; all approved. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - Motion to approve the minutes of the June 8, 2020 regular meeting was made by James Martin, second by Michael Guthrie; all approved. 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - Motion to approve the minutes of the June 29, 2020 special called meeting was made by Raymond Williams, second by James Martin; all approved. 5. INTRODUCTION OF ORDINANCE # 744 OF 2020 OF THE TOWN OF VIVIAN, LOUISIANA - AN ORDINANCE FOR THE CODE OF ORDINANCES, Page 1 of 3 TOWN OF VIVIAN, LOUISIANA, TO AMEND, CHAPTER 15 - STREETS, SIDEWALKS AND OTHER PUBLIC PLACES - ARTICLE I - IN GENERAL - TO INCLUDE SECTION 15-5. - PORTABLE BASKETBALL HOOPS, VOLLEYBALL NETS, SOCCER GOALS OR ANY OTHER SPORTING RELATED EQUIPMENT. There will be a public hearing prior to the adoption of Ordinance # 744 at the Special Called Council Meeting at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, August 10, 2020 at the Vivian Town Hall, located at 112 W. Alabama Ave. in Vivian, Louisiana. 6. INTRODUCTION OF ORDINANCE # 745 OF 2020 OF THE TOWN OF VIVIAN, LOUISIANA - AN ORDINANCE TO SALE IMMOVABLE PROPERTY, COMMONLY KNOWN AS THE “OLD VIVIAN FIRE STATION”, THE REASONS FOR SAID SALE, TO FIX THE MINIMUM PRICE OF SAID SALE AND THE TERMS OF THE SALE. FURTHER TO DECLARE SAID PROPERTY SURPLUS PROPERTY AND NO LONGER NEEDED FOR A PUBLIC PURPOSE AND TO BE SOLD UNTO THE HIGHEST BIDDER. There will be a public hearing prior to the adoption of Ordinance # 745 at the Special Called Council Meeting at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, August 10, 2020 at the Vivian Town Hall, located at 112 W. Alabama Ave. in Vivian, Louisiana. 7. THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN WILL RECONSIDER THE ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION # 8 OF 2020 OF THE TOWN OF VIVIAN, LOUISIANA - A RESOLUTION DECLARING LISTED PROPERTY TO BE CONSIDERED SURPLUS PROPERTY AND SOLD TO HIGHEST BIDDER. Motion to adopt Resolution # 8 of 2020 of the Town of Vivian, Louisiana was made by Angela Channell, second by James Martin; all approved. 8. CHANGE IN STATUS FOR POLICE OFFICER - THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN WILL CONSIDER THE CHIEF OF POLICE’S RECOMMENDATION TO CHANGE THE STATUS OF THE FOLLOWING POLICE OFFICER, EFFECTIVE JULY 15, 2020: Naikia Channell - Part-time to Full-time Police Officer - Motion to approve the Police Chief’s recommendation to change the Officer’s status was made by Angela Channell, second by Raymond Williams; all approved. 9. ZONING VARIANCE HEARING - THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN WILL RECONSIDER ISSUING A ZONING VARIANCE; To allow a mobile home to be placed at the following address: 209 Suemont St. – Case # 496. Zoning/Condemnation Officer, Bobby Smith, presented the case to the Council. Petitioner was also present and spoke on his behalf. Following questions, answers and review of the case file by Council Members motion to grant the zoning variance was made by James Martin, second by Raymond Williams; all approved. Page 2 of 3 ZONING/CONDEMNATION REPORT - Zoning/Condemnation Officer Bobby Smith presented reports on the following: 1) a drive-through window for pick-up service at the Tobacco House on S. Pine St., 2) the old dry cleaning building located on S. Pine St. has been cleaned up, and 3) a mobile home located on Pardue St. CODE ENFORCEMENT REPORT - The Mayor used this time to introduce Mr. Adrian Hopkins as the newly hired Code Enforcement Officer for the Town. He also stated that Mr. Hopkins would be attending the Town Council Meetings to give reports and up-date the Council. He then went on the announce that the Town would begin holding Environmental Court in the Town Hall Council Chambers for Code Enforcement violators with Douglas Dominick serving as Judge. MAYOR’S REPORT - Mayor Festavan gave a report on the following topics: 1) a meeting concerning the sewer situation with some of the Council Members, business owners and Drew Verner, an engineer with BALAR Associates, 2) Louisiana Rural Water Association running tests on the sewer lines to discover cracks in the lines, 3) the purchase of a new lawn mower for the Street Dept., 4) the second food giveaway hosted in conjunction with the Northwest Louisiana Food Bank, 5) an agreement with John Warner to cut the old part of the Vivian Cemetery on a ‘per cut’ basis, and 6) a recent request by a local business to sell alcoholic drinks with higher content and his research & discussion(s) with the Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control in Baton Rouge. ANNOUNCEMENTS BY BOARD OF ALDERMEN - Alderman Michael Guthrie stated that a resident on General Lee Dr. had asked the Town to trim some trees that were a traffic nuisance and then stated that the Town did a great job. ADJOURN - Motion to adjourn was made by Raymond Williams, seconded by James Martin; all approved. Meeting adjourned at 6:42 p.m. ______________________________________ Ronnie Festavan, Mayor ______________________________________ July 20, 2020 Kellie Morris, Town Clerk Page 3 of 3