City Council

MINUTES REGULAR TOWN COUNCIL MEETING VIVIAN TOWN HALL MEETING ROOM 112 W. ALABAMA AVE. VIVIAN, LOUISIANA MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2022 6:00 PM CALL TO ORDER - Mayor Festavan called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. PLEDGE & INVOCATION - Mayor Festavan led all present in the Pledge of Allegiance and Rev. Ricky Jeane, Vivian United Pentecostal Church Pastor, opened the meeting in prayer during the Posting of the Colors by North Caddo Magnet High School’s ROTC Color Guard. ROLL CALL - VERIFICATION OF QUORUM - Board of Aldermen present for Roll Call were James Martin, Denise Alexander, Michael Guthrie, Raymond Williams, and Angela Channell. 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, Kellie Morris - Town Clerk, Douglas Dominick - Town Attorney, and Bobby Smith - Zoning/Condemnation & Code Enforcement Officer. APPROVE AGENDA - Motion to approve the Agenda as presented was made by Raymond Williams, seconded by Angela Channell; all approved. 1. SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENTS - Mr. Cunningham, North Caddo Elementary-Middle School Principal, made the following announcements concerning the Students-of-the Month: 1) Elementary Student-of-the-Month is Annelise Thomas and 2) Middle School Student-of-the-Month is Markeva Jones. Angela Channell, North Caddo Magnet High School Counselor, made the following school announcements: 1) 8th Grade night will be held on Monday, February 28, 2) in celebration of Black History Month the school will be showcasing former African American Students, and 3) the upcoming Miss North Caddo Beauty Pageant. She then introduced the Students-of-the-Month as follows: a) 9th grader Za’Khia Easter, b) 10th grader Ethan Jeane, c) 11th grader Taylor York, and d) 12th grader Reameilious Prather. 2. SPECIAL PRESENTATION - LOUANN DODGE OF OLD VIVIAN FIRE STATION, VIVIAN, LOUISIANA; Mural. Mrs. Dodge presented the Council and staff with an artist rendering of a mural that she would like to have painted on the back side of the DMV building which faces the Old Vivian Fire Station. She stated that the same artist that painted the Old Vivian Fire Station’s present mural(s) would be doing the work and at her expense. Following her presentation and comments from the Council, motion to allow Mrs. Dodge to have the mural painted on the DMV building was made by James Martin, seconded by Denise Alexander; all approved. 3. PUBLIC COMMENTS - There were none. Page 1 of 3 4. 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 Angela Channell, seconded by James Martin; all approved. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - Motion to approve the Minutes for the January 10, 2022 Regular Council Meeting and the January 12, 2022 Special Called Meeting together in globo, as a unit, was made by Raymond Williams, seconded by James Martin; all approved. 6. THE BOARD OF ALDERMAN WILL CONSIDER THE ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION # 1 OF 2022 OF THE TOWN OF VIVIAN, LOUISIANA - A RESOLUTION ADDRESSING ENGINEERING ASPECTS OF THE PROPOSED FY 2022 - FY 2023 LOUISIANA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (LCDBG) PROJECT. Motion to adopt Resolution # 1 of 2022 was made by Angela Channell, seconded by Denise Alexander; all approved. 7. THE BOARD OF ALDERMAN WILL CONSIDER THE ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION # 2 OF 2022 OF THE TOWN OF VIVIAN, LOUISIANA - A RESOLUTION ADDRESSING ADMINISTRATIVE ASPECTS OF THE PROPOSED FY 2022 - FY 2023 LOUISIANA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (LCDBG) PROJECT. Motion to adopt Resolution # 2 of 2022 was made by Raymond Williams, seconded by Denise Alexander; all approved. 8. THE BOARD OF ALDERMAN WILL CONSIDER THE ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION # 3 OF 2022 OF THE TOWN OF VIVIAN, LOUISIANA - A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO SIGN A COOPERATIVE ENDEAVOR AGREEMENT WITH THE LOUISIANA REDBUD ASSOCIATION. Motion to adopt Resolution # 3 of 2022 was made by Raymond Williams, seconded by Angela Channell. Prior to the vote Denise Alexander abstained, recused herself, from the vote due to the fact that she is an officer of the Louisiana Redbud Association. The vote then followed with all others approving. 9. REVIEW OF POLICE DEPARTMENT HIRES PROBATIONARY STATUS - 1) Ta’Shala Vinson - Part-time Dispatcher - Hire date, November 8, 2021 2) Patricia Eddins - Part-time Dispatcher - Hire date, November 8, 2021 Angela Channell, Alderman-at-Large, delivered the following recommendations on behalf of Police Chief Ryan Nelson in his absence: 1) Ta’Shala Vinson; Chief Nelson’s recommendation was to terminate the probationary status due to Ms. Vinson’s resignation. Motion to approve the Chief’s recommendation was made by Raymond Williams, seconded by James Martin; all approved. 2) Patricia Eddins; Chief Nelson’s recommendation was to remove the probationary status and continue part-time employment since she was doing a great job and there were no attendance or job performance issues with her. Motion to approve the Chief’s recommendation was made by Denise Alexander, seconded by James Martin; all approved. 10. HIRING OF POLICE PERSONNEL - THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN WILL CONSIDER THE CHIEF OF POLICE’S RECOMMENDATION TO HIRE THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUAL FOR THE VIVIAN POLICE DEPARTMENT - Katrina Sheppard - Part-time Dispatcher - $10.00 per hour Page 2 of 3 Angela Channell, Alderman-at-Large, again delivered a recommendation on behalf of Police Chief Ryan Nelson in his absence for the hiring of Ms. Sheppard. Motion to approve Chief Nelson’s recommendation to hire Ms. Sheppard as a part-time dispatcher on a probationary status until the May 9th Regular Council Meeting was made by Raymond Williams, seconded by James Martin; all approved. 11. ZONING, CONDEMNATION and/or CODE ENFORCEMENT MATTERS - A. ZONING VARIANCE HEARING(s) - i) Case # 568 - 955 S. Pine St. - Boyter; Mr. Les Boyter and Ms. Sally Wall, landowner, were present on behalf of this case. Following questions, answers and discussion, motion to approve Zoning Officer Smith’s recommendation to approve the variance was made by Michael Guthrie, seconded by James Martin; all approved. ii) Case # 569 - 104 S. Pecan St. - Duncan; Ms. Bridget Duncan was present on behalf of this case. Following questions, answers and discussion, motion to approve Zoning Officer Smith’s recommendation to approve the variance was made by Raymond Williams, seconded by James Martin; all approved. iii) Case # 570 - 1703 N. Pine St. - Yeager; Ms. Joanne Yeager was present on behalf of this case. Following questions, answers and discussion, motion to approve Zoning Officer Smith’s recommendation to approve the variance was made by James Martin, seconded by Angela Channell; all approved. B. FULL ZONING/CONDEMNATION & CODE ENFORCEMENT REPORT - Zoning/Condemnation & Code Enforcement Officer Smith presented those present with a written report that included the previous Variance cases and 1 (one) additional case, # 567, 210 Edwards St. Council members then gave Officer Smith addresses for him to check and report on at a later date. MAYOR’S REPORT - Mayor Festavan gave a report on the following: 1) the upcoming President’s holiday, 2) the recent closing of the Utility Department due to Covid, 3) attendance at the upcoming LMA Mid-Winter Conference in Baton Rouge, 4) the scheduled beginning of the Monterey Hills construction project, 5) the recent water valve break on S. Pardue St. and the town-wide water outage, and 6) contracting with a firm to relocate and record all of the Town’s water valves. ANNOUNCEMENTS BY BOARD OF ALDERMEN - 1) Aldermen Raymond Williams asked for an update on the new digital sign, and 2) Denise Alexander asked when the work would begin on the new swimming pool. ADJOURN - Motion to adjourn was made by Raymond Williams, seconded by James Martin; all approved. Meeting was adjourned at 7:14 p.m. _______________________________ _______________________________ Kellie Morris, Town Clerk Ronnie Festavan, Mayor February 25, 2022 Page 3 of 3