City Council

MINUTES REGULAR TOWN COUNCIL MEETING VIVIAN TOWN HALL MEETING ROOM 112 W. ALABAMA AVE. VIVIAN, LOUISIANA MONDAY, JANUARY 9, 2023 6:00 P.M. 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, Denise Alexander, Samuel Hodge, Raymond Williams, and Robert Green. 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 the Agenda as presented was made by Raymond Williams, seconded by James Martin; all present approved. 1. SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENTS - Ms. Suzie Willoughby, North Caddo Elementary-Middle School Counselor, made the following announcements concerning the Students-of-the Month: 1) Elementary Student-of-the-Month is Maliyah James and 2) Middle School Student-of-the-Month is Dontrail Rushing. 2. PUBLIC COMMENTS - There were none. 3. THE BOARD OF ALDERMAN WILL CONSIDER THE MAYOR’S RECOMMENDATION - to appoint Kellie Morris as the Town Clerk for the Town of Vivian. Motion to approve the Mayor’s recommendation to appoint Kellie Morris as the Town Clerk was made by Denise Alexander, seconded by Robert Green; all approved. 4. THE BOARD OF ALDERMAN WILL CONSIDER THE MAYOR’S RECOMMENDATION - to appoint Kellie Morris as the Tax Collector for the Town of Vivian. Motion to approve the Mayor’s recommendation to appoint Kellie Morris as the Tax Collector was made by James Martin, seconded by Denise Alexander; all approved. 5. THE BOARD OF ALDERMAN WILL CONSIDER THE MAYOR’S RECOMMENDATION - to appoint Douglas C Dominick as the Town Attorney for the Town of Vivian. Motion to approve the Mayor’s recommendation to appoint Douglas C Dominick as the Town Attorney was made by Robert Green, seconded by Denise Alexander; all approved. 6. THE BOARD OF ALDERMAN WILL CONSIDER THE MAYOR’S RECOMMENDATION - to appoint, Douglas Dominick, as the Town Magistrate for the Town of Vivian. Motion to approve the Mayor’s recommendation to appoint Douglas C Dominick as the Town Magistrate was made by Raymond Williams, seconded by Samuel Hodge; all approved. 7. THE BOARD OF ALDERMAN WILL MAKE AN APPOINTMENT - of which Alderman shall serve as the Mayor Pro Tem. Mayor Festavan opened the floor for nominations for Mayor Pro Tem. Raymond Williams made a motion to appoint Robert Green as Mayor Pro Tem, which was seconded by James Martin. With no other nominations from the floor the vote was taken to appoint Robert Green as Mayor Pro Tem with all approving. Page 1 of 3 8. THE BOARD OF ALDERMAN WILL CONSIDER - the removal of Angela Channell as a signature and/or authorized signer on all bank accounts, financial accounts, credit card(s) or any other accounts in the name of the Town of Vivian. Motion to remove Angela Channell as a signature and/or authorized signer on all bank accounts, financial accounts, credit card(s) or any other accounts was made by Raymond Williams, seconded by Samuel Hodge; all approved. 9. THE BOARD OF ALDERMAN WILL CONSIDER - the authorizing of the Mayor Pro Tem as a signature and/or authorized signer on all bank accounts, financial accounts, credit card(s) or any other accounts in the name of the Town of Vivian. Motion to authorize the Mayor Pro Tem, Robert Green, as a signature and/or authorized signer on all bank accounts, financial accounts, credit card(s) or any other accounts was made by Raymond Williams, seconded by Samuel Hodge; all approved. 10. 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 Raymond Williams, seconded Robert Green; all approved. 11. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - for the December 12, 2022 Regular Council Meeting. Motion to approve the Minutes for the December 12, 2022 Regular Council Meeting was made by Raymond Williams, seconded by Samuel Hodge; all approved. 12. PUBLIC HEARING ON ORDINANCE # 781 OF 2023 OF THE TOWN OF VIVIAN, LOUISIANA - AN ORDINANCE OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES, TOWN OF VIVIAN, LOUISIANA, TO AMEND AND SUPPLEMENT DIVISION 5 OTHER MUNICIPAL OFFICERS SECTION 2-113 OF ARTICLE III OF CHAPTER 2 ADMINISTRATION OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN OF VIVIAN; Compensation of the Town Clerk. Mayor Festavan opened the public hearing for comments FOR or AGAINST the Ordinance; none were made. He then declared the public hearing closed. 13. THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN WILL CONSIDER THE FINAL ADOPTION OF ORDINANCE # 781 OF 2023 OF THE TOWN OF VIVIAN, LOUISIANA - Motion to adopt Ordinance # 781 of 2023 was made by Raymond Williams, seconded by Denise Alexander; all approved. 14. PUBLIC HEARING ON ORDINANCE # 782 OF 2023 OF THE TOWN OF VIVIAN, LOUISIANA - AN ORDINANCE OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES, TOWN OF VIVIAN, LOUISIANA, TO AMEND AND SUPPLEMENT DIVISION 5 OTHER MUNICIPAL OFFICERS SECTION 2-112 OF ARTICLE III OF CHAPTER 2 ADMINISTRATION OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN OF VIVIAN; Compensation of the Town Attorney. Mayor Festavan opened the public hearing for comments FOR or AGAINST the Ordinance; none were made. He then declared the public hearing closed. 15. THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN WILL CONSIDER THE FINAL ADOPTION OF ORDINANCE # 782 OF 2023 OF THE TOWN OF VIVIAN, LOUISIANA - Motion to adopt Ordinance # 782 of 2023 was made by Raymond Williams, seconded by Samuel Hodge; all approved. 16. HIRING OF POLICE PERSONNEL - THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN WILL CONSIDER THE CHIEF OF POLICE’S RECOMMENDATION TO HIRE THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUAL(S) FOR THE VIVIAN POLICE DEPARTMENT: 1) Shadaviyuna Brooks - Part-time Dispatcher - $10.00 per hour and 2) Vanessa Hughes - Part-time Dispatcher - $10.00 per hour. Motion to approve the Chief of Police’s recommendation to hire both individuals on a probationary status until the March 13, 2023 Regular Council Meeting was made by Robert Green, seconded by Samuel Hodge; all approved. ZONING, CONDEMNATION & CODE ENFORCEMENT MATTERS - A. FINAL CONDEMNATION HEARING(s) - ii. THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN WILL CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING PROPERTY FOR FINAL CONDEMNATION: E/2 OF LOTS 2, 3 & 4, BLK 7, CHRISTIAN HTS. ADON., VIVIAN, CADDO PARISH, LOUISIANA: Geographical number 221626-120-0031-11, with a municipal address of 405 East Bailey St., Vivian, LA 71082. Page 2 of 3  A. FINAL CONDEMNATION HEARING(s) cont’d. - 405 East Bailey St. Vivian, Louisiana Town Attorney Dominick spoke on the condemnation report provided by Curator Sam Goodwin. Following the report and discussion, motion was made to continue this matter for reassessment at the February 13, 2023 Regular Council Meeting by Raymond Williams, seconded by Samuel Hodge; all approved. B. COMPLETE ZONING/CONDEMNATION & CODE ENFORCEMENT REPORT - There was none. C. INTRODUCTION OF NEW CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER - Mayor Festavan introduced Ms. Debra Ramage as the new Code Enforcement Officer with question, answer and discussion following. GUEST SPEAKER - CHAD ROBINSON of ETEC SERVICES; Water Meters - Mr. Robinson spoke on the subject of Kamstruck Water Meters and the benefits that they would offer, especially the leak detection that it provides. He then introduced Mr. Bert Carson, with Sustainability Partners, who spoke on infrastructure improvements relative to the Kamstruck Water Meters. MAYOR’S REPORT - Mayor Festavan gave a report on the following: 1) the Louisiana Department of Health’s 2022 Preliminary Water System grade for the Town of Vivian system which is an A, 80/80, 100%! This grade is a precursor to the Act 98 of the 2021 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature Louisiana Department of Health Safe Drinking Water Program to develop a grade for community water system accountability. ANNOUNCEMENTS BY BOARD OF ALDERMEN - Raymond Williams expressed his appreciation to the Town employees for their hard work and hours put in during the freeze in December. ADJOURN - Motion to adjourn was made by Raymond Williams, seconded by Denise Alexander; all approved. Meeting was adjourned at 7:10 p.m. _______________________________ Kellie Morris, Town Clerk _______________________________ Ronnie Festavan, Mayor January 11, 2023 Page 3 of 3