Calcasieu Parish Police Jury - Regular Meeting

Thursday, August 20th, 2026. I'll ask for the invocation and pledge of allegiance by Mr. Angerpont.

Let us pray. Heavenly Fathers, we gather here this evening. We pause to give you thanks and praise for the many blessings that you've given us. We ask your blessing upon everyone here today and upon this parish. Continue to bless all of our employees and keep them safe. We pray for this nation, O Lord, and its leaders, that you bless them and that your Holy Spirit guide them to make decisions that are pleasing in your sight. We remember our deceased and disabled veterans, and we ask all of these favors, O Lord, in your Son's name, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

and indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you, Mr. Andrew Pont. You're welcome. Thank you. Roll call, please, Ms. Lawless.

Mr. Andrew Pont.

Here.

Mr. Barras.

Here.

Mr. Barty is out of town, as is Mr. Bowers. Mr. Burley. Here. Ms. Eason. Here. Mr. Guillory is out of town. Mr. Hayes. Here. Mr. Lewis. Here. Mr. Marcantel, I believe, is running late. Mr. Quinn.

Here.

Mr. Smith is out of town. Here. Mr. Staley. Here. President Abshire.

Here.

You have a quorum.

Thank you, ma'am. And welcome to everyone who could attend. Item 1A, receive a report regarding the Calcasieu Parish Judicial Complex project. Mr. Boland.

Thank you, Mr. President. Before I turn it over to Mr. Dean Kelly, I kind of want to remind the public that this project is being funded by several different mechanisms, that the funding is from local gaming funds, partnership with the Judges Fund, and bond revenues that were obtained for what we call the bond projects. And that was, if you can recall, the judicial complex, the juvenile justice complex, repairs at Burton, animal services, and the forensic center. And I think it's always good to remind the public where that money is coming from. And this has been a long time coming. But before I turn it over to Dean again, I do want to acknowledge a team that meets every Tuesday at 10 o'clock. Rain, snow, sleet, they meet. And they really keep this project moving along. Our staff, and I want to mention them by name, because I think they're in the background. Without this presentation today, we would not be here. So that's Mr. Mike Miller, Mr. Troy Price, Mr. Martin Vides, Ms. Tanner Johnson from Admin, and Eric LaRock. And of course, Dean Kelly. He's there along the way. Tonight, we also have representatives from the Lemoine Company and Shampo, Evans, and Hotard here to ask or answer any questions you might have. And that whole team that meets, again, they keep the open lines of communication to make sure that you have a project that you can present to the public and you can be proud of. And they have been doing that. And you'll see that presentation as we move forward. And I'll turn it over to Mr. Kelly.

Good evening.

Good evening.

I will be brief. Good evening. With us tonight, we have Richard Steen from Shampa Evans Hotard, our design group, and also Mr. Michael Galasso from LeLamoine Company. I want to thank you for their efforts and their time with us. This facility, I'm going to give you just a couple quick facts and then we'll play the video. We issued the notice to proceed August 18th of 25, so we're one year in. Things are going very well. With every project you have little bumps in the road, but these guys have arrived to every occasion, everything that's come up, and they've handled it extremely well. It's a very well-oiled machine, and we're proud to partner with them on this project. This is a 108,000 square foot facility. It will have 10 courtrooms in it. As you know, our judicial system has functioned in two different buildings for a while. There's inefficiencies there. There was a lot of time spent to plan this out. And with the completion of this, they will all come together and operate under one roof. You'll have all the space you need for all of those folks that work in and around that building. It's going to be something we're very proud of in the future. One other thing that you can be very proud of, our parents take safety extremely seriously. They have over 260 days without a recordable accident. These guys take safety to a whole new level. And that's another thing that we're very proud of. So with that, we have a time-lapse video that the comms and media department put together for us. I like these time-lapse videos that started a long time ago, just different projects, take the same picture, same spot, and you get to see dirt and you get to see the building come up. And they've done that, and it's very well done. So thank you for that as well, JP, and your group. If you will, go ahead and play the video.

Very good.

Do we have any questions? I'd just like to take a minute to say thank you. Watching the progress over the last year has been amazing to see the work and how far ahead of schedule they are. It's very impressive. It's a sizable project, and I know they're working hard to get it done on time, and if not, early. Mr. Barris.

As I said at the groundbreaking, I was president at the time and I was allowed to speak. That's the only reason. I specifically said this is a legacy project. This is something to be very, very proud of. The complexion of the downtown area is going to be changed forever in a way that I don't think people are going to be able to realize it until we start the final phases of the demo of the old, dilapidated, troublesome buildings that we always have to fight with. And it's just it's a bigger project and and I said this too at that at that same gathering You know if we'd have broke ground five years ago on this project. They wouldn't have gotten anywhere near this scale, the sophistication of it, just the thought process that went into getting this, they wouldn't have gotten near this big a bang for the buck. I appreciate the progress. The job site always looks good, clean. Thank you all for that. And the safety, kudos to that. And then also thanks to our staff for just being there and, like Dane said, keeping the lines of communication open.

Thank you, Mr. Barrett. Is there anyone else? We appreciate the update. Item 2A, I'll need a motion to approve with conditions or to deny rezoning. Adopt an ordinance approving the following rezoning application. 128 Jim Pickens Road in Ward 4 to rezone from agricultural to light industrial to allow a contractor shop and storage yard trucking business. I have a motion to approve with conditions by Mr. Angerpont and a second by Mr. Barris. Is there any discussion? Any objection? Motion carries. 2B, adopt an ordinance approving the following application, 1,000 block of Highway 108 West, 6,000 block of Johnny Jones Road, and 800 block of West Cotton Vincent Road in Ward 4 to allow development of two natural gas pipelines in accordance with the rezoning agreement resulting from ordinance number 3893. I have a motion to approve. by Mr. Lewis and a second by Mr. Hayes. Is there any discussion?

Mr. President. Yes, sir. Let's make sure I recuse myself from this vote.

Yes, sir. Mr. Quinn recuses himself. Is there any discussion, any objection?

That motion carries.

3A, approve the minutes of the regular meeting of the police jury dated July 2nd, 2026. I have a motion by Mr. Barris and a second by Ms. Eason. Is there any discussion? Any objection? Motion carries. 3B, adopt a resolution approving a call by the Ward 4 Fire Protection District Number 3 for an election to be held Saturday, December 12, 2026, to continue to levy and collect a tax of 6.02 mils for the purpose of maintaining and operating the fire protection facilities in the district. I have a motion by Mr. Barras and a second by Mr. Stelle. Is there any discussion? Any objection? Motion carries. 3C, adopt a resolution ratifying Executive Order 2026-03, which proclaimed a prohibition upon outdoor burning activities. I have a motion by Mr. Barras and a second by Mr. Quinn. Is there any discussion? Any objection? Motion carries. 4A, adopt a resolution approving an amendment to the professional engineering contract for the South Ward 3 sewer main extension project. I have a motion by Ms. Eason and a second by Mr. Stanford. Is there any discussion? Any objection? Motion carries. 4B, adopt resolutions approving temporary construction servitude agreements for the McGuire Road drainage project. I have a motion by Mr. Andropont and a second by Mr. Beres. Is there any discussion? Any objection? Motion carries. 4C, adopt a resolution approving the 2026 Calcasieu Parish Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan as revised. I have a motion by Mr. Stanford and a second by Mr. Quinn. Is there any discussion? Any objection? That motion carries. 5A, adopt a resolution approving a grant agreement for Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act funding. I have a motion by Mr. Lewis and a second by Mr. Hayes. Is there any discussion? Any objection? Motion carries.

Move on to 6A.

6A, approve payment of all current invoices and advise regarding budget to actual comparisons. I have a motion by Mr. Andropont and a second by Mr. Barras. Is there any discussion? Any objection? Motion carries. 6B, advertise for bids for Nelson Road Waterline Expansion Project. I have a motion by Ms. Eason and a second by Mr. Stanford. Is there any discussion? Any objection? Motion carries. 6C, adopt a resolution on proposals for a human resources information system software. Staff recommends personnel data systems be awarded the contract. I have a motion by Mr. Barris and a second by Mr. Lewis. Is there any discussion? Any objection? Motion carries. 6D, adopt a resolution on proposals for pavement asset management services. Staff recommends roadway asset services be awarded the contract. I have a motion by Mr. Lewis, and a second by Mr. Bartz. I'm sorry, Mr. Barris. Is there any discussion? Any objection? Motion carries. 6E, action on bids for bulk oil. Staff recommends the bids of Bro Petroleum Products, Central Oil of Baton Rouge, CG Elite, Gobert Oil Company, and Miguez Fuel be accepted. I have a motion by Mr. Hayes and a second by Mr. Lewis. Is there any discussion? Any objection? Motion carries. 6F, adopt a resolution accepting Burton Complex Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation Project Phase 1 as substantially complete. I have a motion by Mr. Stanford and a second by Mr. Stelly. Is there any discussion? Any objection? Motion carries. 6G, adopt a resolution accepting East Calcasieu Parish Consolidated Water Works Project Phase 4 Appaloosa Street from LA Highway 397 to LA Highway 3256 as substantially complete. I have a motion by Mr. Stelly and a second by Mr. Stanford. Is there any objection? Any discussion? Any objection? Motion carries. Item seven is an advised item. And item eight, I'll entertain a motion. I'm sorry, Mr. Barris.

Thank you. I won't be long. I just want to let everybody know that my friend and fellow juror here, Mr. Joe Andropont, was inducted to the Wall of Fame at SPAR, Sulphur Parks and Recreation. 40 years of service, coaching, serving in some capacity to the recreation, the kids of our area. So my grandfather was the first one on this board in 1990. A lot like Joe, coached for a long time, touched a lot of people. So congratulations, sir. Well-deserved.

Wasn't expecting that. You threw me a curveball. Thank you.

Thank you. Congratulations, Mr. Andropont. Thank you. Thank you very much. Well-deserved. Thank you. Yes, sir, Mr. Hayes.

One personal privilege, if I may. I want to share something with you guys. It happened to me about three weeks ago. I was on my way going home after working out. I know it's amazing that I do work out, but I did. I'm getting to the core of it. As I'm going down Country Club Road, in front of me pulls a pickup truck. It's got paper, blank paper, all over the bed of the truck. I'm talking thousands of sheets of paper. And they're just throwing this stuff out into the fields on the side of the road. I go, wait a minute. What about couch sheet pickup? What's this all about? Obviously, these people have never heard of it. I'm too far away to get a license number, but far away enough to see that it's a truck, where they're throwing it. And I get back to my house, and I call Dane, who happened to be in New Orleans at the convention everyone was attending. I said, Dane, here's the situation. So I tell him the deal. Now, you've got to understand, guys, it had to be at least 100 degrees out there at 5 o'clock in the afternoon. This was at 5 o'clock in the afternoon. I explained to Dane what the deal was, what I had seen. Is there anything we can do? He said, let me check on it. Let me check on it and see what happens. The next morning, about 9 o'clock, I'm going down the same route looking for all that paper. Well, it's gone. He had made a phone call, involved Nathan Reno and Yvette in the process of getting this stuff cleaned up. In about two hours, it was cleaned up. Now, I got to tell you something. gas dispersions on why we have employees here for the parish and what they actually have to do. Let me tell you something. There ain't no way I'd get out there in 100 degree temperature, picking up that stuff. It had to take them an hour, two hours at least. So I want to thank them for the way they did it, the speed with which they did it. And you can't tell, if you go by there today, you can't tell there ever was any paper thrown out on the road. There was. It was picked up. I'm not even sure we needed to pick it up. It couldn't belong to the city for all I know. But whatever the case, we didn't ask questions. Dane, you and your staff didn't ask questions. You just got it done. I appreciate that. I really do. Well done.

Thank you, Mr. Hayes. It's always nice to give.

Mr. Hayes, I want to say thank you for the staff. I can't take any of the credit. And I'm sure Nathan will say this, too, and why I bet. Mr. Eric, one of our litter officers, went out there that morning. Didn't care if it was in the city or the parish, because no one really, they wanted the job done. And so all the good work goes to Mr. Eric, one of our litter officers. He did a great job and handled the situation.

It's always good to hear praise about our employees. So thank you, Mr. Hayes and Mr. Bowman. If there's no other discussion.