Council Meeting - Regular Meeting

Thank you. . . . Thank you. Yeah.

The lady that was supposed to stay here, something happened to her.

juries for the chair um Thank you. That's a good one. No, that's easy. Turned off?

How did you sit there Saturday night? Yeah, I was sitting with my family. I record. I don't do it. Y'all do good. I don't do it either. Y'all do good. Y'all put on a show. Yeah.

That's for a good cause. Oh, yeah. They said 370-something people. Oh, totally? Okay. Well, I was wondering what the total raise was.

It was like $370,000 or something like that. And then on top of the donations and things like that.

It's right over $11,000. Oh, that's good. That's good.

That's really good. Yeah.

That's a good turn. It was fun. Oh, yeah. Thank you, Arlene.

I heard that.

And we need more things like that to bring the community together.

Thank you for what you said to me.

Everybody's got to get to know it.

How are you? How are you?

Hey, Marlene.

Is she not here with you? Thank you, sir. I appreciate that. Yes. How are you, sir?

I am great, thank you.

What are you talking about? My favorite color. I spoke to that fellow outside.

I'm good, thank you.

And that color doesn't feel me.

I love that color. Oh, thank you. That's my favorite color.

That's not your color. Yeah. Yeah.

Oh.

So I wasn't here last month. Yes, yes. So we just, they'll call a vote and then we'll... Yes, you press. Now for a motion or a second?

All of it.

Do we call it out or do we do... No, we just press it up.

It'll show up on that screen. Okay.

Very limited talking. Okay. Speaking. Very limited. So did our mayor do this?

I'm not sure they were up here when I got here. Power button. She said to take our little ninja. There's a power button right here. Huh?

There's a power button right there. I'd like to see it. No. Really. There's a power button. Okay. Looking at the audience.

Mr. Hilbert. Mr. Hilbert.

Okay, I was going to say, you all have one house. Three or four.

Yeah. I want to hear from them, if they're here.

Sure.

Definitely.

The same, but... Yeah.

That's fine. You can talk for her if you want to.

It's been going on the past eight years. And then with the white one.

Never mind.

I think we'll refer you to the same one.

Because of that.

Right, right, right. No explanation needed. Incoming. Right.

I think it's always been a leader's move.

I'm 100% with you on that one. This is a component that helps them to move in that direction.

That's been a double edged sword for them.

Oh, thank you. Here's one more, Mr. Yes.

That's what I said.

That's what I was telling you. But she said that her mother-in-law was in the hospital and she had to go in and I didn't want to bother her. The hard part is I know these things. What time is it? 531.

It's about 31.

Yeah, I'm just like, okay, okay.

I thought you had some time.

I was like, I just told you.

Do you want to do the pledge?

I'll do the pledge.

Yeah, that's fine. Okay. I want to do the prayer. Do you want to do the prayer?

Do you want to do the prayer? Oh. Yeah, okay.

All right.

Okay. Yeah, I'll do such a good job. I can do it. I can do it.

I'm sure the Lord is satisfied with all of us. I agree.

Just saying thank you.

I'd like to call this Sulphur City Council meeting to order. Today is Monday, June 8, 2026, and it is 5.32 p.m. We'll have Ms. Party to the invocation, Ms. Abshire, the pledge.

Dear Lord, we thank you for this day. We thank you for this gathering. All of us here on this council immensely thank you for the opportunity to serve, how abundantly blessed we are. Lord, we ask that you be guiding us through this meeting, that we continue to make the right decisions, always in what's in the best interest of Sulphur. In all things, we give you praise and honor in Jesus' name. Amen.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation,

Roll call, please. Here.

Here.

Here.

Here.

We'll have the approval of the minutes.

Second.

Is this a call vote or are we doing this?

I'll give you a roll call. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Yes. Approval of the agenda. Second. Second.

Are we clicking tonight, or?

Are there any amendments to the agenda?

Yes. I'd like to make a motion that we remove from the agenda item two, D, and L. And that's on the condo.

Second. Do we need to do on the? This is good. And then we can make a motion and second on it. Ms. Elmender? Yes.

Mr. Hayside? Yes. Ms. Harding? Yes. Ms. Thatcher?

Yes. Okay, now we'll approve the agenda as amended. I need a motion and a second. So moved. Second. There's a motion and a second. Please vote. Ms. Ellinger? Yes. Mr. Nassau? Yes. Ms. Harding? Yes. Ms. Obchar? Yes. Okay, item number one. Carla Sigler to announce her candidacy for Sulphur City Court Judge 104-26. Ms. Thomas, who is absent.

Thank you, Ms. Ellender. And when I didn't see my councilwoman, Mandy Thomas, here, I didn't know if this was a joke, so I wouldn't announce. But thank y'all for letting me get up here anyway. The other thing I would say is I asked Ms. Thorne how long I had, and she said there was no limit. That's a bad thing to tell a lawyer. But nobody's paying me by the hour, so I'm going to be short. My friends and neighbors, I see so many of you in here that I know and respect. And I'm here today to say that after a lot of reflection and prayer on behalf of me and my husband, Brent Collins, I've decided to announce my candidacy for Sulphur City Court Judge. And one of the things I'm here to say is I've lived here for 17 years, but my roots go much deeper than that because my childhood was spent on Rio Hondo visiting my granny and my dad and my stepmom from my able relatives, and then in Gilmore Acres where my Castleberry relatives still live. So I grew up here. I now attend Immaculate Conception, where I teach sixth grade catechism, and that's the same church I would go to on weekends growing up. I live here because I love it. I love the sense of connection and community Sulphur has. It's home. And when you have an opportunity to make the place you live better, you take it. Judge Trump will be retiring. And so I've decided to run for Sulphur City Court judge, which for those people that don't know, it's all of Ward 4 that votes for that position. So it's Westlake, Carlos, and Sulphur for anybody that wants to know who can vote for it. And what I will say is I've spent 25 years in a career that I have been blessed to have extraordinary experiences in. I argued and won a murder case before the United States Supreme Court in which somebody killed a Sulphur resident. For those who don't know, that's pretty much the Super Bowl for lawyers, only I didn't want to go there because if I lost, he was going to get set free. And he wasn't. That's the grace of God, but also the determination and skill that I brought to that position. I helped found the treatment courts. The 14th JDC Adult Drug DWI and Veterans Court were founded by me under Judge Ritchie and Judge Candidate's direction along with my former boss, John DeRoge. The expungement program this very court has, I brought to Calcasieu Parish at the direction of John DeRoge. It was called Fresh Start. It's now called New Day. And I had to go to New Iberia and eat cracklings with the DA for breakfast to bring it back to Calcasieu Parish. And I work it every year with my paralegal because we love what it does to give people that deserve it a new chance. At the same time, I've kept some very dangerous people off the streets. I worked everything from capital murder, the Jason Reeves case, Kevin Daigle, Ricky Langley. All those cases were mine and Rick Bryant's. We worked those cases together for so many years. I was working capital murder at the same time I was running Lake Charles City Court. And I got to tell you, that was a broad range of experience. I would have people calling me on neighbor dispute cases. At the same time, I was dealing with all these motions from defense attorneys who kept filing filing filing trying to delay the inevitable at trial and I'll tell you what that taught me and it's something that I very much believe in every case counts every case if you have a case in front of you that person in front of you deserves dignity respect and they deserve to know that they have a fair shake in front of you what I will say is I I've prosecuted the guilty, but I've defended the innocent. And I have never had a scarier client than my innocent law enforcement client, who Rick and I got a not guilty verdict on in less than an hour. And I tell you, it is the only time we so celebrated a not guilty. We didn't even have time to get our Dairy Queen order for lunch done by the time the jury came back. You have to have somebody who knows the difference. I very much believe in people getting second chances. And I know that Sulphur City Court is not going to see capital murder cases. But what people don't realize and what's so important is I never saw a capital murderer who didn't have a string of misdemeanors a mile long by the time they came in front of me. City Court is a unique opportunity to stop the cycle at an early, early time. When I'm on the bench as a magistrate judge in Vinton, which I've been blessed to be in that position since 2021, and I put that robe on, it is my job to know the difference. Who needs to go to jail, which I think that power should be used sparingly in city court, to be candid, and who needs a break? When I was on the bench last week, I had a gentleman in front of me who almost started crying in the courtroom because he could have been sent to prison for jail, sorry, for 10 days because he had technically violated the law, but he didn't know his license was suspended, and he renewed it the next day. I said, sir, it's going to be OK. I am not going to put you in jail. I reviewed the evidence. I'm a trust but verify kind of girl. You're not going to say, hey, I did this without backing up and showing me. But I cared enough to make an inquiry. I cared enough to go and ask him what his circumstances were. That's what I do every time I'm on the bench. If you are not taking the opportunity to inquire into addiction, into need, into what is your circumstance, are you going to church, what are you doing with your life, you are missing a chance to make a stop in that cycle and to make someone's life better. That is what your duty is as a judge. You're not a social worker. I'm not saying that you are. But if you're not trying to make the lives better for not just that person in front of you, but for their family and for society as a whole, You're not doing what you could be doing with that robe. I know that there are challenges ahead of the city of Sulphur. One of those is going to be the bridge construction. I've helped modernize court systems. I'm a big believer in e-filing and e-courtrooms. The Sulphur City Court at this time is 91% criminal docket. Do you know what that means? If you have a judge in there that doesn't have my experience in the criminal justice system, They are going to be lost from the moment they sit down. You know what's going to happen there? You're going to have less ability to make this place safer. It's not law enforcement's responsibility or fault for everything that goes through that court system. Law enforcement here does a very good job. But you need a judge that is backing that up. You need a judge that is making changes. I spent my lifetime in service learning these skills. I spent my lifetime promoting public records and transparency. Because it's not just Sulphur City Court's court, it's everybody's court. I'm still a public records custodian. I still advise and teach people across the state on this issue. I'm a big believer in having records accessible. I think the court rules need to be online. I think the ordinances and laws need to be linked online. Because a lot of people that come into Sulphur City Court can't afford their own attorney. We are not cheap because we've got to keep our offices going. But I'm going to make a difference if I'm elected. And I'd be honored and flattered and humbled to serve in that role. Thank you. I don't know how long that was, Drew, but I hope it wasn't too long.

Item two. The agenda is, everybody okay? Rule to show cause for the conditions of the following addresses. A, to condemn building on a structure located at 419 Bro Lane as accordance with Article 9 Series 5-286 through 5-296 of the Code of Ordinances. Are we going, yeah, we'll have to go one by one. that's in my district I'll need a motion and a second second okay are y'all here to talk on this yeah I can see it now

First off, congratulations to all y'all and y'all's retirement. Thank y'all for serving our great city. Mr. We're just up here. We we have bids and stuff. We just see if we could get an extension. We have someone that can do it in September. Nancy's up here talking for Nancy. She's on disability. It's just someone that can help us financially on this.

Just a question on these bids that you've gotten in the bids, you have the numbers for it.

Do you have the like written?

I mean, an amount. Oh, do you have an amount for them?

She doesn't have one.

I want you to tell me the amount. I'm just telling you this because last week I was trying to last month I was whenever it was, I was trying to explain to y'all that sometimes when the city gets their bids, It could be less than what you got the bid for. So if it's too much, you might want to see what they get for bids. But we give you 30 days. So I think within 30 days, you'll have plenty of time to get that. So if we rule the show costs tonight, in 30 days, they would order a bid if you don't have the bids ready.

Okay.

You okay with that?

Yeah. I mean, I got the dumpster bid. Okay.

It's up to y'all how you want to do it. Yeah, because 30 days.

Yeah, that'll give us give you 30 days to.

Okay. Good. All right. So we have a motion and a second on that. Do we please vote? Yes.

You can see.

So, so move.

But we did that, huh? Yeah.

Is it on? I think I messed it up when I reset it. Oh. I think you have to do something. I think you have to do something.

Oh, okay. And then make the motion? Joy made the motion. I think Melinda made the motion. I hit it too soon. Sorry. And then... Okay, so are we ready to make a motion? Okay. Okay, now you just keep getting your bids and talk to the city, okay? Yes, yes. Okay. Okay. all right item 2b to condemn shed located at 2369 Cedar Lane in accordance with article 9 section 5-286 through 5-296 of the code of ordinances Ms. Abshire is there anyone here for Cedar Lane okay we'll need a motion in a second Mr. DeVille

So this is going to pertain just to the, really that's a pretty good picture because that shed is... Yeah, it's falling in on itself. Yeah, it's falling in on itself. But there's a lot of other debris in the yard.

Yeah, as far as that trailer goes, anything connected with that shed is going to go in that specific area.

All just in that back all to be removed.

I mean, for the most part, the rest of the yard. It's not in great shape.

But yeah, it's really.

Yeah, all to be removed.

Yeah. Okay, make a motion. Right. You need to have a motion.

Okay, we have a motion and a second. There's no one here to talk on that. Please vote. Okay, motion carried. Item C is to condemn shed located at 112 Benoit Lane in accordance with Article 9, Section 5-286 through 5-296 of the Code of Ordinances. Mr. Nizad? Oh, he made a motion. I need a second.

Thank you, is there anyone here to speak on this matter from that property? Is there any cards filled out?

Okay, there are no cards filled out.

We can move forward with it.

Please vote. I'm getting it. Okay, motion carried. Item D, to condemn building or structure located in, nope, that has been complied with, that we removed that. Okay, item E, to condemn building or structure located at 1031 South Stanford Street in accordance with Article 9, Section 5286 through 5296 of the Code of Ordinances. Mr. Nuzak.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Is there anyone from this property here to speak today? Any cards filled out?

I know. We'll move forward. Okay. Oops, sorry. Yeah. Okay. All right. Item 2F. To condemn building or structure located at 1010 West Burdine Street in accordance with Article 9, Section 5286 through 5296 of the Code of Ordinances meet. Well, that's a good picture of that. It was hardly, you couldn't hardly see it from the road. Okay. I need a motion and a second. Okay. Can you state your name?

I don't want to condemn it. I'd like to fix it. All I need to do is put the wires back in it.

When you state your name, do you live there?

Stephen Holly.

Sir?

Stephen Holly.

Stephen Holly. Okay. You don't live there, though, do you?

No, I don't.

OK. Let me see something here.

I've done what the city does, told me to do, is nail up the windows so nobody could go in it. Somebody vandalized it and stripped all the wires out of it. That's really all that's wrong with it. OK.

So how long have you known about this, that it was coming before the city?

How long have you known? Couple of months.

Yes, sir.

I was tearing down another house that they condemned. Actually, they didn't condemn it. I choose to tear the other house down. I was working on it.

Well, Mr. Holly, so when we vote, rule to show cause, you have 30 days. And usually if you made it safe and you've done the things you need to do to it, but you need to pull your permits and all that stuff at the city. Yes, ma'am. But you need to do that now. You know what I mean? Like tomorrow. Yes, ma'am. Because you've had a good bit of time that you've never contacted them, and they've tried to contact you. So if we ruled a show call and there's 30 days and they see you've done progress, they may change that.

Yes, ma'am.

So do you think that's fair?

Yes, ma'am.

Okay. So if we rule to show call, if we vote yes to rule to show call, you need to get busy, okay? Yes, ma'am. And they'll check it out for you. All right? All right. Thank you.

That'll work.

Thank you. We have a motion and a second, right? Well, let us set it. Okay. Set it. Okay. No. Did we do a motion and a second?

We did. Okay.

Thank you. Okay, that was F, and now we're on G. To condemn building or structure located at 1018 West Burdine Street in accordance with Article 9, Section 5286 through 5296 of the Code of Ordinances, me. I need a motion and a second.

In the line I have Tracy with me. Tracy, you can push the mic and tell them to give me the address, name, place.

My address is 1030 West Verdine Street in Sulphur.

And she asked me to speak on her behalf. I'm at 1134 East Houston River Road in Sulphur. And this is on Verdine Street. We just spoke to Denise and Tommy. Her mother passed away and left this to her son. Her son will be coming back. She's going to go and do the permits to get the water and the sewer. But the house is really still in pretty good shape. So... We thought maybe by, I don't know what y'all normally give, maybe by August meeting, give her time to get, give me a time of when you think. She's going to come and meet with Denise and them and do the applications to get the water on and the electricity turned back on. But as you can look, they keep the grass up and the house is really still in pretty good shape. I think, Tommy, you can visit the property. So...

So... How do we do this? Address it in the August meeting? What is the date of the August meeting?

Probably September 9th, normally speaking. On that little curve.

10th?

Yeah, 10th. Okay, so council, someone will need to make a motion if we want to. Second. Okay. Wait a minute. Am I motioning or voting? Motion. Okay. All right.

Good. Postponed to August.

Okay. So please vote. Any other questions besides this?

I'll let y'all have a question.

Any other questions? Okay. Motion passes.

Thank you.

Okay. To conclude. On H, to condemn building or structure located at 625 East Brimstone in accordance with Article 9, Section 5286 through 5296 of the Code of Ordinances, me. I'll need a motion and a second. Oh, it's not moving. Okay, what happened, Arlene? Hit motion. I did. Clear. Clear. Is that X?

Okay, so my little green button is down a little bit.

Is there something wrong?

Oh, there it is. Okay.

All right. Is there anyone from this address? 625 East Brimstone? It was pretty rough. Okay. Please vote.

Okay.

All right, now, I, to condemn building or structure located at 212 Duaron Street in accordance with Article 9, Section 5286 through 5296 of the Code of Ordinances, meet. I'll need a motion and a second. Okay. Is there anyone here from that address? It's pretty rough, I'll say that. Please vote. Item J, to condemn building or structure located at 2213 Moss Lane in accordance with Article 9, Section 5286 through 5296 of the Code of Ordinances. Mr. Nizad?

Motion and a second. Is there anyone here to speak on this matter for 2213 Moss Lane? Okay. Here, now we'll move to vote.

Okay. All right. Please vote. Motion passes. K to condemn building or structure located at 461 Starland Street in accordance with Article nine section 5286 through 5296 of the Code of Ordinances. Mr. Nizam.

We need a motion in a second. Thank you. And are you the property owners?

I am.

Okay. I'm sorry.

I had to have a trek yard with me last month, so I have him to help me talk.

That'll be fine.

Yes, ma'am. The property was an inheritance between me and my brother. My brother cannot be here tonight. It is in the middle of secession. I am aware that it needs repairs, like the garage needs to go. I agree with y'all. I would love for it to go, to be honest. We have had a lot of burglaries in that house. I have been dealing with mail for the last year. I have not been able to be on top of the house, and I apologize. We've kind of been split everywhere. I'm sorry.

It's okay. Take your time.

Her mom died in that house, and it's kind of hard for her to talk about that.

Right, absolutely, and I'm so sorry for your loss.

The inside of the house is pretty well fine. People keep breaking into it, so I put boards over the doors and everything, and they still punch through the – they take the boards off and punch through the windows and everything. Yeah. The outside of it wouldn't be too hard to take care of.

Right. The home looks like it's in good shape just driving by from the outside. The shed definitely needs to be removed.

Yes, that used to be an RV cover for my grandfather. He traded off his RVs every now and then and switched them out.

I have a question. How much is the price for the permit to tear it down?

So you're asking just for the permit or for the city to demo?

No, just the price for the permit.

Do you all have an estimate on what?

Permit is $25. The bond is $500. The bond is refunded once the property is down. The inspectors have verified that everything's been capped and removed.

Yeah, she's our main source of income, and she hasn't been able to work for almost a year. Right. We got in a wreck about two and a half years ago, and they won't let me go back to work. So that's our issue. We come in with $500. We'll go to $25.

And real quick before I forget, can you just give your name and address just for the record?

Aaron Hilburn, 2321 Royal Oak Lane, Sulphur, Louisiana.

Thank you so much.

John Guillory, same address.

Thank you, sir. Where is the brother in all this process? I know you said there's a session.

He lives in Scott.

Mm-hmm.

I don't know that you're not right. Yeah.

Lazy and wanting to show up to cut the grass. I've been taking place myself for years and I'm not even related to Mr. Hilburn.

No, she's Hilburn. You're Hillary. Okay. Come closer to the microphone.

Sorry about that.

So is there no way you can pull some permits and get some just get it safe or So you, because you were in Iraq, can't do any work or anything?

They won't let me. I got a little electronics thing I do, like fixing CB radios and stuff, but they don't make barely enough to pay the bills. I've sold pretty much everything I had to sell already just to keep up.

Is there any way in 30 days you could do something on that house?

I could have that all torn down in 30 days, but I don't have the money for the permits. I'll just hook my truck up to it and yank it down and saw it off with the sawzall and load it up and bring it to the dump. My son already said he'd help me.

But you have to have a permit to do that. Okay. All right.

Have you spoken with a...

I spoke with somebody up there a couple months ago when we first received the thing. She was in the hospital in a coma when that happened and I spoke to him on her behalf and I asked him how long do we have to do this and then I spent a month in the hospital with her and then I can't really leave her at home alone to do it all by myself. I have to have somebody kind of a babysitter for her while I go take care of this. She got home health but they only come once every three or four days.

So what do you think is a realistic timeline for y'all to be able to do anything with this shed?

I wanted to have it done a long time ago. Right. Actually, it's not the whole shed that's bad. It's just the carport. Right. So if we can cut the carport off from the shed, it'll be just fine.

Behind that carport, there is a little shed with your lawnmower and stuff. Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. It's a storage building back there. Yeah, it attached to the carport years ago.

It has a lot of valuable antique stuff in there.

Are we moving on that shed that he's talking about as well? So it's going to be that shed that we're discussing with the antiques and the carport.

Well, the shed's behind it. It's in perfect shape. I'm sorry. I just want to make sure.

The back wall of the... That's the shed in the actual middle shed behind it.

Behind the carport, yeah. There's a building hooked to it.

Okay.

All the stuff in there is going to the scrap yard to make some money.

If we give you an additional 60 days to come up with a plan to get with the city and try to get something done.

I think we can do that.

I think it would only be fair given the circumstances of being in the hospital for a past month and the health situation.

Since March she's been out of the hospital, or February actually.

So just, I would ask that the August meeting. August meeting?

Yes, ma'am. Okay, so that would be August 10th. So you make the motion.

I'll make a motion that this be postponed to the August meeting. Okay.

Okay. Any other questions? Please vote. Oh, I didn't clear it. Now, vote. Okay.

In the meantime, I definitely recommend you all get with the city and come up with a plan.

Do you have any kind of Pauper program or anything for that?

Maybe.

We'll see what we can find out. Can I ask you a question? You can get with them. Like, is the debris that's in there still there?

The tires, I put them there recently to get them out of my yard. They're still usable tires from my 81 Toyota.

I don't know how they got to the edge.

They were against the wall.

You're going to have to get rid of some of that stuff, too.

That's all recyclables. Actually, most of it works. Her dad was an RV repairman, and he put all the air conditioners and stuff in there. It's all good stuff if anybody needs an air conditioner for their RV.

All right. Sounds good. Well, we will have until August to try to get this resolved. Okay? Thank you all so much. Good luck to you all.

Okay. Item L, to condemn building or structure located at 235 East Elizabeth Street in accordance with Article 9, Section 5. 286 through 5296 of the Code of Ordinances.

Ms. Melinda. Is anyone here representing this property? I haven't heard from anyone either. I'm going to make a motion.

Okay. All right. Please vote. right number three public hearing on ordinance granting an exception to Flamingo Investments LLC 1100 Lori Lane to allow for a living in a business district for mobile homes ordinance 3226 Ms. Abshire would you like to speak

The reason why I brought it is because the parish is charging me property taxes as if I still have mobile homes on it, and they won't remove it because they said I could appeal it to y'all. So I'm appealing it. I'm paying property taxes about 300 a year for the hookups that are on it, the connections, the electrical, because they're still there, and they won't take that off for 300 a year, the parish, unless I come before y'all and appeal this. So if you say no, I say $300 a year. If you say yes, I'll put mobile homes on it.

So let me ask you, how many mobile homes did you have there altogether at one time?

Twenty-five, probably.

How did you maintain your mobile home park?

I had maintenance people.

And they did what for you?

Repair, cut the yard.

And so you were aware, I think... well before the City Council now, back in 2000, early 2000s, Ms. Fontenot may have the date, I don't know. I don't know if she would have that. Ms. Fletcher may. When the zoning changed on that property, and... When the zoning changed and you were grandfathered in to be able to maintain your mobile homes, and unfortunately for you and everyone here within our city and surrounding areas, things changed for us dramatically on August 27. And then you lost probably the majority of those then, I think.

Yeah, they all got wiped out. I removed them all.

How long was it after that that you went to see the city about moving back?

Well, the first thing I tried to do is put a FEMA park. I had a signed contract with FEMA to put a FEMA park in and FEMA started doing the dirt work and then they were stopped and would not let them continue with that.

Because we wouldn't allow FEMA trailers to come into the city of software as a permanent.

But then we're going to be permitted 18 months.

Yeah. I don't know if that was the case or not, but that was, I thought that was what?

It was for 18 months.

What is your take on, you said you had maintenance. What is your take on your tenants that were there and how they worked within the city's system as far as abiding by laws and things like that?

Well, I had some people that went to jail in there, if you ask me. Some didn't. I had good people, too.

Do you recall about how many? Do you know how many calls that software PD had to make to that park?

No. I have a question, too. How many will be allowed to go back into this park? There were 25, he said. Do we know how many would be allowed to go back in?

I think it's 12.

And what is your plan, if you were granted that, what are your plans to manage those 12 and the existing ones you have?

I put 12 new ones in it.

Yeah, but what are you going to do to maintain its... It's upkeep, and the way they look, and the tenants that go in there.

Well, what I was dealing with before was older mobile homes, so we kept them up.

You had some newer ones in there, too. You had some older ones, but you had some new ones, too.

Yeah, we did. They were not new-new, you know?

You realize, in a very short period of time, you had an excess of 600 calls to police to that one park.

I don't know.

You do. You did. And that area, you know, Post Oak Road, because we have our post office on it. And there are some other businesses that have been established there over time. And it is a connecting corridor to two main corridors in our city. And it is concerning over the footprint that was left, as far as how things were conducted there. And in all due respect, the questionable management of it, because there were pretty horrific things that happened there. And I realize you can't be there all the time, but if you don't have the screening of your tenants, then you pretty much get what you get. And you leave everybody else. You live in Sulphur? So you don't have to worry with it. So it's us that are here in our city. I'm not against anyone being an entrepreneur by any means. But is it a respectful entrepreneur to the rest of the city? What are you gonna do to help our city grow? It's questions of concern.

Please. So I have people here to talk. You don't want to talk Rob? Yeah, you got a card. I'm fixing to call everybody with a card.

Madam Chair, if I may ask a question real quick before we move on from this gentleman. So it's your understanding that if this is voted down, that you will no longer have to pay the taxes? $300 worth a year. That the police jury you said started?

Parrish.

Mr. Lofton, is that a fact? I'd hate for him to be under that impression and then leave here.

Well, they called Orlean.

It's my understanding that he's here to work. If y'all agree with him, he'll put money back. If not, the tax bill will be taken off. And I think he just wants the answer.

He can't have it both ways, the tax assessor.

They're taxing him because he has something to say. He just wants the answer.

So it's based on how we vote tonight. We'll give the tax assessor the evidence. Okay. Thank you.

Okay, Ms. Bodeland.

Did you get a motion and a second? No, I can let it go.

Yeah, it's time. Oh, it's my time? Yes, ma'am. I'm following Janet. Okay.

Ms. Janet? What?

We'll need a motion in a second, Madam Chair.

Okay, we will need a motion in a second. Wait a minute. Here we go.

Janet Daigle, 2039 Louise Street, Sulphur. I live in Gilmore Acres. And first, I am not against any development that promotes our city in a positive light and allows us to grow. It's my humble opinion that by granting this exception to this section of property, it will not promote our city positively. And I base that opinion on the current trailers in that area, the ones that previously existed, and I travel post oak from Maplewood Drive to Highway 90 frequently, It's a thoroughfare. I mean, it is getting more and more traffic all the time, and it's visible. People see it every time. And as a taxpayer, you know, I've seen furniture discarded by these mobile homes that our city has to remove. As a taxpayer, it bothers me. There have been mattresses out by that road for over a month. There is a free waste... Facility that they can haul it to and if the renter or the tenant cannot do it Then the landowner then then the landowner should I said in the City Council meeting several years ago when the same issue was denied and And I ask, what has the property owner done to improve the land in question and the current park so that they promote our city? There's no uniformity in the existing park. There was none in the previous park. And if the city decides to grant this exception, what guarantees will the landowner give us that we won't have a repeat of what was? Ms. Asher mentioned that there were over 600 between, uh, police calls between two 2015 and 2021. There were over 500 calls to eight trailers. He's wanting to put 12, 500 calls in, in, um, five years, six years. Um, I think you have that information in your packet. I have a daughter that lives in a trailer park in South Lake Charles. Every road is paved. Every trailer has skirting. And when a renter moves, he or she is required to dispose of any trash, risk losing their deposit if they don't. And before a person is allowed to move in, they have to pass a background check. I drove by another park in our area in Carlos yesterday. Each trailer had a paved driveway. The roads were paved and there was a fence around the park. South Lake Charles, off of Country Club Road, every trailer has skirting. Every trailer has pavement. The roads are paved and it looks like a subdivision. There's a fence around it. I understand the owner doesn't live in Sulphur. That's fine. As long as he is investing in my city, I don't care. But how will he adequately monitor the park? And how will he ensure a neat, clean, relatively crime-free area of which our citizens can and will be proud of? There's a large metal building in that area that was purchased and has been updated. And I understand there are plans to fence that area and concrete the parking lot to make it attractive to businesses for commercial space. Will other businesses invest in this if the trailer park like we had before is back?

You're three minutes.

I think I also have Ms. Walker's time.

Oh, I don't know that. Let's see.

Cindy Walker.

Oh, wait a minute.

Ma'am.

Sure.

Sure.

Yes, you do. Keep going. I'm almost finished. I won't take up her three minutes.

Keep going. It was my understanding at some point the city was developing a comprehensive plan to maybe regulate this type of development. And if we grant this exception now and the city comes up with a plan, will this be grandfathered in, or will it be pushed under the new plan? We have a new sitting council and new mayor soon, but will that plan still be developed? How responsible? I got off track. How responsible will our city still have to be to this trailer park? I live right across in that subdivision, right across. And it's been nice not having to worry every time the sun goes down. And even if there is no city plan, if this one exception is granted, will other owners of former trailer parks in that area ask the same exception? And why are we considering an exception that may or may not promote our city? And we have to quit granting exceptions that continue to stagnate our city. We have to go for positive development. And we have to do what we can. And just one more thing on his application for developmental approval number two and five. He said a no, but his track record says yes. Thank you.

Ms. Bowdoin or Mr. DePetta?

My name is Robin Bowdoin, 2046 Louise Street. I'm here because I am fiercely protective of my home, which happens to back up to Post Oak Road, my property, and the Gilmar Acres subdivision. I've lived in Gilmar Acres since 1995 and lost my home to Hurricane Laura in 2020. I purposely rebuilt on the same property for many reasons. Residents of Gilmar Acres take pride in our properties by working at keeping them maintained and by following city ordinances. It's a pretty place to live and a safe neighborhood. These are all reasons many of the Gilmar Acres residents chose to stay here and repair their heavily damaged homes after Laura instead of relocating someplace else. I would hate to see all of our efforts and concerns ignored by the council allowing Mr. Vaughn to bring a trailer park back onto Post Oak. Unproperly managed properties are unsightly. The crime rates are higher than properties that are properly managed. Unproperly managed businesses bring down property values. Unproperly managed businesses are liabilities, not assets. The surrounding community always loses. Mr. Vaughn's former trailer park was not properly managed or maintained, and that was Mr. Vaughn's responsibility as the property owner and he was irresponsible. The empty property on Post Oak now looks better than it had been back then. Better than it's looked in a long time. We are once bitten and twice shy with this trailer park. You may not see a lot of residents of Gilmar Acres present at this hearing, but I can assure you that the number of residents who do not support this request for an exemption is substantial. Not everyone has the luxury of time to attend meetings on a Monday after work, but they are still concerned and oppose Mr. Vaughn's request for the Flamingo Trailer Park exception. The negatives of this request for an exemption far outweigh the positive. There only seems to be one positive to requesting this exception that Mr. Vaughn, a resident, a non-resident of Sulphur, will financially profit.

Mr. DePatta.

Good evening. Danny DePetta, 5098 Bonin. It was back in 2017, 2016 that I spoke against similar properties in this same area. And that was at the request of residents of Gilmore Acres. And I'm back again to speak, this time on my own behalf and on behalf of the city of residents of the city of Sulphur. This trailer park right now is clearly in a business slash commercial corridor, and I believe that we need to keep it that way in order for future development within the city. I don't deny the need for housing and future housing in our area, but I don't believe that it should be done here based on exception for that commercial corridor. You know, this property can support other things. And the things that I'm talking about are business services, contractor yards, professional offices, medical facilities, restaurants, retail and industrial support services. This is all to help the mega projects that are occurring right now. And that and not only the bridge work that's going to be going on. Once you convert commercial business property back to residential, it's very hard to get it back. The geographical center of the city of Sulphur should not be used for a mobile home park. And once again, it ought to continue to be used what it was zoned for, which is business slash commercial. I'm going to go ahead and cut it short right there. I think I've said enough, and I think that you ought to vote against this. Thank you.

Josh Baden, 630 Alabama Street. I spoke with Mr. Tim Vaughn on multiple occasions in regard to the issue on his trailer park. I think we all can agree that Hurricane Laura wiped the man's trailer park out his business. And under the new variances that has been stipulated, those trailers would have to be 10 years or newer that's going in there. So as far as having rundown house trailers in that area, I can understand those trailer parks have been grandfathered in. I mean, it never changed its operating procedure. It never changed the functionality of it. It's always been a trailer park. So to come in there and say that you're going to change it to business and tell the man that he can't operate it, look, I get it. I live in Gilmore Acres. The crime, I mean, in that area, is that really a trailer park issue or a crime issue with the law enforcement? I mean, so when I look at it from that aspect, maybe we need to increase police patrol. My business is right on the corner of Post Oak, and I'm up all hours of the night, 24-hour call, and I see no police patrol in that area. So I look at it on numerous occasions on different aspects that we need to increase law enforcement patrol and police protection. So that's one issue. The other issue is I understand that we have a nice subdivision now, but this man also had a business that was up and functioning up until Laura, and then we're going to come in and change the zoning on it just because we don't want it there. I mean, that's kind of a legality to me that infringes on this man's rights as well. And so if he's got stipulations that he puts inside that trailer park and he enforces it, then I think whenever it comes to crime, I mean that falls under criteria of police patrol and it also falls under the court system allowing these people to be repeat offenders like Ms. Carla said and keep letting them out repetitively. I mean so, I get it. I mean, we have a huge problem all across the board, but I don't think that we need to infringe on this man's rights to put his trailer park there. And if we are, then let's give him a waiver. If we're going to say you can't do it, give me a waiver so we can get the $300 tax off of it. Thank you.

Ms. Blanchard, when was that zoning changed to business commercial? That was well before. It's 03. It's 03. So we didn't just change it.

It's okay, you have about 30 seconds left if you'd like to come back to the podium. Okay, did we make a motion on this?

I thought we did.

Yes, I believe we did.

Okay, please vote.

Okay. This is item number four.

Okay, item number four on the agenda is. Item number four on the agenda is Public hearing on ordinance granting a rezone to Latin and Rosalind Berry, 925 Prater Road from residential to mixed residential to allow for townhomes or duplexes. Ordinance 3326, Ms. Thomas is not here. I'll need a motion and a second. What was the one?

I think you have several people to speak.

Yes, I do have people to speak. But hold on one second, please. I'm looking at something.

OK. All right. OK. Am I supposed to read this to somebody?

OK. OK. We have some for, some against, and some in the middle, I guess. Miss Berry, you want to come to the podium please?

My name is Roslyn Berry. I am the owner of 925 Prater Road. At this time, my husband and I are selling the property. And the potential buyer for the property would like to put townhomes on the property. And I am asking, I don't know if you all received the letter that I have written. asking that you would consider rezoning it from residential to multifamily residential, because I believe that it will bring value to the area.

Okay. Did we get a motion and a second? Yes. Okay. Mr. DePetta? You can stay there, Miss Berry, in case we have some questions for you. And the buyers are here, too, as well. That was my question for the buyers here.

Once again, Danny DePetta, 5098 Bonin. My neighborhood is approximately 500 feet from this location. I just wanted to say that the existing zoning is consistent with the character of the corridor. That is a residential corridor. It's composed of single family homes, established residential lots, long term homeowners, and consistent residential development patterns. I don't feel that the applicant's desire to increase the property value is in by itself a planning justification. Rezoning decisions should be based on public interest, comprehensive zoning principles, compatibility with surrounding uses, and the long-term community goals. And when I say the long-term community goals, we need to look at the new zoning comprehensive plan that's in play right now. And if you're going to use this property, I'm referring to that document which brings up the new zoning of RS1, RS2, and then the single family zoning in RS3. I'll just say one last thing here is that rezoning is not intended to solely maximize the financial return of a particular property owner. If increased property alone justified rezoning, then virtually every residential property could make a similar request, including my own. The question before the council is whether the proposed zoning serves the community's planning objectives, not whether it increases the market value of an individual parcel. This would also be considered spot zoning. And according to our new plan, that would be very much against what we're trying to do, especially in a residential corridor. I urge you to vote no on this.

Thank you. And Mr. Alexander, are

Hello, how are y'all? All right. So we do have an interest in purchasing the property on Prater Road. It is my understanding that there are townhomes right across the street from the property. And our intent with this property is to build something that beautifies the area. SOMETHING QUALITY OF QUALITY AND THAT IS GOING TO NOT BRING ANYONE'S PROPERTY VALUE DOWN BUT INCREASE IT.

You're going to talk now? Y'all both? We can use the same three minutes. Y'all have six minutes?

Okay. All right. I want to... How y'all doing? My name is Glenn Alexander. And I want to kind of... reiterate on the gentleman that spoke and I'm from a small town also and I know I notice how small towns how they kind of like try to keep things the way they are like afraid of change afraid of new beginnings you know to give people opportunities to see a better environment you know and these aren't like apartments these will be luxurious townhomes. And you see how the property is right now.

Do y'all have a picture of the house? They showed it.

They showed it.

We do.

Okay, can you put that up there?

We have it. We have it here.

We do have it.

he's just showing yes he's just showing oh that one yeah that one okay yeah and um i just want to um address him and let you know like it's not just like for financial gain or just something that anybody could wake up and say okay let's turn everything into commercial property is a chance to let SOFA grow and the people also in SOFA get a chance to see SOFA grow in more ways than just saying we're going to keep this like we have it. I'm from a small town. I know how it goes. It's like people are afraid to see growth. But it's what we need as a community, as a country, and everybody supporting everybody. And I just listened to the trailer park situation and I could understand where those things could go. But this, we will take our time and design this where it would never be apartment complex. This is for people that's you know, high standard in living in a lifestyle to want to live in a better place and to make software a better place. So I'm just asking, don't be scared, you know, open the doors, you know, Thank you.

And we are open to hearing any kind of feedback or any kind of concerns that you all may have that may need to be answered.

So are these for rent or for sale?

These are going to be for rent, yes.

How many units? How many units are you proposing?

There's 16.

16.

Yes. So it won't be like a big complex. It will be something more personal, more intimate.

Like a community.

For families.

Yeah, and if you look at the layout, I mean, we have it, you know, it's set up. It's going to be two units together under one roof. Garage. With a garage. And we, you know, are going to have guidelines as far as keeping up with landscape and making sure that everything is always neat and looking very presentable. Okay. So those are the things that we're willing to do. We're going to make sure that our drainage is up to par and that it's not going to be any problems for anyone in the surrounding area as well.

And like she said, when she first started, I visited the property, and he said, I guess he lived in a community across the street, to the right, I guess, because, like, across the street to the left is, looked like to me, some apartments or it's duplexes apartments they've been there well before zoning yeah okay so yeah so to me is it's like the same to me basically and and built right and designed right is it's going to up the property value are you talking about the two across the street it's not there are all those that

The big subdivision thing. Yes. Okay.

Yeah, they have a subdivision, and then right directly across there are a set of townhomes also.

So if that didn't bring your property down, I don't think these would.

They were there before.

Yes, but it didn't bring your property down, right?

Wait, wait. You're addressing the council. Oh, no.

Okay, I'm saying. So I really don't think these will help increase the property values, even for the ones across the street. Okay.

are y'all locally local developers or you said small town you didn't give your addresses yes I put it on the call but I'm from New Iberia okay and I'm from Lake Charles and I'm a business owner I've been a business owner for eight years now and this is you know an investment you know and I do have some ties to Salford. I have a mother and father who worked for about 20 years at E.K. Key Elementary. And I also have a younger brother that graduated from Salford High School. So I do have some ties here in Salford. Okay, thank you. All right, thank you. I have another question for them.

Do you have any other developments in this area like this?

No, not in this area. In Lake Charles, I do. And Lake Charles? Yes, ma'am. Similar to this development? No, not similar. Just commercial property offices.

Question. This went before Lane News 5. And what was the determination there?

It's in there. We have it.

We do? Okay.

Okay. Do we have a motion and a second?

I believe so.

Yes, we do. We do have it. Okay. So please vote. Okay, so it is a tie. So the motion fails because it's a tie. Okay, item number five. Public hearing on ordinance setting forth water rates for years 2027 to 28, 2028 to 29, 29 to 30, ordinance 34, 26, Mayor Dana Hay. Maybe Ms. Thorne. Okay. Go ahead, Ms. Thorne.

This is just the public hearing on the water rate increases that were introduced last month. This is all a result of the water sector program just to satisfy the requirements that was set forth in the rate study that was performed a few years ago so that we can ensure that the grant is secured and approved. Project is still on track for completion in September. And so we'll have every with this, we'll have everything that is needed in order to satisfy their grant requirements and close this thing down.

Miss Thorne, along those lines of being in compliance, and I know you provided that to us last month as well. How does this spiral towards meters?

So this is a, you know, a huge thing towards meters in that We need to comply with this program to show that we can comply with the other program, which is the drink and water revolving loan program that we're working towards right now. If we were to not comply with this grant, then that would make us ineligible for the drink and water revolving loan fund.

And any other funding in the future.

And it could also put us at risk for any other state funding.

Madam Chair, is this a vote that has to take place today for the next three, four years? I've been in opposition from the beginning. I think everybody knows I voted no from the beginning. But I understand we're now in a circumstance no matter what. But with the new administration and a new council, I don't know how setting a rate for the future that we're not going to be on the council. Is this something like that we have to do now, or can it wait?

So I would like for it to be done now so that we completely satisfy the requirements of the grant. And then we won't be at risk for for losing the funding. I think that it would be I think it would be helpful for the new mayor and council coming in not to have to worry about this, to have these rates in place. Now, they can always go back and amend the ordinance or they could recall the ordinance. So it's not like it's a done deal, but I would like to satisfy the requirements of the grant, get the paperwork in along with the completed project so that that's the something that the new mayor and council don't have to contend with.

Okay. Thank you.

And I think that they would appreciate that. And that would be my consensus from discussing it with all of them as well. Thank you. What's the timeline or deadline? I know you said December.

Okay.

Of this year. Okay.

That's already motioned.

Okay, I have nobody wanting to talk on this. Speak now, forever hold your peace.

We haven't been contacted by any of the new people possibly, that many new people coming in. So I understand what you're saying, and I appreciate you conveying that message, but... You know, sometimes you have to make tough decisions.

Yes, ma'am. I understand.

Please vote. It passed. The motion passes. Item number six is public hearing on ordinance renewing the mayor's authority to sign Louisiana community development block grant documents for period 2024 through 2026 based on the Louisiana Office of Community Development Disaster Recovery, LOCD-DR contract section requiring this authority to be renewed every two years. Ordinance 3526, Mayor Dana Hay. I need a motion and a second. Okay.

Do y'all have any questions?

You could kind of say what this is.

So back in 2020, the the council approved for the mayor's signature authorization for anything related to disaster relief with the state, which is the CDPG program. As they were auditing those files recently, they came back and asked for quite a bit of information. you know, insurance, uh, requirements, um, some other types of forms with signatures and stuff on it. And we were able to send everything in, including the authorization from the council for the mayor to sign. Well, we found out from that request that that authorization has by per the program has to be renewed every two years. That's not anything we were ever aware of told was not any of the, um, the plan documents. And so, um, we reached out to them and asked if we could go get the authorization now for the mayor's signature as it relates to the 24th through 26 years. They said that would be fine. That would put us in compliance. Um, because there is a little over $1.4 million out there of money that has been obligated for the city, which is part of the 10% match. So, you know, FEMA came in, they are paying 90% of disaster recovery in the city is responsible for 10. Well, this is the state's portion to come in and say, Hey, On this portion, we want to give up to $1.4, I think it's $5, $7 million. And it's towards the debris projects. Debris removal.

This is item six. All right, did we do a motion and a second? We did. We did already?

Yes, we did.

OK, we need to clear it. Okay. Any other questions? Please vote. All right. Item number seven is a public hearing on ordinance authorizing Mayor Mike Danahay to sign the LADOTD maintenance agreement for mowing and litter pickup for the fiscal year ending June 30th, 2027. Ordinance 3626 by Danahay.

Madam Chair, this is an annual contract with DOTD to share in the cost of promoting at our different intersections along the interstate. It's a request that you make this motion.

Okay. We have a motion and a seconder. okay um any other questions there's no one signed up to talk on this one please vote oops oh it's me okay motion passes sorry about that i punched the button all right item number eight is an introduction of ordinance Setting forth the property tax millage rates for tax year 2026, Ordinance 3726, Mayor Danahay, and I will tell you that it is the same. So there's nothing changing, right?

That is correct. It is the same. We do have an opportunity last year, this year, next year to roll forward. So the maximum available meals for the general alimony is 5.85. However, after looking at the financial Difference it's not substantial enough for us to for me to make the recommendation for us to roll forward So I agree with keeping rates the rate at the five point eight four meals Okay, there's no one who was asked to speak on this please and this is an introduction

it's going to be general comment i believe okay all right okay please vote motion passes item number nine is an introduction by the way number eight is an introduction it will come up at the next meeting as a public hearing um Number nine is an introduction of ordinance authorizing the mayor to sign the Intergovernmental Joint Cooperative Endeavor Agreement with Southwest Louisiana SWLA Regional Planning Commission for the study, design, development, and implementation of Sulphur Safe Streets for All Safety Action Plan Ordinance 3826, Mayor Danahay.

So as part of the Federal Highway Administration, they provide grants, obviously. So this one is related to the Safe Streets for All program. They have grants for planning and implementation to be able to To get the implementation grants, you have to have a safety action plan in place. So that's what we're putting in here is to get a city software safety action plan for the city as a whole. We do have some specific streets in there, but we're looking at it from a high level for the entire city. And this agreement is to cooperate with the Regional Planning Commission for this project.

Madam Chair, real quick. When they talk about the payments received monthly, what are we looking at in regards to payments? Is that part of the grant, or is the city funding out monthly payments to this program to do the study?

So the full grant cost was estimated to be $500,000. We have a 20% match, so we'll match $100,000 and we'll get $400,000. The payments will be for any type of the studies that are being done. A lot of it's going to be consulting work, getting consultants that have the expertise.

So you don't have the streets yet identified?

There were a few.

It doesn't state it this way.

It doesn't state it in this agreement, but we do have some specific streets that have high severe injury and fatality records, but we are looking at a city as a whole.

Okay. Mr. Siegler, do you want to? Now you just have three minutes here. Please, this is going to take less than one.

We're all tired. I love the idea that y'all are studying this. I'm a big believer in cooperative development agreements like this, and I think that grant is really great. At the early planning phase, is anybody going to be able to obtain the preliminary data or anything, or is that available to the public if we would ask to see that at this time?

Well, there's no data available because we haven't started it yet, but I'm sure it will be.

Okay, thank you. And then as part of that, which is related to this item on the agenda, I just realized when I checked Facebook that it's y'all's last day on Sulphur City Council. So thank y'all for your service. Thank you, Mayor Dana Hay.

Thank you.

All right, Arlene, do we have a motion? No. Okay. Okay. Any other comments? There's none here. So please vote. okay motion passes number 10 a resolution approving liquor license for Hampton Inn Sulphur Satguru Holdings LLC located at 210 Henning Drive resolution 1326 Mayor Dana Hay I need a motion and a second there's no one to speak on 10 They've evidently met all the requirements. So please vote.

Motion passes.

Item number 11 is a resolution approving liquor license for Charge Up 173 located at 3610 East Napoleon Street, resolution 1426. I need a motion and a second. Okay, there's no one. Wait a minute, let me make sure no one is going to speak on this, so please vote. Motion passes. Item number 13, a resolution reappointing Tommy Little to the West Coast. 12. Well, I didn't want to do that. 12. Resolution approving liquor license. Item number 12. Resolution approving liquor license for charge up 159 location at 444 West Burton Street. Resolution 1526. Mayor Danahay, I need a motion and a second. They've met all the requirements, so please vote. Wait a minute. Try that again. Motion passes. Item number... 13 is a resolution reappointing Tommy Little to the West Cal Airport Managing Board. Resolution 1426. Ms. Thomas. Mr. DePetta, I got to apologize on number nine. I didn't call you up here.

Okay. All right. Okay.

Ms. Thomas, I'll need a motion and a second. And Mr. DiPietro, you signed up for this one.

I just want to say this for the record.

I just want to say for the record, if Tommy's watching out there right now, that I found Tommy to be probably one of the finest people there is in Southwest Louisiana. I mean, his willingness to give his time for the numerous civic organizations that he's a part of is legendary. When you call on Tommy in order to raise money or to be a part of anything that's going on, he makes one, two, three, four phone calls, and he can get 100, 150 cars in place, raise funds, bring people together, and push them in a positive direction. I think we'd be lucky to keep him on as a member of the West Cal Airport Management Board, and I urge you to vote yes for him. Thank you.

There's no other people signed up to say anything. So, oops. Take that off. Please vote. I thought we got one. Oh, we didn't? Okay, then clear. I wrote it down.

We did. Yeah.

Okay, now. Please vote. Motion passes. Number 14 is public comment. Thank you. Oh, wait a minute. Are we supposed to call Ms. Robertson first? Yes. Okay. Ms. Cindy Robertson wanted to talk, but she has issues with her foot, so we're calling her up. She didn't want to talk to us.

There you go. Hey Cindy.

I'm there. Okay.

Y'all know Cindy Robinson, 624 West Verdine, and I am calling in or being called into tonight to ask the city of Sulphur to create a clear summer heat response plan.

Can y'all hear me?

Yes, ma'am.

Yes, they said yes, Cindy.

Oh, it's a lag.

Okay. Okay.

Including a designated cooling location for residents during dangerous heat Extreme heat is a public health issue. It has sent thousands of people to the emergency department in recent years and dozens of residents have died from heat-related causes. And it's really of particular importance to me because I saw a man pass out, start having seizures in my front yard from heat stroke who had just gone to the food box. And this was during the hottest part of the day, which in our area is from 3 to 5. And I realized that not all the districts in Sulphur have the same... for a cooling center as we do in District 1. Our low-income neighborhood has a high percentage of people with no way to cool off. But Sulphur and West Calcasieu are especially vulnerable because of our heat, humidity, outdoor workers, older residents, people with chronic illnesses, people without reliable air conditioning, and residents who may not have transportation or a safe wet place to cool down. Illness can happen quickly. Each stroke is a medical emergency. A cooling center does not have to be complicated. It can be a designated air-conditioned public building with clear hours, drinking water, a way for people to charge phones and public notice when heat advisories are issued. The most important thing is that residents know where they can go. The National Weather Service identifies extreme heat, but that's usually looking at housed people, not unhoused people. And so we really need to do something so we can get the folks there into cooling before they reach a critical point. We, like the 6-8 Mission, is willing to help with outreach, public education, to establish a cooling option, Micah 6-8 will do what we can by setting up canopies, fans, and misters. But shade and misters are not the same as an air-conditioned public cooling space during dangerous heat.

Miss Cindy? This is a practical low-cost... Miss Cindy?

You don't have to tell her. Cindy?

Yes?

Your time's up.

No, it doesn't settle on my thing.

I'm looking at...

Okay.

Bye. Okay. Now it's time for the rest of the public comments. Mr. Biden. Mr. Biden.

Josh Baden, 630 Alabama Street. I just want to say that over the years I've watched the inconsistency and the rulings that you guys have made on people.

I'm not going to let you discredit us or anything. Well, you're interrupting me. Do it as nicely as you can.

Well, that's right, and I haven't discredited you. I'm talking. It's my time.

No, you're discrediting the council, and I'm not going to allow you to do it again.

Okay, well, I'm just going to say that I watched. Ms. Joy, make a comment about law enforcement and crime in comparison to ordinance issues. One don't have any comparison to the other, number one. And I'm not letting you discredit Joy either. Can I finish talking, please?

No, you really can't if you're going to discredit the council. You want to talk about inconsistencies?

I'm not discrediting anyone. I actually have a right to talk.

You have the right to talk, but not disparage any one of us. And I haven't discouraged anyone. And you're not going to do it anymore.

I'm stating exactly what you just did.

Give him his time back, Billy.

Okay. So in the previous deal on the item that Mr. Tim Vaughn was here for, brought up issues about crime. in relation to ordinance issues. If there was crime in that magnitude, then don't you think someone should have made it aware to the law enforcement to increase patrol? It's like taking gun rights and taking someone's Second Amendment right and blaming the gun. I mean, you're blaming the House trailer for crimes that was committed. I mean, it makes absolutely no sense. I mean, I'm just looking at the fair thing. And Tim and I has already talked. The man's already in the process of redeveloping that anyway. And so he's trying to get 300 and something dollars removed as a tax deal, but I'm looking at the principal part of it. It's the principal that you compare in crime rate to a rezoning issue. That was actually there before you actually moved into Gilmore Acres, before I moved into there. It was grandfathered in and turned around and after the storm demolished it, says he can't put anything back over there when these people were completely displaced out of their homes. I mean, they were allowed FEMA trailers to be put in numerous locations throughout our community, but they were denied to put them there? These were still people's presidencies.

Excuse me. Watch his time. Mr. Lofton, this is an agenda item, and he's doing public comment. Are we supposed to do that?

Well, public comment on anything that is not on the agenda. And that issue has already been discussed. But he does have three minutes, I think. Okay. All right. Go ahead.

I'm not asking you to make a ruling on it.

I'm not. Go ahead. You got one minute, 38 seconds. You did.

Go ahead. Thank y'all for y'all's service. I'm glad that y'all are on your way out.

Won't you agree? You've made point of that. Just so, I would like to say this. My numbers, and I'd be glad to show them, they were the police reports. So all of these calls were police calls. Police did have presence there if you didn't know that. And I've been on that property, I'm on that property, the property we have since 89. So I've been there a lot longer than you have.

Okay, Mr. DePedda?

I'm going to look at things a little bit differently with the current council. Like I said last month, and I want to say again, is that I'm very happy and I'm very pleased to have worked with you all, some with you, some against you. But I'm glad that you did the things that you did through the adversity that you did it. And I'm very proud to be able to build Hopefully on what you all have built over the last eight years mostly eight years Nick a little bit less but and with the mayor to I'll miss my talks with the mayor certainly But I'm gonna take a new path and if I can do anything for you like you've done for me Please give me a call and I appreciate everything that you've done.

Thank you Johnnetta bail

Okay. Good evening, everyone. My name is Jonetta Bell, and I'm a Lemon Fellow with Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. This summer, I am conducting a community engagement and research project called Project Connect. connecting power lines which focuses on understanding authority, civil participation, and community engagement in SOFR. My goal is to learn more about how local government functions, how decisions are made, and how residents can become more involved in shaping the future. of their community. I appreciate the opportunity to be here tonight and I look forward to learning from all of you throughout this process. I did not know that tonight was some of you guys last night, but my fellowship started June 1st and it's a six-week fellowship and I chose Suffer Louisiana to be my case study so I'll be creating power maps just a resource so that community stakeholders could be more involved in this process and to understand a lot more of what's going on in Suffer outside of what their actual norm is. And so if you guys, I would love to talk to you guys if you guys are available, being that you guys have been in office, if you're available.

What was the name of it? I'm sorry. It's called Project Connect.

And so I have a one-page summary that I can give you guys. So I'll just pretty much create power maps about where the authority resides. And I will break it down as simple as if it's something zoning, if it's something that falls under the umbrella of the mayor or the city council, because a lot of times stakeholders in the community believe that... okay, this is a mayor issue, because everybody say, mayor, mayor, mayor, like, let's call the mayor, let's call the mayor. And the mayor is like, what? Like, that's not my issue. Okay, well, you will know, like, community stakeholders will know exactly who to call. Like, every issue isn't a let me call the person that I voted for issue either. So it will... literally be a simplified map that is clickable and that is accessible to the community to help further whatever your mission is or the incoming government issue. I mean, gold is for suffer as it relates to suffer. So it's not what my mission is. It'll be, I'm going to be a resource to you guys. So that's it.

Thank you. Congratulations. Mr. Farnham.

Good evening. Les Farnham, 312 Oakley Drive here in Sulphur. I want to take a moment to thank you all for your service. Some of y'all have had a great deal of years of service. Nick, I know you served for a short while, but you served with honor. And each one of y'all served your community to the best of your ability. I am sure of that. When you step into the public highlight, the focus is on you all the time. And it's hard making these tough decisions week after week after week after week with nobody really paying attention to it much, much and never get thanks for what you do. It's always what they call a thankless job. I want to thank Daphne for all of her years of support of her husband, Mike. It's tough being a spouse of an elected official. It is very, very tough. And so thank you for all the years of dedication. i want to thank mike he's been a good friend over the years and we've done a lot of good work together the city the city is going to miss you the public service is going to miss you as it is each one of you guys so continue to be involved in your community We're all in this together. I wish the new administration the best of luck. I hope they succeed because if they succeed, we all succeed. And that's what we have in hopes for our city is good times in the future. So thank you all again.

Thank you too, Les.

OK, that ends the public comment section. I'm going to ask everybody that is a public comment section. I'll ask if the council has anything you want to say something first. OK, council.

Yes, I think what was said by Les and Danny kind of echoes what I'd like to say, but I will say how immensely blessed that I am to call two places home. Yes, Lake Charles is where I was born and raised and attended schools, and I can now say that Sulphur is definitely home. I spent half my life here, and it's been an honor. I'm a firm believer that God orders our steps. I had an opportunity to start my career in Sulphur while I was a resident of Lake Charles. I was a teacher at EK Key. Unbeknown to me, in time, I would be living in Sulphur and raising a family. My children live here. My grandchildren live here. It's been, as I said, an honor and how immensely blessed I am to say that Sulphur is my home. I care so deeply about it. I definitely want to see it prosper. I want to first off now say thank you. How much time do I have, by the way? No. I want to thank the citizens, the constituents, my friends and family from District 3. You trusted me, you voted me twice in. My last era was unopposed and that spoke volumes to me. But it's 10 years that I served because I was asked midterm by Ms. Veronica Allison to take on this position, and my reaction was not no, but hell no.

I'm not a politician.

But through prayer, I stepped up and I did the best that I could, not knowing much about politics. I've been a public servant more than half of my life, over 40 years as an educator. So district three, I thank you. You're my family, my friends, my constituents. I also like to thank a few people and I'll get in trouble when I call out names, but thank you to my fellow council, past and present. I have to call one past council member who educated me, took me under his wing, even traveled with him, Mr. Dennis Bergeron. I'm sure you all remember him, and God bless his soul. I thank him. To the mayor and Ms. Daphne, I applaud you and I thank you for your time served and the willingness that you provided to the city. I met Mike years ago when I was an elementary principal and he spoke as our state representative. And I sat back and said, I like that guy's style. I like that guy's style. Needless to say, again, God ordered our steps. Who would have known, not to me, that we would work together to support and build this fine city? I'd also like to say thank you to the awesome and dedicated and devoted staff, the department leaders, our police officers, our firefighters, administration, All the employees who works in this city, their hard work to keep our community moving forward every day. It's been an honor to work with local businesses, organizations, the senior centers, and many others. They've all contributed to the success of our city. I have been honored to serve for the past, it's been one of my greatest honors to serve for the past 10 years. I'm so thankful for the trust that was allotted to me. I have hope for the future. I support the new leaders, the administration, and I will continue to pray that you all succeed because as Mr. Farnum said, When you succeed, we all succeed, and we want to succeed. We want to continue to grow and thrive. So, again, it's been an honor. Ten years, time flies. It's bittersweet, but, yes, we will be present. We will be involved. So thank you, Sulphur.

Real quick, I think Melinda stole most of my thanks, but echoing what she went off of, thank you all, the constituents of District 2, for putting your faith in me. I hope I represented you all well with honor and dignity. I'd like to thank my wife and children especially for bearing with me on the late night phone calls, the Christmas Day phone calls, the holidays, every single opportunity that something came up. You know, they were... They were right there with me and understanding. So I'm excited to be able to enjoy time with them now as they enter their senior, freshman, and eighth grade year and look forward to what we do as a city in the future. I'm excited for the future and hope everyone the best. So thank you.

Well, I look at this as it's the journal of software. And so now it's time for myself and our present council and administration to turn our pages to the new chapters that we have and give the opportunity for those to come to write their chapter. I can tell you for myself, personally, I worked in the legal field for 23 years, and it was a very... Very intense type of work that I loved and I found that calling back with coming into this role and very thankful for it. For our community, it's been probably a trying eight years because right in the middle of that eight years, we had Laura. and then Delta and then the ice storm and and it's, you know, COVID. And so it's it's been it's been a trying time for all of us. And I can remember right before Laura came, the mayor and I and Miss Thomas had kind of joined in on us. We were working on just about ready to sign some papers for new restaurants. Well, then you have to make a decision. Just like tonight, you have to make tough decisions. Do I proceed with this, or do we focus on what's at hand? And focusing on what was at hand at that time was key, and that's what we did, and so we did it. And you know, so there's times that your heart and head has to struggle, but in all things, You know, we try to move forward and always with those that you're representing in your district. But it's equal for the city as a whole, because if the city as a whole gets to grow and move forward, then those in your district and the entire city gets to follow. So I appreciate that opportunity. I appreciate that ability to serve, and I look forward to turning the page. And I wish the best to those that will be coming in. and know that sometimes it's quite a bit of a challenge to the journey, but the journey's worth it. So thank you all.

So last month I said kudos to the fire department. This month I'm going to say kudos to the police department. We have a rent house. My husband went in it to see what we needed to get done to get it rented. And when he shut the door, he heard the back door open, and he looked around, and a boy was jumping over a fence, going out. And there was drug paraphernalia all in the house and stuff. They saw it was empty, so they took residence. And the police came immediately and had the people within 10 minutes. They had come and got the guy and everything. So I commend our first responders for the city of Salford. And if anybody tells you different, I commend them. I believe 90% of the people are with you. So I started this journey. I had no kids married, and now I have four kids married and 17 grandchildren. And so it's been a long, wonderful journey with the City of Sulphur. I love the City of Sulphur. I've lived here all my life. Mayor Danahay, you are one of the best mayors, and I'm not ready for you to speak, but you are one of the best mayors I've ever served under, and Daphne, thank you for letting him serve. Mr. Lofton, or Lien, you are an angel. Yes, Lien. But I thank all of the staff. If anyone wants to say that you're not transparent or you don't, whatever, whatever. I can tell you that they've never, even before I was on the council, I could go into the city of Sulphur and everybody is very helpful and they give you the information you need. So if people said you didn't do it, I don't believe it. So that's all I have to say about that. Thank you all very much for letting me serve. Thank you District 1. Good luck to all those in the future. And Mayor Danway.

Arlene, thank you. Mayor, let me talk first. Okay.

I just want to tell all five of you, even though Ms. Mandy isn't here, it really, truly has been an honor working with all of you. I can say, look at you all in the eyes and say you have all kept me on my toes. The late night phone calls, the weekend phone calls, emails, questions. There's been a lot of fights and fits and fusses and working through things. And I really appreciate each one of you trusting me but pushing me. And it has been a true honor. And I have a special place in my heart for each one of you. And I appreciate everything you've done for me along this journey as well.

We understand.

We have three minutes. You're on the clock.

Thank you so very much. First, I do have some acknowledgments and accomplishments I think I'm going to need to mention. First, I'd like to thank the Citizens Hall for allowing and honoring me to be able to serve as their mayor for the last eight years. It's been quite a journey. To my wife, Daphne. You know, I can't say enough about her. She allowed me to follow my dreams and aspirations of public service to our city, parish, and state. There were many a day that I'd come home and lament about things that were going on, and not once did she say, you need to do this or you need to do that. She always said it to me, to trust in God and to follow my part in the service to our city. And that's some of the best things that she could have ever done. So she sacrificed a lot in the last 30 plus years. And it's time for me to get back to her. I'm not sure what that is just yet, but I'm gonna get back to her. Two of my directors. Director of Public Works, Austin Abrahams. Director of Municipal Service, Denise Fontenot. Car Chief, Rusty McCann. Director of Information Technology, Jennifer Montgomery. Director of Human Resources Connie Ryan, Director of Finance Jennifer Thorne, and Police Chief John Wall. I cannot tell you the knowledge that they have shared and expertise to help me and allow me to make very sound decisions in the city. They're extremely good at their professions and they are a great asset to our city. And I think that, you know, everything that goes on within these departments but they do and they're able to convey that to me and make them to make those decisions so i really appreciate them to my administrative assistant lacey bond uh she's been really you know extremely for somebody as completely unorganized as i am she is in the organization of my office i promise you um She's also been my sounding board. There's many a day I come in and I'm just ranting and raving, and she kind of takes the very easy approach to taking me down a few notches, which is helpful to me in being able to function within that office every day. So thank you to Lacey. And then to my supervisors and employees. They're not some heroes. They're the backbone of this city. They don't get a lot of acknowledgement. They do a lot of hard work, I'll tell you that. I've seen them in 90 degree weather and I've seen them up to their neck in water in 45 degree weather. Our police force and fire force, they do a great job here in the city of Salt for keeping us safe each and every day and we really appreciate what they do just as well. I want to give a very special thanks to the city council. I want to list a few things here. and some of the things that we've been able to accomplish in the last eight years. And bear with me, please. I'm gonna give you projects. This is the street improvement projects. East, west, and south Mimosa phase one drainage improvements. East, west, and south Mimosa's phase two street improvements. Side road improvements. 2018 street rehab. We moved all our unpaid roads to hard surface roads that year. Hazel Street overlay. rehab phase one. That's the bridge replacement on by Forest Hills. It is the Smith and Archie rehab, Post Stoke Road overlay, Hennig Drive and Weekly Road rehab, Brandy, Ashley and Tillman rehab, 2022 concrete rehab, 2021-22 overlay program, 2023 pavement markings, 2023-24 Overlay program, Maplewood Drive Rehab Phase 2, Post Oak to Dianne, that's been completed. Maplewood Drive Rehab Phase 3, Dianne to City Service Highway, currently under construction. 2025-26, Concrete Rehab. 2025-26, Overlay Program. To our total sum, $35,021,899.84 in that. Okay, water improvement and projects. 2018 water line upgrade. Verdine water well number 12. Verdine 2200,000 gallon ground storage tank. Verdine well water number 13. Verdine green sand pressure filter replacement. Radney green sand pressure filter replacement. Verdine pretreatment lamella clarifier. That's currently under construction. Water distribution water meter program to phase one. Randy's Service Pump Rehab Replacement, Water Distribution Fire Hydrant Rehab and Replacement Program for a total of $20,702,366.94. Wastewater Improvement Projects, Highway 108 Pump Station Upgrade, South Arizona Pump Station, Decan Procurement, SBR Process Improvements Phase 1, SBR process improvements phase two, UV disinfection system, housing authority pump station, standby generators for a total of $19,740,138.44. Building improvement projects, SPD law enforcement center, animal control building, brand new building, interstate gateway sign, temporary fire station for a total of $2,000,000. $514,383 or $38.62. 38 new police units for a total of $3,175,000. Fire trucks, a total of five new fire trucks, $4,272,280. These are all the total improvements and additions that have been made in the last eight years for a total of $85,425,993.84. to the mayor-elect Stoops and the new council. I hope that you, I think y'all have all said that continuation of what we've accomplished here and continuing that in that vein. I think there's good news for the city of Salt River. Thank you.

I would like to add that with over $80 million worth of capital projects and fixed assets, the fund balance has grown over $10 million in the past eight years. So that's leaving a great nest egg for the new administration to get started. So whereas in 2018 there was $11,890,000 in the fund balance, today there sits at $21,661,000. And then our cash and investments has also grown from $33,229,000 to today we have $47,689,000 and growing. So well done.

Due to leadership.

Madam Chair, I'm sorry. I'm not trying to keep anybody longer, but I forgot to mention, I don't think there's been anybody who's disagreed with all of y'all more than me. And I'll be the first to admit that I have been sometimes adamantly disappointed pain in y'all side but one thing one thing that has always been true is that we've always y'all have always shown me respect and it's always been respectful even when we disagree and I want to thank y'all for that that we were able to keep it respectful and even though we didn't disagree we always respected each other so thank you I'd like to say it's been a pleasure working with you

And you're right. No matter what our disagreements were, we were able to work together to accomplish some great things here in the city of Salter. So thank you all so very much.

Mayor, I'm going to give Arlene a standing ovation. She's one of a kind.

I'm done. I'm done.

I won't say anything else. This meeting is adjourned.

All right.

I get to keep a souvenir. Give it to my grandson. No. It has to be properly surplused in their definite property.

One last hurrah.

Probably so.

That's an antique.

Arlene, is this 20 years old? I bet yours isn't. No.

Where's our first one? Where'd it go? Discarded? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Absolutely.

I plan on it. Is there a cop in the house?

Where? Where?

Where? Where?

The game comes on tonight. Thank you, Carla.

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. That's right.

That's right. They were born the same year? No, I got six. Three and three. That's right. That's right. Thank you. And we'll be in touch. You'll be in with the family.

I think we turn these in too. Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't grab mine.

I think we do.

Thank you, thank you. You're going to see me again. I appreciate you. Thank you. Did she want to see you?

I don't know.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Yeah. You're talking about all the... Okay.

I'll be here.

Maybe I'll get to this, but I don't think you should, but you can work on this. No, that's just me.

I'm sorry. I'm going to... I'm going to stand up to you. I'm going to stand up to you. I'm going to stand up to you. Yeah. Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. Did you give us these? Not fair. Oh, this makes me cry. Oh, they're going to help you all the time.

Is this ready to go yet? I don't think so. All right, well, okay.

I'll stand up until you're ready. All right, I'll stand up. I'll stand up. Yeah, I'm standing up. I'm standing up too, but you can stand up. Does that still go?

Okay, so does that actually take notes? Sheila used to take notes, but I guess now that they do.