During their regular monthly meeting, the Tullos Town Council discussed routine items and approved of various department requests and reports.
According to the fire department report presented by Tullos Fire Chief Harvey Boyett, the department did not have any fires for the month of November. Boyett also requested to apply for the FEMA grant, which he hopes can be used toward the purchase of new pagers and radios.
“I reached out to Dana Chapman (LaSalle Parish Office of Homeland Security & E.P.) in Jena, in hopes of finding funding for new pagers and radios,” Chief Boyett stated. “I learned that the Sheriff’s Department will soon be working to move all fire departments to the L-Wind System. We could purchase new radios with the grant, but we would have to cover 20% of the total amount and the grant would cover the other 80%.”
The Council approved of the request to allow Chief Boyett and Mayor Cockerham to apply for the FEMA Grant and to allow the Mayor to move funds into the department’s account to cover the 20% they will be responsible for.
Also during the fire department report, Chief Boyett told the Council that during their annual Christmas dinner, they recognized the department’s “Rookie of the Year.”
“We honored our Rookie of the Year and gave him an award. This year’s recipient was Cameron Bird,” Chief Boyett said. “A well-deserving young man who is really working hard in the fire department.”
Mayor Karla Cockerham also expressed her congratulations.
“Cameron joined this year and was not familiar with the department at first,” Mayor Cockerham stated. “But he has educated himself and trained so that he is able to respond to a scene himself until others can get there. He has come a long way.”
The Council also approved of one new member, Jeremy House, the resignation of one member, Floyd Temple Jr. and the removal of new members from the roster, Sean Greenfield and Angela Greenfield.
Present to provide the police jury report was Juror Tim Lasiter. Lasiter updated the Council on work scheduled to be done before the end of the year.
“I do have a meeting with the tree service I hired tomorrow,” Lastier stated. “We will start in Urania and work our way down, trimming low-hanging branches. Hopefully, by the end of this year we will have all the trimming done.”
According to the water and wastewater report, there is still a significant amount of town water loss, even though JCP Management had faulty valves repaired at the town’s ground storage tank. During the month of November, the total amount of water pumped was 3,459,500 gallons. However, the town only sold 1,311,145 gallons, which puts the total amount of water loss at 2,148,355 gallons.
Multiple members of the Council voiced their concerns and shock at how much water was being lost.
“They have walked the water system and have installed more flow meters on the water lines,” Mayor Karla Cockerham reported. “They will do some more investigation and JCP Management will report their findings at next month’s meetings.”
During the police report provided by Tullos Police Chief Scott Cockerham, he reported that the department issued 125 citations, collected a total of $46,513.07 in fines and fees and responded to eight complaint calls, two public assists and one dog call.
Present to provide the report by PanAmerican was the town’s new engineer Jim Verzwyvelt. Verzwyvelt introduced himself to the Council and summarized his understanding of the ongoing projects that former town engineer Jacob Guillory was leading.
The Council also approved of two resolutions, the LGAP (Local Government Assistance Program) and the CWEF (Community Water Enrichment Fund), both provided by the Louisiana Division of Administration.
“Each year, the state allows small municipalities, towns and villages to get some money for some needs,” Verzwyvelt updated. “LGAP can be used for anything related to the town, up to $25,000.00. For CWEF, the money can be used in any way related to the water system, repairs or maintenance.”
The Council approved of the LGAP Resolution, which states that the town will apply for the LGAP grant with the intentions of using the $25,000.00 toward the purchase of a new vehicle for the police department.
“Last year, we applied for the LGAP to be used for a new patrol unit,” Mayor Cockerham said. “As most of you know, $25,000 does not pay for a new vehicle. So, we want to apply for another LGAP to combine the two grants to purchase the unit.”
The Council also approved of the CWEF Resolution, where the town will apply for the CWEF grant and if received, the $25,000.00 will be used to purchase new valves for the water system, as there are so few working valves currently on the system.
Also during the meeting, the town was scheduled to open and accept a bid for the town’s sewer project, however the bid acceptance date was moved.
“I got a call last week from one of the bidders that we felt we would receive a bid from,” Verzwyvelt reported. “He said ‘my subs are too busy. Can you give us seven to ten more days? We will definitely place a bid on the work.’ I also heard from another who requested more time. So, we have the date set for next Thursday, the 14th at our office at 2 p.m.”
The Council also approved of setting the date and time for an Executive Session concerning the Town Clerk, which was scheduled for Monday, December 11 at 4 p.m. (Details for this meeting were not available for this edition due to press deadlines.)
During the Mayor’s Comments, Mayor Cockerham reminded the Council and public of the Senior Citizen Supper which will take place Thursday, December 14 at 6 p.m. at First Baptist Church of Tullos.