* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:04] GOOD MORNING, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, [SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS] IF YOU'LL TAKE A SEAT. WE'LL, UH, GET ON WITH OUR, UH, PROCLAMATIONS THAT WE HAVE THIS MORNING. PARISH PRESIDENT HAS A COUPLE, AND THAT IS IT. AND THEN WE'LL START THE MEETING PROMPTLY AT 10 O'CLOCK. I'M GONNA HAVE THEM THERE FOR HIM. I'LL EXPLAIN THAT FOR THE ALL RIGHT, EVERYBODY, THE PARISH PRESIDENT IS APPROACHING THE PODIUM. IF HE'LL TAKE YOUR SEATS. WE'LL GET STARTED WITH THIS AND THEN THE MEETING A FEW MINUTES LATER. ARE THEY BOTH HERE? OKAY. GOOD MORNING. GOOD MORNING EVERYONE. I WANNA RECOGNIZE A COUPLE OF OUR DIRECTORS WHO HAVE SOME ANNIVERSARY AND YEARS OF SERVICE. OBVIOUSLY THIS IS MEMBERS OF OUR, UM, LEADERSHIP TEAM. AND WITHOUT THEIR HARD WORK, JEFFERSON PARISH WOULDN'T BE, UM, WHAT WE ARE TODAY. SO NICOLE GOBERT FOR 15 YEARS OF SERVICE. NICOLE, UM, YOU WANNA WORK YOUR WAY UP, NICOLE. YOU DON'T SEE NICOLE. SHE'S NOT A FRONT FACING, UH, IN THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEE, BUT SHE IS A POWERHOUSE. BEHIND THE SCENES, UM, IS A DIRECTOR OF OUR PUBLIC SAFETY GRANTS AND ADMINISTRATION AND IS CELEBRATING 15 YEARS OF SERVICE WITH JEFFERSON PARISH. NICOLE BEGAN EMPLOYMENT WITH THE PARISH IN APRIL OF 1995 AS A LIBRARY PAGE. I DON'T THINK I KNEW THAT. AND THEN TOOK SOME TIME OFF FROM PARISH EMPLOYMENT TO RAISE HER CHILDREN AND BE WITH HER FAMILY, UH, BEFORE RETURNING IN JULY, 2009, AS AN ACCOUNT CLERK TWO IN THE ACCOUNTING DEPARTMENT, SHE HAS HELD POSITIONS AS SECRETARY, ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT ACCOUNTANT TWO, ACCOUNTANT THREE, ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST IN THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT BEFORE BEING PROMOTED TO THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND GRANTS ADMINISTRATION ON FEBRUARY 10TH, 2021. DURING HER TENURE WITH THE PARISH, SHE CONTINUED HER EDUCATION EARNING A BACHELOR'S DEGREE, AND RECENTLY COMPLETED HER MASTER'S DEGREE IN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT. UNDER NICOLE'S LEADERSHIP, THE PARISH HAS EMBARKED ON A VARIETY OF GRANT OPPORTUNITIES IN THE RECOVERY INFRASTRUCTURE AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH SPECTRUMS DURING OUR MANY CRISES, INCLUDING COVID, UM, CARES ACT FOR VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENTS, VACCINATIONS, IDA RECOVERY AND SALTWATER INTRUSION. UH, SHE HAS WORKED TO BUILD CAPACITY BY STRENGTHENING OUR NETWORK OF LOCAL, STATE, AND FEDERAL CONTACTS. IN 2021, UH, NICOLE'S DEPARTMENT TRANSITIONED FROM A ONE PERSON GRANT OFFICE MANAGING A HUNDRED THOUSAND IN EOC GRANTS INTO A THREE MEMBER DEPARTMENT. THAT NOW INCLUDES THE MANAGEMENT OF THE FEMA PUBLIC ASSISTANT GRANT PROGRAM AND THE MARITIME ADMINISTRATION GRANT PROGRAM, AS WELL AS EXPANDED GRANT SERVICES TO DEPARTMENTS AND VOLUNTEER FIRE AGENCIES. HER DEPARTMENT HAS TAKEN A VERY PROACTIVE ROLE IN THE DISASTER AREA BY INCORPORATING FINANCE OPERATIONS DIRECTLY INTO DISASTER RECOVERY, ENSURING EMERGENCY CONTRACTS AND POLICIES ARE IN PLACE. SO NICOLE'S JOB, AS YOU ALL KNOW, IS VERY, VERY CRITICAL IN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND US MAKING OURSELVES WHOLE. ONCE, ONCE THE, UM, PARISHES THROUGH THAT EMERGENCY, SHE HAS MANAGED FEMA PUBLIC ASSISTANT GRANT FUNDING SINCE 2014, WHICH INCLUDES $458 MILLION OF OBLIGATED, UM, AND RECEIVED REIMBURSEMENT FOR ALMOST 300, UM, MILLION, UH, OF THAT AMOUNT. UM, THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. JEFFERSON PARISH, BECAUSE OF NICOLE'S LEADERSHIP, HAS LED FUNDING RECOVERY AND PAID FUNDING RATIOS SINCE 2021. UNDER HER GUIDANCE, MOST NOTABLY, JEFFERSON PARISH WAS RANKED NUMBER ONE IN THE STATE OF LOUISIANA FOR FEMA IDA REIMBURSEMENTS. AND WHAT THAT MEANS TO US IS THAT WE DON'T GO INTO THE FUTURE BEING CRIPPLED BECAUSE WE USED ALL OF OUR MONEY TO GET THROUGH, UH, THE CRISIS. WE'RE ABLE TO MAKE OURSELVES WHOLE QUICKER AND START NEW INITIATIVES. SO NICOLE, THANK YOU SO MUCH. UM, AND YOU WILL GET YOUR PIN BY RACHEL. THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING. OUR NEXT DIRECTOR IS ALSO AN INCREDIBLE LEADER AND HAS BROUGHT HER, HER, UM, TEAM, REALLY AS WE LIKE TO SAY TO THE NEXT NEVILLE. MICHELLE, BRI NET CARR WITH FIVE YEARS OF SERVICE. YOU ALL KNOW HER. SHE, YOU WOULD RECOGNIZE HER A LITTLE BIT MORE 'CAUSE SHE'S, UM, A FRONT FACING DEPARTMENT. OUR J PARS DIRECTOR, OUR JEFFERSON PROTECTION, UM, ANIMAL WELFARE SERVICES DIRECTOR IS MICHELLE. NO, MICHELLE HAS REALLY TAKEN, AS I'VE SAID, TAKEN US TO THE NEXT LEVEL. UM, FIRST OFF, WE RENAMED IT, WE USED TO CALL IT THE ANIMAL SHELTER, AND SHE CAME UP WITH A CLEVER NAME, J PAWS, WHICH MORE ADEQUATELY REPRESENTS WHAT WE DO. JEFFERSON PROTECTION, ANIMAL WELFARE SERVICES. AND IT'S CUTE NAME, J PAWS. UM, MICHELLE HAS WORKED DILIGENTLY TO CULTIVATE AND GROW PARTNERSHIPS WITH A MULTITUDE OF ORGANIZATIONS TO INCREASE SERVICES PARISH WIDE. SOME OF THE PROGRAMS JUST TO NAME A FEW, INCLUDE FREE OR LOW COST SPAY NEUTER OPERATION, PIT STOP OPERATION, WHISKERS EMERGENCY PET FOOD AND SUPPLY DISTRIBUTION, MICROCHIPPING CLINICS, HEARTWORM PREVENTION EMERGENCY, ANIMAL MEDICAL SERVICES, [00:05:01] PET TRAINING, RABIES CLINICS, AND PET OWNER RETENTION RESOURCES. SHE'S WORKED VERY CLOSELY AND SHE'S KNOWN ON THE NATIONAL LEVEL. SHE'S WORKED WITH NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS, DEVELOPED ANIMAL CARE AND MANY INFIELD TRAINING FOR EMPLOYEES, AND IMPLEMENTED A COMMUNITY EDUCATION PROGRAM WITH LOCAL STUDENTS. UH, MICHELLE CONTINUES TO INTRODUCE NEW IDEAS, ALWAYS GOT NEW IDEAS. , SHE'S TRYING TO PITCH TO US. UM, AND WE GAVE IN ON ONE OF 'EM AND WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO IT. UM, UH, THE FIRST OF ITS KIND TRULY INNOVATIVE. SHE'S GONNA WORK ON BRINGING A FIRST OF ITS KIND, TRULY INNOVATIVE, PROGRESSIVE EAST BANK ADOPTION CENTER. UM, THAT'S SOMETHING REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO. AND HER NEWEST INITIATIVE. WE'RE LAUNCHING A NEW PET TAXI SERVICE AND IT'S REALLY GONNA BE ONE OF THE VERY FIRST. UM, SO WE'RE LEADING THE WAY, UH, TO PROVIDE TRANSPORTATION SERVICES FOR ELDERLY, DISABLED, AND NON-DRIVING INDIVIDUALS TO VETERINARY CLINICS. SO THEY'RE NOT SEPARATED FROM THEIR ANIMALS, BUT THEY CAN'T DRIVE THERE. WE'RE GONNA TAKE YOU THERE. UM, ON TOP OF ALL OF THIS, HER TEAM CONTINUALLY STEPS UP TO WORK AS FIRST RESPONDERS DURING CRISES TO MAKE SURE ANIMALS GET OUT OF HARM'S WAY. THEY WILL PUT ANIMALS ON AIRPLANES, UM, ASSISTED EVACUATION FROM PETS FLIGHTS TO OTHER RESCUES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, AND ON THE GROUND RESPONSE EFFORTS ON A DAILY BASIS, IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE DISASTERS. AND I KNOW DURING IDA, WHEREVER I WENT AND THERE WAS ANIMALS, YOU GUYS WERE TRYING TO CHASE 'EM DOWN. SO THROUGHOUT THE PARISH. SO, UH, ANOTHER GREAT LEADER FOR US IN JEFFERSON PARISH WITH FIVE YEARS OF SERVICE. MICHELLE BRENA, 35 YEARS IN, YES. , WHAT DID YOU SAY, DREW? 35 YEARS IN DOG YEARS, MICHELLE. THAT'S WHAT, OKAY. SO, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS, IF YOU'D LIKE TO COME, TAKE A PICTURE WITH NICOLE AND MICHELLE FOR US. CYNTHIA, I WANNA RIDE ON A PLANE. , GET UP AT THREE IN THE MORNING. TAMIKA, GET UP BEFORE A HURRICANE. NO PROBLEM. I'M MAYOR. WELL, UNFORTUNATELY WE PUT SO, OKAY, MAYBE PUSH DOWN, RIGHT? WE SHOULD. I KNOW SOME OF Y'ALL GETTING FLIP A LITTLE. OKAY. EVERYBODY HERE WE GO ON THREE. 1, 2, 3. AND WE'RE GONNA GET ONE MORE ON THREE. 1, 2, 3. THANK YOU. WE DO. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. BANANA. OH, COME LOOK AT YOU. SO WE, YOU JUST NEED A BUNCH NAMES. ALRIGHT, HERE WE GO. 1, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3. HAPPY, BUT NICE SUMMER, PK. IT'S PERFECT. I'M SORRY VERY MUCH COUNCILWOMAN. YOU'RE GONNA HAVE, I THINK CERTIFICATES OF MERIT, RIGHT? OKAY. THE NEXT ONE I'M GONNA HAVE TO SAY IS VERY NEAR AND DEAR TO MY HEART. AND I'LL EXPLAIN. SO I NEED A LITTLE TIME, BUT, UM, KEVIN, JULIE, WANNA COME UP? JOE, ANYBODY ELSE AT FIRST? SHERRY, YOU WANNA JOIN US? SHERRY, WITH COUNCIL DISTRICT FOUR HAS BEEN A BIG PART OF THIS SINCE THE BEGINNING AS WELL. I'M GONNA, I GOTTA TELL THE HISTORY, RIGHT? YOU ARE. THIS IS PERSONAL TO ME. WHERE'S JULIE? SHE CAN'T COME UP. SHE'S ON A, SHE'S GOT A, SHE'S ON A ROLLER. OH NO, I'M SORRY, JULIE. OKAY. OH, SHE'S, COME ON. HOP ON UP HERE. JULIE. SHE'S TOUGH. I KNOW SHE'S TOUGH. SHE, ALL THE PEOPLE SHE COACHED KNOW HOW TOUGH SHE IS. SO YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO BEAR WITH ME A LITTLE BIT. AS I SAID, THIS IS NEAR AND DEAR TO MY HEART, AND I'M GONNA TELL THE STORY. I'M GONNA GO THERE, KEVIN AND JULIE, I'M GONNA GO THERE. OKAY. IT STARTED WHEN JULIE HARTLEY MET KEVIN HARTLEY AND CYNTHIA LEE CHANG MET STUART CHANG. AND WHEN TWO VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS MEET AND GET MARRIED, I'M GOING THERE AND THEY HAVE CHILDREN. THOSE CHILDREN ARE CALLED VOLLEYBALL, LOVE BABIES, VBS. AND THAT'S WHAT WE DECIDED TO CALL OUR KIDS. SO WE HAD VBS AND KEVIN AND JULIE HAD VBS AND OUR VBS HAD NO PLACE TO PLAY VOLLEYBALL. WE HAD OUTDOOR COURTS, BUT THERE WAS NO INDOOR VOLLEYBALL IN LOUISIANA AT ALL. UM, AND JOE WAS AROUND AT THE TIME, AND SHERRY AND, UH, MY HUSBAND, THE LATE MY, I LOST MY HUSBAND IN 2014 AND WITH OUR SON GAVIN AND MY DAUGHTER HAD A PLACE TO PLAY MIRANDA. PLENTY OF GIRLS TEAMS. HE SAID, WE GOTTA START, WE GOTTA START A VOLLEYBALL TEAM THAT HE DOESN'T, THEY DON'T HAVE ONE IN LOUISIANA. WE MET KEVIN THROUGH THE VOLLEYBALL COMMUNITY, JULIE, JOE, SHERRY, AND WE STARTED BY YOU BOYS BEGGING FOR SIX BOYS TO JOIN US BECAUSE THE BOYS WERE PLAYING WITH THE GIRLS. AND THAT WASN'T REALLY WORKING OUT. WE NEEDED OUR OWN TEAM. I WOULD BE AT A RESTAURANT WITH STEWART, HE WOULD SEE A TALL BOY AND HE WOULD BE LIKE, GO ASK THAT BOY IF HE'S WILLING TO LEARN VOLLEYBALL. THIS [00:10:01] WAS LIKE GRASSROOTS TRYING TO GET EIGHT BOYS TOGETHER TO FORM KEVIN AND STEWART. Y'ALL WOULD BE ON THE TREADMILL IN THE MORNING FIGURING OUT HOW TO LET THIS GROUP OF ALL GIRLS ALLOW BOYS TO PLAY. SO IT WAS A FIGHT. AND THEN BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, Y'ALL PUSHED THROUGH AND ALL THE GIRLS WANTED TO PLAY AGAINST THE BOYS. SO THAT'S THE BACKGROUND. UM, AND I WILL SAY THIS IS WHAT IS DIFFICULT FOR ME. 'CAUSE I WISH STEWART WOULDN'T KNEW IT BECAUSE OF YOU ALL. THERE WERE BOYS AND STEWART DIDN'T KNOW THIS BECAUSE HE DIED RIGHT BEFORE, UM, THAT MADE IT TO COLLEGE ON SCHOLARSHIPS WITH VOLLEYBALL. OKAY? THERE'S A BOY NOW ON THE A VP TOUR, UM, PLAYING PROFESSIONAL VOLLEYBALL WHO CAME OUT OF OUR CLUB. SO NEAR AND DEAR TO MY HEART, BUT WHY I AM HERE, AND IT'S NOT SO PERSONAL, BUT WHENEVER LOUISIANA BRINGS ONE HOME FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE HISTORY, UM, IT HAS TO BE RECOGNIZED. SO IT'S NOT JUST BECAUSE I, I HAVE ACCESS TO THE MICROPHONE. IT'S BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU ALL DID AND YOU BROUGHT ONE HOME FOR THE FIRST TIME IN LOUISIANA. SO THE NATIONAL TOURNAMENT IS PUT ON BY THE USA VOLLEYBALL. IT IS THE SAME GROUP THAT PICKS THE OLYMPIC TEAM. IT IS THE GOVERNING SANCTION. THEY HAVE A A, A YEARLY TOURNAMENT. UM, AND THOSE FIRST TOURNAMENTS, WE WOULD BE UP AGAINST THE TEXAS TEAMS AND THE HAWAII TEAMS AND ALL THESE BIG TEAMS. WE WERE LITTLE NOBODIES. AND I WAS SO PROUD TO KNOW THAT WE TOOK ONE HOME, A NATIONAL TITLE UNHEARD OF FOR US. SO CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU ALL. IT'S, IT'S, UM, IT'S VERY SPECIAL TO ME TO BE HERE. SO I'M GONNA READ THIS PROCLAMATION. UM, WHEREAS THE BAYOU BOYS VOLLEYBALL VAULT CLUB WAS STARTED IN 2010 BY STUART SHANG, KEVIN HARTLEY, AND JOSEPH PETTA BY COMBINING BOYS FROM LAKE SHORE DELTA AND HARAHAN PLAYGROUNDS INTERESTED IN PURSUING INDOOR VOLLEYBALL. AND WHEREAS THE BAYOU BOYS VOLLEYBALL CLUB BEGAN WITH JUST TWO TEAMS, BUT HAS SINCE GROWN EACH SEASON WITH YOUNG MEN FROM AROUND THE REGION AND STATE JOINING IN THERE ARE NOW AS MANY AS SIX TEAMS IN A SEASON COVERING NUMEROUS AGE GROUPS. AND WHERE THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IN 14 SEASONS THAT A BAYOU BOYS VOLLEYBALL TEAM HAS REACHED THE GOLD MEDAL MATCH AT THE USAV BOYS JUNIOR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS. AND THE FIRST TIME THAT A BAYOU BOYS TEAM WON THE USAV BOYS JUNIOR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS. AND WHEREAS THE BAYOU BOYS 14 U TEAM WENT UNDEFEATED IN ALL 12 MATCHES THROUGHOUT THE FOUR DAY TOURNAMENT, PLAYING AGAINST TEAMS FROM ACROSS THE UNITED STATES AND FINISHED THE TOURNAMENT BY DEFEATING THEIR OWN SOUTHWEST BOYS TOUR RIVAL, I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M SAYING THIS, AUSTIN JUNIOR'S VOLLEYBALL CLUB, UH, IN TWO TO WIN THE GOLD MEDAL. WHEREAS THE BAYOU BOYS 14 U TEAM HAS DISPLACED DISPLAYED GREAT WORK ETHIC AND DEDICATION THROUGHOUT THE SEASON, AND IS A PRIME EXAMPLE OF HOW SUPPORTING ONE ANOTHER AND NEVER GIVING UP CAN LEAD TO VICTORY. NOW THEREFORE, AS CYNTHIA LEE SHANK, PRESIDENT OF JEFFERSON PARISH, J RECOGNIZE AND CONGRATULATE THE BAYOU BOYS VOLLEYBALL CLUB, 14 U TEAM USAV BOYS JUNIOR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS, BRINGING IT HOME FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER IN THE HISTORY OF THE SPORT TO LOUISIANA. CONGRATULATIONS KEVIN. YOU WANNA INTRODUCE THE BOYS? AND I KNOW COUNCILMAN ARITA BOHANNAN HAS CERTIFICATES OF MERIT. UM, BUT I WANT, DO YOU WANNA INTRODUCE THE TEAM? YEAH. YOU WANT I'M GONNA LET, AND I ARE GONNA OH, OKAY. DINO, YOU WANNA LET THEM READ IT? Y'ALL CAN. YEAH. SHE SEE I'M JUST GONNA GO IN THE LINE. YEP, GO IN THE LINE IS HERE. ALRIGHT. UH, THE VERY FIRST ONE IS CALEB LEE. NEXT IS BO. OH MY GOODNESS. BEAUMONT LAMONT. LAMONT, MARCO MARCELLO. I'M SORRY, A LITTLE SLOWER THAT THEY WEREN'T IN ORDER. OH, THAT I GOT YOU. I CAN'T, JOE TOOK JOE TOOK MY GLASSES. . ARE WE GOOD NOW? JACOB WMAN. JACOB WAGMAN. WE GOOD? LUCA MARCELO. KENNETH CHARITY. YOU'RE WELCOME. AND WRITER STEWART. AND WE HAVE ONE YOUNG MAN THAT ISN'T HERE. HIS NAME IS COLIN TULLUS. HE COULDN'T MAKE IT TODAY. AND COACHES NOW NOT HERE. DANNY'S NOT HERE. AND THEN THE HEAD COACH WAS KENT. JEREMY. AND THEN DANNY'S NOT HERE. DANNY'S NOT HERE. NO. THEY, I THINK THEY HEAD DANNY'S, I GUESS. YES. AND ANOTHER COACH. KEVIN HARTLEY. OH, . JOSEPH PETA. ALRIGHT, [00:15:01] EVERYBODY SLIDE DOWN THIS WAY FOR A PICTURE. EVERYBODY SLIDE DOWN SOMEBODY. I CAN COME ON THIS SIDE. TAKE, TAKE THIS FOR THE GERMAN. I MEAN THE, OKAY. OKAY. THIS IS SHERRY. DO YOU WANT SHERRY IN? HUH? JOE? GET SHERRY IN. SHERRY'S BEEN IN FROM THE BEGINNING. YEAH, SHE'S BEEN OUR SCOREKEEPER AND SANDWICH GIVER. SCOREKEEPER. SHE STILL GET Y'ALL SANDWICHES. DOES SHERRY SHERRY GIVE Y'ALL SANDWICH? SOME SANDWICHES? SHE KEPT FED. WHO WANTS TO, WHO WANTS TO HAVE YOU WANNA FIDGET? GET UP HERE. FIDGET. I WANNA GET BACK HERE. WHERE AM I GONNA GET UP? I CAN SQUEEZE BACK HERE. ARE EVERYBODY READY? LOOK, LOOK TOWARDS THE CAMERA. LOOK THIS WAY. HERE WE GO. ON 1, 2, 3. NEED TO GET ANOTHER ONE. ONE, THREE. 1, 2, 3. ONE MORE. THREE. ONE MORE. THANK Y'ALL. LOOK, I MATCHED ALLALL TODAY AND I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW IT. CONGRATULATIONS. WHO'S GONNA GO PLAY BEACH? ALL RIGHT. OH, KEVIN, LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU TOO. THEY MADE IT GOOD SEEING YOU. THAT'S ALRIGHT. MY UNION. I WON'T GET SEE YOU. YOU KNOW, HE, NO, NOBODY OFFERED ME A SEAT. HEY, I NEED YOUR NUMBER BECAUSE THE NUMBER [00:20:06] 3, 2, 3, 5. YOU HAD A DIFFERENT NUMBER FOR YOUR CAMPAIGN? NO, A MUST I GOT I GUESS HERE. GOOD MORNING EVERYBODY. WELCOME TO THE JEFFERSON [MEETING CALLED TO ORDER] PARISH COUNCIL MEETING FOR WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7TH, 2024. PLEASE TAKE YOUR SEATS AND WE'LL GET STARTED. WE ARE AT THE JOSEPH SNI BUILDING 1221 ELMWOOD PARK BOULEVARD IN JEFFERSON, LOUISIANA. THIS MEETING IS NOW CALLED TO ORDER. I'LL LET YOU GET A SECOND TO GRAB YOUR SEAT SINCE I KIND OF JUMPED RIGHT IN THERE. ALL RIGHT. I'LL RECOGNIZE COUNCILMAN WILBERG NOW TO INTRODUCE HIS GUEST WHO WILL GIVE TODAY'S INVOCATION. I WOULD INVITE, UM, REVEREND DR. DUSTIN TURNER TO TO, TO FOR A VINTAGE CHURCH ON, ON CLEARY AVENUE, UM, TO DO OUR INVOCATION. UM, THE, THE GOOD REVEREND IS A, IS A IS AN ESTEEM MEMBER OF OUR COMMUNITY. AND I KNOW YOU GUYS DO A LOT OF GREAT WORK AT THE CHURCH. AND, UH, THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US TODAY. LET'S PRAY TOGETHER. FATHER, WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSISTENT CHARACTER, YOUR LOVE, GRACE, MERCY, AND GOODNESS IN OUR LIVES. YOU ARE OUR CREATOR, REDEEMER AND SUSTAINER. NOT ONLY ARE YOU GOOD, BUT YOU ARE SOVEREIGN IN CONTROL OF OUR LIVES AND THE LIFE OF OUR PARISH, STATE, COUNTRY, AND WORLD. BECAUSE YOU ARE BOTH GOOD AND SOVEREIGN, WE KNOW THAT YOU HAVE PLACED EACH OF US HERE AND NOW BOTH OUR CITIZENS AND OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS. LIKE YOU TOLD THE ISRAELITES, WE ARE TO SEEK THE WELFARE OF OUR CITY AND PRAY TO YOU ON ITS BEHALF OR IN ITS WELFARE, WE WILL FIND OUR WELFARE. AND AS OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS OF NAZARETH TAUGHT US, WE ARE TO BE THE SALT OF THE EARTH IN THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. AS WE CONVENE THIS PARISH COUNCIL MEETING, WE ASK THAT YOU GRANT THE CITIZENS OF JEFFERSON PARISH AND OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS THE WISDOM TO MAKE DECISIONS THAT BOTH HONOR YOU AND DO GOOD FOR THE PEOPLE OF JEFFERSON PARISH. MAY YOUR HOLY SPIRIT GUIDE THOUGHTS, CONVERSATIONS, DECISIONS, AND ACTIONS MADE HERE AS WELL AS AFTER THIS MEETING. WE SPECIFICALLY PRAY FOR OUR JEFFERSON PARISH COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT YOU PROTECT, ENCOURAGE, STRENGTHEN, AND USE THEM FOR THE WORK TO WHICH YOU HAVE CALLED THEM. MAY EVERYTHING WE DO IN THIS MEETING AND THE STEPS WE TAKE FOLLOWING IT BRING YOU HONOR, MAY THE WORK OF THE COUNCIL BE FOR THE GOOD OF THE PEOPLE. IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST, WE PRAY. AMEN. THANK YOU CHIEF MILLER. WOULD YOU MIND LEADING THE PLEDGE THIS MORNING? A PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, INCLUDING REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, LIBERTY, AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. THANK YOU, CHIEF MILLER. [00:25:01] MAD. UH, MADAM UH, CLERK, PLEASE CALL THE ROLL CHAIRMAN WALKER. PRESENT IS YOUR MICROPHONE ON ONE DAY WE'LL GET YOUR MICROPHONE FIXED. I THINK IT'S JUST VERY LOW. CAN WE GIVE A LITTLE VOLUME TO THE CLERK'S? MICROPHONE PLEASE STAND BY FOR ELEVATOR MUSIC. IS THERE A BACKUP MIC FOR THE BACKUP MIC? . THAT'D BE THE THIRD MICROPHONE YOU'VE BEEN THROUGH THIS YEAR. TESTING 1, 2, 3, 4. DON'T BREAK THIS ONE. LIZ . ALL RIGHT, TAKE TWO. MADAM CLERK, PLEASE CALL THE ROLL. CHAIRMAN WALKER. PRESENT. COUNCILMAN EDWARDS. PRESENT COUNCILMAN BON BANANA. EASIER. JUST COUNCILMAN LEE HERE. COUNCILWOMAN BOHANNON PRESENT. COUNCILMAN WILBERG? HERE. PARISH PRESENT. MS. LEE SHANG HERE. AND I'VE COMPLETED THE ROLE. THANK YOU MADAM CLERK. SO JUSTIN, SINCE YOU PUT THE MIC HERE, IT LOST ALL OF ITS SOUND FROM WHEN YOU TESTED IT TO WHEN YOU PUT IT OVER HERE. WHEN YOU TESTED IT, THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT VOLUME WHEN YOU PUT IT DOWN. THERE WASN'T ANYTHING LEFT. I KNOW SHE'S SOFT SPOKEN, BUT DON'T WORRY. TRY AGAIN. LIZ. TESTING. OKAY, THAT'S BETTER. YES, WE GOT SOME NOW. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU MADAM CLERK. MADAM PRESIDENT, THE FLOOR IS YOURS TO ADDRESS THE COUNCIL. [PARISH PRESIDENT TO ADDRESS COUNCIL] ALL RIGHT, WE'RE GETTING IT ALL STRAIGHT. OKAY, THERE WE GO. CAN YOU HEAR ME? THANK YOU MR. CHAIRMAN. COUNCIL MEMBERS, UM, CLEARLY WITH KRISTEN NUSS IN THE OLYMPICS AND THE BAYOU BOYS TAKING HOME FIRST FOR LOUISIANA. WE CERTAINLY KNOW THAT JEFFERSON PARISH PRODUCES INCREDIBLE ATHLETES. SO I WANNA DO A CALL OUT TO OUR RECENT RECREATION WINS. WE'VE HAD A LOT OF CHAMPIONSHIPS, IT'S BEEN BEEN A BUSY FEW WEEKS. OUR GIRLS SOFTBALL CHAMPIONS INCLUDE EIGHT U-J-P-R-D EAST BABE RUTH STATE CHAMPIONS AND WORLD SERIES RUNNERS UP THE 10 U-J-P-R-D-E STATE CHAMPIONS. THE 12 U 14 U AND 16 U-J-P-R-D WEST BABE RUTH STATE CHAMPIONS AND WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS AND THE 18 U-J-P-R-D EAST BABE RUTH STATE CHAMPIONS. AND FOR OUR BOYS, UM, THEY INCLUDE EIGHT U DIAMOND YOUTH BASEBALL STATE CHAMPIONS, 10 U AND 12 U DIAMOND YOUTH BASEBALL STATE CHAMPIONS CURRENTLY IN THE WORLD SERIES 13 U-J-P-R-D, WEST DIXIE BOYS STATE CHAMPIONS AND WORLD SERIES RUNNER UP 14 U-J-P-R-D EAST DIXIE BOYS STATE CHAMPIONS AND WORLD SERIES RUNNER UP 15 U-J-P-R-D, EAST DIXIE MAJOR STATE CHAMPIONS AND WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS AND 17 U-J-P-R-D, WEST DIXIE MAJOR STATE CHAMPIONS. I WAS JUST INFORMED THAT GERARD, UM, WON LAST NIGHT, THE 12 DIAMOND YOUTH WORLD SERIES. AND THEN CERTAINLY THIS HAS GOTTEN A LOT OF, UH, COVERAGE FOR THE FIRST YEAR OUT. THE LITTLE LEAGUE G AND O-J-P-R-D 12 BOYS STATE CHAMPIONS MADE IT ALL THE WAY TO THE SOUTH REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS. THEY WERE TELEVISED ON ESPN, UNFORTUNATELY LAST NIGHT THEY LOST. BUT WHAT AN INCREDIBLE RUN FOR THEIR INAUGURAL YEAR. WE'RE VERY, VERY PROUD OF ALL OF OUR TEAMS. UM, LET ME MOVE ON TO SEWAGE. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE TRY TO REALLY PROMOTE WITHIN THE RANKS OF OUR PERSONNEL AS GETTING MORE EDUCATION AND GETTING LICENSES AND, UM, UNDER THE DIRECTION OF, UM, OUR SEWER DIRECTOR, HUBERT FRANKLIN. MANY OF THEM RECENTLY PASSED THEIR REQUIRED EXAMS, UM, PROVIDED BY THE LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH. SO THE SEWAGE DEPARTMENT SERVING A POPULATION OF MORE THAN 25,000 PEOPLE. THE OPERATORS ARE REQUIRED TO OBTAIN A CLASS FOUR LICENSE. THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT LICENSE ARE REQUIRED FOR PLANT WORKERS AND WASTEWATER COLLECTIONS LICENSES ARE REQUIRED FOR ALL WHO WORK OUTSIDE OF THE TREATMENT PLANT. FENCE LINE. THE SEWAGE DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES WHO RECENTLY RECEIVED THEIR NEW LICENSES INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING, TREMAINE CHAMBERS WASTEWATER COLLECTIONS. TWO DEVON'S HAMPTON WASTEWATER [00:30:01] COLLECTIONS. TWO. TONY HENDERSON WASTEWATER COLLECTIONS. TWO. RONALD JOHNSON WASTEWATER COLLECTIONS. TWO. STEPHANIE MCCLAIN WASTEWATER COLLECTIONS ONE AND WASTEWATER TREATMENT ONE. GEORGE MURRAY WASTEWATER COLLECTIONS. ONE. CY PICKETT WASTEWATER COLLECTIONS. THREE AND WASTEWATER TREATMENT THREE. DYLAN RAMS ACT WASTEWATER COLLECTIONS. ONE. AARON ROBINSON WASTEWATER COLLECTIONS. TWO. GAGE QUILL WASTEWATER TREATMENT FOUR. MATTHEW SOLARIS WASTEWATER COLLECTIONS. THREE. AND DENNIS VAUGHN WASTEWATER COLLECTIONS ONE. SO A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF OUR NEWLY LICENSED EMPLOYEES, AS WELL AS A COUPLE OF ENVIRONMENTAL DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES WHO WORK IN THE SEWAGE DEPARTMENT AND COLLECTION SYSTEM OR TREATMENT PLANS THAT ALSO OBTAIN THEIR LICENSE. UM, WILLIAM PES OFF WASTEWATER TREATMENT TWO AND WASTEWATER COLLECTIONS TWO. AND IAN SOREEN WASTEWATER TREATMENT THREE. SO A BIG CONGRATULATIONS. ALL OF THESE EMPLOYEES HAVING THEIR LICENSE REALLY ONLY MAKES OUR SEWAGE DEPARTMENT MUCH STRONGER AND CERTAINLY FOR THEIR CAREERS, UM, BEING, HAVING THESE LICENSES IS A BIG BOOST FOR THEM AS WELL. UM, I ALSO WANNA CALL ATTENTION TO ONE OF OUR EAST BANK CONSOLIDATED FIRE DEPARTMENT FIREFIGHTERS, PARKER LEVON FOR HIS LIFE-SAVING WORK WHILE OFF DUTY, UM, RESPONDING TO A MEDICAL INCIDENT AND PERFORMING CPR ON A NON-RESPONSIVE FEMALE INSIDE A STOP VEHICLE THAT HE FOUND THAT HIT A POLE IN OLD MATTERY ON JULY 12TH, ACTUALLY, A CIVILIAN, ANOTHER CIVILIAN STOPPED, UM, TO ASSIST AND IT TURNED OUT TO BE EX SAINTS FOOTBALL PLAYER THOMAS MOTED. BUT ADDITIONALLY, AFTER THEY, UM, PROVIDED SOME INITIAL ASSISTANCE, OUR, UM, FIRE STATION 15 CAME FROM BONNEVILLE AND I 10 SERVICE ROAD TO HELP. UM, SO WE WANNA THANK EVERYONE INVOLVED IN THIS INCIDENT AND, AND REALLY BEING, BEING ABLE TO SAVE LIVES WHILE YOU AT LEAST EXPECT IT WHEN YOU'RE OFF DUTY. OKAY, COUNCILMAN WALKER, I ALERTED YOUR STAFF TO THIS NEXT ONE AT THE ARIO CENTER. YOU'LL SEE WHY THE SNEAK TRAVELER SNEAKER CONVENTION. UM, WE'LL TAKE PLACE AT THE LA ARIO CENTER FROM SATURDAY FROM NOON TO 5:00 PM JOINED FELLOW SNEAKER ENTHUSIASTS FOR A DAY FILLED WITH SNEAKER SHOWCASES, TRADING AND NETWORKING. WHETHER YOU'RE A COLLECTOR, A SELLER, OR JUST A FAN, THIS EVENT IS THE PERFECT OPPORTUNITY TO CONNECT WITH LIKE-MINDED INDIVIDUALS AND DISCOVER THE LATEST TRENDS IN THE SNEAKER WORLD. , YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR STAFF'S GONNA BE THAT DAY, RIGHT? I WISH I COULD KEEP UP WITH THEM ON THE SNEAKER FRONT, BUT I CAN'T. SO TICKETS CAN BE PURCHASED ON EVENTBRITE BY FOLLOWING THE EVENT LINK ON THE ARIA CENTER'S WEBSITE, WWW.RIO CENTER.COM. WE WANNA THANK, UM, MOVING ON TO LIBRARY NEWS. WANNA THANK ALL OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO PARTICIPATED IN OUR HUGE 2024 SUMMER READING PROGRAM? A BIG SUCCESS OVER 5,000 PATRONS PARTICIPATED, UM, WITH 2,136 PATRONS READING FOR AT LEAST FIVE HOURS TO COMPLETE THE PROGRAM. AND A COMBINED RECORDING OF 2,208,409 MINUTES READ DURING THE MONTH OF JULY ALONE. UM, THE NEXT THING IS NEW ORLEANS MUSEUM OF ART IS THE LATEST EDITION TO ONE OF OUR NEW, UM, OFFERINGS, THE JEFFERSON PARISH LIBRARY'S EXPERIENCE PASS PROGRAM. AND IT ALLOWS LIBRARY CARDHOLDERS A LIMITED NUMBER OF FREE EMISSIONS TO THE MUSEUM. THE NEW ORLEANS MUSEUM OF ART BEING THE LATEST EDITION ALSO JOINS THE NATIONAL WORLD WAR II MUSEUM, THE HISTORIC NEW ORLEANS COLLECTION, THE WEST END LIGHTHOUSE, AND OUR OWN JEFFERSON PERFORMING ARTS SOCIETY AS PARTICIPATING CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS IN OUR POPULAR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE LIBRARY, CAROL SCHLUTER IS THE DIRECTOR OF THE GERMAN AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTER IN GRETNA. AND PAT SMITH GENEALOGIST AT THE CENTER IS GONNA DIS DISCUSS THE MUSEUM IN THE MANY WAYS IT CAN HELP THOSE. LOOKING FOR INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR GERMAN ANCESTRY, THIS HAPPENS TODAY, AUGUST 7TH, THAT 7:00 PM AT THE EAST BANK REGIONAL LIBRARY. AND SHEILA COA, FINANCIAL CONSULTANT BASED IN NEW ORLEANS, WILL LEAD A SERIES OF PRESENTATIONS ON FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AT 7:00 PM EVERY MONDAY THROUGHOUT THE MONTH OF AUGUST AT THE WEST BANK REGIONAL LIBRARY. GRETNA LIBRARY IS OFFERING FREE ZEN MEDITATION SESSIONS EVERY SATURDAY MORNING AT 9:30 AM AND THE EAST BANK REGIONAL LIBRARY IS GONNA HOST AN IPHONE SEMINAR ON WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 4TH AT 10:00 AM THAT COVERS EVERYTHING SENIOR CITIZENS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TEXTING AND APPS. NEED TO SEND MY MOM TO THAT ONE FOR SURE. UM, STARTING ON MONDAY, AUGUST 12TH, THE WAGNER LIBRARY WILL CLOSE FOR RENOVATIONS. UH, THIS LIBRARY IS SCHEDULED TO REOPEN IN NOVEMBER, BUT IT'S GONNA OFFER A FRESH MODERNIZED SPACE FOR OUR COMMUNITY THERE TO ENJOY THE PLAN. RENOVATIONS AT WAGNER LIBRARY INCLUDE THE INSTALLATIONS OF NEW FLOORING, ADDITIONAL STUDY ROOMS, A NEW 1100 SQUARE FOOT MEETING ROOM, NEW WINDOWS INSTALLATION SHEET, ROCK LIGHTING FIXTURES, DOORS, HARDWARE PAINTING, HVAC, ELECTRICAL SPRINKLER, AND PLUMBING WORK. SO IT'S A BIG, BIG RENOVATION. UM, WE LOOK FORWARD TO THE, TO THE RENOVATED LIBRARY. UM, PATRONS ARE ARE ENCOURAGED TO VISIT ANOTHER ONE OF THE MANY BRANCHES WE HAVE LOCATED THROUGHOUT THE JEFFERSON PARISH AND THEN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENTS UNDER ONE ROOF PROGRAM. UM, WE'RE PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THE SECOND ROUND OF THEIR 2024 REVITALIZING JEFFERSON TOGETHER UNDER ONE ROOF HOMEOWNER APPLICATION. THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROGRAM IS TO PROVIDE HOMEOWNERS TO QUALIFIED, UM, HOMEOWNERS IN JEFFERSON PARISH. QUALIFIED INDIVIDUALS MUST MEET INCOME [00:35:01] ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES AS DESIGNATED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, MUST RESIDE IN JEFFERSON PARISH AND OCCUPY THE PROPERTY AS THEIR PRIMARY RESIDENCE AND MUST NOT HAVE RECEIVED FUNDING FROM OTHER SOURCES. THE APPLICATION PERIOD IS ONLINE AND IT'S GONNA BE OPEN LATER TODAY, AUGUST 7TH, AND REMAIN OPEN UNTIL AUGUST 23RD. ALL APPLICATIONS WILL BE TAKEN ONLINE AND APPLICATIONS WILL BE CHOSEN VIA A LOTTERY SYSTEM. UH, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT WILL STAFF WILL BE AVAILABLE TO THE EAST AND WEST BANK TO ASSIST RESIDENTS WHO DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO A COMPUTER. SO IF YOU DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO A COMPUTER AND WANNA MAKE AN IN-PERSON APPOINTMENT, CALL 5 0 4 7 3 6 6 2 6 2. AND THEN LAST IS OUR J PAWS. OUR JEFFERSON PARISH ANIMAL WELFARE SERVICES IS GONNA PARTNER WITH THE IN THE INNER PUP, UM, AND THEY HAVE RECEIVED THE RACHEL RAY SAVE THEM ALL GRANT FROM THE NATIONAL ANIMAL WELFARE ORGANIZATION BEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SOCIETY TO SUPPORT VETERINARY ASSISTANCE FOR LOW INCOME FAMILIES. J PAWS HAS SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED INTAKE NUMBERS BY PROVIDING RESOURCES SUCH AS FREE OR LOW COST, SPAY AND NEUTER, LOW COST RABIES VACCINES, FREE LOW COST BEHAVIORAL TRAINING, AND LARGE DOGS, EXCEPT THAT HOUSING OPTIONS. SO THIS IS REALLY EXCITING NEWS FOR US TO GET THIS GRANT. UM, THIS WILL ADDRESS THE URGENT NEED FOR AFFORDABLE VETERINARIAN CARE. UM, THIS IS VITAL TO SUPPORTING LOW INCOME PET OWNERS AND REDUCING THE NUMBER OF PETS SURRENDERED TO OUR SHELTER DUE TO FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS. IN ADDITION TO OUR EFFORTS TO CLEAR OUT OUR SHELTER BY OFFERING MORE ASSISTANCE TO THE COMMUNITY, J PS IS ALSO TAKING PART IN THE 10TH ANNUAL CLEAR. THE SHELTER'S PET ADOPTION EVENT HELD AUGUST 10TH TO SEPTEMBER 10TH. DURING THIS TIME, ALL DOG AND CAT ADOPTIONS WILL BE ONLY $10. THIS WILL INCLUDE SPAY NEUTER, RABIES VACCINATIONS, AND MICROCHIPPING. FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL J PAWS AT (504) 349-5111. THANK YOU. THANK YOU MADAM PRESIDENT. ANYBODY WITH COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FOR THE PARISH PRESIDENT? ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU. IS THERE ANY OBJECTION TO SUSPENDING THE RULES TO ALLOW PUBLIC COMMENT BEFORE OUR NEXT, UH, PART OF THE MEETING WITH ENTERGY AND THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION? HEARING NONE. SO WE'LL DO THE, UH, WE'LL DO SPECIAL PUBLIC COMMENT [PERSONS APPEARING BEFORE THE COUNCIL ON SPECIAL SUBJECT MATTERS (Part 1 of 2)] BEFORE THE GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT LIMITED TO THE SAME THREE MINUTES, AND YOU MUST STILL FILL OUT A REQUEST TO SPEAK CARD AT THE BACK OF CHAMBERS. IF YOU'D LIKE TO, UH, SAY ANYTHING REGARDING THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION OR ENTERGY WHO ARE BOTH, WHO BOTH HAVE REPRESENTATIVES HERE TO SPEAK, UH, TODAY ON SOME OF THE, UH, RECENT ISSUES THAT WE'VE HAD IN JEFFERSON PARISH. GO AHEAD. MR. AL AL MORERE. 4 2 60 EAST LOYOLA DRIVE, FIFTH DISTRICT COUNTY, FOURTH DISTRICT GUN INCORPORATED. JEFFERSON, 52 YEARS. FIRST I WANNA ADDRESS THIS TO ENTITY. LAST TIME THEY WAS DOWN HERE, THEY $17 MILLION, MAN WAS DOWN HERE WITH 'EM AND I QUESTIONED THAT $17 MILLION SALARY OF HIS AND HIM BEING IN A POSITION TO GIVE HIMSELF RAZORS, AUTHORIZE HIS OWN RAZORS, AND THEN HE RETIRES WITH A $45 MILLION PACKAGE, INCLUDING HIS INVESTMENTS IN THE COMPANY, HIS STOCK HOLDINGS AND WHAT HAVE YOU. OKAY, NOW I DON'T TRUST AN ANTIGEN. I NEVER DID. WE GOT NEWS ARTICLE CAME OUT JUST RECENTLY. WE EXPERIENCED AN AVERAGES 60% OF THE TIME, MORE THAN HOW THAN WE WERE YEARS AGO. AND WE PAYING BILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO STRENGTHEN AND HARDEN THE GRID. WHAT'S GOING ON HERE? THE ONLY TWO, WE GOT A, UH, A PUBLIC SE. NOW THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION. I SEE ERIC REMET IS HERE. I TALKED TO HIM A LITTLE BIT BEFORE THE MEETING. NOW WE GOT FIVE MEMBERS ON THAT BOARD. THE ONLY TWO THAT ARE EVER ADDRESSING OUR CONCERNS IS FOSTER CAMPBELL AND NOW DTE LEWIS. DEVONTE LEWIS, WHICH HE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE HERE TODAY. I HOPE HE IS. 'CAUSE I'D LIKE TO HEAR WHAT HE HAS TO SAY. HE ARRIVED. MR. L, HE'S HERE. OKAY, BUT, UH, WE NEED TO LOOK INTO THIS AND I'M GONNA TELL YOU SOMETHING. UM, RIGHT NOW THEY'RE VIRTUALLY A MONOPOLY AND THEY THINK THEY GOT US AT OUR MERCY. WELL, I CAN TELL YOU SOMETHING. IF WE HAD A A, A, A PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION WHERE ALL FIVE IS ON BOARD AND IT'S KIND OF HARD TO REGULATE SOMEBODY WHO YOU TAKE CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION FROM, YOU TAKE THEIR MONEY AND YOU TRY TO REGULATE 'EM AT THE SAME TIME. WE NEED TO PUT AN END TO THIS. WE NEED TO DO WHAT? DO WHAT WE GOT TO DO. AND IF WHATEVER WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH TO REGULATE THESE PEOPLE FOR THIS COUNCIL TO REGULATE THESE PEOPLE LIKE NEW ORLEANS, THAT'S WHAT WE NEED TO DO. EVEN THOUGH THAT DON'T DO NO GOOD OVER THERE NEITHER. BUT I MEAN, WE NEED TO TRY TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS BECAUSE THESE PEOPLE ARE JUST GOUGING THE PE THE PEOPLE. AND I'M GONNA TELL YOU SOMETHING, THEY PROFITS IN ONE QUARTER WITH SOMETHING LIKE 45, 40 $6 MILLION IN ONE QUARTER. SO I JUST LAID ALL THESE FIGURES OUT TO YOU. WHY ARE WE BEING GOUGED AND CONTINUES ON? SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE [00:40:01] AND IT NEEDS TO BE DONE TODAY. ANYBODY GOT ANY COMMENTS, ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU JAY. FRANKIE HIRES 5 0 9 HOMAN BOULEVARD. JUST TRYING TO SPARK A LITTLE CURIOSITY IN A WAY WE COULD GO. I'VE SPOKEN TO THIS BEFORE, AND BOY, HOW THE LAST COUNSEL, ESPECIALLY FOR DISTRICT FOUR, LEFT LEAPT OUT OF HIS SEAT TO DEFEND MR. SMETA. I WON'T MENTION ANY OF OUR PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSIONERS BY NAME MYSELF. IT DOESN'T MATTER WHO THEY ARE, JUST LIKE, IT DOESN'T MATTER WHO ANY OF MY OTHER LEGISLATORS WOULD BE, ARE WE LACK FOR AN APPORTIONED BODY AT THE STATE LEVEL? WE ONLY HAVE ONE SENATOR SPEAKING ON BEHALF, MAKING DECISIONS ON BEHALF OF JEFFERSON PARISH. THAT'S KIRK TALBOT, ALL THE REST OF THEM. BEHOLD IT TO OR BETRAYING ANOTHER PARISH. THAT'S A DOCTRINE OF VIRTUAL REPRESENTATION THAT CAUSED A REVOLUTIONARY WAR. WE SEPARATED FROM ENGLAND, A KING, A CROWN FOR THIS VERY REASON. IF YOU REPRESENT A PLACE THAT'S TAXED DIFFERENTLY, YOU CANNOT DO SO BY A REPUBLICAN FORM OF GOVERNMENT. PRESENTLY, THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION DIVIDES OUR INTERESTS, MAKES THIS PARISH AND AN ENEMY OF ITSELF, AN ENEMY OF ITS NEIGHBOR. THE DISTRICTS OF ONE AND TWO SPLIT BETWEEN 11, 12, MAYBE 13 PARISHES. THEY GOTTA TRY AND SERVE COMMUNITIES OF BOTH. SUPPOSEDLY IT'S SPLIT ALONG DEMOCRATIC LINES OR ALONG POLITICAL LINES. BUT WE ALL KNOW HOW THAT WORKS IN THE STATE OF LOUISIANA. THIS IS A RACIAL SEGREGATION OF OUR POWER, WHICH DIVIDES THE POWER OF SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA, MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE. IMPOSSIBLE TO EVER HAVE ANY OF THE CONCERNS THAT MR. AL AL VOICED REDRESSED. WE ARE DIMINISHED IN OUR STRENGTH ON THAT PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION BECAUSE THERE'S ONLY FIVE MEMBERS, FOUR AND FIVE DISTRICTS. THEY ONLY SHARE TWO PARISHES TOGETHER. ONLY TWO. WE GOT 13 SPLIT BETWEEN OURSELVES, BETWEEN DISTRICTS ONE AND TWO. DOES DOES ANYBODY UNDERSTAND WHAT IT MEANS TO TAKE A SMALL FRACTIONS ELECTION FROM A PARISH AND AND DELIVER IT TO THE OTHER PARISH OR TO THE OTHER FRACTION OF ANOTHER PARISH? AM I JUST SPEAKING GREEK HERE? WE ARE NEVER, EVER GOING TO BE SERVED BY THIS PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION. AND I DON'T CARE WHO THE MEMBERS ARE. JEFFERSON PARISH IS SPLIT IN ITS POWER DIVIDED SERVING TWO MASTERS. THESE PEOPLE WOULD SERVE. THEY'RE SERVING 13 DIFFERENT MASTERS. MEANWHILE, DISTRICTS FOUR AND FIVE, THEY HAVE NO SEPARATION OF THEIR INTERESTS. THEY'RE DIVIDED ALONG PARISH LINES. THEY DON'T DIVIDE A PARISH EVEN. THEY ONLY SHARE ONE OR TWO. AND THEN YOU GOT CENTRAL LOUISIANA SERVED BY THE THE THIRD DISTRICT, RIGHT? WE'RE NEVER GOING TO GET HELPED, EVER. I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, THEY HAVE NO OBLIGATION TO EVEN APPEAR HERE AND TALK TO US. WE HAVE NO POWER OVER THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION AND WE HAVE NO INTERESTED IT. WE HAVE NO POWER, NO REPRESENTATIVE POWER FOR JEFFERSON PARISH, THE SECOND LARGEST PARIS THE MOST CONTRIBUTING TO THE STATE TROUGH. AND WE HAVE NO POWER OVER THIS PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION. MR. FIGURE IT OUT. GOOD MORNING, NANCY PEARSON, 89 24 RENZO DRIVE. UM, IN EARLY JUNE, MID-JUNE, WE HAD LIGHTNING STRIKE A POLE IN OUR CUL-DE-SAC. WE LIVE ON A VERY SMALL BLOCK. UH, BLEW OUT HALF OF THE ELECTRONICS ON THE BLOCK, UH, GARAGE DOOR OPENERS, THINGS LIKE THAT. ENTITY CAME OUT AND TOLD THEM THAT THEY COULDN'T DO ANYTHING TO THEIR POLE UNTIL AT AND T CAME OUT. AT AND T CAME OUT WITHIN TWO WEEKS, REPLACED THEIR POLE. AND UH, NOW IT'S BEEN ANOTHER FOUR WEEKS AND ENTITY STILL HAS NOT COME OUT TO REPLACE THE POLE THAT WAS ACTUALLY STRUCK BY LIGHTNING. UH, IF YOU LOOK AT THE POLE, THERE WAS, UH, SHARDS OF WOOD THAT WENT ALL OVER THE PLACE FROM THE POLE. WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE DAMAGE IS ON THE INSIDE, BUT, UH, WITH ALL OF THE FEES, I FIGURED OUT WHAT FEES WE'RE PAYING. WE'RE STILL PAYING FOR THREE STORM RESTORATION FEES. AND IN APRIL, ANOTHER ONE WAS PASSED THAT WE'LL START PAYING NEXT YEAR IN 2025. IT STARTS OUT AT 57 CENTS A MONTH. WELL, PER I THINK IT'S 1000 KILOWATTS. BUT BY 2029 WE'LL BE PAYING $7 AND 19 CENTS A MONTH PER A THOUSAND KILOWATT HOURS. NOW THIS IS FROM ENT ENTITY'S WEBSITE. EVERYBODY'S HURTING RIGHT NOW. YOU KNOW, THE ECONOMY'S THE NUMBER ONE THING THAT EVERYBODY'S TALKING ABOUT YET THE SALARIES FOR THE ENTITY EXECUTIVES, THE CHAIRMAN'S MAKING 9.4 IN COMPENSATION. IT'S NOT SALARIES, IT'S COMPENSATION THEY CALL IT BECAUSE THEY GET THE STOCK OPTIONS AND ALL THAT. THE PRESIDENT'S MAKING 3.6. [00:45:01] THE, UH, COUNCIL IS MAKING, UH, 3.3 MILLION. THE CEO IS MAKING 2.9 AND THE CFO IS MAKING 2.744. WE KEEP GETTING THESE FEES ADDED ON THAT THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION IS ASKING FOR, FOR THE STORM RESTORATION. I WOULD LIKE TO SEE AN INDEPENDENT TONY SEPARATED ACCOUNTING FIRM DO AN ACCOUNTING WHERE ALL THESE FEES ARE GOING TO, BECAUSE MY BLOCK WAS BUILT IN 1951, THE POLLS THAT ARE ON THAT BLOCK ARE FROM 1951. THEY'VE NEVER BEEN CHANGED OUT. SO IF WE'RE GETTING, PAYING ALL THESE FEES, THE ONE, THE BILL THAT I GOT ON MONDAY, I ONLY PAID $16 IN FEES. NOW I LIVE AT A VERY SMALL MODEST HOUSE. I CAN'T IMAGINE WHAT SOME OF Y'ALL ARE PAYING IN FEES EVERY MONTH AND EVERYBODY'S PAYING THEM. ANYBODY WHO HAS ENERGY, WE DON'T HAVE A CHOICE WHERE WE GET OUR ENERGY, WE HAVE TO GET IT FROM ENERGY. I COULD DECIDE IF I WANNA WALK, SHOP AT WALMART OR WANNA SHOP AT STEIN'S. I CAN DECIDE IF I WANNA GO TO DISCOUNT ZONE TO GET MY GAS OR I WANNA GO TO FULL SERVICE. WE DON'T HAVE A CHOICE WITH OUR ENTITY. AND SO TO ME, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE WHERE THESE FEES ARE GOING AND WHAT THEY'RE DOING TO REPAIR THESE THINGS. SO WE DON'T HAVE THE OUTAGES. WE ONLY HAVE 14 HOUSES ON MY BLOCK AND THREE OF US NOW HAVE GENERATORS BECAUSE THE POWER GOES OUT SO MUCH THAT WE, WE NEED GENERATORS SO THAT WE, WE CAN CONTINUE HAVING POWERS. SO WE APPRECIATE IT TIME. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ANYONE ELSE REGARDING ONLY ENERGY OR THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION FOR THIS PUBLIC COMMENT? ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. UM, WE HAVE INVITED, UM, PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSIONERS AND A REPRESENTATIVE FROM ENTERGY. AND THEY'RE HERE THIS MORNING TO, UM, DISCUSS SOME OF THE CONCERNS THAT I KNOW MANY OF OUR RESIDENTS HAVE HAD AND WANTED TO GIVE THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR WHAT RESIDENTS SAID BEFORE THEY RESPONDED. AND, UM, AS WE GET INTO IT, AND YOU'VE HEARD THAT WE HAVE NO, THE COUNCIL HAS NO PURVIEW OVER THE REGULATING ENERGY. UNLIKE ENTERGY NEW ORLEANS, WE DO NOT REGULATE ENERGY LOUISIANA. AND THAT'S A POPULAR MISCONCEPTION HERE. SO, UM, WE APPRECIATE YOU ALL COMING, EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO BE HERE THIS MORNING AND TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS. BUT, UM, WE APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE. SO, UH, TO ILLUSTRATE WHERE WE'VE BEEN IN JEFFERSON PARISH, I DO HAVE A FEW SLIDES TO SHOW BEFORE WE INVITE ENTERGY, UH, TO THE PODIUM. FIRST THEIR REPRESENTATIVE TO TALK ABOUT THE, THE 20 OUTAGES THAT WE'VE HAD IN JEFFERSON PARISH THIS YEAR. AND IS IT UP ON YOUR SCREENS? 'CAUSE I DON'T SEE IT YET. OH, SORRY, JUSTIN. UM, 20 OUTAGES SO FAR IN JEFFERSON PARISH THIS YEAR THAT, UH, REALLY SPAN THE PARISH FROM JANUARY UNTIL, UH, THE END OF JULY IS WHAT THESE NUMBERS COVER. AND WE CAME UP WITH THE 20. THERE'S AN UNOFFICIAL 20. THERE MAY HAVE BEEN MORE, THERE MAY HAVE BEEN LESS. I KNOW THERE WAS SOME YESTERDAY THAT HAPPENED. SO THIS WAS JANUARY 8TH, UH, IN THE BON AREA. 3 795 CUSTOMERS. JANUARY 8TH, 2200 CUSTOMERS. JANUARY 16TH, 848 CUSTOMERS. JANUARY 25TH, 2200. FEBRUARY 3RD, 800 FEBRUARY 17TH, 650. MARCH 9TH, 4,400 APRIL 2ND, 600 APRIL 10TH, 1100 MAY 16TH, 30,000 PLUS MAY 23RD, 5,000, MAY 28TH, 1000 PLUS JUNE 4TH, 3,500 JUNE 16TH, 2300 JUNE 17TH, 2200. JULY 2ND, 6,000. JULY 18TH, 1500 JULY 28TH, 6,300. JULY 29TH, 2300. JULY 30TH, 14,000. THAT WAS THE MOST RECENT ONE. THAT WAS SORT OF THE TIPPING POINT FOR ALL THIS. THAT'S A HUGE SWATH OF METTERY THAT WAS COVERED FROM THE LAKE TO SOUTH OF VETERANS TO THE 17TH STREET CANAL TO CAUSEWAY. AND, UM, WE HAD CONSTITUENTS SEND IN SOME OF THE PICTURES OF POLES IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD, WHICH IS, IS A PROBLEM ACROSS THE PARISH. WE KNOW A LOT OF OUR INFRASTRUCTURE IS OLD. A LOT OF OUR POLES ARE OLD. A LOT HAVE BEEN REPLACED, A LOT HAVE NOT. A LOT SHOULD BE REPLACED. AND THESE ARE SOME OF THOSE JUST FROM ACROSS THE PARISH WHERE I THINK WE'RE FAMILIAR WITH THE LIENS. YOU DRIVE DOWN ON EACH STREET IN JEFFERSON PARISH AND YOU'LL SEE A LOT OF LEANING POLES, YOU'LL SEE A LOT OF ROTTED POLES, UH, AT THE BOTTOM YOU'LL SEE POLES THAT ARE TETHERED TO EACH OTHER THAT, UH, NEED ATTENTION THAT HAVEN'T BEEN ADDRESSED. UH, YOU'LL SEE TRANSFORMERS THAT ARE BUCKLING POLES, UH, FROM THE TOP DOWN, DOESN'T LOOK LIKE THEY CAN SUPPORT THE WEIGHT THAT, UH, THEY'RE DESIGNED TO. UM, THIS JUST GOES ON AND ON. AND, UM, IT'S, THE POLES I THINK ARE A BIG PART OF IT BECAUSE WE ALREADY HAVE AN OLD PARISH AND OUR INFRASTRUCTURE MAKE US MAKE, LIKE THIS MAKES US LOOK OLD AND IT MAKES IT LOOK LIKE WE HAVE PROBLEMS. AND AESTHETICALLY, THESE ARE JUST UGLY. I THINK WE CAN ALL AGREE THAT THAT OLD POLES, THAT THAT LEAN AND AREN'T IN THE BEST SHAPE ARE NOT ATTRACTIVE. BUT YOU SEE ON MAJOR THOROUGHFARES WHERE THERE HAS BEEN A, A STEEL POLE PUT IN OR A COMPOSITE POLE PUT IN THAT IT LOOKS SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT AND IT LOOKS MUCH BETTER. OBVIOUSLY THAT'S MORE EXPENSIVE AND THAT'S NOT PART OF THE ENTIRE PLAN. FORGY AND I CREDIT ENERGY TWO FOR MEETING WITH ME ON MONDAY IN MY OFFICE TO TALK ABOUT SOME OF THESE ISSUES THAT WE'RE GONNA [00:50:01] TALK ABOUT TODAY AND TO HEAR SOME OF THE PLANS THAT THEY HAVE AHEAD AND SOME OF THE THINGS THAT ARE EITHER, EITHER IN PLACE AND MOVING FORWARD NOW, OR THINGS THAT ARE MOVING FORWARD IN THE FUTURE. MAN, THIS IS STILL GOING. UM, BUT YOU GET THE IDEA. I THINK THAT'S THE LAST SLIDE. AND, UM, IT ILLUSTRATES, I THINK PAINTS A PRETTY GOOD PICTURE WHERE WE ARE FROM AT LEAST JANUARY THROUGH JULY WITH POWER OUTAGES. AND IT SEEMS EXTRAORDINARY. IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S BEEN A LOT, I DON'T REMEMBER A YEAR LIKE THIS, OR A SIX SEVEN MONTH PERIOD LIKE THIS, THIS WHERE WE'VE SEEN SO MANY OUTAGES ACROSS THE AREA AND, UM, SOME ARE UNAVOIDABLE. A CAR WILL HIT A POLE, THINGS WILL HAPPEN. UM, BUT SOME ARE SUBSTATION FAILURES, SOME ARE, UM, ISSUES WITH POLES AND SOME OF THE EQUIPMENT ON POLES. AND, UM, WE JUST APPRECIATE, UH, YOU ALL BEING HERE AND LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING SOME OF THE ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS THAT WE HAVE. SO IF MICHELLE WOULD COME UP FROM ANGY FIRST AND THEN WE'LL INVITE, UH, DEVONTE LEWIS, PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSIONER AND ERIC SMETA PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSIONER TO SPEAK AS WELL. GREAT. GOOD MORNING COUNCIL MEMBERS, UM, FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE NOT YET HAD THE CHANCE TO MEET YET, UM, MY NAME IS MICHELLE BERG. I SERVE AS THE VICE PRESIDENT OF CUSTOMER SERVICE FOR ENTERGY, LOUISIANA. AND IN THAT CAPACITY, ME AND MY TEAM ARE HERE TO SERVE YOU, UM, SERVE OUR CUSTOMERS, SERVE OUR COMMUNITY, UM, PARTNERS, OUR COMMUNITY LEADERS, ALL ACROSS THIS GREAT STATE WHERE WE'VE GOT 1.1 MILLION CUSTOMERS ACROSS 58 PARISHES THAT WE SERVE. AND AND I WANNA BE VERY CLEAR AND SAY THIS UPFRONT, OUR CUSTOMERS ARE AT THE HEART OF EVERYTHING THAT WE DO, ALL THE DECISIONS THAT WE MAKE. AND WE DO NOT TAKE FOR GRANTED THE CRITICAL ROLE THAT WE PLAY IN THE COMMUNITIES THAT WE SERVE, BREATHING LIFE INTO THOSE COMMUNITIES BY POWERING THEM. AND, AND WE TAKE VERY STRONGLY THE RESPONSIBILITY THAT WE HAVE TO GENERATE AND DISTRIBUTE ELECTRICITY IN A SAFE, RELIABLE, AND AFFORDABLE WAY. AND, AND WANNA CERTAINLY CONVEY THAT TO THIS COUNCIL AND TO ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS WHO ARE HERE AND ARE WATCHING HERE ON TV. AND, AND THAT'S WHY I'M HERE THIS MORNING IS REALLY TO LET YOU KNOW THAT WE'RE COMMITTED TO PROVIDING OUR CUSTOMERS WITH THE SERVICE THAT THEY DESERVE. AND TO ACKNOWLEDGE, UM, NOT MINCE WORDS ABOUT IT, BUT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE'VE GOT SOME OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT. AND ANYTIME WITHOUT POWER IS TOO LONG, ESPECIALLY WITH THE HEAT WAVE THAT WE'VE BEEN RIDING THROUGH THIS PAST WEEK, YOU KNOW, RECORD, UH, BREAKING TEMPS AND HEAT ADVISORIES EVERY DAY, UM, WITHOUT POWER. WE RECOGNIZE THAT OUR CUSTOMERS ARE PUT IN A VERY CHALLENGING POSITION. AND, YOU KNOW, AS COUNCIL MEMBER WALKER, YOU TOOK THE TIME TO STEP THROUGH AND TO ILLUSTRATE FOR, FOR EVERYBODY WHO'S VIEWING THIS TODAY, WE HAVE HAD AN ABOVE NORMAL AMOUNT OF OUTAGES, PARTICULARLY ON THE EAST BANK OF JEFFERSON PARISH, BUT WE'VE ALSO HAD SOME ON THE WEST BANK AS WELL. AND, AND THESE OUTAGES HAVE BEEN CONCENTRATED FOR THE MOST PART, UM, IN METRIE AND IN KENNER. AND THAT THAT HAS CAUSED A, A PRONOUNCED EFFECT BECAUSE CUSTOMERS HAVE HAD REPEAT OUTAGES OVER AND OVER AGAIN. VERY SELECT NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS IN A VERY, UM, I GUESS SPECIFIC AREA OF THE PARISH. AND, AND WE RECOGNIZE THAT AND CERTAINLY WANNA PROVIDE SOME ANSWERS TODAY, NOT ONLY ABOUT WHAT HAS CAUSED SOME OF THESE OUTAGES, PARTICULARLY THE MORE IMPACTFUL OUTAGES, BUT WHAT ARE WE DOING ABOUT IT? UM, AND WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED FROM THOSE OUTAGES? THAT'S PART OF WHAT I WANNA TOUCH ON TODAY. UM, AND JUST TO START OFF, THE SYSTEM THAT WE OWN AND OPERATE IS A VERY COMPLEX SYSTEM. UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK MOST, MOST OF OUR CUSTOMERS SEE THE POLES AND THE WIRES THAT RUN ALONG STREETS, UH, IN CERTAIN PARTS OF JEFFERSON PARISH. THEY RUN BEHIND THE HOUSES, WHICH PRESENTS A PARTICULAR CHALLENGE FOR ACCESS FOR OUR TEAMS WHEN, WHEN PROBLEMS DO ARISE. BUT THAT REPRESENTS FOR US THE LAST MILE OF GETTING ELECTRICITY TO HOMES AND BUSINESSES FAR UPSTREAM OF THAT. WE'VE GOT A MACHINE REALLY, OF GENERATORS, ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION LINES, WHICH REPRESENT KIND OF THE SUPER HIGHWAY OF SORTS TO GET ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTED AND THEN SUBSTATIONS, ELECTRICAL SUBSTATIONS THAT MOST PEOPLE PROBABLY DON'T THINK MUCH ABOUT. BUT THOSE ARE THE OFF RAMPS FOR US TO GET POWER FROM THE, FROM THE ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION FACILITIES DOWN TO OUR DISTRIBUTION FACILITIES. AND THAT ALLOWS US TO MOVE POWER AROUND MUCH, MUCH MORE EASILY. AND I'LL I'LL SAY FOR THE MAJOR OUTAGES AND THOSE THAT ARE MOST IMPACTFUL. SO THE ONE THAT THAT COUNCIL MEMBER WALKER YOU HIGHLIGHTED MOST RECENTLY, WHERE WE HAD 14,000 CUSTOMERS OUT FOR ROUGHLY 50 MINUTES, UM, ACROSS A VERY WIDE SWATH OF, OF METRIE, THAT OUTAGE AND ALL OF THE OUTAGES THAT WERE MOST IMPACTFUL IN THE MONTH OF JULY DIDN'T INVOLVE POLES AND WIRES. AND I, AND I CERTAINLY APPRECIATE SOME OF THE PICTURES THAT YOU SHOWED EARLIER, ALL OF THOSE OUTAGES INVOLVED EQUIPMENT AT ONE OF OUR ELECTRIC SUBSTATIONS THAT PERFORMED AND OPERATED IN A WAY THAT WAS UNEXPECTED. AND THAT'S WHY WE SAW SO MANY CUSTOMERS IMPACTED BY THOSE OUTAGES. 'CAUSE WE ARE CONSTANTLY LOOKING FOR, UH, WHEN WE DO HAVE AN OUTAGE, HOW DO WE LIMIT THE NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS? BECAUSE THINGS ARE [00:55:01] GONNA HAPPEN, RIGHT? TREES ARE GONNA HIT LINES, CARS ARE GONNA HIT POLES. BUT WHEN THAT DOES HAPPEN, WE EITHER WANNA MINIMIZE THE OUTAGE OR PREVENT IT ALTOGETHER FROM IMPACTING A CUSTOMER. AND WHEN WE DO RUN INTO UNFORESEEN ISSUES AT OUR ELECTRIC SUBSTATIONS, BECAUSE THEY SERVE SO MANY CUSTOMERS, THAT'S WHY WE SAW SO MUCH OF AN IMPACT, UM, FROM THE, FROM THE OUTAGES THAT WE SAW, UM, IN JULY. SO I JUST WANNA SHOW, THIS IS THE DEVICE THAT FAILED IN THE MOST RECENT OUTAGE THAT WE SAW ON JULY 30TH AT OUR PARIS SUBSTATION. THIS IS A DEVICE THAT WE INSTALL ON OUR, ON OUR TRANSFORMERS, OUR LARGE POWER TRANSFORMERS AND AUTO TRANSFORMERS IN OUR SUBSTATIONS THAT PROTECTS THE TRANSFORMER. IF THERE'S AN ISSUE THAT MAY ARISE WITHIN THE TRANSFORMER. THIS DEVICE IS LESS THAN TWO YEARS OLD. OUR FIELD TEAMS INSTALLED AT LESS THAN TWO YEARS AGO. AND WE'RE STILL TRYING TO EVALUATE THE, THE FIELD TEAM, LET ME TAKE IT HERE TODAY SO WE COULD SHOW YOU AND PROVIDE ANSWERS TO ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS. BUT THIS IS THE DEVICE THAT OPERATED IN AN UNINTENDED WAY AND CAUSED THAT TRANSFORMER TO COME OFFLINE. AND THAT'S WHY WE SAW SO MUCH OF AN IMPACT FROM THAT LAST OUTAGE THAT HAPPENED, UM, BACK ON JULY 30TH. SO CERTAINLY WANTED TO SHOW THAT AND MAKE SURE THAT, THAT EVERYONE SAW, UM, EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED. THIS IS A, A PRESSURE MONITORING DEVICE THAT, UM, SENDS A SIGNAL OVER TO OUR PROTECTIVE RELAYS. SO SOME OF THE OTHER OUTAGE CAUSES. UM, THAT'S NOT ALL RIGHT. NOT ALL OF OUR OUTAGES HAVE BEEN DUE TO THAT, BUT SOME OF THE OTHER OUTAGE CAUSES. UM, CERTAINLY LIGHTNING. WE HAD A VERY IMPACTFUL COUPLE OF DAYS BACK, A FEW MONTHS AGO WHERE WE HAD A, A VERY SIGNIFICANT WEATHER SYSTEM MOVE THROUGH, UM, CROSS ARMS FAIL VEGETATION, I'LL CALL IT THREE OF THE OUTAGES IN THE, UM, IN THE LIST THAT COUNCIL MEMBER WALKED THROUGH, COUNCIL MEMBER WALKER WALKED THROUGH. UH, WERE RELATED TO PUBLIC INFLICTED DAMAGE WHERE CARS HIT POLES. UM, AND, AND OUR TEAMS GET DISPATCHED TO VERY QUICKLY, SAFELY AND EFFICIENTLY, UM, FIX THE DAMAGE AND REROUTE THE POWER. SO THERE'S A WHOLE VARIETY OF, OF, OF CAUSES, UM, THAT HAVE, HAVE RESULTED IN CUSTOMERS BEING INTERRUPTED FROM DOING WHAT IT IS THAT THEY SEEK TO DO AT THAT MOMENT IN TIME. SO MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHAT ARE WE DOING ABOUT IT? SO WE'VE GOT A TEAM OF ENGINEERS, FIELD PERSONNEL, UM, CERTAINLY THEIR FOCUS AND THEIR CHARGE IS TO DEVELOP PLANS TO IMPROVE THE OVERALL RELIABILITY OF OUR SYSTEM, WHICH IS PREVENTING THE OUTAGE FROM HAPPENING ON ANY GIVEN DAY. AND INCREASINGLY, WE'RE TURNING OUR FOCUS TO MAKING OUR SYSTEM A MORE RESILIENT SYSTEM. SO IN THE FACE OF THESE STORMS THAT WE KNOW A GROWING AND INTENSITY. AND IT'S NOT A QUESTION OF IF IT'S A QUESTION OF WHEN THAT OUR INFRASTRUCTURE WILL BE STANDING, RIGHT? OUR POLES WILL BE STANDING WITH WHATEVER MOTHER NATURE MAY, MAY COME AND BRING US, UM, IN THE FUTURE. SO JUST A FEW THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, I WANNA TOUCH ON IN TERMS OF WHAT OUR PROGRAMS LOOK LIKE. WE DO HAVE CYCLE TRIMMING WHERE WE HAVE CONTRACT CREWS THAT COME THROUGH BOTH ON TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION FACILITIES. AND THEY'RE LOOKING FOR DANGER TREES. THEY'RE LOOKING FOR TREES THAT ARE WITHIN WHAT WE CALL THE MINIMUM APPROACH DISTANCE AROUND OUR FACILITIES. UM, AND THEY'RE TRIMMING BACK THAT VEGETATION IN A, IN A WAY THAT'S RESPECTFUL, RIGHT? BECAUSE WE RECOGNIZE THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE, WE HAVE BEAUTIFUL TREE CANOPY THROUGH LARGE PARTS OF THE PARISH AND WE RECOGNIZE THAT THAT CAN BE A SENSITIVE SUBJECT, BUT WE DO NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR INFRASTRUCTURE'S PROTECTED AS WELL. WE ALSO HAVE ROUTINE INSPECTIONS THAT OUR PERSONNEL PERFORM. SUBSTATION INSPECTIONS, LINE INSPECTIONS, A SPECIFIC FOCUS ON POLE INSPECTIONS. SO WE HAD PARTNERED WITH A INDUSTRY LEADING VENDOR THAT ALL OF THE MAJOR UTILITIES USE, UM, WHO ARE DOING, I'D SAY VERY COMPREHENSIVE INSPECTIONS OF OUR POLES, RIGHT? THEY'RE NOT JUST LOOKING AT THEM, THEY'RE TAPPING THEM, THEY'RE DIGGING AROUND THE BASE OF THEM LOOKING FOR WHERE WE MAY NEED TO REPLACE A POLE PROACTIVELY OR BRACE THE POLE AND EXTEND THE LIFE OF THE POLE TO BE VERY CONSCIOUS OF AND MAKE SURE WE'RE RESPECTFUL OF NOT REPLACING SOMETHING, UM, PREMATURELY. UH, WE'VE GOT CERTAINLY TEAMS OF ENGINEERS AND FIELD PERSONNEL THAT WORK TOGETHER TO MEET ON A ROUTINE BASIS TO REVIEW THE OUTAGE INFORMATION. DRIFTWOOD'S A GREAT EXAMPLE. THAT'S ONE AREA WHERE WE'VE HAD A CONCENTRATED NUMBER OF OUTAGES. THEY'VE BEEN FOR A VARIETY OF CAUSES. SO THERE'S NOT A QUICK FIX, RIGHT? A ONE REPEAT OFFENDING CIRCUIT TO GO, UM, TO GO ATTACK THERE. BUT WE KNOW THAT THAT CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE HAS BEEN UNACCEPTABLE, RIGHT? IT'S BEEN AN EXPERIENCE THAT WE DON'T SEEK TO DELIVER TO THAT, TO THAT GROUP OF OUR CUSTOMERS THAT LIVE ON THE WESTERN PORTIONS OF METRIE AND, AND INTO EASTERN KENNER. SO WE'RE WORKING REALLY HARD ON A SPECIFIC SET OF PROJECTS FOCUSED ON IMPROVING THE OVERALL RELIABILITY OF ALL OF OUR FACILITIES, SUBSTATION AND DISTRIBUTION THAT FEED THAT NEIGHBORHOOD. AND I, I'D MENTION TOO, YOU KNOW, IT'S A DATA-DRIVEN APPROACH THAT WE USE. UM, YOU KNOW, WE DO THIS ROUTINE RELIABILITY INSPECTION, WE DO TREE TRIMMING, BUT WE HAVE GOT TO BALANCE FOR OUR [01:00:01] CUSTOMERS THAT, THAT THAT EQUATION, IF YOU WILL, OF RELIABILITY AND AFFORDABILITY BECAUSE WE RECOGNIZE WE'VE GOT 30% OF OUR CUSTOMERS LIVE BELOW THE POVERTY LINE. AND SO WE, WE CAN'T BUILD A SYSTEM THAT, THAT PEOPLE CAN'T PAY FOR. AND CERTAINLY HAVE HEARD SOME OF THE, THE FEEDBACK ON FEES AND RATES AND, AND, AND HOWEVER, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S VERY, UM, IMPORTANT TO US TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GOOD STEWARDS OF OUR CUSTOMERS' MONEY. SO AGAIN, SOME OF THE SPECIFIC PROJECTS WE'RE WORKING ON, THERE'S A FOCUS RIGHT NOW ON, ON DRIFTWOOD AND ON PORTIONS OF, OF METTERY WHERE WE'VE HAD REPEAT OUTAGES. UH, WE'VE GOT SOME, WHAT WE CALL SELF-HEALING NETWORKS THAT WE'LL BE DEPLOYING BETWEEN NOW THE END OF THE YEAR AND INTO THE FIRST QUARTER THAT SHOULD WE EXPERIENCE AN ELECTRICAL DISRUPTION, WE CALL IT A FAULT ON OUR SYSTEM, THE POWER WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY REROUTED. SO CUSTOMERS DON'T SEE THE IMPACT FROM THAT. AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE REALLY PROUD OF DEPLOYING ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES LIKE THAT ON THE GRID, UM, TO AGAIN, ELIMINATE THE OUTAGE FROM EVER HAPPENING IN THE FIRST PLACE FROM THE CUSTOMER'S POINT OF VIEW, RIGHT? AND THEN WE CAN GET OUT THERE AND, AND, AND, UM, AND REVIEW THE, THE DAMAGE THAT WAS CAUSED. CERTAINLY MORE CONVENTIONAL TYPES OF WORK THAT WE'VE GOT PLANNED. UM, YOU KNOW, I MENTIONED THE DRIFTWOOD WORK WHERE WE'VE WE'RE, WE'RE DOING A BLITZ IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD, REPLACING SOME UNDERGROUND CABLING, REPLACING SOME POLES THAT WE HAVE IDENTIFIED. AND SOME OF THEM MAY HAVE BEEN SOME OF THE POLES THAT YOU SHOWED, SOME POLES THAT WE HAVE IDENTIFIED NEED TO BE REPLACED. AND WE'RE GONNA BE GETTING AT THAT BETWEEN NOW AND, AND THE END OF THE YEAR. AND, YOU KNOW, I MENTIONED RESILIENCY EARLIER IN MY, IN MY REMARKS. UH, WE, WE ARE VERY PLEASED AND HAPPY TO BE MOVING FORWARD WITH A RESILIENCY PROGRAM THAT THE LOUISIANA PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION RECENTLY APPROVED FOR ENERGY, LOUISIANA. SO THIS PROGRAM, UH, WILL RUN OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT THREE TO FOUR YEARS, AND IT'S A SPECIFIC PROGRAM WITH A SPECIFIC FOCUS IN RENEWING OUR ASSETS WITH RESILIENCY IN MIND. SO WE KNOW WE'VE GOT INFRASTRUCTURE THAT CAN'T WITHSTAND 140 AND 150 MILE PER HOUR WIND LOADING. SO THE NEXT TIME IDA COMES AROUND, SO WE WANNA PROACTIVELY REPLACE THOSE POLES SO THAT NEXT TIME WE'RE CHALLENGED WITH A HURRICANE, THE SCALE AND THE, THE STRENGTH OF AN IDA OR AARA. WE KNOW THAT ANY INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WE PROACTIVELY REPLACE THAT WILL BE INSTALLED WITH A NEW DESIGN BASIS AND BE ABLE TO WITHSTAND THAT, THAT VERY POWERFUL STORM WILL BE STANDING IN THE FACE OF THE STORM. SO THAT AFTER RECOVERY, YOU KNOW, AFTER THE STORM PASSES AND WE ENTER THE RECOVERY PHASE, WE WILL BE ABLE TO GET THE LIGHTS ON QUICKER IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE STORM. AND FOR THE COMMUNITY, WE KNOW THAT THE COMMODITY THAT WE PROVIDE IS ESSENTIAL, RIGHT? THE COMMUNITY CANNOT GET BACK UP ON ITS FEET IF ESSENTIAL GOVERNMENTAL FACILITIES, FIRE STATIONS, PUMPING STATIONS, IF ALL THOSE FACILITIES DON'T HAVE ELECTRICITY. SO WE'RE PROUD TO BE MOVING FORWARD WITH THIS PLAN. WE APPLAUD THE LOUISIANA PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION FOR APPROVING IT. AND THIS PLAN OVER THE NEXT THREE TO FOUR YEARS, WE WILL BE REPLACING APPROXIMATELY 7,300 POLES ACROSS THIS PARISH, EXCLUDING GRAND ISLE. AND SO THAT'S GONNA MEAN NOT JUST IN THE FACE OF THE STORM, RIGHT? A DRAMATICALLY DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE, BUT IN THE DAY-TO-DAY FROM A RELIABILITY PERSPECTIVE, A DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE FOR OUR CUSTOMERS AS WELL. SO WE'RE VERY, VERY PROUD ABOUT THAT PROGRAM AND, AND MOVING FORWARD WITH THAT. AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'LL BE WORKING, UM, IN THE NEXT IMMEDIATE FEW WEEKS TO KICK OFF THOSE PROJECTS. UH, THE FIRST PROJECT'S TARGETED FOR, UM, FOR METRIE INTO KENNER, UM, ALONG AIRLINES. SO WE'LL BE WORKING IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD. UM, THERE. SO AGAIN, YOU KNOW, TO TO THE POINT OF THE PICTURES THAT WERE SHOWN EARLIER, IF ONE OF OUR CUSTOMERS HAS A CONCERN, ESPECIALLY A SAFETY CONCERN ABOUT ANY OF OUR FACILITIES, WHETHER IT BE A POLE THAT'S LEANING TOWARDS A HOUSE, A POLE THAT YOU, WITH YOUR NAKED EYE FEEL LIKE MAY BE COMPROMISED, WE ENCOURAGE EVERYBODY TO REACH OUT TO US. WE TAKE SAFETY RELATED CONCERNS, ALL CONCERNS, BUT ESPECIALLY SAFETY RELATED CONCERNS VERY SERIOUSLY. WE'LL GET SOMEBODY OUT THERE TO LOOK AT IT. JUST BECAUSE A POLE IS LEANING DOESN'T MEAN THAT IT'S A BAD POLE. UM, IT MAY NOT BE AESTHETICALLY PLEASING, BUT IT'S NOT NECESSARILY ALWAYS A SAFETY CONCERN. BUT WE CAN'T TAKE FOR GRANTED THAT IT MAY NOT BE. SO WE ARE HAPPY TO COME OUT, WE ENCOURAGE EVERYBODY TO CALL US AND THAT WAY WE CAN TAKE A LOOK AT IT. AND THEN FINALLY, I JUST WANNA MENTION BEFORE, CERTAINLY IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'M HAPPY TO TAKE THEM. YOU KNOW, OUR TEAM, OUR ENGINEERS, OUR FIELD PERSONNEL ARE MEMBERS OF THIS COMMUNITY. WE TAKE VERY STRONGLY THE OBLIGATION THAT WE HAVE TO PROVIDE SERVICES TO THIS PARISH AND WE'RE REALLY, REALLY PROUD OF THE ROLE THAT WE PLAY. AND SO WE HOPE TO CONTINUE TO HAVE VERY OPEN LINES OF DISCUSSION WITH THIS COUNCIL, CERTAINLY WITH OUR PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSIONERS, MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC, AND WORK TOGETHER TO CONTINUE TO IMPROVE THE OVERALL [01:05:01] EXPERIENCE FOR OUR CUSTOMERS HERE IN THE PARISH. SO WITH THAT, THAT'S ALL I HAVE IN TERMS OF PREPARED REMARKS, BUT CERTAINLY IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'M HAPPY TO COME BACK TO THE PODIUM OR CAN TAKE THEM NOW. COUNCILMAN BANANA, UNMUTE YOURSELF. NO, FOR BEING HERE TODAY. UM, YOU BROUGHT UP THE ISSUE OF SAFETY, AND THAT'S NUMBER ONE IN MY MIND. AND I'M GONNA SHARE WITH YOU SOME OF THE EXPERIENCES I'VE HAD WITH ENTITY OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS. AND, AND I CAN SHARE YOUR EMAIL CHAINS AND PROOF OF ALL OF THIS. AND THIS DIDN'T OCCUR ON THE MS. AKINS WATCH. IT WAS HIS PREDECESSOR. I HAD A CONSTITUENT, SEND ME A PICTURE OF A POLE WHOSE ORIGINAL DIAMETER WAS 20, WHAT? 26 INCHES. THE BOTTOM OF THIS POLE HAD ROTTED TO WHERE THE ORIGINAL DIAMETER IS THIS BIG. AND I HAVE PICTURES. I SENT IT TO ENERGY. OH, WE'RE ON IT. TWO WEEKS LATER. TWO WEEKS NOW. THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN A PRIORITY. THIS POLE HAD TWO TRANSFORMERS ON IT IN A MINOR THUNDERSTORM. YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED? THAT POLE WAS LAYING THE STREET. THANK GOD NO CAR PASSED. 'CAUSE THOSE TRANSFORMERS WOULD'VE KILLED SOMEBODY. THAT'S THE EXPERIENCES I'VE HAD IN MY OWN FRONT HOUSE. I'VE BEEN LIVING IN MY HOUSE 35 YEARS. THAT POLE WAS THERE LONGER THAN ME. I WAS CUTTING MY GRASS A YEAR AGO, AND I LOOKED UP AND ABOUT 20 FOOT UP THE POLE WAS CRACKED HORIZONTALLY IN HALF. I SENT IT TO ANGIE. YOU KNOW WHAT THE RESPONSE WAS? WELL, YEAH, IT'S CRACKED, BUT IT'S STABLE. IS THAT THE KIND OF RESPONSE WE WANNA GIVE TO OUR CITIZENS? THAT'S MY NUMBER ONE COMPLAINT FROM CITIZENS. EVERY DAY IS ABOUT CRACKED AND ERODED POLLS. HOW OFTEN DO Y'ALL INSPECT THE POLLS AND WHAT CRITERIA USE TO DETERMINE OR REPLACE IT? FOR OUR POLL, OUR DISTRIBUTION POLL INSPECTION FREQUENCY IS ONCE EVERY 10 YEARS. AGAIN, WE, WE PARTNER WITH AN INDUSTRY LEADING PARTNER, RIGHT? THAT ALL THE MAJOR UTILITIES WORK WITH. THE NAME OF THE COMPANY IS OSMOS. AND YOU MAY SEE, I'VE ACTUALLY SEEN THEM IN MY OWN JUST KIND OF JAUNTS AROUND TOWN, SEEN THEM, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE PARKED ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND THEY TYPICALLY HAVE TWO PERSONNEL WHO ARE PERFORMING A SERIES OF TESTS ON THE POLE, UM, TO EVALUATE THE INTEGRITY OF IT. SO, UM, THE FREQUENCY TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION IS, IS ONE IN, IN 10 YEARS, EVERY POLE IS PHYSICALLY INSPECTED, NOT JUST LOOKED AT. AND TO THE POINT THAT YOU RAISED EARLIER AROUND SOME OF THE CONCERNS THAT YOU'VE EXPRESSED AND, AND DIDN'T SEE THE ACTION THAT YOU WANTED TO SEE OR ANTICIPATED TO SEE, WE HAVE TO ANSWER FOR THAT. AND FOR THAT, I'M VERY SORRY. THAT IS NOT THE EXPERIENCE THAT WE SEEK TO DELIVER OUR TEAM. YOU MENTIONED JIMMY, WE WORK REALLY CLOSELY WITH OUR FIELD PARTNERS TO, UM, MAKE SURE THAT THAT GETS PRIORITIZED MM-HMM. IN A WAY THAT IT SHOULD BE AND IS EXPECTED TO BE. SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO PARTNER WITH MEMBERS OF THIS COUNCIL. CERTAINLY AS YOU RECEIVE CONSTITUENT CONCERNS, WE TAKE THOSE VERY, VERY SERIOUSLY. AND, AND AGAIN, WE WORK CLOSELY WITH OUR FIELD PARTNERS TO GET THEM EXPEDITED ON BEHALF OF THE CITIZENS JEFFERSON PARISH, I RESPECTFULLY WOULD REQUEST YOU THAT ONCE EVERY 10 YEARS IS NOWHERE NEAR ADEQUATE. ESPECIALLY YOU HAD IDA THREE YEARS AGO, OVER A HUNDRED MILE AN HOUR WINDS. WHEN WE WAITING 10 YEARS TO INSPECT POLES, THAT'S NOT ACCEPTABLE. I WOULD REQUEST THAT Y'ALL DO BETTER AND INCREASE YOUR INSPECTION RATE AND ACTUALLY DECREASE YOUR CRITERIA THAT YOU USE TO REPLACE POLES TO SOMETHING THAT'S MORE ACCEPTABLE. 'CAUSE OF WHAT WE HAVE NOW IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. AND I, I APPRECIATE THAT FEEDBACK. CERTAINLY AFTER IDA, I THINK WE REPLACED AROUND 2000 POLES IN THE PARISH, EXCLUDING RANDOL, WHICH HAD VERY, A UNIQUE TYPE OF IMPACT FROM THE STORM. UM, AND CERTAINLY AS WE PICK UP THE PACE AND RIGHT START GETTING OUR FEET UNDER US WITH THIS RESILIENCY PROGRAM AND REPLACE AGAIN, ANOTHER 8% OR SO OF THE POLES ACROSS THE PARISH, THAT'S WHAT WE HOPE IS THE FIRST PHASE OF WHAT WILL BE A MULTI-PHASE PROGRAM, UM, TO OVER THE COURSE OF TIME REALLY MODERNIZE AND BRING ALL OF OUR INFRASTRUCTURE UP TO A STANDARD THAT WE NEED IT TO BE AT SO THAT WE CAN WITHSTAND WHATEVER MOTHER NATURE'S BRINGING OUR WAY. SO I APPRECIATE THAT FEEDBACK. YEP. ANYONE ELSE? MS. BURKE? THANK YOU. UM, JUST WANT TO EMPHASIZE TOO THAT THE PEOPLE ON THE STREETS WHO DO THE WORK RESTORING POWER ARE AMAZING. UM, I DON'T WANNA MINIMIZE THROUGH THIS, THE FACT THAT YOU ALL REALLY DO A GOOD JOB GETTING POWER BACK ON QUICKLY, AND I THINK IT, IT GOES OUT TOO MUCH, BUT WHEN IT GOES OUT, IT TYPICALLY GETS BACK ON QUICKLY. AND I THOUGHT THIS WAS PRETTY IRONIC YESTERDAY ON MY STREET, MY BLOCK, UM, I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THIS COULD HAPPEN. WE DIDN'T LOSE POWER, BUT WE LOST EVERYTHING PLUGGED INTO A 220 VOLT OUTLET, INCLUDING AIR CONDITIONING ON THE WHOLE BLOCK. AND THE REST OF THE POWER WAS FINE, BUT ALL OF OUR ACS WENT OUT AND CREWS GOT OUT THERE WITHIN AN HOUR AND IT WAS FIXED WITHIN 30 MINUTES. SO IT IT, WHEN IT HAPPENS, YOU ALL ARE ON IT AND WE APPRECIATE THAT. BUT I KNOW THE WORK ON THE FRONT END, UH, CAN IMPROVE. AND YOU ALL HAVE ADMITTED THAT, AND I APPRECIATE THE MEETING ON MONDAY, UH, WHEN WE DISCUSS THE NUMBER OF THINGS, AND I KNOW YOU ALL ARE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, I HOPE THAT WE CONTINUE TO SEE THAT PROGRESS IN JEFFERSON PARISH. I APPRECIATE THE KUDOS AND WE'LL CERTAINLY PASS IT ALONG TO OUR FIELD TEAMS. UM, THERE'S A LOT OF SACRIFICE THAT COMES WITH BEING A LINE WORKER, ONE OF OUR SUBSTATION PROFESSIONALS. IT'S REALLY A CALLING, JUST LIKE ANY TYPE OF PUBLIC SERVICE. AND, AND WE'LL [01:10:01] CERTAINLY PASS THAT ALONG, UH, TO OUR TEAM THAT DOES WORK TIRELESSLY TO SERVE AS PARISH. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. UM, MR. ETT, PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSIONER WANNA GO FIRST OR WHOEVER WANTS TO GO FIRST, DOESN'T MATTER TO ME M BO FOR IT. SO NO, WE'RE IN GOOD SHAPE. UM, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE BEFORE I BEGIN THAT THE MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL HAVE MY PERSONAL TELEPHONE NUMBER. I'VE WORKED WITH EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU INDIVIDUALLY ON STUFF, AND I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE Y'ALL HAVE IT. IF YOU DON'T HAVE IT, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT TO ME AND I'LL MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE IT. UH, WE'VE WORKED TOGETHER DURING A NUMBER OF STORMS OVER THE LAST 16 YEARS AND, UH, WE'VE TEAM EFFORT THIS THING. SO I WANNA MAKE SURE YOU ALL HAVE A DIRECT CONTACT WITH ME. UM, I'M HERE TO REPORT TO THE COUNCIL ON A VARIETY OF ISSUES, INCLUDING A DISCUSSION ON THE RELIABILITY OF THE LOCAL ELECTRIC SYSTEM. BUT BEFORE I GO ANY FURTHER, I FELT LIKE TO TELL MR. AL THAT HE BROUGHT UP THE ISSUE OF, UH, UH, EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION FOR ENTER ENTERGY. AND I'D LIKE TO ENSURE HIM THAT ALL EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION WAS RESOLVED, UH, MORE THAN A DECADE AGO. THAT ALL OF THAT COMPENSATION IS PAID FOR BY THE STOCKHOLDERS OF ENERGY, AND IT IS NOT PAID FOR BY THE RATE PAYERS OF ENERGY AMONGST, AMONG, UH, STOCK OPTIONS, UH, AND, UH, THEIR SALARIES, ET CETERA, ARE PAID FOR BY THE STOCKHOLDERS AND ARE NOT ED ON THE, UH, BILLS OF THE ENERGY CONSUMER. SO YOU CAN REST ASSURED THAT THAT IS NOT CORRECT. UM, ANYWAY, I WILL ENGAGE ON AN EXPLANATION OF WHAT THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION DOES REGARDING THE ISSUE AND HOW WE BALANCE THE ISSUE BETWEEN THE UTILITIES AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC. AND ALL THE WHILE WE WAGE WAR WITH THE UTILITIES. UH, SIMPLY PUT, IT IS OUR EXPERTS VERSUS THE UTILITY COMPANY EXPERTS IN LEGAL VENUES. ITS ACCOUNTANTS VERSUS ACCOUNTANTS, ECONOMISTS VERSUS ECONOMISTS. THESE BATTLES TAKE PLACE WITHIN FEDERAL JURISDICTION. AND WHILE USUALLY WITHIN THE ADMINISTRATIVE LAW SYSTEM OF THE FEDERAL, UH, ELECTRIC REGULATORY COMMISSION, UH, THE FERC, UH, IN WASHINGTON DC THE BATTLES FREQUENTLY FALL, UH, IN THE NORMAL FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT, IN THE APPELLATE SYSTEM, AND SOMETIMES EVEN IN THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT. NOW, THERE ARE ALSO NUMEROUS ACTIONS WHERE WE HAVE JOINED TOGETHER WITH OTHER STATES IN FIGHTS AGAINST, UH, EXCESSIVE FEDERAL REGULATORY MATTERS. AND WE HAVE HAD GREAT SUCCESS IN WEST VIRGINIA VERSUS EPAA CASE RENDERED BY THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT, AS WELL AS THE RECENT DEFEAT OF THE CHEVRON DEFERENCE, UH, RULE. NOW, I'M GLAD TO REPORT THAT WE ARE REGULARLY SUCCESSFUL AND THAT IT IS TO THE FINANCIAL BENEFIT OF THE LOUISIANA CONSUMER. NOW, TODAY, I'VE BROUGHT TO THE COUNCIL CHAIR AND TO SHARE WITH THE REST OF THE COUNCIL A SAMPLE OF SOME OF THE PUBLIC RECORD OF OUR LEGAL LE UH, RECENT LEGAL ACTIONS AND OUR REGULATORY STRATEGY IN DEALING WITH ENTERGY, LOUISIANA, AS WELL AS CLECO SWEPCO, AND THE 10 RURAL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVES WITHIN OUR STATE. AND AFTER HIS REVIEW OF THESE DOCUMENTS, I ASKED THAT HE SHARE THIS WORK PRODUCT WITH OTHER MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL FOR THE REVIEW. AND THESE ARE IN THE BOXES THAT I BROUGHT OVER TODAY. THESE ARE RELEVANT TO, UH, THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY DOCKET, THE, UH, RELIABILITY DOCKET, AND TO THE, UH, SETTLEMENT THAT WE ARE GOING TO TALK ABOUT REGARDING THE GRAND GULF SERIES SETTLEMENT THAT WE'RE GONNA BE VOTING ON NEXT WEEK. NOW, IN, AND THIS IS A PORTION OF IT, THE ACTUAL, UH, VOLUME OF DOCUMENTS WOULD'VE REQUIRED A PENSKE TRUCK. SO, IN THE INTEREST OF THE CURRENT STATUS OF PROGRESS IN THE SYSTEM, IMPROVEMENT HAS BEEN PRECIPITATED BY THE RECENT ELECTRICITY OUTAGES OCCURRING WITH JEFFERSON PARISH. THIS IS UNDERSTANDABLE AS NOBODY WANTS TO BE WITHOUT SERVICE. NOW, ELECTRIC SYSTEMS CAN BE LOOKED AT AT MUCH LIKE HOW PARISH STREETS ARE DURING RAIN EVENTS. STREETS ARE USED IN JEFFERSON PARISH AS PART OF THE WATER MANAGEMENT RETENTION SYSTEM. RAIN WATER IS ACCUMULATED IN THE STREETS AND THEN ALLOWED TO BE RECOVERED, PUMPED IN THROUGH THE SYSTEM AND DISPOSED OF. DURING SUCH EVENTS, THERE CAN BE TEMPORARY STREET FLOODING AND AN INCONVENIENCE TO THE PUBLIC, BUT WATER THAT IS CONTAINED WITHIN THE STREETS DURING THAT FLOODING DOES SERVE A PURPOSE AS IT DOES NOT FLOOD PEOPLE'S HOMES. NOW IN THE SAME WAY, ELECTRICITY SYSTEMS HAVE PROTECTIONS, AS YOU JUST SAW, MANY TIMES WHEN THE POWER GOES OFF IN CERTAIN AREAS, IT'S BECAUSE THERE'S A BUILDUP OF POWER OVERLOAD. IT HAS TO BE DISCONNECTED, OTHERWISE IT WOULD BE PERMANENTLY DAMAGING THE SYSTEM CAUSING GREATER COSTS TO THE PUBLIC. NOW, IT'S PREFERABLE THAT THERE BE A DISCONNECT, DISCHARGING THE OVERLOAD. AND THIS TAKES PLACE BEFORE SIGNIFICANT FINANCIAL DAMAGE TO THE REST OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE TAKES PLACE. NOW, SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE CAN COST MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF MONEY AND ULTIMATELY CAUSE A GREATER PERSONAL AND FINANCIAL BURDEN TO THE PUBLIC. NOW, FOR EXAMPLE, DURING OUR LAST HURRICANE, THE ENTIRE REGION LOST POWER, THUS NECESSITATING A TECHNICAL [01:15:01] BLACK START FOR THE ENTIRE REGION. THIS REQUIRED CERTAIN SMALL ZONES BE ADDED BACK TO THE SYSTEM ONE BY ONE. IF NOT DONE IN THIS WAY, IT WAS QUITE POSSIBLE THAT THE ENTIRE SYSTEM COULD HAVE BEEN BURNED OUT, WHICH WOULD'VE REQUIRED AN INCREASE IN RECOVERY TIME BY MONTHS, NOT BY DAYS. NOW ACTIONS TAKEN BY UTILITY COMPANIES WERE ABLE TO RESTORE POWER IN THIS ENTIRE METROPOLITAN AREA WITHIN A PERIOD OF JUST A FEW DAYS. NOW, THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION IS AWARE OF SIGNIFICANT DISCUSSION ABOUT IMPROVEMENT TO INFRASTRUCTURE. THE COMMISSION HAS BEEN AGGRESSIVELY WORKING ON PLANS FOR SUCH IMPROVEMENT FOR THE ENTIRE STATE UNDER A RELIABILITY DOCKET OF WHICH YOU JUST HEARD MENTION OF COPIES OF WHICH ARE AVAILABLE WITHIN THE DOCUMENTS THAT ARE BEING PRESENTED TODAY TO THE CHAIRMAN. NOW, AFTER MUCH STUDY AND ANALYSIS, THE COMMISSION HAS AUTHORIZED ENTERGY, LOUISIANA TO SPEND UPWARDS OF $1.9 BILLION IN INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENT OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS. THIS WILL BE ON POLLS, TRANSMISSION, UH, DISTRIBUTION WIRES, ET CETERA. NOW THIS WILL INCLUDE THE REMOVAL OF DILAPIDATED DISTRIBUTION POLES AND TRANSMISSION TRANSMISSION TOWERS, AND REPLACE THEM WITH THE CURRENT TOP TIER EQUIPMENT. IN ADDITION TO THIS GENERAL CONCEPT OF AUTHORIZATION, ENTERGY WILL TAKE ON A NEW LEVEL OF RESPONSIBILITY BY PAYING A FINE BACK TO THE RATE PAYERS FOR ANY FAILURE OF THE NEW INFRASTRUCTURE, THUS CREATING A DEFACTO INSURANCE MECHANISM FOR FUTURE FAILURES. NOW, EVEN BEYOND THIS NEW PLAN, ENTERGY, UH, HAS BEEN SUBJECT TO, UM, RULES OF THE COMMISSION ORDERED BY THE COMPANY, UH, RULES OF THE COMMISSION ORDERING THE COMPANY TO PROVIDE TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR ITS SPENDING ON THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM. NOW, THE METRICS BY WHICH THE RELIABILITY IS MEASURED IS REFERRED TO IN THE SYSTEM, UH, AS AN INDEX CALLED SADIE. NOW, AS WELL AS SADIE, THERE IS ANOTHER INDEX REFERRED TO AS SAFETY. NOW, SAFETY, UH, IS, UH, THE AVERAGE NUMBER OF INTERRUPTIONS THAT THE CUSTOMER WOULD EXPERIENCE. SADIE IS THE AVERAGE NUM DURATION OF EACH CONSUMER, UH, CUSTOMER SERVED. NOW, THE COMMISSION HAS SET SADIE AND SAFETY, UH, BENCHMARKS FOR ENTERGY, LOUISIANA THAT ARE HIGHER THAN ANY OTHER UTILITY REGULATED BY THE COMMISSION. AND THESE STANDARDS REQUIRE SIGNIFICANT MONETARY PENALTIES IF ENTERGY, LOUISIANA DOES NOT MEET THESE HEIGHTENED BENCHMARKS. NOW, TO THIS DATE, ENTERGY, LOUISIANA HAS ALREADY PAID CUSTOMERS THROUGH CREDITS OVER $6 MILLION FOR NOT MEETING THESE BENCHMARKS. AND SO FAR THIS YEAR, ENERGY WILL BE PAYING AN ADDITIONAL $4 MILLION IN CREDITS. NOW, IT SHOULD NOT BE OVERLOOKED THAT THE COMMISSION DOES HAVE AN ONGOING ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM THAT PROVIDES FUNDING FOR PUBLIC ENTITIES, INCLUDING VARIOUS GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS WITHIN JEFFERSON PARISH. I WOULD LIKE TO MENTION THAT IT HAS BEEN AN ABSOLUTE PLEASURE OVER THE LAST NINE YEARS OR SO OF THE OPERATION FOR ME THROUGH MY OFFICE TO PROVIDE OVER $10 MILLION INTO JEFFERSON PARISH GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS HELPING THE BOTTOM LINE TO BE REDUCED IN YOUR ENERGY COSTS. AND I LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING THESE GRANTS TO HELP CUT THE COST OF ENERGY TO GOVERNMENT, WHICH WILL ALLOW THE GOVERNMENT TO REDUCE THE BURDEN ON THE PUBLIC FOR WHICH THEY SERVE. NOW AS WE MOVE FORWARD INTO THE FUTURE, WE HAVE RECENTLY ENTERED INTO A TECHNICAL SETTLEMENT THAT IS AWAITING A VOTE OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION, IN WHICH WE HAVE SET FORTH A FORMULA RATE PLAN FOR THE FUTURE REGARDING ENTERGY, LOUISIANA, AS WELL AS A SETTLEMENT REGARDING MULTIPLE LITIGATION ACTIONS OF WHICH THOSE DOCUMENTS WILL EXPLAIN, UH, AGAINST ENTERGY BY THE COMMISSION. AND I'M PLEASED TO REPORT THAT UPON APPROVAL BY THE COMMISSION NEXT WEEK, THIS SHOULD RESULT IN RATE CREDITS BACK TO ENERGY LOUISIANA CO, UH, CONSUMERS OF APPROXIMATELY $250 MILLION OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS. NOW, AS WE MOVE FORWARD INTO RESILIENCE PLANNING OF THE NEW INFRASTRUCTURE, MY FOCUSED CONCERN IS ON PROPER SPENDING. I WANT THE COMPANY TO MAKE SURE THAT IT CORRECTS CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND FAILING INFRASTRUCTURE AS NECESSARY TO SECURE IMPROVEMENTS OF RELIABILITY FOR THE SYSTEM. WE SHOULD ALWAYS KEEP IN MIND THAT EVERY DOLLAR SPENT BY A UTILITY BY UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT LAW IS ALLOWED TO BE RECOVERED BY THAT UTILITY FROM THE RATE PAYERS, AND IT IS ALWAYS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE CITIZENS TO HAVE THE UTILITIES NOT OVERSPEND AS THAT WOULD DIRECTLY RESULT IN UNNECESSARY RATE INCREASES. NOW, WHILE IT IS NORMALLY ANIMAL INTERFERENCE, THE FAILURE OF GOVERNMENTS TO CONFORM TO STATE LAW REGARDING TREE TRIMMING OR ENGINEERING LIMITATIONS THAT CAUSE TEMPORARY OUTAGES, THE GOAL OF ANY SYSTEM IS THE ABILITY TO BOUNCE BACK FROM AN OUTAGE. NOW WE CONTINUE TO WORK WITH ALL UTILITIES OF [01:20:01] ANY SERVICE, WHETHER IT ELECTRICITY, GAS, WATER, ET CETERA, TO FOCUS ON THE ABILITY TO BOUNCE BACK. NOW YOU CAN CALL A CLEAR DISTINCTION, UH, TO, UH, MINE IF YOU JUST MONITOR THE DIFFERENTIAL BETWEEN THE RECOVERY IN TEXAS REGARDING THE RECENT HURRICANE BARREL, A CATEGORY ONE TROPICAL SLASH TROPICAL STORM, AND A STORM THAT WE HAVE HAD IN LOUISIANA MANY TIMES WITH QUICK RECOVERY. THE WEEKS OF OUTAGE AND SUFFERING OF THE PUBLIC IN TEXAS OCCUR BECAUSE OF A DIFFERENCE IN HOW OUR COMMISSIONS REGULATE UTILITIES. THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION HERE OPERATES IN AN EFFORT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PUBLIC IS ADEQUATELY AND RAPIDLY PROTECTED AND SERVED. I WANT TO CLOSE BY SHARING WITH YOU A CURRENT STORY JUST FROM LAST NIGHT FROM CALIFORNIA. NOW, THIS IS A, THAT IS A STATE WITH SOME OF THE HIGHEST UTILITY COSTS IN THE COUNTRY, APPROXIMATELY FOUR TIMES THE COST OF WHAT LOUISIANA CITIZENS PAY. NOW, THOSE COST IN LOUIS AND CALIFORNIA CONTINUE TO CLIMB BECAUSE OF THE WAY CALIFORNIA REGULATES UTILITIES. THE STATE'S BIG UTILITIES ARE SPENDING BILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO BURY POWER LINES AND WHILE AT THE SAME TIME, MOVING RAPIDLY AWAY FROM FOSSIL FUELS BY BUILDING OUT MASSIVE SOLAR AND WIND FARMS AND MULTIPLE NEW TRANSMISSION LINES TO MOVE THAT POWER. AND AS A RESULT, A RESIDENT NAMED JESSICA SIMPSON, ER, WHO LIVES IN BORREGO SPRINGS NEAR SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, REPORTED REPORTED THAT HER ELECTRICITY BILL FOR HER 2000 SQUARE FOOT RANCH STYLE HOME HAS RISEN. HER BILL IN JUNE HAS HIT $1,873 PER MONTH, AND HER RENT IS $1,200 PER MONTH. NOW, AS WE TAKE ACTION TO CORRECT INCONVENIENCES, WE NEED TO RECOGNIZE THAT LOUISIANA IS BLESSED BY ITS MINDSET OF PROTECTING CONSUMERS AND CREATING EFFECTIVE REGULATION TO PROVIDE CONSUMERS THE LOWEST PRICED ELECTRICITY AVAILABLE AND TO CONTINUE TO DO SO. WHILE THERE MAY BE ALWAYS TEMPORARY INTERRUPTIONS OF SERVICE, AS THAT IS THE NATURE OF ALL SYSTEMS, WE WILL FIGHT TO ELIMINATE THE POTENTIAL OF RATION POWER BROWNOUTS IN BLACKOUTS EXPERIENCED IN OTHER STATES, AND UNNECESSARY RISE IN THE COST OF UTILITIES. AND THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE HERE TODAY, AND I'M GLAD TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS Y'ALL HAVE. I THINK WE'LL, WE'LL LET COMMISSIONER LEWIS SPEAK TOO, AND THEN WE'LL HAVE QUESTIONS FOR SURE AS YOU LIKE. OKAY, GOOD MORNING EVERYONE. DEVONTE LEWIS. I SERVE ON THE LOUISIANA PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION, AND I REPRESENT THE THIRD DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA, WHICH HAS THE WEST BANK SIDE OF, UH, THIS PARISH. UH, I'VE BEEN ON THE COMMISSION NOW JUST ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF. UH, AND SO I WANNA THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO JOIN YOU HERE TODAY TO TALK ABOUT THE WORK THAT I BELIEVE IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT, UH, WHICH IS IMPROVING THE RELIABILITY OF OUR GRID. I HAVE LISTENED, UH, INTENTLY TO, UH, YOUR QUESTIONS, UH, COUNCILMAN WALKER, THE THE QUESTIONS FROM, UM, CONSTITUENTS AND PEOPLE OF THIS PARISH AND OF THIS STATE. AND SO I WANT TO, UH, FIRST ADDRESS THOSE CONCERNS AND THEN GET TO SOME OF THE PROACTIVE WORK THAT I BELIEVE THE COMMISSION SHOULD TAKE AND THE WORK THAT I'M ASKING MY COLLEAGUES, UH, TO EMBARK ON WITH ME. WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE RELIABILITY OF THE GRID IN LOUISIANA, I THINK IT'S, IT'S RIGHT THAT WE GROUND OURSELVES IN SOME TRUTHS ABOUT THIS GRID. UH, LOUISIANA HAS THE 47TH RELIABLE GRID IN THE NATION. UH, THAT'S UNACCEPTABLE. WHEN WE TALK ABOUT OUTAGES FROM THE EIAI WANT EVERYONE TO UNDERSTAND THIS. IN 2021, WE'RE LOOKING AT THE AVERAGE INTERRUPTION, DURATION AND FREQUENCY PER CUSTOMER. AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, THE AVERAGE WAS 1.3 OUTAGES FOR SEVEN HOURS FOR THAT YEAR IN 2021 IN LOUISIANA, IT WAS 3.3 OUTAGES FOR, FOR 80 HOURS PER YEAR. THAT'S UNACCEPTABLE. AND THE COMMISSION, I WILL BE HONEST, I DON'T THINK WE HAVE DONE OUR JOB CORRECTLY IN HOLDING ENTERGY AND ALL OF OUR UTILITIES ACCOUNTABLE FOR THAT PARTICULAR REASON. UH, WHEN WE ALSO LOOK AT, UM, WHAT WE WERE DISCUSSING, THE SAFETY SADIE SCORES AND THE PENALTIES, THEY ARE A GREAT START. UH, BUT I WOULD WARN YOU THAT SAFETY SADIE, THE WAY IT IS, IS IT'S THE S STANDS FOR SYSTEM, WHICH MEANS WHAT WE ARE DOING IS WE ARE LOOKING AT THE OVERALL SYSTEM OF HOW A UTILITY PERFORMS. SO THEREFORE, IF THEY IMPROVE THE GRID, LET'S SAY IN BOSIER PARISH, AND THEY IMPROVE A FEEDER, UH, THAT COULD DRASTICALLY CHANGE THEIR SYSTEM SCORE. UH, SO AT OUR AUGUST 14TH MEETING NEXT WEDNESDAY, I WILL HAVE A DIRECTIVE AND A, A NEW PROCEEDING OPENING OUR, OUR RULEMAKING TO NOT ONLY MODERNIZE THE PENALTIES OF OUR SAFETY SADIE SCORES, BUT ADD ADDITIONAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS THAT WE WOULD CALL SEMI, UH, C LEAD AND CADDY. AND WHAT THIS WOULD INCLUDE IS NOW PENALIZING [01:25:01] THEM FOR CUSTOMERS EXPERIENCING LONG DURATION OUTAGES FOR WE, THEY WILL PENALIZE THEM FOR HOW LONG CUSTOMERS EXPERIENCES OUTAGES AND HOW MANY TIMES CUSTOMERS EXPERIENCE OUTAGES. SO WE'RE NOT ONLY LOOKING AT THE SYSTEM LEVEL, WE'RE GOING TO, I WANT US, AND I BELIEVE WE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT HOW INDIVIDUAL CUSTOMERS ARE EXPERIENCING THIS AT THE DISTRIBUTION LEVEL, BECAUSE I THINK ONE OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE CAN SEE IS IF WE ARE LOOKING AT THEIR SYSTEM, UH, THEY CAN MAKE A LOT OF IMPROVEMENTS OUTSIDE OF JEFFERSON PEARSON NOT PAY A PENALTY, BUT I WANT TO BE ABLE TO LOOK AT ZIP CODES AND CENSUS BLOCKS TO SAY CERTAIN NEIGHBORHOODS IF THEY'RE EXPERIENCING CERTAIN OUTAGES FOR A CONSISTENT AMOUNT OF TIME, UH, THAT THEY WOULD THEN BE PENALIZED. AND SO I HOPE MY COLLEAGUES WILL, UH, JOIN ME IN THAT PUSH NEXT WEDNESDAY ON MY DIRECTIVE AND, AND PASS IT. UH, ANOTHER INITIATIVE THAT THAT DIRECTIVE WOULD INCLUDE THAT WE HAVE LOOKED AT AND I'VE TALKED WITH MY COLLEAGUES IN MICHIGAN, UM, IS BILL CREDITS FOR POWER OUTAGES. UH, RIGHT NOW IN THE STATE OF MICHIGAN APPROVED BY THE COMMISSION, EACH TIME YOU EXPERIENCE AN OUTAGE, YOU GET $38 CREDIT OFF YOUR BILL. THEY ARE ALSO ADDING REQUIREMENTS WHERE YOU WOULD GET A CREDIT PER HOUR THAT YOU ARE OUT TO INCENTIVIZE THE UTILITIES, NOT ONLY TO PRIOR PRIORITIZE INVESTMENTS UPFRONT, BUT ALSO THE WORK BEHIND. AND SO, UH, I'M HOPEFUL THAT THE COMMISSION AND, AND I'M PUSHING THE COMMISSION TO TAKE THE LEAD, UM, AS OUR COLLEAGUES IN MICHIGAN DID TO INVESTIGATE AND LOOK EXACTLY AT, UM, THOSE MATTERS. WHEN IT COMES TO THE POLLS, WHICH A LOT OF PEOPLE TALK ABOUT, WE DO HAVE, UH, TWO OPEN PROCEEDINGS RIGHT NOW THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT, UH, AROUND THE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE POLL OWNERS AND THE POLL ATTACHER. UM, AS WELL AS THAT TIMELINE AND GRIT MAINTENANCE OF THOSE POLLS. UH, I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE ONE OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE DO FACE IS, UH, A LOT OF TIMES AND, AND, AND, AND, AND I THINK, UH, TO THE COMMISSIONER'S POINT IS YOU MAY HAVE A UTILITY THAT OWNS THE POLL AND A TELECOMMUNICATION COMPANY THAT OWNS THE ATTACHMENT AND THEY DON'T COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER. SO ONE REPLACES THE POLE, ONE REPLACES THE ATTACHMENT. THAT'S WHY YOU SEE A LOT OF THESE HALF CUT IN POLLS BECAUSE THERE IS NO REQUIREMENT REALLY FOR THEM TO WORK WITH ONE ANOTHER. UH, SO THIS RULEMAKING THAT WE ARE EMBARKING ON IN THOSE DOCUMENTS ARE ON OUR WEBSITE, I THINK WOULD SIGNIFICANTLY HELP, UH, AND IMPROVE. LASTLY, I WILL TALK ABOUT THIS 1.9 RESILIENCY GRIT HEARTENING PLAN THAT WE'VE HEARD SIGNIFICANTLY ABOUT TODAY. UM, I VOTED NO AGAINST THIS PLAN, AND I'M GOING TO EXPLAIN TO YOU WHY I DO NOT BELIEVE THIS PLAN OFFERS RESILIENCY FOR THE PEOPLE OF LOUISIANA. I DID NOT BELIEVE THIS PLAN WAS SIGNIFICANT IN GRID HEARTENING, UH, WE HARDLY LOOKED AT AND EVALUATED, UH, BEARING LINES UNDERGROUND ONLY ABOUT A HUNDRED, UH, MILES WORTH OF, OF, OF TRANSMISSION LINES WOULD BE BURIED UNDERGROUND. WE DID NOT LOOK AT GRID ENHANCING TECHNOLOGIES BECAUSE OFTENTIMES WHEN WE TALK ABOUT POLE VIABILITY AND RELIABILITY, WE'RE HOPEFULLY TALKING ABOUT PO UH, WIRES AND POLES. THERE'S A LOT OF EMERGING TECHNOLOGY, UH, THAT QUITE FRANKLY DID NOT MAKE IT IN THIS PROPOSAL. UH, WE ALSO RUSHED THIS PROPOSAL. UH, ENTERGY FILED THIS UPDATED $1.9 MILLION BILLION DOLLAR PLAN ON MONDAY, AND THE COMMISSION TOOK A VOTE ON FRIDAY. AND I SIGNIFICANTLY ASKED MY COLLEAGUES TO DELAY THIS VOTE TO GIVE THE PEOPLE OF LOUISIANA THE OPPORTUNITY, NOT ONLY TO REVIEW IT, BUT TO TALK ABOUT IT. BUT I WAS OUTVOTED. UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WAS PUSHING EXTREMELY HARD FOR WAS WHILE WE PUT PENALTIES ON THE BACK END, I BELIEVE THEY SHOULD HAVE PUT SKID IN THE GAME ON THE FRONT END. UH, AND SO WHAT I WAS PUSHING FOR IS WHAT WE CALL A DECREMENT, WHICH WOULD'VE FORCED ENTERGE TO LOWER THEIR PROFIT MARGINS. AND THE ONLY WAY THEY WOULD EVER GET THEIR PROFIT MARGINS BACK UP IS IF THEY FINISHED ALL OF THESE PROJECTS ON TIME AND UNDER BUDGET. WE DIDN'T DO THAT. AND SO I REALLY DO THINK IT IS IMPORTANT, UM, FOR THE COMMISSION TO OPEN UP OUR PROCESSES MORE SO WE HEAR DIRECTLY, UH, FROM PEOPLE ABOUT THE WORK THAT I BELIEVE THAT WE SHOULD DO. BUT I WILL MAKE THE COMMITMENT, AS I'VE DONE TO ALL OF THE OTHER NINE PARISHES THAT I DO REPRESENT THAT MY OFFICE IS OPEN. UH, WE TAKE EVERY CONSTITUENT COMPLAINT. I I I OPEN MYSELF THAT IF YOU RECEIVE A COMPLAINT ABOUT A UTILITY, PLEASE SEND IT TO OUR OFFICE. WE WILL WORK HAND IN HAND WITH THOSE UTILITIES AS WELL. UH, BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT, UH, THAT THE COMMISSION GET TO DOING WHAT I BELIEVE WE SHOULD DO, WHICH IS FULFILLING OUR TITLE A COMMISSION THAT SERVES THE PUBLIC. UH, AND THAT'S THE WORK THAT I'M ATTEMPTING TO DO. AND I, I WELCOME, UH, YOUR QUESTIONS AND I THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME, UH, TO BE HERE TO TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE PRIORITIES, UH, THAT MY TEAM AND MY OFFICE IS WORKING ON, ON RELIABILITY, UH, FOR THIS PARISH AND ALSO FOR THIS STATE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. AND MR. ER, IF YOU'D LIKE TO GET UP SO WE CAN ASK WHOEVER'S GOT A QUESTION FOR WHOMEVER UP THERE, COUNCILMAN BONANNO GENTLEMEN, HAVE Y'ALL EVER CONSIDERED HIRING A THIRD PARTY TO COME IN AND DO A COMPLIANCE AUDIT OF ENERGY'S MAINTENANCE PROGRAM IN JEFFERSON PARISH TO [01:30:01] GIVE THE PEOPLE AN INDEPENDENT LOOK AT WHETHER OR NOT THEY COMPLYING WITH YOUR RULES AND, AND DOING A PROPER JOB OF MAINTAINING THEIR, THEIR INFRASTRUCTURE? UM, SURE. I'LL TAKE IT FIRST. YEAH. UH, IN FACT, UH, COUNCILMAN, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, UH, CONTINUING, UH, COMPLIANCE AUDITS ON ALL OF OUR DOCKETS, AND THEY CAN FOCUS A PART OF IT ON JEFFERSON PARIS WITHOUT ANY DIFFICULTY. I WOULD LIKE TO JUST MENTION THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN, UH, THE POLITICS OF, UH, COMMISSIONER LEWIS AND ME. I MEAN, COMMISSIONER, I'M A CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN COMMISSIONER LEWIS IS A PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRAT. WE HAVE GINORMOUS DIFFERENCES OPINIONS ON HOW WE LOOK AT THIS. I'VE BEEN ON THE COMMISSION FOR 16 YEARS, HE'S BEEN ON THE COMMISSION LESS THAN A YEAR. AND HOW WE APPROACH, YOU KNOW, THINGS ARE DIFFERENT. THAT'S WHY WE HAVE FIVE COMMISSIONERS, WE VOTE DIFFERENTLY. THERE'S A LOT OF THREE, TWO VOTES, AND IT'S JUST THE WAY POLICY. I IMAGINE Y'ALL DON'T VOTE THE SAME WAY ALL THE TIME EITHER. SURE. SO IT'S, OR DO YOU, I DON'T KNOW, , BUT THERE YOU GO. BUT I WOULD IMAGINE THAT THERE'S A DIFFERENCE OF OPINION, AND I THINK THAT'S WHY THEY CALL IT DEMOCRACY. SO, BUT WE ARE INHERENTLY, UH, LOOKING OUT FOR THE CONSUMER AT ALL TIMES. IT'S JUST A DIFFERENCE OF OPINION ON HOW WE SEE IT AND HOW WE ACHIEVE THESE GOALS. AND I WOULD LIKE TO MENTION THAT THERE'S A BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TOPOGRAPHY RATE OF INCIDENTS, THINGS AND THREATS BETWEEN THE STATE OF LOUISIANA AND THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, BECAUSE THEY DON'T GET HURRICANES, THEY DON'T HAVE, THEY GOT PROBLEMS. EVERYBODY'S GOT THEIR OWN DIFFERENT SET OF STANDARDS TO DO. BUT, UH, WE'RE GLAD TO ALWAYS, UH, IDENTIFY ELEMENTS THAT JEFFERSON PARISH FEELS IS IMPORTANT TO FOCUS ON. AND WE CAN DIRECT OUR AUDITORS, OUR ECONOMISTS, AND WE CAN FOCUS THEM ON ISSUES FA AFFECTING THE PARISH. WELL, FIRST OF ALL, THANK Y'ALL BOTH FOR BEING HERE. UM, LISTEN, MY ISSUE TODAY IS NOT POLITICS. I UNDERSTAND THAT. SET ALL THAT ASIDE, IT'S SAFETY FIRST FOR ME. SURE. OUTAGE A SECOND. AND AS YOU HEARD ME, UM, DISCUSS EARLIER, I THINK THAT'S AN ISSUE THAT ENTITY NEEDS TO ADDRESS IS TO, FOR THE SAFETY OF OUR CITIZENS TO TAKE QUICKER ACTION, REPLACING SOME OF THESE DAMAGED POLES. OUTAGES ARE JUST INCONVENIENCE. YOU CAN'T BRING SOMEBODY'S LIFE BACK. SO I WOULD ASK Y'ALL TO CONSIDER THAT. AND YOU'RE GONNA SEE UNDER THE NEW, UH, RESILIENCE DOCKET, YOU'RE GONNA SEE, LIKE THEY SAID, UPWARDS OF 7,000 POLES CHAINED OUT, CHANGED OUT IN JEFFERSON PARISH. AND YOU'RE ALSO GOING TO SEE, AND, AND PEOPLE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND DURING, AND I'D LIKE TO MENTION, AND WE TALKED ABOUT THIS DURING THE LAST HURRICANE, IF YOU AND YOU I THINK WENT OUT WITH US ONE POINT DID THAT WHEN A, WHEN A CREW STARTS AT ONE POLL AND YOU TALK ABOUT SAFETY, THEY GIVE A SAFETY BRIEFING BEFORE THEY MOVE TO THE NEXT POLL. AND THAT SAFETY BRIEFING LASTS 15, 20 MINUTES. AND THEY TALK ABOUT, WHERE'S THE NEAREST HOSPITAL? WHAT DO WE GOTTA DO HERE? WHERE'S THE NEAREST EXIT POINT? WHO ARE WE GONNA DO, WHERE'S THE NEEDS TO EMS? AND SO SAFETY IS THE MOST CRITICAL THING BECAUSE WE ONLY HAVE A COUPLE OF THOUSAND LINE PERSONNEL IN LOUISIANA, RIGHT? AND WE BRING IN UNDER MUTUAL AID LINEMEN FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY WHEN WE HAVE AN OUTAGE. AND I WOULD MENTION THAT'S ONE OF THE BIG PROBLEMS TEXAS IS HAVING RIGHT NOW, BECAUSE WE HAVE AGREED AS A COMMISSION THAT WE TELL THESE COMPANIES, WHETHER IT'S INTERGE OR CLECO OR SWEPCO, DO WHAT IS NECESSARY TO GET THE POWER BACK ON, TO GET THE ECONOMY BACK UP AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. AND WE WILL MAKE SURE YOU GET PAID BACK, RIGHT? BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT'S THE SYSTEM HAS TO FUNCTION ON. WHERE TEXAS RIGHT NOW IS TELLING LINEMAN, WELL COME IN, UH, WE'LL GET BACK TO YOU, FIND YOUR OWN HOUSING, FEED YOURSELF, AND NOBODY'S SHOWING UP TO FIX THEIR SYSTEM. AND SO I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT WE ARE ON TOP OF THINGS AS WE FACE THE FUTURE OF STORM OUTAGES AND ISSUES TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PUBLIC IS SERVED ABOUT GETTING THE POWER BACK ON AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. OUR LINEMEN DO A GREAT JOB. THEY WORK 24 7 YEARS AGO. I WAS A RESERVE GRETNA POLICEMAN AND I WORKED SECURITY DETAILS AT THE GRETNA YARD. AND I COULD TELL YOU THOSE GUYS WERE COMING IN ALL NIGHT LONG GETTING THEIR EQUIPMENT WHEN THERE WAS AN OUTAGE. I CAN'T THANK THEM ENOUGH FOR THE JOB. THEY DO. WELL, WE RECOGNIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF JEFFERSON PARISH IN THE STATE ECONOMY, AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, AND I WOULD LIKE TO MENTION THAT WE ARE HOPING THAT ONE OF THE STATE REPRESENTATIVES FROM JEFFERSON PARISH WILL CARRY A BILL INTO THE NEXT LEGISLATIVE SESSION, OF WHICH THE COMMISSION HAS DONE A RESOLUTION OF SUPPORT TO GET A, UH, TAX CREDIT FOR, UH, GROCERY STORES, PHARMACIES AND GAS STATIONS OF $10,000 TO INSTALL GENERATORS. SO IF WE DO HAVE STORM ISSUES AND WE HAVE HAD A TENDENCY FOR PEOPLE NOT TO EVACUATE, THAT WE CAN HAVE SOURCES OF, UH, FUEL, FOOD, ICE AND, AND MEDICINE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC. AND WE WON'T HAVE STRANDED ASSETS IN THE GROUND, IN BUILDINGS, AND WE CAN PROVIDE CALM FOR THE PUBLIC. CAN'T SPEAK FOR ALL MY COLLEAGUES, BUT I'M SURE WE'LL SUPPORT THAT ENDEAVOR AS WELL. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND, AND, AND COUNCILMAN TO YOUR QUESTION, I I WOULD SAY ONE OF THE THINGS WE DID PUT IN THIS ENTERGY RESILIENCY PLAN IS AN INDEPENDENT MONITORING. UH, WE WILL VOTE ON A, THE, THE INDEPENDENT CONSULTANT WEDNESDAY AT OUR MEETING. UM, BUT ONE [01:35:01] OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK WE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT AND WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, AND THEN AS MY COLLEAGUE MENTIONED, WE DO HAVE, UH, COMPLIANCE REVIEWS AND ALL OF THAT IS ADDING MORE SIGNIFICANT INDEPENDENT MONITORING, UM, ON RATE CASES ON OTHER THINGS. SO THIS IS A STEP THAT THE COMMISSION HAS ALREADY TAKEN. WE'VE PUT THAT IN THE RESILIENCY, A 1.9, UH, BILLION DOLLARS PACKAGE THAT WE APPROVED IN APRIL. UM, AND WE WILL HIRE THAT CONSULTANT, UM, AT OUR WEDNESDAY MEETING. AND I HOPE THAT IS A, A, A CONSISTENT, UH, THING THAT WE DO NOW, ESPECIALLY ON SOME OF THESE OUTSIDE RIDER THAT ARE OUTSIDE OF THE RATES, UH, THAT YOU SEE. 'CAUSE THIS WILL BE A, AN INDIVIDUAL LINE ITEM WHEN YOU LOOK ON YOUR BILLS, IS INCLUDING THAT. WE ARE MONITORING THAT AND EXAMINING THAT, AND THEN ALSO HAVE THE PENALTIES IF WE FIND, UH, DISCREPANCIES TO GO WITH IT AS WELL. AND GENTLEMEN, THANK YOU BOTH FOR BEING HERE, UH, AND COMING TO YOU NEXT COUNCILWOMAN HANNAN. UM, THE BIGGEST THING THAT I GET EVERY DAY FROM CONSTITUENTS IS DEMANDING ACCOUNTABILITY FOR ENTERGY. AND I HAVE TO TELL THEM THAT WE CAN ASK QUESTIONS, BUT WE CAN'T DEMAND THAT ACCOUNTABILITY. UM, WE HEAR FROM PEOPLE WHO WANT TO SEE FINES, WHICH YOU'VE TALKED ABOUT. YOU'VE TALKED ABOUT ACCOUNTABILITY, WHICH WE APPRECIATE. UM, BUT TO BE FRANK, BASED ON WHAT WE HEAR, THE THE GENERAL PUBLIC DOESN'T HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION DOES, AND THEY THINK WE DO IT ALL. UM, THEY THINK WE DO A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE DON'T NECESSARILY DO. SO, UM, I THINK THERE'S AN EDUCATIONAL COMPONENT TO IT AND MAKING SURE THAT PEOPLE ARE AWARE OF THE RESPONSIBILITIES THAT YOU ALL HAVE IN THIS STATE TO SERVE THE PUBLIC THROUGH THE UTILITY REGULATION. UH, SO ANYTHING THAT YOU ALL CAN DO TO FURTHER THAT MESSAGE AND HELP SPREAD THAT WORD THAT, UH, YOU ALL ARE DOING THESE THINGS AND YOU'RE, YOU ARE GONNA DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY AND YOU'RE GONNA MAKE IT, UM, A LITTLE BIT TOUGHER FOR ENERGY TO ALLOW THESE THINGS TO HAPPEN. I THINK PEOPLE WILL GREATLY APPRECIATE HEARING BECAUSE WE HEAR IT EVERY DAY, HONESTLY. I MEAN, EVERY, EVERY TIME THERE'S AN OUTAGE, WE GET POUNDED WITH EMAILS. AND, UH, THERE, THERE'S AN OUTAGE THIS MORNING IN PON TRAIN SHORES THAT I'VE GOTTEN MESSAGES ABOUT, UH, DURING THIS MEETING. UH, AND THEY'RE LIKE, WHY IS THIS HAPPENING? WHY IS, WHY IS IT HAPPENING AGAIN? SO, UM, AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR YOUR THOUGHTS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND ANYTHING THAT WE CAN HELP YOU WITH GOING FORWARD IN TERMS OF THAT EDUCATIONAL COMPONENT AND MAKING SURE THAT PEOPLE KNOW WHAT YOU ALL DO AND HOW YOU DO IT AND WHAT YOU'RE DEMANDING AND WHAT'S GOING ON IN BATON ROUGE, WHAT'S GOING ON AT THE CAPITOL, ANY WAY WE CAN SPREAD THAT MUTUAL MESSAGE, WE'RE HAPPY TO DO IT. COUNCILWOMAN BOHANNAN. YES. THANK YOU, GENTLEMEN, BOTH FOR BEING HERE. UM, I, YOU'RE RIGHT, YOU HAVE TWO TOTALLY DIFFERENT APPROACHES, UM, AND EXPERIENCES, UH, BUT I FEEL BETTER KNOWING THAT YOU'RE BOTH VERY WELL INFORMED, CLEARLY PASSIONATE ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE DOING, AND I THINK THE PARISHES IN VERY GOOD, CAPABLE HANDS GOING FORWARD. UM, A LITTLE BIT OF CAUTION. THE UNDER UNDERGROUND WIRES THAT WE HAVE IN DRIFTWOOD, UH, ARE PROBLEMATIC AND ENTERGY IS STRUGGLING RIGHT NOW TO SORT OF BRING THAT BACK. SO, UM, JUST A LITTLE BIT OF CAUTION. AND THEN WITH THE PENALTIES, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THESE OUTAGES ARE JUST SIMPLY NO ONE'S FAULT. SO WE DON'T WANNA PUNISH A COMPANY FOR SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN'T CONTROL. UM, BUT I DID WANNA SAY THAT IN THE BEGINNING WHEN I FIRST RAN AND REALIZED EXACTLY HOW BAD THE PROBLEMS WERE IN THE KENNER AREA, UM, AND THE OUTAGES THAT WERE SHOWN BY, UM, BY COUNCILMAN WALKER, I THINK I COUNTED 13 OF THOSE THAT WERE IN MY DISTRICT OR THE 26TH. SO IT'S A HUGE PROBLEM FOR US. AND, BUT IMMEDIATELY WHEN I TOOK OFFICE AND I REACHED OUT TO, TO ENTERGY AND YOUR OFFICE, I, THERE WAS NO HESITATION. UM, YOU PUT TOGETHER A MEETING THAT HAD ALL THE TOP EXECUTIVES AT ENTERGY, UH, YOU YOURSELF ATTENDED, AND IT WAS CLEAR IN THAT ROOM THAT YOU WERE GOING TO HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE TO THIS PLAN THAT THEY CAME UP WITH FOR THE KENNER AREA. SO MY EXPERIENCE HAS BEEN THAT YOU'VE BEEN VERY RECEPTIVE THE MINUTE THAT I REACHED OUT, AND I APPRECIATE THAT. BUT ALSO, ENTERGY WAS TOO, AND THEY HAVE ATTENDED OUR, UM, KENNER COUNCIL MEETINGS. THEY'VE ATTENDED MEETINGS HERE, THEY'VE GONE TO THE CIVIC ASSOCIATION MEETINGS. UM, I DO THINK THAT WE NEED TO DO A BETTER, UM, JOB AT MESSAGING THE OUTAGES, EXPLAINING QUICKER WHY THEY, WHY THEY HAPPENED, BECAUSE SOMETIMES IT'S, IT IS SIMPLY A CAR HITTING A POLE, UM, OR AN ANIMAL ISSUE. AND I THINK WHEN PEOPLE REALIZE THAT WHAT IT IS, IT'S LIKE IT, THE FEAR AND THE PANIC IMMEDIATELY KIND OF GOES AWAY. SO MAYBE GETTING THAT MESSAGE OUT FROM ENTERGY QUICKER, UM, TO PEOPLE AND EXPLAINING THE TIMELINE THAT WE ANTICIPATE. AND SOMETIMES WE DON'T KNOW IT'S GONNA BE 15 MINUTES OR THREE HOURS. WE HAVE NO IDEA. 'CAUSE WE HAVEN'T IDENTIFIED WHAT THE PROBLEM IS. SO, BUT, UM, ANYWAY, I JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU GUYS. I DO FEEL LIKE THE MINUTE THAT I EXPRESSED CONCERN THAT WE WERE MADE A PRIORITY, UM, AND MAYBE WE WERE ALREADY A PRIORITY BECAUSE ENTERGY CAME WITH A, A PLAN TO HELP WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THAT, IN, IN MY DISTRICT IN PARTICULAR, UM, WHERE I THINK A MAJORITY OF THESE OUTAGES ARE BEING EXPERIENCED. SO I, I MEAN, MOVING FORWARD, I, YOU KNOW, I WOULD JUST ASK YOU TO DO WHAT I BELIEVE YOU'RE DOING ALREADY, WHICH IS HOLDING THEIR FEET TO THE FIRE AS FAR AS WHAT THIS PLAN IS. UM, AND ANYTHING THAT I CAN DO TO HELP FACILITATE THAT FOR ENTERGY, UM, OR FOR YOU GUYS, UM, I, [01:40:01] YOU KNOW, PLEASE KNOW THAT MY OFFICE IS ALWAYS AVAILABLE. COUNCILMAN BOHAN. YOU KNOW, WE'VE, UH, YOU KNOW, MY, MY GOAL IS ALWAYS, AND I'VE GOT 10 PARISHES IN MY DISTRICT. IT WAS 11 BEFORE THE SENATE REDISTRICTED US. UM, AND WE WORK CLOSELY WITH ALL OF OUR LOCAL COUNCILS IN THE, IN THE, IN THE DISTRICT. BUT IN PARTICULAR, YOU KNOW, UH, I MEAN, I'M A RESIDENT OF JEFFERSON PARISH, OBVIOUSLY I FEEL, UH, UH, CLOSER SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP TO JEFFERSON. UH, BUT WHEN WE'VE BEEN TAKE, BEEN TAKING PARTICULAR NOTICE TO KENNER, BECAUSE KENNER BEING AS FAR IN THE FAR WESTERN REACH AS ANY FURTHER, AND YOU OBVIOUSLY NEED A BOAT, RIGHT? RIGHT. UH, BUT THAT'S WHERE THE END OF A LINE IS. AND THATY AND, UH, MY OFFICE HAS BEEN WORKING ON CREATING DIFFERENT TYPE OF CIRCUITS IN THE FUTURE, UM, YOU KNOW, TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS A, YOU KNOW, CONTINUITY OF SERVICE FOR KENNER AND ADDRESS THE SORT OF DIFFICULT ISSUES THAT, YOU KNOW, KENNER IS SO MUCH DIFFERENT FROM THE REST OF THE PARISH. MM-HMM. . UM, THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, ISSUES THAT WE HAVE TO TAKE INTO PLAY, PARTICULARLY IN JEFFERSON PARISH BECAUSE MORE THAN HALF OF THE SERVICE IN JEFFERSON PARISH IS SERVED BEHIND THE HOMES IN BACKYARDS. AND THAT IS A REAL PROBLEM WITH HURRICANE RESTORATION. AND WE NEED TO WORK WITH OUR DELEGATION IN BAT ROUGE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN GET PAST THESE TRESPASS ISSUES FOR CREWS TO GET IN BACKYARDS AND MM-HMM. SO THEY DON'T HAVE PEOPLE UPSET ABOUT ACCESSING TO GET BACK AND PUT WIRES BACK UP AND DO VEGETATION CONTROL. BECAUSE AS YOU POINTED OUT, IF IT'S NOT A CAR HITTING A POLE OR AN ANIMAL THAT'S BEEN, YOU KNOW, INTO THE EQUIPMENT OR A, A BRANCH OF A TREE FALLING ON A WIRE JUST SOMETIMES FROM TERMITE ISSUES, AND IT'LL BE A, A SUNNY DAY, NOT A, NOT A STORM IN THE SKY AND A BRANCH WILL FALL OFF A TREE AND KNOCK THE POWER OUT. MM-HMM. . AND NOW WE HAVE ISSUES MORE OFTEN WITH THESE MYLAR BALLOONS FROM KIDS THAT ARE LETTING GO AND THEY'LL GET INTO WIRES AND, AND, AND BLOW OUT THE CIRCUIT THAT IT'S, UH, THEY, THE ENTERGY'S MAPPING SYSTEM IS NOT PERFECT. IT NEEDS TO HAVE MORE INFORMATION. THEY DO PROVIDE INFORMATION ON WHAT THEY ESTIMATE RESTORATION WILL BE, AND THEY WORK TOWARDS GETTING THE POWER BACK ON BEFORE THEN. MM-HMM. . BUT UNTIL THEY GET A CREW IN THE FIELD AND GET SOMEBODY IN A BUCKET TO LOOK AT WHAT'S GOING ON, A LOT OF TIMES THEY JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT THE CAUSE IS. MM-HMM. . AND THEN THEY CAN PROVIDE AFTER ACTION REPORTS AT WHAT IT IS, BUT UNTIL THEY GET IT, YOU KNOW, IN THE FIELD AND GET ON IT, WE'RE NOT GONNA REALLY GET A WHOLE LOT OF INFORMATION. WE DO GET INFORMATION ABOUT, UH, CAR ACCIDENTS, HITTING POLES AND KNOCKING 'EM DOWN, AND WE TRY TO PUT THAT INFORMATION OUT ON SOCIAL MEDIA. UNFORTUNATELY, THE COMMISSION DOES NOT HAVE AN OFFICIAL PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER AND IT'S DIFFICULT FOR US TO GET THAT OUT. BUT WE DO TRY TO GET THAT OUT THROUGH THE DI VARIOUS DISTRICTS PUT INFORMATION OUT ON THEIR OWN AS THEY CAN. YEAH. JUST USE US AS A VEHICLE FOR THAT. RIGHT. IT IT, WHAT I'VE COME TO LEARN IS THAT IT'S A VERY COMPLICATED ISSUE, PARTICULARLY THIS RESILIENCY PLAN. UM, I DON'T KNOW HOW IT PROGRESSIVELY GOT THIS BAD, UM, IN SOME, SOME REGARDS, BUT IT'S EXPENSIVE. I, I CAN'T IMAGINE HOW HARD THIS IS. IT'S A COMPLICATED PROBLEM. IT'S GONNA TAKE TIME TO FIX. UM, THE SOLUTIONS ARE NOT EASY AS WELL. SO, BUT I THANK YOU GUYS FOR BEING ON TOP OF IT AND, AND FOR BEING SUPPORTIVE OF THE PARISH. WE'RE ENGAGED ON IT AND WE ARE WORKING. HI, COUNCILMAN EDWARDS. YOU JUST TURNED YOUR MIC OFF IT. COUNCILMAN EDWARDS. YOUR MIC WAS ON. YOU TURNED IT OFF. UNMUTE YOURSELF. SORRY. GOT IT. AND THANK ALL OF YOU THAT CAME AND SPOKE HERE TODAY. YOU WERE VERY INFORMATIVE AND, AND, AND I APPRECIATE THAT, UH, INTO MY FIFTH YEAR OF SERVICE ON THIS COUNCIL. AND OVER THAT TIME, I'VE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH A LOT OF THE ENERGY PEOPLE I HAVE IN GENERAL. BEEN VERY IMPRESSED WITH 'EM. MOST OF THE ONES THAT HAVE COME ON BOARD TO REPRESENT, UH, ENERGY HAVE DONE A REALLY GOOD JOB. AND I JUST REALLY WANT TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AND, AND, AND SUGGEST THAT ANY WAY WE CAN WORK MORE DIRECTLY WITH YOU, WE WOULD LIKE TO DO THAT. AND WE WOULD APPRECIATE ANYTHING YOU CAN DO TO LET'S MAKE THIS PROBLEM, UH, AS AS INSIGNIFICANT AS WE CAN. THANK Y'ALL FOR BEING HERE TODAY. THANK YOU, YOUR HONOR. I GET, I'M STILL USED TO CALLING YOU AND COUNCILMAN GERBERG, YOUR HONOR, FROM SCARY MOMENTS AT THE FIFTH CIRCUIT, . THEY WERE BOTH ACTUALLY SERVED ONE CAPACITY OR ANOTHER AROUND THIS PARISH FOR ABOUT 50 YEARS. AND I AM VERY WELL AWARE, SIR AND I, I CAN'T SAY THIS HAS BEEN THE MOST FUN I'VE HAD, BUT I'VE, I'VE ENJOYED IT. , A LITTLE LESS PAPERWORK MAYBE. ANYONE ELSE? YOU GOOD? ALRIGHT. THANK YOU BOTH FOR BEING HERE THIS MORNING. WE APPRECIATE IT MUCH. THANK YOU FOR THE BOXES. COMMISSIONERS, COMMANDER, SIR AND THANK YOU MICHELLE FROM ENTERGY FOR BEING HERE AS WELL. WE APPRECIATE YOUR TIME AND [01:45:01] UH, THE EXPLANATIONS THIS MORNING. ALRIGHT. ALL RIGHT. NOW , ANYONE WHO WISHES TO APPEAR [PERSONS WISHING TO APPEAR BEFORE THE COUNCIL REGARDING A RESOLUTION(S) ON AGENDA/ADDENDUM AGENDA] BEFORE THE COUNCIL REGARDING A RESOLUTION ON THE AGENDA OR ADDENDUM. AGENDA CAN DO. SO NOW YOU MUST FILL OUT A REQUEST TO SPEAK CARD IN THE BACK OF CHAMBERS. YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES TO SPEAK AND PLEASE GIVE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS FOR THE RECORD OF MR. ALVIS BEATEN TO THE PODIUM. I DID MS. PEARSON. I GET UP. I HAD TO JUMP QUICK. SHE . NANCY PEARSON 89 24. REN SUE, BEFORE I GET TO ITEM 23 THAT I'M HERE TO SPEAK ABOUT, THERE WAS SOME, SOME MENTIONS AFTER WE SPOKE. THE SALARIES OF THE EXECUTIVES ARE BASED ON THE PROFIT THAT ENTITY MAKES. SO ALL THEIR COMPENSATION IS BASED ON THE PROFIT AND LAST YEAR THEY MADE A PRETTY GOOD PROFIT AND ALSO THE 1.9 MILLION YOU HAVE TO STICK TO AGENDA ITEMS. YOU CAN DO THIS AT THE END. I'M SORRY, THAT'S WHAT IT WAS FOR BEFORE THEY SPUN IT AND THEY DIDN'T TELL YOU THE TRUTH. WELL, YOU CAN DO THAT AT THE END. I'M SORRY, AT THE END. WE'LL WAIT FOR THE END THEN I, ITEM 23 ON THE ADDENDUM AGENDA. I WANNA THANK COUNCILMAN BONANNO. THIS CAME UP. THIS HOUSE IS IN RIVER RIDGE AND IT'S A DUMP AND IT'S BEEN A DUMP FOR A LOT OF YEARS. WHEN THEY FINALLY PUT IT UP FOR SALE AND A FEW MONTHS BACK WE SAW A LADY WHO HAD MOVED INTO RIVER RIDGE WITH HER HUSBAND AND HER TWO SMALL CHILDREN AND SHE WAS ASKING WHERE SHE COULD BRING 'EM TO PLAY. THERE WAS NO PLACE TO PLAY. EVERYBODY TOLD HER SHE HAD TO GO TO HARAHAN PLAYGROUND TO LET HER CHILDREN PLAY IN A PLAYGROUND. UH, WE HAVE LITTLE FARM. IT'S VERY SMALL, IT'S VERY CONGESTED AND IT'S VERY BUSY. IT'S NOT FOR LITTLE BITTY WANTS TO GO PLAY. SO COUNCILMAN BONANO IN HIS OFFICE WORKED WITH, UH, THE REAL ESTATE COMPANY THAT WAS SELLING IT AND THEY'VE MANAGED TO HAVE AN ITEM ON THE AGENDA TODAY TO BUY THAT PROPERTY. AND WE'RE GONNA MAKE A SMALL LITTLE PARK. IT'S ON THE CORNER OF RURAL AND CROCHET AND IT ALSO BACKS UP TO, UH, SOUTH DOWN, WHICH IS A TRIANGLE. IT WOULD BE HORRIBLE TO PUT A HOUSE THERE 'CAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHAT KIND OF HOUSE YOU COULD PUT EXCEPT FOR THE LITTLE BIG ONE THAT'S THERE NOW. UM, BUT IT'S GONNA MAKE A REALLY NICE LITTLE PLAYGROUND FOR OUR LITTLE ONES. PEOPLE CAN WALK TO IT, THEY CAN BRING THE STROLLERS TO IT, THEY CAN RIDE A BIKE TO IT AND IT'S GONNA GIVE US SOMEPLACE ELSE FOR EVEN FOR OUR SENIORS TO GO SIT ON A BENCH. UH, SO I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THAT AND I HOPE THAT YOU ALL, UH, WILL AGREE TO PASS THAT RESOLUTION. THANK YOU. JUST REMEMBER YOU PROMISED TO CUT THE GRASS EVERY WEEK. OH NO. WE GET, WE GONNA TRY TO TALK Y'ALL INTO GETTING THE, UH, WHAT IS THAT SURFACE THAT YOU PUT DOWN SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO CUT IT. THE TURF , CUT THE CIRCLE. AL MARELLA 42 60 EAST LOYOLA DRIVE, FIFTH DISTRICT, KENNA FOURTH DISTRICT GUN INCORPORATED. JEFFERSON, 52 YEARS. UM, I'M NUMBER 37, 38, 39, 56, 61, 63, 68, 69. AND THREE ON THE ADAM AGENDA. ITEM NUMBER 37, FIRST $474,000 REDUCTION. REST OF THE ITEMS, ONE DEPARTMENT PUBLIC WORKS. REST OF THE ITEMS TOTAL INCREASES $9.75 MILLION. AND COUNCILMAN LEE, I WANT YOU TO KEEP THIS FIGURE WRITTEN DOWN SOMEWHERE BECAUSE WHEN IT COMES UP AGAIN TO GIVE OUR EMPLOYEES ANOTHER RAISE AND GET 'EM A DECENT, UH, LIVABLE WAGE, REMEMBER THIS FIGURE. NOW WITH THAT BEING SAID, COUNCILMAN WALKER, I WANNA APOLOGIZE TO THE PEOPLE OF JEFFERSON PARISH. I HAVE TO LEAVE EARLY. I WILL NOT BE HERE FOR THE PUBLIC COMMENT PORTION, BUT I'M NOT ASKING TO SUSPEND THE RULES NOW FOR ALL OF THAT, THAT'LL KEEP TILL THE NEXT MEETING. BUT I WOULD ASK YOU TO, TO SUSPEND THE RULES SO I CAN, UH, RESPOND TO ERIC SRI'S COMMENTS APPEAL. I I'M NOT GONNA DO THAT MR. AL 'CAUSE I DIDN'T ALLOW IT FOR MS. PEARSON. SO, BUT I'M NOT GONNA BE HERE. YOU CAN SAY MR. , MR. OWL. I'M SORRY. I MEAN YOU SUSPEND THE RULES FOR THE PEOPLE WHO, WHO HAVE TO BE SOMEWHERE AND GO SOMEWHERE AND I'M AS A CITIZEN. I'M ASKING IF YOU COULD DO IT FOR ME JUST THIS ONE TIME, JUST FOR THIS ONE ISSUE. ALL THE OTHER ISSUES WILL KEEP TO THE NEXT MEETING. NOT TODAY, MR. ALLEN. I'M SORRY. CAN'T DO IT. YOU HAD YOUR TIME WITH RY BEFORE AND YOU CAN DO IT AT, WELL THAT'S OKAY BUDDY. BOXING GLOVES WILL COME OUT OF THE NEXT MEETING. THANK YOU AL. AL WHO YOU GONNA GIVE YOU FIVE MINUTES TO ? SUPER BAD. THEY'RE NOT TRANSFERRABLE AND WE GET, I'LL TELL YOU WHAT, I'LL, I'LL TELL YOU WHAT I'LL DO WITH YOU MAN. I, IF WE CAN DO THIS, I'LL GIVE MY THREE MINUTES TO MS. PEARSON. NO, NO, YOU CAN'T DO IT MR. ALLEN. THANK YOU . AND WE'RE JUST GONNA CANCEL THE REST OF THE MEETING BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT GONNA BE HERE. THERE'S NO POINT . THANKS MISSAL. OH, FRANKIE HIRES 5 0 9 HOME AND JUST TRYING TO SPARK SOME CURIOSITY IN THE WAY WE GO. WE GETTING FIVE MINUTES? MR. BONANO, YOU GIVING US A FIVE BACK? I'LL GO HOME NOW IF [01:50:01] YOU GIVE, YOU GIVE ANYBODY FIVE MINUTES FOR THE PUBLIC COMMENT TIME, I WILL GO HOME. I WON'T COME BACK FOR TWO MEETINGS. AT LEAST YOU DO THAT. SOMEBODY MAKE THAT PROPOSAL, I'LL JUST TAKE A MEETING OFF. JUST IF YOU MAKE THE PROPOSAL, YOU CAN VOTE AGAINST IT TWO AND A HALF MINUTES LEFT. . YEAH, IT WON'T MATTER. I'M GONNA SPEND ALL OF IT ON 75, RIGHT? I COULD GO ON ABOUT THE COOPERATIVE ENDEAVOR AGREEMENTS, HOW THEIR FREE MONEY TO JUST, YOU KNOW, WHOEVER IS YOUR, YOUR BIGGEST SUPPORTERS. BUT REALLY WE'RE JUST GONNA SPEND THE TWO MINUTES ON 75 A STOP SIGN. THANK YOU SO MUCH. HOW LUCKY CAN I GET RIGHT? Y'ALL GOT THE CALL FROM ME. MOVE YOUR EFFING CAR A HOLE. THAT'S WHAT I GOT TO LISTEN TO LAST WEEK, THURSDAY BEFORE LAST. IT'S NOT EVEN MY CAR ON HOA BOULEVARD. PEOPLE HAVING TO YIELD TO TO ALLOW FOR TRAFFIC TO GO AROUND CARS HAPPENS ON EVERY OTHER NEIGHBORHOOD STREET IN THE PARISH. NOBODY HAS A PROBLEM WITH IT. BUT ON HOA BOULEVARD, 1500 CARS A DAY DURING THE WEEK TRAVELING DOWN, THEY CAN'T RESIST THE ROAD RAGE. NOW I KNOW MY COUNCIL PERSON'S HAD TO SHOW UP AT A ROAD RAGE, ROAD RAGE INCIDENT HIMSELF WITHIN THE LAST COUPLE YEARS, RIGHT? YOU DON'T WANNA SEE THAT AGAIN, DO YOU? I CERTAINLY DON'T WANNA SEE IT ON HOMO BOULEVARD, BUT WE'RE ON THE BRINK OF IT. I'M AFRAID TO LEAVE MY HOUSE NOW WITHOUT BEARING ARMS. I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO CONSIDER THIS DOMESTIC, UH, TRANQUILITY HAS TO BE INSURED. I'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS FOR YEARS. IF YOU'D DONE THIS, I MIGHT NOT EVEN STAYED. IF YOU'D HAVE FIGURED OUT TO PUT A STOP SIGN IN THE MANNER BY WHICH IT'S DONE AS A DEFAULT IN EVERY OTHER MUNICIPALITY. SO SUCH THAT A MOTORIST TRAVELING ON A NEIGHBORHOOD STREET CAN'T TRAVEL THROUGH TWO INTERSECTIONS WHILE COMING TO A STOP SIGN. IT'S THE DEFAULT ON WOODLAWN, THE NEIGHBORING STREET. IT'S THE DEFAULT ON ALMOST EVERY NEIGHBORING STREET. FIGURE THIS OUT. I'VE SUBMITTED THE PROPOSAL FROM YAKIMA, WASHINGTON. MY FORMAL COUNCIL PERSON WHO'S A DIVISION A PERSON NOT HERE. I DON'T LIKE TO SPEAK BAD ABOUT SOMEBODY WHEN THEY'RE NOT HERE, BUT THIS IS CAESAR'S WORLD. SHE BORE FALSE WITNESS AGAINST YAKIMA WASHINGTON BY OMITTING THEIR APPROACH TO NEIGHBORHOOD STOP SIGN UTILIZATION, ALWAYS STOP SIGNS. I DON'T CARE ABOUT AN ALWAYS STOP SIGN. TURN ONE OF THESE THE OTHER WAY. LET THE DEAD END STREETS HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY. I DON'T CARE. LET THE GOOD SENSE OF THE PEOPLE BE THE BEST ARMY. MAKE YOURSELVES THE BEST ARMY YOURSELVES. QUIT DOLING OUT STOP SIGNS ARBITRARILY SCOOP IT UP. THE EXTORTED VOTES OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE SILLY ENOUGH TO SIGN THEM BECAUSE THEY DON'T KNOW THAT THEY HAVE THE POWER TO DEMAND DOMESTIC TRANQUILITY IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS. YOU KEEP ON ARM WRESTLING THE CITIZENS, MAKING THEM YOUR SERVANT, MAKING THEM ALL LEADS THEMSELVES BY SIGNING A PETITION FOR SOMETHING THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH AT ALL. IF I WERE WANTING AN EXTRA STOP SIGN BECAUSE THERE'S A CHURCH BEHIND MY HOUSE, I'LL SIGN A PETITION, I'LL GET A PETITION TOGETHER. BUT WHEN DOMESTIC TRANQUILITY IMPERIL, WHEN THE PUBLIC SAFETY IS IMPERIL, WHEN CHILDREN HAVE TO LISTEN TO PEOPLE CURSE IT, THEIR NEIGHBORS FIGURE THIS OUT AND FIX THIS. THANK YOU. ANYONE ELSE LIKE TO SPEAK ON AN ITEM ON THE AGENDA OR ADDENDUM? AGENDA? YOU WANNA SPEAK AT THE END? I THINK IT'S NOT ON THE AGENDA TILL AT THE END. ANYONE ELSE? ITEM ON THE AGENDA OR ADDENDUM? AGENDA? ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU. ARE YOU SPEAKING SIR? DO I WAIT FOR THE POINT TO COME UP OR DO I IS IT A PUBLIC HEARING ITEM? HE'S SAY AGAIN. HE OKAY. YEAH, THERE'LL BE A PUBLIC HEARING FOR YOUR ITEM WHEN IT COMES UP. I HAVE A NOTE THAT ITEMS ONE THROUGH FIVE [ORDINANCES TO BE DEFERRED] WILL BE DEFERRED TO OUR AUGUST 28TH MEETING. COUNCILMAN BONANNO YOUR MOTION ON REGARDING THE DEFERRAL OF ITEMS ONE THROUGH FIVE MOVE ANY OBJECTION TO THE DEFERRAL OF ITEMS ONE THROUGH FIVE TO 8 28 24. A MOTION OF COUNCILMAN BONANNO SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN WALKER. HEARING NONE SO ORDERED. THAT TAKES US TO ITEM NUMBER SIX, MADAM CLERK. [PROFESSIONAL SERVICES] A RESOLUTION SELECTING FROM PERSONS OR FIRMS INTERESTED IN QUALIFIED TO PROVIDE ROUTINE ENGINEERING SERVICES FOR DRAINAGE PROJECTS FOR A FEE OF $500,000 OR LESS PER ASSIGNMENT, EXCLUDING ANY FEE FOR RESIDENT INSPECTION SERVICES FOR A TWO YEAR PERIOD BEGINNING THE DATE. THIS RESOLUTION SELECTING CONSULTANTS TO PERFORM ENGINEERING SERVICES IS ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL AND ON BEHALF OF COUNCILWOMAN VAN FRANKEN, COUNCILMAN WALKER SELECTS ALL QUALIFIED FIRMS. SO IS THERE ANY OBJECTION TO THE SELECTION OF ALL QUALIFIED? UH, MOTION OF COUNCILMAN WALKER SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN BANANA? HEARING NONE SO ORDERED. ITEM NUMBER SEVEN, PLEASE. A RESOLUTION SELECTING FROM PERSONS OR FIRMS INTERESTED IN QUALIFIED TO PROVIDE ROUTINE ENGINEERING SERVICES FOR SEWER PROJECTS FOR A FEE OF $500,000 OR LESS PER ASSIGNMENT, EX EXCLUDING ANY FEE FOR RESIDENT INSPECTION SERVICES FOR A TWO YEAR PERIOD BEGINNING THE DATE. THIS RESOLUTION SELECTING CONSULTANTS TO PERFORM ENGINEERING SERVICES IS ADOPTED BY THE RE BY THE COUNCIL. AGAIN ON BEHALF OF COUNCILWOMAN VAN RANKIN, [01:55:01] ALL QUALIFIED FIRMS SELECTED BY COUNCILMAN WALKER. ANY OBJECTION TO THE SELECTION OF ALL QUALIFIED? A MOTION OF COUNCILMAN WALKER SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN BONANNO. HEARING NONE SO ORDERED NUMBER EIGHT, PLEASE. A RESOLUTION SELECTING TO PROVIDE GENDER AND CULTURALLY SENSITIVE EVIDENCE-BASED TREATMENT SERVICES TO AT-RISK YOUTH AND OR THEIR FAMILIES WHO NEED AND OR HAVE BEEN ORDERED TO RECEIVE SUCH SERVICES BY THE JUVENILE COURT FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE SERVICES UNDER SOQ NUMBER 24 DASH 0 1 1 AGAIN, UH, ALL QUALIFIED ON BEHALF OF COUNCILWOMAN VAN FRANKEN. ANY OBJECTION TO THE SELECTION OF ALL QUALIFIED? A MOTION OF COUNCILMAN WALKER SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN BONANO. HEARING NONE SO ORDERED NUMBER NINE, PLEASE A RESOLUTION SELECTING A FIRM OR PERSONS TO PROVIDE TEMPORARY STAFFING SERVICES FOR A PERIOD OF TWO YEARS WITH THE RIGHT TO EXTEND THIS CONTRACT FOR AN ADDITIONAL YEAR FOR THE JOHN A ARIO CENTER EVENT CENTER ON ON IT HAS NEEDED BASIS UNDER RFP NUMBER 0 4 8 4 IS THIS COUNCILMAN LEE'S SELECTION AND WE'LL WAIT ONE MOMENT. HE'S ON HIS WAY BACK. I MOVE ELLI MOVING AS HE'S IN MOTION. I LIKE IT. COUNCILMAN LEE SELECTS ELLI JANITORIAL SERVICE, INC. ANY OBJECTION TO THE SELECTION OF ELLI JANITORIAL SERVICE, INC. A MOTION OF COUNCILMAN LEE SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN WALKER. HEARING NONE. SO ORDERED UH, EXECUTIVE SESSION WE'LL GET BACK TO IN ABOUT 30 MINUTES, THAT'S ITEMS 10 AND 11. UM, NUMBER 12 PLEASE, MADAM CLERK [SUBDIVISION ORDINANCES] SUMMARY NUMBER 2 6 3 6 5 RESUB OF LOTS, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 AND SIX AND LOT 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 AND 12 SQUARE SIX MET TERRACE SUBDIVISION INTO LOT SEVEN A AND 10 A SQUARE SIX. AND APPROVING AND ACCEPTING THE FINAL PLAT OF SAID SUBDIVISION E ES DASH 21 DASH 24 COUNCIL DISTRICT TWO. WE CAN WAIVE THE RATING HERE AND NOW OPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING FOR SUMMARY NUMBER 2 6 3 6 5. ANYONE IN FAVOR PLEASE COME FORWARD. ANYONE IN OPPOSITION? MADAM CLERK NOTE THAT NO ONE APPEARED. COUNCILMAN BONANNO YOUR MOTION, MOVE FOR APPROVAL. ANY OBJECTIONS TO THE UH, APPROVAL OF SUMMARY NUMBER 2 6 3 6 5 A MOTION OF COUNCILMAN BONANNO SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN WALKER HEARING NONE SO ORDERED, ITEM 13 PLEASE. SUMMARY NUMBER 2 6 3 6 6 RESELL OF LOTS. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 60, 61, 62 AND 63 SQUARE A CLARON GATEWAY SUBDIVISION INTER LOTS X ONE A SQUARE A IN APPROVING AND ACCEPTING THE FINAL PLAT OF SAID SUBDIVISION ES DASH 47 DASH 24 COUNCIL DISTRICT TWO. WE CAN WAIVE THE READING HERE AND NOW OPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING FOR SUMMARY NUMBER 2 6 3 6 6. ANYONE IN FAVOR PLEASE COME FORWARD. ANYONE IN OPPOSITION? MADAM CLERK NOTE THAT NO ONE APPEARED COUNCILMAN BANANA. Y'ALL SHOULD BE GLAD I DIDN'T ASK HER TO READ THIS ONE 'CAUSE WE'D BE ALL DAY MOVE FOR APPROVAL. ANY OBJECTIONS TO THE APPROVAL OF SUMMARY NUMBER 2 6 3 6 6 ON MOTION OF COUNCILMAN BANANA SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN WALKER HEARING NONE SO ORDERED 14 PLEASE. SUMMARY NUMBER 2 6 3 6 7 RESUB OF LOTS 58 A ONE, A ONE CF CP AND EP INTO LOTS 58 A ONE A AND 26 A1C THREE CHURCHILL FARM SUBDIVISION, UH, WS DASH 17 DASH 24 COUNCIL DISTRICT THREE. WE CAN WAIVE THE READING HERE AND OPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING NOW FOR SUMMARY NUMBER 2 6 3 6 7. ANYONE IN FAVOR PLEASE COME FORWARD. ANYONE IN OPPOSITION? MADAM CLERK NOTE THAT NOTE APPEARED. COUNCILMAN LEE MOVE FOR APPROVAL. ANY OBJECTION TO THE APPROVAL OF SUMMARY NUMBER 2 6 3 6 7 A MOTION OF COUNCILMAN LEE SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN WALKER HEARING NONE SO ORDERED. ITEM 15, [RECLASSIFICATION OF ZONING - AND LAND USE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN ORDINANCES] SUMMARY NUMBER 2 6 3 2 6 AMENDING THE OFFICIAL ZONING MAP 11 A SQUARE 1 39 TERRYTOWN SUBDIVISION NUMBER EIGHT, LOCATED AT 8 42 BERMAN HIGHWAY MOORE PARTICULARLY AMENDING THE ZONING CLASSIFICATION FROM GO TWO TO M-U-C-D-W-Z 1923 COUNCIL DISTRICT ONE. WE CAN WAIVE THE READING ON THIS ITEM AND NOW OPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING FOR SUMMARY NUMBER 2 6 3 2 6. ANYONE IN FAVOR PLEASE COME FORWARD. ANYONE OPPOSED? MADAM CLERK? NOTE THAT NO ONE APPEARED. COUNCILMAN EDWARDS. ANY OBJECTION TO THE DENIAL OF SUMMARY NUMBER 2 6 3 2 6 ON MOTION OF COUNCILMAN EDWARDS SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN WALKER HEARING NONE SO ORDERED 16 [RECLASSIFICATION OF ZONING ORDINANCES - VARIANCES] PLEASE. SUMMARY NUMBER 2 6 3 6 8 APPROVING SP 1624 REQUESTED VARIANCE TO THE PARKING REQUIREMENTS OF THE COMMERCIAL PARKWAY OVERLAY ZONE FOR LAUNDRY, WORLD WASH AREA LOCATED AT 37 60 AIRLINE DRIVE ON PORTIONS OF LOTS, FOUR, FIVE AND SIX AND LOTS. 10 11 AND 12 SQUARE SIX. MATTIE TERRA SUBDIVISION COUNCIL DISTRICT TWO. WE CAN WAIVE THE READING HERE AND NOW OPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING FOR SUMMARY NUMBER 2 6 3 6 8. ANYONE IN [02:00:01] FAVOR PLEASE COME FORWARD. ANYONE IN OPPOSITION? MADAM CLERK NOTE THAT NO ONE APPEARED. COUNCILMAN BONANO HAS TAKING HIS TURN WALKING OFF. HE WILL BE BACK IN A MOMENT. . OKAY. UM, LET'S COME, LET'S DO 17 AND COME BACK TO 16. YEP, HE'LL BE BACK IN A SECOND. ITEM NUMBER 17 PLEASE, MADAM CLERK SUMMARY NUMBER 2 6 3 6 9 APPROVING SP 90 23 REQUESTED VARIANCES FOR A FENCE IN THE FRONT YARD AND TO THE SETBACK REGULATIONS FOR SCHOOLS IN THE R ONE A DISTRICT FOR THE SLATER TORAH ACADEMY ON LOT Y ONE B SQUARE 41, UNIT ONE PONTA TRAIN GARDEN SUBDIVISION, SECTION D ZONED R ONE A SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT COUNCIL DISTRICT FIVE. WE CAN WAIVE THE READING ON THIS ITEM. AND NOW OPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING FOR SUMMARY NUMBER 2 6 3 6 9. ANYONE IN FAVOR PLEASE COME FORWARD. MORNING, RABBI CHESNEY, UM, REPRESENTING TOR ACADEMY HERE FOR THE APPROVAL. UM, THE, UH, THE, THE SETBACK REQUIREMENT THAT WE WANNA WAIVE, UM, I, WE UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S A 50 FOOT VARIANCE IN BECAUSE WE'RE IN A RESIDENTIAL AREA, UM, HOWEVER, FOR PRACTICAL PURPOSE FOR THE EXPANSION THAT WE WANT TO DO SO WE COULD BETTER SERVE OUR KIDS IN A SAFE ENVIRONMENT, HELP REDUCE NOISE, ET CETERA, WHERE WE'D LIKE TO ENCROACH ON THAT BY FIVE FEET, WHICH IS UH, AS MINIMUM AS POSSIBLE THAT GIVES US MUCH MORE FLEXIBILITY IN THE BUILD. UM, I'M HAPPY TO DISCUSS FURTHER. WE HAD A CONVERSATION REGARDING IT BY THE PLANNING ADVISORY BOARD. IF ANYBODY HAS ANY QUESTIONS, HAPPY TO ANSWER. NO QUESTIONS. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. ANYONE ELSE IN FAVOR? ANYONE OPPOSED YOU COMING UP SIR? UM, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO ADD TO WHAT RABBI JUST SAID, YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS FOR THE RECORD PLEASE. COLE. I WORK FOR THE ARCHITECTURE FIRM AQ STUDIOS ON 1100 PORES. UM, JUST TO ADD TO WHAT HE SAID IN TERMS OF SAFETY AS WELL AS LINE, LINE OF SIGHT, IT WAS RECOMMENDED THAT WE USED THE PAVED AREA NEXT TO NUMBER TWO. BUT WHERE THAT AREA IS, IT IS USED FOR BOTH VISUAL LINE OF SIGHT TO THE BACKYARD TO KEEP AN EYE ON THE CHILDREN AND IF WE BUILD IN THAT AREA, THAT VIEW IS GONNA BE OBSTRUCTED. WE, WE WOULD END UP REMOVING THAT CORRIDOR IN BETWEEN THE SMALL ADD-ON IN THE MAIN BUILDING, WHICH IS GONNA BE USED FOR EGRESS TO BOTH THE PAVED AREA PARKING LOT AND MAIN BUILDING. SO I WOULD JUST LIKE Y'ALL TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THAT AND WE DO APPRECIATE THE RECOMMENDATION FOR APPROVAL OF FENCING AS WELL. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ANYONE ELSE IN FAVOR? ANYONE OPPOSED? MADAM CLERK NOTE THE TWO APPEARED IN FAVOR. COUNCILMAN LOBERG MOVE TO APPROVE ANY OBJECTION TO THE APPROVAL OF SUMMARY NUMBER 2 6 3 6 9 ON MOTION OF COUNCILMAN LOBERG SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN WALKER. HEARING NONE SO ORDERED. LET'S GO BACK TO NUMBER 16 NOW, PLEASE. MADAM CLERK SUMMARY NUMBER 2 6 3 6 8 APPROVING SP 1624 REQUESTED VARIANCE TO THE PARKING REQUIREMENTS OF THE COMMERCIAL PARKWAY OVERLAY ZONE FOR THE LAUNDRY WORLD WASH AREA LOCATED AT 37 60 AIRLINE DRIVE ON PORTIONS OF LOT FOUR, FIVE AND SIX AND LOTS 10 11 AND 12 SQUARE SIX METAIRIE TERRORIST SUBDIVISION COUNCIL DISTRICT TWO. WE CAN WAIVE THE READING HERE AND OPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING FOR SUMMARY NUMBER 2 6 3 6 8. ANYONE IN FAVOR PLEASE COME FORWARD. ANYONE IN OPPOSITION? MADAM CLERK, NOTE THAT NO ONE APPEARED. COUNCILMAN BON BANANA MOVE FOR APPROVAL. ANY OBJECTION TO APPROVAL OF SUMMARY NUMBER 2 6 3 6 8 ON MOTION OF COUNCILMAN BONANNO SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN WALKER HEARING NONE SO ORDERED. ITEM 18 PLEASE. SUMMARY NUMBER 2 6 3 7 1 APPROVING SP 48 24 FOR VARIANCES TO THE SIGN REGULATIONS OF THE CBZ FOR RED RIVER BANK LOCATED AT 1914 VETERANS MEMORIAL BOULEVARD ON LOT RRB SQUARE 45 HONORABLE PLACE SUBDIVISION COUNCIL DISTRICT FIVE, WAIVE THE READING AND OPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING NOW FOR SUMMARY NUMBER 2 6 3 7 1. ANYONE IN FAVOR PLEASE COME FORWARD. ANYONE IN OPPOSITION? MADAM CLERK NOTE THAT NO ONE APPEARED. COUNCILMAN BERG MOVE TO APPROVE ANY OBJECTION TO THE APPROVAL OF SUMMARY NUMBER 2 6 3 7 1 ON MOTION OF COUNCILMAN BERG SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN WALKER HEARING NONE SO ORDERED. ITEM 19 PLEASE. [OTHER PROPERTY MATTERS ORDINANCES] SUMMARY NUMBER 2 6 3 7 2 REVOKING AND DECLARING A PORTION OF 15TH STREET RIGHT AWAY ATHENIA PLACE ANNEX SUBDIVISION NO LONGER NEEDED FOR PUBLIC PURPOSES IN AUTHORIZING ITS SALE TO THE ADJACENT PROPERTY OWNER COUNCIL DISTRICT FIVE. WE CAN WAIVE THE READING AND NOW OPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING FOR SUMMARY NUMBER 2 6 3 7 2. ANYONE IN FAVOR PLEASE COME FORWARD. ANYONE OPPOSED? MADAM CLERK, NOTE THAT NO ONE APPEARED. COUNCILMAN LOBERG [02:05:01] YOUR MOTION MOVE TO APPROVE ANY OBJECTION TO APPROVAL OF SUMMARY NUMBER 2 6 3 7 2 AND MOTION OF COUNCILMAN LOBERG SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN WALKER HEARING NONE SO ORDERED ITEM 20, SUMMARY NUMBER 2 6 3 7 3 REVOKING AND DECLARING A PORTION OF CANAL STREET ADJACENT TO LOT B ONE SQUARE 26 CANAL STREET SUBDIVISION NO LONGER NEEDED FOR PUBLIC PURPOSES AUTHORIZING ITS SALE TO THE ADJACENT PROPERTY OWNERS COUNCIL DISTRICT FIVE. WE CAN WAIVE THE RATING AND OPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING NOW FOR SUMMARY NUMBER 2 6 3 7 3. ANYONE IN FAVOR PLEASE COME FORWARD. ANYONE IN OPPOSITION? MADAM CLERK NOTE THAT NO ONE APPEARED. COUNCILMAN LOBERG YOUR MOTION MOVE TO APPROVE ANY OBJECTION TO THE APPROVAL OF SUMMARY NUMBER 2 6 3 7 3 A MOTION OF COUNCILMAN LOBERG SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN WALKER. HEARING NONE SO ORDERED. I HAVE A NOTE THAT 21 WILL [OTHER ORDINANCES] BE DEFERRED TO AUGUST 28TH. COUNCILMAN BONANO YOUR MOTION ON THAT DEFERRAL MOVE TO DEFER ANY OBJECTION TO THE DEFERRAL OF ITEM 21 TO AUGUST 28TH, 2024 ON MOTION OF COUNCILMAN BONANNO SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN WALKER HEARING NONE SO ORDERED. ITEM 22 PLEASE. MADAM CLERK WITH AMENDMENTS. THERE'S NO AMENDMENTS WITH NO AMENDMENTS. JUST KIDDING. ITEM 22 PLEASE. SUMMARY NUMBER 2 6 3 7 4 AMENDING THE 2024 OPERATING BUDGET. NOW OPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING FOR SUMMARY NUMBER 2 6 3 7 4. ANYONE IN FAVOR PLEASE COME FORWARD. ANYONE IN OPPOSITION? MADAM CLERK NOTE THAT NO ONE APPEARED. MR. HIRES ISN'T EVEN HERE TO HEAR. THERE ARE NO AMENDMENTS TO THE BUDGET. COUNCILWOMAN VAN FRANK . WAS THAT A SH ? I'M ASKING COUNCILWOMAN FRANK, SHE'S NOT HERE. COUNCILMAN BONANO YOUR MOTION TO APPROVE ANY OBJECTION. APPROVAL OF SUMMARY NUMBER 2 6 3 7 4 MOTION OF COUNCILMAN BONANNO SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN WALKER. HEARING NONE. SO ORDERED ITEM UH, NUMBER 23 WITH AMENDMENTS SUMMARY NUMBER 2 6 3 7 5 AMENDING THE 2024 CAPITAL BUDGET AND THE AMENDMENTS I HAVE ARE TO TRANSFER FUNDS FROM THE COUNCIL DISTRICT PROJECT FUND, CITY OF KENNER RECREATIONAL FACILITIES AND THE AMOUNT OF $220,750 TO CEA WITH THE CITY OF KENNER FOR REPAIRS AND UPGRADES TO MUST BERTINO BLEACHERS. COUNCIL DISTRICT FOUR. ANY OBJECTIONS TO THAT AMENDMENT BEING BROUGHT FROM THE FLOOR? HEARING NONE. COUNCILMAN BONANNO YOUR MOTION ON THE AMENDMENTS MOVE TO APPROVE ANY OBJECTIONS TO THE AMENDMENTS? UH, ANY OBJECTION. ANY OBJECTION? IT'S SPREADING FROM YOU TO ME. SEE ANY OBJECTION TO THE ADOPTION OF THE AMENDMENTS? A MOTION OF COUNCILMAN BON BANANA SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN WALKER. HEARING NONE SO ORDERED. ITEM NUMBER 23 PLEASE. [RESOLUTIONS AND MOTIONS FROM THE FLOOR] 24, I'M SORRY. ITEM 24, MADAM CLERK RESOLUTIONS AND MOTIONS FROM THE FLOOR. PLEASE CALL THE ROLL. COUNCILMAN WALKER. I HAVE ONE WHICH IS A JOINT RESOLUTION, A RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE LOUISIANA STATE BOARD OF ELECTION SUPERVISORS TO REVIEW THE HIRING OF MR. MICHAEL NEY AS JEFFERSON PARISH CHIEF DEPUTY OF THE REGISTER OF VOTERS TO DETERMINE IF IT VIOLATES ANY OF THE BOARD'S ETHICAL OR LEGISLATIVE STANDARDS. IS THERE ANY OBJECTION TO THAT RESOLUTION BEING BROUGHT FROM THE FLOOR? HEARING NONE, WE NOW OPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING ON THAT RESOLUTION. ANYONE IN FAVOR OR OPPOSITION PLEASE COME FORWARD. I'M IN FAVOR. ALMAR 42 60 EAST LOYOLA DRIVE, FIFTH DISTRICT COUNTY, FOURTH DISTRICT, UNINCORPORATED JEFFERSON. 52 YEARS. UH, FIRST OF ALL, I WANT TO COMMEND PARISH PRESIDENT LEE SHANG FOR CUTTING THAT STATE SUPPLEMENT. AND I ALSO WANNA SAY THIS TO NANCY LANDRY, THE SECRETARY OF STATE, WHO I BELIEVE CHAIRS THAT EIGHT MEMBER STATE BOARD OF ELECTION SUPERVISORS. I WANT MIKE NEY AND, AND DENNIS DEMARCO REMOVED EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY. NOW THE COUNCIL HAS A SAY IN THIS, BUT THE COUNCIL HAS VERY LIMITED AUTHORITY TO REMOVE THOSE TWO, BUT THE BOARD OF ELECTION SUPERVISORS DOES. AND I'M NOT ASKING NANCY LANDRY, I'M DEMANDING IT BECAUSE MIKE NEY DOES NOT MEET THE REQUIREMENTS TO BE THE NUMBER TWO MAN IN THE REGISTER OF VOTER'S OFFICE. AND WHY? BECAUSE ALL, MOST OF YOUR VOTING POLLING PLACES ARE ON SCHOOL CAMPUSES. AND LIKE SCOTT WALKER SAID AT THE LAST MEETING, HE IS FOR LIFE BANNED FROM ALL SCHOOL CAMPUSES IN JEFFERSON PARISH. SO HE CANNOT GO ON THOSE CAMPUSES IN CASE THERE'S A PROBLEM WITH ANY OF THOSE VOTING MACHINES. AM I CORRECT ON THAT SCOTT WALKER? I DON'T RECALL SAYING THAT, BUT IF I DID SINCE THE LAST MEETING THAT THERE'S BEEN CLARIFICATION FROM THE SCHOOL BOARD THAT BECAUSE HE'S NO LONGER PARISH PRESIDENT THAT BAN NO LONGER APPLIES, IS WHAT WE'VE BEEN TOLD. WELL, [02:10:01] IT DON'T MATTER TO ME ONE WAY OR THE OTHER. HE DECEIVED THE PEOPLE OF JEFFERSON PARISH AND HE DECEIVED THE PEOPLE OF KENNA AND HE DOES NOT BELONG IN ANY KIND OF PUBLIC OFFICE WHATSOEVER, WHETHER IT'S ELECTED OR NON-ELECTED. AND ONCE AGAIN, NANCY LANDRY, SECRETARY OF STATE, I'M DEMANDING YOU REMOVE BOTH OF THEM EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY. ANYBODY GOT ANY COMMENTS? ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU. ANYONE ELSE SPEAKING IN FAVOR? ANYONE IN OPPOSITION? GOOD MORNING EVERYBODY. MY NAME IS DEBBIE ALBERT AND I LIVE AT 53 0 4 CRAIG AVENUE AND I AM ON THE JEFFERSON PARISH BOARD OF ELECTION. SUPERVISORS, NOT ON THE STATE, BUT I'M ON THE BOARD OF ELECTION SUPERVISORS. I WAS APPOINTED BY THE GOVERNOR. I HAVE BEEN WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH MR. DEMARCO. HE'S DONE A PHENOMENAL JOB. WE HAVE MEETINGS ALL THE TIME. WE COUNT THE VOTES, WE COUNT THE, WE COUNT THE MAIL-IN BALLOTS. HE HAS PROVEN HIMSELF TO BE A PHENOMENAL MAN. HE DOES A GREAT JOB AND I THINK HE HAS, HE SHOULD BE ABLE TO HIRE WHO HE WANTS TO. AND IF YOU WANNA GET INTO THE PERSONALITY OF MR. MIKE GUINEA, I, I THINK THIS MAN HAS BEEN PERSECUTED ENOUGH. HE HAS SERVED HIS COUNTRY THE LAST FOUR YEARS. HE HAS BEEN IN THE NAVY, BEEN OUT ON A DESTROYER IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN FOR OUR NATION AND LOUISIANA INCLUDED. HE'S BEEN PERSECUTED, HE'S APOLOGIZED PUBLICLY, HIS FAMILY HAS FORGIVEN HIM. FELONS, CONVICTED FELONS AFTER FIVE YEARS CAN IN TURN HAVE THE RIGHT TO VOTE AND BE FORGIVEN. SO THERE'S NO REASON THAT THIS MAN CAN'T BE FORGIVEN. EVERYBODY DESERVES A SECOND CHANCE. HE HAS NOT BEEN CONVICTED OF ANYTHING. NOW I'M COMING HERE. I REPRESENT 15 OTHER WOMEN WHO COULDN'T COME BECAUSE THEY'RE EITHER GRANDMOTHERS WITH THEIR GRANDCHILDREN OR THEY'RE WORKING. I GOT NOMINATED BUT I'M TELLING YOU I THINK THIS IS WRONG AND YOU SHOULD RECONSIDER BECAUSE THE MAN IS QUALIFIED FOR THE JOB, BOTH OF THEM. AND I DON'T THINK MR. DEMARCO CAN BE REMOVED FOR ANYTHING OTHER THAN DOING SOMETHING ILLEGAL OR INAPPROPRIATE AS FAR AS ELECTION INTEGRITY. NOT JUST BECAUSE HE HIRED SOMEBODY THAT YOU DON'T LIKE. AND I'M EMOTIONAL RIGHT NOW I GUESS AND I'M A LITTLE NERVOUS, BUT THAT'S HOW I FEEL AND A LOT OF OTHER WOMEN THAT I REPRESENT, FEEL AND I APPRECIATE YOU LETTING ME TALK. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. ANYONE ELSE IN OPPOSITION? MADAM CLERK NOTE THAT ONE APPEARED IN FAVOR OF ONE APPEARED IN OPPOSITION. ANY OBJECTION TO THE ADOPTION OF THAT RESOLUTION? BROUGHT FORWARD, UH, IN MOTION BY COUNCILMAN WALKER AND THE ENTIRE COUNCIL IS JOINT RESOLUTION AND SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN BON HEARING NONE SO ORDERED THAT TAKES US TO CONSENT. AGENDA ONE. OH I'M SORRY MADAM CLERK. YOU MEAN MINE AREN'T THE ONLY ONES WE'RE DOING TODAY. GO AHEAD, CONTINUE. COUNCILWOMAN BO HAMMOND. I HAVE NONE. COUNCILMAN WILBERG. I HAVE ONE. YES SIR. A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE LETTER USE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE PARIS OF JEFFERSON AND LA GOONS FILM LLC FOR THE USE OF THE PARKING LOT OF THE EAST BANK REGIONAL LIBRARY FOR CREW PARKING FOR AUGUST 5TH, 2024. ANY OBJECTION TO THAT? EXCUSE ME. ANY OBJECTION TO THAT RESOLUTION BE BROUGHT FROM THE FLOOR HEARING NOW WE NOW OPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING ON THAT RESOLUTION. ANYONE IN FAVOR OR OPPOSITION PLEASE COME FORWARD. MADAM CLERK, NOTE THAT NO ONE APPEARED. COUNCILMAN LOBERG MOVE TO APPROVE ANY OBJECTIONS TO THE ADOPTION OF THAT RESOLUTION ON THE MOTION OF COUNCILMAN LOBERG. SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN WALKER. HEARING NONE SO ORDERED. COUNCILMAN EDWARDS. I HAVE NONE. COUNCILMAN BON BANANA? I HAVE ONE. WOULD YOU READ IT FOR ME MADAM CLERK? YES SIR. A RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION TO HIRE A THIRD PARTY CONTRACTOR TO AUDIT THE ENERGY MAINTENANCE PROGRAM IN JEFFERSON PARISH TO DETERMINE ITS COMPLIANCE WITH THE LOUISIANA PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION REQUIREMENTS. ANY OBJECTION TO THAT RESOLUTION BE BROUGHT ON THE FLOOR? HEARING NONE, I'M NOW OPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING ON THAT RESOLUTION. ANYONE IN FAVOR OR OPPOSITION PLEASE COME FORWARD. CHIEF FRANKIE HIGHER IS GONNA RISE IN BOTH FAVOR AND OPPOSITION. IT'S A TOKEN GESTURE. THAT'S WONDERFUL. SO I'M IN FAVOR OF IT ON THAT REASON BECAUSE ANY KIND OF EFFORT TO EXHIBIT SOME ACCOUNTABILITY [02:15:01] TO A PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION WHICH CAN'T BE APPORTIONED AND DISENFRANCHISES SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA INHERENTLY HAS GOT TO BE AN IMPROVEMENT. ANYONE ELSE IN FAVOR OR OPPOSITION OR BOTH? OPPOSITION. OKAY, GO AHEAD. AGAIN, IT'S A TOKEN GESTURE AT BEST WE ARE DISENFRANCHISED BY THE CONSTRUCT. THE DISTRICT'S FOUR AND FIVE OF THAT PSE, THEY DON'T HAVE CONFLICTS. THEY ONLY HAVE ONE OR TWO PARISHES THAT THEY SHARE BETWEEN THEM. AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE MOST RURAL PARISHES. THEY'RE UNITED IN THEIR PURPOSE AGAINST SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA REPEATEDLY. THEY HAVE NO REASON NOT TO BE. IT'S LIKE BLAMING A SHARK FOR BEING A SHARK WHEN IT COMES TO DEALING WITH ENERGY OR THE INTEREST OF NORTH AND WEST LOUISIANA. WE NEED TO FIGURE THAT OUT. SO I OPPOSE THIS BECAUSE I DON'T THINK IT GOES NEARLY FAR ENOUGH. UH, THE IDEA THAT ENERGY WOULD PROPOSE A RESILIENCY PLAN THAT'S LIKE IT IS JUST PROPAGANDA. SO WE'RE GONNA TRY AND IMPOSE SOME ACCOUNTABILITY ON A PLAN THEY ALREADY DETERMINED FOR THEMSELVES AND THEY'VE GOT THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION TO, TO RUBBER STAMP. IT'S THEIR PLAN. I DON'T TRUST A SHARK TO PROPOSE A PLAN TO LIMIT THEIR FEEDING AND EXACTLY HOW AM I GONNA SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, HAVE AN IMPACT. HOW ARE THEY NOT GOING TO JUST TRANSLATE THOSE FINES? SOME LOOPHOLE, SOME MEANS BY WHICH TO PASS ANY COST THAT WE THINK WE'RE IMPOSING ON THEM BY WAY OF PENALTY, FINE OR ANYTHING ELSE? YOU WANT ME TO BELIEVE THAT THAT'S NOT GONNA GET PASSED ON THE CONSUMERS IN A MONO MONOPOLISTIC SITUATION, THEY HAVE A MONOPOLY. WE GOTTA FIGURE OUT EXACTLY WHY WE'RE DISENFRANCHISED AND CORRECT FOR OURSELVES AT AT THAT POINT. 'CAUSE AS LONG AS WE'RE DISENFRANCHISED, THESE ARE JUST LIKE TOKEN GESTURES. THEY'RE NOT GONNA GET ANYTHING DONE. THIS IS CONSTANTLY DETERIORATING TERM LIMITED. PSC, NOBODY'S ACCOUNTABLE. ANYONE ELSE IN FAVOR? OPPOSITION MADAM CLERK NOTE THE SAME. APPEARED IN FAVOR AND IN OPPOSITION. UH, ANY OBJECTION TO THE ADOPTION OF THAT RESOLUTION? BROUGHT FORWARD AND MOTIONED BY COUNCILMAN WHO DID THAT? COUNCILMAN BONANNO SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN WALKER. HEARING NONE SO ORDERED A RESOLUTION REAPPOINTING DJ MUMEY TO THE FIRE CIVIL SERVICE BOARD FOR THE POWERS OF JEFFERSON FOR A THREE YEAR TERM INTO PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS. ANY OBJECTION TO THAT RESOLUTION BEING BROUGHT FROM THE FLOOR? HEARING NONE NOW FOR THE PUBLIC HEARING ON THAT RESOLUTION. ANYONE IN FAVOR? OPPOSITION MADAM CLERK NOTE THAT NO ONE APPEARED. COUNCILMAN BONANNO. BILL FOR APPROVAL. ANY OBJECTION TO THE ADOPTION OF THAT RESOLUTION BROUGHT FORWARD BY COUNCILMAN BONANNO, SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN WALKER. HEARING NONE SO ORDERED. COUNCILMAN LEE? YES SIR. A RESOLUTION ACCEPTING AN UNCONDITIONAL DONATION FROM THE UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD BLACK EMPLOYEE NETWORK AND THE AMOUNT OF $500 THROUGH THE JEFFERSON POWERS DEPARTMENT OF JEFFERSON COMMUNITY ACTION PROGRAMS. JEFF CAP? ANY OBJECTION, NOT RESOLUTION BEING BROUGHT FROM THE FLOOR. HEARING NONE. WE'RE NOW OVER THE PUBLIC HEARING ON THAT RESOLUTION. ANYONE IN FAVOR OR OPPOSITION? I'M SORRY. I THOUGHT YOU WERE COMING. . THANK YOU COMMISSIONER LEWIS AGAIN FOR, FOR BEING HERE. MADAM CLERK, NOTE THAT NO ONE APPEARED AND COUNCILMAN LEE FIRST OF ALL, FIRST OF ALL I WANNA SAY UNMUTE YOURSELF. FIRST OF ALL, I WANNA SAY, UH, THANK YOU TO THEM FOR WANTING TO MAKE THE DONATION HELP THE KIDS FOR THEIR BACK TO SCHOOL SUPPLIES AND SECONDLY, I MOVE ANY OBJECTION TO THE ADOPTION OF THAT RESOLUTION BROUGHT FORWARD BY COUNCILMAN LEE, SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN WALKER. HEARING NONE SO ORDERED AND I'VE COMPLETED THE ROLE. ALL RIGHT, CONSENT AGENDA ONE. [CONSENT AGENDA ONE] UH, COUNCILMAN BONANNO YOUR MOTION ON THE IN GLOBO ADOPTION OF CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS 25 THROUGH 48, PROOF APPROVAL. ANY OBJECTION TO THE IN GLOBO ADOPTION OF CONSENT AGENDA 25 THROUGH 48 ON MOTION OF COUNCILMAN BONANNO SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN WALKER HEARING NONE SO ORDERED THAT TAKES US 2 49 PLEASE. [CONSENT AGENDA TWO] WHICH TAKES US TO CONSENT AGENDA TWO AND COUNCILMAN BONANO YOUR MOTION ON THE ANGLO ADOPTION OF ITEMS 49 THROUGH 91 MINUS 73, WHICH IS TO BE AMENDED IN 87, WHICH WILL BE DEFERRED TO 8 28, VOTE FOR PAROLE. ANY OBJECTION INABLE ADOPTION OF ITEMS 49 THROUGH 91 MINUS 73 FOR AN AMENDMENT AND DEFERRING 87 TO 8 28 A MOTION OF COUNCILMAN BONANNO SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN WALKER. HEARING NONE SO ORDERED. LET'S GET TO ITEM 73 BEFORE WE [73. Resolution - approving a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement between the Parish of Jefferson and the Jefferson Community Foundation to provide funds to expand the number of early childhood care and education quality slots for economically disadvantaged families in Jefferson Parish at a cost not to exceed $350,000.00, which will qualify for the Louisiana Early Childhood Education Fund one-to-one match. (Parishwide) (Placed on the agenda by Mr. Walker)] GET UP TO EXECUTIVE SESSION AT NOON. MADAM CLERK, A RESOLUTION APPROVING A COOPERATIVE ENDEAVOR AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE PARISH OF JEFFERSON AND THE JEFFERSON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION TO PROVIDE FUNDS TO EXPAND THE NUMBER OF EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND EDUCATION QUALITY SLOTS FOR ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED FAMILIES IN JEFFERSON PARISH AT A COST NOT TO EXCEED $350,000 WHICH WILL QUALIFY FOR THE LOUISIANA EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION FUND. ONE-TO-ONE MATCH AND THE AMENDMENTS ARE IN SECTION TWO TO READ THAT ANY COST ASSOCIATED WITH THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE [02:20:01] TAKEN FROM THE FOLLOWING ACCOUNTS. $250,000 FROM ACCOUNT NUMBER 2 2 5 2 0 3 5 5 2 7 6 8 0 3 2 6 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS FROM ACCOUNT NUMBER 2 2 5 2 0 2 7 9 7 7 6 8 0 3 2 6 2 5 2 7 0 0 COUNCIL AT LARGE B ECONOMIC ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, JEFFERSON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION. AND THAT'S ALL THE AMENDMENTS I HAVE. ANY OBJECTION AMENDMENTS BEING BROUGHT FROM THE FLOOR. HEARING NONE COUNCILMAN BONANO YOUR MOTION MOVE APPROVAL. ANY OBJECTION ADOPTION OF THE RESOLUTION AS AMENDED. A MOTION OF COUNCILMAN SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN WALKER. HEARING NONE SO ORDERED. LET'S HIT THE ADDENDUM AGENDA [ADDENDUM AGENDA ITEMS (Part 1 of 2)] REAL QUICK. ITEM NINE TWO PLEASE. AND YOUR MOTION COUNCILMAN BONANNO ON THE IN GLOBO ADOPTION OF ITEMS ONE THROUGH 27 ON THE ADDENDUM AGENDA MINUS 22, WHICH IS TO BE AMENDED, MOVE FOR APPROVAL. ANY OBJECTION TO THE ADOPTION OF ADDENDUM. AGENDA ITEMS ONE THROUGH 27 MINUS 22 WHICH WILL BE AMENDED ON MOTION OF COUNCILMAN BONANNO SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN WALKER. HEARING NONE SO ORDERED NUMBER 22 PLEASE. A RESOLUTION APPROVING A COOPERATIVE ENDEAVOR AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE PARIS OF JEFFERSON AND THE CITY OF KENNER FOR BLEACHER REPAIRS AND UPGRADES DUE TO HURRICANE IDA AT A COST NOT TO EXCEED 200, 220 SORRY, $220,750. COUNCIL DISTRICT FOUR AND THE OBJECTION TO, UM, YOU HAVE TO READ THE AMENDMENTS, I'M SORRY. AND THE AMENDMENTS ARE IN SECTION TWO TO CHANGE THE ACCOUNT NUMBER TO 4 4 5 3 0 4 0 0 7 7 6 8 0 1 6 1 4 5 3 2 5 4 1 2. COUNCIL DISTRICT FOUR CDIA GENERAL FUND AND THAT'S ALL THE AMENDMENTS I HAVE. ANY OBJECTION TO THE AMENDMENTS BEING BROUGHT FROM THE FLOOR? HEARING NONE. COUNCILWOMAN BOHANNEN MOVE TO APPROVE ANY OBJECTION TO THE ADOPTION OF THE RESOLUTION AS AMENDED ON MOTION OF COUNCILWOMAN BOHANNEN SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN WALKER. HEARING NONE SO ORDERED AND WE'LL SAVE, UH, SPECIAL DISTRICTS AND THE VERY LITTLE AT THE END FOR AFTER EXECUTIVE SESSION. COUNCILMAN LEE THOUGHT I COULDN'T DO WHAT I JUST DID TO GET US TO WHERE WE WERE BY 12 NOON , BUT THERE YOU GO. WE COULD HAVE GOTTEN TO THE END IF WE HAD A FEW MORE MINUTES. UH, LET'S GO BACK TO THOSE EXECUTIVE SESSION [EXECUTIVE SESSION] ITEMS. MADAM CLERK A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE COUNSEL TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION. DISCUSS LEGAL MATTERS CONCERNING A WORKERS' COMPENSATION CLAIM. FOR ROLAND SCOTT C-C-M-S-I CLAIM NUMBER TWO 3G FIVE SEVEN K 5 5 4 3 2. AND TO PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS AND COUNCILMAN BONANNO YOUR MOTION, MOVE FOR APPROVAL. ANY OBJECTION TO THE ADOPTION OF THAT RESOLUTION? A MOTION OF COUNCILMAN BONANNO SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN WALKER. HEARING NONE SO ORDERED. ITEM 11, PLEASE A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE COUNCIL TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION TO DISCUSS LEGAL MATTERS CONCERNING THE LAWSUIT ENTITLED ELIAS JORGE GEORGE IEC BE VERSUS WASTE CONNECTIONS BAYOU INCORPORATED, U-S-D-C-E-D-L-A NUMBER 18 DASH 7 8 89 CW 18 DASH 8 71 18 DASH 8 2 8 18 DASH 9 3 2 SECTION E FIVE RELATED CASE. FREDERICK ADDISON VERSUS LOUISIANA REGIONAL LANDFILL COMPANY U-S-D-C-E-D-L-A NUMBER 19 DASH 1 1 3 3 CW 19 DASH 45 12 SECTION E FIVE. AND TO PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS. COUNCILMAN BONANO YOUR MOTION MOVE FOR APPROVAL, ANY OBJECTION TO THE ADOPTION OF THAT RESOLUTION. A MOTION OF COUNCILMAN BONANO SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN WALKER. HEARING NONE SO ORDERED. WE'RE NOW IN EXECUTIVE SESSION. ALL RIGHT EVERYBODY, IF YOU'D LIKE TO TAKE YOUR SEATS, WE'LL WRAP THIS UP SHORTLY. DO YOU HAVE WHAT YOU NEED? ALL RIGHT, MADAM CLERK, PLEASE READ THOSE EXECUTIVE SESSION RESOLUTIONS. A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING A SETTLEMENT IN A WORKERS' COMPENSATION CLAIM. FOR ROLAND SCOTT C-C-M-S-I CLAIM NUMBER TWO 3G FIVE SEVEN K 5 5 4 0 3 2 AND TO PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS ANY OBJECTION TO THE ADOPTION OF THAT EXECUTIVE SESSION RESOLUTION. UH, MOTION BY COUNCILMAN BONANO, SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN WALKER. HEARING NONE SO ORDERED A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING A SETTLEMENT IN A LAWSUIT ENTITLED ELIAS JORGE GEORGE EC BENEDEK VERSUS WASTE CONNECTIONS BY YOU INCORPORATED U-S-D-C-E-D-L-A NUMBER 18 DASH 7 8 89 CW 18 DASH 8 71 18 DASH [02:25:01] 8 2 8 18 DASH 9 3 12 SECTION E FIVE RELATED CASE. FREDERICK ADDISON VERSUS LOUISIANA REGIONAL LANDFILL COMPANY U-S-D-C-E-D-L-A NUMBER 19 3 3 CW 19 5 12 SECTION E FIVE. AND TO PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS, ANY OBJECTION TO THE ADOPTION OF THAT EXECUTIVE SESSION RESOLUTION ON MOTION OF COUNCILMAN BONANO. SECOND BY COUNCILMAN WALKER. HEARING NONE SO ORDERED. AND DID WE LEAVE OFF AN ADDENDUM? [ADDENDUM AGENDA ITEMS (Part 2 of 2)] AGENDA ITEM 28, SPECIAL DISTRICTS NUMBER 28 PLEASE MADAM CLERK, A RESOLUTION AND APPROVE AND AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE JEFFERSON PARISH COMMUNICATION DISTRICT AND OTM CYBER THROUGH GSA CONTRACT NUMBER FOUR SEVEN QTC A TWO 3D 0 0 9 5 TO PROVIDE NETWORK SECURITY AND MONITORING, MONITORING INFRASTRUCTURE, INTRUSION DETECTION, VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENTS, ENDPOINT PROTECTION, AND POST-INCIDENT RESPONSE AND MITIGATION ON THE CRITICAL NETWORKS OF THE JEFFERSON PARISH COMMUNICATION DISTRICT. THIS RENEWAL WILL COST AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $179,333 AND 28 CENTS. COUNCILMAN BONANO YOUR MOTION. MOVE APPROVE ANY OBJECTION TO THE ADOPTION OF THAT RESOLUTION OF MOTION OF COUNCILMAN BONANO SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN WALKER. HEARING NONE SO ORDERED 29 PLEASE. A RESOLUTION APPROVED IN AN AGREEMENT WITH SIS SONG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT SERVICES LLC TO SERVE HAS INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT FOR JEFFERSON PARISH HOSPITAL SERVICE DISTRICT NUMBER TWO BY ACTIVELY TRADING THE PORTFOLIO MANAGED WITHIN THE DISTRICT'S INVESTMENT POLICY GUIDELINES. AND ACCORDING TO STATE LAW, THE INITIAL TERM OF THE AGREEMENT SHALL COMMENCE ON OCTOBER 1ST, 2024 AND SHALL EXPIRE ON SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2026 AT AN ANNUAL COST NOT TO EXCEED $50,000. COUNCILMAN LOBERG YOUR MOTION. ANY OBJECTION TO THE ADOPTION OF THAT RESOLUTION? ON MOTION OF COUNCILMAN LOBERG SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN WALKER. HEARING NONE SO ORDERED 93 [JEFFERSON PARISH SPECIAL DISTRICTS] A RESOLUTION TO ENTER INTO AN ANNUAL MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT WITH MOTOROLA TO PROVIDE ANNUAL NETWORK MAINTENANCE SENSE SYSTEM MONITORING AND LOCAL TROUBLESHOOTING REPAIR FOR ALL RADIO CONSOLES AND NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE. LOCATED AT THE PRIMARY 9 1 1 CENTER. LOCATED AT NINE TEN THIRD STREET AND GRETNA, THIS RENEWAL WILL COST AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $118,731 AND 62 CENTS ANNUALLY. COUNCILMAN BONANO YOUR MOTION, MOVE TO APPROVE ANY OBJECTION TO THE ADOPTION OF THAT RESOLUTION OF MOTION OF COUNCILMAN BONANO SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN WALKER. HEARING NONE SO ORDERED. ITEM 94 PLEASE A RESOLUTION SELECTING A PERSON OR FIRM TO UPDATE A COMPREHENSIVE WAGE AND SALARY SURVEY CONDUCTED FROM 2020 TO 2022 FOR THE CLASSIFIED PAY PLAN FOR THE EAST BANK CONSOLIDATED SPECIAL SERVICE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT OF JEFFERSON, LOUISIANA. AND TO PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS ON BEHALF OF COUNCILWOMAN VAN FRANKEN. THE SELECTION IS THE SEGAL COMPANY. ANY OBJECTION TO THE SELECTION OF THE SEGAL COMPANY? A MOTION OF COUNCILMAN WALKER SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN BONANNO. HEARING NONE SO ORDERED ITEM 95 A RESOLUTION REJECTING ALL BIDS RECEIVED ON JUNE 25TH, 2024 UNDER PROPOSAL 50 DASH 1 4 4 9 2 2 AND AUTHORIZING THE PURCHASING DEPARTMENT TO RE ADVERTISE FOR SEALED BIDS FOR TWO YEAR CONTRACT FOR SEMI-ANNUAL MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR TO SERVICE VARIOUS MAKES AND MODELS OF OVERHEAD ROLL UP DOORS AND EQUIPMENT AT VARIOUS EAST BANK CONSOLIDATED SPECIAL SERVICE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT, JEFFERSON, LOUISIANA LOCATIONS. COUNCILMAN BONNA YOUR MOTION MOVE TO APPROVE ANY OBJECTION TO THE DR THAT RESOLUTION OF MOTION OF COUNCILMAN BON BANANA SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN WALKER. HEARING NONE SO ORDERED AND 96 A RESOLUTION, RESENDING RESOLUTION NUMBER 1 4 4 6 6 1 ADOPTED ON JULY 24TH, 2024 WHEREIN THE PARISH COUNCIL AUTHORIZED THE SELECTION OF KERN LANDR COURT REPORTERS LLC TO PROVIDE COURT REPORTING SERVICES ON A AS NEEDED BASIS FOR THE JEFFERSON PARISH FIRE CIVIL SERVICE BOARD. COUNCILMAN BONANO MOVE TO APPROVE ANY OBJECTION TO THE ADOPTION OF THAT RESOLUTION OF MOTION OF COUNCILMAN BONANO SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN WALKER HEARING NONE SO ORDERED. NO NEW BUSINESS TO REPORT, NO STATUS REPORTS. SO NOW PERSONS APPEARING [PERSONS APPEARING BEFORE THE COUNCIL ON SPECIAL SUBJECT MATTERS (Part 2 of 2)] BEFORE THE COUNCIL ON SPECIAL SUBJECT MATTERS. ANYTHING, UH, ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE TO SPEAK ON? YOU NEED TO FILL OUT A REQUEST TO SPEAK CARD AND TURN IT INTO THE CLERK. PLEASE SAY YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS FOR THE RECORD. MR. ALLEN HAS ALREADY ANNOUNCED THAT HE IS NOT HERE SO WE SHOULD CANCEL THIS PART, BUT THAT SOMEBODY ELSE THAT IS ACCEPTABLE WANTS TO SPEAK. CHIEF FRANKIE HIRES TRY TO SPARK A LITTLE CURIOSITY WAY WE GO. YEAH. MISS MR. AL'S INTRO ACCOUNT ON HIM TO GIMME SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT. [02:30:01] I THINK YOU OUGHT TO GIVE HIM HIS FIVE MINUTES. UM, IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO. SOMEBODY SHOULD HAVE ALREADY MADE THIS PROPOSAL. I TOLD HIM I'D I'D TAKE IT UP FOR HIM. SO THAT'S, THAT'S PROBABLY THE MEAT OF WHAT I CARE ABOUT HERE. THE WAY THAT THE PUBLIC IS DISENFRANCHISED ROUTINELY BY THE BODY THROUGH NO INTENT. BUT WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU INSIST ON HAVING THE PUBLIC SPEAK BEFORE, WHETHER IT'S THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION, WHETHER IT'S ENTITY, WHETHER IT'S THE INSPECTOR GENERAL OR ANY OF THESE CIRCUMSTANCES WHERE YOU, YOU INSIST THAT THE PUBLIC VOICE THEIR CONCERNS BEFORE THE, THE BODIES THAT WOULD DEFEND THEMSELVES GET TO GET TO HAVE THEIR SAY. YOU BASICALLY TAKE FROM THE PUBLIC THEIR CHANCE TO RESPOND TO WHAT WE'VE, WE THE PUBLIC SEE AS A MISREPRESENTATION OF THE FACTS OR AS THE EXAGGERATION OF A SLIVER OF TRUTH SO AS TO INVENT AGAINST THE CIRCUMSTANCES OR SQUEEZE FROM THE TEXT THAT WOULD SERVES THE PERSON MAKING THEIR ARGUMENT. THE PUBLIC COMES FIRST. WE ARE THE BOSS, YOU ARE THE PUBLIC SERVANTS. AT LEAST THAT'S THE WAY THIS IS SUPPOSED TO GO. I CAN TELL YOU AS SOMEBODY WHO SAT IN THIS AUDIENCE FOR THREE YEARS NOW, THAT IS NOT THE WAY THE PUBLIC IS MADE TO FEEL MAKING ITS WAY TO THE END OF THE MEETING TO HAVE SOME PERSONAL SAY WHEN WE COULD JUST SAY WHAT WE WANT AND THEN LEAVE. HOW MANY TIMES FROM THE FIREMEN THAT HAD TO SIT HERE, WE HAD TO INSIST ON IT. THEY HAD TO GET UP OUT OF ORDER TO ASK TO HAVE THEIR THING TAKEN OUT OF ORDER. BUT YOU TAKE ANY NUMBER OF CHAMBER COMMERCE ISSUES, ANYBODY ELSE THAT'S A BIG CONTRIBUTOR OR SOMEHOW REPRESENTS A BIGGER BODY THAN THE INDIVIDUAL PUBLIC CITIZEN TIME. AND AGAIN, YOU BETRAY THE ENTRANCE INTEREST OF A CITIZEN AND ELEVATE A SOLDIER. AND THAT SOLDIER COULD BE ENERGY, IT COULD BE THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION. HOW MUCH DID THE PUBLIC PAY TO HAVE THOSE BOXES BROUGHT HERE SO THAT HE COULD USE IT AS A PROP, A PROP? 'CAUSE HE'D PAY FOR A PENSKE TRUCK IF HE WANTED BRING MORE INFORMATION TO OVERWHELM YOU. NONE OF YOU ARE READING THAT. NOBODY'S GONNA READ THOSE BOXES. NOBODY'S LOOKING INTO THEM BOXES AND I DON'T WANT YOU TO, HOW MUCH TIME ARE WE GONNA SPEND ON A BUREAU BUREAUCRATIC STATE? YOU CAN'T APPORTION IN THAT LARGE MEMBERSHIP. YOU JUST CAN'T. SO YOU'RE NOT AN APPORTION BODY. WE GOTTA FIGURE THIS OUT. I DON'T HOLD ANYBODY PERSONALLY ACCOUNTABLE OR RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CIRCUMSTANCES WE FIND OURSELVES IN. I BELIEVE THAT EVERYBODY'S WELL INTENDED IN THIS ROOM FROM MR. TIM TO THE UH, PARISH PRESIDENT TO EVERYBODY. THIS IS NOT A PERSONAL ENDEAVOR OF MINE. I'M NOT HERE TO TAKE THIS MEETING HOSTAGE. I'M THE ONE WHO FEELS I'M THE ONE WHO'S HOSTAGE HERE. IF YOU'D APPORTION THIS BODY, I GET TO GO HOME AND WORK ON PIANOS FOR THE REST OF MY DAYS. I DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO COME HERE, I DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO BE REDUNDANT. REPETITIVE REPRESENTATIVES AND DIRECT TAXES SHALL BE APPORTIONED AMONG THE SEVERAL PARTS OF THE PARISH. LET'S GET IT DONE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. HI, NANCY PEARSON, 89 24 RESO. I APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT I CAN COME UP AGAIN AND UH, AND SPEAK ON WHAT I FELT WAS MISREPRESENTATION. UM, FIRST THEY BOTH ENTITY AND UH, OUR COMMISSIONER MADE A BIG DEAL ABOUT THE 1.9 BILLION DEBT'S GONNA BE SPENT. BUT WE HAVE TO REMEMBER WE'RE PAYING FOR THAT OVER FIVE YEARS. THE RATE PAYERS ARE PAYING FOR THAT. ENERGY'S NOT PAYING FOR THAT. THE RATE PAYERS ARE GONNA START PAYING THAT NEXT YEAR AND WILL PAY FOR IT THROUGH 2029. AND THEN HE MENTIONED ABOUT THE SALARIES, THE COMPENSATIONS OR GIVEN THROUGH THE STOCKHOLDERS. WELL IT'S ALL BASED ON THE PROFIT THAT ENERGY MAKES. IF THEY MAKE A GOOD PROFIT, THEY GET A GOOD BONUS. IF THEY DON'T, THEY DON'T. WELL FOR YEARS NOW, ENTERGY HAS BEEN MAKING A REALLY GOOD PROFIT ACCORDING TO THEIR NEWS RELEASE IN FEBRUARY 22ND OF THIS YEAR. UH, 2023 EARNINGS PER SHARE WAS 11 POINT 10 ON AS REPORTED BASIS AND 6 77 ON AN ADJUSTED BASIS. THAT'S WHY THEY GET SO MUCH COMPENSATION. UH, ONE OF THE EXECUTIVES THE BASE SALARY IS 6 25 BUT THE ACTUAL TOTAL COMPENSATION WAS $2,000,744 TWO MILLION SEVEN HUNDRED FORTY FOUR THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED AND SIXTY EIGHT THOUSAND DOLLARS. I JUST FEEL LIKE THERE NEEDS TO BE SOME WAY THAT WE CAN SEE WHERE ENTITY IS SPENDING ALL OF THESE, UH, RESTORATION FEES THAT WE'RE, WE'RE GIVING THEM. UH, EVERY MONTH IT COMES ON YOUR BILL, CHECK YOUR BILLS AND SEE HOW MUCH OF YOUR BILL IS A RESTORATION FEE. THEY'RE VERY LARGE IF YOU HAVE A LARGE HOUSE. AND SO I WOULD LIKE TO SEE SOMEONE HAVE AN ACCOUNTING FIRM, LIKE I SAID BEFORE, TO LOOK AT THESE AND SEE WHERE THIS MONEY HAS GONE [02:35:01] AND MAYBE ENTITY CAN PAY SOME MORE OF THEIR FAIR SHARE. THANK YOU. ANYONE ELSE? ALRIGHT, THANK YOU MADAM CLERK, [ORDINANCES FOR INTRODUCTION AND PUBLICATION IN SUMMARY] PLEASE READ THE ORDINANCES FOR INTRODUCTION AND THE SUMMARY. OKAY. THE FIRST THREE I'M GONNA READ ARE GONNA REQUIRE UNANIMOUS VOTES. THE FIRST ONE, AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND SECTION FOUR DASH 48 AND FOUR DASH 55 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF JEFFERSON PARISH, LOUISIANA RELATIVE TO CERTIFICATES OF QUALIFICATIONS TO DISPENSE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES AND THE AUTHORITY OF A CERTIFICATE HOLDER. ANY OBJECTION TO THE ADOPTION OF THAT ADOPTION OF THAT ORDINANCE? READ INTO SUMMARY A MOTION OF COUNCILMAN UH BONANNO SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN WALKER. HEARING NONE SO ORDERED AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE 1 3 7 0 9. THE EXECUTIVE PAY PLAN TO REVISE THE PAY GRADE FOR THE POSITION OF DIRECTOR OF PARKS AND RECREATION AND TO PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS. ANY OBJECTION TO THE ADOPTION OF THAT ORDINANCE? READ INTO SUMMARY A MOTION OF COUNCILMAN BANANA SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN WALKER. HEARING NONE SO ORDERED AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF JEFFERSON PARISHS, LOUISIANA BY ADDING DIVISION 18.6 ENTITLED OFFICE OF PARKS TO BE COMPRISE COMPRISED OF SECTION TWO DASH 3 82 THROUGH TWO DASH 3 84 RELATIVE TO THE CREATION OF THE OFFICE IN POSITION OF DIRECTOR AND TO AMEND ORDINANCE NUMBER 1 3 7 0 9. THE EXECUTIVE PAY PLAN FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE JEFFERSON PARISH TO INCORPORATE A NEW CLASS OF WORK ENTITLED DIRECTOR OF PARKS AND TO PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS. ANY OBJECTION TO THE ADOPTION OF THAT ORDINANCE? READ INTO SUMMARY. MOTION OF COUNCILMAN BONANO SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN WALKER. HEARING NONE SO ORDERED AN ORDINANCE SUBMITTED PROVING THE PRELIMINARY AND FINAL PLAT PART OF LOT TWO ACT BAR PLANTATION SUBDIVISION INTO LOT TWO A AND TWO B. AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE SPECIAL PERMITT USE TO CONSTRUCT AN OPERATE D-M-C-E-M-C-P-C-D PRODUCTION FACILITY FOR UBEC ONE CHEMICALS AMERICA INCORPORATED LOTS ONE A TWO A AND THREE A ONE CORNERSTONE SUBDIVISION ZONED R TWO TWO FAMILY RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT S ONE DISTRICT AND A IH HEAVY INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT WITH AN HMO HAZARDOUS MATERIALS OVERLAY. AN ORDINANCE SUBMITTED REQUESTED VARIANCES TO THE SIGN REGULATIONS OF THE MUCD FOR SHELL CONVENIENCE STORE LOCATED AT 59 97 LAPALCO BOULEVARD ON LOT D 1 0 1 B ONE AMES FORUM SUBDIVISION AN ORDINANCE AMENDING LOTS ONE A TWO A AND THREE A ONE CORNERSTONE SUBDIVISION LOCATED AT 1 0 8 0 0 0 0 RIVER ROAD. MORE PARTICULARLY AMENDING THE ZONING CLASSIFICATION FROM R TWO TWO FAMILY RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT AND S ONE TO IH WITH AN HM DASH O HAZARDOUS MATERIAL OVERLAY. AN ORDINANCE SUBMITTED APPROVING THE PRELIMINARY AND FINAL PLATA SUBDIVISION LOT ONE A TWO A AND THREE A ONE CORNERSTONE SUBDIVISION INTO LOT ONE A ONE CORNERSTONE SUBDIVISION. AN ORDINANCE SUBMITTED APPROVING REQUESTED VARIANCES TO THE LANDSCAPING REGULATIONS OF THE C ONE CBZ NEIGHBORHOOD COMMERCIAL COMMERCIAL PARKWAY OVERLAY DISTRICT FOR ARIA PLAZA LOCATED 7 0 1 ARIA BOULEVARD. AN ORDINANCE SUBMIT IT APPROVING THE PRELIMINARY AND FINAL PLAT OF SUBDIVISION OF UN-DESIGNATED PORTIONS OF SECTION 1 10 11 AND 12 TOWNSHIP 14 SOUTH RANGE 22 EAST SOUTHEASTERN LAND DISTRICT LOT N MS SEVEN NOLA MOTOR SPORTS PARK IN LOT C ONE C TWO AND C3 SOUTHEASTERN LAND DISTRICT. AN ORDINANCE SUBMITTED APPROVING THE PRELIMINARY AND FINAL PLAT OF SUBDIVISION OF LOTS ONE THROUGH 1926 THROUGH 28 AND A PORTION OF LOT 25 SQUARE 1 55 SOUTH NEW ORLEANS SUBDIVISION LOT ONE A SQUARE 1 55 SOUTH NEW ORLEANS SUBDIVISION IN ORDINANCE TO AMEND ORDINANCE NUMBER 1 4 7 9 6. THE PAY PLAN FOR THE CLASSIFIED SERVICE TO REVISE THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT OVER TIME EXEMPTION STATUS DESIGNATED FOR SELECTED CLASSES, AN ORDINANCE DECLARING VARIOUS ADJUDICATED PROPERTIES NO LONGER NEEDED FOR PUBLIC PURPOSES AND AUTHORIZING THE SALE OF THE SAID PROPERTIES TO THE ADJACENT LANDOWNERS. AN ORDINANCE DECLARING A PORTION OF THE FORMAL FAIRMONT DRIVE IN FARHAM PLACE NO LONGER NEEDED FOR PUBLIC PURPOSES AUTHORIZING ITS SALE TO THE ADJACENT PROPERTY OWNERS IN ORDINANCE TO AMEND SECTION TWO DASH 8 91 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES, MATTIE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT TO THE SPECIAL DISTRICTS THAT ARE EXEMPT FROM THE JEFFERSON PARISHS PROCUREMENT PROCEDURES. AN ORDINANCE [02:40:01] AMENDING THE 2024 CAPITAL BUDGET. AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE 2024 OPERATING BUDGET. AND THAT'S ALL THE ORDINANCES I HAVE TO READ INTO SUMMARY. THANK YOU MADAM CLERK. ANY OBJECTIONS TO THE ADOPTION OF THOSE ORDINANCES? READ INTO SUMMARY A MOTION OF COUNCILMAN BONANNOS SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN WALKER. HEARING NONE SO ORDERED. ANY OBJECTIONS TO THE MOTION TO ADJOURN BY ALL COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT. HEARING NONE SO ORDERED. THIS MEETING IS ADJOURNED. HAVE A GREAT WEEK EVERYBODY. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.