February Minden City Council Meeting Wrap-Up

Personnel hires/promotions and board appointments topped the Minden City Council agenda on Monday night.

The Council approved two new Police Department Hires: Anthony Crittenden and Cadyn O’Connor as full-time Police Officers, subject to passing all applicable tests. The Council also approved the promotions of Officer First Class Reece Tewell and Office First Class Christopher Coyer both to the rank of Sergeant.

Several appointments to Minden Downtown/Residential Historic Commission were approved by the Council, including:

Residential Appointments:

• William Michael “Mike” Dick to fill expired term of Anne Demaline, with his term expiring on 12/31/25.
• Reappointment of Charlotte Jones, with term expiring 12/31/23
• Reappointment of Elizabeth Hollingsworth, with term expiring 12/31/24
• Reappointment of Leslie Rainer, with term expiring 12/31/26

Downtown Appointments:

• Alicia Watson Adams to fill expired term of Drew White, with her term ending 12/31/24.
• Reappointment Logan McConathy, whose term expires on 12/31/23.
• Reappointment of Jodie Martin, whose term expires on 12/31/25.
• Reappointment of Melanie McCullough, whose term expires on 12/31/26.

The Council also approved several appointments to the Minden Main Street Program/Downtown Development Commission:

• Kim Landaiche to fill unexpired term of Larry Gipson, whose term expires on 9/8/24.
• Reappointment of Shawn Hatcher, whose term expires on 9/8/25.
• Reappointment of Tiffany Washington-Johnson, whose term expires on 9/8/25.

The Council approved two appointments to the Housing Authority of the City of Minden Board:

• Sheila Phenix
• Sharon Davis

Other action taken by the Council at Monday night’s meeting included:

• Adopting revisions to the City of Minden Employee Manual
• Authorizing the advertising of Bids for the 2022-23 Street Improvement Program with highlighted areas including:
  • Country Club Circle (Germantown Road to Lewisville Road)
  • Bayou Avenue (Pine Street to High Street)
  • North Middle Landing (West Street to Shreveport Road)
  • South Middle Landing (Shreveport Road to Horton Street)
  • East Street (MLK Drive to Industrial Drive)
  • Carolina Street (East Street to Sibley Road)
  • Intersection of Davenport Drive/Erwin Thompson Drive
• Advertise for bids for the Fiscal Year 2022 Louisiana Community Block Development Grant Sewer Rehabilitation Project.
• Adoption of Resolution to adopt a Language Access Plan (LAP) for Limited English Proficiency Persons as required to receive Louisiana Community Block Grant funds or any other Federal Funding.
• Authorized Mayor Nick Cox to enter into a contract with Neil Erwin, Attorney at Law, to serve as “Outside Counsel” for the City of Minden and to represent the City in matters pertaining to land use, zoning, employment, and other legal matters as may become necessary under the supervision of the City Attorney.
• Approved amendments to the City of Minden 2022-23 Budget

The Council heard from City Clerk, Michael Fluhr, who reported that December Sales tax collections were at $734,550. That number was up from $699,853 in December 2021. Delinquent collections totaled $5,089 of that amount and the TIF districts reported a 3% increase in December. The cash report for the city shows a total of $23.3 million in investments and cash for the city, which is down slightly from $23.5 million in November of 2022.

Fluhr reported that in January that the city would be looking a possible increase in retirement percentages going up in next year’s budget. However, according to Fluhr, that number will only be increasing for the Police Department retirement contributions which will go to 34.35% while the Fire Department remains at 33.25% and all other city employees at 29.5%. Fluhr also noted that the audit for 2021-22 is underway with personnel returning in a couple of weeks to continue the process.

The next meeting of the Minden City Council is scheduled for Monday, March 6^th.