Minden City Council Recap

A number of property condemnations, a new firefighter hire and light restoration for the I-20 Minden exit highlighted the monthly meeting of the Minden City Council Monday night.

The City Council dealt with 6 different properties on Monday:

• The Council condemned property at 420 Martin Luther King Drive belonging to C. L. Baker and ordered the property to be cleaned within 90 days.
• Condemned property at 404 South Street belonging to Charlotte Scott and ordered the property to be cleaned within 30 days.
• Condemned property at 408 Morrow Street belonging to Charles E. Cato and ordered the property to be cleaned within 30 days.
• Condemned property at 410 Morrow Street belonging to Ruth M. Walker and ordered the property to be cleaned within 90 days.
• Condemned property at 232 North Middle Landing Street and ordered the property to be cleaned within 90 days.
• Authorized the Mayor to appoint a curator for property at 217 Main Street belonging to Willie Combs, Jr.

The Council also approved:

• New Fire Fighter hire, confirming Joshua Butts as a full-time firefighter in the Minden Fire Department, subject to passing all applicable tests.
• Adoption of resolution to amend the city of Minden budget for 2022-23
• Adoption of resolution authorizing Mayor Nick Cox to execute an agreement with The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development for Project #H.012030,  US 371: KCS RR Overpasses HB1. Mayor Cox said that the agreement will have the state to pay 90% of the cost to repair/replace lights at the Minden I-20 Exit (47) with the city agreeing to cover the 10% remainder.
• Adoption of a resolution regarding the lease purchase agreement for the purpose of Financing a Heavy Rescue Fire truck for the Fire Department. The cost of the used truck is $315,000, and according to the City Clerk Michael Fluhr, a new truck would cost $800,000 and be on order for almost 2 years.

The council also adopted several policy items that were based on recommendations made by the City Auditor, the firm of Allen, Green, & Williamson, LLP. The four policies approved were:

• Backup & Recovery Procedures for City of Minden IT Department.
• Information Technology Disaster Recovery Plan
• Debt Management Policy
• Sexual Harassment Policy

The council approved Bid No 05-2023, for the Fire Department Custom Heavy Rescue Truck. The purchase is a 5-year lease.

The council voted to remove item #12 from the agenda, that was to allow Mayor Cox to enter in to a short form of agreement, professional services agreement, and task order between the City Of Minden and Manchac Consulting Group, Inc. According to Mayor Cox, the reason for asking for the withdrawal of the item was because of inability to agree to terms between the city and Manchac.

The Council heard from Minden City Clerk, Michael Fluhr, who reported that Sales Tax Collections for May totaled $639,098, a 5.2% increase from April and more than the budgeted amount of $608,338. Through the first 8 months of the budget year, Sales Tax collections are running $409,000 over budget. Cash balances for the city for May totaled $22 million, up from $22.5 million in April and more than the May 2022 amount of $21.6 million. Fluhr reported that the city budget for 2023/24 is almost complete, and the Country Club Circle project is almost finished.

 

The next meeting of the Minden City Council is scheduled for Monday, August 7^th.