Weather Magnet

City council facing lengthy agenda in Bogalusa

BY JOHN H. WALKER
The Daily News
Published/Last Modified on Monday, October 6, 2008 8:47 AM CDT


A lengthy agenda, including the introduction of eight resolutions and public hearings and votes on five others, faces members of the Bogalusa City Council when they meet at 5:30 Tuesday afternoon in the municipal courtroom.

Two of the items involve Riverside Drive, although the items are unrelated. One is an ordinance to be introduced by Councilman Michael O’Ree that would authorize the mayor to “enter into an agreement with Mile Branch Investments, Inc. for the purpose of obtaining a 50’ Right-of-Way on Riverside Drive.”

That item is a formalization of an agreement between Joey Knight and the city of Bogalusa to allow a 50-foot right of way on property owned by Knight.

Advertisement
The second item that concerns Riverside is one of the items on which a public hearing will be held and would allow the mayor to “acquire by expropriation or purchase a parcel of property located on 1713 Riverside Drive.”

The property in question belongs to Doy Cothern and is a vacant lot located between his home and that of his daughter, Ann Scott Mizell. The lot became a point of contention when Olympia Construction, builders of Columbia Street Station Apartments, pumped runoff on it. Additional problems were created in the neighborhood when the apartment site was apparently built up to an elevation higher than that of adjoining properties, causing flooding during periods of heavy rain.

Cothern obtaining a restraining order that restricted access to the property then bought it outright from the owner. James Hall, public works director for the city, says the flooding problem has existed for a number of years and that a ditch along Riverside Drive has been in place for a number of years as well.

Residents disputed Hall’s statements before the council and photographs of the street prove the ditch is a relatively new addition to the landscape.

Mizell distributed more than 500 flyers throughout the city on Thursday, encouraging the public to attend the meeting and warning them that their property “could be next,” inferring to the expropriation possibilities.

She said she also attempted to be placed on the agenda Friday morning, but was told it was too late because the agenda had “been sent to the newspaper.”

Other items on the agenda include:

• An ordinance authorizing the mayor to enter into a maintenance agreement (mowing and litter pick-up) between the city and the state highway department.

• An ordinance authorizing the mayor to enter into a lease agreement with Antill Pipeline Construction Co. of Houma for the lease of Lots 2 and 3 in the Bogalusa Industrial Park.

• An ordinance revising the 2008 budget.

• An ordinance requiring a permit for use of municipal property for business operations in the city.

• An ordinance setting the franchise fee for those entities providing cable or video service with (sic) the city’s municipal limits under a state-granted franchise authority.

• An ordinance requiring the payment of public, educational, governmental access programming support to the city of Bogalusa by cable or video providers.

• An ordinance authorizing the mayor to enter into an agreement with Capital One Bank for the purchase of eight police patrol cars.

• A public hearing on an ordinance authorizing the mayor to execute an agreement with the state department of transportation and FAA for improvements at the airport.

• An ordinance authorizing the mayor to enter into any and all contracts necessary and incidental in the operation of the Choctaw Road Landfill in partnership with the Washington Parish Council.

• An ordinance setting fines of up to $500 and/or disconnecting city services of FEMA trailers.

• An ordinance requiring the administration to furnish an itemized and detailed statement of all credit card bills for the last three years.

Comments

Write a Comment

Comment posters are responsible for the opinions they express and the accuracy of the information they provide. We urge comment writers to treat this as a public forum where manners matter. We encourage a collegial, non-insulting tone. All readers comments must be approved by our staff before posting to the Web site. Be aware, in accordance with the Communications Decency Act and provisions upheld in judicial appeal, that you are responsible for comments posted on this Web site. The Daily News is not liable for messages from third parties.



DO NOT POST:
* Potentially libelous statements or damaging innuendo.
* Obscene, explicit, or racist language.
* Personal attacks, insults or threats.
* The use of another person's real name to disguise your identity.
* Comments unrelated to the story.

Opinions, advice and all other information expressed in gobogalusa.com's reader comments represent the individual's own views and not necessarily those of the Daily News. The Daily News does not endorse and is not responsible for statements, advice or opinions offered by anyone other than authorized Daily News spokespersons.

Thank you for your comments!

(optional)
Current Word Count:
   

Contact Us




Make Us Your Homepage