Mayor Larry Alexander updated the council on city business at Monday’s meeting.
Alexander discussed grants. He said Oberlin has 13 to 14 active grants, and is waiting on other grants. The town was just awarded a grant from KLB (Keep Louisiana Beautiful). He said the $8,000 will be used to focus on cleaning areas by supplying materials, etc.
The town is working on funding for Act 396, a resolution to update the walking trail at Veteran’s Park. The council gave permission to the mayor to sign paperwork involving this Act.
Alexander had two bids, one to replace and rebuild the asphalt trail for $97,000 or to overlay the existing trail with two-and-a-half-inches of asphalt and clean it up for $67,000. The town’s grant is for $100,000. Alexander recommended utilizing $67,000 to overlay the existing track. He said any money remaining will be used elsewhere. The council agreed.
In the last few months, the mayor said workers have been cleaning ditches. He said the job was estimated to last four-months but will likely take eight months to a year to complete. He said workers are having to stop cleaning ditches to make repairs to water lines. He explained that when one line breaks and is repaired, it puts pressure on the other old lines causing them to break. The town has a grant for $75,000 to put toward ditch cleaning. Alexander said they were renting equipment, but when he realized the job would take longer than anticipated, he looked at the cost of buying equipment vs. renting. They were renting the equipment for $2,200.75 per month. He said the town could purchase the equipment for $35,000. The town also would have two trailers and a sprayer. He said the town would still have money to do other items like culvert replacement, etc. The council agreed.
The town has a number of grants at the moment. Alexander said they are waiting on a DRA grant (Delta Regional Authority). If the town is awarded the grant, it will be used to take care of the old water lines that were not closed.
As far as finances, Alexander said the town is working to pay bills. He said in the last few months, the town has found other routes of revenue through the police department, etc. He said these dollars are helping.
In other business, the council:
•Approved the liquor license at the Rice Bin, which will be located in the old Jenkins Hardware store. The architect is still working on the architectural plans. It is anticipated to open in October or November if all goes well. The council discussed whether the bar would meet the ordinance’s distance from church locations. They also discussed if the town should require security at the bar or if the town had the proper security in case problems arose at the business.
•Agreed to pay bills.
•Learned the water rate study report should be given to the town soon. He said the study will assist the town with grants and allow them to compare rates and expenses. He said it’s going to lead up to adjusting rates, something that probably should have been done for many years in small increments. He said they will discuss this when the results are given to the town. Alexander did say the town is still not in a position to save monies into its emergency fund.
•Agreed a permit would be required to deal with blighted property. When a person wishes to clear away blighted property, they or the company doing the work, will have to secure a $250 permit to make sure the town has cut off all water, sewer, gas and electrical services.
•Approved standard fees for travel for mileage, fees and housing costs.
•Agreed to advertise for an auditor for the town for the fiscal year 2022-2023. They also learned the present audit has met some obstacles but will be completed soon by Royce T Scimemi. He received an extension until September 30, because they had difficulty locating all paperwork. Alexander also said the legislative auditor is also finishing their audit.
•Agreed to purchase trailers for its automated camera systems.
•Approved the citizen participation plan in regards to the LCDBG (Louisiana Community Development Block Grant Program) grant application.
