The February City Council meeting opened with the discussion still centered around the audit report that came out last month.
City attorney Ray Rush invited Jacob Fusilier to the meeting to present a case to the council members on pursuing a lawsuit against the previous auditor. Rush stated there has been a cause of action filed against Lisa Schaefer’s estate for about two weeks now. When he looked further into the possibility of filing a cause of action against anyone else, he began looking into the previous auditor. He believed there was a cause of action and contacted Jacob Fusilier to ask if he would take the case on a contingency. This means that Fusilier will only collect payment if he wins the case.
Fusilier stated after looking over the case carefully he believes he will win. Though the suit can only go back three years, roughly to 2018, the sum of this money would equal about $400,000. Fusilier will be paid 36 percent of the settlement. The council members voted to proceed and go forward with this.
There was a discussion to sell the property located on the corner of Canady and Jackson streets in Councilwoman Cassandra Allison’s district. She stated there are some kids that still play on some of the equipment and use the courts. She also stated she would like to check with her district to see their thoughts before giving her opinion. The council will wait for her report before proceeding forward.
There are two funds that have been awarded to the city to be used for the betterment of city hall. The Allen Parish Capital Improvement Fund was awarded to Oakdale through the Allen Parish Hotel/Motel Sales Tax Dedications Act One Appropriation Fund. These funds are in the amount of $50,000 and will be used to repair and replace the air conditioning at city hall. The Capital Outlay Funds for Oakdale come in at $352,500 and will be used for city hall renovation.
After the meeting, the mayor explained this is being done at no cost to taxpayers. The building is aging, and there have been no upgrades in recent years. He said the money will help replace the roof, damaged ceiling tiles inside and update the electrical wiring because several lights and outlets are no longer working. Also the building is not up to code for handicap access, so it will be brought up to code. The front desk area of the lobby will be reconstructed including replacing carpet and flooring. Some painting is planned. He said they also are working on acquiring funds for generators for city hall and other areas for emergency purposes.
City Clerk Geri Melder asked the council to amend the budget for the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2022, to include monies received. This includes $88,400 for LGAP (Local Government Assistance Program), $1,162,440 from FEMA, $105,000 from the insurance collected on Shaffer, $30,982.06 on a leased vehicle for Oakdale Police Department and $1,398,227 from the American Recovery Money. The money from the American Recovery Money is the first disbursement. The city will received the second disbursement in August. This was approved.
Eureka Wade asked the city for a permit for a Class B Package Beer and Liquor License for the new Y-Not Stop, tentative on them receiving the permit from the state as well. This was passed.
The mayor informed the city that fiber and broadband internet is coming to Oakdale/Allen Parish. Louisiana was awarded $375 million to improve their services. The target start date is April and it will take approximately four months.
The police report was read for February of 2022. There were 452 calls for service, 176 citations issued, 26 arrests made and 32 unlocks. This brings the total citation violation to 686.
The police chief also made the following recommendations:
•Approved to move Courtney Ware from part-time dispatcher to full-time.
•Approved to change Deputy Chief Grant Willis from an hourly wage to a salary pay.
•Approved for non-essential employees to be given President’s Day and Mardi Gras off.
Samantha Giles, representing the fire department, read the monthly report for the department. There were two structure fires, seven medical calls, five vehicle accidents, five landing calls, one hazmat, two public assists and two miscellaneous for a total of 24 city calls. Samantha also made the recommendation to give non-essential employees President’s Day and Mardi Gras off. This was approved.
