Winnfield City Council Meeting - April 14, 2015

Here's the audio of today's Winnfield City Council meeting.

Winn Parish Fire District #3 Board Regular Meeting - April 13, 2015

Here's the audio of last night's Fire District Board meeting.

Winn Parish School Board Regular Meeting - April 7, 2015

Here's the audio of today's School Board meeting:

Winn Parish Police Jury Regular Meeting - February 18, 2015

Here's the audio of yesterday's Police Jury meeting:



Below is the agenda. (There was one significant change in the agenda. Item 4 under BUSINESS actually involved the Village of Sikes, not the Village of Dodson.)

UPDATE: The minutes for the above meeting have been published on the WPPJ website.

Winn Parish Police Jury Board of Review Hearing Tomorrow

The Winn Parish Police Jury will have a Board of Review hearing tomorrow (September 11) at 4pm to review tax assessment appeals.

Village of Atlanta Board of Aldermen Meeting - September 5, 2013

Tonight's meeting failed due to lack of a quorum. Mayor Janet L. Finklea and Alderman Randall T. Hayes were present.

Winn Parish Police Jury Agenda for August 28, 2013, Special Meeting

Winn Parish Police Jury Agenda for August 19, 2013, Meetings

Remembering Max Kelley

Max Kelley was elected mayor of Winnfield in 1982 when he was not quite 30 years old. He served two terms during which he led the effort to revitalize the town. Today would have been his 61st birthday. Max died in 1994 at the age of 42.

Max was a brilliant marketer. He promoted Winnfield with a verve that I don't think you'd be likely to see in a mayor who had already entered middle-age. One of his most stellar accomplishments was helping to make downtown Winnfield a shooting location for the movie Blaze. That happened 20 years before north Louisiana had a significant film-making community. He was also one of the major players in establishing the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in the renovated L & A Depot.

My first political involvement was a letter I wrote to Mayor Kelley when I was about 10 or 11 years old. I told him that I thought Winnfield would benefit from having a pet store. (I never got a reply to that letter and Winnfield still doesn't have a pet store.)

I got to know him slightly a few years latter and he really did seem like a nice man. That impressed me a lot, given that many of the local officials in Winn Parish have seemed like douchebags.

One of the last times I saw Max Kelley was a few months before he found out he had cancer. A tourist from Wales had stopped me on North Street and asked for directions. While giving her a brief tour of downtown Winnfield, I stopped by Max's store on Main Street. Max welcomed the Welshwoman to Winnfield and took the time to give her (and me) a lesson on local history. He even pitched to her his idea of saving the old Winnfield Hotel, just in case she knew any potential investors.

A year later Max was dead and not long after that the old Winnfield Hotel was demolished. I think Winnfield would have been better if both could have stayed around awhile longer.

Village of Atlanta Board of Aldermen Minutes - August 1, 2013

VILLAGE OF ATLANTA

REGULAR MEETING

August 1, 2013

The regular meeting of the Mayor and Board of Aldermen of the Village of Atlanta was held at the Atlanta Town Hall on August 1, 2013. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Janet L. Finklea at 6:10 p.m. Those present in addition to the Mayor were Alderman Angela Hanson and Alderman Randall T. Hayes. Alderman Deborah Whittington was absent.

On motion by Alderman Hayes, seconded by Alderman Hanson, the Board voted to adopt the minutes from the July 11, 2013, meeting.

The Mayor provided an update on road-related grants the Village expects to receive later in the year from the Louisiana Community Development Block Grant Program.

Alderman Hanson moved to adopt a millage rate of 5.999 mills for 2013. Alderman Hayes seconded so discussion could proceed, but said he supported eliminating the municipal property tax. Alderman Hanson voted in favor of adopting the 5.999 millage rate, Alderman Hayes voted against, and the Mayor broke the tie by voting in favor. The resolution adopting the 5.999 millage rate passed.

On motion by Alderman Hayes, seconded by Alderman Hanson, the Board voted to adjourn at 7:40 p.m.

_________________________
Randall T. Hayes, Alderman/Secretary

Village of Atlanta Board of Aldermen Minutes - July 11, 2013

VILLAGE OF ATLANTA

REGULAR MEETING

July 11, 2013

The regular meeting of the Mayor and Board of Aldermen of the Village of Atlanta was held at the Atlanta Town Hall on July 11, 2013. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Janet L. Finklea at 6:05 p.m. Those present in addition to the Mayor were Alderman Angela Hanson, Alderman Randall T. Hayes, and Chief of Police Gerry Lummus. Alderman Deborah Whittington was absent.

Announcements & Comments:

The Board discussed improvements to be made later this year to Collier Street and Teal Street. The Board also discussed the possibility that some non-residents of the Village have been registered to vote in municipal elections.

Alderman Hanson read the Treasurer’s Report for the previous month which showed an ending balance of $55,278.26 as of June 30, 2013.

Business:

On motion by Alderman Hayes, seconded by Alderman Hanson, the Board voted to adopt the minutes from the May 2, 2013, meeting.

A resolution was discussed to comply with regulations of the Louisiana Community Development Block Grant (LCDBG) Program to designate individuals to sign and receive requests for funds; to designate an official depositary to hold LCDBG funds; to designate an individual to certify correctness of signatures; to adopt required plans, procedures, and policies; to appoint Alderman Hayes as the Anti-Displacement Coordinator, the Equal Employment Officer, the Citizen Complaint Officer, and the Labor Compliance Officer - LCDBG Administrator; and to authorize the Mayor to sign all documents pertaining to the LCDBG Program. On motion by Alderman Hanson, seconded by Alderman Hayes, the Board voted to adopt the resolution.

On motion by Alderman Hayes, seconded by Alderman Hanson, the Board voted to allow Chief Lummus to have routine maintenance, such as oil changes, done to the Village’s police car without having to get the Board’s prior approval for each act of routine maintenance.

On motion by Alderman Hanson, seconded by Alderman Hayes, the Board voted to adjourn at 7:40 p.m.

_________________________
Randall T. Hayes, Alderman/Secretary

Village of Atlanta's Financial Statement for 2012

The Village of Atlanta's financial statement for the 2012 fiscal year has been posted on the Louisiana Legislative Auditor's website.

Winn Parish Police Jury Agenda for July 15, 2013, Meeting

Winn Police Jury Puts Proposed Sales Tax on October Ballot

At the special meeting of the Winn Parish Police Jury held this afternoon, the Jury voted to place a 1% sales tax proposition on the October 19 ballot. The proposed tax will be similar to one that is currently in place, but will allow the Jury more discretion than the current tax does in deciding how the revenue will be spent. This was done so that revenue from the "garbage" tax could also be spent on the related activity of picking up trash along the sides of the roads. As with the current tax the proposed tax revenue will be split between the Jury and the City of Winnfield, with the former getting 60% and the latter getting 40%. The current tax was adopted in 2003 for a term of ten years and will expire next year.

This proposition is expected to be the only item on the October ballot in Winn Parish. Police Jury President Jack McFarland estimated the cost of the election to be around $26,000. That cost will be split evenly between the Police Jury and the City of Winnfield.

No one from the Winnfield city government was present at the meeting. In fact, I was the only person in the audience.

Special Meeting of Winn Parish Police Jury to Adopt Resolution on Garbage Tax Prop

There will be a special meeting of the Winn Parish Police Jury tomorrow July 10 at 4:30pm to adopt a resolution on the garbage sales tax proposition.

Special Meeting of Winn Parish Police Jury to Discuss Proposed Sales Tax

There will be a special meeting of the Winn Parish Police Jury today at 4pm to discuss the 1% sales tax proposition.

Winn Parish Police Jury Agenda for June 17, 2013, Meeting

Winn Parish Police Jury Notice of Public Meeting for June 17, 2013

Village of Atlanta Board of Aldermen Meeting - June 6, 2013

Tonight's meeting failed due to lack of a quorum. Mayor Janet L. Finklea and Alderman Randall T. Hayes were present.

Village of Atlanta Board of Aldermen Minutes - May 2, 2013

VILLAGE OF ATLANTA

REGULAR MEETING

May 2, 2013

The regular meeting of the Mayor and Board of Aldermen of the Village of Atlanta was held at the Atlanta Town Hall on May 2, 2013. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Janet L. Finklea at 6:10 p.m. Those present in addition to the Mayor were Aldermen Angela Hanson, Randall T. Hayes, and Deborah Whittington.

Announcements & Comments:

Alderman Hanson reported that the Village had inquired into acquiring an outdoor enclosed bulletin board to be installed in front of the Town Hall and to be used by the Village for posting public notices. Those present discussed the materials with which the bulletin board should be constructed, its dimensions, and ways to minimize its cost.

Alderman Hayes reported that the Village had created a Facebook group to facilitate discussion of community events and issues. The URL is facebook.com/groups/villageofatlanta.

Alderman Whittington presented a U.S. flag from the Fire Department to be flown in front of the Town Hall.

Business:

On motion by Alderman Hanson, seconded by Alderman Hayes, the Board voted unanimously to adopt the minutes from the April 11, 2013, meeting.

On motion by Alderman Hayes, seconded by Alderman Whittington, the Board voted unanimously to adopt the minutes from the March 7, 2013, meeting.

On motion by Alderman Hanson, seconded by Alderman Hayes, the Board voted unanimously to adjourn at 6:46 p.m.

_________________________
Randall T. Hayes, Alderman/Secretary