Minutes

Regular Meeting

July 14, 2010

6:30 p.m.

The Mayor Michael A. Ragusa and Board of Aldermen of the Town of Independence, La. met in a regular meeting on Wednesday, July 14, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. in the City Hall.

Pledge was led by Louis L. Joseph.

Prayer was led by John Henson.

Roll call was read by Town Clerk, Robin Dagro, Quorum was present.

Present: Mayor Michael A. Ragusa, Alderman Richard Navarra, Larry Cardaronella, Michael Muscarello, Town Attorney LeAnne Malnar, Parnell Baham, Louis L. Joseph.

Absent: None.

Motion was made by Alderman Richard Navarra, seconded by Parnell Baham to amend agenda. Passed unanimously.

Motion was made by Louis Joseph, seconded by Larry Cardaonella, to dispense of reading of minutes. Passed unanimously.

Motion was made by Larry Cardaronella, seconded by Michael Muscarello to adopt agenda. Motion passed unanimously.

Old Business:

A. Mark Kolwe, Superintendent for Tangipahoa Parish School System was present to explain and answer any questions on the proposed millage increase that will be on the ballot in October. He answered many questions and went into detail on how it will help our schools here in Independence. Also present was Nick Gagliano, The Gagliano Group, to help answer any further questions. Mr. Gagliano has done a study on how the millage will affect our local school and neighboring schools. As it was explained to the board and Mayor and audience, the main concerns is to make our schools offer many more areas of study and to allow magnet schools to help prepare our students for their future. Mayor Ragusa thanked them for coming and for explaining this millage increase. Questions were asked by the board and Louis Joseph stated that with his knowledge as former superintendent, he feels that this millage increase is a good thing and will help our students in the future.

B. A resolution for the Louisiana Land Trust was read by Town Attorney Le'Anne Malnar. A motion to approve this resolution was made by Louis Joseph, seconded by Larry Cardaronella. Motion to approve was unanimous.

C. Fire Chief Dennis Crocker was present to discuss a recent resignation that he has received. Brandon Boheim has turned in his resignation and Chief Crocker asked for approval to replace him with Jonathon Tallo. A motion to approve the hiring was made by Michael Musacrello, seconded by Butch Baham. Motion to approve hiring was unanimous.

D. The issue of surplus vehicles was next to discuss. The Parish is holding a surplus auction in the near future. The Town has been contacted and asked if they would like to include any surplus vehicles that we have in this auction. We have three (3) vehicles that we can include in this. A motion to approve including these vehicles in this auction was made by Larry Cardaronella, seconded by Butch Baham. Motion was passed unanimously.

New Business:

A. Bids were opened for the Fiscal Agent for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011. Bids were received from First Guaranty Bank and Hancock Bank. A motion was made by Louis L. Joseph, seconded by Larry Cardaronella to take these bids under advisement and discuss them further at the special meeting on July 28, 2010. Motion to table was passed unanimously.

B. Bids were opened for the Official Journal for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011. Bids were received by the Daily Star and Amite Tangi Digest. A motion was made by Michael Muscarello, seconded by Louis Joseph to take this matter under advisement and table it until the special meeting on July 28, 2010. Motion to table was passed unanimously.

Police Remarks:

Chief Edwards stated that as of the 28th of July, he is restructuring the department. He is no longer going to have a "dispatcher". He also stated that he has recently hired Lenny Thompson. Mr. Thompson is certified in DUI and has extensive training and will be a valuable asset to our department.

Fire Remarks:

None

Public Input:

Angelo Mannino was present to discuss the city limits. He stated that he is receiving conflicting information on whether he is in the city limits or not. He recently purchased a vehicle and was charged sales tax as if he was inside the limits of the town. This matter needs looked into further to eliminate this matter in the future. Mayor Ragusa stated that this is the reason that he is trying to officially establish the limits of the town with the Dept. Of Justice. He will keep everyone updated as he receives any correspondence on this matter.

Mayor's Remarks: Mayor Ragusa stated that he would like to consider setting the agenda for the special meeting at the regular meeting prior.

Aldermen Remarks

Mike Muscarello: None

Richard Navarra: None

Larry Cardaronella: 4th of July went well and wanted to thank everyone involved.

Parnell Baham: None

Louis Joseph: Get ready for hurricane season.

Town Attorney:

Atty. Malnar discussed the recent EEOC cases. These cases are closed as far as EEOC is concerned. If the parties involved want to pursue, they will need to file a cival case which will involve them personally obtaining an attorney.

Motion to adjourn was made by Alderman Michael Muscarello, seconded by Richard Navarra. Motion to adjourn passed unanimously.

Michael Ragusa

Mayor

Robin Dagro

Clerk

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Publish in The Amite Tangi Digest on Wednesday, August 4, 2010.