Washington Parish Council Minutes
Special Meeting
Washington Parish Courthouse
908 Washington Street
Franklinton, La 70438
Council Chambers
August 1, 2024
Thursday – 4:00 PM
Item No. 1: Call to Order: Council Chairman Joe Culpepper called the meeting to order.
Item No. 2: Invocation: Councilwoman Wagner gave the invocation.
Item No. 3: Pledge of Allegiance: Councilman King led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Item No. 4: Roll Call: Interim Council Clerk Danielle Folks called the roll. Present were Reginald McMasters, Carley King, Joe Culpepper, and Kim Wagner. Absent were Shawn Rice, Clark Harry, and Steven Branch.
Item No. 5: Executive Session: Council Chairman Culpepper: The purpose of this meeting is to discuss filling the position of the Council Clerk. Pursuant to that, I would like to entertain a motion to go into executive session under LRS 42:17A(1) involving personnel matter to discuss the qualifications of the candidate for the Washington Parish Clerk position.
Councilwoman Wagner: I make a motion.
Councilman King: Second.
Council Chairman Culpepper: I have a motion by Councilwoman Wagner and a second by Councilman King.
Roll call of the vote as follows:
YEAS: (4) McMasters, King, Culpepper, Wagner
NAYS: (0)
ABSENT: (3) Rice, Harry, Branch
ABSTAIN: (0)
Council Chairman Culpepper: Thank you. With that, we are considering ourselves in Executive Session. We need everyone, with the exception of Donna and the council members, to clear Council Chambers, please.
Council Chairman Culpepper: At this time, I will entertain a motion for the council to come out of Executive Session.
Councilman McMasters: I so move.
Councilman King: Second.
Council Chairman Culpepper: I have a motion by Councilman McMasters and a second by Councilman King.
Roll call of the vote as follows:
YEAS: (5) McMasters, King, Culpepper, Wagner, Harry
NAYS: (0)
ABSENT: (2) Rice, Branch
ABSTAIN: (0)
Council Chairman Culpepper: Also for the record, Councilman Harry joined us during Executive Session and is now included in this meeting. The meeting was originally scheduled to discuss the appointment of a council clerk, and I’m going to read Section 2-10 of the Home Rule Charter. The council shall, by vote of a majority of its authorized membership, appoint a Clerk of the Council who shall serve at the pleasure of the Council.
Item No. 6: Resolution 24-1317: A motion to appoint a Council Clerk to the Washington Parish Council.
Council Chairman Culpepper: Therefore, the resolution that was previously on the agenda is not necessary. We are going to take a motion and a vote. So at this time, is there a motion from the council as far as who we would like to appoint from our candidates as council clerk?
Councilman McMasters: Yes. I would like to nominate Mrs. Jordan Dykes as the council clerk for the Council.
Councilwoman Wagner: Second.
Council Chairman Culpepper: We have a motion by Councilman McMasters and a second by Councilwoman Wagner:
Roll call of the vote as follows:
YEAS: (5) McMasters, King, Culpepper, Wagner, Harry
NAYS: (0)
ABSENT: (2) Rice, Branch
ABSTAIN: (0)
I think it’s only fair that we say thank you to all of the people who have applied for this job. We have interviewed over the course of two different meetings a fair amount of people who were qualified for this job and it was actually a very tough decision, trying to weed out and pick the most appropriate one. We thank all the candidates who haven’t won.
Item No. 7: Public Participation: As this is a public meeting, would anyone from the public like to come forward and speak?
Councilman McMasters: Seeing as how no one has come forward, I move that we close public participation.
Councilman King: Second.
Council Chairman Culpepper: We have a motion by Councilman McMasters and a second by Councilman King.
Roll call of the vote as follows: Roll call of the vote as follows:
YEAS: (5) McMasters, King, Culpepper, Wagner, Harry
NAYS: (0)
ABSENT: (2) Rice, Branch
ABSTAIN: (0)
Item No. 8: Adjourn: Council Chairman Culpepper: With that, this meeting is adjourned.
Councilman McMasters: I’ll make a motion to adjourn.
Councilman King: Second.
Council Chairman Culpepper: We have a motion by Councilman McMasters and a second by Councilman King.
Roll call of the vote as follows:
YEAS: (5) McMasters, King, Culpepper, Wagner, Harry
NAYS: (0)
ABSENT: (2) Rice, Branch
ABSTAIN: (0)
Joe Culpepper, Chairman
Washington Parish Council
Danielle Folks, Interim Clerk to the Council
Washington Parish Council
Order of Voting:
Steven Branch Shawn Rice Reginald McMasters Kim Wagner Carley King Clark Harry Joe Culpepper
The next regular meeting will be held on Monday, August 12, 2024
In accordance with the American Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance, please contact Danielle Folks, Interim Clerk to the Council, at 985.335.1302, describing the assistance that is necessary.
(All Ordinances, Resolutions, and attachments in their entirety are available at the Office of the Clerk of the Council at 909 Pearl Street, Franklinton, Louisiana or at 985.839.7825, or wpgov.org)
**This institution is an equal opportunity provider and employer.”
Adv. August 21, 2024.