Legal Notice

CITY OF VILLE PLATTE

REGULAR MEETING

JULY 8, 2025

Mayor Ryan Williams called the meeting to order at 5:30 pm.

After an opening prayer and the pledge of allegiance, role was called. In attendance were Alderwoman Lemoine, Alderwoman Sam, Alderman Roy, Alderman Jagneaux, Alderwoman Frank, Alderman Riggs and City Clerk & Tax Collector Bergeron, Fire Chief Soileau and City Attorney Ludeau. Police Chief Thomas was absent.

The first item of business was to approve June 10th meeting minutes. Motion by Alderwoman Frank and 2nd by Alderwoman Sam. Motion passed unanimously.

Second item was to approve the June 26th 2025 Special Meeting Minutes. Motion by Alderman Roy 2nd by Alderwoman Frank.

Motion passed unanimously. Third item was to approve June monthly financial statements that were emailed to the council. Mayor Williams asked for any comments on the financials. There being none, he asked for a motion to approve the financials as presented. A motion was made by Alderwoman Frank, seconded by Alderman Jagneaux and the motion passed unanimously.

Mayor Williams asked for any public comments on the agenda. There being none, Mayor Williams asked for approval of two additions to the agenda. The first addition was to hear a damage claim for a windshield broken by the grass cutting crew. The second agenda addition was to consider a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement between the City and Veterans of Ville Platte, Inc. Disabled American Veterans Chapter 41, Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 632 and American Legion Ville Platte Chapter for help with utility bills. A motion to approve the agenda additions was offered by Alderwoman Frank and 2nd by Alderwoman Sam. Motion passed unanimously. Mayor Williams asked for any public comments on the agenda. There being none, the windshield damage claim was presented to the council. The grass crew was weed eating grass at the intersection of Freddie Dunn and MLK and a rock broke the window on a parked vehicle. Damage claim was $251. Motion to pay claim was offered by Alderwoman Frank and 2nd by Alderman Roy. Motion passed unanimously.

The Cooperative Endeavor Agreement with the veteran’s organization was presented by Dirk Deville on behalf of the veterans, who stated that the veterans have very limited funds and are asking if the city would waive utility fees on their behalf. A motion to approve the waiver was offered by Alderwoman Sam and 2nd by Alderwoman Lemoine to approve the waiver, pending clearance to do so from the city’s auditors. Motion passed unanimously.

City Engineer Landreneau reported on work progress for phase 4 of the water project. Discussion on water pressure for residents on E Washington Street was addressed with the possibility of making the replacement of the water lines a priority when the project starts. The water sector project for the refurbishment of the 19 lift stations and the generator placement was discussed. Phase 4 of the water distribution project was over budget and Landreneau and Associates are doing value engineering to try to get the project in budget. Four of the 19 sewer lift stations or completed. One more is currently under construction. The parks construction is moving along. The architect is modifying the plans, showing where the playground and splash pads that the city is furnishing will be located. This project has been in the works for many years and this administration is finally bringing it to a reality. This concluded the engineers report.

Fire Chief Soileau reported for the month of June, the fire department was dispatched to 13 incidents in the city, and 5 incidents in the surrounding fire district, totaling 18 incidents. 3 of the incidents in the city were structure fires and there were 3 vehicle accidents with injuries.

• Our crews have completed hydrant inspections in the city and we are working on updating the maintenance list.

• Annual apparatus pump certifications and apparatus inspection are complete with minor maintenance, repairs, and filters and fluids replacement scheduled. All apparatus remains in service.

• End of my report.

Police Chief Thomas’s report was given by police spokesperson Nancy Duplechain who stated during the month of June the department responded to a total of 463 calls for assistance. 15 citations for a total of 20 violations and 30 arrests which included 5 felony arrests. 21 were male and 9 were female. Officers also responded to 25 accidents in the month of June 2025. Compared to June, calls were up by 91, citations were down by 18. Arrests were down by 2, felonies down by 3. Accidents were down by 5 and there were no fatalities. This concludes the chief’s report.

In his mayor’s report, Mayor Williams stated:

First, I want to thank all of the sponsors that helped make our 2nd annual Fourth of July celebration possible. I also want to our city employees for making this possible. Next, I would like to schedule a ground-breaking for July 10th at 10 AM for Heritage Garden Park. We have been receiving multiple compliments of how nice the renovations to the Heritage Garden Park looks.

The installation of the new playground equipment should be completed by the end of this week or early next week at Hope Park, Hargroder Park and Northside Park. It warms my heart to see our children immediately enjoying the new playground equipment throughout the different parks as soon as they were installed.

I spoke to the vendor and the basketball court sports tiles are nearly complete and are expected to be shipped out by early next week. These will go on all three parks. A pickle ball court will also be installed at Northside Park.

The splash pad equipment has been built and is currently in line for powder coating. We anticipate the splash pad at Hargrove Park to be installed and fully operational by mid-august, with Northside Park splash pad following by early September. Our citizens will have plenty of time to enjoy these facilities before winter arrives.

I want to take a moment to thank all of my council members for supporting the new vision I proposed—a vision tied to this long-awaited quality of life project that had been promised to our community many years before my administration. This is only the beginning—there is so much more to come.

Renovations have officially begun at the old city hall. We are currently in discussions with a potential tenant who will occupy the building, bringing this historic structure back into service for the benefit of our community. This concludes my report.

Item Nine, Executive Session was canceled.

A resolution to approve an application to the Clean Water State Revolving Loan Program was offered by Alderwoman Frank and 2nd by Alderman Roy. Motion passed unanimously.

There being no further business to come before the council Alderwoman Frank motioned and Alderman Roy seconded to adjourn. Motion unanimously passed and the meeting was adjourned at 6:10 PM. July 8, 2025

Signed:____________________________________

Mayor Ryan LeDay Williams

Attested:___________________________________

Donald Bergeron, City Clerk & Tax Collector

081725

Cost is $190.00