East Baton Rouge Parish Metropolitan Council Regular Meeting – November 25, 2025

The Metropolitan Council of East Baton Rouge Parish met on November 25, 2025, in the Council Chamber in Baton Rouge. The meeting opened with an invocation by Dr. Gabrielle Swaggart of Family Worship Center, the Pledge of Allegiance, a special resolution recognizing Mayor for the Day Juliet, and a birthday recognition for a District Five staff member. The Council then conducted introductions, considered a large agenda of property, contract, grant, and administrative items, heard public comments, and voted on two items declared as emergencies. No agenda or minutes accompanied the transcript; this summary is based solely on the meeting transcript.

Consent Calendar

• Approved the minutes of the Metropolitan Council meeting of November 12, 2025, and the Metropolitan Council zoning meeting of November 19, 2025.
• Introduced items on the introduction list, with a successful motion to introduce all items except Item 4, and with amendments to Item 34 (changed amount to $4,915,204) and Item 35 (changed start date to October 1, 2025).
• Adopted the Department of Public Works scheduling recommendations as amended: proceeding with the recommended items; two weeks on item 83; 60 days on items 78, 79, 82, 84, 87, 89, 90, 101, 109, and 110; 90 days on items 77, 96, 102, 103, 104, and 107; and deletion of items 76, 85, 93, 97, 99, and 100.
• Deleted Item 112, the ordinance creating the Delmont Economic Development District, after Councilman Hearst moved to delete it and to bring forward another version at a future meeting.
• Waived the rules and introduced administrative matter items A and B, including a hazard mitigation project management contract with Hunt Gillett and Associates and a juvenile health services agreement with Total Occupational not to exceed $150,000.
• Approved numerous routine contracts, grants, leases, and property actions, including:
  • Item 114: a 12-month lease with the Scotlandville High School Hornets Alumni Association for the Jill J. Newman Community Center at $350 per month.
  • Item 115: a property taking for the bus rapid transit project.
  • Item 117: sale of surplus property at 3048 Voss Drive to Eric James Sr. and Darren Dimby for $8,000.
  • Items 119, 120, and 121: an emergency management grant award of $110,000, an airport HVAC contract amendment of $12,888, and a law enforcement grant award of $50,981.
  • Items 123 through 129: amendments to Ryan White program subrecipient contracts.
  • Item 130: rescission of a notice to attend for the property at 1008 Epperson Street.
  • Items 131 through 134: construction testing, professional engineering, and construction inspection contracts for Move BR projects.
  • Items 136 through 170: sale of adjudicated properties to the listed high bidders, with Item 152 deferred to January 14, 2026.
  • Item 171 and final acceptance: South Boulevard Area ADA transition project change order credit of $8,090.36 and final cost of $261,272.54.
  • Items 174 through 177: acceptance of low bids, including the Jones Creek Regional Library, prison security windows, detention equipment maintenance, and the PS299 Regional Pump Station project at $8,949,900.
  • Item 173: deletion of the landscape maintenance low bid with direction to rebid.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Maya Wiseman, a Baton Rouge resident for one year, spoke on Item 76 and expressed appreciation that the matter was being discussed in a public forum.
• Nick Miller, owner of the property associated with Item 110, stated that the property was being donated to Habitat for Humanity and asked that it be removed. The Council deferred the item for 60 days to allow documentation of the donation to be provided.
• Councilmembers noted that they received one email comment in opposition to Item 115 and one email comment in opposition to Items 123 through 129.

Discussion Items

• Item 113 - Retirement ordinance cleanup: James Mack, Retirement Director, explained that the ordinance amendments were cleanup language unanimously recommended by the retirement board. Changes included correcting statutory references, replacing “qualified domestic relations order” with “division of benefits order,” removing unnecessary board approval language once a member is eligible to retire, and addressing notice mailing provisions. In response to Councilwoman Rocka’s questions, Mack said a reduction in workforce does not change the dollar amount of the unfunded accrued liability, but spreads those costs among fewer workers and can raise employer costs. He said the impact of the currently discussed workforce reductions would be “impactful” but not “greatly impactful” in the current iteration. He also said the new municipality is not yet in arrears on payments because the payments are tied to an incorporation date that has not been established, which may require court determination. He offered to send actuary estimates to the Council, and Councilwoman Harris asked that he email the information to all members. The item was approved.

• Item 118 - Juvenile services food contract: Dr. Wade of Juvenile Services described a proposed contract not to exceed $480,480 for meals at the juvenile detention facility from January 1 through December 31, 2026. She reported that the facility has taken in nearly 600 juveniles this year, the highest in three years; daily counts range from about 25 to 47; and meals include breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack. Three years ago the city was paying more than $600,000 for staff, benefits, and food preparation. This year only $233,000 of the $480,000 had been expended with December remaining, compared with $308,000 last year, representing nearly a 50 percent cost savings. She also noted this was the first time the contract was done through a formal RFP process. The Council approved the item.

• Item 122 - Maintenance management software: A staff member described a proposed five-year software-as-a-service agreement with True Point Solutions LLC, not to exceed $802,000, to track work orders and asset maintenance. The cost would be split with 69% attributed to drainage, 20% to environmental services, and 11% to transportation and drainage, with $250,000 allocated for implementation services. The Council approved the item.

• Item 135 - Bridge program agreement: Transportation and Drainage staff explained a two-year agreement with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development and the Federal Highway Administration for the off-system bridge program. Federal and state funds would cover construction and design of selected bridges, while the city would be responsible for right-of-way and utility relocation costs. Two candidate bridges were identified: Hurricane Creek on Lanier Drive and one on the East Accord Railway. The item was approved.

• Emergency Item C - Head Start retention allowance: The Council declared an emergency and approved a one-time, non-pensionable retention allowance of $5,000 for current active employees and new employees hired by December 5, 2025, in eligible Human Development and Services Head Start and child care food program classifications. Staff confirmed the allowance would be paid on December 19, 2025, would have no impact on the general fund, and would be funded entirely by federal grant funding allocated to Head Start. Councilmembers noted that staff had advocated for the allowance and that it was being approved before year-end budget deadlines.

Key Outcomes

• Approved the minutes, introductions, Department of Public Works scheduling requests, and the routine consent items listed above.
• Did not introduce Item 4 (the Delmont Economic Development District ordinance) and separately deleted Item 112, a related Delmont EDD ordinance, with an intent to bring forward another version at a future meeting.
• Approved Item 113 retirement ordinance changes.
• Approved Item 118 juvenile food service contract and Item 122 software agreement.
• Approved Item 135 bridge program agreement.
• Approved Emergency Item C Head Start retention allowance and Emergency Item 178, authorizing a supplemental agreement with HNTB Corporation for continued engineering services for the East Baton Rouge Parish Stormwater Master Plan at an amount not to exceed $160,000.
• Deferred Item 110 for 60 days pending Habitat for Humanity donation documentation and deferred Item 152 to January 14, 2026.
• Directed Retirement Director Mack to email the Council the actuary estimates related to new municipality payment projections.