OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Metropolitan Council Meeting of East Baton Rouge Parish - September 9, 2026

Metropolitan Council — Wednesday, September 9, 2026
BodyBaton Rouge, Louisiana
SessionMetropolitan Council
DateWednesday, September 9, 2026
StatusNEW · FILED
Video Record
0:00 / 55:09

Transcript — Verbatim
0:05

Hey everybody, look, we're gonna have a late presentation.

0:07

I thank everybody for being here today.

0:09

And I'm glad that it's late because I believe that this is something that needs to be heard by the entire city, the entire council.

0:16

Because we have some amazing talent and some great things going on inside the city of Baton Rouge and the parish of East Baton Rouge.

0:23

My home church, UCFM off of Jewel Road, has one of the best choirs in the United States of America.

0:32

And today I would like to provide a certificate of celebration presented to a blaze youth choir.

0:39

Whereas the Metropolitan Council of the City of Baton Rouge and Parish of East Baton Rouge takes great pride in recognizing individuals and organizations whose extraordinary comp uh accomplishments bring honor and distinction to our community.

0:52

And whereas the Ablaze Choir, based at United Christian Faith Ministries in Baton Rouge, Louisiana has demonstrated exceptional musical talent, dedication to ministry, and a commitment to inspire inspiring others through the power of gospel music, and whereas under the leadership and direction of Minister Mark Ellis Jr., a Blaze Youth Choir has elevated the voices, uh elevated the voices of young people and representative Baton Rouge on one of the Gospels of Gospel Music's most celebrated stages.

1:39

See, on the news, all we hear is murders, and we hear uh gunshots, and we hear the the negative stuff that's happening in our city parish.

1:47

But he has taken an old school approach to choir.

1:51

Mark, how many members do you have, man?

1:53

We have eighty plus members.

1:59

Serve his his kingdom, and to spread the goodness that he does on his earth.

2:06

And so today, I honor Mr.

2:09

Mark Ellis Jr.

2:10

and the Ablaze Choir.

2:12

Y'all give him a round of applause.

2:26

And council members, this is very important to our city parents.

2:29

I'm asking I'm going to ask y'all to take a picture and brand it on Mega Frown.

2:33

But I want everybody to come down once we finish speaking.

2:36

I just want to say thank you so much for recognizing this.

2:39

And like you said, there's so much negativity going on with the young people in the young generation that we always push light to.

2:46

But it's definitely nice for a young group of people all ages 12 to around 22 who just want to serve God and push his message.

2:56

And so I've been cultivating this group for so long, it's been about five years now, and we see so many young people come from backgrounds and families, neglected families or rough backgrounds, and they come in and their life does a complete 180 flip.

3:11

They're dedicated to Christ, they're happy to serve, and they're excited to be in Louisiana.

3:16

And so I definitely want to continue to push and make way for positivity in the young community, especially in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

3:24

And I'm so excited to have won the Stellar Award, and now we have attention from youth all over the world who want to do positive things and sing for the glory of God and turn their lives around.

3:34

And that's my mission.

3:35

It will always be to bring Jesus glory and to change the narrative of the community, and that's what I'll continue to do.

3:41

So thank you all so much for this recognition.

5:37

Hello, everybody.

5:38

Welcome to the council chamber of East Baton Rouge Parish.

5:41

Good to have all of you watching wherever you are today.

5:44

We're coming off a big weekend.

5:46

Big win for the Tigers and Jaguars.

5:49

And it was exciting at LSU and out on the bluff in Southern.

5:53

Good to have you tuned in on ATT on Cox, Metro Twenty-One, YouTube, Facebook Live.

6:00

Good to have you with us.

6:02

The Council's glad to have you watching this afternoon.

6:05

And at this time, here is the mayor, President Pro Tem of East Baton Rouge Parish, Councilman Brandon Noel.

6:10

Councilman.

6:11

Thank you, Dennis.

6:12

Welcome everybody to Metropolitan Council meeting this Wednesday, September 9th, 2026.

6:15

We're going to call the meeting to order.

6:17

Ashley, do we have a quorum?

6:18

We have a quorum.

6:19

All right.

6:20

We're going to have the um Baton Rouge Fire Department Honor Guard and St.

6:23

George Fire Department Honor Guard lead us in invocation and pledge.

6:35

Let us pray.

6:43

God, I'll come praying tonight that you would come into this meeting, make your presence known and felt in every heart and every mind, so that when things get accomplished, they're accomplished inside of your will, inside of your way, so that it is a productive thing that is done not just for one, but for unity, unified community, and a unified heart, mind and soul.

7:04

For we are one body, many different members, all striving to accomplish one goal.

7:10

So let us come together tonight to do that in your will, your way, your eyes, and with your heart in mind.

7:16

Jesus' name we pray.

7:17

Amen.

7:54

Pledge allegiance to the play for the United States of America.

7:58

And to the Republic for which we stand.

8:00

One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

9:20

Thank you, Councilman.

9:22

All right.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procurement and Contracting███████████████████████████████████35%
Procedural██████████████████████████████████34%
Public Safety███████7%
Arts And Culture█████5%
Pending Litigation█████5%
Budget Equity Analysis███3%
Emergency Management███3%
Downtown Development███3%
Public Works███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Metropolitan Council Meeting - September 9, 2026

The Metropolitan Council of East Baton Rouge Parish met on September 9, 2026, in the council chamber. The meeting opened with a special presentation honoring the Ablaze Youth Choir for their musical achievements and community impact. Following routine business, the council considered numerous consent agenda items, condemnations, contracts, and appointments.

Special Presentation

  • Councilmember presented a certificate of celebration to the Ablaze Youth Choir, based at United Christian Faith Ministries, recognizing their exceptional talent and dedication to inspiring youth through gospel music. The choir, under Minister Mark Ellis Jr., has over 80 members aged 12–22 and recently won a Stellar Award. Minister Ellis expressed gratitude and highlighted the choir's mission to change the narrative for young people in Baton Rouge.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of minutes from August 26, 2026, August 31, 2026 (special meeting), and September 1, 2026 (Airport Commission) – motion carried.
  • Introductions of ordinances (items 2–15) including a cooperative endeavor agreement for the Capitol House, a franchise with Conterra Networks, a library millage rate of 9.5 mills for ten years, and several condemnations – all introduced without opposition.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No separate public comment period was held. Members of the public spoke on specific items via email: one email opposed item 82, another opposed item 83, and three emails supported Nick Lenata's appointment to the Downtown Development District. No oral testimony was heard from the floor.

Discussion Items

  • Condemnations: The council initially struggled with numbering discrepancies between the printed agenda and the electronic agenda. After corrections, the council approved a schedule for 14 condemnation properties: proceed with items 54, 59, 66; two-week delay on item 65; 30-day delays on items 52 and 53; 60-day delay on item 61; and 90-day delays on items 55, 56, 57, 58, 60, 62, 63, 64. Motion carried.
  • Contracts and Resolutions: Numerous items were approved unanimously, including:
    • Item 69: Refund of $291,398 to Walgreen for erroneously remitted sales tax on non-taxable prescription drugs.
    • Item 70: Refund of $275,672.77 to Cardinal Health 108 LLC for sales tax on a resale exemption.
    • Item 71: Settlement of $25,450 for Monica Hollands claim.
    • Item 72: Settlement of $35,000 for Justin Thornton auto accident claim.
    • Item 73: Settlement of $21,200.65 for sewer backup claim.
    • Item 74: Rescinding a notice to attend and decision from 2025-2026.
    • Items 75–77: Airport-related approvals for taxiway F reconstruction, TSA agreement, and FAA grant application.
    • Item 78: Professional engineering services for Mickins Road capacity project ($1,189,458 addition).
    • Item 79: Professional services for Westridge Drive subsurface improvements ($236,087).
    • Item 80: Amendment to asphalt restoration contract ($50,000 addition).
    • Item 81: Amendment to building maintenance contract ($22,096.80 addition).
    • Item 82: Additional design services for fire department SARs building ($9,500).
    • Item 83: Supplemental agreement for Perkins Overpass project ($7,750).
    • Items 85–91: Community development contract amendments and extensions, including item 87 deleted.
    • Item 92: Contract with Urban Restoration Enhancement Corporation to build single-family homes on Hollywood Street for $550,000.
    • Item 93: Waiver of land use regulations to allow temporary housing after a state of emergency.
  • Appointments:
    • Item 94: Reappointed Justin Riddle to Brownsfield Fire Civil Service Board.
    • Item 95: Appointed Nick Lenata to Downtown Development District.
    • Items 96–100: Reappointed five members to Fire Protection District No. 1 advisory board.
    • Items 101–105: Deferred DDD appointments to September 23, 2026, pending mayor's recommendations.
    • Item 106: Deferred Capitol Area Human Services District appointment to October 14, 2026.
  • Change Orders and Final Acceptances: Approved for BRPD roof, library chiller, and Plank Road corridor projects.
  • Low Bid Acceptances: Approved for fire alarm replacement ($400,000), Floor Nell Drive sidewalk ($526,540), and Glasgow Avenue sidewalks ($950,089).
  • Emergency Items: Declared emergency and approved:
    • Item 115: Corrected Montesano Bayou drainage project amount to $2,399,760.80.
    • Item 116: Rescinded old resolution for blood products contract.
    • Item 117: New contract with The Blood Center for EMS blood products not to exceed $235,000.

Key Outcomes

  • All consent agenda items, introductions, and resolutions were approved unanimously.
  • Condemnation schedule was set with various delays as requested by district council members.
  • All appointments and reappointments were approved, except for DDD (deferred) and Capitol Area Human Services District (deferred).
  • Emergency items were passed to correct funding amounts and secure a blood products contract for EMS.
  • The meeting adjourned after the condemnation item was resolved.

Meeting Transcript

Hey everybody, look, we're gonna have a late presentation. I thank everybody for being here today. And I'm glad that it's late because I believe that this is something that needs to be heard by the entire city, the entire council. Because we have some amazing talent and some great things going on inside the city of Baton Rouge and the parish of East Baton Rouge. My home church, UCFM off of Jewel Road, has one of the best choirs in the United States of America. And today I would like to provide a certificate of celebration presented to a blaze youth choir. Whereas the Metropolitan Council of the City of Baton Rouge and Parish of East Baton Rouge takes great pride in recognizing individuals and organizations whose extraordinary comp uh accomplishments bring honor and distinction to our community. And whereas the Ablaze Choir, based at United Christian Faith Ministries in Baton Rouge, Louisiana has demonstrated exceptional musical talent, dedication to ministry, and a commitment to inspire inspiring others through the power of gospel music, and whereas under the leadership and direction of Minister Mark Ellis Jr., a Blaze Youth Choir has elevated the voices, uh elevated the voices of young people and representative Baton Rouge on one of the Gospels of Gospel Music's most celebrated stages. See, on the news, all we hear is murders, and we hear uh gunshots, and we hear the the negative stuff that's happening in our city parish. But he has taken an old school approach to choir. Mark, how many members do you have, man? We have eighty plus members. Serve his his kingdom, and to spread the goodness that he does on his earth. And so today, I honor Mr. Mark Ellis Jr. and the Ablaze Choir. Y'all give him a round of applause. And council members, this is very important to our city parents. I'm asking I'm going to ask y'all to take a picture and brand it on Mega Frown. But I want everybody to come down once we finish speaking. I just want to say thank you so much for recognizing this. And like you said, there's so much negativity going on with the young people in the young generation that we always push light to. But it's definitely nice for a young group of people all ages 12 to around 22 who just want to serve God and push his message. And so I've been cultivating this group for so long, it's been about five years now, and we see so many young people come from backgrounds and families, neglected families or rough backgrounds, and they come in and their life does a complete 180 flip. They're dedicated to Christ, they're happy to serve, and they're excited to be in Louisiana. And so I definitely want to continue to push and make way for positivity in the young community, especially in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. And I'm so excited to have won the Stellar Award, and now we have attention from youth all over the world who want to do positive things and sing for the glory of God and turn their lives around. And that's my mission. It will always be to bring Jesus glory and to change the narrative of the community, and that's what I'll continue to do. So thank you all so much for this recognition. Hello, everybody. Welcome to the council chamber of East Baton Rouge Parish. Good to have all of you watching wherever you are today. We're coming off a big weekend. Big win for the Tigers and Jaguars. And it was exciting at LSU and out on the bluff in Southern. Good to have you tuned in on ATT on Cox, Metro Twenty-One, YouTube, Facebook Live. Good to have you with us. The Council's glad to have you watching this afternoon. And at this time, here is the mayor, President Pro Tem of East Baton Rouge Parish, Councilman Brandon Noel. Councilman. Thank you, Dennis. Welcome everybody to Metropolitan Council meeting this Wednesday, September 9th, 2026. We're going to call the meeting to order. Ashley, do we have a quorum? We have a quorum. All right. We're going to have the um Baton Rouge Fire Department Honor Guard and St. George Fire Department Honor Guard lead us in invocation and pledge. Let us pray.

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