I'll go each last time.

Yeah.

No.

I I'll think about it.

Yeah, I will.

I mean, there's probably stuff I can eliminate.

There may be stuff I can eliminate.

I haven't seen Stanley in the United States.

Stanley Caller in a while.

I saw him for Friday and he and Henry.

He and Rock Hardy were at uh shops in Abbey Right.

I had a game and you ran.

So the crew in the playoffs, we always leave early.

I think always most time we already go eat as a fruit.

Yeah.

Uh what you're wrong.

I don't know.

Yeah.

That's awesome.

Congratulations.

Heavenly Father, we come before you right now with grateful hearts.

The chance to serve the citizens of Lake Charles.

Grant us wisdom to make decisions that are fair.

Please grant us compassion to listen to serve with open minds.

Bless our city, its people and those who work each day to make it better.

Before we get started today, Mayor, we have a presentation by the lovely ladies of Delta Sigma Theta.

Good evening, Councilman.

Good evening, everyone.

Good evening.

Today our uh our council is definitely in the red today.

But I want to take this time because it's a very special occasion as we get to honor our sisters of uh Delta Sigma Theta Sorority for their 70th anniversary.

Uh I especially take a special uh pleasure in announcing this because my daughter just pledged this sorority and she was initiated on Friday.

And I'm joined here by Miss Zelda Fry, the president of the Lake Charles Alumni Chapter.

So I wanted to present a proclamation because 70 years is a long time uh for to be around, especially with the work that you've done in our community and uh uh nationwide, because not only is Delta local, but Delta has changed a lot of lives around the world.

So I want to honor you with this proclamation from the Office of Mayor, Lake Charles, Louisiana, a proclamation to the Lake Charles Alumni Chapter of Delta Sigma Theater Sorority Incorporated, 70 years of sisterhood, scholarship, service, and social action, a legacy of impact.

Whereas Delta Sigma Theater Sorority Incorporated, founded in 1913 by 22 collegiate women at Howard University, has remained steadfast in its commitment to sisterhood, scholarship, service, and social action.

And whereas, following in the footsteps of these founders, nine visionary women from the Lake Charles area, under the guidance of Southwest Regional Director Astor Lee Henderson and National President Dorothy Irene Height were granted a charter on January 29th, 1955, establishing the Epsilon Ada Sigma chapter, later renamed the Lake Charles Alumni Chapter, and whereas from its inception, the chapter demonstrated a deep commitment to civil rights and community betterment, supporting the NAACP's legal efforts against racial discrimination and servicemen of the Korean conflict and founding the enduring Del Spreets Club to enrich the lives of young African American women.

And whereas for 70 years, the chapter has advanced Delta's five-point programmatic thrust through scholarships, voter registration, health initiatives, youth mentorship, and partnerships with organizations such as the NAACP, YMCA, Special Olympics, Habitat for Humanity, and the American Red Cross, including the construction of the House that Delta built in Lake Charles.

And whereas the chapter has launched impactful youth programs, including the Botillion, Dr.

Betty Shabaz Delta Academy, Delta Gyms, and Embody, providing mentorship, education, and empowerment opportunities to young men and women, while sponsoring college tours that have led to scholarship attainment at historically black colleges and universities.

And whereas the chapter has received regional, state, and five-star recognition for its mothers, M O T H E R S Health Initiative, its support of families impacted by HIV and AIDS, contribution to clean water projects in Africa, and participation in the Southwest Louisiana Black Heritage Festival.

And guys have been busy.

Whereas continuing its legacy of impact, the chapter actively promotes healthy lifestyles, supports the arts through the Arts and Letters Program, strengthens financial literacy through its financial fortitude initiative, and remains a leader in political awareness through civic forums and community engagement.

And now therefore, be it resolved that I, Marshall J.

Simeon Jr., mayor of the city of Lake Charles, in the sovereign state of Louisiana, do hereby honor the Lake Charles Alumni Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated for 70 years of distinguished service, leadership, and unwavering dedication to uplifting the community through sisterhood, scholarship, service, and social action.

You witness here of this day, November 19, 2025, Marshall Simeon Jr.

Mayor, the City of Lake Charles.

Congratulations.

Good afternoon.

Good evening, everyone.

Thank you, Marshal Simeon, for those kind words and for that proclamation.

We have several members of our chapter here in the place today.

And we are celebrating our 70th anniversary on Sunday, uh November 23rd at LaBurge.

So we expect to have a good time, and we've done a lot of service projects in the community, and we're going to continue to do them.

So thank you, ladies, for coming.

When my ladies please come on up.

Yes.

I can't get your proclamation to after the meeting, so you have to stay.

I can't get all y'all.

Okay, if you see us.

Yes.

One, two, three.

Help them with that camera.

All right.

All right, real quick.

Oh my god.

That's a nightmare.

All right.

All right.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Always.

Oh, all right.

Oh, they're leaving.

Okay, you can still announce those kind of heading back.

Oh, yeah.

Are we staying?

Oh, they leave it.

Oh, this is a short anymore.

Okay, well, I guess I'm not going to have fun.

Thank you.

I like it.

Yes.

Yes.

Miss Renee.

Okay.

Roll call.

Um, Mr.

Bilbo.

Mr.

Young.

Here.

Mr.

Harvey.

Here.

Mr.

Marks.

Yes.

Mr.

Vizeno.

Mr.

Fondale.

Here.

And Mr.

Weatherford.

We have a quorum.

Okay.

At this time, we're going to defer number one till December 2nd, 2025.

We're going to defer number 8 to January 21st, 2026.

Deferring number one to December 2nd, 2025.

Yeah.

Defer number eight to January 21st, 2022.

Also, at this time, please.

Please vote to approve the minutes.

7-4.

All right.

At this time, we're going to go ahead on and add.

Well, we got to do the resolution.

We got a unanimous vote to add this to the agenda for tonight.

It's going to be 12A, a resolution authorizing the city of Lake Charles to advertise to receive sealed bids for project number CP 3427 wastewater treatment plant BC sludge processing improvements and the companion ordinance for introduction.

We'll need a unanimous consent in order to add it.

Please vote.

7-4.

All right.

Number uh going to appointments.

Number one is deferred.

Number two, appoint a chairman to review bids to purchase one new rear loader refuse truck for use by the public works department solid waste trash division.

Mr.

Harvey.

Yes, sir.

Number three, appointment, appoint a chairman to review bids to purchase one new three-wheel sweeper for use by the public works department streets division.

Mr.

Billboat.

Yes, sir.

Appointment.

Appointed chair to purchase one new six-yard dump truck for use by the public works department.

Appointed chair to purchase one new six-yard dump truck for use by the public works department, grounds maintenance division.

Mr.

Young.

Yes, sir.

Appointment a chair to purchase one new four-wheel sweeper for use by the Public Works Department Grounds Maintenance Division.

Mr.

Bisenah.

Yes.

Number six, appointment.

Appoint a chairman to purchase traffic control products under a 12-month contract with the option to renew for additional 12 months for use by the public works department, communications, and traffic division.

I'll take that one.

Public hearings.

Number seven, a public hearing and consideration on alteration of a shoreline of Calcashoe River to install timber deck and covered boat slips and remove and replace existing damage bowhead by installing riprap and feel for bank line stabilization at 20 River Road.

Any questions or comments?

Please vote.

74.

Number eight has been deferred to January 21st, 2026.

We're in the ordinance for final action.

Number nine, an ordinance authorizing the city of Lake Charles to enter into agreement with Motorola Solutions for the purchase of 20 APX N70 XE Mobile Radios for use by the Lake Charles Fire Department utilizing Ascension Parish Contract Number 51022.

Any questions or comments?

70.

It says 70.

I said seven.

I said 20.

Okay.

An ordinance authorizing the city of Lake Charles to enter an agreement with Motorola Solutions for the purchase of 70 APX N70 XE Mobile Radios for use by the Lake Charles Fire Department.

Use utilizing Ascension Parish Contract No.

51022.

Any questions or comments?

Please vote.

74.

At this time for number 10, I am going to ask for that we defer this item because some of the council has expressed some interest in discussing it further.

So if I can get a second, we'll defer it.

If not, we'll go ahead on and discuss it.

Second.

Please vote.

7-4.

Number 11.

Excuse me.

Yes, sir.

When is it being deferred to?

The next regular meeting.

That should be enough time, right?

Yeah.

Next regular meeting.

Number 11.

Corey.

Mr.

Herman Stevens going to read it in for me.

You want me to read it?

He's going to read it.

It's his project.

Okay.

Or their project.

I will say that emergency nature of this is that we have a grant that uh we need to get access to the to the funding as soon as possible.

Okay.

Okay.

Um this is an introduction and final action of an ordinance authorizing the city of Flake Charles to enter into a cooperative endeavor agreement with the Louisiana Department of Treasury relative to a line item appropriation contained in Act 461 of 2025 regular legislative session of the Louisiana Legislature for the Pre-Ent Lake Road Pedestrian Bridge over the Contraband Bayou.

Whereas Article 7, Section 14C of the Constitution of the State of Louisiana provides that for a public purpose, the state and its political subdivision or political corporations may engage in cooperative endeavors with each other, with the United States or its agencies, or with any public or private association, corporation, or individual, and whereas Act 461 of the 2025 regular legislative session, 2025 RLS of the Louisiana Legislature, which was adopted in accordance with Article 7, Section 10 of the Constitution of the State of Louisiana is the appropriation for the expenditure of state funds and said Act 461 of the 2025 RLS contains a line item appropriation within the agency's budget for the benefit of the City of Lake Charles, of which the sum of $500,000 and zero cents have been allocated for the pre-En Lake Road Pedestrian Bridge over the Contraband Bayou.

And whereas the public purpose is to provide a new pedestrian infrastructure, which will make it safer for pedestrians to cross over the contraband bayou on pre-inlake road within the city of Lake Charles.

Be it ordained by the City Council of the City of Lake Charles, Louisiana, in regular session, convened that Section 1, the Mayor on behalf of the City of Lake Charles, Louisiana, is hereby authorized to enter into a cooperative endeavor agreement with the Louisiana Department of Treasury for the line item appropriation authorized in Act 461 of the 2025 regular legislative session of the Louisiana Legislature for the Pre-En Lake Road Pedestrian Bridge over Contraband Bayou.

Section two.

The mayor is further authorized to include any provisions in any agreement which he deems necessary to protect the interest of the city and to pay the agreed amount from the appropriate city funds.

Thank you.

That's all.

So before you get started, uh Mr.

Weatherford want to say a few words on it.

But you said uh Herman.

You said that we will have to pay some money.

Um out of that.

Um as of right now, um, this entire project should be state funded.

Okay.

We have not started engineering, so you know things change.

Right.

And any shortfalls, we we would have to pay for it.

We would have to make it up.

But as of right now, I think we're looking at approximately four million dollars between probably multiple state sources.

Okay.

Mr.

Weatherford.

Yes.

Um, this we've talked about this on multiple occasions um over the years.

Because it's just it's so dangerous there.

Um there's a lot of pedestrian use of that bridge and bicycle use of that bridge.

And uh we're lucky that no one's got injured or even killed on their bridge.

There's been fatality at least one fatality of the bridge that I weren't aware of.

Um and our state senator Jeremy Stein was instrumental in getting this um going for us.

Um I had some conversations with him, and um he lives in the area and he's aware of that the danger imposed there.

So he was real he basically was able to uh um he and and the delegates were able to require this far.

So just wanted he can't be here, and I spoke with him briefly um earlier in the week, but he's in Baton Rouge on other business, or otherwise he would be here, but want to commend him for taking the ball running with it and helping us get this funding.

Before you talk, Mr.

Mayor, will that bridge be shut down while that work going on?

I'm not sure.

We're not that far yet.

The bridge should be built to the side, but I'm not sure of any direct impacts to the Mr.

Marks.

This is a pedestrian walkway going uh over the contraband bayou is on the north side of the bridge.

Okay.

And uh uh Senator Stein was able to go to DOTD and they got us a DOTD TAP grant to do this.

That's why it's funded.

And the five hundred thousand dollars before you tonight for the CEA is the matching funds instead of the state having to put it up instead of the city having to put those matching funds up, the state is for the for the match for the tap grant.

Mayor.

Yeah, and and you're right about the safety aspect because what what we found is that a a lot of the uh casino workers wind up uh walking that bridge at night and they wear black by nature, and we've had a lot of close calls.

So this this pedestrian bridge is gonna be a big improvement and help them until we can find other transportation options so that they can get back and forth to wherever they are at night.

Yeah, questions or comments?

I mean, I've I've seen it dry.

I this was I don't know, several Christmas eas ago coming home from late service.

It was one of those foggy, misty nights, and all of a sudden this guy appears out of the now.

I'm sure he wasn't as close to me as I thought he was felt like he was, but I felt like if I sneezed and jerked the wheel a little bit, I could have hit him.

Yeah.

So it's it's it's bad.

It really is.

It's much needed.

And if I may, Mr.

Marks, the pedestrian walkway is actually going to start at Lake Street, go across Contraband Value Bridge, and end up at the traffic circle.

Okay.

Let's go ahead and I I want to echo support for this project.

Uh it's one that definitely needs to be done.

If we can get four million dollars from state sources to help us do it, I think that's a really fantastic partnership.

Uh wanted to add to that uh the mid-city neighborhood.

I know I keep talking about this, but uh going after additional grant funds for additional housing in that uh neighborhood currently, and these four million dollars will count as leverage funds that the city has helped secure uh to help bring in additional match funds at that project.

So it is kind of a twofer for us.

All right, any other questions or comments?

The following resolutions may be adopted by consent.

We need to vote on the vote on either vote on this much.

Please vote.

74.

The following resolutions may be adopted by consent.

Number 12.

Oh, anybody want to pull anything of these two?

All right.

A resolution accepting project number CP 3376, Chenault Al Force Base 12-inch water lap water loop as substantially complete and authorizing advertisement of the 45-day lien period.

A resolution authorizing the city of Lake Charles to advertise to receive seal bids for project number CP 3427, wastewater treatment plant BB BC sludge processing improvements and the companion ordinance for this introduction.

Any questions or comments?

Please vote.

74.

The following ordinance is up for introduction by consent and will be read into the record the day following this meeting at 11 a.m.

in the city council chambers and city hall.

This meeting is now adjourned.

Do we vote?

We voted for one.

Oh, we didn't vote for the ready.

We voted on the resolution for the vote, huh?

We voted for the records.

We didn't vote on the right.

But the consent.

Yeah, Johnny.

But by consent, you're right.

Please vote.

7-4.

Mr.

President, one more thing.

Uh if it we we received late notice of it, but there's actually a community meeting uh to discuss the I-10 bridge project going on at the event center as we speak.

So I want to encourage those everyone to go in, uh learn what they have to what they have to present about the bridge and also give you input.

Buccaneer run.

Buccaneer room.

What was the date for the right now?

Start at 5 30.

You vote?