OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

St. Charles Parish Community Action Advisory Board Meeting - March 11, 2026

Parish Council & Boards — Wednesday, March 11, 2026
BodySt Charles Parish, Louisiana
SessionParish Council & Boards
DateWednesday, March 11, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 20:44

Transcript — Verbatim
0:05

Good evening.

0:06

Welcome to the board meeting for St.

0:08

Charles Parish Community Action Advisory Board.

0:11

5 p.m.

0:13

March 11th, 2026.

0:15

We call the meeting to order with a prayer in the pledge.

0:21

Father God, thank you for this afternoon.

0:24

Protect us with this weather that we make it all home safe.

0:28

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under guard, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

0:42

Recognizing that we do have a quarter.

0:48

All in favor motion that we recognize that we have a quorum.

0:58

I make a motion that we recognize the core was in present.

1:03

Thank you.

1:06

And approval, we quite take a quick minute to look at the um minutes.

1:54

First or second.

1:57

Second.

1:58

Okay.

2:00

Minutes um approved.

2:02

And now we're gonna go into old business.

2:07

Okay, just a couple of quick announcements, reminders.

2:11

Yep.

2:11

On all business, we welcome Betty for our second time this year.

2:18

Officially board.

2:22

And he variants.

2:24

Well, that's exactly what I'm doing.

2:26

Welcome is Betty.

2:30

And Miss Betty, give us a minute, quick overview of your um your interest and background in St.

2:35

Rose.

2:36

Press your um press that button to turn the microphone.

2:40

Green light.

2:41

Thank you.

2:41

Yes, green.

2:43

Okay.

2:43

Uh 99% of y'all know me as Betty.

2:47

My government name is Elizabeth, which I don't turn an answer to unless I'm looking at you.

2:52

Uh I have a degree in accounting that I received in 1977.

2:56

So and I'm accountant.

2:57

I also work as uh inspector, disaster inspector for FIM.

3:01

I'm on a quick response, and I have another job that I do when we go and do new stores.

3:07

Um I'm just busy.

3:13

And that's what we gotta keep busy and keep moving.

3:16

So we have new business.

3:17

Our director's report will come from Ms.

3:20

Diaz.

3:21

I want to give you all an overview of where you know we have seasonal programs and processes.

3:27

So we've kind of wrapped up grant reporting as we closed out last year in December.

3:33

So the now the cycle is start, believe it or not, looking into summer.

3:38

So we've already working on the contract with the school board for summer food.

3:44

Last year we broke all records with the numbers of participation for summer food.

3:50

And so we have two sites that model works well because our buses bring them to the site, or people can come also.

3:57

An East Bank and a West Bank.

3:59

So this year the school board is giving us Harry Hearst again, which worked very well right there on the road for the East Bank site.

4:08

And um the West Bank site, uh, they moved us to uh good Lord.

4:17

I'm having a R.

4:18

The school.

4:21

I got I had JB in my head.

4:23

RK Smith, which is a um also a centrally located site.

4:28

So remember, we provide bus service in every area, but I think we've had more parents getting word that they can just show up with their kids and they can eat for free.

4:39

So I think by having a centrally located sites, more parents might be likely to just pull in and bring their kids for a meal.

4:47

Um so get the word out.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Community Engagement█████████████████████████████████████████████61%
Procedural███████████████████26%
Youth Programs██████8%
Engineering And Infrastructure████5%
Summary of Proceedings

St. Charles Parish Community Action Advisory Board Meeting - March 11, 2026

The St. Charles Parish Community Action Advisory Board met on March 11, 2026, at 5:00 PM in the Council Chambers of the Courthouse. The meeting included a call to order, prayer and pledge, recognition of quorum, approval of minutes, old business, new business, and adjournment. Key updates were provided on summer programs, weatherization assistance, and community services.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of past meeting minutes was moved and seconded; the minutes were approved.
  • Quorum was recognized via a motion and second.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were recorded.

Discussion Items

  • Old Business: Welcome and introduction of new board member Betty (Elizabeth), who shared her background in accounting and disaster inspection. Alternate designation and board vacancies were noted but no formal action taken.
  • Director's Report (Ms. Diaz):
    • Summer programs will run June 1st to the second week of July, Monday through Thursday, including summer food and enrichment programs at Harry Hearst (East Bank) and RK Smith (West Bank) sites. Bus service will be provided; parents can bring children for free meals.
    • A letter will be sent to United Way for sponsorship to support summer food programs.
    • Food bank demand has increased; the council provided budget funds for purchasing meat and other staples.
  • Monthly Program Report:
    • LIHEAP heating program served 114 clients from February to early March, expending $57,050 and impacting 211 household members. Allocation expenditure stands at 83.80%, with about $18,000 remaining and 36 clients pending, estimated to run through March 23.
    • Crisis assistance (disconnect) served 19 clients, expending $6,616, with a balance of about $29,000.
    • Cooling program will start April 15 (state change), with client scheduling beginning April 1 and interviews starting April 20.
    • Emergency assistance program (local funding) served 12 clients, expending $4,263.61, impacting 20 household members (water and rent assistance).
    • Community service block grant served 10 clients (3 water, 2 electric, 5 rent), expending $3,700.25, impacting 28 household members.
    • Share the Month program served 5 clients, expending $2,217, impacting 18 household members.
    • Second Harvest program assisted 61 clients through food distribution.
    • HOME program: one house in progress with a change order; another house completed inspection and work order; initial appraisal approved on another. Total HOME expenditure for February: $16,055 (including prior houses).
    • Hell and Safety program: Labor of Love volunteers completed repairs on 3 homes (back doors, storm doors, locks, rotten wood/flooring). Contractors repaired a hiccup (likely HVAC) and a roof leak. Total February expenditure: $3,688.85.
    • USDA program: Contractors completed work on multiple homes (window, patio door, heat fan light, heat vac replacement). One project in progress; one awarded to plumber starting in March; final inspections done on 3 homes with payments processed. Three homes pending historical/environmental review. February expenditure: $27,428.34.
    • United Way grant ($36,875) awarded to Volunteers of America of Greater New Orleans for minor repairs; site coordinator in place. No rent was built in February; four homeowners qualified for rent to be built.
    • Beauty Community Center: 6 participants for activities (homework, craft), 19 attendees for afternoon activities; computer literacy event (1 participant); adult craft (14 attendees); 5 referrals to other agencies.
  • New Business: Announcement of new pharmacist Miss Mary opening a pharmacy on the boulevard (former Winn-Dixie pharmacy). Board members encouraged to support her.

Key Outcomes

  • No formal votes were recorded beyond the consent calendar (approval of minutes and quorum).
  • The board will next meet on May 13, 2026; no meeting in April.
  • Directors and staff will proceed with summer program enrollment and promotion; United Way sponsorship request to be submitted.
  • Cooling program timeline adjusted per state guidance: start April 15, client scheduling April 1, interviews April 20.
  • Meeting adjourned with closing prayer.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening. Welcome to the board meeting for St. Charles Parish Community Action Advisory Board. 5 p.m. March 11th, 2026. We call the meeting to order with a prayer in the pledge. Father God, thank you for this afternoon. Protect us with this weather that we make it all home safe. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under guard, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Recognizing that we do have a quarter. All in favor motion that we recognize that we have a quorum. I make a motion that we recognize the core was in present. Thank you. And approval, we quite take a quick minute to look at the um minutes. First or second. Second. Okay. Minutes um approved. And now we're gonna go into old business. Okay, just a couple of quick announcements, reminders. Yep. On all business, we welcome Betty for our second time this year. Officially board. And he variants. Well, that's exactly what I'm doing. Welcome is Betty. And Miss Betty, give us a minute, quick overview of your um your interest and background in St. Rose. Press your um press that button to turn the microphone. Green light. Thank you. Yes, green. Okay. Uh 99% of y'all know me as Betty. My government name is Elizabeth, which I don't turn an answer to unless I'm looking at you. Uh I have a degree in accounting that I received in 1977. So and I'm accountant. I also work as uh inspector, disaster inspector for FIM. I'm on a quick response, and I have another job that I do when we go and do new stores. Um I'm just busy. And that's what we gotta keep busy and keep moving. So we have new business. Our director's report will come from Ms. Diaz. I want to give you all an overview of where you know we have seasonal programs and processes. So we've kind of wrapped up grant reporting as we closed out last year in December. So the now the cycle is start, believe it or not, looking into summer. So we've already working on the contract with the school board for summer food. Last year we broke all records with the numbers of participation for summer food. And so we have two sites that model works well because our buses bring them to the site, or people can come also.

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