By T. Scott Boatright
The Grambling City Council introduced ordinances to amend its 2022 budget and adopt its 2023 budget as key orders of business during a short meeting held Thursday night at Grambling City Hall.
Those ordinances will be discussed and voted on during December’s monthly meeting to be held on Dec. 1.
A public hearing on those ordinances will be held at 5:30 p.m. following a Grambling Economic Development Corporation meeting to be held at 5:15.
Grambling’s City Council also approved three resolutions in matters of old business. Those resolutions were as follows:
• Approval for the city to accept the Delta Regional Authority award in the amount of $300,000 with the city providing additional funding for the project in the amount of $394,600 from its ARPA or CWSRF funding; and that the mayor be authorized to have authority to execute all documents and perform all duties necessary for the Delta Regional Authority project.
• Approval in accordance with the requirements of the Louisiana Governmental Assistance Program for the mayor and the City Council of the city of Grambling to support and request grant authorization to execute and submit an application for 2022-23 Louisiana Governmental Assistance Funding
• Approval in accordance with the requirements of the Community Water Enrichment Fund, for the mayor and the City Council of the city of Grambling to support and request grant authorization to support and request grant authorization to execute and submit an application for 2022-23 Community Water Enrichment Fund.
All of those resolutions involve the city’s request for funding help for infrastructure to renovate the College Avenue wastewater lift station and the sewer system itself.
During last month’s Council meeting city engineering consultant Henry Shuler told Grambling’s aldermen requesting such funding was in order to to renovate the College Avenue wastewater lift station as well as tying the Camellia Estates and Rose Garden subdivisions as well as Mockingbird Lane structures into the city sewer system.
In other business Grambling’s City Council approved the Louisiana Compliance Questionnaire for the Fiscal Year ending 2022 and also approved an ordinance approving the city’s 2023 holiday schedule.
Following are those scheduled holidays:
• Monday and Tuesday Jan. 2-3 for New Year’s Day
• Monday Jan. 16 for Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday
• Feb. 21 for Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras)
• Friday April 7 for Good Friday
• Monday April 10 for Easter
• Monday, May 29 for Memorial Day
• Monday, June 19, for Juneteenth
• Tuesday, July 4 for Independence Day
• Monday, Sept. 4 for Labor Day
• Noon Nov. 22-Nov. 24 for Thanksgiving
• Noon Dec. 22-26 for Christmas
Grambling Police Chief Tommy Clark also reported on preparations to handle Grambling State University’s Homecoming Weekend, which begins today.
Clark also warned of potential severe weather expected to move through the area tonight into Saturday morning.
“The university has temporary fencing put up around campus and a curfew in place, and we’re doing everything we can to try and mediate that,” said Clark, who’s been working with the GSU Police Department and other law enforcement agencies to prepare for Homecoming.
“We had to make an arrest and received some complaints about trash about things that went on (Wednesday) night,” Clark said. “We’re not here just to arrest them, but I just can’t let the students take over the city and do what they want to do.”
Clark also pointed out that the city, Mayor Edward Jones and Grambling’s City Council as well as Grambling State University and members of the University of Louisiana System Board were recently presented a lawsuit in connection with a shooting on GSU’s campus during GSU’s Homecoming on Oct. 17 last year that resulting in one death and seven others being injured.
“We want them to have a good time but we want to, have to protect ourselves because parents get very emotional when something happens to their children,” Jones said about the way the city’s police department will handle Homecoming. “That’s why we have to take this stance because it affects all of us.”
City attorney Pamela Breedlove said she doesn’t believe the lawsuits will amount to damages being owed.
“It might take a while, but I think the lawsuits will be dismissed,” Breedlove said. “But there’s still expenses that will be paid for by insurance we get from the state, but in the long run it could have some effect because the more lawsuits you have against you can affect insurance rates.”
