Ruston’s Council passes slew of resolutions in August meeting

By T. Scott Boatright

Ruston’s Board of Alderson passed nine resolutions and an ordinance as the August City Council meeting was held Monday evening at City Hall.

The ordinance was for amending and restating an ordinance passed earlier this year authorizing the issuance of next to exceed $15 million aggregate principal amount of sales tax increment bonds regarding the ongoing Buc-ee’s project on the northwest side of the city.

Agent’s Lucius McGhee of Argent has been working with the city and explained the matter was simply a matter of cleaning up wording for the resolution that was recommended to improve S&P credit ratings.

“We’re just trying to clean up the wording for a better rating that affects the interest that we will pay on the bonds,” McGhee said. “We’re just building on what you’re already doing with good financial management, and we just want to have the right words to continue with that.

Thursday’s meeting began with the City Council voting to table introduction of a proposed ordinance that could authorize the city to enter into a cooperative endeavor agreement with Lincoln United Community Coalition and to sell property to that group.

No reason was given for tabling that agenda item.

Ruston’s City Council then passed a motion authorizing the city to enter into a professional services agreement with the Riley Company of Louisiana, Inc., for engineering services related to the 2025 Street Overlay Program.

“Work on the 2024 Overlay Program will begin soon but we want to get a job on the 2025 Program,” said Ruston Public Works Director John Freeman. “This is just doing the preliminary engineering work looking at areas we might want to work on.”

Freeman said that his department is still narrowing down streets to be worked on as part of the 2025 Overlay Program.

“We’re still looking at some utilities and things like that before we come up with a finite list,” Freeman said.

That was the first of six resolutions involving the city’s Public Works Department that were passed during the meeting.

The others were authorizing the city to enter into a $45,700 contract related to the Church Street Cross Drain Replacement Project; authorizing the city to enter into a $205,600 project related to the McDonald Avenue Cross Drain Replacement Project; authorizing the city to enter into a $139,000 relating to roof replacement at City Hall as well as $58,000 project for City Hall/Civic Center joint roof replacement.

A sixth resolution involving the Public Works Department was related to striping on the North Frontage Road West Striping Project by Arkansas Fence and Guard Rail for $33,695.40.

“The city is working with JP Morgan Chase on the new facility they’re constructing on the north service road west just past The Hobby Lobby area there,” Freeman said. “In developing their site plans they needed a truck entrance just over the crest of the hill there, and to get that approved by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development there’s some striping that needs to take place on the frontage road.

“It’s two lanes westbound now and we’ll have to stripe that down to a single westbound lane and another single lane to be a turn lane into the shopping center and facilitate that development.

Other resolutions passed authorizing the city to enter a $1,087,253 contract for the Hangar Access Taxilanes and Apron Extension Project at the Ruston Regional Airport that will be fully funded by Federal Aviation Administration grants; authorizing the city to enter into a $1,110,727.57 project with J-Bar related to Phase II of the 2024 Street Overlay Sewer Rehab Project; and authorizing the city to enter into an agreement for emergency assistance by and between the Louisiana Energy and Power Authority member cities.

Ruston’s City Council also introduced an ordinance amending Chapter 11 of the Code of Ordinances for the city of Ruston by adding a section relating to approaching a police officer.

That ordinance is expected to be discussed and potentially voted on during the City Council’s next regularly scheduled meeting in September.

The City Council granted permission to start the property condemnation process for buildings and/or structures located at the following addresses: