By T. Scott Boatright
Taking action on five bids and the reappointment of members to different boards were primary orders of business as the Lincoln Parish Police Jury held its March meeting Tuesday evening at the Lincoln Parish Courthouse.
The LPPJ also approved an $18,000 agreement to a partnership with the city of Ruston and the Ruston-Lincoln Visitors and Convention Bureau concerning retail strategies for the parish. It authorized Parish Administrator Courtney Hall to get an appraisal and property inspection for 203 South Vienna Street in Ruston related to potential purchase of that property.
The LPPJ approved a number of purchases, including a Shoulder Paver Attachment for $79,200 from Covington Sales & Services, Inc., a new Boom Truck for $198,500 from Scott Truck LLC, a Pavement Lay Down Machine for $231,055.66 from Covington Sales & Services, Inc. They also approved the purchase of a minimum of 5,000 gallons of asphalt materials from Ashphalt Product Unlimited.
They rejected all four bids received for purchase of a Regular Cab Tandem Dump Truck.
“None of those bids meets the specs so we’re just going to reject all bids, reword it and advertise again,” said Parish Purchasing Officer Jerri Lynn Webb.
The Jury agreed to authorize Webb to do so.
The two reappointments made by the LPPJ during the meeting were Phillip Todd Heard to Waterworks District No. 1 and Kip Franklin to the Fire Training Board.
Also approved was permission for Hall to start making arrangements for some Jury members to travel to Washington D.C. with other representatives from the cities of Ruston and Grambling to lobby for federal funding for the I-20 West Service Road project (all the way to Grambling) planned to link Tarbutton Road exit where Buc-ees has recently started being constructed.
“We’re trying to put that trip together,” Hall said. “We haven’t got the dates set yet but we’re trying to get out in front of it and get permission from the Jury so that all expenses would be reimbursable in line with the Jury’s travel policies.”
The LPPJ also approved moving forward with a proposed amendment authorizing the parish to provide an additional property tax exemption of up to $2,500 for qualified first responders, specifically those owning and occupying property that also receives the homestead exemption.
