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Residents and firefighters press Kenner council over Station 37 repairs, permits and contractor oversight
Summary
Public commenters and fire department leaders pressed the council about the quality of work, contracting and permitting for repairs at Fire Station 37; speakers asked for compliance checks and transparency after social-media attention to unfinished work and contractor history.
Several residents, firefighters and council members used the public-comment period at the Oct. 17 Kenner City Council meeting to press the city for more oversight of repairs at Fire Station 37 and to question contracting and permitting practices.
Amy Hotard of District 5 told the council the workmanship at Station 37 was unacceptable, said the contractor had a long history of city contracts and that the contractor’s license appeared to have lapsed when a $300,000 contract was awarded July 25, 2025. Hotard said the pattern of awarding large “labor-only” contracts to the same vendor raised oversight concerns and asked the council to investigate.
Matthew Hotard, who identified himself as a member of the fire department, described operational concerns behind the decision to return personnel to Station 37 before all work was finished. He said the department moved crews to protect a 100-foot ladder truck from being parked outside; that truck’s being outdoors would have taken it out of service for rating purposes and posed coverage issues. He said the urgency to protect apparatus had led to an early reoccupation of the station.
Resident Steven Dunn said a public-records check showed no permits or inspections initially documented for the work at Station 37. Dunn asked how the city could be confident mold remediation and other work were completed properly without the permitting and inspection records he requested.
Greg Taft, a council member, and other speakers focused on compliance and oversight. Taft said the city should review how it enforces permitting and inspections on city-owned property. Nicholas Zalva, president of the Kenner Firefighter Association, described recent firefighter fundraising and asked a procedural question about whether general services pays the contractor and then charges the fire department; the council clerk and a city official said general services makes the payment and the cost is charged back to the fire department.
Fire Chief Terrence Morris and Assistant Chief Jason Dyer addressed the council. Chief Morris said the department has improved its Insurance Services Office rating (he described work to reach a Class 1 rating) and defended many department initiatives, saying the department will present documentation to the council in future meetings. Assistant Chief Dyer outlined the sequence of building issues: attic insulation problems, spray-foam insulation steps, detection of water intrusion and subsequent mold remediation; he said an outside mechanical engineer recommended replacement and relocation of HVAC units, a mini-split for the kitchen and replacement of an undersized kitchen hood vent. Dyer said follow-up testing confirmed successful mold remediation, that some structural repairs were needed after termite damage was found, and that code enforcement was inspecting progress step by step.
When asked whether permits had been filed, the administration said permitting had been an oversight that Director Glorioso of General Services acknowledged and that the correct permits had since been filed. The council president said the date permits were officially filed would be reported at the next meeting.
Speakers urged more rigorous compliance and clearer communication with residents and station personnel. No formal council action was taken on Station 37 at the Oct. 17 meeting; several speakers requested further review and for the administration to produce permitting and inspection records.
