Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Council Business topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council roundup: bids rejected, bridge paperwork authorized, sales-tax holiday exemption approved, settlement placed for ballot
Summary
At its Aug. 11 meeting the Tangipahoa Parish Council: rejected bids for a new Section 8 housing office, approved a Ponchatoula FTA change order, authorized bridge project documents, approved a sales-tax-holiday exemption for firearms/hunting supplies, and authorized settlement language to place a term-limits amendment on the April 2026 ballot.
The Tangipahoa Parish Council handled a series of routine and fiscal items during its Aug. 11 meeting, adopting several motions and setting the path for a ballot question on term limits.
- Ponchatoula pedestrian improvements (FTA grant): Staff reported a change order increase of $44,218.40, driven by unexpected concrete cuts and removals. Ponchatoula agreed to the change order and the council recorded its approval; staff said no parish general-fund contribution is required because the project is federally funded or Ponchatoula-funded.
- Section 8 Housing Office bids: The council voted to reject the bids for a new Section 8 Housing Office on Highway 16 after the low bidder withdrew and remaining bids exceeded the project budget (staff said the low withdrawn bid was about $1.4 million and the next bids were over $1.8 million). The administration will rework plans with the architect to bring the project within budget and re-bid.
- Right-of-way/bridge projects: The council authorized the parish president to sign documents for State Project H015014 (State Line Road bridge replacement, Kentwood) and approved Tangipahoa Parish Resolution (Project H015333) authorizing the parish president to execute detour-route documents for a bridge replacement on Easley Road. Those items passed on roll calls recorded in the meeting.
- Sales-tax holiday for firearms/hunting supplies: The council adopted Ordinance 25-23 to exempt parish 1¢ sales tax on purchases of firearms, ammunition and hunting supplies during Louisiana’s designated Second Amendment weekend sales-tax holiday (state holiday Sept. 7, 2025). The adoption was recorded (vote recorded in transcript as passing with one abstention).
- Settlement and ballot on term limits: The council approved a resolution authorizing Parish President Robbie Miller to execute a settlement agreement in John Robert (Bobby) Cortez v. Tangipahoa Parish (suit number 20250001743). The proposed settlement ends the lawsuit challenging home-rule charter term limits and would require the parish to place a referendum on the April 2026 ballot asking voters to approve amended language limiting the council and the parish president to no more than four consecutive terms calculated from Jan. 1, 2016. Council recorded the motion as passing 9–1.
- Surplus property and liquor permits: The council declared a Surface Pro laptop surplus (assessment number 23805) and authorized donation to the Village of Tangipahoa; it also approved liquor-permit items included in the packet and amended items as shown in the record.
Several other administrative items and an introduction for a no-truck route on Vineyard Trace (District 8) were advanced to the public-hearing/intro stage.
