Kenner council opens, closes public hearing on sale of old observatory at 409 Williams Blvd.; sale price $65,000 noted

The Kenner City Council opened and closed a public hearing on Summary Ordinance No. 13,711, which would authorize the sale of a portion of Lot 17 C, Square 40 (municipal address 409 Williams Boulevard), the council recorded.

Council member Dunne moved and Council member Brannigan seconded a motion to open the public hearing; the motion passed 7-0. No members of the public came forward to speak, and Council member Dunn moved, seconded by Council member Brannigan, to close the public hearing; that motion also passed 7-0.

Council member Dunn then moved, with a second from Council member Brannigan, to approve the ordinance. Council member Weilmont asked for “some more details on this on the record,” and described the site as the former observatory adjacent to the River Shack restaurant on Williams Boulevard. Weilmont said the dome remains but the telescope is gone and the building is "in dire need of repair" if it were to be returned to use. He said the $65,000 sale price was set by a recent appraisal and noted an earlier appraisal in March 2023 valued the property at $80,000; a recent storm caused additional roof and interior damage and the later appraisal came in about $15,000 lower. Weilmont said the city purchased the property in 1988 and that the River Shack owners want to incorporate the observatory structure into their seating and use the existing dome area as a small meeting room.

Why it matters: the sale would put the property back on the tax roll and create a recorded lot designation for an area of overlapping city-owned parcels, council members said. The council had no public opposition during the hearing.

The transcript excerpt shows the motions to open and close the hearing and that the approval motion was made and discussed; a final recorded vote on approval was not contained in the provided excerpt.