The Kenner City Council voted to approve Summary Ordinance No. 13,710, renewing a franchise agreement with Entergy Louisiana LLC, after a public hearing and extended council questioning about utility performance and unfinished pole work across the city.

The ordinance was approved on a motion by Council Member Dunn, seconded by Council Member Lahat. The council recorded the vote as passing; Councilwoman McKenney abstained, saying she was an Entergy employee and would not participate in the final vote.

Why it matters: the franchise grants Entergy the right to provide electrical service in Kenner and generates a recurring revenue stream the city uses in its budget. Council members and residents said the city is spending those franchise proceeds yet continues to see unfinished work — notably “stub” utility poles left in the ground for months — and slow cross‑utility coordination to finish transfers and remove old poles.

Council discussion focused on a string of unresolved maintenance items and the mechanics of multi‑company transfers. Councilwoman McKenney told the council she had repeatedly asked Entergy to remove a utility pole at 20th and Iowa, and that the pole (and several others she has flagged) had been standing “for the last, like I said, almost 10 months.” She said: “I don't like it 1 bit. I don't know what we can do … I'm not happy. I'm not happy with Energy's performance.”

Entergy representatives acknowledged problems and described cross‑company complexity. Jimmy Aiken, Entergy’s customer service manager who covers Kenner and Jefferson Parish, told the council the transfer process requires coordination among Entergy, Cox Communications and AT&T and said there have been “eyes on the engines process” to improve timelines. “Can we do a better job as a company? Absolutely,” Aiken said, and he added his commitment to more direct follow‑up: “you have my word that moving forward … there will be more eyes and more hands on deck and involved with the engines process.”

Council members and city staff described upgrades Entergy has underway, including underground recabling projects in Driftwood and Lake Trail and a planned resiliency project for Williams Boulevard in 2026. A city staff member told the council the franchise produces roughly $1.7 million a year in revenue to the city budget, figures council members invoked while pressing for faster completion of outstanding work.

Residents also used the meeting to raise related infrastructure concerns: a constituent asked for renewed attention to heavy truck routes that are damaging neighborhood streets and foundations; another, Ryan Nugent, urged the city to revise and clean up municipal lighting procurement documents to avoid inflated pricing and unclear specifications.

The council closed the Entergy public hearing after the exchange and approved the franchise ordinance. Members said they expected continued follow‑up with Entergy, Cox and AT&T on stub‑pole removals and clearer timelines for residents.

Votes at a glance: the meeting approved the Entergy franchise ordinance and several routine contracts and cooperative agreements, including a property sale and state grant cooperative agreements noted below. The council also set a temporary agenda‑deadline change and accepted a number of low‑value contracts and purchases on the consent calendar (see list).