Hammond Council OKs grants, equipment purchases and $2.96M lift‑station contract; investigation of building‑department action tabled

Hammond City Council members on Dec. 10 approved a slate of grant acceptances, equipment purchases and infrastructure contracts and delayed signing an outside‑counsel agreement to investigate the building permits office pending an advisory opinion from the Louisiana Attorney General.

The council unanimously approved a $236,635 Community Development Block Grant award for improvements at Martin Luther King Park and accepted state appropriations to fund downtown street/drainage work ($350,000) and $300,000 for water‑meter upgrades aimed at converting older meters to wireless reads. "This is the amount for the first year, and we're expecting that we'll receive around the same amount each year," city staff member Charles said about the CDBG award. He added the water‑meter appropriation will be used to target the oldest and the hard‑to‑reach meters first and that staff will return to council with a prioritized purchase list.

Council members also approved several public‑safety and equipment purchases: a Cummins ISL replacement engine for a 2018 pumper at $66,075.14; a Woods batwing cutter for $28,188.55; four Dodge Durangos ($183,039) and four Chevy Tahoes ($208,568) for police use; and a $16,810 Edward Byrne Justice Assistance grant to buy portable radios. Charles described the radios as replacements for equipment purchased after Hurricane Katrina that is "approaching, you know, 20 years old" and said the grant will allow the department to continue replacing aging radios.

On infrastructure, the council ratified and awarded the Heidi lift station and force‑main improvements to NCMC LLC of Baton Rouge for $2,957,000. Jay Pittman, presenting the item, said the low bid exceeded the…