Jury approves Mizell Lane drainage contract, animal shelter renovation bid and hires facilities manager

The Ouachita Parish Police Jury on Oct. 20 awarded multiple contracts, approved permit variances and completed administrative hires and license renewals.

Contract awards and procurement: Parish Engineer Kevin Crosby reported the lowest conforming bid for Mizell Lane drainage improvements was $221,496.02 from CW&W Contractors, Inc.; the Jury voted to award the contract and authorized the president to sign contract documents (motion by Toni Bacon; second Lonnie Hudson). Architect Land of Land 3 presented bids for the animal shelter renovation; the low responsive bid of $4,942,000 from Don M. Barron Contractor, Inc. (base + three alternates) was accepted (motion by Larry Bratton; second Lonnie Hudson).

Procurement delegations: The Jury authorized Lazenby & Associates to obtain quotes for foundation and substructure work for burn buildings used by the fire department and approved awarding that work if quotes are below $250,000.

Permits and variances: For Site Development Permit No. 2023-310 (Well Road Warehouse Park), Ronnie Haisty of RCH Company requested a variance and reported the project is more than 50% complete; Engineer Crosby recommended a one-year extension and the Jury approved the one-year extension with Larry Bratton recorded as opposing the motion. For Site Development Permit No. 2022-277 (Cheniere Drew Sewer Facility), James Bond (Joszac Enterprises) requested a two-year extension; the engineering recommendation of a one-year extension and permission for the developer to place the sewer line in the road right-of-way was approved without opposition.

Administrative actions: The Jury approved a facilities manager job description and hired David Jones as facilities manager (motion by Toni Bacon; second by Lonnie Hudson). Treasurer Scott Long (recorded as Mr. Long in the minutes) presented claims for the finance committee and the committee approved payment for the Sept. 12–Oct. 16 claim period; the Jury later ratified committee actions. The Jury also approved advertising for bids for a dump truck and CCTV trucks, declared two vehicles surplus for auction, and approved three beer and whiskey license renewals on staff recommendation.

Votes and dissent: Most procurement and administrative motions passed without opposition; the Well Road Warehouse Park extension passed with one juror (Larry Bratton) opposing.

Next steps: Contracts will be executed by the president as authorized; the animal shelter renovation contract and Mizell Lane project will move to procurement/contract execution steps. Permit extensions carry administrative follow-up to document the extensions and any right-of-way approvals.