The July city council meeting was a brief affair, with a majority of the meeting being dedicated to the handling of condemned properties. The agenda items of note from the meeting were that of a new fire department hire, an agreement between the city of Minden and the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development to get new lighting out on I-20, and the adoption of policies that were recommended during the city’s last audit.
The Minden Fire Department had a new hire approved during the meeting, that being Joshua Butts. This hire now makes the fire department fully staffed.
“I looked over Joshua’s information. He has passed his exam for entry-level firefighter and, in my opinion not being a firefighter, it looks like a very impressive score. He comes highly recommended, and Fire Chief Brian Williams recommends that we hire him,” said Mayor Nick Cox. The vote to hire Butts was passed unanimously by the council.
The next item of note was the adoption of a resolution authorizing Mayor Cox to execute an agreement with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, for a long awaited project that would bring lighting along I-20 in Minden.
“Our lights on I-20 have been out, and the City of Minden has looked very dark for many years. So the state department of transportation has come up with the funds to do 90% of a brand new lighting project. In order for us to take advantage of this, we have to do a 10% match,” said Mayor Cox. The adoption of the resolution was passed unanimously.
Some of the last few items on the agenda were the adoption of policies that were recommended by the City of Minden’s auditor, the firm of Allen, Green & Williamson, LLP, during the last audit. The city followed through with the adoption of these policies, all of which were approved unanimously by the city council.
This included the adoption of backup and recovery procedures, information technology disaster recovery plan, debt management, and sexual harassment.
“This policy, like the others, was requested for us to introduce by the auditors. They presented us with four policies they thought we needed to adopt,” said Mayor Cox.
The Minden City Council meeting takes place on the first Monday of each month starting at 6:00 PM at Minden City Hall. It is open for the public to attend. For those who can’t attend in person or want to watch a recording of the meeting after the fact, the meeting can be viewed live on the City of Minden’s Facebook page and YouTube channel titled City of Minden – Feels Like Home.