The City of Minden held its monthly City Council meeting Monday evening where the mayor and council discussed and voted on items of city business including the awarding of bids for street improvements, an appointment to the Minden Main Street Program/Downtown Development Commission, long-term restructuring of the local fire department, land purchases near the city’s recreational complex, as well as sharing the city’s efforts to push back against littering.
The council voted unanimously to award bids for street improvement projects on the following roads: Woodhaven Drive from Lewisville Road to the dead end (including Jennifer Circle, Laurel Circle, and Kitchens Court), Guy Miller Road from Germantown Road to the city limits, East and West Street from Lewisville Road to Elm Street, and Mignon Street from Talton Street to East Union Street.
The council also voted on the appointment of Tamra Wichelns to fill a vacancy on the commission with the term set to expire on September 8, 2026. This appointment was unanimously approved.
During the meeting, the council also voted to grant authority to Mayor Nick Cox to execute a purchase agreement for 72 acres of land located on Recreation Drive. “This is some property that we can purchase for $600,000. The property is appraised at $950,000. So we’re paying two-thirds of the appraised value, which is fantastic, and it borders our recreation complex which will give us area for future expansion for city and municipal use,” said Mayor Cox.
It was also approved during the meeting for the Minden Fire Department to adopt changes to its structure recommended by Fire Chief Brian Williams. The current structure has 1 part-time fire chief, two full-time assistant fire chiefs on shift work, one battalion chief, seven captains, four firefighter operators, and one firefighter recruiter. The new structure would change that to one part-time fire chief and one assistant fire chief working Monday through Friday 8-4 pm, three battalion chiefs, six captains, and six firefighter operators.
Chief Williams was asked by Councilman Michael Roy if the current employees of the fire department are aware of the coming change, to which he replied, “They’ve been aware since I took over as fire chief that this is the structure through retirement that we would go to. Nothing takes place tomorrow.”
It’s a busy month for the local fire department in more ways than one. This week is National Fire Prevention Week, and the fire department has been taking part in both educational programs for kids in addition to giving out free fire alarms to residents who need them.
“This year’s message is, ‘Smoke alarms, make them work for you.’ The fire department so far has installed or given away 49 smoke detectors to residents of the city. We have more to give away through the Louisiana State Fire Marshall Operation Save a Life program. Residents can stop by the central fire station to get one or schedule an appointment with us for us to install it,” said Chief Williams.
“With Fire Prevention Week being in October, for the month of October, the fire department goes out to local schools and daycares to share some educational material with students. So far the fire department has educated over 300 children. We have other appointments scheduled for the rest of the month.”
On top of all that, the fire department is also taking part in Breast Cancer Awareness Month by wearing t-shirts that support finding a cure.
During closing comments Councilwoman Latasha Anderson Mitchell let the community know about upcoming events that would be taking place for National Night Out next Tuesday throughout the City of Minden.
“Many neighborhoods in Minden will be hosting a variety of special events such as block parties, cookouts, parades, visits from police, flashlight walks, contests, youth activities, and anti-crime and anti-drug rallies,” said Councilwoman Mitchell.
Lastly, both Councilman Roy and Mayor Cox talked about initiatives at the state and local level taking place that aim to reduce the amount of litter taking place, providing a number to call to report littering as well as signs to let more people know about this number and efforts to spread them throughout the city.
“The Lt. Governor Billy Nunguesser has a litter program that he has started in the state for citizens to call and report litter. He’s got a big push going on, and I think it’s a real good thing that he’s trying to clean up the state,” said Councilman Roy. “If anybody has any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out to me, I’d be glad to help in any way.”
Mayor Nick Cox added to this information, talking more about what the city itself would be doing to stop littering.
“Public Works Director Tyler Wallace, myself, and Terry Comb the Street Department manager, we’re working to have some signage made up; we’re going to put these around the city.
The signs would essentially call on citizens to report litterers, and it would display the number to the Lt. Governor’s program through the wildlife department, that number being 1-855-525-4883. Bumper stickers for city vehicles are also being made with the same message.
“We do have some areas that we find are frequently littered on, or there’s illegal dumping going on. We’re going to get a few of these signs, and we’re going to get a few cameras to put out and try to crack down on littering throughout the city. The City of Minden is serious about joining with the Lt. Governor and cracking down on litter. So this is your sign to quit littering.”
The Minden City Council meeting takes place on the first Monday of each month, starting at 6 PM at the Minden Civic Center. The meetings are open for the public to attend, and for those who wish to view the meeting live or after the fact, it is live-streamed on the City of Minden’s Facebook page and YouTube channel titled City of Minden – Feels Like Home.