The July session for the Minden City Council meeting was a relatively straightforward one. The council and mayor, of course, tended to various matters of city business, including the selection of the official city journal, some appointments to boards and commissions, and a couple of promotions. At the end of the meeting, the city took the time to introduce their guests: Senator Adam Bass, Representative Wayne McMahen, and the City of Minden’s lobbyist, Caroline Mladenka, to shine a light on the important work they do representing Minden in Baton Rouge.
Each year, the city has to select an official journal to use for advertisements and publications of legal matters. The council voted unanimously for the Minden Press-Herald to once again be the Official City Journal. The council also unanimously voted to reappoint Ricky Thomas and Charlotte Jones to the Minden Downtown/Residential Historic Commission, with their terms set to expire on 12/31/2027.
Upon the recommendation of Minden Police Chief Jared McIver and having passed the Fire and Police Civil Service Board Police Lieutenant Examination, the council unanimously voted to promote Police Sergeant Jason Smith to the rank of Police Lieutenant. A new employee position and job description were proposed, that of a Battalion Chief for Fire Department 12. The council unanimously approved the position and description along with someone to fill it, Tony Hall, who has been with Minden’s Fire Department since 2003.
At the end of the meeting, Mayor Nick Cox recognized some guests who had been invited due to the hard work they do in Baton Rouge representing the City of Minden. This year’s session, in particular, was a long one, lasting nearly half a year from January 15 to June 3. During that time, Senator Bass, Representative McMahen, and Minden’s lobbyist Mladenka worked as a team not only to secure funding for the City of Minden but also to help get bills passed that would aid the city and keep bills from passing that would hinder it.
“I’m happy to report that we had a very successful session this past year,” said Mladenka. “We secured Minden about $3.51 million in cash during this session. Of that 3.51 million, we accomplished our number one goal, which was for Minden’s capital outlay project, the water ground storage tank. We got that fully funded, which is a big deal. Representative McMahen and Senator Bass did a wonderful job securing that. Between the 3.51 million for this session and last year’s session in 2023, which was a success too, the city of Minden secured about $5.26 million in cash.”
She went on to elaborate that securing this funding was a matter of cooperation and highlighted how she, the city, and the representatives worked together to make it happen. “To be able to be successful in that, it takes a lot of planning, strategy, relationship building, leadership, and persistence, and I’m proud of our team between the city, the state, and our legislators,” said Mladenka. “I’ve been working very well with Mayor Cox, and he is a true leader for Minden, working from point A to point B on every single project that we worked on together in the capital. Your vision for Minden is moving in the right direction, and Minden has a great reputation in Baton Rouge and statewide.”
After she was done speaking, Councilman Andy Pendergrass of District E shared some words expressing the importance of the city having representation during these sessions. “While we’re fielding calls for busted water lines and trying to get people’s power restored in storms, we can’t be in Baton Rouge going to these meetings; we just can’t. Minden is almost as far away as possible from Baton Rouge while still being in the state of Louisiana,” said Pendergrass. “All of us pay our state taxes, and it goes to Baton Rouge. The team of Caroline, Representative McMahen, Senator Bass, Hailey, and Matt K, we rely on them to be down there in Baton Rouge, reminding everybody else in Baton Rouge that we did pay those taxes and that those aren’t Baton Rouge’s to have, that those need to come back here to us.”
“It’s just so important for the city’s budget, for the government to work the way that it’s supposed to, for the City of Minden to be represented in Baton Rouge.”
“The city right now has a really great city council, and I appreciate y’all and everything y’all do. Every day I thank the good Lord for the council we have. We also have very good representatives in Baton Rouge,” said Mayor Cox. “I’m being as sincere as I know to be; these two guys are gold for us, and we don’t spend enough time thanking them for what they do.”
For each bit of appreciation that was shared towards the representatives, the representatives shared back in turn to the mayor and council. “The council has done a great job. I feel like y’all are working together to make Minden all it can be. If we continue to do that, I think we’ll see some great things ahead. I truly think Minden has a bright future,” said Representative McMahen. “We had a really good session. Obviously, last fall, when we had the elections, we elected a governor who is very aggressive on changing our state and making our state better,” said McMahen. “This session has been a session of change. We didn’t get everything we thought we could do, but we made a pretty good start. I think we did some really good things. I think y’all are in a great place in Minden. I’m happy to help in any way I can.”
Senator Bass also shared his thoughts about working with everyone to help fight for Minden in the past session. “I want to thank the council, and I want to thank the mayor. Each one of you guys has been great at communicating what you guys need, how you need it, and why it’s important, because what I have found is that it’s our job to go down there and tell that story,” said Senator Bass. “So my hope is that we’ve been effective at going down and telling that story, telling why Minden is such a great place to locate your business, locate your family, and most importantly, to Councilman Pendergrass’s comments, remind them that taxes are paid above I-10 and that we have needs up here and we want to continue to go after those. Last but not least, I want to thank the town of Minden. I feel like you’ve kind of embraced a boy from Bossier and helped me find out what’s important to you and why you love the place you live, and to be quite honest, you guys have helped me fall in love with where you live too.”
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.