FERRIDAY

&045; Ongoing topics of interest such as the possibility of Wal-Mart closing, water plant woes and the number of speeding tickets police officers issue were at the top of a laundry list of issues the Ferriday Town Council took up Tuesday.

In response to council questions, Mayor Gene Allen said Wal-Mart officials told him, in a recent meeting, they were considering closing Ferriday’s Wal-Mart and moving to Vidalia.

Wal-Mart’s Ferriday lease doesn’t expire until 2007 and Wal-Mart officials gave no firm owrd on a move.

Did Wal-Mart officials give any indication how serious they are about moving? &uot;All they said was, they don’t intend to hurt the town of Ferriday,&uot; Allen said.

Later in the meeting, Councilman Johnnie Brown expressed concerns about recent television news reports about the number of traffic tickets written in Ferriday.

While he didn’t quote specific numbers, Brown said he would like officers to &uot;use some discretion&uot; when writing tickets.

Police Chief Robert Davis said officers already allow speeders 10 miles per hour over the speed limit before issuing tickets. But Davis said he draws the line at practicing &uot;selective law enforcement,&uot; adding &uot;that will never happen.&uot;

&uot;I’m concerned about safety in this town Šnot about the money&uot; the town gains from the tickets, Davis said.

When Councilman Glenn Henderson suggested officers might better spend their time off E.E. Wallace Boulevard and in other areas where &uot;kids are selling dope,&uot; Davis pointed out his department made 24 &uot;good drug arrests&uot; in the last year.

Meanwhile, Allen said, &uot;there have been five (traffic) fatalities in Vidalia&uot; in the past year and none in Ferriday.

In other police matters, Councilman Jerome Harris expressed his concerns with rank-and-file police officers &045; those besides the chief and investigators &045; driving police cars home and on out-of-town errands.

Allen said businesses and residents like having a visible police presence in their neighborhoods.

Allen also cited a blackout that happened in Ferriday last week. Since police had their vehicles at the ready, they were able to respond to locations around the city and maintain order within five minutes, Allen said.

&uot;Officers’ presence deters crime,&uot; Allen said. &uot;Ferriday has less crime that it’s ever had.&uot;

The council voted to table the item until its July meeting, giving Town Attorney Derrick Carson the chance to research the issue.

The ongoing issue of Ferriday’s water woes was also discussed Tuesday &045; specifically, funding to address problems at the town’s water plant.

In response to concerns Harris mentioned regarding the water plant, Allen said Sen. David Vitter, in a visit to Concordia Parish last week, pledged his help to secure appropriations to make repairs and upgrades.

Since the town owes $2 million already on the plant, Allen said he would rather pursue grant appropriations for the work. Allen said he, like Harris, is concerned that the plant water tank, in particular, &uot;could fall in tomorrow.&uot;

However, it would cost $400,000 to replace &045; and almost that much to fix &045; the tank, money Ferriday doesn’t have.

At the meeting’s start, the council held a public hearing on a Louisiana Community Development Block Grant to repair several streets.

Streets to be repaired include Florida Avenue, Sixth Street, Fudikar Street and Smith Street, among others. The amount of the grant and timeline for construction were not given.

A public hearing was also held on a grant the town has applied for from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Delta Regional Authority for an access road to the building to be occupied by Ferriday Oil & Seed. That industry is set to open June 24.

The council later passed a resolution to send to the USDA and the Regional Authority requesting the $40,000 grant.

No member of the public commented during the hearings.

In other business:

4The council heard a presentation from accountant Jeri Sue Tosspon on the need to revise Ferriday’s current budget before its fiscal year ends June 30.

This year’s budget must be revised because state law requires towns’ budgets not to have revenues or spending 5 percent above or below the budget estimates passed at the start of the fiscal year.

And because more grants were received and, as a result, spent during this fiscal year, the town has to revise its budget a great deal.

The town received about $600,000 more in revenues than anticipated this fiscal year. Revenues were up 27 percent, while spending was up 18 percent, Tosspon said.

The council passed the revised budget.

In addition, the council set a public hearing at 6 p.m. June 27 to get public comment on a proposed budget for fiscal 2005-2006.

Allen said some of the spending is due to the fact that the town is catching up on insurance payments, maintenance and other matters that needed to be addressed for some time.

4After citizens and councilmen aired concerns about the state of Ferriday’s newly constructed sidewalks, Allen said he will invite engineer Keith Capdepon to the June 27 meeting to discuss the issue with him.

4The council voted to continue its AFLAC cafeteria plan for town employees.

4The council passed a motion to send a resolution to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers asking the agency to grade, and place mats along, Cocodrie Bayou from Upper Levee Road to Louisiana 15.

4Councilmen voted to accept a $5,000 quote from Utility Data Systems for software to track Police Department data such as citations, court minutes and records, and warrants.

4The council voted to continue to contract with Pat Hazlip as the town’s insurance agent.

4Allen presented plaques to former council members Billy Rucker, Dorothy Johnson, Mitch Ashmore and Alan Cupit. Former Councilman Sammy Davis Jr. wasn’t present but will be given his plaque later.