2026-10-05 - City Council Budget Hearings

01:20All

01:27right, guys. It is 9:31.

01:30The Saints are playing the Falcons, so I

01:33know that we will be closing shop early.

01:35So, why don't we get started? Ashley, if

01:38you could start with the roll call.

01:40>> Yes. Well, [clears throat]

01:41up first is the Well, you're the only

01:42council member present. We don't need to

01:44do roll call. Um, up first is the 5-year

01:46[clears throat] capital plan.

01:50All right, please introduce yourselves

01:52and we can get ready to go.

01:54>> Good morning. My name is Laura Brian.

01:56I'm from City Planning Commission. I'm

01:58here with my colleague Cameron.

02:01Um we will talk about the 2027 through

02:04the 2031 capital improvement plan.

02:14>> All right. So this is the contents of

02:15today's presentation. We're going to

02:17walk you through the background,

02:18development process, funding sources,

02:20submissions, and recommendations.

02:25The charter requires that the city

02:28planning commission prepare the capital

02:30improvement plan and assist the chief

02:32administrative officer in the

02:33preparation of the annual capital

02:35budget. The capital improvement plan

02:37includes 5 years of proposed capital

02:39expenditures from 2027 through 2031.

02:43Staff reviews each project to ensure

02:46consistency with the master plan, the

02:48plan for the 21st century. A project is

02:50consistent with the master plan if it

02:52furthers or does not interfere with the

02:54goals, policies, and guidelines in the

02:56land use element of the master plan, or

02:58the project is compatible with the

02:59proposed future land use. While some

03:02projects do not have specific addresses,

03:04they are consistent by contributing to

03:06goals or policies in different chapters

03:08of the master plan. The CPC works

03:10collaboratively with the Capital

03:12Projects Administration and the Capital

03:13Budget Office to prepare the plan. And

03:16the submissions were due on May 1st and

03:19[clears throat] the public hearings were

03:20held from May 18th through May 27th for

03:23departments to present the requests.

03:27So the CIP development process, the

03:29submissions are submitted to us via a

03:32software platform online. The process

03:35kicks off in April with a webinar for

03:37city agencies and then each agency works

03:39with capital projects liaison to

03:41coordinate their submissions. This year

03:44we used Questica. Once all the requests

03:47are submitted online, the staff collects

03:49and reviews each request and then holds

03:51public hearings.

03:53We also had it develop a public facing

03:56dashboard with the information to

03:57provide more clarity to the public about

04:00the requests. Staff then reviews each

04:03request for the master plan consistency

04:05and compiles them in the capital

04:06improvement plan.

04:09There are four main funding categories.

04:11There are general obligation bonds,

04:13self-generated funds, intergovernmental

04:16funds, and federal grant funds.

04:24The overview of the funding requests,

04:26there were 27 agencies that submitted a

04:28total of 187 requests.

04:32Uh the majority of projects in this

04:34year's CIP are requests for

04:36self-generated funds which come from a

04:38small group of agencies. The New Orleans

04:40Aviation Board and French Market

04:42Corporation for 774 million.

04:45Intergovernmental requests make up 3.5

04:48million. And then there are US DOT and

04:51EPA grant fund requests. The the

04:54majority of the request is for the

04:56general obligation bonds for 2.1

04:58million.

05:02uh project types. So projects are

05:05requests for capital funds fall short

05:07for a number of categories. Staff spent

05:10time this year coordinating the

05:13different project types and reviewing

05:14each project to confirm it was a certain

05:17specific request.

05:21So there are several different projects

05:23we categorize them into. Uh first

05:25there's planning which are generally

05:28requests that refer to to design work,

05:31feasibility analysis or pre-construction

05:33activities before a project can move

05:35forward. Renovation or continuing

05:37maintenance requests involve repair,

05:39rehabilitation, replacement or ongoing

05:41upkeep of existing facilities and

05:43infrastructure. Equipment requests cover

05:46the purchase of or replacement of major

05:48items such as vehicles, machinery, or

05:50specialized operational equipment.

05:52Technology requests include hardware,

05:54software, systems or infrastructure that

05:56support public services and

05:58administrative operations. And then

06:00there are new construction requests for

06:02building new facilities or major

06:03additions. While land acquisition

06:05requests involve per purchasing property

06:08needed for future use and the majority

06:10of requests are for repair, continuing

06:12maintenance of existing facilities.

06:14That's what I'm talking.

06:18So the analysis of the submissions as it

06:20as it pertains to the scoring and the

06:22ranking during the process developments

06:24rank their projects in two ways. The

06:26first way is by identifying which

06:28projects are of the highest priority to

06:30the department. The second is by ranking

06:32each project against 19 criteria to to

06:35generate a score within that evaluation

06:38matrix. Upon analysis of the department

06:40priorities versus the CIP matrix scores,

06:43the data revealed that the projects that

06:45scored the highest with departments were

06:47not always the highest scoring CIP

06:48[clears throat] matrix projects. The

06:50data showed that the nature of the

06:51highest ranked projects by department

06:53tends to relate to immediate operational

06:56needs and deferred maintenance. While

06:58the CIP matrix favors asset longevity,

07:01resilience, and multi-benefit public

07:03infrastructure.

07:05This slide shows the highest matrix

07:08scoring projects, the amount requested,

07:10the score, the department that submitted

07:12the project, and these projects are

07:14separated into different funding tiers

07:17to reveal the true scope and

07:18distribution of capital needs.

07:22During the CPC review period, staff also

07:24conducted three site visits to the Nola

07:26Crime Lab, the public safety warehouse,

07:28and the Mirbu water gardens. While many

07:31of the issues are general maintenance

07:32for the Nola Crime Lab, a part of the

07:34request is to redesign the fourth floor

07:36to allow for compliance with federal

07:38regulations in order to gain access to

07:40an FBI database. This would allow the

07:43department to conduct nationwide DNA

07:44searches inhouse. Currently, the

07:47facility is inadequate in its design to

07:49receive such access. The public safety

07:51warehouse is has a request to increase

07:54capacity and improve the existing

07:55facility to further support the needs of

07:57our emergency services NOFD, EMS, and

08:00NOPD. And the Mirabu Water Gardens has

08:03made significant progress and the public

08:05park portion of the site is slated to

08:07open soon. A portion of the site is

08:09still under construction at this time.

08:13So, overview of capital improvement plan

08:16priorities and recommendations in the

08:18plan. And unlike last year, the amount

08:19of bond funds that are available to be

08:21allocated were $0 as they've already

08:23been attributed to projects. Last year,

08:26the CIP informed the bond proposition

08:28that went to the voters in the fall of

08:292025 and was approved for 510 million

08:32divided into three categories. The

08:34proposition that went to the voters

08:36includes the list for infrastructure

08:38grouping of projects in the storm water

08:40and green infrastructure grouping of

08:41projects and then an affordable housing

08:44grouping was to be determined by the

08:45housing trust funds advisory committee.

08:47So there is not a new bond proposition

08:50being proposed for this year. So the

08:51bond funding request received a a Z

08:54funding allocation.

08:57While there's not a new proposal going

08:59to the voters, the administration is

09:01preparing two more sales, one in 2028

09:04and one in 2030 to complete the 510

09:07million approved by the voters. While

09:10the projects are predetermined by the

09:11lists, those lists may be amended by the

09:14city council and there have been two

09:15amendments to the infrastructure list.

09:17Thus far, staff has two main

09:19recommendations for the continued bond

09:21allocations. The first is that the

09:23administration prioritize projects

09:24focused on continuing maintenance and

09:26renovations. And second, that the city

09:28council consider amending the list to

09:30add back in projects that were

09:32previously removed and to add in new

09:34projects from this year's CIP so that

09:36they could be considered for future

09:37sales.

09:41So, next steps. The city planning

09:43commission adopted the capital

09:44improvement plan and submitted it to the

09:46mayor and the plan informs the capital

09:49budget which is being developed and

09:51you'll hear about next.

09:54That concludes our presentation.

09:56>> Great. Thank you. Um, I just want to

09:58understand on page four, um,

10:03of the general obligation bonds sold,

10:06three sales re resulted, sorry, in one

10:10$198 million.

10:12Are you saying that the next two sales

10:14will be uh held in 2028 and 2030?

10:18>> That's the direction that we received,

10:20but I would I would confirm with the

10:22capital budget team directly.

10:25>> Okay. Is there anyone from that team

10:26here who can discuss? Kyle, you want to

10:29come up?

10:35>> You right, Kyle?

10:36>> Yes. Good morning.

10:37>> Happy Monday morning.

10:38>> Yes. Um, yes, that's still currently the

10:41plan to do uh the two additional sales,

10:44one in 2028, one in 2030, and just

10:47evenly splitting uh the 510 across those

10:50three sales. Do we think that we're

10:51going to generate the uh balance of 312

10:55million?

10:56>> We hope uh more due to the premiums. So,

10:59as we you know do better with the

11:02financials, hopefully get a higher uh

11:04credit rating, bond rating, then we'll

11:06be able to uh get additional premiums

11:09with those uh sales. But it depends on

11:12the economic situation.

11:14>> Okay. And uh a couple more questions on

11:16actual projects. So the retrofit of the

11:19crime lab of approximately $9 million

11:22that's slated to happen.

11:24>> So that was not included in the list of

11:27the proposition that was approved by

11:29voters last fall.

11:30>> All right. So that's what your

11:32recommendation is is to update that

11:34list.

11:35>> Yeah.

11:37>> We do you think that the list should be

11:39updated to reflect all of the requests

11:42that were submitted to us this year? Um

11:44there are a number of requests and al

11:47although you know the voters voted on

11:49the ones previously there are new ones

11:52that we think would warrant potentially

11:54funding as well.

11:55>> Okay. And then I also see on here 24

11:58million approx for a new low barrier

12:00shelter. Is that budgeted for? Are we

12:03going forward with that?

12:05>> That was uh that wasn't included either.

12:07Uh this was the first year that request

12:09was included.

12:10>> Okay. So, we need to update the list is

12:12what the bottom line is.

12:15>> Yeah, your heads are shaking, but

12:17>> Well, well, we think that would be

12:19something, yeah, that should be

12:21considered. There's a lot a number of

12:22requests that come to us um you know,

12:24from all different departments for all

12:27different types of priorities. And so,

12:28taking a close look at that when the

12:30year comes around in 2028, I think would

12:32make sense.

12:33>> Okay. Thank you, Council Member Willard.

12:38>> Thank you. Uh just just one question. I

12:41noticed in your slides that there seems

12:43to be a a discrepancy. The departments

12:45prioritize operational needs um and

12:50things that are more immediate deferred

12:52maintenance and your scoring matrix

12:54seems to prioritize asset longevity,

12:57resilience, and multi-benefit public use

13:01of uh of these capital dollars. Are we

13:04doing anything to better align right

13:06there or how do you deal with that?

13:09uh that that is

13:11>> it just caught my it just caught my

13:12attention.

13:13>> Yeah, that's an ongoing thing. The way

13:15that we've developed the matrix, the

13:17scoring matrix that we've been using for

13:19a long time, we sort of discovered that

13:21it may not be prioritizing things in the

13:24way in which other they they might need

13:27to be prioritized. Um so the departments

13:30rank each of the requests when they

13:32submit them and the way that they fall

13:34in the scoring matrix may be different

13:36than the way they rank them. And so

13:38we're trying to take a deep dive into

13:39looking at that and to figure out if

13:41there's a way in which we should remedy

13:43these things and how how to look at it

13:45going forward. But you're right.

13:48>> Okay. Are y'all looking at possible

13:50changes to the scoring matrix or

13:53>> Yes, definitely.

13:55>> Okay. Yeah. In the legislature, deferred

13:57maintenance was a a theme every session.

14:00And um you know the neglect of deferred

14:03maintenance over time just ends up

14:05costing you more money because once you

14:07finally take action it's it's urgent.

14:10It's you know something broke and you

14:13know it just it costs more money because

14:15now you have a tighter timeline to do

14:17it. You can't really prepare plan for

14:19that. So um I' I'd be interested in

14:21seeing what you guys come up with.

14:23>> Okay. Great.

14:24>> Thank you.

14:25>> Any other questions?

14:27Uh, Council Member McCarron.

14:30>> Yeah. Going back to what Council Member

14:31Willard was talking about because

14:33there's a a case in point of the JJIC

14:36HVAC system that needs repair. I mean,

14:39they had waited a really long time to

14:41get uh they have two of them that need

14:43to be repaired. They were able to get

14:44one and then the other one is still

14:46needing to be repaired. Do we do we have

14:48any like allocation to deferred

14:51maintenance that we do every year in the

14:53capital budget? I mean, maybe that's

14:56something that we could consider that we

14:57could be a little bit more nimble with

14:59some of these things for what's an

15:02obvious

15:04capital expense but not budgeted because

15:08it has to go through this 5-year capital

15:10planning process,

15:12>> right? Um the JJC is kind of a unique

15:14situation because some of the requests

15:16that were previously included were

15:18removed for other requests and so that

15:20is one thing we would like for them to

15:22be back on the list to receive funding.

15:25Um and you're right the there are

15:28deferred maintenance issues and and

15:30often times um a really large um

15:34expenditure

15:35could happen but could have been

15:37mitigated by sort of smaller

15:38expenditures. And so I think it's it's

15:41it would be a good exercise to really

15:43take a deep dive into looking at each of

15:45the requests coming from the different

15:47departments. Yeah, agreed. I think it if

15:49we can be a little bit more nimble with

15:51some of these funds for these, you know,

15:54smaller things but are are have large

15:56impact uh would give everybody some

15:59flexibility on not having to wait to do

16:01these things.

16:03>> Thanks.

16:04Any other questions? If not, we can move

16:07on to number one. Thank you for

16:08appearing today.

16:10>> Up next is the capital budget.

16:44Good enough.

17:03All right. Uh good morning. Um welcome

17:07uh to the capital budget presentation.

17:13So the current capital budget uh we have

17:15a total of 389 projects currently in

17:19different phases uh totaling 1.7 billion

17:23uh in funding. Uh so you can see it's

17:26split out between the different

17:27departments that are uh managing these

17:30projects. And just want to note that OOS

17:32is the office of sustainability.

17:36Um just want to show some pictures too.

17:38We have the milling machine uh that DPW

17:41recently had a demonstration on. Um and

17:44then also we have uh Perry Rome

17:46renovations and I believe this is Willie

17:49Hall.

17:53And so the current capital budget is

17:55broken down into many different funding

17:57sources. So we've grouped them into

18:00different categories. As you can see, uh

18:03the majority of the funding is through

18:05uh federal grants. So the majority of

18:08that is our FEMA public assistance

18:10program, uh which is J and other uh

18:14repairs to damages from disasters. Uh

18:18next up is going to be bonds uh which is

18:21about half of that and then you have

18:23these smaller amounts which are

18:24miscellaneous capital property insurance

18:27sew and water board and state funding.

18:31Uh and just want to note in June 2026 uh

18:34the city sold that first trunch of bonds

18:36from the 510 million uh through the

18:39three different propositions that voters

18:41approved in 2025 and that generated more

18:44than 154 million for infrastructure and

18:48storm water and drainage capital

18:49improvements. Uh this excludes the

18:51funding for affordable housing.

18:56Um, so of that current 1.7 billion in

18:59funding, 1.4 billion is encumbered. And

19:03so just so that everyone's aware, um,

19:05encumbered mean it's been set aside for

19:07purchase orders, contracts, or other

19:10agreements, uh, for payments that are

19:12about to be, uh, coming up. Um, so about

19:1683% of that funding is already

19:18encumbered. And of that 83 that is

19:21encumbered, 982 million has already been

19:25spent. So there's only 765

19:29uh million uh remaining to be paid out.

19:32Um included on here is uh Lincoln Beach

19:36at the top right uh the new uh splash uh

19:40splash pad at Val Gilles and then a

19:43roller for uh DPW.

19:47Um so some highlights for capital

19:49projects. So these are going to be the

19:51horizontal construction. So this year we

19:54received the extension from FEMA for uh

19:57damage repairs, Katrina damage repairs

19:59at municipal auditorium. So we recently

20:02issued the NTPs for those two contracts

20:05to complete the uh remaining interior

20:08and exterior repairs with a balance of

20:10funds and we're still waiting for the

20:12extension for the municipal yacht harbor

20:14restrooms project. Um so this year we

20:18also opened the new Gold Ring Woolenberg

20:20Riverfront Park. um uh through a ottoman

20:24commission. The city had a $15 million

20:26commitment through bonds. Um so they

20:28received the last $5 million payment

20:30this year. And then we also opened that

20:33new NOFD headquarters on City Park

20:35Avenue. Um this year we also installed

20:39two new splash pads, one inless and one

20:41in Cutoff. And we completed roof, HVAC,

20:45and other repairs at several libraries.

20:47And we just had the recent uh ribbon

20:49cutting at the Children's Resource

20:51Center on Saturday. Um and we're also

20:54currently in under construction on

20:55projects at Norman Park, Samson

20:58playground, and uh the new sanitation

21:00field operations office and warehouse,

21:03including many other projects.

21:06So some upcoming projects for capital

21:09projects administration will be uh I IDA

21:12damage repairs across multiple city

21:15facilities,

21:16criminal district court jury

21:18deliberation room renovations,

21:21HVAC repairs at NMA, improvements and

21:24repairs to multiple facilities uh ran by

21:27Nord and Parkway. So Richard Lee Park,

21:30Adil Davis, Geredi Playground, and Sam

21:33Bonard. We'll do we'll be doing

21:35renovations at the Pan Grove Recreation

21:38Center um and doing installation of

21:40generator and development of a micro

21:42grid at Joe Joe Brown Park.

21:46So you can see here uh at the top left

21:48is uh George Washington Carver

21:51playground. In the middle we have

21:53Richard Lee Park uh plans. At the top

21:56right is the children's resource center.

21:58Uh it looks very nice. Um bottom left we

22:02had uh the new windows at uh criminal

22:05district court. Uh the bottom middle is

22:08the new NOFFD headquarters and the

22:10bottom right is the new sanitation field

22:12operations warehouse.

22:16So moving to some highlights for the

22:17department of public works through the

22:19capital budget. Uh we hired nearly uh 50

22:22new employees for internal capital

22:25improvement teams and I believe we'll

22:26reach that 50 next week.

22:30We initiated heavy equipment purchases

22:32to build out the patching and paving

22:34team. So, new mill and overlay machines,

22:37trailers, and similar equipment. And

22:39then uh we had uh two main uh bond

22:43projects, the citywide asphalt and the

22:45citywide concrete. And so these are just

22:48some highlights of different uh road

22:50segments that were addressed through

22:52those contracts.

22:56And here's some pictures of those

22:58contracts and uh the improvements that

23:01came along with those.

23:05So, some upcoming projects for DPW. Uh

23:08we have the citywide sidewalk and

23:10citywide specialty sidewalk uh bids out

23:13currently. Uh we have the pavement

23:15condition assessment. We recently chose

23:18uh the uh the vendor and we are

23:21negotiating a contract with them

23:23currently. Uh we have major and minor

23:27streets for districts A and B that I

23:29believe is currently out for bid. And

23:32then we have uh major minor streets for

23:34districts D and E and a separate minor

23:37streets for district C that will be

23:39going out for advertising soon.

23:43Uh we have a current Morrison Road

23:45construction project that continues

23:47through construction. We'll be doing an

23:50RFQ for design on Carolton Avenue

23:53between Washington and Orleans.

23:56We'll be doing a procurement for roadway

23:59light lighting safety supplemental. It's

24:02going to be identifying areas where

24:04there's uh we need to have uh new street

24:07lights installed. Um and that is going

24:10to be accompanied by the street light

24:12master plan.

24:15Uh speaking to the JIO pro JIR program,

24:19uh we received the extension uh from

24:22FEMA through June 2nd, 2028. Um and we

24:25recently received in our update with CDM

24:28Smith, the program management offices

24:30office that the uh all the contractors

24:33are committing to meeting that deadline.

24:36So that will move their schedules up uh

24:38a couple months. So currently those

24:41projects that are in active construction

24:43uh we've completed 173 of those blocks.

24:47135 are in construction and we have 338

24:52remaining. So that uh represents a total

24:55uh investment of 365 million of which 78

25:00have been million has been invoiced

25:02leaving 287 million remaining in the

25:05program.

25:08And here's a map of all the current JR

25:11projects um and the impacts that will be

25:14having across the council districts.

25:19There's also going to be upcoming bridge

25:21projects. So we have Orleans and South

25:23Brock, both expected to go out for bid

25:26in Q4 of this year. In addition, we have

25:29Filillmore, which is also across Bayou

25:31St. John and then Mayo at uh Mayo at

25:34Morrison. Uh both estimated for design

25:38beginning this year or the RFQ to go out

25:41this year.

25:42Um in addition we have holiday drive at

25:45general de Gaulle and Tulus uh crossing

25:47the drainage canals also being planned

25:50currently.

25:54Moving then to the office of

25:55sustainability which manages most of our

25:58storm water and our resilience projects.

26:01So we began design on Lincoln Beach

26:04phase one. Uh the phase one has been uh

26:07separated into three different packages

26:09to allow that first package to advance

26:12into construction by the end of this

26:14year. Uh this year we executed four

26:17gentilly resil uh resilience district

26:20through the national uh disaster

26:22resilience grant uh construction

26:24contracts. So some of those include the

26:26JR leverage. Um, and then we're

26:30continuing advancing construction for

26:32the Mirabu Water Gardens Phase 1, the

26:35DPS uh drainage uh system 01 Broadmore

26:39drainage improvements project and Willie

26:42Hall.

26:43uh they recently completed the upper

26:45ninth ward uh drainage study and

26:47identified 11 potential storm water

26:50management projects and we're continuing

26:53advancing design for the I think that

26:55should be hung her heritage garden storm

26:59uh storm water project. Um and they

27:01recently issued the design contract for

27:04Florida Park

27:07and so here's some pictures of uh Bunny

27:10Friend. So, I believe this would be the

27:12upper ninth ward uh design. Uh bottom

27:16left, Lincoln Beach. Here in the center,

27:18you have the Bunny Friend uh park, which

27:21was identified through the Upper 9th

27:23Ward, and that's a FEMA FMA project. And

27:26then on the bottom right, I believe

27:28that's Mirabu Water Gardens, and the top

27:31right, I believe, is Willie Hall. Um

27:36so, that's a highlight of uh the capital

27:39budget. Thanks, Kyle. I have some highle

27:41questions and then I have some district

27:43B specific questions. Um, so if you go

27:46back to page four, your grand total of

27:48general obligation bonds included in the

27:51current budget is 535.9

27:55million. Um, and again, the voters

27:57approved 510 million. What is the plan

28:00to make up that variance?

28:02>> So, this represents the 2026 and prior

28:05year box. It does not include 2028 or

28:082030.

28:08>> Okay. So this is bond money that we had

28:10left over from

28:11>> this. Yeah, this is are currently

28:14planned. It's going through different

28:16phases of projects

28:17>> and I'm excited about the 50 positions

28:19that have been hired uh at DPW. But what

28:22is the plan going forward uh once the

28:25capital budget is exhausted or do we

28:27have money to continue?

28:29>> That's a key part of those those

28:30discussions with the legislative auditor

28:32and our bond council is we don't want to

28:34set up with one quote unquote one-time

28:36money. So we've set aside a decade's

28:38worth of those salaries at a budget of 7

28:41million a year for those personnel.

28:43>> And I have the same question about the

28:44JIR projects. This is in a later slide

28:47for DPW, but we have 11 FEMA funded

28:50positions that go through JIR. What

28:53happens to those positions once that

28:54money is exhausted?

28:55>> Yeah, great question. So we are in the

28:57process of scoring a request for

28:59qualifications for a consultant to

29:01support us for the next two years

29:03because what we what we don't want to do

29:04is have a whole bunch of upstaffing with

29:06our project management and then have

29:08this vacancy. Those project managers on

29:10the JIR program are developing some

29:12really strong habits and what they're

29:15learning around scheduling and

29:16implementing. I want that duplicated

29:19with the city. So, we're going to use a

29:20consultant for the next two years who we

29:23will then, you know, and it's very clear

29:24in the RFQ, this is just a two-year

29:27engagement. We're going to have spaces

29:28for those that want to come come work

29:30with DPW when that program ends.

29:32>> Do we have a budget for that consultant

29:34position?

29:35>> Uh, yes.

29:36>> What is that?

29:36>> That'll be part of the bond uh we have.

29:39Yes.

29:39>> All right. Great. Um, okay. So, these

29:41are District B specific uh questions.

29:44the citywide specialty sidewalk repair

29:47work. Does that include historic bricks

29:49in neighborhoods?

29:50>> Yes, that is part of that intention is

29:52to be able to do brick, slate, and other

29:55types of sidewalks that aren't concrete.

29:57>> Okay, great. Um, for the Benville

29:59project, can you talk about the

30:01coordination between SWNO for utility

30:03and lead line replacement that would

30:05take place? [clears throat]

30:06>> Yeah, so we we've had a number of

30:08meetings with the sewage and water board

30:09around their around their lead service

30:10line replacement program. Um they have a

30:13bid package that will be going out

30:15sometime in Q4. Uh and we will be

30:17coordinating very closely. I've made it

30:19very clear to my team that we will not

30:21be doing mill and overlay or paving uh

30:24unless we are certain that there are not

30:26lead service lines underneath that

30:27paving.

30:28>> Perfect. I hate to see uh new newly

30:31constructed streets ripped up

30:34>> um by another agency. So I'm I'm glad

30:35for that coordination. Um, the South

30:38Broadidge, I know we delayed that a

30:40little bit, but it is slated for Q4 of

30:422026. Do we know the construction, the

30:45timeline of that construction?

30:47>> I don't have an exact duration on that.

30:49I will have to get that for you. I'll

30:50text our project manager right now.

30:52>> That'd be great. And then on um page 17,

30:55Megan, this is probably for you. The

30:56Saratoga lot, I'm going to keep asking

30:58about it. Um, did we get the green light

31:01from FEMA to begin work on that yet, or

31:03are we still waiting?

31:04>> We have not received the green light. I

31:06checked on it uh Friday, I believe. So,

31:09we're going to try and schedule some

31:10time this week to discuss it with GOEP

31:12and see if there's some

31:14>> something we can do.

31:15>> Um we it just seems like there's just

31:17been silence so far from FEMA on it, but

31:20we've done our due diligence. We're just

31:22checking in as frequently as possible

31:23>> and I'm going to keep bothering you

31:25about the maintenance of it. I mean, you

31:27know, it was cut down once uh by parks

31:29and parkways. I just it can't get

31:32overgrown again. We have people living

31:34back there. It's it's just really not

31:36fair to the neighborhood to be living

31:38around. Um

31:39>> yeah, I'll I'll talk to Parks and

31:40Parkway. Uh typically we don't take over

31:42a site until shovels are in the ground,

31:44but I'll talk to Parks and Parkway and

31:46see if there's something we can figure

31:47out in the interim until we can get

31:49shovels in the ground to actually start

31:50reconstructing it.

31:51>> Perfect. Thank you, Council Member

31:52McCarron.

31:53>> Thank you, Madam Chair. Um, Steve, and

31:56this might be a DPW thing too, but I

32:00want to talk about the coordination

32:02between Sewage and Water Board and

32:04Capital and DPW going forward with

32:07specifically with drainage point repairs

32:10and as we start to review their capital

32:12budget, which I I don't think they have

32:14any money in in their budget for

32:15capital. So, for for drainage point

32:17repairs. So, it's something that we're

32:19going to have to see because I see

32:21consistently in my district and I'm sure

32:22the rest of the council members see that

32:25they are cleaning catch basins. However,

32:28um they're clear, but then they're

32:29discovering a lot of drainage point

32:31repairs that need to be made. So, how

32:35are we going to coordinate between

32:38prioritizing streets and drainage

32:42when we are doing our in-house paving

32:44program to make sure if there's a street

32:47that is on that list that also needs a

32:50drainage point repair? How are we kind

32:52of addressing those types of situations?

32:55>> Yeah, good question. And as with all

32:57things, coordination and ensuring the

32:59subsurface infrastructure is in good

33:01condition is a must prior to doing a

33:03mill and overlay or some other paving

33:05project. Um your point [clears throat]

33:07is well made and it's it's been a

33:09challenge with sewage and waterboard for

33:11the funding for point repairs

33:12specifically. Um with that said, there

33:15was an ordinance that council passed

33:17last Thursday that will allow us to

33:18transfer $2 million in capital funding

33:21to DPW. Um the bulk of which it it's

33:25capital related funding. So, that should

33:26go to fund some of those critical point

33:28repairs. I know that Dave Capel uh and

33:31Caitlyn over there at the board have

33:32been mapping those locations for where

33:35point repairs are needed. And one of the

33:38things that I've asked my team and that

33:39we're assessing is making sure that we

33:41get uh confirmation from the sewage and

33:44water board that subsurface drainage,

33:46sewer, and water lines are in good

33:47condition before we do any sort of

33:49paving.

33:49>> Okay, great. And I'm assuming that'll

33:51all go into the ICC dashboard, too?

33:53>> Yes, absolutely.

33:55>> Okay.

33:56um for uh the in-house staff for for

34:02electricians and also uh paving and

34:04that's that's all coming out of capital.

34:06Correct. Our bonds.

34:08>> Correct. Yes.

34:08>> How many employees have we been able to

34:10hire in those positions in the in the

34:13paving and the electrician?

34:15>> Yeah. So, as of as Kyle alluded to this

34:18morning, uh the mayor made the

34:20commitment that we would have 50 new

34:21paving employees. Um we are at 47 as of

34:24today. The next three start next Monday.

34:26So that's 50 on the paving side. And as

34:29of 3 weeks ago, we were at 88 new hires

34:32uh in a in total. Um so we will probably

34:36be somewhere in the neighborhood of 95

34:38to 100 new employees. That includes

34:40frontline paving employees, that

34:42includes new electricians, additional

34:44inspectors. We've got two EITs starting

34:47and those aren't in that list, but

34:48they're starting within our traffic

34:50engineering group so that we can cut

34:52back on the backlog for traffic studies.

34:55Uh also, uh within our chief of

34:57engineering's team so that we can review

34:59permits faster. So, all of these things

35:01together, uh we should be somewhere in

35:03the neighborhood of 100 new employees

35:05here, certainly before the end of the

35:07year, and then next year we'll look at

35:09can or should we hire another 50 paving

35:11employees.

35:12>> Great. Great. Yeah, I mean I think we

35:13we've seen improvement on getting on

35:16things happening faster. So I think

35:18that's directly attributed to your

35:20ability to hire additional additional

35:22folks in house and not have to worry

35:24about

35:24>> that. If I may, this narrative that

35:27there aren't people out there, you can't

35:28fill positions. We had 250 applicants

35:31for those paving spots. And that's as of

35:33about a month and a half ago. And we'll

35:36talk about this in the DPW presentation,

35:38but Scott Bole is our deputy director, a

35:41chief traffic engineer with a PTOE.

35:43There are qualified people that want to

35:45come to work here.

35:46>> Awesome. Great work on that. Thank you,

35:48Council Member Willard. [clears throat]

35:52>> Thank you. Um, Kyle, you mentioned the

35:54libraries. Um, do you have a status

35:56update on those, the the HVAC system

35:59repairs? And

36:00>> Miguel,

36:01>> I was just curious.

36:05Good morning. Miguel Berry, senior

36:06project manager. Um that this is the um

36:10Justin's uh HBAC project. I believe

36:14there were be bids received and they

36:16exceeded the budget cost. So I think

36:19they're going back to the board to see

36:21if they have to rebid. So I think that's

36:23the status of it right now and we can

36:25follow up. Um

36:26>> so the bids came back higher than what

36:28we had budgeted.

36:29>> Yes. Okay.

36:30>> Yes. Yeah. So, I know there's an initial

36:32contract that has proceeded. So, there's

36:35some that has already been completed,

36:37but we'll get more information and reach

36:39out to you with that.

36:40>> Okay.

36:41>> We're working through that.

36:42>> Okay. Uh the next question I wanted to

36:44ask, we have the extension, we have the

36:472028 deadline for JIR projects. Um how

36:51how confident are we that we'll be able

36:53to meet that deadline and still get the

36:55work done?

36:56>> Yeah, the contracting community is

36:58heavily engaged. I'm confident we're

37:00going to make that time frame. We have

37:01to. We don't really have a choice. So,

37:04um, we're at a place where we've got to

37:06be able to spend about $20 million a

37:08month. And the contractors, uh, that are

37:10a part of this, we have six contractors

37:12on seven different contracts. Uh,

37:14they're doing well. The coordination is

37:15very strong. We have a good leadership

37:17team. Those 11 DPW employees as well as

37:19CDM Smith are doing a really good job,

37:21and I'm confident we're going to get

37:23there.

37:23>> Okay. Uh, last question. You had a slide

37:26about the bridge uh projects that are,

37:29you know, going to be kicked off soon.

37:31The holiday drive uh bridge didn't have

37:34an RFQ date listed. Uh is there a reason

37:37for that or are we still working on it?

37:39>> Yeah. So, the holiday drive bridge, I

37:41did get an answer. It's Q2 of 2027. We

37:43should have the Broad Street overpass

37:45finished for the holiday drive bridge.

37:47Um, we're working on one last there's a

37:51question with with the Army Corps of

37:53Engineers that's related to that project

37:55on de Gaul. Um, we could either go back

37:57with an earthen channel or a concrete

37:59flume. My desire would be to see us go

38:01back with a concrete flume. It'll be

38:03easier to maintain and more robust. And

38:06we just need to get a schedule from them

38:09on when and how that can be completed.

38:11And I believe they're opening bids on a

38:13related project here within the next 6

38:15to 8 weeks.

38:16>> Okay. So when we had met in December, it

38:19was a 2-year time frame. It's somewhere

38:22between 2 and 2 and 1/2 years from this

38:24last December when that project will be

38:26complete.

38:27>> Okay. So it's about 2 years to

38:29completion.

38:29>> Correct. And that's because they have to

38:31finish off that General DeGal project

38:33before the bridge can go in.

38:35>> Okay. All right. Thanks, guys.

38:36>> Thank you.

38:37>> Thank you, uh, Council Member Green,

38:39followed by Council Member Moral.

38:41>> Good morning, and thank you for, um,

38:43your presentation today. I um am going

38:45to be straightforward. I just want to

38:48thank you for the infrastructure

38:49coordinating committee meetings and the

38:51most important thing is that when we

38:53leave that meeting, I've seen some

38:54results happen and I appreciate that and

38:57the residents appreciate it. That's why

38:58we bring it up. We have a number of

39:00years to work together. So, if we can do

39:02one project at a time, it'll be

39:04appreciated. I also want to um say that

39:07many times um the knife board has been

39:10excluded from development from

39:12investment but um during this time it is

39:17great and I use that word great loosely

39:20to be able to see construction blocking

39:24streets in the ninth ward. People are

39:26happy. I just want to let you know

39:27whether it be Metropolitan Cluit, Johnny

39:31Jackson, um, Piety Street and the like

39:34in the knife ward, the work that's going

39:36on is being seen and it's it's

39:38appreciated. I also appreciate, um, Mr.

39:40Nelson, the addressing of the issue that

39:43was at the corner of Louisa and North

39:45Dian across from the park. It's under

39:48construction right now, but it has sat

39:50there for a long time and had been

39:52ignored. when I asked you about it, you

39:54are someone went by and there's work

39:56being done across from what is now a

39:58park that is being developed um by the

40:02locket well the former locket school

40:05which is now being developed by Mars

40:06Jeff school so that was an important

40:08project the community sees it and

40:10everybody who comes to that park sees it

40:12so I'm going to focus on the ninth ward

40:14I also appreciate the fact that we've

40:17looked at and have considered projects

40:19that are involving storm mitigation

40:23Bonnie friend and the like. Um, could

40:25you just tell the public what one of the

40:27challenges is in terms of moving forward

40:30on those projects? I want them to hear

40:32it from someone other than myself

40:35because those are great projects and

40:36they can make a big difference, but

40:37there's something that has to be done on

40:39a level that's higher than ours.

40:41>> Sure, I can take that. On the the storm

40:43water front, um, some of the biggest

40:45challenges are uh jurisdiction. With a

40:49lot of the areas that we've looked in,

40:50there are often uh multiple agencies

40:53that have some sort of jurisdiction, be

40:55it city, sewage and water board, the

40:58state um and sometimes even the railroad

41:01uh depending on how close we get to the

41:02railroad. So, uh and dealing with the

41:05railroad is is never easy. So, one of

41:07the biggest factors is jurisdiction. Two

41:10is funding. um we've been able to study

41:13the area to figure out where we need to

41:15go to do the projects, but to be able to

41:17design and construct them uh costs money

41:19as well. Um but a lot of the issues uh

41:22some of the the areas that we've looked

41:24at are blighted properties that would be

41:27great for storm water mitigation and

41:29we've all heard uh a lot over especially

41:32over the last couple weeks about

41:33blighted and adjudicated properties and

41:36how much of a nuisance they can be in

41:38our area. So, uh, while they may not

41:40always be the best to develop in those

41:42areas, we can utilize them for storm

41:44water management on that front. Uh, this

41:47has been supported by all federal funds

41:49so far to do the studies and identify

41:52where we can do the projects and we'll

41:54keep going after federal funds as much

41:56as possible, but that that pot of

41:57funding is exceptionally small these

41:59days.

41:59>> What do you see in terms of the forecast

42:01for getting some of those federal funds?

42:04will be we'll be able to maybe proceed

42:06with a couple of the projects if not

42:08all.

42:08>> Uh probably not all at one time. Uh but

42:11what we are trying to do is at least get

42:13design funding for some of the projects.

42:15Sometimes it's easier to request funding

42:18for design rather than construction. So

42:20we we are trying to do it sort of in

42:21bite-sized pieces rather than asking for

42:24several million dollars at one time. So,

42:26we're trying to uh prioritize which are

42:28going to have the most uh benefit to the

42:30community right now and then based on

42:32that we can determine which of the

42:34federal grants it would fit best under.

42:35>> Okay. I look forward to moving forward

42:37in the direction of getting some of

42:39those projects done. Those bio swells do

42:41work. Want to let you know that I can

42:42tell you from experience um my church

42:45for example in Puncher Train Park. There

42:46was some times when we would not be able

42:48to leave the church because it would be

42:50flooded in front of us. But since the

42:52bio swell's installation, um that bioil

42:55has captured a lot of water on Princess

42:57after major storms. So I want to let you

42:59know that that and a combination of

43:01cleaning out the drains nearby works. So

43:04I hope those projects can happen in the

43:06night guard. But thank you for the work

43:07that you're doing. Some of those

43:08projects, Willie Hall and the Gentilly

43:10Resilience District, the Blue Green

43:12Corridor are amazing projects in terms

43:14of what their future potential is for

43:17our city. So thank you.

43:18>> Thank you.

43:18>> All righty. And Steve, I have one other

43:20um point for you. I want to ask for your

43:23help. Um very visible in the ninth ward

43:26are the Almanaster Bridge and also the

43:28France Road Bridge. The railings, the

43:31lighting, um anything that we can do to

43:34maybe within the next year or so get

43:36that um get those two bridges looked at.

43:39in terms of especially the railing. If

43:41we can't get the railing, we put up some

43:43um warning so that people when they're

43:45walking across understand that they need

43:47to stay away from the edge. And of

43:49course, we've got the large um nine time

43:52second line coming up soon. I'm asking

43:54specifically that at areas where there

43:57is no railing because unfortunately the

43:59thieves have taken them um that who who

44:02are concerned about nothing other than

44:04themselves because they are thieves and

44:06criminals. When you take a railing off

44:08of a bridge where someone can walk um

44:11where someone is supposed to be walking,

44:13you're saying you don't care if they

44:14fall over whether they're elderly,

44:16whether they're young or the like. So um

44:18please stop that. But at the end of the

44:20day, we don't have the railings to

44:21replace them now. But please let us use

44:23the warning tape to remind people to

44:25stay away from those railing. Okay? So

44:27that's the Almanaster and also the

44:29France Road Bridge. But going back to

44:30where I started, it's good to see

44:32progress. the public doesn't see the

44:35hundreds of projects that are going on

44:37because many times it's spread out over

44:39a relatively large um geographical area,

44:42but um especially in my district, I see

44:45them and appreciate the communication

44:46and see you at the next joint

44:48infrastructure committee meeting.

44:50>> Yes, sir. Thank you.

44:51>> Thank you, Council Member Green, Council

44:52Member Moro.

44:54>> Thank you. Good morning, Steve.

44:55>> Good morning.

44:55>> Uh pardon my tardius. I got a couple of

44:57questions to cover uh Munipal

45:00Auditorium. My understanding is that we

45:02actually secure secured the extension

45:05for us to move forward with that.

45:06Correct.

45:07>> We did through February of 2028.

45:09>> Okay. And what is the status of that

45:11process? Cuz obviously we probably won't

45:13get another extension considering the

45:14way things have been going.

45:15>> That's correct. As with the roadway

45:17projects that council member Willard

45:18mentioned, these are the last extensions

45:20we are likely to receive. Uh so making

45:22sure that we get that work completed is

45:24paramount. All of the contracts are

45:27active. Uh the roof contract is

45:29essentially complete. It's all but

45:31finished in

45:32>> the roof contract will be finished in

45:34November and we started the design

45:38administrative process with the second

45:40package with Patco Construction for the

45:42exterior envelope and we have a third

45:45NTP that was issued for the third and

45:47final package for the interior. Uh that

45:50won't be effective until May of 2027

45:53because of the way it needs to be

45:54sequenced with the other projects. So,

45:57we're currently actively underway with

46:00the second package into construction.

46:02>> And you're still working with the SOS

46:03group on all this, I'm assuming.

46:05>> Yes, we've uh I know that I believe it's

46:07Jeff Schwarz in the mayor's office has

46:09been working with SOS on the status of

46:11that.

46:12>> Okay. And so my understanding is with

46:13that project, with the federal money,

46:16we're essentially white boxing the

46:18building for all practical purposes

46:19because the amount of money that we're

46:20being given is not enough to redevelop

46:22it, but is enough to secure the

46:23building, prevent further deterioration,

46:26and prepare it for a larger purpose. So

46:28that's going to require probably

46:30subsequent money after we're able to

46:32figure out and get the building

46:33situated. Correct.

46:35>> Yes. the the intent is to get it into a

46:37place where uh a new tenant can build it

46:39out, which my understanding is that's

46:41desirable. Uh it'll have some HVAC uh

46:45components installed so that we can have

46:47moisture control, uh humidity control,

46:49and then to use your term, it'll

46:51essentially be white boxed. It'll be

46:53ready for a new tenant to come in and

46:55build it out in the manner that they see

46:56fit.

46:57>> Okay. uh in regards to new city hall

46:59like say new city hall um I am aware

47:03that we've had all the meetings across

47:05the city on the new city hall I'm aware

47:07of the tremendous amount of money and I

47:10do think the amount of money we have

47:11allocated currently in my conversations

47:13with New Orleans Building Corporation

47:15probably isn't even adequate if you want

47:17to build a governmental complex similar

47:20to what they have in Jefferson Parish on

47:21the West Bank a concise consolidated

47:24governmental complex I know that there

47:26have been some robust conversations

47:28about annexes as in like sub buildings

47:31um throughout the city, particularly one

47:32in New Orleans East. Are annexes

47:36contemplated as being a good use of that

47:39New Orleans City Council New Orleans new

47:42city hall chunk of money? Is that

47:44included in there or is there a separate

47:46fund for annexes?

47:48>> My understanding is that's all part of

47:50the planning right now. So, I think it

47:52would probably all be a component of

47:54that single chunk that we've got for

47:57city hall right now, but we will have to

47:59I'll have to get back to you on the

48:00specifics of whether or not it's that

48:01one component or if there are separate

48:02ones.

48:03>> Okay. I mean, I think that certainly for

48:06our practical purposes, I do not know

48:09with the sheer need of

48:14I don't know what the current needs of

48:16our capital budget if an of an

48:18investature of a third of a billion

48:21dollars to a billion dollars is a is a

48:24well spend for a new city hall. I know

48:26that the mayor is investigating other

48:28possibilities such as um bifurcating uh

48:33looking at reusing existing office

48:36buildings, bifurcating the need for new

48:38council offices and the mayor's office

48:40and looking at separately the courts and

48:41just seeing what is the best use of

48:43money. But I think that with our current

48:45budget wos, though we do have a bit of

48:47more wiggle room and capital, dedicating

48:50that amount of capital to a building

48:52that would take I mean the last time I

48:54spoke to Annie, she said it take 8 years

48:56to build it. I think that that just

48:58doesn't seem like a a feasible thing,

49:00but I will continue conversation on

49:02that. Um, with the money allocated for

49:06the new low barrier shelter, my

49:08understanding that's a retrofit, right?

49:09We're not building a new one or are we

49:11building a new one?

49:12>> Correct. the the plan right now is

49:14retrofit as opposed to a new build.

49:16>> Right. And that and my understanding is

49:18that was in conversation with the

49:20sheriff's office. Correct.

49:21>> There are conversations ongoing with the

49:23sheriff's office about an alternate

49:24location. Yes.

49:25>> Okay. Cuz once again, I think that if we

49:27can if we can find existing space, it's

49:30[snorts] a it's easier to get it get it

49:32retrofitted versus building it and we

49:34can see some immediate benefit to having

49:36that done. So, I would certainly hope

49:38that perhaps maybe at community

49:40development you could come back as you

49:41get further along on that and give a

49:43more detailed briefing on what that

49:44retrofit looks like because people need

49:46to know kind of what's going on with

49:47that.

49:47>> And let me clarify that was a that was

49:50just a request for funding. There is no

49:52money identified currently in the uh

49:55capital budget for that.

49:57>> Well, I think that probably is begs that

50:00we have a more robust conversation on

50:02that then because there needs to be

50:03there needs to be money allocated for

50:05that purpose. I think that um we need a

50:08safe, secure, and easily accessible

50:11facility to address that issue. I think

50:13any efforts we can do to retrofit a

50:16building to get it done quicker would be

50:17very, very helpful. And like I said, I

50:19think it'd be great if y'all could come

50:20to community development. I know I'm

50:22voluntary Matt's committee, but that's

50:24the appropriate committee for it to go

50:25to to give a briefing on what the need

50:26is and where the capital dollars

50:29potentially come from. Uh next, sewage

50:30and waterboard. So, I know the mayor has

50:32a two-year plan essentially, Steve, to

50:34kind of bring sewage and waterboard into

50:37and under the city. Um, is it your

50:39anticipation that future capital outlay,

50:42capital budget proposal meetings will

50:44include sewage and waterboard issues as

50:46well and more of a combined

50:47presentation?

50:48>> Yes, absolutely. We had a talking point

50:50earlier today about drainage point

50:52repairs as an illustration. We're

50:54working to send $2 million ostensibly

50:57this week or next to the sewage and

50:58water board for drainage point repairs.

51:00And that's one of those areas where the

51:01city has bonding capacity for capital

51:04but our operating cash is short. The

51:06board is sort of in a in a opposite

51:09position. They have no bonding capacity

51:11but enough to keep running the pumps and

51:13on and m so working together on joint

51:15presentations in the future over the

51:17course of the next year 2 years will be

51:19the norm.

51:20>> And has there been any conversations

51:22about trying to address some of the

51:24catch basin issues similarly to how

51:26you're dealing with street repairs? cuz

51:28I mean we look at I know with catch

51:29basin cleaning that's a one-time

51:31terminus thing but when you're looking

51:32at catch basin damage catch basins that

51:36were I mean I know at one point in Lake

51:38View under the last uh administration we

51:41had contractors who the overflow of the

51:43cement had literally blocked um catch

51:46basins. Is there any conversation with

51:48sewage and water board to perhaps look

51:50at kind of your creative financing that

51:52you did with the patch repairs to maybe

51:54look at seeing if we can use something

51:56similar to deal with some of the catch

51:57basin issues because they can be

51:58multi-year issues that could meet that

52:00qualification?

52:01>> Yes, that catch basin repair. If you're

52:03replacing a catch basin or making a

52:05point repair, replacing a line, the life

52:07on that should be longer than 10 years,

52:09which would fit within that capital time

52:11frame. Um, I know the drainage

52:14department, Dave Capell and his team

52:15have been identifying breaks versus

52:17where you need cleaning. And so that's

52:19what uh this $2 million should be able

52:22to address some of those capital

52:24repairs.

52:25>> Okay. My last thing, um, Gentilly

52:28Resilience District as a whole. Uh, as

52:30you know, I know we have our we have our

52:33our our leader in back. Um, it was very

52:37disappointing under the last

52:38administration that we were identified

52:40as a slow spender because we were given

52:43tremendous amounts of money and that

52:45money was not spent in a timely basis. I

52:47applaud the fact that you guys have

52:50really um picked up the pace on things

52:53like the Mirabu Gardens project, but

52:55there's a tremendous amount of money

52:57left to be spent. Are we on timeline to

53:00spend that money? So there's going to be

53:03a significant uptick in spending now

53:05that we have four additional contracts

53:07in construction. That's where you'll see

53:08the bulk of the spending happen is in

53:10construction. So our goal is to

53:12consistently move the rest of the

53:13projects into construction by the end of

53:152027 so that it will be uh fairly

53:18exponential that you'll see that number

53:20start to catch up to where we should be.

53:22So, we've uh worked really closely with

53:25our contractors, with our um our

53:28consultants and our engineers to

53:30finalize the projects and get them into

53:32construction. That's where you're going

53:33to see the most benefit and see that

53:35change in uh that namesake of a slow

53:38spender start to change.

53:39>> Yeah. And I think that I know that there

53:41is a tremendous uh bit of construction

53:43on Alleion Fields near Fillmore. I do

53:46think it would be worthwhile

53:49to have a bit more outreach to those

53:51surrounding communities just because

53:52they don't know what's they know

53:54something's going on but not what it is.

53:56I've gotten a lot of inquiries about it.

53:58I think that if we could even have a

54:00short video or some other explanation

54:02regarding specific projects just so that

54:05we could send to neighborhood groups or

54:06send it out to interested parties just

54:08so they can know what's going on and

54:10what the timelines are because I think

54:12that that would

54:14there's a tremendous amount of concern

54:16whenever they see construction because

54:17we have PTSD from years ago where

54:20construction opens and then 8 years

54:21later it closes. I know that's not what

54:23we're doing now, but I think constant

54:25communication about when the expected

54:28timelines are for when construction will

54:30start and end will at least give people

54:32the comfort that they see construction,

54:35they see progress, but because we're

54:37operating in a different way, there's a

54:39new day. This will actually have an end

54:41date and what that end date roughly will

54:42be would be helpful.

54:44>> Yeah, [snorts] we're happy to do that.

54:45Uh we did do some direct outreach to the

54:47businesses along the Alleia Fields

54:49corridor and we'll plan to do the same

54:51thing along the Allen Tucson corridor as

54:54well. Um we had a community meeting last

54:56week for the start of two new

54:58construction projects. So one is

54:59actually starting today and one is

55:01starting next week. So we'll amp up our

55:03construction uh communications a lot uh

55:06so that we can avoid some of those

55:07pitfalls.

55:08>> Yeah. I mean I think um in many ways the

55:11city has almost everybody's email that

55:13exists. I think that if we can push out

55:15emails with videos maybe some

55:16documentation saying hey here's an

55:18update of these certain projects um we

55:20have enough uh technological now how to

55:23geoence and figure out generally people

55:24are I think it just be helpful and more

55:26communication is better than less so

55:28>> yeah absolutely

55:29>> but I appreciate you guys have really

55:31put the pedal to the metal on a lot of

55:33those projects they're moving

55:36expeditiously compared to how they were

55:37moving previously that's all I have

55:39thank you madam chairman

55:40>> council member Hughes followed by

55:41council member

55:44Thank you, Madam Chair. Good morning,

55:46uh, Director Nelson. Um, let me start.

55:49Um, Richard Lee, uh, Geredi, Sam Bard,

55:53Pan Grove, and the Joe Brown micro grid

55:56are all identified as upcoming projects,

55:58but the capital report still lists each

56:01in design. For each one, when will

56:03design be complete? When will it go to

56:06bid? And is the current appropriation

56:08sufficient to get each through

56:10construction?

56:12Yeah. So, for each of those, I'll have

56:13to get back with you on specifics. I

56:15don't have uh the specific schedules

56:17right off hand, but I will be certain

56:19certain to get those schedules to you uh

56:21within the next day or two. Uh the

56:24dollars and cents should be sufficient

56:26to get us through design and into

56:28construction on the scopes as they are

56:30lined out. Uh but I'll have to look at

56:32each individual project and and would be

56:34again happy to provide you with an

56:35update on that.

56:36>> All right. Um for K Grove in particular,

56:39we've been now talking about this over a

56:41span of this is now the third council.

56:44Uh that money was initially dedicated

56:46for the residents of District E and was

56:48robbed to build phase three of a jail.

56:51So um residents are still anxiously

56:54anticipating uh that long overdue

56:57project. Let me now shift to Forgotten

56:59City, the Lower 9th Ward. We've been

57:01celebrating a lot of great projects in

57:03New Orleans East, but thus far we

57:04haven't celebrated much of anything for

57:06the Lord 9th ward. Uh but a lot of

57:08promises. Sam Bernard uh has 2.5 million

57:12appropriated and about 222,000

57:15encumbered. Uh about 66,000 expended and

57:18no completion date listed. Uh what is

57:20the status of the CA and how close are

57:23we to groundbreaking?

57:25>> Kyle, do you have any update on that

57:27one?

57:28No, we'll have to get back to you on

57:30that. Uh the director Jerry Harris is

57:33not was unable to attend today. Um and

57:35so we'll have to get more information,

57:37but we do have some information on the

57:39other projects.

57:40>> Yeah, my apologies. I do have that

57:42before me if I if I may. Um so for Odal

57:46Davis, uh updates to the drawings and

57:47the scope, uh we'll push this to the

57:49first quarter of 2027. for Gerretti

57:52which is funded out of 2026 bonds. This

57:54should be out to bid within the next is

57:56it 30 within the next 90 days. Pon Grove

58:00uh the project does require design. Uh

58:02it's about 45% complete. Um that will be

58:06ready to go to bid uh in the first or

58:08second quarter of 2027. Uh Sam Bonard,

58:12it's anticipated that this will have 95%

58:14construction documents completed by next

58:16week for review and there has been

58:19discussion with the council member

58:20yourself related to the scope of the

58:22project. Um we may need to be we need to

58:25be sure that the scope is correct in the

58:27next 90 days so that we can uh make sure

58:29that the bid package has the proper uh

58:31amount of scope and then there are some

58:33other item repairs but that's updates as

58:35I have them from the director.

58:36>> All right. Uh thank you. I I just want

58:38to, you know, say in the lower ninth

58:40ward, everything just seems to be stuck.

58:42San Bernard seems to be stuck. Clawless

58:45seems to be stuck. We're not moving much

58:47of anything and the residents are deeply

58:49frustrated as am I. So, uh, we we've got

58:52to act with a greater sense of urgency

58:54for the lower 9th ward. Uh, because

58:56since January 12th of this year, uh, we

58:59haven't accomplished much of anything

59:01for those residents. Uh, let me now

59:04shift to Lincoln Beach. uh has about

59:0722.76

59:08million appropriated uh 6 million

59:11encumbered and 4.73 million expended. Uh

59:15the presentation says the first phase 1

59:17construction package is intended to

59:19advance by the end of 2026. Megan, as

59:23you know, uh get questions on daily

59:26basis by about Lincoln Beach. So, can

59:28you just state on the record? Are we

59:30still on track

59:32of Lincoln Beach?

59:32>> We are still on track. We're in the

59:34midst of the final negotiations for that

59:36first package, which is the parking lot.

59:38Uh, and I anticipate that contract

59:40routing by the end of October to start

59:43construction for this year. So, and that

59:44was the purpose of uh going back to what

59:46I said previously of splitting it into

59:48the smaller packages so that we could we

59:51could build what is designed first. So,

59:52we are still on track as of today.

59:54>> I appreciate your continued work on

59:56that. As you know, the residents are

59:58just eagerly awaiting that and and very

1:00:00excited. So, thank you. Uh let me now um

1:00:03touch on the district de street package

1:00:06which has 7.383

1:00:08million appropriated and 6.9 encumbered

1:00:11with no expenditures recorded. The

1:00:14presentation identifies North Mero

1:00:16Street, Fats Domino Avenue and Lake

1:00:18Forest Boulevard for Q1 of 2027. Uh what

1:00:22was that? What does the 6.9 million

1:00:24encumbrance represent and when will

1:00:27construction actually begin? Yeah. So,

1:00:30those bid packages are slated to be

1:00:32opened on October 27th through the 29th

1:00:35at this point. And those there are uh

1:00:38right of way roadway construction

1:00:41packages uh that will include mill and

1:00:44overlay concrete street repairs,

1:00:46sidewalks, uh and various other repairs

1:00:48on the streets that are listed in that

1:00:50in that list that you put forward. I

1:00:52know that uh Mohamad in our office has

1:00:54been working with your staff to make

1:00:55sure that we've got the the right list

1:00:57of projects and those should start uh Q1

1:00:59of 2027 again with coordination with the

1:01:02sewage and water board to ensure that

1:01:04any lead service lines are replaced

1:01:05before we do the repair. All right. Um

1:01:08while we're talking about Lake Forest,

1:01:10Director Nelson, I do once again uh want

1:01:12to flag um Lake Forest and Reed.

1:01:17>> Uh the dip there continues to get worse

1:01:19and worse and worse. And I I just am

1:01:22fearful that one day we're going to see

1:01:24that major intersection where heavy

1:01:26buses and you know heavy vehicles travel

1:01:29on a daily basis uh is going to end up

1:01:31collapsing. So definitely want to bring

1:01:33that uh back up to the top. Um let's

1:01:37talk about the Mayo Bridge at Morrison

1:01:39Canal. Uh has roughly 2.6 million

1:01:42appropriated with no incumbrances or

1:01:44expenditures recorded. While the

1:01:46presentation says the design RFQ is

1:01:49expected in Q4 of 2026, uh what does the

1:01:52current appropriation covered and what

1:01:55additional funding will be needed to

1:01:57reach construction?

1:01:58>> Uh for the Mayo bridge, that incumbrance

1:02:01should be able to get us through design

1:02:02and get the repairs necessary to get

1:02:04that bridge open. Uh the designer will

1:02:06have to help us through ensuring that we

1:02:07get the right package out to bid and

1:02:09then that'll of course be driven by what

1:02:11the contractor's bid results are. Okay.

1:02:14uh connecting New Orleans East has

1:02:16roughly 2.23 million appropriated and

1:02:19about 2.33 million encumbered creating a

1:02:22negative calculated balance of about 92

1:02:26um 92,600.

1:02:28What caused commitments to exceed the

1:02:30current appropriation and does the

1:02:32project require additional funding to

1:02:34stay on schedule?

1:02:36>> Yeah, I don't believe additional funding

1:02:37is required at this point. The key for

1:02:39that project is finishing off the design

1:02:42and then ensuring that we are pursuing

1:02:44construction funding. So I know we've

1:02:46been in discussions with regional

1:02:47planning commission on how to get some

1:02:50construction dollars for the lighting,

1:02:51the paths, etc. in New Orleans East. Uh

1:02:54but that's at least 2 to 3 years off. So

1:02:57uh we need to look at some other options

1:02:59if this should be part of a 2028 bond

1:03:01sale or something so that we could pull

1:03:03that project to the left and go from

1:03:05design to construction.

1:03:07Um, Diamond Road in Lincoln Beach

1:03:09Boulevard is in contract closeout, but

1:03:12the capital report shows both a negative

1:03:15calculated balance and a negative cash

1:03:17balance. Uh, what remains unresolved

1:03:19before the project can be fully closed?

1:03:23>> Ah, there's an underrun on that project,

1:03:25so we've got to reconcile the paperwork

1:03:26on that.

1:03:28>> Okay. Um, the citywide asphalt and

1:03:31concrete program includes Lake Forest

1:03:33from Mayo Boulevard to East Overdrive.

1:03:35what is the construction schedule for

1:03:37that segment and what amount of the

1:03:39current citywide program is committed to

1:03:42that work.

1:03:44>> So that again those projects are going

1:03:46out to bid uh opening Q uh excuse me

1:03:5010:27 to 10:29 at this point. Uh so

1:03:53we'll be in construction over the course

1:03:55of next year sometime Q2 Q3 would be uh

1:03:59where if I'm trying to remember that

1:04:00specific location. Um each of the

1:04:03council districts has a similar amount

1:04:05of funding allocated across the district

1:04:07um for that specific stretch of street.

1:04:09I don't have a percentage out of the

1:04:11whole citywide off off hand, but I would

1:04:13be happy to get that for you.

1:04:14>> All right. Um Justin will follow up on

1:04:16that. And then finally, I don't expect

1:04:18you to uh know this off the top of your

1:04:20head, but Justin will follow up on this

1:04:22as well. JIR shows a $365 million

1:04:26budget, 78 million invoice, 287 million

1:04:30remaining, 135 blocks under

1:04:33construction, and 338 blocks upcoming um

1:04:37with as was referenced earlier, the FEMA

1:04:39extension now through 2028. Um I'd like

1:04:42to know what is the plan to deliver the

1:04:44remaining work before that deadline. And

1:04:46in particular, I'd like to know what

1:04:49district escopes uh are next. So, um, if

1:04:52you don't have that, Justin, uh, we'll

1:04:54follow up with you.

1:04:55>> Yeah, we'll be happy to follow up. And

1:04:56Council Member Will had mentioned this

1:04:58earlier. It's absolutely imperative that

1:05:00we meet that deadline of June 2028. Um,

1:05:04we have a cash flow projection. We have

1:05:06a blockby projection. Uh, we have

1:05:08costloaded schedules. The program

1:05:10managers and our internal team have

1:05:12worked very very hard with the

1:05:13contracting community to make sure that

1:05:15we have critical real critical path

1:05:18schedules that lay out progress

1:05:20milestones on a monthly basis from now

1:05:23until June of 28 because we cannot turn

1:05:25those dollars back. We've got to put

1:05:27that to good use for the city. I know

1:05:29the slide Kyle has up on his screen

1:05:31right now shows the blocks that are

1:05:33within District E and we want to be sure

1:05:35that we provide that to your offices as

1:05:37well. And if any residents have

1:05:39questions, if there's anything else we

1:05:41can provide, we are at your disposal.

1:05:43>> Well, thank you. Um, in closing,

1:05:44Director Nelson, I just want to say on

1:05:46the public record since I've been in

1:05:47this office on January 12th, um, you and

1:05:50I have had a strong, extraordinary

1:05:52partnership. Um, and we have seen

1:05:54progress, um, you know, throughout

1:05:56District E with lights, um, you know,

1:05:59with with some milling overlay work. We

1:06:01both know we have a long way to go. Um,

1:06:03but you know, residents can visibly see

1:06:06that we're moving in the right

1:06:07direction. And I just want to thank you

1:06:09for your leadership. I want to thank you

1:06:11for always being responsive. Um, and the

1:06:13residents of District E know who you are

1:06:16because you have been boots on the

1:06:18ground um on on so many times. So, from

1:06:21the bottom of our hearts, I just want to

1:06:23say thank you for your leadership and

1:06:25your partnership.

1:06:25>> Thank you.

1:06:26>> Thank you, Madam Chair.

1:06:27>> Thank you, Council Member Green.

1:06:28>> Thank you, Mr. Nelson. Um, I asked

1:06:30questions earlier about the resilience

1:06:32district, but since it was brought up,

1:06:33if you could come for a second, could

1:06:35you describe because we included in our

1:06:37newsletter and you've been very, very

1:06:39generous about going to all of the

1:06:41neighborhood association meetings that

1:06:43ask you to attend. Could you describe

1:06:45the blue green card, the project on

1:06:47Alleian Fields, what some of the

1:06:49benefits are and what some of the

1:06:50timelines are for? the the blue green

1:06:53corridors project uh spans Elleian

1:06:55Fields from Filillmore to Allen Tucson

1:06:58and then Allen Tucson from the [snorts]

1:07:00London Avenue canal to I believe St.

1:07:03Rock Avenue. So this project uh as part

1:07:06of the Gentelli Resilience District, its

1:07:07main purpose is to mitigate some of the

1:07:09flooding that we've seen. Uh no project

1:07:12in its entirety will completely

1:07:14eliminate flooding, but it will reduce

1:07:16some of the uh extreme burden that we've

1:07:18seen so far. So on Alleian Fields, we've

1:07:21been relocating some of the oak trees

1:07:23that are in the neutral ground. I'm sure

1:07:25the residents have seen a lot of that

1:07:26work happening. Uh [snorts] we have not

1:07:28removed those trees. We have simply

1:07:30relocated them to better fit with some

1:07:33of the storm water management. So there

1:07:34will be a detention pond that flows

1:07:37through the center of the the neutral

1:07:38ground that allows for water to be

1:07:40captured in the neutral ground and then

1:07:42flow into the neutral ground from the

1:07:44surrounding areas as well. There will be

1:07:46some pedestrian bridges as well that are

1:07:48included there. Um on Allen Tucson,

1:07:51you'll see some additional bike lanes

1:07:53that are coming and some additional uh

1:07:55storm water management in the form of

1:07:56detention ponds or linear ponds in the

1:07:59neutral ground as well. In further

1:08:00phases, you'll see some of the uh green

1:08:03spaces and parks reinvisioned um along

1:08:06St. Rock Avenue. Uh there are a couple

1:08:08that we're looking at and along all

1:08:10along Filillmore we're looking at sort

1:08:12of redoing some of the storm water

1:08:14management including some of the tanks

1:08:16under the neutral ground area as well.

1:08:17So we're working very closely with parks

1:08:19and parkways with all of the trees that

1:08:21are uh being touched in any manner to

1:08:24make sure that they remain in good

1:08:25shape. Um so you'll see a lot of

1:08:26benefits in terms of storm water

1:08:28management. Also just uh sort of the

1:08:30ecological nature of the entire

1:08:33neighborhood, adding green space, uh

1:08:35reducing some of the extreme heat that

1:08:37we've been experiencing over the last

1:08:38couple years and giving people a place

1:08:40to traverse through the area in a safe

1:08:43um and protected way.

1:08:45>> Sometimes these are good forums for

1:08:46this. Um we had a meeting the other day,

1:08:49wasn't as well attended as it could have

1:08:52been, but maybe people are comfortable

1:08:53that they're getting the information,

1:08:55for example, through our newsletter. But

1:08:57could you explain the St. Anthony

1:08:59project and what is going to be going on

1:09:00there and the benefit to that community.

1:09:03>> Sure. The St. Anthony green streets

1:09:05project north and south. It's a

1:09:06combination of about 33 blocks

1:09:08throughout the neighborhood. This is a

1:09:10combination of the JIR funds as well as

1:09:13the NDR funds. So you'll see a lot of

1:09:16utility upgrades in this project. Water

1:09:19sewer drainage will all be a part of it.

1:09:21new streets, but you'll also see some of

1:09:23the uh additional storm water benefits

1:09:25in rain gardens and permeable pavement

1:09:27throughout this area as well. The

1:09:29presentation is available on our website

1:09:31if residents do want to go see it. Any

1:09:33notices that go up for any of our

1:09:35construction projects, uh JR as well as

1:09:38for Broadmore are listed on the website.

1:09:40So, traffic closures, uh any water

1:09:43closures that may need to come up, those

1:09:44will all be posted on the website as

1:09:47soon as we are able to schedule them. So

1:09:48residents will always have access to

1:09:50that. They are also able to get um Nola

1:09:54ready alerts if they sign up for the

1:09:55infrastructure alerts. And we also try

1:09:57to make sure that we also send as many

1:09:59of these things to the neighborhood

1:10:00associations as well. Uh so that there's

1:10:03a constant sort of access that residents

1:10:05can have to any and all information on

1:10:07these projects.

1:10:08>> Thank you. Very important projects. But

1:10:10I want to make it clear that you've gone

1:10:11out of your way to make sure that the

1:10:13public knows. We've had public meetings.

1:10:15You've also included information that we

1:10:17shared in our newsletter that goes to a

1:10:19lot of people. So, I just want everybody

1:10:21to know that if you should have a

1:10:22concern with regard to especially any

1:10:25project in the Gentilly Resilience

1:10:26District, you can contact the office of

1:10:28resilience and sustainability and my

1:10:30office because we are in constant

1:10:32communication and are sharing very

1:10:34valuable information. These are very

1:10:36important projects. Could you talk last

1:10:38about the um the monies for these

1:10:41projects? It's 40 $141 million, but that

1:10:44money is in place. So those projects are

1:10:46going to happen, right?

1:10:46>> Yes, that money is still in place. Um,

1:10:48and again, there are several projects

1:10:50throughout the Gentilli Resilience

1:10:51District that are a combination of the

1:10:54NDR funds from the hazard from the uh

1:10:56HUD grant as well as the uh JIR project.

1:11:00So we've leveraged several projects to

1:11:02be able to do this. and we're combining

1:11:04funds rather than having one department

1:11:06do one thing and then another do the

1:11:07other. We've combined them uh several

1:11:09years ago into one cohesive project like

1:11:12St. An the two St. Anthony projects as

1:11:14well as the St. Bernard project that's

1:11:16coming up as well uh that will be

1:11:18throughout the neighborhood and along

1:11:19Bayou St. John. So we've we've leveraged

1:11:22these projects to make sure that we are

1:11:25doing this as comprehensively as

1:11:26possible. Um, and like I said earlier,

1:11:28that will represent that uptick in

1:11:30funding um, and funding expenditures to

1:11:33get us out of that slow spending uh,

1:11:35namesake that we've earned.

1:11:36>> The first major project that people have

1:11:39seen and that is one that is most

1:11:41prominent is the Mirable Water Gardens.

1:11:43What do you estimate to be the

1:11:45completion date for that project? And

1:11:47how are things going?

1:11:49>> Uh, things are going well with that

1:11:50project. We are anticipating December to

1:11:53open the the um the park itself. Uh

1:11:56we're working on some final things with

1:11:59the pump house that's in place. Uh we

1:12:01did experience uh a theft at the site um

1:12:04of some of the electrical equipment. So

1:12:06our contractor's been in the process of

1:12:08of resolving that issue, but uh so far

1:12:11the the site has been working. Um

1:12:13obviously with all of the rain this

1:12:15weekend, we can a lot of the ponds are

1:12:17full. So they've been doing what they've

1:12:19been constructed to do. So all in all,

1:12:21things are going well. The grant ends at

1:12:22the end of this year, so we are

1:12:23obligated to finish it before then. So

1:12:25right now we are pushing for late

1:12:27November, early December to open the

1:12:28park.

1:12:29>> It's amazing the amount of um resources

1:12:32that the city expends in response to

1:12:34thievery to people going into electrical

1:12:37boxes to going into situations where

1:12:39they could be electrocuted. I just want

1:12:41to encourage the people who are doing

1:12:43that to recognize that you're putting

1:12:45yourself at risk. People do get shocked

1:12:47from that and sometimes they lose their

1:12:49lives. But also that you're really

1:12:50holding back on important community

1:12:52work, whether it be lights, whether it

1:12:54be this kind of development, whether it

1:12:56be construction projects, you're having

1:12:58a terrible impact on the city and all

1:13:00you're doing is getting yourself a felon

1:13:02a felony on your record. But um that's

1:13:04the negative side of it. The positive

1:13:06side of it is that sometime in December,

1:13:08people will see the first phase of many

1:13:10phases to come in terms of completion of

1:13:12a gentility resilience district project.

1:13:15Thank you very much for your work and um

1:13:17you know continue to share information

1:13:18and we will do so with the public.

1:13:20>> Absolutely.

1:13:21>> Okay.

1:13:21>> Thank you, Council Member Green. I uh

1:13:23just want to very publicly say that I

1:13:26know that we're looking at uh the

1:13:27temporary detention center as the new

1:13:30low barrier shelter that is located in

1:13:32district B. The current low barrier

1:13:34shelter is located in District B. So to

1:13:37everyone here from the administration,

1:13:39my office needs to be included in those

1:13:41conversations.

1:13:43With that, Mr. Sinceri, you've been

1:13:45sitting here for a long time. I know you

1:13:46have a card, but there's nothing

1:13:48indicated, but come on up and and give

1:13:50us your recommendation. You got two

1:13:52minutes.

1:14:00>> Good morning, uh, Madame Chair,

1:14:02chairperson, and council members. I have

1:14:05to apologize for the way I'm dressed. I

1:14:08uh went to work this morning at 3:30 uh

1:14:11at my business and didn't know this

1:14:15meeting was taking place today. My name

1:14:17is Alison Siri, a 68y year resident of

1:14:22New Orleans, owner of the oldest, one of

1:14:24the oldest businesses in New Orleans, uh

1:14:27P&J Oyster Company, has been in business

1:14:30here for the last 150 years.

1:14:33This is only my second time coming to a

1:14:36New Orleans council meeting because in

1:14:38the past I could call my district

1:14:40council member or council members at

1:14:42large and they would call me back.

1:14:45Unfortunately, that is what brought me

1:14:47here last Thursday and today because no

1:14:50one returned my call nor responded to

1:14:53the request for a meeting when I came to

1:14:55city hall last March to discuss an idea

1:14:58I had. Today I want to publicly tell you

1:15:01about the municipal code ordinance that

1:15:03I found last February that requires

1:15:05transient and foreign businesses to

1:15:08acquire an operational/occupational

1:15:11license if they are doing business in

1:15:13Orleans Parish and provide monthly sales

1:15:16and use tax forms just like any business

1:15:19within Orleans Parish. The only reason I

1:15:23came across the city ordinance was

1:15:25because I noticed trucks every day

1:15:27driving past my business in the French

1:15:29Quarter from out of parish and out of

1:15:32state delivering goods and providing

1:15:34services to the city to those in the

1:15:37city. So my question to all of you is is

1:15:40the city of New Orleans collecting

1:15:42transient and foreign business

1:15:44occupational

1:15:46operational licenses for the businesses

1:15:49or entities that are doing business

1:15:50within Orleans Parish any and if so how

1:15:54many businesses and or entities are

1:15:57there? How much money has the city of

1:16:00New Orleans collected for these licenses

1:16:03this year?

1:16:06>> Thank you Mr. Sincer. your time and

1:16:08someone will get back to you with that

1:16:09information. Thank you, Ashley. Up next,

1:16:13we have the Capital Projects

1:16:14Administration

1:16:16presentation.

1:16:33Kyle, one question. That's 100 mil or

1:16:35100,000.

1:16:37100,000. So that 5.1 million. Okay, got

1:16:39it. Thank you all very much. Steve

1:16:41Nelson, uh, deputy chief administrative

1:16:44officer for U infrastructure, uh,

1:16:47sitting in for Jerry Harris. I have

1:16:49Miguel to my right, Kyle to my left,

1:16:51Brandy at the far right. Thank you all.

1:16:54U, the first, I guess the first slide we

1:16:56have our organizational chart, but I

1:16:58don't know that that's necessary for us

1:17:00to review. These are the personnel. Uh

1:17:02we do have 1 PM supervisor vacancy but

1:17:05by and large uh capital projects is

1:17:07relatively well staffed. Um going to our

1:17:10budget versus adopted. The key here and

1:17:12there will be a note on it on the next

1:17:14slide. You see a reduction in personnel

1:17:16expenses of 188,000 from last year to

1:17:19this year and then a reduction in other

1:17:21operating of 67,000 for a total uh 2026

1:17:26adopted budget of 377 and then a

1:17:28proposed budget of 121 for a net

1:17:31reduction of $255,000.

1:17:33This is in keeping with a theme that you

1:17:35will see throughout the presentations

1:17:36today of switching as many of our

1:17:38salaries to bond funds as is practicable

1:17:41without overly impacting some of these

1:17:43other projects that are that are within

1:17:45the list. So right now uh the big shift

1:17:48is all of the positions that are are

1:17:50within capital projects are now either

1:17:51bond or grant funded and we've been able

1:17:53to reduce non-essential spending on

1:17:56small items like cell phones, office

1:17:58supplies, coffee machines, um water,

1:18:01coffee, etc. uh scraping together every

1:18:03dollar and nickel that we can uh to

1:18:05reduce the overall impact on the general

1:18:07fund and anything that's over $5,000 or

1:18:1010 years in allow usable life we will

1:18:13move to general fund. So moving on to

1:18:16the proposed versus budgeted 27 to 26 uh

1:18:20adopted non-general fund expenditures.

1:18:22You see that increase in the 27 proposed

1:18:25budget of $27,895.

1:18:29Uh a reduction in other operating from

1:18:328.6 million 8,581838

1:18:35down to 5.1 million. And I will break

1:18:37out those two numbers that make up the

1:18:395.1 on the next slide for a total uh

1:18:42reduction of 3,273,943

1:18:46between the 26 adopted and 27 proposed

1:18:50budgets. some key components of the

1:18:53proposed 2027 budget for non-general

1:18:56fund. Uh again, as I mentioned, all

1:18:57positions will now be under the capital

1:19:00fund. We've done a lot of work with our

1:19:02HR department to get ADP set up so that

1:19:04we can have uh line items for employees

1:19:07to be able to charge against to ensure

1:19:08that they're appropriately keeping their

1:19:10time. That 5.1 million that I mentioned

1:19:13before, 5 million uh remains in state

1:19:16capital outlay for the sewage and

1:19:18waterboard power complex project. And

1:19:21then there's $100,000, it's not a h

1:19:23100red million, pardon the typo there,

1:19:25$100,000 in state appropriations as a

1:19:28pass through for the Desire Community

1:19:29Housing Corporation

1:19:32in order to achieve some of our budget

1:19:33efficiencies. Again, all of us are

1:19:35looking to figure out ways to tighten

1:19:37our budgets. Uh we did look at

1:19:39efficiencies as part of 2026. We know

1:19:42that cash is not necessarily budget this

1:19:44year, but if we lay that out

1:19:45appropriately, it will be for 2027. Uh

1:19:48we utilized FEMA and HUD funding teams

1:19:51uh for the general fund uh last year as

1:19:55well as going into 2027. So the reduced

1:19:57personnel has resulted in cost savings

1:19:59again for cell phones, office supplies,

1:20:01other non-essential spending. Some of

1:20:04our 2027 goals I mentioned earlier with

1:20:07the JRR program, making sure that we

1:20:09have slots for those project managers

1:20:11that are working on good habits around

1:20:14scheduling. We want to do the same thing

1:20:16uh using tools like Procore. Procore is

1:20:19a project management, construction

1:20:21management tool uh that we've been able

1:20:23to use extensively within capital

1:20:25projects as well as uh public works. It

1:20:28provides a one-stop location for the

1:20:30tracking of requests for information or

1:20:32RFIs, change order proposals, pay

1:20:34applications, contract documentation,

1:20:38and uh we're looking to expand the use

1:20:40of Procore across our bond funded and

1:20:43other FEMA funded programs.

1:20:45um and include that to support the

1:20:48management of design services and

1:20:50invoicing in addition to construction

1:20:52and expansion of bidding items less than

1:20:54260,000 and expansion of financial

1:20:56management for each uh each and every

1:20:58one of our projects and then uh working

1:21:01on getting FAA certifications for drone

1:21:03operations uh inspections during in

1:21:06construction especially on roofs and

1:21:08roof mounted HVAC is much safer and more

1:21:10efficient if we can do it using a drone

1:21:13under the proper set of circumstances

1:21:14and with the proper controls. Uh this

1:21:17will also help us in documentation for

1:21:19pre and post events. We understand that

1:21:21wind claims and issues around wind

1:21:24events are important and being able to

1:21:26have someone who's able to fly

1:21:28facilities before and after a storm with

1:21:30a drone is very important.

1:21:33We're also looking at uh training and

1:21:35use of 360 degree cameras for facility

1:21:38and construction documentation. So

1:21:41during uh inspection, having cameras on

1:21:44site has been very very helpful for

1:21:46documenting the number of crews, the

1:21:48work being completed uh and ensuring

1:21:50that we get good documentation as a

1:21:52project uh moves forward. Miguel, is

1:21:54there anything that I'm missing there?

1:21:56>> Yeah, just um a tiein between um the

1:21:59three major topics we just spoke about.

1:22:01So, the technology through Procore and

1:22:04the drone and the 360 cameras, um, it

1:22:09all kind of comes together as part of a

1:22:12long-term strategy delivery where we're,

1:22:15uh, tying into asset management, future

1:22:17asset management systems that are

1:22:20currently in development and also that

1:22:22ties into disaster recovery. So all of

1:22:25these things have a broader u spectrum

1:22:28if you consider it in terms of uh

1:22:30long-term strategic planning for our

1:22:33delivery of projects.

1:22:36>> Is that it?

1:22:37>> That's it for our presentation.

1:22:38>> Thank you. Um okay, let me start

1:22:40backwards. The technology that you're

1:22:42using, is that uh paid for by bond

1:22:45funds, the 360, the drones?

1:22:48>> No, we're we're currently paying for

1:22:50Procore through the indirect admin fees

1:22:52from the FEMA program. Okay.

1:22:54>> Um, so that's something after the JR

1:22:56program that we'll need to identify

1:22:58funding for.

1:22:59>> So once J funding runs out, we'll have

1:23:02to figure out how to pay for Procore.

1:23:03>> Yes.

1:23:04>> What is the cost of Procore? Do you

1:23:05know?

1:23:06>> Uh, it's based off of the volume of

1:23:07construction. So certainly once the JR

1:23:09program is over, that volume will go

1:23:13down significantly. So I don't know have

1:23:16an estimate for what it would be

1:23:17postprogram.

1:23:18>> And is Per Core the best in uh the best

1:23:21in class? Yeah, I've had experience

1:23:24using that with the sewage and

1:23:25waterboard in here. It's a very, very

1:23:27effective program. It makes

1:23:29accountability really easy. So, knowing

1:23:31whose desk any given work item is on is

1:23:35really, really important. So, for

1:23:37myself, if something sits on my desk

1:23:39more than 24 hours, I'm getting pinged

1:23:41and everybody in the world knows that

1:23:43that's been sitting on Steve's desk for

1:23:45more than 24 hours. So, it's a very

1:23:46effective tool.

1:23:47>> That's great. Um, on the people who are

1:23:50budgeted via bond funds or taking them

1:23:53off of general fund via bond funding,

1:23:55again, I'm going to ask the question,

1:23:56what happens when that money runs out?

1:23:58Number one. Number two, are we reducing

1:24:01the amount of money that we're paying

1:24:03towards projects, capital projects by

1:24:06the personnel? Do you get what I'm

1:24:08saying?

1:24:09>> Yeah. So, all of that does fit together.

1:24:11So, if we're spending $100,000 on a

1:24:14salary, that's $100,000 in furniture,

1:24:16fixtures, and equipment or some other

1:24:18thing that that is not going into the

1:24:20into the facility itself. But the

1:24:22challenge that we're in from a budget

1:24:24standpoint, that's the vehicle that we

1:24:26have at hand. Fortunately, we did have

1:24:28the bond sale of that half a billion

1:24:30dollars. Uh making sure that there

1:24:32there's no lack of needs within the

1:24:34city. So I'm fairly I'm quite confident

1:24:37that once we finish with this round of

1:24:39projects, I know that there is another

1:24:41list of projects for that bond sale in

1:24:432028 and then that will continue on

1:24:46again 2030 and and going forward. That's

1:24:49part of part of ensuring that we are

1:24:51delivering and providing a a stable

1:24:52place for folks to work in the future.

1:24:54>> Thank you. You anticipated my last

1:24:56question which is having a more regular

1:24:58cadence of bond sales. So we're looking

1:25:00at every two years now going forward. Uh

1:25:03well I we at least know 2028 and 2030. I

1:25:06my instruction to my team has been spend

1:25:09the money that you have naturally do it

1:25:11efficiently and effectively. But we need

1:25:13those dollars going into the ground. We

1:25:15need streets getting built, sidewalks

1:25:17constructed, buildings renovated. And

1:25:20when the residents of New Orleans see

1:25:22that happening and see increased

1:25:23delivery,

1:25:25they will go to the ballot boxes in

1:25:27future years to be able to approve bond

1:25:30sales or not. So it's incumbent on us to

1:25:32put that infrastructure dollars in place

1:25:35uh effectively and I believe that

1:25:36covering salaries is an important way of

1:25:39doing that. That may change in the

1:25:40future, but for now, that's the vehicle

1:25:42we have.

1:25:43>> And there is the subcommittee of the ICC

1:25:45that is looking at that. And so that's

1:25:47likely going to be a recommendation that

1:25:48comes out of that that there's a steady

1:25:51bond program that can be predictable and

1:25:54so that we can easily plan for these

1:25:56future years rather than in years past

1:25:59where it's been more, you know,

1:26:01>> sporadic.

1:26:02>> Sporadic. Exactly.

1:26:03>> Okay. Um, [snorts] Council Member

1:26:05McCarron, Council Member Green. Um,

1:26:07thank you, Madam Chair. Um uh Steve,

1:26:10does Sewision Waterboard use this um

1:26:12Procore software? Currently

1:26:14>> they do. Yes.

1:26:15>> Okay. Is that one of those future

1:26:17efficiencies that you know licensing

1:26:20costs or whatever can be combined

1:26:22between the two agencies once we're

1:26:24we're incorporating them more into city?

1:26:27>> Yeah, absolutely. And as we've talked

1:26:29about kind of the the time frame of

1:26:31having the surge and water board

1:26:33transition into essentially a city

1:26:36department similar to some of our

1:26:37neighboring parishes. Uh I think that

1:26:39makes it that really will help help uh

1:26:44facilitate that transition as we have

1:26:46visibility on one another's construction

1:26:48management process.

1:26:49>> I think that would be super helpful even

1:26:51if y'all can work out some kind of you

1:26:53know access to both systems.

1:26:55>> Yeah.

1:26:57for the JR projects. Uh there are some

1:27:00that the sewage and waterboard leads and

1:27:01some that the city leads and pro Procore

1:27:03provides a really effective conduit for

1:27:05that. And I think for something like the

1:27:07lead service line and our rightway

1:27:08contracts, this provides a really good

1:27:11opportunity for us to be on the same

1:27:13page. And again, having approvals that

1:27:15have good clean tracking and a clear

1:27:18single place where folks can find

1:27:20information is uh is very effective.

1:27:22>> Great. That was all I had. Thank you.

1:27:24Council member Green,

1:27:25>> could you describe the um the drone and

1:27:28um 360 camera use? What do you uh what

1:27:33obstacles there are to overcome to get

1:27:35staff trained? We don't have any

1:27:37internal issues with drones and 360s.

1:27:40It's just a matter of timing or is it

1:27:41FHA FAA certifications? What's required?

1:27:44Um, I know we had an FAA certified

1:27:46operator at the sewage and water board.

1:27:48And really, it's it's a matter of going

1:27:50through the process, having the

1:27:51equipment and the experience to ensure

1:27:53that you're not violating someone's

1:27:54privacy, that you're operating in in an

1:27:57airspace that's appropriate, uh, and

1:27:59making sure that you've got a pilot u

1:28:02with the appropriate level of skills.

1:28:03Miguel, is there anything additional?

1:28:05>> Um, it shouldn't be too difficult to get

1:28:08certification for each of the members to

1:28:10be able to use it as a normal tool. I

1:28:12mean, it just gives you so much more um

1:28:15ability to look from above and actually

1:28:18look in detail whenever we assess a

1:28:20building. So, it's it's kind of a

1:28:22technology that's

1:28:24>> Well, I see the benefit all the time. I

1:28:25see the benefit of going to the top of a

1:28:27multi-story building with a drone so

1:28:30that you don't have to, you know, so

1:28:31that you can get a real time look at

1:28:33what's going on. It might have saved us

1:28:35in the past with some of the challenges

1:28:37that we had because we would have the

1:28:38ability to go and check ourselves to see

1:28:40if certain things have been done. So, I

1:28:42want to make it clear that I'm a strong

1:28:44um supporter of the drone use and the

1:28:47camera use. And I just want to make sure

1:28:48that the public understands that these

1:28:50are going to be certified users and that

1:28:53they're going to be focused on what the

1:28:55mission is, which is to address and see

1:28:57construction related issues. That's all.

1:28:59So, there are no challenges other than

1:29:01the fact that we need to get together

1:29:03with the FAA to get the certifications

1:29:05done. Right.

1:29:06>> Correct.

1:29:07>> What time what kind of time frame is

1:29:08involved with FAA certification?

1:29:12I don't I don't I don't know if we have

1:29:14the cameras up. Um Kyle, do you know

1:29:17when we're going to be receiving

1:29:19cameras?

1:29:20>> That's included in this year's budget.

1:29:22So, we expect for that training to occur

1:29:24in 2027.

1:29:25>> Okay. Thank you very much. I look

1:29:26forward to hearing that those um

1:29:28operators are trained and that they are

1:29:30in place to help keep our citizens safer

1:29:32by being able to identify construction

1:29:34related issues in advance. Thank you.

1:29:38>> Thank you, Council Member Green. Ashley.

1:29:40Next up,

1:29:41>> next up is

1:29:41>> Thank you.

1:29:42>> I'm sorry. Department of Property

1:29:43Management.

1:30:07Property management.

1:30:17public works or public

1:30:23drive.

1:30:25>> Yeah.

1:30:42Okay.

1:30:59All right.

1:31:07I've never I've never

1:31:21>> Whenever you're ready, you can begin.

1:31:23>> All right.

1:31:25All right. Good morning, council

1:31:27members. U Austin Wilty, director of

1:31:29property management. Uh before I begin,

1:31:32I just want to thank by think uh begin

1:31:34by thanking the hardworking men and

1:31:36women of the department of property

1:31:37management. Um as you know, I've only

1:31:40been in the in the role for 2 weeks now.

1:31:43And uh everybody stops me all kind of

1:31:45asked me how it's going. I think my my

1:31:48kind of response just to paraphrase it

1:31:50is

1:31:52just being amazed by how hardworking the

1:31:54guys are. I think it's a paradox. You

1:31:56often hear, you know, the city doesn't

1:31:58do maintenance uh well, and then you go

1:32:01to some of these facilities on these

1:32:03visits and you see machinery and

1:32:05equipment that looks like it it predates

1:32:07the war. Um, and so somebody's

1:32:10maintaining that equipment and I

1:32:12appreciate their hard work every day.

1:32:14Um, and they really do a great job. Um,

1:32:17I'm joined here by my deputy, Enrico

1:32:19Sterling, to my left and, uh, Director

1:32:22of Property Management, Secretary

1:32:23Whitney Cabierro, who wears many hats,

1:32:26um, and does our budget and finance

1:32:28among other things, and greatly

1:32:30appreciative for their work. Um, all

1:32:32right, first slide, um,

1:32:37is our ORC chart. You go next slide.

1:32:40Um, so as you, this is our general fund

1:32:43slide. Um so you can see this is a tough

1:32:47budget for us. Um first starting though

1:32:50with with the personnel um pleased to

1:32:53report that our personnel is largely

1:32:55intact. Um the increase you see which

1:32:58will be described on the next slide is

1:33:00mainly due to budget accounting for

1:33:02fringe benefits. So uh thank you to

1:33:04Brandy and her team. They all they do a

1:33:06great job. I think you'll start to see

1:33:08this more and more that we are starting

1:33:10to put the puzzle pieces back where they

1:33:12belong and add things where they should

1:33:14go and and accounting for them properly.

1:33:17So, thank you to her diligence of her

1:33:19and her team. Um, and then you'll see

1:33:21that also kind of reflect on other

1:33:23slides um as well. Um, and then other

1:33:26operating, you know, I think Steve um

1:33:29has been drilling this into me. We need

1:33:31to be efficient, proactive. Um, it is a

1:33:33tough budget. Um, there's no easy

1:33:36decisions. um especially in property

1:33:38management where we're where um my guys

1:33:41will often say they they're the front

1:33:42lines for the f front line. So if if the

1:33:45police can't get out of their garage cuz

1:33:46the rollup door isn't open, then then

1:33:48they're not very effective, right? And

1:33:50so um again, just can't thank them

1:33:52enough for the hard work they do. And

1:33:54and we're going to have to have

1:33:55discipline here. And you'll hear in the

1:33:57next slides about our revenue generating

1:33:59opportunities and the efficiencies we're

1:34:01putting in place and how how we plan to

1:34:04make up that uh that decrease on the

1:34:06other on the other operating side for

1:34:08general fund. Next slide.

1:34:12All right. You heard me talk about this

1:34:14already about the fringe benefits, but

1:34:15you see it repeated here. Um you can go

1:34:18next slide.

1:34:21Okay. So non non-general fund. Um, so,

1:34:24so you'll see what looks like a decrease

1:34:26of 600,000. Again, this this is back to

1:34:29to um putting the puzzle pieces back to

1:34:32where they belong and how we want to get

1:34:34we want to get to the same place

1:34:36basically the DPW is now. We're 75% of

1:34:39the year through and they've only spent

1:34:4130% of the budget. And how they've done

1:34:43that is by moving folks off a general

1:34:45fund onto capital. Now, we may not be

1:34:47able to move folks onto capital. Well,

1:34:49we can move some certainly and work

1:34:51towards that, but we also have certain

1:34:53special funds um that that affect the

1:34:55pillars under property management. So

1:34:57whether it be um the the cemetery fund,

1:35:00the Galler Hall fund, um there are other

1:35:04funds too that are fun to look into like

1:35:06Delgato Delgado Albania plantation which

1:35:09I know council me your off is is is fun

1:35:12to um so you know I think just digging

1:35:15into those and trying to to that's a

1:35:18work in progress though. So we'll be be

1:35:20working with y'all especially on the

1:35:21Galler Hall piece, the Gallery Hall

1:35:23special fund piece. Um, and just to flag

1:35:26it, I believe it's section 70415,

1:35:30uh, 269. Currently, it can only be used

1:35:32for maintenance. Um, again, like to

1:35:35thank the Gallery Hall team, the

1:35:36multi-ervices team, including our

1:35:38engineer, uh, Cory. Um, but those folks,

1:35:41I believe, would be ripe to be able to

1:35:43put them on the Gallery Hall fund

1:35:45because a lot of that money is coming in

1:35:47from events and them working and us

1:35:50charging for the direct cost. um

1:35:52especially when they're working

1:35:53overtime. Um so I think that would be

1:35:56appropriate. Would love to work with

1:35:57your offices on that. Um on the other

1:36:00operating side, um just cuz I I don't

1:36:03want to do all the talking. Do you want

1:36:04to take this one, Whitney, and kind of

1:36:06describe OCD and and how we're doing

1:36:08that?

1:36:09>> Sure. So the other operating for

1:36:11non-general funds has an increase of

1:36:13roughly 365,000.

1:36:16This is a portion of um office space

1:36:19that is being um leased by the office of

1:36:23community development and they have a

1:36:25grant that is paying for that lease

1:36:27space. So we no longer have to pay for

1:36:29that out of our general fund that is

1:36:31being paid out of um that grant.

1:36:34And so just like the fringe I think

1:36:36again kudos to Brandy and her team um

1:36:39for finding that and putting it back

1:36:40where it belongs. Um but that's the

1:36:42difference you'll see there. Um, I think

1:36:44we can go to the next slide.

1:36:48And and this just um essentially repeats

1:36:50in writing what what I just said a

1:36:51minute ago about Galler Hall and

1:36:53cemetery.

1:36:55Um, we go next slide and OCD as well.

1:36:59All right.

1:37:02Um so so I think the the budget meetings

1:37:06in the districts this was uh hammered

1:37:08pretty hard but we have our lease

1:37:09management contract with corporate realy

1:37:12uh Jean Booth over there has been great

1:37:14to work with. We've had a number of

1:37:16meetings um and I think um they've been

1:37:20very receptive to our needs in ter in

1:37:23terms of where we are with our finances

1:37:25and have actually come down a little bit

1:37:27on the pricing um and we're working

1:37:30through that but but really appreciate

1:37:33um their uh willingness to to work with

1:37:36us and understand our situation and we

1:37:38believe there's a a number of uh

1:37:41different properties we can go into

1:37:42detail in various districts

1:37:45um which we've already talked to some of

1:37:46y'all about and excited about those

1:37:48opportunities. Uh similarly um again

1:37:52revenue generating so cemetery tours uh

1:37:55you know my personal view cemeteries are

1:37:57a sacred space they belong to families a

1:37:59lot of people are surprised to learn

1:38:00that we manage six cemeteries and uh we

1:38:04do burials at one whole cemetery um but

1:38:08we also just started cemetery tours with

1:38:11PRC and and uh this was something that

1:38:14my predecessor put in place but really

1:38:16led by Miss Jessica Shron who's done a

1:38:18phenomenal job and um really paying

1:38:22reverence and respect to the families

1:38:23and doing the way that uh I believe it

1:38:26should be done um to respect the

1:38:29families in the sacred space that

1:38:31they're on. So um we'll need your help

1:38:34uh council members to try to move that

1:38:36position through. Um I've already kind

1:38:38of flirted with that idea with a number

1:38:40of y'all, but but really would like to

1:38:42um meet again and kind of talk about how

1:38:44we can do that and bring that to

1:38:46fruition.

1:38:47Um similarly, excuse me, uh parking

1:38:52contracts. So, uh maximizing the assets

1:38:55we have, excuse me,

1:38:58apologies. Uh maximizing the assets we

1:39:00have. So, I believe in July and August,

1:39:03the reports came back that just by using

1:39:05the city hall garage, we were able to

1:39:08make about $6,000 in parking. We hope to

1:39:10expand that to the the VA garage as

1:39:13well. Uh and that's not including Kanye

1:39:15and Bruno Mars. So, I'm optimistic with

1:39:17cemetery tours on top of parking, on top

1:39:20of lease management that those are all

1:39:22great opportunities. Um, and they're all

1:39:25in motion. Um, like I said, and then

1:39:28finally, you'll see crossraining

1:39:30employees. Um, really, this is kind of

1:39:32pulling an idea. It's It's not my idea.

1:39:35It's certainly one that you've seen work

1:39:37though in other departments, and we

1:39:38worked with civil service. So, I'm

1:39:40thinking uh safety and permits, right?

1:39:42you you you want to get a an inspection

1:39:45for uh a building, mechanical,

1:39:47electrical, you don't want to call three

1:39:49different inspectors, right? Similarly,

1:39:51when we go out for a job, you often see

1:39:53that, you know, HVAC ties into plumbing,

1:39:55ties into electrical, you know, having

1:39:57that that person crossrained and trying

1:39:59to get with civil service to make sure

1:40:01um that they can be uh amply compensated

1:40:03for those uh certifications that they

1:40:05need uh and will have to perform the

1:40:08work would be something that that very

1:40:09much would like to put in place. Uh,

1:40:11next slide.

1:40:16All right. Um, we touched on this a

1:40:18little bit earlier, but um, working with

1:40:21with Warren Smith and his team, he's

1:40:23already um, you know, this very much

1:40:27work in progress, but I think another

1:40:29way that we can save money would be uh,

1:40:31how we store um, documents, records, um,

1:40:37you know, all sorts of things, right?

1:40:39Uh, central evidence and property. y'all

1:40:41know about that. Um, and again, that

1:40:43goes back to to lease terms and wanting

1:40:45to get favorable lease terms for the

1:40:47city as well as the DPW trailers, which

1:40:50I'm sure Steve will touch on um at some

1:40:52point, but you know, we we pay entirely

1:40:54too much to store things when we have um

1:40:58space. Um, no other way to put it. So,

1:41:01uh, finding a way to to do that uh is

1:41:03certainly a priority.

1:41:05Um,

1:41:08let's see. Galler Hall, I already

1:41:09touched on that. Uh energy efficiency.

1:41:13Steve, I don't know if you want to touch

1:41:14on anything in terms of uh the VA or

1:41:17kind of um exciting things to come. We

1:41:20know you've already touched on it, but

1:41:21go ahead.

1:41:22>> Yeah, just very briefly. I know uh there

1:41:25are a number of different areas where we

1:41:27can achieve efficiencies. You can

1:41:28probably look around this building and

1:41:30see incandescent lights, fluorescent

1:41:32fixtures. Changing those over to LEDs is

1:41:35going to be very the simple things that

1:41:37we can do. the VA hospital. We spend

1:41:39over $350,000 a year on electricity and

1:41:41we really only use about two floors. So,

1:41:43being able to to work on on efficiencies

1:41:47there. Austin and his team are already

1:41:49looking at it. He mentioned uh the

1:41:51cemeteries. They had tours already at

1:41:54capacity uh for those for those uh tours

1:41:57that they had just starting last week.

1:41:59Uh and then the RFQ RFP for the parking.

1:42:02We're looking at the the red light

1:42:04cameras. There's a lots a lot of

1:42:06different ways that we can generate

1:42:08efficiencies through the opportunities

1:42:10that are all around us and Austin and

1:42:12his team are actively looking to do

1:42:14that.

1:42:16>> All right. Um, thank you Steve. Uh,

1:42:19I think you touched on a number of

1:42:21those. Next slide.

1:42:23>> All right.

1:42:26>> Thank you for your presentation. I think

1:42:28you could um maybe get some efficiencies

1:42:30by temperature regulation in this

1:42:32building. It is either freezing or

1:42:35>> hot as hell. Um, so honestly, I'm not

1:42:39kidding at all. Like this been like this

1:42:41for four years, [snorts] 9 months of my

1:42:44time here, and it's either freezing in

1:42:47this specifically this chamber or it's

1:42:50hot. So, you know, taking a look at

1:42:52temperature control, not only in this

1:42:54building, but all the buildings, I think

1:42:55would be helpful.

1:42:56>> Yes, ma'am. Absolutely.

1:42:58>> Thank you. I want to uh start with

1:43:00Lafayette number one. I'm really excited

1:43:02about that being opened back up again.

1:43:04That's been it's been closed for I think

1:43:06over five years. Um so it's really

1:43:08exciting. Do we know how much money or

1:43:10do we anticipate the amount of money

1:43:12that we're going to get from tours?

1:43:15>> And are we splitting that with PRC?

1:43:18>> So currently um in the last couple of

1:43:20days they've been at max capacity for

1:43:22the tours. They run four tours a day at

1:43:2516 people per tour. $30 per person

1:43:27roughly. These are rough estimates of

1:43:29cost. Um, [clears throat] so that's just

1:43:32under $2,000 per day. I believe it's a

1:43:35tiered revenue system. Um,

1:43:37[clears throat] but the lowest tier I

1:43:39believe is 20%. So we were receiving 20%

1:43:41of that. Um, which is just under $400 a

1:43:44day.

1:43:45>> Could we fund a position the cemetery

1:43:47person with that money? Have you done an

1:43:49analysis of that?

1:43:50>> That is the intent to fund the cemetery

1:43:52superintendent from the the revenues

1:43:54that are generated through the chores.

1:43:56>> It's desperately needed. I can tell you

1:43:58I live by Lafayette number two, which is

1:44:00a disaster. And because Lafayette number

1:44:03one was closed for such a long time,

1:44:04people actually toured Lafayette number

1:44:06two. We don't have that same tour guide

1:44:09system in place, but we should

1:44:10definitely think about it.

1:44:12>> Is that anything that's on your radar?

1:44:14>> Absolutely. We've already met to talk

1:44:16about All Saints Day. Um, and there are

1:44:18a number of nonprofits that that, you

1:44:21know, PRC already partners with. Um, and

1:44:24I think um, yeah, I think the

1:44:26opportunity is there. Yes. To answer

1:44:28your question, absolutely.

1:44:29>> Is uh, film the office of film under

1:44:31your department or no?

1:44:33>> It's not. It's under uh, deputy mayor

1:44:34Schwarz.

1:44:35>> I got you. Okay. I'll say my questions

1:44:37for that. Um,

1:44:40are we are you still working with Annie

1:44:43on identifying underused properties and

1:44:46getting them off the books?

1:44:48>> Yes. Um, Annie and I have met a couple

1:44:51times in the last week. um trying to

1:44:54move trying to get unused property is

1:44:56off the books. Um absolutely. If there's

1:44:58any specific ones, I'm happy to answer

1:45:00question.

1:45:00>> Yeah, the old Second District Police

1:45:01Station on Magazine Street again a

1:45:03disaster. It's completely filled with

1:45:05graffiti. It's been sitting there vacant

1:45:07for a long time. My understanding is the

1:45:09roof is falling in because it's not

1:45:10being maintained. So, what plans do we

1:45:12have to get that back into commerce and

1:45:15out of the city's hands?

1:45:17>> So, I know they did an RFP. I I don't

1:45:19want to speak for Annie. Um, I I think

1:45:22given some of the concessions that we

1:45:24were being offered, um, I think it's

1:45:26worth re-evaluating given the land value

1:45:29and would like to talk to her more about

1:45:30our various options.

1:45:33>> Okay. Keep me updated. Again, I get a

1:45:35lot of questions about the Second

1:45:36District Police Station given its

1:45:38prominence on Magazine Street and I know

1:45:40St. Georgees was looking at trying to

1:45:43acquire the building, but even getting

1:45:45the maintenance out of city coffers and

1:45:49to a third party would be helpful. Um,

1:45:53speaking of maintenance, how much money

1:45:54are we spending on the low barrier

1:45:56shelter for the AC, for example? Do you

1:46:00know?

1:46:01>> So,

1:46:05that's difficult. Um, again, and

1:46:09what I was alluding to earlier, I'm

1:46:10trying to think the best way to answer

1:46:12this question. Um, because the CEO's

1:46:14office pays the energy bill. Um, and the

1:46:17total energy costs we've looked at and

1:46:19created a dashboard for, we're trying to

1:46:21make that public facing. In terms of the

1:46:24HVAC, um, you know, I know just this

1:46:26week we're looking at the air handler

1:46:28unit. Um and and but we also had we met

1:46:30with Suj and Waterboard who would also

1:46:32be remiss if I didn't thank because just

1:46:34like um

1:46:35>> you know our labors our our maintenance

1:46:38staff uh they Steven Yang and his group

1:46:40and and back all of them have been super

1:46:42responsive. I know more of that team

1:46:44than than I did two 3 weeks ago by

1:46:4610fold. Uh whether it's Flip or Jordan

1:46:48or whoever they've been awesome uh and

1:46:51can't thank those guys enough. Um but I

1:46:53think um

1:46:54>> you're talking Let me interrupt you.

1:46:56You're talking about the fact that

1:46:57there's there's no water at the low

1:46:59barrier shelter and we had to jerryrig

1:47:01something with sewer and water board to

1:47:03get water into the low barrier shelter.

1:47:05Can you explain what happened there?

1:47:07>> I can. Um, so since I've taken this

1:47:10post, so I was fortunate enough to

1:47:11shadow my predecessor for two weeks, but

1:47:13in the last five weeks, four out of the

1:47:16last five weeks, I've gotten calls on

1:47:17the weekend saying that there is low to

1:47:19no water pressure at the low barrier

1:47:21shelter. The first two times I called

1:47:23sew and water board. They immediately

1:47:25responded and restored water. The third

1:47:28time we were told that um it was not the

1:47:31sew on the sew and water board side of

1:47:32the meter. It was on the city side. And

1:47:34so our internal senior plumber

1:47:36responded, realized that there had been

1:47:38vandalism. He was able to flip the

1:47:40breaker, got the water restored. the

1:47:43fourth time it happened um

1:47:47that we could the pump was running hot

1:47:49when we got there and we we we looked

1:47:51for the valve most of the day to to to

1:47:54say JerryRig I think is a is doing a

1:47:56little bit of a disservice to this

1:47:57contractor who is one of the more

1:47:59brilliant people I've met and how how

1:48:01they found a way to do it within hours

1:48:04he was coming for a lunch meeting with

1:48:05me just because they hold other

1:48:06contracts and they stayed along um Mr.

1:48:10Davalier Mr. Johnny Ball and um Mr.

1:48:14Ernie Anderson stayed from their lunch

1:48:16meeting not knowing they were going to

1:48:17be looking at the low barrier shelter

1:48:19and fixed it by that night. So I think

1:48:22>> so is there running water?

1:48:23>> There is running water. Yes, ma'am.

1:48:24[clears throat]

1:48:25>> Okay. And I'm not I'm not insulting

1:48:26anybody about saying it was dairy. It

1:48:29literally there was no water.

1:48:31>> Something had to happen. Some temporary

1:48:33fix happened. But now there is running

1:48:35water at the library shelter. Look,

1:48:36we're throwing good money after bad on

1:48:38that building. Um, the elevator doesn't

1:48:41work, so if you're disabled and

1:48:42unhoused, you can't get into the

1:48:44building. Um,

1:48:46there have been issues with bathrooms. I

1:48:48mean, it's just it's not a great

1:48:50facility. Um, so to the point about

1:48:53allocating money for a new low barrier

1:48:55shelter, I'm all for it. It's just a

1:48:57matter of making sure that we have that

1:48:59funding that we're not throwing good

1:49:01money after bad. And frankly, I'd like

1:49:02to get that Va building off of the city

1:49:05books, too.

1:49:06um give it back to the federal

1:49:08government if we could.

1:49:10>> I could not agree more. Yes, absolutely.

1:49:12Answering your question, the root cause

1:49:14of why we lost water, it could be

1:49:16anything from vandalism to broken

1:49:18infrastructure. The key now is we do

1:49:20have a reliable source of of portable

1:49:23water for the residents there and we'll

1:49:26continue to do so. we came up with a

1:49:27simpler solution, but your point is well

1:49:29made and we are in full agreement that

1:49:31moving moving the residents of the low

1:49:34barrier shelter to a much more

1:49:35acceptable location is key.

1:49:37>> Okay. And I I did have my team look at

1:49:38Questica um at the lower barrier shelter

1:49:42under fund 4511. There's a million

1:49:45dollars allocated for the AC. Brandy, do

1:49:48you know what that is?

1:49:50>> Allocated for what?

1:49:51>> The air conditioning services.

1:49:54That's in department or 4511.

1:49:57>> 4511.

1:50:03>> I know, as I mentioned before, I think

1:50:04the electricity alone is $350,000.

1:50:08>> It's just not a good scene. Um, okay. On

1:50:09evidence and while you're looking that

1:50:11up, Brandy, and you can get back to me.

1:50:13On evidence and processing,

1:50:15um, what is the plan? Is that lease up

1:50:18for the for the building?

1:50:21So [clears throat]

1:50:23again, we're still evaluating. My

1:50:25understanding is that there was we were

1:50:27looking at a $100,000 rent increase and

1:50:31um I have not had a chance to to yet to

1:50:33meet with the um the other side or their

1:50:36attorney. So would like to try to

1:50:37understand what the terms of the

1:50:39contract better before I opine in a

1:50:41public setting.

1:50:42>> And this is the what I'm talking about

1:50:44just for the thousands of people who are

1:50:46watching. It's the evidence processing

1:50:48where they NOPD brings the the evidence

1:50:51and they've done a yman's job of getting

1:50:53that organized. If you remember when a

1:50:55Kpatrick came in, she was talking about

1:50:56the rats getting high. Um I know that

1:50:58that's not happening anymore because

1:51:00they've really organized uh the building

1:51:02and the evidence there. But my question

1:51:04is how are we going to go forward if we

1:51:07can't renew this lease? What are we

1:51:08going to do with all that evidence?

1:51:10Yeah, I know we're also looking at

1:51:12alternative locations for that building

1:51:14as well. Being that it's leased and not

1:51:16in ideal condition, being able to put uh

1:51:19put the function of that building into

1:51:21another facility is something that we

1:51:22are actively investigating.

1:51:24>> Okay. And the final um question for

1:51:26property management that comes up a lot,

1:51:28I mean thankfully it's October, but are

1:51:31NOPD um stations are is the AC working

1:51:35in all of those stations right now? Do

1:51:37you know? To my knowledge, I have not

1:51:39heard any complaints. Rico, are you

1:51:40>> Rico?

1:51:41>> Yeah, just real quick. I mean, there's a

1:51:43couple that are waiting on uh

1:51:45compressors, particularly uh half of the

1:51:48six. Um and it's just a matter of the

1:51:51compressor being on back order, and

1:51:54we're waiting for them to come in.

1:51:55Apparently,

1:51:57those are really tough items to get.

1:51:59I've told the team for us to look at it

1:52:02and evaluate it in uh January because if

1:52:04you wait till May or June, everyone's

1:52:08get everyone's asking for components for

1:52:10the ACs.

1:52:10>> Yeah, that the sixth district in

1:52:13particular, that AC has never functioned

1:52:15properly from the time it was installed.

1:52:18I keep asking the question, it's been

1:52:19four years of asking the question of can

1:52:21we replace that AC using capital funding

1:52:24as we look forward in 2028 for a bond

1:52:27sale. that AC is is nonfunctional and I

1:52:30know you guys are getting parts off of

1:52:31like eBay and it's just it's not a good

1:52:34good look. Um, so if you could just give

1:52:36me an update on all the police stations

1:52:39in my district, I'd be interested to

1:52:41know if they're up and running.

1:52:43>> All right. Thank you, Council Member

1:52:44Williams.

1:52:45>> Let I know the second is

1:52:47>> The second is good. Good.

1:52:48[clears throat] Thank you.

1:52:49>> At least as of this morning.

1:52:51>> Okay.

1:52:52>> Council member, the $1 million is for

1:52:54the chill water service at the OVA.

1:52:56>> Okay. So that's budgeted for

1:52:59>> Yes.

1:53:00>> Okay. All right. Thank you, Council

1:53:02Member Willer.

1:53:03>> Thank you, Austin. Who's the cemetery

1:53:05tour contract with

1:53:07>> a preservation resources?

1:53:08>> PRC. Okay. Uh and what's the contract

1:53:11for

1:53:12>> for cemetery tours at Lafayette? Number

1:53:14one

1:53:14>> for them to give the tours. Okay. All

1:53:17right. Yes. Um,

1:53:20so in the budget book and on slide five,

1:53:26the FY 2026 budget included funding from

1:53:31the city cemetery maintenance and repair

1:53:33fund and a number of other small trusts

1:53:37and um, cemetery funds like the LOS

1:53:41Freeman Foundation,

1:53:43uh, Mahelia Zimmerman. it doesn't rec uh

1:53:46include any funding from those in the

1:53:482027 budget. Have those dried up?

1:53:52>> I I don't know if they've dried up

1:53:53necessarily and that I was speaking to

1:53:55council member Karen about this is that

1:53:57I think um finances Danielleman's work

1:54:01trying to rebuild those special funds.

1:54:04But this to me this is the 5141

1:54:07discussion. So now we know that the

1:54:09money is going is tied properly to the

1:54:11right accounting string and that it's

1:54:12going there. But I think that was I

1:54:15think we were kind of a little premature

1:54:17in 2026, but I think now we're on the

1:54:19right path to being able to um to to

1:54:22properly budget within that special

1:54:24fund. If I miss anything, Brandy or

1:54:27Whitney, I'm I'm looking at you guys.

1:54:29>> Maybe we weren't supposed to use those

1:54:31account.

1:54:31>> I think it was ripe to be used. I I just

1:54:34think that practice

1:54:35>> that wasn't the practice we were we were

1:54:37currently um I say sweeping some special

1:54:40funds or consolidated general to pay for

1:54:42things. I think now we're on the right

1:54:43track under this administration as I

1:54:45understand it.

1:54:46>> Okay, that that makes sense. Um, some

1:54:49personnel questions. So, it looks like

1:54:52you're cutting you're reducing the

1:54:54mechanical engine room by six FTEEs

1:54:58and um but the personnel budget is going

1:55:02up by nearly $600,000.

1:55:04Can can one of you explain that?

1:55:07>> Hi. Hey.

1:55:08>> Um, so the personnel budget's not

1:55:11actually increasing. the the difference

1:55:13in those costs are um previously there

1:55:17were personnel funds allocated through

1:55:19the Galleria Hall and cemetery funds

1:55:21which is at 600,000 in 2026 but

1:55:25personnel was actually always being paid

1:55:27out of general funds. We have just

1:55:29reallocated in budget correctly the way

1:55:32that it should have been from the

1:55:34beginning. We are working to get that

1:55:36change like Austin said through the

1:55:37Gallier Hall ordinance to get personnel

1:55:40paid through um Gallier and cemeteries,

1:55:42but we have to build those funds and

1:55:44then get those things passed.

1:55:46>> Okay. Uh and it could be the same

1:55:49situation with this one, but for the VA,

1:55:52um it says we had zero FTEEs budgeted

1:55:54for 2026.

1:55:57Um we're adding three FTEEs for 2027

1:56:01and the personnel budget is being

1:56:04reduced by 60,000. So is it

1:56:06>> So yes, so that's the same. Um I've been

1:56:09in this position roughly 2 years. So

1:56:11this is my second goound with the budget

1:56:13um process and we reallocated positions

1:56:18to the correct location. So positions

1:56:20were not correctly allocated when I came

1:56:22in. We attempted to do it the in the

1:56:25first year from 25 to 26 and we had some

1:56:27struggles and so we did implement those

1:56:30changes this year for 26 to 27.

1:56:33>> Okay. Um what about terminal leave and

1:56:36overtime? Is that accounted for in the

1:56:38CAO's budget?

1:56:39>> Yes.

1:56:40>> Yes. Okay. Um some operating questions.

1:56:44So on in 4511, there's a $1 million

1:56:49cost attributed to a chilled water

1:56:52service contract at the OVA. Was that

1:56:54what uh council member Harris was

1:56:56referring to?

1:56:57>> It it was. Yes.

1:56:58>> Okay.

1:57:00Um same tab. Uh looks like we have six

1:57:04janitorial contracts totaling $1.8

1:57:08million. Have we done an analysis

1:57:11recently to explore if it would be more

1:57:14cost effective to hire those directly

1:57:18with the city as opposed to contracting

1:57:20that out?

1:57:21>> Not not that I'm aware of.

1:57:24We haven't run any analysis, but we did

1:57:26um play with the idea of starting small

1:57:29at Gallia Hall first to see if we could

1:57:31implement internal janitorial through

1:57:33them and get rid of that contract to see

1:57:35how that would um the cost would

1:57:37outweigh the benefits and see how that

1:57:39played out. It hasn't happened yet.

1:57:41We're kind of waiting for the ordinance

1:57:44for Galleria Hall to be able to pay

1:57:46those employees through that fund

1:57:48instead of taking it out of our general

1:57:50fund cost to help reduce the general

1:57:52fund cost side of things. But we have

1:57:55with Austin's predecessor, we did

1:57:57discuss that move.

1:57:59>> Okay. Um and then I see that you guys

1:58:02have generator maintenance uh in your

1:58:05budget, $300,000 for maintenance and

1:58:08repairs. Um any idea of how many

1:58:11generators the city actually owns?

1:58:15>> We have uh roughly 80 or so generators.

1:58:18>> 80. Okay. Um

1:58:21and they're spread out across

1:58:23departments and buildings.

1:58:25>> Correct. Um obviously we have city hall,

1:58:28the police departments, um fire um our

1:58:33uh multi-ervice centers, Galleria Hall.

1:58:35Oh no, Gallery Hall, correction there.

1:58:37But um those are the ones that we have

1:58:39all across the city.

1:58:40>> Okay. And do you guys account for fuel

1:58:43costs in your budget? No. Is that

1:58:46accounted for elsewhere?

1:58:48>> Yeah.

1:58:48>> It's in EMD's budget.

1:58:49>> EMD. Okay. All right. That's all I have.

1:58:52Thank you.

1:58:53>> Thank you,

1:58:53>> Council Member McCarron. Um

1:58:55[clears throat] just again on the

1:58:57Gallier Hall. Um how many So how many

1:59:01employees do you think you could put on

1:59:03on the Gallier Hall um fund?

1:59:08So, I've got one engineer. You want to

1:59:11hear me?

1:59:11>> Yeah. Go ahead, please.

1:59:12>> So, I believe right now we have um one

1:59:15engineer, we have an a supervisor who's

1:59:18over there, and we have two employees

1:59:20under that supervisor over there. Um if

1:59:23we hired, we were thinking maybe two

1:59:26labor maintenance janitorial positions.

1:59:29Um kind of like a combination where we

1:59:31talked about cross trainining earlier.

1:59:32some those laborers who could um work

1:59:36special events but also help with

1:59:37cleanup and things like that. Um I feel

1:59:39like with the money that's generated

1:59:42through Gallier Hall, all of those

1:59:44employees could be paid out of that

1:59:46fund.

1:59:46>> Yeah, I was going to ask do you know um

1:59:48and Brandy this might be for you. How

1:59:50much revenue do we do we receive

1:59:52annually in that fund?

1:59:54>> Roughly 800,000 year to date so far

1:59:57we've had about 540,000 Galia Hall fund.

2:00:00>> Okay. And it has, according to the the

2:00:02last budget report, I think it was

2:00:05uh ending balance as of 831 of 1.15

2:00:08million. Does that sound about right?

2:00:10>> Yes. The same report that I'm looking

2:00:11at. Yes.

2:00:12>> Is there is there any employees on that

2:00:15fund this year?

2:00:17>> No, we can't have them until the

2:00:18ordinance. Correct. Okay. So now it's

2:00:20just used for operating for property

2:00:23management any other department.

2:00:26>> Sometimes we'll use some Migar

2:00:27expenditures if they're specific to

2:00:28Galia. Okay. Yes.

2:00:31>> Okay.

2:00:31>> And [clears throat] I guess Mulpa, I

2:00:33need to uh talk to Liz after this. Like

2:00:35I said, I've been on the job two weeks.

2:00:37Um it sounds like y'all have already

2:00:38maybe worked on that ordinance that I'm

2:00:40referencing. Um and and so that may

2:00:43already be complete or work in progress,

2:00:45but I'll I'll certainly get with Liz

2:00:47Brusso and um follow up with y'all as

2:00:49necessary.

2:00:50>> Yeah. If it's not, let's let's do that.

2:00:52I think, you know, you've heard from all

2:00:53of us on here that, you know, we'd like

2:00:55to be able to have y'all use that since

2:00:58it's it's a funding source and that, you

2:01:00know, you actually have employees that

2:01:01are working on that. So, here's Liz.

2:01:03Okay.

2:01:18>> I understand for this year, I don't know

2:01:20that they can get that done. You know,

2:01:22they could I don't know when you guys

2:01:24can shift people over, but the ordinance

2:01:26itself did pass to open up the language

2:01:28to allow for personnel funding to come

2:01:29out of Galler Hall. If I remember

2:01:31correctly, the cemetery ordinance had

2:01:34already the sentiment to the cemetery

2:01:36fund already allowed for that. But yes,

2:01:38that is something that we did and I'll

2:01:40make sure to circulate the certified

2:01:41copy of that ordinance to y'all.

2:01:43>> Okay. So, if we then if we're already

2:01:45able to do it, then I I would recommend

2:01:47that we make that change in the in the

2:01:50you know, omnibus amendment going

2:01:52forward that Yeah. that property

2:01:54management can use that.

2:01:55>> Thank you.

2:01:56>> Thank you,

2:01:58>> Council Member Green.

2:02:00Hello folks and thank you for your

2:02:01presentation. U Mr. Nelson, I'm going to

2:02:03ask for your assistance in one more

2:02:05area. This is ninth ward day today. As

2:02:08far as I'm concerned relative to

2:02:09projects, a community that's been

2:02:11ignored in the past, I'm going to ask

2:02:13you to specifically go to Desire and

2:02:16Florida, the former city health clinic

2:02:19on the 26th of November. Even though

2:02:21this is not the reason to have this as a

2:02:23goal, thousands of people are going to

2:02:25pass by that location that is owned by

2:02:27the city of New Orleans and it's

2:02:28blighted. And unfortunately, the

2:02:30criminals are using it as a place to

2:02:32dump because they think that the city

2:02:34doesn't care. Help us out with that

2:02:36project. You'll know what to do when you

2:02:38go by. Just send some people by with

2:02:40weed eaters and clean up that dumped

2:02:42area and um let the people see that that

2:02:45community is getting the attention that

2:02:47it deserves.

2:02:48>> Yes, sir. And I'd be remiss if the um my

2:02:52bosses didn't set up. We have a meeting

2:02:54set up with property management, parks

2:02:56and parkways um DPW

2:03:00uh and others um coming up this month

2:03:0210:20. So we can definitely add that to

2:03:04the agenda there about how we're going

2:03:06to combine labor sanitation as well.

2:03:08Sorry. Uh combine labor forces uh to

2:03:11accomplish tasks such as that. I think

2:03:13that's a great one.

2:03:14>> I appreciate it. You all have been on

2:03:15the case with regards to many

2:03:16infrastructure projects. So, I'm asking

2:03:18you specifically on that one. It's

2:03:20embarrassing for people to have to walk

2:03:23in the street to walk past a city

2:03:24property because the grass is overgrown.

2:03:26Not putting you all on the spot because

2:03:28I know between now and November 26,

2:03:30there's probably going to be something

2:03:31done there and it's been a long time,

2:03:33but that's a special project relative to

2:03:35this year when crime is down in that

2:03:37community, when people are building a

2:03:39couple of new houses, where we've got

2:03:41our multi-purpose center rolling, where

2:03:43we've got construction going on streets.

2:03:45Let's address that very obvious eyesore

2:03:48at that particular location and thank

2:03:50you for all of the work that we do

2:03:52combined. I'm asking you for that one

2:03:54specifically.

2:03:54>> Yes, sir.

2:03:55>> Thank you.

2:03:57>> All righty. If there are no more

2:03:58questions, the last department is

2:04:00Department of Public Works.

2:04:20control.

2:04:25Thank you.

2:04:34You going to drive for me, please?

2:04:35Excellent.

2:05:04Um

2:05:06Yeah.

2:05:11>> All right. Last but not least, DPW.

2:05:14>> All right. Very good. Thank you all very

2:05:15much. Steve Nelson, director of public

2:05:17works. To my left, Kyle Hman, our budget

2:05:19director. Brandy, thank you. Thank you

2:05:21for having us here. It is a pleasure.

2:05:23Starting with the org chart, I wanted to

2:05:25touch on a couple of different items.

2:05:27Um, we have, uh, and we've talked about

2:05:29it a couple of times this morning, but I

2:05:31think it bears repeating, 80 employees

2:05:33under underneath the secretary of the

2:05:35Department of Public Works, which is

2:05:37essentially our operations division. DPW

2:05:40has kind of five uh, five primary

2:05:43programs. There's the JIR FEMA program,

2:05:45which has 11 DPW employees. As I've

2:05:48mentioned before, we intend to bring on

2:05:50a project management consultant on the

2:05:52bondf funed side of the house so that we

2:05:54can save slots for those individuals who

2:05:57are being trained, who are delivering

2:05:59this massive uh 300 plus million dollars

2:06:02over the next two years. So, we want to

2:06:03have a good place for those individuals

2:06:05to land when they come over. And we've

2:06:07laid aside, and you'll hear this as a

2:06:09repeating theme throughout this

2:06:10presentation, utilizing bond funds uh

2:06:13and doing so on a recurring basis.

2:06:15setting aside enough bond funding so

2:06:17that we can have the salaries, benefits,

2:06:19materials and equipment for 10 years

2:06:21worth of delivery, not just one year. We

2:06:24don't want to treat this like a singular

2:06:26uh revenue source. Uh the chief of

2:06:28engineering which is run by wind fan

2:06:31this is a group that as across across

2:06:34the department of public works we're

2:06:36growing. We have two new engineers in

2:06:38training or EIT starting next week. our

2:06:41chief traffic engineer, Alyssa Bienn.

2:06:43She has been a critical hire for us this

2:06:45year. We were without a a chief traffic

2:06:47engineer for over three and a half

2:06:49years. Uh she's been with us a handful

2:06:51of months. She has another two tech uh

2:06:53EITs starting next week. Uh so that's

2:06:56four new engineers in training that are

2:06:58going to support our department. Um the

2:07:01uh budget coordinator of course that's

2:07:03Kyle Hman. He does a yman's effort.

2:07:05You've seen him uh this morning as well

2:07:07as a number of different times. He's a

2:07:09great great resource for us and has a

2:07:11very very effective team. And then of

2:07:13course our deputy director uh which is

2:07:15basically our head of operations. That's

2:07:17Scott Bole. He was formerly the region 2

2:07:20district engineer for the department of

2:07:21transportation. Worked there for over 30

2:07:23years. He's been another key hire for

2:07:25us. Um within his group which is all

2:07:29within uh the responsibility of the

2:07:31director of public works is ground

2:07:32transportation bureau. And we'll touch

2:07:34on this a little bit. GTB included

2:07:37parking enforcement up until about May

2:07:39of this year and then parking

2:07:41enforcement was transferred over to

2:07:42NOPD, but the functions around the

2:07:45licensing of cabs, CPNC's and the like

2:07:48remains within the Department of Public

2:07:50Works for now. Um they have uh 17

2:07:54employees. About a dozen of those handle

2:07:57inspections out at the RTA's yard out in

2:08:00the desired neighborhood. Uh and we have

2:08:02about four individuals who are helping

2:08:04with the CPNC licenses. They recently

2:08:06came off a furlow so that we could

2:08:08increase the productivity there and I

2:08:10believe they're doing a lot of work

2:08:11there. That's a group that's led by

2:08:13Delicia Kraton, Yolanda Brownfield. They

2:08:15do really really good work and they work

2:08:17very hard. The Secretary of the

2:08:19Department of Transportation is Tim

2:08:21McConnell. It's been another key hire

2:08:23for us. You'll hear this as a recurring

2:08:24theme. We have around 80 employees right

2:08:26now. Uh that's up uh including as of

2:08:30today we have 47 brand new paving

2:08:33employees. We started the year with

2:08:35about a dozen. Next Monday we will have

2:08:3850 new paving employees. So we will have

2:08:40gone from 12 paving employees to 64 65

2:08:45employees [clears throat]

2:08:46uh by the end of October which is a huge

2:08:48improvement for us. And that group I am

2:08:51so proud of the work that we're doing.

2:08:53uh the first day of the mayor's uh term

2:08:55on January 12th, she said, "Steve, I

2:08:58want us paving concrete." And this

2:09:00sounds like rudimentary stuff because it

2:09:02is, but the Department of Public Works

2:09:04had not mixed and poured its own

2:09:05concrete in-house since before Hurricane

2:09:07Katrina. So, we had a major press event

2:09:10around a 2x3 segment of concrete. And it

2:09:13seemed like a small thing and it was at

2:09:15the time, but it has laid the groundwork

2:09:17for the ability of the Department of

2:09:18Public Works to be pouring hundreds of

2:09:20linear feet of sidewalk each and every

2:09:23week. We're doing it around AL Davis

2:09:25Park. We finished off a really important

2:09:27project there last week. We're in New

2:09:29Orleans East uh down by Park Brittany

2:09:32pouring concrete sidewalk where there

2:09:34was no concrete sidewalk before. We're

2:09:36doing it with in-house personnel. We've

2:09:38got three, four, five crews a day

2:09:41working across the city. And I'm going

2:09:43to talk about some efficiencies that

2:09:45we're gleaning there. On the street

2:09:47light side, we started the year with

2:09:48zero electricians. None. We now have

2:09:52multiple electricians, multiple

2:09:53inspectors, and we're able to do things

2:09:56like canvas the entirety of the lower

2:09:589inth ward so that we can ensure that we

2:10:00capture all of the lights that are off,

2:10:02turn on the street lights, and uh put

2:10:05ourselves in a position where we're not

2:10:06chasing our tail, where we're getting

2:10:08proactive with light replacements. That

2:10:10team has exercised uh they've done work

2:10:12on over 12,000 lighting work orders this

2:10:15year. They've turned on almost 9,000

2:10:18lights. Uh and they've done a really

2:10:20really uh yman's job I think is a term

2:10:23we've heard a number of different times.

2:10:24Traffic signals falls within the

2:10:27secretar's office. I drove Claybourne

2:10:29Avenue twice this week just to ensure

2:10:33that Washington Napoleon and uh where's

2:10:37what's the other one? Nashville were not

2:10:39in flash. None of them went into flash

2:10:41prior to that. Every time it rained the

2:10:44lights would go into a red flash mode.

2:10:47And it's simple to fix. you, the

2:10:49operator would just go out and hit the

2:10:51reset button. But in the time that

2:10:53passed, that is not a good way to

2:10:55operate. My personal biggest goal, and

2:10:58we'll talk about it in a bit, is zero

2:11:00fatalities on City of New Orleans

2:11:03streets. We want to get to that place,

2:11:05safer streets, and that is that is a

2:11:08great goal, I believe, for all of us to

2:11:10have within the administration. And it

2:11:12crosses not just DPW, but it's public

2:11:14health, NOPD enforcement. I I will say

2:11:18here that August was the first month in

2:11:2010 years with zero fatalities in that

2:11:23given month. And so we are on a track

2:11:25this year. Even one is too many, but

2:11:28we're really using that as our guiding

2:11:29light. Traffic signs uh we have a good

2:11:32group there. We're working to automate

2:11:34their their um automate their operations

2:11:38and track them through a much more

2:11:39effective work order management system.

2:11:41And we're also responsible for ditches

2:11:43uh and coverts as well. That's the one

2:11:46kind of vestage from the drainage

2:11:48consolidation in 2025 uh that we still

2:11:51maintain. We have a continuous uh

2:11:53improvement administrator that

2:11:55essentially is someone that handles our

2:11:56GIS mapping and our work order mapping

2:11:58system. Uh and we also have a some

2:12:01communication support. We have three

2:12:03employees there. You're familiar with

2:12:04Kristen, Elise, and Andrew. I'm sure

2:12:06there's a lot of work that goes on uh

2:12:08communicating traffic closures, project

2:12:12updates, etc. Um, one thing I did want

2:12:14to touch on as well, we talked about all

2:12:16these new hires. There's this narrative

2:12:18out there that New Orleians don't want

2:12:19to come to work. You're not going to

2:12:20find enough people. We had over 250

2:12:23applicants for these paving positions.

2:12:25New Orleians want to come to work. And I

2:12:27am proud to be able to be a part of

2:12:29providing a living wage job for

2:12:31individuals with a retirement, with

2:12:33health benefits, and we're going to

2:12:35continue looking for folks. If you're an

2:12:36electrician, if you're a laborer, if you

2:12:38want to come work for the city, come

2:12:39apply. We want to see your application

2:12:41because we have the ability to grow and

2:12:44we'll talk about if we go to the next

2:12:45slide uh how we are able to do that

2:12:48because when you look at these numbers

2:12:49it looks like we're taking a

2:12:51considerable haircut which we are and

2:12:53it's not that this is a zero sum issue.

2:12:56It does have an impact for us and

2:12:58everyone's heard it probably four or

2:13:00five times but the budget that you see

2:13:01that adopted 19.9 million is not cash.

2:13:06This year has been a unique year in that

2:13:09I've had I cannot count the number of

2:13:11times folks have come to me and said,

2:13:12"Steve, we've got it in our budget.

2:13:14We're at 75% of the year right now.

2:13:16We've spent 30% of the budget." I don't

2:13:19actually have a budget this year,

2:13:20though, because we have had to overcome

2:13:23some significant hurdles. So, when you

2:13:25look at a cut of $9.8 million from 26 to

2:13:2827, that is serious. That's $10 million

2:13:31we could use for something else. So

2:13:33thankfully at the beginning of the

2:13:35administration

2:13:37uh it was clear to me we were we were

2:13:38able to use bond funds to pay for

2:13:41project managers salaries that are

2:13:43managing bond funded projects. So um the

2:13:46CEO, the mayor and myself got together.

2:13:48We were talking about how are we going

2:13:50to achieve these things like turning

2:13:51lights on and all the things we're

2:13:53talking about hiring additional

2:13:54employees. uh and it came across our

2:13:57minds that if we can pay project

2:13:59managers out of bond funds, can we not

2:14:02pay the individuals who would actually

2:14:04do the physical work? And so we got

2:14:06together with the legislative auditor as

2:14:08well as our bond council Jason Acres and

2:14:11it was established that yes, as long as

2:14:13those individuals are doing bond related

2:14:15work. So we can't do things like fill

2:14:17potholes because it doesn't last 10

2:14:19years or more. We can't do things like

2:14:21crack seal, but for the full depth

2:14:24patching of asphalt, for concrete

2:14:26sidewalks, traffic signals, the control

2:14:29boxes, anything with a life longer than

2:14:3210 years, we can utilize bond funds for

2:14:35that. And so that's why you see with the

2:14:37general fund having a budget of 10

2:14:40million, I would love to have it to uh

2:14:41as 20 or 30. And there are some things

2:14:44that we will have to do this year.

2:14:46Traffic striping. Striping on streets

2:14:49does not fit within the bond fund

2:14:50category, but it is critical to public

2:14:52safety. So, we're going to really be

2:14:54putting a lot towards traffic striping

2:14:56this year. Those sorts of things and

2:14:59being able to parse it and kind of

2:15:01change the way that we keep time. HR has

2:15:04been extremely helpful, as has civil

2:15:06service, in developing time sheet codes.

2:15:09So, I worked in the private sector for

2:15:11the better part of 20 years. I'm very

2:15:13used to filling out a time sheet as a

2:15:15consultant with different line items.

2:15:17We've had to had to change the way we do

2:15:19business around having multiple line

2:15:22items on people's time sheets so that

2:15:24they can accurately track their time and

2:15:26ensure that we are uh we are properly

2:15:28and accurately allocating time between

2:15:31general and bond fund. So, some key

2:15:34components of the 27 budget as I

2:15:37mentioned before uh C uh contracts and

2:15:40ground transportation bureau trans uh

2:15:42transition of some select positions

2:15:44there ensuring that we are updating the

2:15:46funding for multiple positions and that

2:15:48we're budgeting personnel costs across

2:15:50bonds. This is what I was alluding to

2:15:52with the ADP time sheets being able to

2:15:54split salaries and do so accurately. Um

2:15:57other operating funds, we had the

2:15:59transfer of towing and empoundments. I

2:16:01mentioned that that totals out to about

2:16:02$1.18 million uh out of 20 year uh FY26.

2:16:08In addition to the utilization of bond

2:16:10funds, we have some community

2:16:11development block grant funding that we

2:16:13will talk about here just in a moment

2:16:15and the ability uh to use $4 million out

2:16:18of that CDBG funding to offset uh and

2:16:21use that towards some of these gen

2:16:23otherwise general fund expenses. And

2:16:26then remaining reductions are due to the

2:16:28maximization. Again, I mentioned this

2:16:29will be a recurring theme. Maximizing

2:16:31the use of bond funds for eligible

2:16:33capital improvements. And again, that's

2:16:35anything longer than 10 years and over

2:16:375,000 in value. Some of those

2:16:40non-general fund expenditures that we

2:16:42talked about

2:16:442026 budget to 27 budget with personnel,

2:16:47you see a significant increase there. Uh

2:16:50that's again where we're transferring

2:16:51salaries over to utilizing bond funds. I

2:16:54think to council member Harris's comment

2:16:55later, yes, we could use utilize that to

2:16:58pay a contractor, but it is much more

2:17:01cost effective for us to be able to make

2:17:03sidewalks, streets, lighting, and

2:17:06traffic signal repairs in house than it

2:17:08is with a contractor. That is not to say

2:17:10that we will not utilize contractors.

2:17:13We've got tens of millions of dollars in

2:17:16needs and then we have rightaway

2:17:18contracts for districts A through E that

2:17:20are going to be advertised here over the

2:17:22course of the next month.

2:17:24But we can leverage and multiply our

2:17:26effectiveness when we utilize more of

2:17:28that internal labor. So uh that's the

2:17:32the other operating we do see a

2:17:33reduction there from the adopted budget

2:17:35of 26 to 27's proposed budget which

2:17:38again we are cash b we're on a cash

2:17:41basis this year. So having an actual

2:17:43budget that we can work to is going to

2:17:44put us in a better situation so that at

2:17:47the end of end of the year our total

2:17:49goes from 10.5 million to 9.3. Again, a

2:17:52reduction is not all good news, but we

2:17:55do have a workaround to allow us to be

2:17:57able to hire on those additional

2:17:58individuals and deliver on the basics.

2:18:02Some of those key components of the

2:18:03proposed non-general fund 2027 budget.

2:18:06Um Kyle uh included in here the the IMF

2:18:10fair share IEB funds that has been fully

2:18:13transfer transferred over uh to the

2:18:15general and capital fund. Again, most of

2:18:18that being capital and bond funded. 60

2:18:21uh employees funded entirely through

2:18:23bond funds. But again, we're working

2:18:25with those time sheet uh work order line

2:18:27those time line items to be able to

2:18:30utilize accurately when I'm working on a

2:18:32capital project. I am billing my time

2:18:34against the capital expense. That's

2:18:37removing the burden from the general

2:18:38fund and accurately keeping track of

2:18:40time. where we can place uh materials,

2:18:43equipment, and other items with a

2:18:4510-year life. We have those things

2:18:47documented, and we are utilizing bond

2:18:50funds for that. And Kyle, uh we alluded

2:18:52to earlier that $4 million in community

2:18:54development block grant funding that's

2:18:56going towards traffic signal repairs,

2:18:58traffic engineering services, some of

2:19:00that traffic striping that I mentioned

2:19:02earlier, and then some of our materials

2:19:04like asphalt, uh asphalt, concrete

2:19:07signage, etc. One other uh uh pot of

2:19:10other operating funds is the remainder

2:19:12of that energy p penalty settlement. We

2:19:15had right around $3 million if I recall

2:19:18correctly at the beginning of the year.

2:19:192.8 something around those those uh that

2:19:23number. We've got about half of that

2:19:24spent. The other half we will spend in

2:19:262027 and that will be dedicated to uh

2:19:29major roadways like Interstate 10, the

2:19:31highrise 610 etc.

2:19:34looking at budget efficiencies.

2:19:36Um, again, this is one of those

2:19:38situations where bond funds, maximizing

2:19:41the use of bond funds. I'm mentioning it

2:19:43over and over and over again. It's how

2:19:45we're able to do what we're able to do.

2:19:47Uh, reducing some of those external

2:19:49vendor contracts. Again, we're not

2:19:51cutting contractors out. We're And I

2:19:53want to be clear, too, we're maximizing

2:19:55the use of our DBE program. We have a

2:19:57set aside uh on the street right now uh

2:20:00for uh sidewalk paving. We've we've

2:20:03tailored folks. I've met with a number

2:20:05of groups on a number of different

2:20:07occasions looking at the the appropriate

2:20:09size and scope of contracts that will be

2:20:12most competitive for our DBE partners.

2:20:14And what I heard was that bonding

2:20:16capacity is a significant challenge. So,

2:20:18we have uh right now a sidewalk paving

2:20:21contract. That's a scope that a number

2:20:23of DBE providers have in the community.

2:20:25And bonding capacity, so right around a

2:20:28million dollars, so it's not going to be

2:20:29overly burdensome on folks bonds. In

2:20:32addition to that, we're going to have

2:20:33that 35% participation in any contract

2:20:36we advertise publicly. And that's so

2:20:38that we can take those federal dollars

2:20:40as well as the bond dollars and keep

2:20:41them here within the community as much

2:20:43as possible. We're making sure that we

2:20:45have tighter controls on non-essential

2:20:47spending. We've canceled non-use cell

2:20:49phones. We're reducing office supply

2:20:51purchases. As a former sewage and water

2:20:53board employee, and I sit as the mayor's

2:20:55designate, I don't drink bottled water

2:20:57ever. So, drinking it out of the tap is

2:20:59reasonable for us. And I think that's a

2:21:01reasonable if minor expense. I mentioned

2:21:04it a number of different times, but

2:21:05disciplined timekeeping. We talked about

2:21:08the budget being at 75% of the year with

2:21:1130% of the budget expended only happens

2:21:14through the discipline across the team

2:21:16and ensuring that everyone is aware of

2:21:18where we are, where we're going, and how

2:21:20we're going to get there. And I think

2:21:22we're learning those lessons and baking

2:21:24them into our mindsets. Some of our 2027

2:21:28goals, I mentioned it earlier, starting

2:21:30with zero fatalities. And folks may

2:21:32wonder, well, what does that have to do

2:21:34with smoother streets? I believe that it

2:21:36fully it touches every area that public

2:21:38works as well as NOPD. I got an email

2:21:41someone was upset about getting a

2:21:42speeding ticket a couple of weeks ago,

2:21:44and it's I I'm sorry, but we have to

2:21:47follow the speed limit. The rules are

2:21:49there, and we see the effect. It changes

2:21:51human behavior. So, we're going to do

2:21:53those things to keep one another safe.

2:21:55We're working actively and and with

2:21:58great urgency to reduce weight times.

2:22:01So, some of the some of the issues when

2:22:03we started in January of 2026, we didn't

2:22:06even know what the average weight time

2:22:08was for any of those 311 requests that

2:22:10we had. And I think part of it is that

2:22:12it's scary to understand what some of

2:22:14those weight times are. But in order to

2:22:16address a problem, one must first admit

2:22:19that one has a problem. And when we

2:22:21computed those averages, street lights

2:22:24were on average about 450 plus days.

2:22:27Traffic now, not stop signs, I want to

2:22:30be clear, but street name signs, 8 900

2:22:33days. These are metrics that are

2:22:34unacceptable by any standard anywhere.

2:22:38And so by starting with a baseline of

2:22:40understanding where the wait times are,

2:22:42we've been able to appropriately apply

2:22:45resources. Street signs, we're now down

2:22:48to 700 or so days. grossly unacceptable,

2:22:52but we at least know where we are and

2:22:53we're on the right path. Street lights,

2:22:56we've gone from 450 days to just over

2:22:59200 days. We're going to be at less than

2:23:00100 days by the end of the year. And I

2:23:03believe that we we have to be at 30 days

2:23:05or less for a street light being out by

2:23:07the end of next year. And I believe that

2:23:08we're going to get there. I want us to

2:23:10be where at a place where every work

2:23:12item is 30 days or less. There is no

2:23:15reason why we shouldn't be able to get

2:23:17to that place. and building the team

2:23:19that we're building with the with the

2:23:21street maintenance group that's doing

2:23:23not just potholeing. Potholes are

2:23:25important and we will get to a place

2:23:27where we can do 1500 in a week, but if

2:23:30I'm putting 500 pothole patches in a

2:23:32given block, I'm not doing that block

2:23:34justice. That block needs to be milled

2:23:36and overlaid or completely replaced. And

2:23:39we are going to be at a place this year,

2:23:41we're going to mill and overlay our

2:23:42first block internally with our own

2:23:44equipment and our own personnel. And

2:23:46that's going to set us up to a place

2:23:47where we're doing one or multiple blocks

2:23:48a week next year with our own internal

2:23:50personnel. We've got to improve and

2:23:53continue to grow our coordination with

2:23:55sewage and waterboard with that timeline

2:23:56of 2028 integration together. Um the

2:24:00infrastructure coordination council ICC

2:24:02and other vehicles. We've got to utilize

2:24:04those things like Procore where we're

2:24:05working together. The lead service line

2:24:07replacement program. These are all

2:24:09opportunities for us to grow in terms of

2:24:12coordination, working together and and

2:24:15complementing the work that one another

2:24:17is doing. Also, we talked about it a

2:24:20couple of times already today. The

2:24:22execution of the JIR and the bond

2:24:24funding programs on schedule and within

2:24:27budget is an absolute must. Um, I've

2:24:30told my team this multiple times, not

2:24:32just with JR, but also with the bond

2:24:34funding program. We have got to get this

2:24:36money expended and done so efficiently

2:24:39so that our residents can see the

2:24:41effect. If we get to the end of 2027 and

2:24:44we've spent 15% of the bond fund

2:24:46allocation, that will be a gross

2:24:48failure. I need to be at Joe Juso's door

2:24:51in Q4 27 begging him for more cash. Not

2:24:55necessarily on the payroll side. That's

2:24:57budgeted for the next decade. But our

2:24:59contractors, we want to have them have

2:25:01spent all of the funding so that the

2:25:03streets are smooth and drivable. A great

2:25:05example is St. Charles Avenue from

2:25:07Jefferson to Napoleon. That mill and

2:25:09overlay, clean, smooth, well

2:25:12communicated, and you end up with an end

2:25:14product that is very userfriendly with

2:25:16minimal disruption. That's the sort of

2:25:18model we want to have. Also, we're going

2:25:21to change the way that we're doing

2:25:22business within our maintenance group.

2:25:24Up until this point, we've been working

2:25:26across the city on any given day. We'll

2:25:29have a crew somewhere in each of the

2:25:30five council districts. We want to

2:25:32change that up a little bit. Something

2:25:35we saw uh in 2026, there have been at

2:25:38least three different instances where

2:25:40we've been doing work in a specific

2:25:41neighborhood, whether it's 4x6 with the

2:25:43Embutu team in Central City or working

2:25:46out in New Orleans East or the Lower 9th

2:25:48Ward or in Canal Street, uh with some of

2:25:51those with the mayor's executive order.

2:25:53We looked at those weeks and the numbers

2:25:54were considerably higher. We filled way

2:25:57more potholes. We turned more lights on.

2:25:58We replaced a lot more signs. And that's

2:26:01because we were in a specific area. It's

2:26:04easier to manage. It's easier to stage.

2:26:06The communication is cleaner. So, we're

2:26:08going to move from doing work across the

2:26:10city to focusing on 10x 10 sections of

2:26:14the city. And we're going to start that

2:26:15within the next couple of weeks on just

2:26:17putting our crews in one location and

2:26:19being in that neighborhood for about a

2:26:21week's time. So, getting as many lights

2:26:23turned on, as dressing as many streets,

2:26:26uh, as many streets and sidewalks as

2:26:28humanly possible in a given week so that

2:26:30we can maximize the effect. And I

2:26:33believe that neighbors and neighborhoods

2:26:34are going to see that we shouldn't be

2:26:36driving past a 6-month-old 311 request

2:26:39just to do the 10-year-old request. We

2:26:41should do both of them at the same time.

2:26:43And we're in one neighborhood. I believe

2:26:44that we can do that. And that's kind of

2:26:46scratching the surface of of what we're

2:26:48trying to do with within the Department

2:26:50of Public Works. With that, I would like

2:26:52to thank the council for everything that

2:26:54you all are doing, your staff and your

2:26:56offices. Our goal really is to put you

2:26:58out of business. I don't want to be one

2:27:00of the top three complaint getters that

2:27:02you all have. I know that's where we're

2:27:03at. We are not where we need to be right

2:27:05now, but I can see it from here. I

2:27:07believe that we're going to reach that

2:27:08place. Uh we have a great team. Uh and

2:27:11appreciate you all's support and would

2:27:13be happy to answer any questions that

2:27:14you may have.

2:27:15>> Thank you, Steve. Uh it was a pleasure

2:27:17to work with you um when you're at sirin

2:27:19waterboard and it's it's you and your

2:27:22team have done a really great job. Uh Al

2:27:25Davis looks beautiful. I passed by it

2:27:27today. It looks really good and I'm glad

2:27:28you were able to save that tree um which

2:27:31really is an asset in Central City. We

2:27:33see very few trees in Central City. Um I

2:27:36do want to talk about the the safety um

2:27:38Chapatulus traffic study. Has that been

2:27:40completed?

2:27:42We have some What we've got to do is get

2:27:44out there and get that striped. We

2:27:46already have some action items. I

2:27:48believe I executed a purchase order on

2:27:50the striping of that last week, but I

2:27:52will follow up. That is a very important

2:27:54location.

2:27:55>> It's um dangerous and people are going

2:27:57from uh getting tacos and and sandwiches

2:28:01and and crossing over Chapatulus and

2:28:04people have actually gotten hit. Um, so

2:28:06just making sure that we keep our foot

2:28:08on the gas on that traffic study would

2:28:10be great. Um, on the um, in-house work,

2:28:15have you done a costbenefit study for

2:28:17not only personnel but materials?

2:28:20>> Yeah, on materials, I mean, anything you

2:28:23you anything that a contractor

2:28:25purchases, you'll pay a 10% or more

2:28:27markup. Um, depending on the size and

2:28:31the scope of the work. We're pro we're

2:28:33not within DPW the vision is not to do

2:28:35like a six block stretch of full full

2:28:38replacement. Um but for things like

2:28:41routine sidewalk repairs it's a/4 to a

2:28:44fifth or less uh when you do it inhouse

2:28:47and you have more flexibility. You're

2:28:49not running in you you run into the

2:28:51roots around that tree around Al Davis.

2:28:54I'm not dealing with a change order.

2:28:55We're just moving it around. Tim

2:28:57McConnell's calling parks and parkways

2:28:59and we just get it done.

2:29:00>> Yeah, Tim's been great. Um, so do you

2:29:04have adequate space to store these

2:29:05materials? For example, the concrete

2:29:07used to repair Al Davis, those are that

2:29:10was an complete replacement. It wasn't

2:29:11just a repair.

2:29:12>> Correct. Yeah. So, at this point, yes,

2:29:14we do have space for it. But, um, one of

2:29:16the things that we do need to make sure

2:29:17is we get the warehouse out there

2:29:19cleared. Uh, getting the yard cleaned

2:29:21up. That was one of the first things

2:29:22that Tim did was getting some trailers,

2:29:24some empty, vacant, unused trailers off

2:29:27the site. Uh, so we do have plenty of

2:29:29space at the moment, but that is

2:29:30something we're going to have to keep uh

2:29:32keep on top of um is making sure that

2:29:34we've got good safe storage.

2:29:36>> Do we have a a good record keeping

2:29:38system for the inventory uh that we

2:29:40have? For example, stop signs.

2:29:43>> Yes. So, we we have a system for it. It

2:29:46has not yet been fully implemented. So,

2:29:48prior to September of last year, we

2:29:51didn't really ha we didn't have an asset

2:29:53management system. We're now using a

2:29:55system that's uh run by open

2:29:58gov/cardigraph.

2:29:59So if you hear those names, it's the

2:30:01same thing. And the departments, the

2:30:04subd departments within public works

2:30:05have been implementing that

2:30:07individually. So I use kind of crude

2:30:10terms from the Jetsons to the

2:30:12Flintstones. Street Lights were the

2:30:14first to adopt and so they their data

2:30:18around work orders and it manages the

2:30:21asset, the work order and what inventory

2:30:24we have. Okay.

2:30:25>> So all of those things are together.

2:30:26Street signs is the last and we're in

2:30:29the very final stages of getting that

2:30:31getting that off the ground. So this

2:30:33year we will have that in in the system.

2:30:35>> And we have in-house uh street sign

2:30:38creators.

2:30:38>> We do. Yes, we we make many of our own

2:30:41street signs. Uh, I believe that we do

2:30:43actually have a good number of staff

2:30:45there. And for response times on things

2:30:48like a down stop sign or a one-way sign,

2:30:51I believe that we do a good job. I

2:30:53believe that we're there within 24

2:30:54hours. It's that routine stuff like a

2:30:57street name sign. It's still important.

2:30:59It shouldn't take 2 years to get it

2:31:01done. It's just that we haven't had the

2:31:04work order tracking to flag those sorts

2:31:07of things. And we're in the process of

2:31:08implementing that now. We have a lot of

2:31:10peeling street signs in district B. Yes,

2:31:12that need to be replaced. I'm sure Matt

2:31:14has a list of all of those, so we'll get

2:31:16that over to you. There's also, this is

2:31:18very picky, but there's also a stop sign

2:31:20missing and homemade stop signs put into

2:31:23place at Second Ember Ron Street. So,

2:31:25just take a note of that. Um, we're also

2:31:27seeing an uptick in traffic signals

2:31:29being hit by cars. Have we ever looked

2:31:31at recovering from insurance companies,

2:31:34the cost of repair and replacement of

2:31:36those traffic signals? Yes. And I'm

2:31:39turning to Nick Bliss, who is our

2:31:40structural engineer. He brought that up.

2:31:43We we're going to be actively working

2:31:44with our risk management team.

2:31:47If if someone is careless or negligent

2:31:51and runs into a piece of infrastructure,

2:31:53my feeling is we should be responsible

2:31:54for our actions and that should include

2:31:56the replacement of infrastructure and

2:31:58the right of way.

2:31:59>> I I agree. Um Okay. I do want to talk

2:32:02about the uh positions that went over

2:32:05from DPW to NOPD in parking enforcement.

2:32:09Uh we did get um some questions to the

2:32:13LLA about sort of a staff audit because

2:32:16we heard about a couple positions that

2:32:19were transferred over. We're not sure if

2:32:21the budget for those positions was also

2:32:23transferred, but the people weren't

2:32:24there. There was one person who was

2:32:26dead, another who had retired. So, have

2:32:29you do you have any information about

2:32:32any sort of staff audit in your shop?

2:32:35>> Um, within GTB, I believe all of the

2:32:38positions that we've got right now are

2:32:40filled by by actual employees. If

2:32:42anything is vacant, uh, we would not be

2:32:44expending those those dollars and cents,

2:32:46but I am aware of that situation.

2:32:48>> Okay. And I think that's it. Again,

2:32:52thank you for your uh, attention to Al

2:32:54Davis Park. It's been a long time

2:32:56coming. looking forward to the

2:32:58Chopatulis study. And with that, Council

2:33:00Member McCarron.

2:33:01>> Thank you, Madam Chair. Um, thank you,

2:33:03Steve, and to your team. I see some of

2:33:05your team over here. You guys are very

2:33:07responsive and and I'm glad you brought

2:33:10up the St. Charles Avenue cuz that was

2:33:12one where um we had found out that there

2:33:15were like two blocks that weren't going

2:33:17to be completed and we reached out and

2:33:19you guys were able to very quickly, you

2:33:21know, respond to that um and get that

2:33:24done. and you know the residents are

2:33:25very very happy um with the smooth

2:33:27street and that's I think a example of

2:33:30the leadership within your department of

2:33:32being able to just quickly fix something

2:33:34like that and have the ability to do so.

2:33:36Um so we appreciate that. Um just a

2:33:40couple questions. Um the traffic studies

2:33:42okay are they are they required in every

2:33:46instance?

2:33:48No, a traffic study isn't required in

2:33:50every instance, but when we're talking

2:33:52about something like adding or removing

2:33:54a stop sign or adding or removing

2:33:56loading zone signs, there are other net

2:34:00effects. And I, as the director of

2:34:02public works, I just want to be careful

2:34:04that if we're going to add a stop sign,

2:34:06that changes human behavior. We're

2:34:07talking about speeding and other things.

2:34:09I just want to be sure that we're not

2:34:11creating a problem some downstream or

2:34:14upstream of that sign. That's not to say

2:34:15that we have to do it every single time.

2:34:18Um, but especially when there's traffic

2:34:19control, that's something we do want to

2:34:21be aware of. Um, along those lines for

2:34:24like loading zones and such, we generate

2:34:27a lot of revenue out of out of parking

2:34:30spaces. So, for any given hotel loading

2:34:33zone, we could be generating or giving

2:34:35upwards of 10 to$15,000 a year. So, not

2:34:38to say that we have to have a traffic

2:34:40study every time, but when control is is

2:34:42involved, I do want to be sure we're not

2:34:44creating an issue.

2:34:45>> How long do those traffic studies

2:34:46typically take?

2:34:47>> They have taken a considerable amount of

2:34:49time in the past. Uh, with Alyssa on

2:34:51board, we've actually been able to

2:34:53generate some of those in-house. Having

2:34:54two EITs is going to reduce that time

2:34:57frame. Um, it depends on the study and

2:35:00I'm sorry I don't have a better answer

2:35:01than that. But what I can tell you is it

2:35:03is going to get better, dramatically

2:35:05better in 20 at the end of this year and

2:35:07then into 2027. And asking looking at

2:35:10something like a stop sign should not

2:35:12take a full-blown study. We need to get

2:35:15to a place where we can turn those

2:35:16things around within a week, within 30

2:35:19days. We're not there yet, but that's

2:35:20where we want to get to.

2:35:21>> Yeah, that would be great. I mean, I

2:35:22know you I'm talking about the the stop

2:35:24sign situation that we're that we've

2:35:27asked about on it's it's a two-way stop

2:35:29right now in the middle of a

2:35:31neighborhood of St. Paul's school and

2:35:34residents have been asking for it to to

2:35:36be a four-way. I know you guys are are

2:35:38well aware of the situation, but stuff

2:35:40like that where it's like it seems more

2:35:43simple to have a quicker traffic study

2:35:46or something like that to where we can

2:35:48get an answer to residents faster on

2:35:50some of those things. um would be

2:35:52helpful.

2:35:54>> Um as far as the electrical um are you

2:35:57guys doing any um exploring with IBW and

2:36:02the their apprenticeship program and how

2:36:04the city can kind of work with them on a

2:36:07pipeline for workforce development now

2:36:09that we're kind of getting that hiring

2:36:11piece covered. But I know I talk about

2:36:12it all the time, but I think it's a

2:36:14important piece not just of hiring

2:36:17in-house, but also providing workforce

2:36:20development opportunities to have a

2:36:21continuous pipeline coming into the

2:36:23city.

2:36:24>> Yeah, absolutely. IBW, I've met with

2:36:26them actually a handful of times, and

2:36:27they they do have a couple of different

2:36:29programs. Um, one being sort of a labor

2:36:32extension contract, uh, which has, I

2:36:35think, some some merit for if we're

2:36:38looking for short-term hires.

2:36:41It really and truly, we've actually had

2:36:43pretty good luck hiring even

2:36:45electricians. So, and and we're not

2:36:47hiring like 50 or 60 of them. So, again,

2:36:51have contacted and been in contact with

2:36:52IBW. Um, and we will have at least two

2:36:56more electrician slots opening up here

2:36:58over the course of the next two to three

2:37:00weeks. So, definitely want to reach out

2:37:02to them and make sure that they see that

2:37:04out there. Um, but there's there's more

2:37:06talent wanting to come to work for the

2:37:08city than than I had realized when we

2:37:09started.

2:37:10>> That's good. That's good. I think it's

2:37:11it's still worth, you know, getting that

2:37:13pipeline going. Um, going to street

2:37:16lights is my question about um I know

2:37:20we're still working. We have in-house,

2:37:22but we also still have a contractor.

2:37:24About how much longer do you think that

2:37:26we'll need an outside contractor and

2:37:28what does that, you know, cost look

2:37:30like?

2:37:30>> Yeah, great question. I I think we will

2:37:33always need an outside contractor.

2:37:35There's going to be instances um where,

2:37:38for instance, along Interstate 10 out by

2:37:42510, there there needs to be directional

2:37:44drilling underneath the interstate to

2:37:47bring new conduit and power supply. We

2:37:50may someday get to a place where we're

2:37:52doing our own directional boring or some

2:37:54of those other things, but for those

2:37:55more complicated repairs and in

2:37:57particular things like interstate work

2:38:00where a large amount of traffic control

2:38:02is needed, we will probably still

2:38:04continue to utilize contractors. Now,

2:38:07with that said, I we do we are already

2:38:10and want to continue shifting from

2:38:13giving contractors all of the work to

2:38:16letting them focus on the hard stuff.

2:38:18There's plenty of that out there. I

2:38:20mean, 610 has a number of outages right

2:38:22now. I know Councilman Hughes, we're

2:38:24working at the foot of the high-rise as

2:38:26well as on the high-rise. Those are the

2:38:28sorts of things that I would envision a

2:38:30contractor would help us with in the

2:38:31future. But things like changing a fuse

2:38:34or changing out the sensor on the top of

2:38:36a of a fixture, we want to be able to do

2:38:39that in house and not have a contractor

2:38:41have to roll a truck for that.

2:38:42>> Yeah. Yeah, that would be great. Um,

2:38:45just one more thing about the the

2:38:48Council Member Harris brought up the

2:38:49street lights that have been hit by

2:38:51traffic. We had one in in Lake View. Did

2:38:55>> did NOPD let y'all know that it was

2:38:57knocked over? Cuz I think that one

2:38:59little coordination piece might be

2:39:00missing. Um, you know, I don't know

2:39:03whether or not y'all were alerted. I

2:39:04mean, I I texted you and you immediately

2:39:07responded and and got with Scott, but I

2:39:09think that might be one piece of

2:39:11coordination that we might need to make

2:39:13that connection of, you know, if there's

2:39:15a traffic light that's been knocked

2:39:17clean off its face, you know, [snorts]

2:39:19is NOPD alerting someone from DPW or are

2:39:22we waiting till, you know, I notice it

2:39:24or somebody else notices it?

2:39:26>> That's a really good question and one

2:39:27that I will follow up with them on

2:39:28because I'm not entirely sure they were

2:39:30called. They may well have been, but

2:39:32it's certainly a protocol. If you see

2:39:34NOPD, if you see a traffic mast arm lay

2:39:38or a pedestal or whatever laying on the

2:39:40street, call N call DPW.

2:39:43>> Here's a list of people to get in touch

2:39:45with. So,

2:39:46>> case in point, every time there's a fire

2:39:48under or around a bridge, there's an

2:39:50automated phone call and a text message

2:39:52that I get. NOPD could do the same.

2:39:53That's a great idea.

2:39:54>> Yep. Yep. That's all. Thank you.

2:39:57>> Thank you, Council Member Hughes.

2:39:59>> Thank you, Madam Chair. Uh, Director

2:40:00Nelson, let me thank you again. Um,

2:40:04can't stress enough your your great

2:40:05leadership and what I appreciate is

2:40:07that, you know, you you you figure out

2:40:09you don't just make excuses like you you

2:40:11try to figure out how to make things

2:40:13happen. So, I appreciate that. Only

2:40:15thing I want to um follow up on is is

2:40:17safe streets and our commitment to safe

2:40:19streets. And uh as you know, director,

2:40:22in my district, I have several miles of

2:40:25uh service roads.

2:40:27uh along those service roads are

2:40:30multiple residential neighborhoods, uh

2:40:32several apartment complexes,

2:40:35and uh unfortunately no sidewalks and

2:40:38and no lighting.

2:40:39>> Yeah.

2:40:39>> And so what I'd love to do as soon as

2:40:42possible is is is as you and and and I

2:40:45and anyone else from the administration,

2:40:48uh if we can put our heads together with

2:40:50our New Orleans East legislative

2:40:52delegation, Senator Harris,

2:40:54>> Yes. Senator Bartholomew um and and

2:40:57Representative Henry and then also pull

2:41:00Congressman Carter in and figure out

2:41:02once and for all how we can all work

2:41:04together to get some sidewalks and some

2:41:06lighting installed because as you know

2:41:08director we have people on bikes. We

2:41:10have people on motorized scooters

2:41:13>> trying to get the bus stops trying to

2:41:14get to Walmart and um you know we want

2:41:18to certainly prevent injuries and and

2:41:20fatalities. So, um I'd appreciate if we

2:41:23could work on that collaboratively. And

2:41:26then, um Lincoln Beach and Chef Highway.

2:41:29Uh we've seen several fatalities on

2:41:32both. I think the state recently wrapped

2:41:35up their traffic study of Lincoln Beach

2:41:38Boulevard, but the question is what

2:41:40comes next for Lincoln Beach Boulevard?

2:41:44And then we know we've seen repeated

2:41:45fatalities on Chef Highway.

2:41:48>> Yeah. Uh so any any plans um

2:41:52particularly for chef? Um

2:41:54>> yeah, Chef Highway is one. So lighting,

2:41:57uh traffic signals, making sure they're

2:41:59working and then also

2:42:06NOPD enforcement. Uh I know that's been

2:42:10has been helpful in getting speeds down.

2:42:13Um, but that's that is a key area for us

2:42:15to look at in terms of make first and

2:42:17foremost, we've got street lights out

2:42:18there. We need to make sure they're all

2:42:19turned on. And I know there are at least

2:42:21two areas that Andy and his team were

2:42:22looking at and then making sure the

2:42:24signals are working. Um, and then also

2:42:27looking at a traffic study. Is there

2:42:29something we need to do for in terms of

2:42:30traffic calming?

2:42:32>> Uh, that chef highway is absolutely a

2:42:34key corridor. And I and I know with

2:42:36Lincoln Beach Boulevard, the city in the

2:42:38previous administration um did a a land

2:42:42swap

2:42:44with with with a piece of land I think

2:42:45in in Alers. But that land swap, it's my

2:42:49understanding, was not going to be

2:42:50completely finalized until DOTD did its

2:42:54traffic study and then whatever

2:42:56necessary improvements it needed to do.

2:42:58So maybe when we do that uh joint

2:43:00meeting with our state and federal

2:43:01delegation

2:43:03um you know we can um get some some

2:43:06clarity. I can tell you when I drive on

2:43:08Lincoln Beach Boulevard and this is the

2:43:11consensus for the residents that live

2:43:13there and who drive that corridor, it it

2:43:15is frightening. Um it's frightening

2:43:19because it people treat it like a

2:43:20speedway. Um and and just the constant

2:43:24accidents and fatalities. So, uh, we

2:43:27really need to do something there. So,

2:43:29thank you again, uh, for your leadership

2:43:31and partnership, and I look forward to

2:43:32working with you on that. Yes, sir.

2:43:34>> Thank you, Madam Chair.

2:43:34>> Thank you, Council Member Willard.

2:43:36>> Thank you, uh, Steve. Great job. Um,

2:43:42when I was in 8th grade at Jesuit, I had

2:43:46a teacher, I think it was like a speech

2:43:50debate class. He showed us the pilot

2:43:53episode for Family Guy.

2:43:56It got me thinking.

2:43:59Uh, in one of the Family Guy episodes,

2:44:02Peter has a segment on TV called Grinds

2:44:05My Gears. Okay.

2:44:10One thing that has grinded my gears for

2:44:14a long time is the lack of striping on

2:44:18streets throughout the city of New

2:44:20Orleans. It's one of those pet peeves I

2:44:22have. And so when you talked about

2:44:25including um that as an initiative in

2:44:28the 2027 budget, I got all excited. Uh

2:44:32so can you just touch on like where do

2:44:34you even start with that project? I mean

2:44:36that's

2:44:38>> Well,

2:44:38>> you basically have to do it everywhere.

2:44:40>> Well, [snorts] yes.

2:44:41>> How do you prioritize? Where do you

2:44:42start?

2:44:44where again with that with that initial

2:44:48top-down goal of zero fatalities, it's

2:44:51looking at the high the high injury

2:44:54network, which we do have a a map of

2:44:56that. And I failed to mention two key

2:44:58goals and initiatives for next year. One

2:45:01is a street light master plan. We're

2:45:03going to assess all of the lights across

2:45:06Orleans Parish. We're also doing uh a

2:45:09street a street condition assessment

2:45:12that should and will include striping uh

2:45:15as part of it. Um the the big part of

2:45:18the street assessment that'll be done by

2:45:20the middle part of next year is

2:45:21understanding the pavement condition so

2:45:24that [clears throat]

2:45:24you don't have

2:45:25>> doesn't make sense to stripe if you have

2:45:27>> it doesn't make sense to stripe it if

2:45:29you're going to replace it at the same

2:45:30time. But there are some areas, places

2:45:32where you have bicycle lanes, looking

2:45:35first and foremost at at historical data

2:45:37around fatalities and injuries. Um,

2:45:41those areas, crosswalks, dedicated lanes

2:45:46where you have high interface between

2:45:48pedestrians and vehicles, especially

2:45:50vehicles moving at speed is going to be

2:45:53a major focus for us. Yeah, the striping

2:45:55stuff makes me nuts, too. What's what's

2:45:57made it hard this year is having z no

2:45:59cash. Well, next year I've actually got

2:46:02a budget,

2:46:03>> so we're going to spend it and striping

2:46:06is going to be a key part cuz it doesn't

2:46:08>> If you can find a paint that will last

2:46:1010 years or longer, I want to know about

2:46:12it cuz I'll capitalize that sucker.

2:46:14>> Listen, when you were talking about it,

2:46:16I started thinking about, you know,

2:46:18approaches. Somebody should start a

2:46:19company with with that type of paint and

2:46:22uh even a system to make it more

2:46:24efficient to actually lay the striping

2:46:26down. Um, but just just keep us in the

2:46:29loop on that. You know, this weekend we

2:46:31had terrible weather. Um, I drove around

2:46:34a little bit, you know, to do things.

2:46:37And, uh, especially at night, there's

2:46:39certain streets in the city where it's

2:46:42already tough to see where your lane,

2:46:44you know, ends and begins. Uh, when it's

2:46:47raining, when it's storming, it's it's

2:46:49almost impossible to determine that. and

2:46:51and I was going up broad and that's one

2:46:54of those streets in the city where

2:46:55people do tend to drive fast and so it's

2:46:58dangerous. So, um I you know keep us in

2:47:01the loop. I'm happy to hear that this is

2:47:03part of your planning for 2027.

2:47:06Um

2:47:08you talked about the the flashing lights

2:47:11in the city this past weekend. Uh

2:47:14certain areas didn't experience the

2:47:16flashing lighting flashing lights. Um I

2:47:18know a few parts in Gentilly had it.

2:47:20that I got some text messages about

2:47:23downtown like on Canal that had it. Um

2:47:25can you just touch on the the changes

2:47:28that we've made this year to help um you

2:47:31know remedy that issue and you know the

2:47:34roll out of changes throughout the rest

2:47:36of the city to you know fix that issue

2:47:38throughout the city.

2:47:39>> Absolutely. There were two that I heard

2:47:41of. So if you've got others I would love

2:47:43to see actually we've got that in house.

2:47:45I don't need you to tell me. I know

2:47:46where I know where our guys work. But

2:47:48there are two in particular, Orleans and

2:47:50Broad and Carolton

2:47:54and Orleans. Anyways, those two

2:47:56locations, one there's an issue with the

2:48:00conflict monitor. So, we've got to

2:48:01replace a a piece of the brains inside

2:48:04the control box have to be replaced, and

2:48:06that location has had problems kind of

2:48:08on and off. Um, the other one, I'm not

2:48:12exactly sure what the what the root

2:48:13cause of that is, but with those signals

2:48:15along Claybornne,

2:48:18I mean, it was it was frankly kind of

2:48:19happen stance. I drove by on a Wednesday

2:48:21and they're like those three

2:48:23intersections are in flash. I'm like,

2:48:24all right, whatever. Drove home and they

2:48:26were working. Drove drove again on a

2:48:28Friday and I'm like these same what's

2:48:30going

2:48:30>> Yeah.

2:48:31>> rained the previous day. So, I started

2:48:33asking some questions. Well,

2:48:35>> there's the adage about the frog, right?

2:48:37You throw a frog in a boiling pot, they

2:48:39jump out. If you leave the frog in and

2:48:41it slowly, we just get used to this this

2:48:44environment we're in. And and the habit

2:48:46that we had been in within DPW prior is

2:48:50that you just go hit the reset button

2:48:52when something goes into flash. It's

2:48:53simple. It's super easy, but it doesn't

2:48:56solve the root problem. And so the root

2:48:58problems with each of those four

2:49:00intersections on Clayboard were they

2:49:02were all different. So Nashville, they

2:49:04had bad splices. So, believe it or not,

2:49:08ants, fire ants will like eat electrical

2:49:12tape. So, the the ants had chewed in.

2:49:14The splices were bad. So, I mean, this

2:49:16is ridiculous stuff, right? But it's it

2:49:19is what it is. They remade the splices.

2:49:20Nashville hasn't gone into flash again.

2:49:23Washington Avenue was more complicated.

2:49:26There was a problem with the feed from

2:49:28Energy as well as our equipment. And we

2:49:30had to get like three different site

2:49:32visits out there. Um but ultimately got

2:49:35a little more a little more robust feed

2:49:37from Energy. Our equipment we got fixed

2:49:40and it hasn't gone into flash again.

2:49:42Napoleon there was a uh the line under

2:49:44the street had been clipped and so we

2:49:47had to rerun actually DOTD reran the

2:49:49wire and then Poerson Clayborn was going

2:49:52into flash as well. Well that was a

2:49:53number of different issues. The water

2:49:54was pouring off the interstate onto a

2:49:56cabinet so we had to make sure the

2:49:57cabinet was watertight and then we had

2:49:59an issue with some wiring in one of the

2:50:02bases. So each one of these requires a

2:50:05separate look, but it requires someone

2:50:07to be disciplined enough to go back out

2:50:10there and not just hit the button. Or

2:50:12worse yet, and we've finally eliminated

2:50:14the last of these, tape the reset button

2:50:17down. So we're not just going out and

2:50:19doing the easy thing. We're doing the

2:50:21hard things. But what that means then is

2:50:24we're not driving out there again on a

2:50:25Saturday cuz it never rains on Tuesday.

2:50:28It's over the weekend. So just taking a

2:50:30different approach to how we address

2:50:32those things and I mean the team is

2:50:34doing great with that. So you mentioned

2:50:37that one location. I already had a a

2:50:40debrief on Sunday afternoon. I had a

2:50:41text message from our team. Here's the

2:50:43problem. Here's what it is. This is what

2:50:45we're going to have to do. So it's just

2:50:46a different mindset around addressing

2:50:48not just the symptom, but getting to the

2:50:50problem.

2:50:51>> Okay, sounds good. Um I know the uh

2:50:54Elleion Fields right by the uh I 10

2:50:57interstate. Those those lights were 610.

2:50:59I'm sorry.

2:51:01>> Yeah. 610.

2:51:02>> 610. Yes. Sorry. 610. Those are flashing

2:51:05as well. Um, so you mentioned about

2:51:09moving to open gov and cardigraph for

2:51:11work orders. Do you know if sewage and

2:51:13waterboard is going to make that same

2:51:15transition? Because when we process 311

2:51:18tickets, when it gets to sewage and

2:51:20waterboard, you know, it's kind of a

2:51:22black box. They they use their own

2:51:24tracking system software. Uh do you know

2:51:26if they're if they're looking at that

2:51:28transition as well?

2:51:30>> Yeah, so sewage and waterboard is in the

2:51:31midst of rolling out an asset management

2:51:34system right now. Um it will have

2:51:37connectivity to open grove cardigraph.

2:51:41>> I'm trying to decide how much detail to

2:51:43go into on this.

2:51:44>> Well, I just you know if if the systems

2:51:46can communicate, that's okay. That's

2:51:49good.

2:51:50>> If we're all using the same systems, I

2:51:52think that's best. But, you know, as

2:51:54long as they can communicate

2:51:56>> and we're moving again towards that

2:51:57integration in 2028. So, that's part of

2:52:00the conversation. I know Daryl Isles,

2:52:02the chief information officer over at

2:52:03the sewage and water board is way

2:52:05smarter than I am. Uh, and he's aware of

2:52:08this and we're working together to make

2:52:09sure that the systems at a bare minimum

2:52:11have direct connectivity because

2:52:13somebody shouldn't have to a resident

2:52:16and we talked about this sewage and

2:52:17waterway. They shouldn't have to

2:52:18remember two phone numbers. something

2:52:20goes sideways, they should call 311. A

2:52:23work order should be generated and the

2:52:26appropriate team, whether it's sewage

2:52:27and water, parks and parkways, DPW, or

2:52:32SPCA for lack of a better term, there

2:52:33should be one place.

2:52:35>> Yep. Totally agree. Um, all right, move

2:52:37on to my budget questions. So, um, this

2:52:41year we had 3 million from a dedicated

2:52:44millillage, but it's not showing up in

2:52:4627. Um, what's that about?

2:52:49So DPW hasn't had a dedicated millillage

2:52:52for years, but we continued to use that

2:52:55code. And so this year we created the

2:52:59new field operations and the electrical

2:53:01shop to move that into a budget code

2:53:04that didn't say dedicated milling.

2:53:06>> Yeah, because it was confusing. Okay.

2:53:09Um,

2:53:10of the new 60 staff, uh, how many of

2:53:14those have you hired so far, Steve? Oh,

2:53:16>> those are all they've been hired. Yes,

2:53:18actually we're we're approaching 90 new

2:53:21hires across. So

2:53:23>> in addition to the 50 paving personnel,

2:53:26we've got

2:53:27>> electricians, inspectors,

2:53:30folks across, you know, EITs that I

2:53:32mentioned earlier, new director,

2:53:34secretary, chief traffic engineer. So

2:53:36we've sub expanded substantially.

2:53:38>> Okay. Um

2:53:42the field operations staff is growing by

2:53:45three. personnel budget was reducing by

2:53:48about 23,000. Can you explain that? Is

2:53:51that using some capital funding for it?

2:53:54>> That might be because of partial

2:53:55salaries. So some employees like are

2:53:58going to be working both on general fund

2:54:00and bond fund. So we try to acknowledge

2:54:02that you know breakdown of their

2:54:04personnel costs.

2:54:05>> Okay. Um and then on the the traffic

2:54:09sign side, is that the same situation?

2:54:11You're keeping the number of employees

2:54:13the same, but the budget is Okay. Yes.

2:54:16>> Okay.

2:54:17>> Um

2:54:20going through the Questica, the the

2:54:22Allstar Electric contracts caught my

2:54:24eye. Um I think it's a little over 2

2:54:28million for those. It's um I know one is

2:54:30for I think dedicated maintenance. Is

2:54:33that something that we're looking at

2:54:34potentially phasing out over the next

2:54:37year or two as we beef up hiring for

2:54:39those electrical positions?

2:54:42>> Yes. So that going back to some of the

2:54:43questions around what do we plan to do

2:54:46inhouse versus with a contractor

2:54:49>> I don't know that we'll necessarily

2:54:50reduce all stars workload in the first

2:54:53year anyways

2:54:54>> because there's it's a rich environment

2:54:57right but eventually over the course of

2:54:59the next 2 to 3 years that's absolutely

2:55:01where we want to get to is that

2:55:03>> we've addressed we've eaten the

2:55:05elephants and we're handling the routine

2:55:08stuff or better yet we're getting them

2:55:12to to do some some proactive work. We've

2:55:16all heard this preventative maintenance.

2:55:18>> Exactly. Doing preventative maintenance

2:55:20instead of being entirely reactive.

2:55:22>> Okay, that sounds good. Uh what's the

2:55:24unified planning work program contract

2:55:27with the regional planning commission?

2:55:29>> Yeah. So, regional planning commission

2:55:31uh we are a part of that group. Sure.

2:55:34>> Uh and we have dues.

2:55:35>> You're the mayor's representative.

2:55:36>> Yeah, I am the mayor's representative to

2:55:38the regional planning commission. So we

2:55:39have Kyle, I believe that's the dues to

2:55:41to RPC. We have dues to RPC. They also

2:55:44they're they're a funding agency. They

2:55:46do a lot of really valuable work across

2:55:48southeast Louisiana.

2:55:49>> Okay. Um and I know Council Member

2:55:52McCarron was was touching on the the

2:55:54traffic studies. Um, can you let me know

2:55:57what what studies we do or intend to do

2:56:00in-house versus what we're contracting

2:56:02out because it looks like we have

2:56:04funding um for you know those contracts

2:56:08but also funding for an in-house

2:56:11analysis software.

2:56:13>> Yes. So I'll use a couple of examples.

2:56:15So for the example around St. George's

2:56:17with the four-way stop, we should be

2:56:19able to do something like that inhouse.

2:56:21Um, but there are proposals for uh a

2:56:25roundabout. Uh, I've had a couple of

2:56:28folks ask me about a roundabout. A

2:56:29roundabout down by um Peters Alleian

2:56:33Fields kind of where the new where the

2:56:34new park has gone in along the

2:56:36riverfront. Well, something like that's

2:56:37going to be pretty complicated and maybe

2:56:39we could do it in house, but I don't

2:56:41necessarily want to devote all of our

2:56:43time for 6 months to doing just that.

2:56:46So, for big transformative projects,

2:56:47we're going to use an engineer.

2:56:49>> Okay, that makes sense. Um, last

2:56:51question related to the contracts with

2:56:53Fastenol and Granger. Are those tied

2:56:56into the state at all? They are. Okay.

2:56:59>> Those are the same contracts.

2:57:00>> Thought so. Okay. All right. Thank you

2:57:02guys.

2:57:03>> Okay. Thank you,

2:57:04>> Council Member Morell.

2:57:06>> Thank you. I'll be really brief. Uh, as

2:57:09Council Member Willard said, the uh 610

2:57:12uh Legion Fields lights were blinking. I

2:57:15want to bring those to your attention

2:57:16because as you said, we're trying to

2:57:17avoid traffic fatalities. that is a

2:57:20heavily used intersection and as someone

2:57:23who crossed it during that period it was

2:57:25particularly dangerous. Um I do want to

2:57:28make a suggestion and I know

2:57:33I think that what we've seen throughout

2:57:34the city over the last couple of years

2:57:36is that the public is more than willing

2:57:40to do its part to help us identify

2:57:42things like uh potholes

2:57:46uh blinking lights and the like. The

2:57:48challenge that we've seen repeatedly

2:57:50over the last eight years is that,

2:57:53and this is going to sound very bizarre,

2:57:55but 311 is both too little and too much.

2:57:58It's too little in that in order to make

2:58:00a 311 complaint, you have to go through

2:58:03the entire uh process, and that is a

2:58:06very lengthy process of pulling up the

2:58:08internet and going through that entire

2:58:09thing. And more importantly, it has

2:58:11gotten a significantly bad rap in that.

2:58:13People have made 301 complaints for

2:58:15years to no avail. And it is very, very

2:58:20hard to get the public to think cuz 301

2:58:23has been here, I believe, Steve, for

2:58:25almost three administrations.

2:58:28And even under the good administrations,

2:58:30the response time was still so abysmally

2:58:33bad that people really don't see the

2:58:36point of making 311 complaints at all.

2:58:39Now, I say that because not to discount

2:58:41the usefulness of 3 in1. I think it's

2:58:43still a valuable tool, particularly when

2:58:45you have very, very complex issues that

2:58:48are unique to your address or your area,

2:58:50like a business or residential home. But

2:58:54I think that when someone drives by a

2:58:57blinking light, their first thought is

2:59:00not to pull over past the blinking light

2:59:02and fill out a 301 complaint. So, I'm

2:59:05going to make a suggestion.

2:59:07And even saying it out loud kind of

2:59:09makes me want to throw up my mouth a

2:59:11little bit.

2:59:13We should consider using AI.

2:59:16I'm looking at Matt Willard right now

2:59:18cuz I'm sure he loves that. But there's

2:59:21a tremendous amount of meta metadata in

2:59:23a in a photograph. And even if we were

2:59:27able to use something like Nola Ready

2:59:31where people could take a photograph of

2:59:33an issue

2:59:35and that could be sent to a database

2:59:37where the metadata could be pulled

2:59:39particularly when it comes to blinking

2:59:40lights cuz they're people who they can

2:59:42take a second to turn around and take a

2:59:44picture of something that is a dangerous

2:59:46hazard. And as you said, like the

2:59:49blinking lights, they'll come on during

2:59:51the rain, but they'll selforrect to some

2:59:54degree, and you may see that issue go

2:59:56away when the rain goes by. Like having

2:59:59the ability to make it seamless so that

3:00:02a passenger in a car could take a

3:00:03picture of something that's a dangerous

3:00:05issue and that we on the back end could

3:00:08extrapolate the data from it in a way

3:00:10that is useful to DPW. That would be a

3:00:13gamecher. And so I know that we have a

3:00:16ridiculous amount of talented people in

3:00:18the city of New Orleans. I think that

3:00:20that's something that would be worth

3:00:22investigating to see how we can use it.

3:00:23Plus, hut utilizing data and that

3:00:27seamless straightforward way would be a

3:00:29way for us to also reduce some of the

3:00:31need to have people to manually process

3:00:34it. I think, like I said, 301 has a

3:00:35value for complex issues, but a blinking

3:00:40light, a sinkhole, something that is an

3:00:44immediate danger, but something that

3:00:46people are going to pass by driving in a

3:00:49car. I think that to consider that

3:00:52they're going to pull over immediately

3:00:54and look at the cross streets and do all

3:00:56that data, I think it's might be a

3:00:58bridge too far if we're going to rely

3:01:01upon that to identify these problems.

3:01:03So, suggestion. I said the A and the I

3:01:06word out loud, which I don't like, but I

3:01:08think it could be useful in this limited

3:01:10instance.

3:01:11>> Thank you. Thank you. Appreciate it.

3:01:12>> Council member Green.

3:01:14>> Thank you, Steve, again for your uh

3:01:16word. Interesting that we talk about I

3:01:20610 at Allegian Fields because Allegian

3:01:23Fields there is a state thorough affair

3:01:25as is I610. And you mentioned in your

3:01:28presentation that the city was going to

3:01:30be spending some money on I 610 I guess

3:01:33and I 10. And of course the city is

3:01:35responsible for maintaining the lights.

3:01:38The city is respon but the city can't

3:01:40install its own traffic lights for

3:01:42example. It can't do its own striping in

3:01:44certain areas because those thorough

3:01:45affairs such as Broad Street, Gentilli,

3:01:48Chef Mur Highway, Clayborn Avenue, um

3:01:51Lincoln Beach Boulevard, Lakeshore

3:01:54Drive, and the like are all state

3:01:56thorough affairs.

3:01:58I look at my CEO, you know where I'm

3:02:01going with this. So, I'm going to ask in

3:02:03a diplomatic way because the city spends

3:02:06millions of dollars on state thorough

3:02:09affairs in many in many different ways.

3:02:12Steve, I know. Let me finish this cuz I

3:02:14know where you're going. You're not

3:02:15going to be able to answer it. I want

3:02:16the public to understand that there are

3:02:18obligations of the city of New Orleans

3:02:21that are on state thorough affairs that

3:02:24cost us millions of dollars a year.

3:02:27Half of the traffic fatalities in our

3:02:29city occur on state thorough affairs.

3:02:32Interstate 10, Interstate 610, Claymont

3:02:36Avenue, and Sheff Highway in general. So

3:02:39without me getting into the deep

3:02:40politics of it, how can we work better

3:02:43with the state to identify ways in which

3:02:46the state can work with the city of New

3:02:49Orleans to help keep us safer and also

3:02:52to um reduce some of the burdens that a

3:02:54city that is always right now strapped

3:02:57for cash expends.

3:03:00>> Yeah, that's an excellent observation.

3:03:03>> That a good diplomatic way to do that

3:03:04without getting deep into the weeds.

3:03:06There there are two so there are two

3:03:09specific areas that I can point to and

3:03:12weeds may be an unintended pun there but

3:03:15we also pay for grass cutting. We also

3:03:17cut the grass along all of these state

3:03:20routes and there's really only a very

3:03:23small area that the city is compensated

3:03:26for by the state. So we're actually

3:03:28already in conversations with the state

3:03:30around making sure that we're getting

3:03:33the fair share for those grass cuts. The

3:03:36other thing is u we at at the city

3:03:38within the city are responsible for

3:03:40maintaining traffic signals along all of

3:03:43the state routes. So of the 453

3:03:46signalized intersections 170 plus are on

3:03:49state routes and the state um is is act

3:03:52we are in active conversations with

3:03:54getting the cost share corrected uh on

3:03:57those intersections as well. So there's

3:03:59two very discreet examples because

3:04:00you're exactly right. They're state

3:04:02routes, but we maintain them.

3:04:03>> And thank you for having those numbers

3:04:05because you didn't know I was going to

3:04:06ask you those questions. That's why I

3:04:07know that you're on the job at the end

3:04:09of the day.

3:04:09>> That's why I got Kyle Kyle. [laughter]

3:04:12>> Well, 170 intersections on state

3:04:15thorough affairs maintained by the city

3:04:17of New Orleans. All of the lights on I

3:04:2010 and 16. And unless I'm wrong, tell me

3:04:23that there's something.

3:04:23>> No, you're correct. The only

3:04:24>> we are responsible for maintaining them

3:04:26all the lights. When we talk about the

3:04:28down ramp of Interstate 10, when we talk

3:04:31about I610, I 10 and the like, the city

3:04:34bears responsibility for that. I'm not

3:04:36trying to bash the state, but I'm going

3:04:38to ask you a question. Why is that the

3:04:41case? And when did that start? And Mr.

3:04:44Meyers, that is a great question for the

3:04:47media to ask. Why does the city incurred

3:04:50those incredible expenses for um

3:04:53maintenance along thorough affairs? And

3:04:56I'm certainly we'd be willing to invite

3:04:58state troopers and state officials to

3:05:00get involved if they could. But what is

3:05:02the challenge with getting us to work

3:05:04more with the state? And I want to make

3:05:06it clear to state representatives and

3:05:08senators. I'm not bashing you, but it's

3:05:10just a fact. If we are prohibited, for

3:05:12example, in the city of New Orleans from

3:05:14creating traffic camera locations, which

3:05:16would slow down traffic on a Sunday, you

3:05:19go from Gentley Boulevard to the

3:05:21lakefront along Allegian Field and it's

3:05:23a speedway. But I don't have a police

3:05:25officer to put there. But maybe I would

3:05:28be able to put a traffic car, for

3:05:29example, whatever you call those speed

3:05:31cars, if it weren't prohibited by the

3:05:33state of Louisiana, by the legislature.

3:05:36Um, maybe you could just comment on

3:05:38general, and let's turn it into a

3:05:40positive flow. How can we work more with

3:05:43the state keeping in mind all of those

3:05:45state thorough affairs that exist

3:05:47throughout the city on which we maintain

3:05:49striping and also traffic lights and the

3:05:51like?

3:05:52>> Yeah. And I again I think you're you're

3:05:54spot on in keeping things positive and I

3:05:56think that's that's been the key. The

3:05:58state has not rebuffed any of our

3:06:00discussions around the traffic signal

3:06:03costs relooking at that. Um in fact I

3:06:05think they've they've budgeted if I

3:06:07understand um an allocation for

3:06:11additional monies to maintain those

3:06:13signals. I think the challenge has been

3:06:15historically knowing to ask, knowing

3:06:18that in fact they do there are 170 plus

3:06:22signalized intersections on state routes

3:06:23and we spend I mean all of those ones on

3:06:27Claybornne that I mentioned now the

3:06:28state did fix Nashville all of their own

3:06:30they were present at each of our site

3:06:32visits and very very helpful um but it

3:06:35is the city's responsibility for the on

3:06:38andm the operations and maintenance of

3:06:39those I think having the wherewithal to

3:06:42ask the questions first is where it

3:06:44starts. Um, and knowledge being the

3:06:47foundation for that. I think with the

3:06:49streets, the the street lights, yeah,

3:06:52the city is responsible for everything

3:06:54except the the the GNO, the Crescent

3:06:57City Connection from the Jefferson

3:06:58Parish line to about the Superdome.

3:07:00Those are all state controlled, but

3:07:02everything else is the cities. Um, now

3:07:04when that started, I I honestly don't

3:07:06know. It's been long before my time. And

3:07:10I know that um our neighboring parishes

3:07:13have a similar setup. Uh some of their

3:07:16lights are owned and maintained by

3:07:18Energy. Um but the state does not

3:07:21maintain any of the lights uh to my

3:07:24knowledge. Most of the lights in

3:07:25Jefferson, but you would admit that it's

3:07:27a special challenge for our city. We

3:07:30have Interstate 10, Interstate 610, a

3:07:33high-rise and long stretches of

3:07:34interstate that go through the city

3:07:36because we have the traffic that

3:07:38requires such. But when we talk about so

3:07:41many lights out, I want the public to

3:07:43understand that we're not talking about

3:07:44lights out that are on Parker Street.

3:07:46Yes, there are. We're not talking about

3:07:48lights out that are on Clue

3:07:50[clears throat] Street. Yes, there are

3:07:51lights there, but we're talking about

3:07:52large numbers of lights, for example,

3:07:54that are on state thorough affairs that

3:07:58I understand that certain relationships

3:08:01have existed for a long period of time,

3:08:03but I sure would like there to be some

3:08:05discussion of what we can do to work

3:08:08better with the state of Louisiana,

3:08:10keeping in mind the challenges that

3:08:12already exist in a city that entertains

3:08:14tens of millions of visitors per year,

3:08:17has so many properties, for example,

3:08:19that don't pay um revenues to the city

3:08:21because they're universities and the

3:08:23churches and the like. We're going to

3:08:25always have challenges, but some of the

3:08:26challenges I think can be overcome with

3:08:28more discussion. And I know that our CEO

3:08:31recognizes that because he's been a

3:08:32member of the council. He's going to be

3:08:34in a position to have some of those

3:08:36discussions with our delegation. But I

3:08:38think it's important for the public to

3:08:40understand that the city of New Orleans

3:08:42in some respects provides significant

3:08:45support to the state of Louisiana by

3:08:47maintaining lights and other matters

3:08:49along those public thorough affairs.

3:08:51Whenever I call the NOPD, they respond

3:08:55whether it's a state thorough affair or

3:08:57not because it's an issue that has to be

3:08:58addressed, but it's still a state

3:09:01thorough affair. So it's an expense that

3:09:03we incur with EMS. For example,

3:09:05Claybourne Avenue runs from this

3:09:07Jefferson Parish border all the way down

3:09:10to St. Bernard Parish and every bit of

3:09:13it is a state thorough affair. But yet

3:09:15we have New Orleans Police Department

3:09:17officers who are out there on Sundays

3:09:19near between St. Bernard and Orleans

3:09:22maintaining

3:09:24what has to be done there to ensure

3:09:26public safety at the expense of the

3:09:28city. Again, Steve, I I just want to get

3:09:31that out that when you're giving your

3:09:33numbers that it's important for

3:09:35everybody to understand in terms of the

3:09:37um relationship that exists and

3:09:40sometimes doesn't exist with the state

3:09:42that we have an interest in working

3:09:45together.

3:09:46>> Absolutely.

3:09:46>> And I hope that we will enhance that

3:09:48working together in the future with your

3:09:50leadership and the leadership of our

3:09:51mayor, CEO, and also state officials.

3:09:55>> Thank you, sir.

3:09:56>> All right. Um, Cali up in Loyola was

3:09:58blinking this morning, so take a look at

3:10:00that. Um, tomorrow is day

3:10:04four of our budget meetings. We have the

3:10:07mayor's office, law department, the

3:10:09aviation board, and municipal and

3:10:12traffic court to IGR and RCA. What is

3:10:14the timing on getting these

3:10:16presentations? We get the ones for today

3:10:17at like 3:45 on Friday.

3:10:25And thank you, Council Member McCarron,

3:10:27for correcting me. We do not meet

3:10:29tomorrow. We get a break from each

3:10:30other. We are [laughter] meeting uh on

3:10:33Wednesday instead.

3:10:34>> Yeah. Um a couple things. One, Steve was

3:10:37nice. There was uh some health issues

3:10:40with one of the people, so we wanted to

3:10:42make sure that was taken care of first.

3:10:44We're obviously trying to get everything

3:10:4524 hours in advance. If we can get them

3:10:47before 24 hours, we're going to do our

3:10:49very best to make sure that happens. And

3:10:51trust me before you ask. Yeah. Um I have

3:10:53followed up with pre people repeatedly

3:10:55to say I'm been here quite a bit and the

3:10:58council would like to get them. So the

3:10:59earlier you can get them to us, the

3:11:01earlier we can provide them to you.

3:11:03>> I I'm especially concerned about the

3:11:05Mondays after furlow days. We have uh

3:11:07staff in the clerk's office who actually

3:11:09have to take their furlow days. So they

3:11:11have to come back in to post these and

3:11:13get these online. So if we can make sure

3:11:15that um the Monday, October 19th, we get

3:11:18them in advance, that would be great. I

3:11:19think that'll be less of an issue since

3:11:21there's no hearings that week before.

3:11:23Thank you.

3:11:23>> Thank you.

3:11:25>> With that, we are ajourned. Thank you.