Turkey Creek Council adopt millages, hire audit firm

TURKEY CREEK - The Turkey Creek Village Council, during its regular meeting Tuesday, October 15, adopted the 2013 Millage Tax Property at a rate of 6.560 following a public hearing prior to the start of the meeting.
With Village Attorney Greg Vidrine unable to attend the meeting, Mayor Heather Cloud said that she would like to table the discussion of the village’s contingency fund until a later meeting when he could be present. She stated she would like to set aside a certain amount into a contingency fund for emergency use, which will be a combination of the village’s saving fund and a portion of the proprietary fund. She recommends placing the contingency funds into a CD or savings account with a good interest rate. Cloud stated that for the next meeting, a current rate report will be available for discussion on the best option and an ordinance will be proposed. The issue was then tabled until the next meeting.
Cloud discussed having the firm of Kolder, Champagne, Slaven and Company perform the 2012-2013 fiscal year audit after learning that the rates of the current firm, Broussard, Lewis, Breaux and Poche, would be higher than originally thought. After speaking with the Kolder firm, Cloud stated their rates would be cheaper and the council unanimously agreed to hire Kolder, Champagne, Slaven and Company to perform the audit.
The council then discussed the projects for Drouet Park, with Cloud asking whether they would rather proceed with the construction of a concession stand or a stage for the park. The stand would be located near the helipad.(incorrect) The delay for the building of the concession stand has occurred because the village government is waiting for the state Department of Transportation Aviation to research if the helipad was still listed as in use in their system or if it has been out of commission. Cloud stated they need this documentation in order to cover all of their bases for accountability purposes before doing anything at the helipad. Council members Kenneth Johnson said he would prefer to have a stage for future events and Cloud added the stage could be a wonderful asset for village activities, such as the Christmas in the Village and farmers markets. After discussions about size, wood treatment and weather protection, the council then voted to move forward with stage project and set a budget limit of $8,500 for the project, with the provision of discussing any budget overages that may occur before continuing the project.
In other business, the council:
•Approved the minutes of the September 17, regular meeting.
•Approved the payment of monthly expenditures.
•Heard the financial report from Village Clerk Melissa Ferguson.