Governmental Affairs Committee.

Maybe he might know something about New Orleans East. Yes, Councilman. Good morning, Councilmen and Councilwomen. Dwight Jarrett, been a resident of New Orleans since 1979 and always attempted to be a positive influence in my community, whatever. Wherever there was a need, I tried to serve. My background is extensive, but insurance underwriting and property underwriting, I am an insurance adjuster. I have a firm. And we have a lot of properties that, in my opinion, that we need to address throughout the city, but for the most part, definitely in New Orleans East. I would like to bring my expertise to this board, of course, as a volunteer and anything that I can do to help move the city forward under your leadership, I'm availing myself. Thank you for your time. All right. The board is clear. Move approval. Mr. Hughes moves approval. I will second. All in favor? Aye. Four yays, no nays. Thank you, Mr. Jarrett. Thank you. Next up, we have Corinne Villavaso, another person who we all know very, very well. And this is a more robust question than usual. Why do you want to be on the New Orleans Sewage and Water Board? Good morning, everyone. I'm Corinne Villavaso. So I like to preface by saying when I got into my career, it was about being an advocate in my community, which catapulted me into becoming an urban planner and a demographer and all of those things because I wanted to get involved and so went from being a paralegal to urban planning because it was more rewarding. And my goal is to bring the same thing and that same level of love and aspiration for my community and making sure that community engagement is at the forefront and that we have transparency on sewage and water board. I am honored and excited. I'm a little nervous. I'm never really nervous. I talk a lot. I am privileged and honored to have been asked to serve on this board. And to serve, I'm ready to attribute my 24-plus years living in New Orleans East community and my years of work and dedication in the city of New Orleans, particularly New Orleans East, my educational background, 30 years of working in government, and 20-plus years of professional experience as a paralegal, comprehensive policy analysis, author, and advisor, including compliance analysis, urban planning, and applied demography. Most of all, my dignity and integrity. Thank you. Thank you very much. We all know you very well, Ms. Villalvaso. There are no questions from the board. There are no cards. Move approval. Mr. Hughes moves approval. Second. Councilwoman Karen seconds. All in favor? Aye. Four yays, no nays. You are approved. Thank you, Corinne, for being here today. Ms. Leslie Bowie. And I can tell you in advance, Mr. Green is going to have lots of nice things to say, so I'm going to allot him five minutes in advance. Well, thank you. I'm going to make this very quick. Good morning to everyone. Excuse me. The reason I want to serve on the board is because I bring a very unique set of skills. It's skills in designing and improving organizations. So I'm not an engineer, but I worked for many decades with a company that was filled with engineers, geologists, and geophysicists. And what I helped them to do was to understand how to structure and design their organization so that the work could be done easily and communication could flow effectively. So that's what I hope to bring, that skill set. Before I yield the one minute that Mr. Green now has, I've known you for a very long time, Ms. Bowie. I've worked with you in a variety of different capacities, and to your point, every organization that you have worked with has been better and has been improved by your presence on it. Thank you. And I think that when you look at sewage and water board, you look at particularly how disconnected it is from the rate payers and the businesses and services, that if you can bring that same insight, that ability to be accountable as an organization to the people you provide services for, that would be a tremendous, giant leap from where they are today, and I'm very excited for you to be on the sewage and water board. I'm looking forward to doing that. Now I'm going to yield to you, before you go away, because you have things to say. Yeah, no, I do. say thank you. You've done so much with the organizations that you've been involved with, whether it be local organizations such as the Gentilly Terrace and Gardens Association, or in registering people to vote and sponsoring seminars, certainly working with the party that you represent as the chair of the Orleans-Paris Democratic Executive Committee. The organizations with which you're involved show a lot of sincerity in terms of enhancing the quality of life for the citizens of our city, but I especially like your focus on the future of our city, and the Steward and Water Board is such an integral part of it. I'm looking forward to your ideas and your commitment. I know that you're going to be present at every meeting, or you're going to suggest that there's somebody there for you, but you're going to want to know what goes on, and that's important that you're motivated by that job. So I'm looking forward to working with you and do want to say thank you for all the work that you do. You're very welcome. I appreciate your remarks. Ditto. All right. Mr. Green moves. I second. Oh, sorry. Mr. Hughes seconds. All in favor? Aye. Four yeas, no nays. Thank you very much. All right. Next up, we have a series of waivers. First, we have David Gallo. His documents are in order. A waiver has been timely received. I will move. Second by Councilmember Hughes. All in favor? Aye. Four yeas, no nays. That is approved. Next up, we have Jonathan Stewart. I believe he's a reappointment. He has a waiver. His documents are in order. I will move on Mr. Stewart. Second by Mr. Hughes. All in favor? Aye. Four yeas, no nays. He's approved. We have Ms. Kimberly Thomas, who's also a reappointment. Waiver timely received. I will move. Second.

Second by Councilmember Hughes. All in favor? Aye. Four yeas, no nays. She is approved. Next up, we have Katherine Walmsley. Katherine Walmsley. She should have a waiver timely, too. We will check, but it's not on my list. We'll come back to that. Chadrick Kennedy has a waiver timely received. I will move. Second. I will. Any opposed? Hearing none. Four yeas, no nays. Next, I have Julius Kimbrough, Jr. Come on. There you are, Julius. Why do you want to be on the sewage and water board? Hey, good morning, Councilmembers. Thank you all for having me. I'm a member of the Board of Liquidation City Debt, and that role comes with the appointment for two of us to serve on the sewage and water board. I have volunteered within our body to serve on the sewage and water board, and doing so in the spirit of public service and good governance. I have served on a number of boards and commissions in my career, public and private, lifetime New Orleanian, deeply believe in the importance of public service, community representation, and looking forward to participating in the new beginning with the sewage and water board under the guidance of the mayor and this council. Mr. Chair, I have a comment. Go ahead. Mr. Kimbrough, thank you for your willingness to serve, but also thank you for your many years that you've served in the financial arena, in the entrepreneurial arena, and in doing community service. It's appreciated, and I know that you will be conscientious about the work that you have to do with this very important agency, so thanks for bringing your experience to this. We appreciate it. Thank you, Mr. Green. All right. Thank you, Mr. Kimbrough, for being here. We appreciate all the work you've done, and I look forward to what you will bring to trying to create an accountable sewage and water board that understands that it needs to service the people that pay the rates to keep it in operation. Mr. Green will move. I second. All in favor? All right. Any opposed? Hearing none. Four yeas, no nays. On Catherine Walz, we're going to pass over her to a future meeting. Next up, we have the Vieux Carre Commission. We have Ms. Kimberly Abramson, who has a waiver. All our documents are in order. I will move. Second by Councilmember Hughes. All in favor? All right. Any opposed? Hearing none. Four yeas, no nays. Next up, we have Adonis Exposé ABO. I have to move to add this to the agenda, correct? Okay. Correct. It's not on the agenda, so let's do a motion to add it. We need a unanimous vote. Okay. I will move to add. Second. Second by Councilmember Hughes. Any opposed? Hearing none. Four yeas, no nays. Then, once I add to the agenda, we can discuss. We can go ahead and consider it. Yes. Yes. We had a waiver that was submitted late due to some technical errors, as we're on the ABO, and Adonis Exposé's appointment to the ABO. I will move. Can I get a second? Second by Councilmember Hughes. All in favor? All right. Any opposed? Four yeas, no nays. He is added to the ABO. Next up, we're going to item number four on the agenda, which is Sewage and Water Board of New Orleans Arbitration Appeals for Discussion and Votes. I have a quick question. Do we have to move to have these on the consent agenda? Well, the ones that were timely, I believe, will automatically go on the consent agenda. All of these... Appointments. Oh, all appointments will go on consent. Including the one that was under suspension, or does that have to go on the regular agenda? No, including the one on... Okay. Yeah, all of the boards and commissions will go on the consent agenda, Mr. Green, to answer your question. All right, we have item number four, which is Sewage and Water Board of New Orleans Arbitration Appeals for Discussion and Votes. The first of these resolutions is on behalf of Ms. Sabrina Williams. Upon review, this resolution dismisses Ms. Williams' appeal because it was not filed timely. The resolution, however, does direct Sewage and Water Board to restore service if Ms. Williams can make a $700 payment, waives the penalties and fees, and enrolls her in a two-year payment plan to pay the remaining account balance. This was done after review and by recommendation by all of our respective auditors and the like. I will move... Can I get a second? Second. I just want to make a comment for the record, Mr. President, and thank you for this. Just want to make the public record clear that Ms. Williams' balance is not being eliminated, but the city and Sewage and Water Board have worked in good faith to put her on a payment plan to have her service restored should she make this payment. So, that's all. Thank you. Thank you. So, I will move, Mr. Hughes, second. All in favor? I. All right. Any opposed? Hearing none, four yeas, no nays. Next up, we have the appeal of Mr. Mark Mollier. This resolution dismisses Ms. Mollier's appeal requesting enforcement of the arbitration decision. This is because we were provided evidence by Sewage and Water Board that the credit was applied timely. I will move... Can I get a second? Second. All in favor? I. Four yeas, no nays. That is approved. Next up, we have the contract consideration pursuant to Rule 57 regarding professional services city and Canales Rojas Law Firm for specialized bankruptcy and legal representation in the state of Florida. We have the city attorney here to talk about this item. I think because the public is watching, I think this is an item of which they'll have interest because it involves a lovely frequent flyer of ours known as Mr. Joshua Slumlord Bruno. So, go right ahead. So, the property owner of the site that's generally known as DeGaulle Manor is an LLC called Grineo LLC, of which the principal is Mr. Bruno.

And that LLC filed litigation in a Florida court for bankruptcy and also filed a second action in a Florida court that was an adversary proceeding attempting to thwart the efforts to address the property and its status and all of the issues that have been reported by the residents and all of the issues that have been documented by code enforcement with the property. And so, we had to very quickly on an emergency basis source Florida qualified counsel to represent the city's interest. We did have two rulings in our favor recently. The court did affirm that the action that the city has taken and that court enforcement has taken thus far could proceed. And also, that the other adversary proceeding filed by this LLC owned by Mr. Bruno was moot. The LLC has since filed appeals in both of those motions proliferating more litigation in Florida and also asked the initial judge who rendered those two favorable judgments to reconsider her rulings. Those arguments were made last week and we are awaiting the court's report. So, this is a situation where unless we were going to be unrepresented and have these things go unchallenged, we really had to get Florida qualified counsel and specialized services in the area of bankruptcy who has actually done a phenomenal job on behalf of the city and the citizens of New Orleans. All right. I'm sure Mr. King wants to comment on this. Thank you. Thank you, President Morrell. Ms. Gibson, can you just explain to the public how we got to Florida? I think that may be a concern. Why are we now in the Florida courts if this is a Louisiana company based out of the city of New Orleans? Correct. So, this is actually... extensively briefed in Florida, if memory serves me correctly. The principal of this LLC, Mr. Bruno, chose to transfer the jurisdiction of the Louisiana LLC to becoming a Florida LLC, even though the only asset that we're aware of that this entity owns is the property in the De Gaulle Manor property. And when was that transfer done? Late last year. It was after the proceedings that occurred in Louisiana with this entity. So there's certainly some theories about why that might have been, if there's any legitimate purpose for that. And so the courts have certainly taken judicial notice of the history of the LLC, and I think it's a matter of public record as well that the bankruptcy courts here in Louisiana have also taken notice of some of these maneuvers and questioned the credibility and the motives that underlie those movements. But this has costs, or the attempt to delay obviously impacts the cost for the services that have been procured, correlated with the code enforcement action. It also actually costs us more in legal fees to have to really re-litigate things that have been settled in Louisiana. And so this is something that I think is important for the city to demonstrate we are going to take seriously, that we're going to pursue, and that we're going to do what's right in the interest of the residents of New Orleans. Are there any other comments before I speak? Just really quickly, thank you Mr. President. Madam City Attorney, thank you for your due diligence to this case, but I just wanted to put on record, over the past several months since you've become a city attorney, it's just been remarkable. You haven't had no shortage of things to deal with. But you, under your leadership in the law department, just want to sincerely thank you for your extraordinary dedication and the work that you all do around the clock. I just really, really appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you so much, Councilmember Hughes. I want to say on the record that there is a very diligent team of public servants, licensed professionals in the law department, who very much work hard and are cognizant of their duty to the citizens of New Orleans, and I'm incredibly grateful for their work. I think we are really excited and motivated to earn and maintain your trust, and have the people know that the business of New Orleans is being properly represented. Thank you. Please thank the entire law department on behalf of all of us. I sure will. I just want to, two things. First, are we pursuing legal costs against Mr. Bruno? I know it's like bleeding a stone at this point, but I would think that because on its face, this so obviously appears to be venue shopping and kind of legal harassment, that I would think that even federal judges who are reticent to give attorneys fees would consider it in this circumstance. That is a matter that we are discussing with our Florida Council because of the complication of the appeals that have been filed. We're considering our options, and certainly the bankruptcy court would need to examine what can be done in terms of those fees. So it hasn't yet come before the court where we're reviewing our options, and it's certainly something I'm motivated to review. I think I can say this. I agree with that perspective that this is immensely wasteful, and I think to the extent that we are able to retrieve those monies, we should certainly attempt. Yeah, it's certainly not a comment. I do think that the fact that y'all were able to secure such specialized and qualified counsel so quickly, and I want to reiterate to the public, once this lawsuit was filed and this process moved forward, there was a very tight window for you guys to go into southern Florida and find a qualified firm, and I want to give the firm credit because they took a risk with the city in that we knew your authority to an emergency contract is actually a very small amount of money for this type of litigation. They kind of took us on faith and credit to represent us in the first case, so I will really appreciate a firm taking that risk to protect the city, to protect the residents of Algiers and DeGaulle Manor, and to really protect our interest, and I certainly think that whatever we're paying them is well worth it.

I do want to put for the record out there, because I do it every time, since our last recent Fifth Circuit win, our city attorney's office with a little-known newer lawyer named Sean beat the former Solicitor General of the United States in the Fifth Circuit and kicked Airbnb's butt, and you can't say that because you know you're in the case, but as a lawyer outside, Sean beat them like they stole something, and I mean the fact that he did that, the fact that this corporation hired the former Solicitor General of the United States, and the fact that Sean went up there and beat this guy over such a case that is so important to the regulatory authority of the city of New Orleans, you guys really have an all-star team, and we are so appreciative of what y'all do. So with that... Mr. Chair, I have my button pressed, but I just want to say one other thing. We have a criminal blight statute, which refers to properties that have no electricity, no gas, and have obvious neglect on the part of the owner. Is that something that's an option for us to pursue? We passed these regulations, I don't think that we've really tried to go after one owner on the criminal blight statute. Is that something that's an option? If it's a criminal matter, I would have to, I guess, review, are you thinking of specific circumstance or a specific property, or just generally as a tool? We have a criminal blight statute that if a property doesn't have gas or water... The statute that I did is not criminal. I'm not aware of a criminal blight statute? What's it called? No, I mean, I think... A statute? Or are you talking about the ordinance? The ordinance we passed with no power, no water, regards the civil penalties for blight. There is a criminal... There is. There's a separate criminal statute regarding blight, but I don't think it's tied to power and water, but I think it would appear that if it's a criminal statute, not a municipal one, it would be the DA that we'd have to talk to about it. Okay. That's what I was getting at. Yeah, that's the answer. I'd like to kind of refer to that, not only relative to that, and it's up to Councilman King. There's a property in my district that I'd like to pursue, and I'll talk to the district attorney. All right, thank you. Thank you, Councilmember Green. I know Councilman King would love to move on this, but he can't because he's not on this committee, so I'll move on your behalf, Mr. King. Spiritually, he's moving on it. Seconded by Mr. Hughes. All in favor? Aye. Four yays, no nays. The contract is approved pursuant to rule 57. Thank you. Thank you. All right, next up we have motion number six. This is Curo furlough. So for those of you who know, the city has a variety of departments under furlough. One of those departments was the was the Curo office. Last week, the council adopted an ordinance establishing a new governance or regulatory structure for Swebno. Now, in addition to Delta and Entergy, Curo is responsible for supporting the council regulation of Swebno. For those of you who are not familiar, our Curo office, by the nature of how it was created and how it is funded, Curo is paid for by the city but reimbursed by the utilities. So two considerations. The CAO Jeruso directed civil service to end the furloughs for Curo's classified employees. We have one unclassified staffer as the chief of staff for Curo. We have to remove or provide the exemption from furlough. As I said, this is, as far as our financial current situation, Curo as a whole is reimbursed by the utilities, so it does not affect our overall budget outlook, but it does require an affirmative motion by us, which I'm putting forward today. So is there any commentary on that? Hearing none, I will move, second by Council Member McCarran. All in favor? Aye. That is four yeas, no nays. It is approved. I believe now I'd like to go back to item G6. We have located the timely waiver for Mr. Catherine Walmsley. I will at this time, since the waiver was timely cited, I will move on Ms. Walmsley. Can I get a second? Second. Second by Council Member McCarran. All in favor? Aye. Four yeas, no nays. She will be added to that list, Anita. Thank you. All right. With that, Councilman Hughes, moves that we adjourn. All in favor? Aye. Four yeas, no nays. We're adjourned.