Governmental Affairs Committee.
Summary
Meeting basics
- Date/time: 2026-07-22, Start 12:45 PM, Duration 1h11m
- Attendance: Four council members present (Morrell, McCarran, Hughes, Willard). Harris and Greene not listed as present. Quorum established.
Items with decisions, motions, votes, and actions (as detailed in the material) — June 11 minutes
- Motion: Councilman Hughes
- Second: Chair
- Result: Approved unanimously
Delgado Albania Plantation Commission: Damon LaBeouf nomination
- Waiver: Submitted and properly received
- Motion: Forward LaBeouf’s nomination
- Second: Councilman Willard
- Result: Forwarded to full council (unanimous support noted; no opposed)
Michael Kerrigan, Delgado Albania Plantation Commission
- Presentation: Background in sugar industry and cross-mill connections
- Motion: Forward Kerrigan’s nomination
- Second: Councilman McCarran
- Result: Forwarded to full council (unanimous)
Charlie Richard (Delgado Albania Plantation Commission)
- Presentation: Long-serving (since 1990); explains commission’s role
- Status: Motion already moved and approved earlier; forwarded to full council (no opposition)
Industrial Development Board (IDB): Calvin Lawrence
- Motion: Forward Lawrence’s nomination
- Second: Councilman Hughes
- Result: Approved; forwarded to full council
Fairgrounds Citizen Advisory Committee: Ryan (and Nesbitt waiver)
- Ryan: Presentation as neighbor and association president
- Motion: Move Ryan’s appointment (implied)
- Result: Approved (unanimous)
- Nesbitt: Waiver noted as properly received
- Motion: Forward Nesbitt’s waiver
- Result: Forwarded to full council (unanimous)
French Quarter Management District: Michael Lowethal
- Presentation: Desire to serve and represent his neighborhood
- Motion: Forward Lowethal’s nomination
- Second: Councilman Hughes
- Result: Forwarded to full council (unanimous)
ABC Board: Craig Mitchell
- Presentation: Policy focus; prior board service
- Motion: Forward Mitchell’s appointment
- Second: Councilwoman McCarran
- Result: Forwarded to full council (unanimous)
ABC Board: Nisan Patel
- Presentation: Emphasized resident listening and fair oversight of hospitality industry
- Motion: Forward Patel’s appointment
- Second: Councilwoman McCarran
- Result: Forwarded to full council (unanimous)
ABC Board: Molly Pons
- Presentation: Supported, consistent board participant
- Discussion: Praise for Pons; noted toughness
- Motion: Reappointment
- Second: Councilman Hughes
- Result: Reappointed (unanimous)
Downtown Development District: Murray
- Status: Absent; deferred to next meeting
- New Orleans Recreation Development Commission (NORDC): Kevin Kimbrough, Sr.
- Waiver: Properly received
- Motion: Place Kimbrough on the North Sea Commission (verbatim)
- Result: Approved; forwarded to full council
City Planning Commission: Anthony Jackson
- Waiver: Timely receipt confirmed
- Motion: Forward Jackson’s waiver
- Second: Councilwoman McCarran
- Result: Approved and forwarded to full council (unanimous)
Board of Zoning Adjustments: Carlisle appointment
- Status: Carlisle’s appointment withdrawn
- Action: No further action at this meeting
Mardi Gras operations discussion (general policy direction for events)
- Speakers: Referred to as “the Grinch of Mardi Gras” and a co-Grinch
- Theme: Public safety, staffing, overtime, faster post-event street reopening
- Key proposed actions (summarized):
- Longer formation window (aiming to extend from 2 hours to 4 hours)
- Parade routing and start-time changes (particularly Friday)
- Examples cited: DATAR 5:00 PM, Hermes around 6:00 PM, Morpheus after Hermes
- Move all Friday parades to Napoleon and Chapitulas corridors
- Shift daytime start times to Magazine and Napoleon
- Parking enforcement and towing:
- No parking four hours before parades; more tow capacity and operators
- Stronger, more visible enforcement and public messaging
- Communications plan:
- Coordination with Mayor’s Office, NOPD, Public Information Office, Nova Ready
- Ongoing, season-long messaging to residents and businesses
- Safety and operational concerns:
- Avoid bottlenecks near Earhart, Carrollton
- Ensure parade formation flow and reduce dead time
- Status: No formal vote recorded on these Mardi Gras adjustments
- Unresolved/follow-up items:
- Finalization and adoption of new routes/start times
- Detailed implementation plan (timeline, interagency coordination, budget/overtime impacts)
Notes on speakers and references
- Motions and seconders specified for many items; several items explicitly stated as “forward to full council.”
- Mardi Gras discussion includes informal commentary from council members (e.g., “Grinch” references) but no additional formal votes recorded for those specifics.
Unresolved or follow-up items (as identified in the material)
- Mardi Gras scheduling, routing, and four-hour no-parking window: needs final approval, detailed implementation plan, budget implications, and coordination with public safety and sanitation.
- Downtown Development District: Murray’s absence deferred action to next meeting.
- Board of Zoning Adjustments: Carlisle appointment withdrawal; no action in this meeting.
Sparta route vs. Magazine Street issue (the excerpt details)
- Whether Magazine Street will be retained in the Sparta route remains unresolved.
- Requires discussion with the Mayor’s Mardi Gras Advisory Committee, potential input to the police superintendent, and budget/resource considerations.
Note on conflicting items across excerpts
- the excerpt records a separate item (Edwin Murray) with a 5-4 vote and forwarding to the full council, plus an amendment discussion; this item and the accompanying “closing” content in the excerpt do not align with the unanimous outcomes described in other excerpts. Treat Edwin Murray as a separate (or additional) item with its own vote, and treat the closing unanimous summary as inconsistent with that specific item in the provided material.
Transcript
Transcripts may contain automated transcription errors. Verify important details against the official recording.
Roll Call and Minutes Approval
All right, we're gonna get started, please take your seats, please take your seats. Roll call. Council Member Morrell here. Council Member McCarran here. Council Member Harris. Council Member Greene. Council Member Hughes here. We have four members, we have a quorum. Thank you. First, we have the approval of minutes for the June 11th meeting, moved by Councilman Hughes, seconded by myself. Any opposed? Hearing none, the minutes are approved.
Delgado Albania Plantation Commission - Damon LaBeouf Nomination
Next, we have the Delgado Albania Plantation Commission. Yes, most unfortunately named commission in New Orleans. Mr. Damon LaBeouf has a waiver, all of his documents are properly submitted. I will move to forward with Mr. LaBeouf's nomination. Second. Seconded by Councilman Willard. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Hearing none, it's moved forward.
Delgado Albania Plantation Commission - Michael Kerrigan speaks
Next, we have Michael Kerrigan. Come on down, Michael. We're going to ask you the question of why do you want to serve on this commission? It's pretty straightforward. I've been a citizen of New Orleans since 1966, been involved with the sugar industry for the last 30 years. I'm on the supply side, but I frequent all the mills. There used to be 22 when I started, there's 11 now. I visit them regularly. I know all the guys on the mechanical side, the mill side, some of the agricultural guys and some of the academic guys. We appreciate your service. Thank you. So I will move. Second. Seconded by Councilman McCarran. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Hearing none, you're forward to full council. Thank you.
Delgado Albania Plantation Commission - Charlie Richard speaks
Next up, we have Charlie Richard, Richard. You're Richard or Richard? Richard. All right. Louisiana. Richard. All right. So why do you want to serve on this commission? Actually, I've been on the commission since 1990, so I'd just like to stay on it and continue my work on behalf of the city. All right. I will- Can I ask a quick question? Mr. Richard, just 30 seconds or less, I'm new here. What does this commission do? I'm sorry. What is it about? What does the commission about? Our commission or the commission really just sort of oversees the money. So the rent from the property in St. Mary Parish, there are two farmers that are there now. They pay the rent. That goes into the city's account. It's earmarked for the Delgado Albania Plantation Commission, and the university from time to time will come to the commission and say, we'd like to redo the student union or like to add on classrooms. Got it. Fair enough. I appreciate that. And so they make a request. Thank you, sir. Thank you. We've already moved, seconded, and approved. So that's all we have for you guys. You guys are free to go whenever you're ready.
Industrial Development Board - Calvin Lawrence Nomination
Next, we have the Industrial Development Board. We have Calvin Lawrence. Come on down, Mr. Lawrence. Why do you want to be on the IDB? Yeah, I want to part in anything that has to do with bettering this city, man. I've been fortunate to make it out growing up here and doing good for myself. So anything to develop this city that can help people like me out, man, I want in on it. All right. I'll move. Councilman Hughes will move. I'll second. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Hearing none, you're approved. Full council. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Lawrence.
Fairgrounds Citizen Advisory Committee - Andrew Ryan
Fairgrounds Citizen Advisory Committee. Mr. Khan is deferred to August. Mr. Ryan, you're here. Correct? Come on down, Mr. Ryan. Good seeing you, man. Hello, JP. All right. Why do you want to be on the Fairgrounds Citizen Advisory Committee? Fairgrounds. First, I'm a resident right near the Fairgrounds. Also, I serve as the president of Farber St. John Neighborhood Association. So it's just natural that I'd be involved with things regarding the Fairgrounds being a neighbor. And that's about it. That is fantastic. All right. I will. Well, actually, Councilman McCarron will move. All right. Councilman Hughes will second. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Hearing none. Thank you for being here, Andrew. Appreciate you. Good seeing you.
Fairgrounds Citizen Advisory Committee - Nesbitt
Mr. Nesbitt has a waiver that is properly received. I will move on Mr. Nesbitt, seconded by Councilman Hughes. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Hearing none. Mr. Nesbitt forwarded to full council.
French Quarter Management District - Michael Lowethal
Next we have the French Quarter Management District, Michael Lowethal. Did I pronounce that correctly? Lowethal? Why do you want to be on the French Quarter Management District? I'm just excited to serve my community in a new way and also represent my neighborhood. That's very good reasons. I will move. Seconded by Councilman Hughes. Any questions? All right. Hearing none. You'll be forwarded to full council. Thank you very much, Mr. Lowethal, for being here.
Alcohol Beverage Control Board - Craig Mitchell
Craig Mitchell. And Craig, I haven't seen you in a minute. Good afternoon. I'm back. Uh-oh. So why do you want to be on the ABC Board? I consider myself a policy person. I consider myself one who likes to serve. I previously served on the Library Board, I served on the Nord Commission, and I was on the City Planning Commission, but I had to resign from that because I had a personal situation, had to relocate temporarily to support my son and his endeavors out in Los Angeles. And he is off to college, and I am back full time. All right. So moved. Moved by Councilman Hughes. Second by Councilmember McCarran. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Hearing none. Full board. Thank you.
Alcohol Beverage Control Board - Nisan Patel
Next up we have Nisan Patel. Come on down, Mr. Patel. Good seeing you, man. Yes, sir. All right. Why do you want to be on the ABC Board? I think it's important to serve my community as well and make sure that we listen to the voices of our residents, our constituents, our neighbors, our friends, and make sure that the oversight of our hospitality partners and the industry is fair and just, and we make sure that everyone is doing what's best for the city. All right. I will move. Can I get a second? Second. Second by Councilmember McCarran. All in favor? Aye. Thank you. Any opposed? Thank you.
Alcohol Beverage Control Board - Molly Pons Reappointment
Next up, Molly Pons. Come on down, Miss Pons. Hello. How are you doing today? I'm good, Mr. President. And I think that when I watch those ABC meetings, the most consistent person who's always heading those meetings is Miss Molly Pons. That is true. So this is us putting you back on the board, right? Yes. I am seeking reappointment. Reappointment. I mean, Mr. Chair, I have a number of questions. A number of questions. All right. All right. Mr. Green. Let's get going. I recognize Mr. Green. Thank you. Thank you for your previous service and for your willingness to continue the service. Thank you. Mr. Chairman, I will say for the public, if the public thinks that this council is thorough in their line of questioning, they should really look at Chairlady Pons. But you've done a great job overseeing ABO, and thank you for your commitment and your service. Thank you. Do you want to add anything, Amy? I just was saying earlier that Molly is the toughest cookie there is on the board, so she is a welcome asset to this. I'm trying to figure out if there's any way I can drag this out any longer, but I don't really have a reasonable way to do it. So I guess I'll move to keep her on the board. Second by Mr. Hughes. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Hearing none, you're reappointed. Thank you.
Downtown Development District - Murray Deferred
Downtown Development District. Mr. Murray, is he here? He's not here. We will defer him to the next meeting.
New Orleans Recreation Development Commission - Kevin Kimbrough Sr.
New Orleans Recreation Development Commission. We have Kevin Kimbrough, Sr. He has a waiver that was properly received. Mr. Hughes moves. I will second to put Mr. Kevin Kimbrough, Sr. on the North Sea Commission. Is there any opposed? Hearing none, it is done.
City Planning Commission - Anthony Jackson
City Planning Commission. We have a waiver timely received for Anthony Jackson. Mr. Hughes will move. Ms. McCarran will second. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Thank you.
Board of Zoning Adjustments - Carlisle Withdrawal
As I said, the Board of Zoning Adjustments, Ms. Carlisle's appointment has been withdrawn.
Mardi Gras Ordinance - Buddy Michoud Overview
Buddy, whenever you're ready. For the record, I know that I am renowned as being the Grinch of Mardi Gras. I would like to say that I co-hold that title with Buddy. So just want to make sure everybody knows he's the other Grinch of Mardi Gras. I'm probably the biggest, too. You are the biggest, but you're much low-key. But yeah, I mean, a lot of my Grinch-like suggestions originate with Buddy. So if you don't like what I'm trying to do, it's mostly Buddy's fault. All right, so a direction by the superintendent and, of course, the council to make sure that we get the most production out of our events and venues that we do across the city, as well as the manpower and the overtime, the public safety component. It must always change as a result of what we're seeing. So with this being said, we have a few things like the NOPD experience difficulty shifting manpower and assignments from various routes during the same evening. It was especially difficult during Spalter, moving from Jefferson and Portage's all the way to the convention center to get Pygmalion to its final destination. Things that we agreed upon to try to make it better in collaboration with these crews to try to make Mardi Gras more efficient, cost-effective, and the public safety component seems to be that we need to actually move some times up, which we have discussed with all the crew members, making sure everybody's on board, understanding that we have to make some changes to simplify for public safety, as well as making sure we're not doubling back after 1, 2 o'clock in the morning with parades still being on the street. We do have an accountability to our citizens to let the streets be reopened sooner than later. So if you're looking at it, we usually get done by 1 o'clock, and instead, with sanitation coming through and the cleanup portion of it, it gives us a little bit more leeway to get the night done earlier and everything into its den simplified. Detail will be starting now on magazine at Napoleon via Jefferson. So what that does is, since they're going to go first on that particular day, Hermes will follow shortly thereafter and then Morpheus, where we've seen our parades getting off the street on that Friday at one, two o'clock in the morning after sanitation's done. We won't see that any longer because we moved some parades up, manipulated some particular routes, and now we'll see at least sanitation coming through and the police department getting off at a reasonable hour to be doubling back at five and six o'clock the next day on a big Saturday. Another thing was SPARTA starting at Jefferson and Magazine. Well, in the past we had several parades that started at Jefferson and Magazine, as you knew, but now all five parades were over on Napoleon and Chaputulas. Moving everything to Napoleon and Chaputulas is going to benefit and strengthen our manpower on the streets of that route instead of extending it all the way to Jefferson and Magazine. That's one of the big key components to it. So daytime will now start at Magazine and Napoleon as does Babylon, right? And then, of course, you saw last year, Councilman, that we moved Muses Day, Thursday, we moved everything up. 430 was the start time for chaos and then we got to Muses and we were off the streets before 11. I think everybody was excited about the way those parades went on that day instead of one, two o'clock in the morning, and it paid significant dividends to give people back their streets earlier. And so what happened was we've seen a success. It also was a very big morale boost because the officers weren't out there all day coming back the next day early with these long days going into the big weekend. So if you see the schedule now, the only difference is DATAR is going to move to be the first parade on that Friday. It won't move to 530, it'll move to 5, which means that Hermes will start around 6 o'clock from Jefferson and Magazine and they'll butt up against our DATAR parade, which will be starting at Napoleon and Magazine right behind. And then, of course, Morpheus follows sometime around 7 or there after the completion of Hermes. Tux parade is always being stuck at St. Charles and Napoleon. They make the right turn while Iris makes the left turn, if you understand that area right there. So what we did was instead of just starting them at the time that that's currently started and just sit there and wait for an hour, we pushed it back a half hour till we can get Iris out of formation. That way it's just a constant move instead of a stop and go, Councilman. So that's one of the other things we're looking to do. And, of course, the biggest and most important thing, and we will be messaging this out for months on end, and I'm hoping that we continuously do this throughout the Mardi Gras season. Our request is definitely in the formation areas and the ones you see on your screen, Councilman. This is important that we, instead of the two hours, we move it to four. As you know, our formation starts earlier in the day. So we need to have that clear so we can place floats safely and effectively without blocking in residents, their homes and also vehicles getting stuck or damaged as a result of putting them furthest to the right as possible. We want to minimize that and open up one lane at least during that time frame as we always do. So some of the formation areas include Chappatulas from Louisiana to Jefferson, Jefferson from Magazine to Chappatulas, Napoleon from Magazine to Chappatulas. And then on the specific parades, Marconi and Orleans from Florida to South Carrollton for Endymion. On the Nom Top Parade, Holiday Drive from Fiesta to MacArthur. And then, of course, on Iris, it's Napoleon to Saratoga. Now, where we see Mardi Gras Day, everybody understands where those parades. Zulu will have to have a formation area on Claiborne from Jackson to Earhart because of the floats coming from their formation area.
And then, of course, wrecks from Claiborne and Napoleon as they come out their den. We need safe streets and we need to make sure that no parking's in still four hours before the parade. And then lastly, Claiborne from Napoleon to South Carrollton, the Crescent City Alps. What we've seen is these 18 wheelers all lined up and, of course, the shoulders being taken up by constituents and we can't get them safely over. And I'm concerned about the way people cross in front of those floats, of the truck floats that are stacked all the way down to Earhart and Carrollton. As you know, there's over 200 floats there. So, we want to try to give them as much shoulder as possible. I'm not sure that we're going to be able to tow our way out of everything, but we need to have that at least reserved for us on this four-hour days. Well, I think, Buddy, just to your point, once people realize this coming year when you start towing, it'll be a tremendous deterrent and it will be at the forefront of their thinking on these days to not park there. So, I mean, I think that we will all do what is required of us. I'm happy to work with NOPD. I know that Lamar Advertising has been a tremendous partner with PSAs. I think anything we can do going into Mardi Gras season to remind people that no parking will be strictly enforced and that we have more tow trucks and more tow drivers and capacity than we've ever had before. So, where it used to be, well, I'll park here illegally, I'll get back before they tow me, you will walk into a business and your car will be gone. So, we have to take the towing seriously. I agree with you the two to four hours is going to be a bit of a learning curve and we're going to have to work diligently with mayor's comms, NOPD comms and the council to just tell people it's going to be a much, much larger window. Well, Councilman, without y'all's help and assistance to these ordinance to help public safety, we wouldn't be able to maximize the effort. Our PIO unit for the New Orleans Police Department does a great job. Nova Ready is going to do a great job. We'll be putting commercials out for the forefront. So, I think that all of this and the assistance with y'all helping us make it be a safe Mardi Gras as it was in 2026. I want 2027 to be better and I know that it's going to be a little bit colder, but we just need to make sure we pay close attention to the rules and the ordinances that you guys have assisted us with making sure for safe Mardi Gras. Are there any other questions for Mr. Michoud? No, I just want to say I can also help. I know that a lot of the floats line up in my district in District A and we had major meltdowns about parking. So, any, you know, neighborhood associations that I can get that information to out early, very early, I'm happy to assist with that too. Oh, yes ma'am. I appreciate that and I know I worked with you last year on getting that messaging out and I'm hopeful that last year it's going to be very similar to this year. So, there was a little learning curve from 2026 into 2027, but we're just going to reiterate it. You know, that's some of the things we find along those routes that when we're moving those floats and staging them, it's not safe if we have cars parked that may get damaged or if somebody walks between them in a car. Okay. All right. Well, I think that's it for you, buddy. I appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you.
Mardi Gras Ordinance - Julia Zuckerman Overview
Buddy, whenever you're ready. For the record, I know that I am renowned as being the Grinch of Mardi Gras. I would like to say that I co-hold that title with Buddy. So just want to make sure everybody knows he's the other Grinch of Mardi Gras. I'm probably the biggest, too. You are the biggest, but you're much low-key. But yeah, I mean, a lot of my Grinch-like suggestions originate with Buddy. So if you don't like what I'm trying to do, it's mostly Buddy's fault. All right, so a direction by the superintendent and, of course, the council to make sure that we get the most production out of our events and venues that we do across the city, as well as the manpower and the overtime, the public safety component. It must always change as a result of what we're seeing. So with this being said, we have a few things like the NOPD experience difficulty shifting manpower and assignments from various routes during the same evening. It was especially difficult during Spalter, moving from Jefferson and Portage's all the way to the convention center to get Pygmalion to its final destination. Things that we agreed upon to try to make it better in collaboration with these crews to try to make Mardi Gras more efficient, cost-effective, and the public safety component seems to be that we need to actually move some times up, which we have discussed with all the crew members, making sure everybody's on board, understanding that we have to make some changes to simplify for public safety, as well as making sure we're not doubling back after 1, 2 o'clock in the morning with parades still being on the street. We do have an accountability to our citizens to let the streets be reopened sooner than later. So if you're looking at it, we usually get done by 1 o'clock, and instead, with sanitation coming through and the cleanup portion of it, it gives us a little bit more leeway to get the night done earlier and everything into its den simplified. Detail will be starting now on magazine at Napoleon via Jefferson. So what that does is, since they're going to go first on that particular day, Hermes will follow shortly thereafter and then Morpheus, where we've seen our parades getting off the street on that Friday at one, two o'clock in the morning after sanitation's done. We won't see that any longer because we moved some parades up, manipulated some particular routes, and now we'll see at least sanitation coming through and the police department getting off at a reasonable hour to be doubling back at five and six o'clock the next day on a big Saturday. Another thing was SPARTA starting at Jefferson and Magazine. Well, in the past we had several parades that started at Jefferson and Magazine, as you knew, but now all five parades were over on Napoleon and Chaputulas. Moving everything to Napoleon and Chaputulas is going to benefit and strengthen our manpower on the streets of that route instead of extending it all the way to Jefferson and Magazine. That's one of the big key components to it. So daytime will now start at Magazine and Napoleon as does Babylon, right? And then, of course, you saw last year, Councilman, that we moved Muses Day, Thursday, we moved everything up. 430 was the start time for chaos and then we got to Muses and we were off the streets before 11. I think everybody was excited about the way those parades went on that day instead of one, two o'clock in the morning, and it paid significant dividends to give people back their streets earlier. And so what happened was we've seen a success. It also was a very big morale boost because the officers weren't out there all day coming back the next day early with these long days going into the big weekend. So if you see the schedule now, the only difference is DATAR is going to move to be the first parade on that Friday. It won't move to 530, it'll move to 5, which means that Hermes will start around 6 o'clock from Jefferson and Magazine and they'll butt up against our DATAR parade, which will be starting at Napoleon and Magazine right behind. And then, of course, Morpheus follows sometime around 7 or there after the completion of Hermes. Tux parade is always being stuck at St. Charles and Napoleon. They make the right turn while Iris makes the left turn, if you understand that area right there. So what we did was instead of just starting them at the time that that's currently started and just sit there and wait for an hour, we pushed it back a half hour till we can get Iris out of formation. That way it's just a constant move instead of a stop and go, Councilman. So that's one of the other things we're looking to do. And, of course, the biggest and most important thing, and we will be messaging this out for months on end, and I'm hoping that we continuously do this throughout the Mardi Gras season. Our request is definitely in the formation areas and the ones you see on your screen, Councilman. This is important that we, instead of the two hours, we move it to four. As you know, our formation starts earlier in the day. So we need to have that clear so we can place floats safely and effectively without blocking in residents, their homes and also vehicles getting stuck or damaged as a result of putting them furthest to the right as possible. We want to minimize that and open up one lane at least during that time frame as we always do. So some of the formation areas include Chappatulas from Louisiana to Jefferson, Jefferson from Magazine to Chappatulas, Napoleon from Magazine to Chappatulas. And then on the specific parades, Marconi and Orleans from Florida to South Carrollton for Endymion. On the Nom Top Parade, Holiday Drive from Fiesta to MacArthur. And then, of course, on Iris, it's Napoleon to Saratoga. Now, where we see Mardi Gras Day, everybody understands where those parades. Zulu will have to have a formation area on Claiborne from Jackson to Earhart because of the floats coming from their formation area.
And then, of course, wrecks from Claiborne and Napoleon as they come out their den. We need safe streets and we need to make sure that no parking's in still four hours before the parade. And then lastly, Claiborne from Napoleon to South Carrollton, the Crescent City Alps. What we've seen is these 18 wheelers all lined up and, of course, the shoulders being taken up by constituents and we can't get them safely over. And I'm concerned about the way people cross in front of those floats, of the truck floats that are stacked all the way down to Earhart and Carrollton. As you know, there's over 200 floats there. So, we want to try to give them as much shoulder as possible. I'm not sure that we're going to be able to tow our way out of everything, but we need to have that at least reserved for us on this four-hour days. Well, I think, Buddy, just to your point, once people realize this coming year when you start towing, it'll be a tremendous deterrent and it will be at the forefront of their thinking on these days to not park there. So, I mean, I think that we will all do what is required of us. I'm happy to work with NOPD. I know that Lamar Advertising has been a tremendous partner with PSAs. I think anything we can do going into Mardi Gras season to remind people that no parking will be strictly enforced and that we have more tow trucks and more tow drivers and capacity than we've ever had before. So, where it used to be, well, I'll park here illegally, I'll get back before they tow me, you will walk into a business and your car will be gone. So, we have to take the towing seriously. I agree with you the two to four hours is going to be a bit of a learning curve and we're going to have to work diligently with mayor's comms, NOPD comms and the council to just tell people it's going to be a much, much larger window. Well, Councilman, without y'all's help and assistance to these ordinance to help public safety, we wouldn't be able to maximize the effort. Our PIO unit for the New Orleans Police Department does a great job. Nova Ready is going to do a great job. We'll be putting commercials out for the forefront. So, I think that all of this and the assistance with y'all helping us make it be a safe Mardi Gras as it was in 2026. I want 2027 to be better and I know that it's going to be a little bit colder, but we just need to make sure we pay close attention to the rules and the ordinances that you guys have assisted us with making sure for safe Mardi Gras. Are there any other questions for Mr. Michoud? No, I just want to say I can also help. I know that a lot of the floats line up in my district in District A and we had major meltdowns about parking. So, any, you know, neighborhood associations that I can get that information to out early, very early, I'm happy to assist with that too. Oh, yes ma'am. I appreciate that and I know I worked with you last year on getting that messaging out and I'm hopeful that last year it's going to be very similar to this year. So, there was a little learning curve from 2026 into 2027, but we're just going to reiterate it. You know, that's some of the things we find along those routes that when we're moving those floats and staging them, it's not safe if we have cars parked that may get damaged or if somebody walks between them in a car. Okay. All right. Well, I think that's it for you, buddy. I appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you.
Mardi Gras Ordinance - Public Comment - Brett Davis
Good afternoon. My name is Brett Davis. I'm the founding director of the Nonprofit Grounds Crew, which is focused on preventing waste and promoting local products as parade throws. Since 2019, we've sold about 890,000 throws to crews like Iris, Rex, Tucks, Hermes, that are all local products that have basically been private labeled for these crews to use so that we are promoting local goods, but also being sensitive to prohibiting the commercial advertisement and promotion of products. So I'm just very interested in the conversation today. It hinges a lot on the work that we do for the crews in New Orleans and around the state. We definitely want functional products to be thrown in parades because we know that functional products to be thrown in parades because they do come from local businesses. They can be caught and used, things like soap and jambalaya mix and coffee. You have a reason to catch it again, day to day, parade year to parade year, because you've used it. It's not like beads and foam footballs and other foreign imported products that are cheap, disposable, and you already have a closet full of them. So definitely we want to use local products in parades, but we also want to be very careful about them being used as promotional products, advertisements. That is something we definitely do not want in Mardi Gras. We have parades like in Halloween, St. Patrick's Day, where there's a Monster Energy float. There's branded floats with commercial logos on them. That, in my opinion, would ruin sort of a sacrosanct thing that we all appreciate about parades. So I'm just here today to talk to you about our method, which is using QR codes, where you can optionally scan in and see which brands are behind these throws and learn about the mission of a low-waste Mardi Gras. I realize I'm almost out of time to speak, but anyway, I'm here to help you guys work through any sort of nuances that you may have. What we'll do is, Julia Zuckerman, my office, will come give you your card, and we certainly want to continue to work with you. Because obviously, if there wasn't a commerce cause, I would actually just say definitively local products, but we can't. But I hear what you're saying, and we agree with you. So, Julia, can you get in contact with them? Thank you.
Mardi Gras Ordinance - Public Comment - Morgan Clevenger
Morgan Clevenger. Hi there. I'm really glad you guys are talking about this. As a person who's experienced carnival as a rider with Zulu and Femme Fatale as a member, this is really a good move. I have to really shout out to the NLPD and everything that they do and their ability to manage the chaos. The grounds crew effort is outstanding because as a rider, we know that you're there to please the public. You're there to make the people happy, especially the children. So you spend a lot of money on throws, right? But we also know in recent years, when you're tossing these grosses of plastic beads off the float, one thing we notice, a lot of people let them fall now. They're waiting for the special thing. And if that special thing can be a local product, that can be a product that doesn't affect our environment and clog up our storm drains, that's awesome. So the ladder issue, the public safety issue, the roping off, you know, carnival is for everybody. And we have to make sure that people have access to experience carnival in the public setting that it's supposed to be. One concern I would have about the ordinance or the idea of finding people and how do you identify, you know, a lot of folks, we've lost a lot of population and a lot of folks come from other places now. And they set up those ladders and rope off the neutral ground for three days, four days, camping out. So that would be the time to maybe identify some of those folks. But will they come back and pay a fine? I don't know. But this effort is appreciated and thank you very much.
Mardi Gras Ordinance - Public Comment - Ken Beck
Ken Beck. I'm here to speak on the proposed change of the Sparta route, which eliminates the portion of our route that is on Magazine Street. It is often the favorite part of our route by a lot of our members, who have already paid their dues expecting that that would be a part of the route, because there was no proposed change until now. We read about it last night in NOLA.com, although I had some heads up before that that I've talked with our board about. Just from a historic perspective, the reason we started parading on Magazine Street, and Sparta has been parading in New Orleans since 1972, we typically had the traditional route at that point, which would go from Napoleon to St. Charles, St. Charles to Canal Street, we'd make a loop on Canal Street to Basin, back up, and then towards the end of the route in the Convention Center area. When the changes were made on the Canal Street portion of the route, which eliminated that portion of our route, we were compensated, if you will, by putting it to the beginning of the route and giving us Magazine Street. Members have really, really enjoyed that. That's their favorite part of the route. To eliminate those miles on Magazine Street and simply cut us short, it doesn't seem equitable, especially when there are other crews who have portions of their route that nobody else covers either. Now, I don't know whether it's accurate or not, but what I read yesterday in the NOLA.com article was that the reason for this was because it was difficult to move the police from the beginning of our route to the end of the route of the parade that rides behind us. I don't understand that. If it was a financial issue, if it was a security issue, you know, we'd have some things to talk about, and I'd like to have an open discussion with you all about this before a final decision is made. Again, we've got people who have already paid their dues, expecting, purchased their throws, expecting to be riding on Magazine Street. And there's a different culture in the Magazine Street portion of the route. As you ride a Mardi Gras parade, you find one culture there, you find another culture on the beginning of the St. Charles portion, Napoleon Avenue is a different culture, Canal Street is a different culture, and they're all fabulous. And we don't want to lose that portion of our route, and if there's anything that we can do to work with the city so that we can maintain that, we're willing to do that. Council Member Hughes. Thank you, Council President, and is it Mr. Beck? Mr. Beck, thank you. Let me just say your comments are not lost on me, and as somebody who was born and raised in New Orleans, I know how special Mardi Gras is to just everybody here, and most certainly the crews. But I'm going to say, you know, look, from a, and this is just one council member speaking, you know, I remind people, I know everybody thinks that we as council members just are responsible for 20 to 30 to 50 to 60 different things, but the charter really gives us the responsibility for three things, land use and zoning, the regulation of public utilities, and the most important, in my opinion, the budget. Some of our decisions, the bottom line is, as you look at this budget situation in this city, we're going to have to make decisions that are budget conscious, and the bottom line is to a Mardi Gras, unless NOPD can correct me, number one, those offices don't work for free, and overtime is enormous. And so everybody's going to have to either give some give-and-take, or if the crews want to put some substantial financial skin in the game, we can certainly have that conversation. But we can't have a conversation where crews are going to be able to say, we're not going to give any give-and-take, and we're not going to put any additional substantial financial skin in the game. I'm going to just be honest, that's just not going to work. That's not what I said. I'm not going to go back and forth, but to my point, some of these decisions for me are going to be informed by the budget, and all of the crews are just going to have to work with us as we navigate rising costs and a very precarious budget situation. But I hear you loud and clear, and I agree with you, we should continue to have open dialogue, and I look forward to it. That's all we're asking for. You know, I understand budgetary concerns. Thank you, Mr. Bett. Thank you very much. Just, and Buddy, I might call you up on this. First off, the route change was required and mandated by a superintendent of police, as I understand it. So as far as a negotiation, there's not only a negotiation with the council, you're negotiating with NOPD. I asked to. Okay, number two, the bigger problem you have is that with all these routes, working with the mayor's Mardi Gras Advisory Committee is to make consistency among the crews. Once Pygmalion changed their route, we would be paying for cops just to keep your route at its current location. That not only is financially unfeasible, it is stretching the bounds of how many officers we have and how we can provide services to give you a route that no longer is enjoyed by other parades on the same night. That is not unique. You, under the current routes, based upon what Sparta wants, you would be the only one with magazine. You understand that? I understand that, but there are other crews that have portions of their routes that are not shared by anyone else as well, including Pygmalion. When you funded the end of their route. Pygmalion has aligned themselves with what is being requested. You would be the only crew that night that would be on magazine. Am I correct, buddy? So part of the issue is, when we're redoing these routes along with the times, is to provide consistency among the parades rolling that specific day to make it all the same, to make it easier for coordination, not just with NOPD, but also with sanitation. Because sanitation, we have to pick up just your portion and then the rest.
It would require everything to be realigned. What I would tell you is that the opportunity you had as a crew to voice your concern would have been through Mayor Mardi Gras Advisory Committee, which your crew captain is a member of, correct? I am the crew captain. I'm a member of that and I will attend tomorrow night. So you expressed your concerns there, right? I have and I will again. Right. And I also sent a letter to... But you expressed it at Mayor Mardi Gras Advisory, correct? Which is the appropriate forum. We haven't had the opportunity yet. It's not meeting until tomorrow. Well, certainly you can express it there and the entire Mayor Mardi Gras Advisory Committee believes that your issue has merit. They can reach out to the superintendent, appeal to the superintendent to change the superintendent's position because right now the alignment of the parades is being driven largely, not just expenditure of funding, but also to Mr. Mishu's point earlier, it deals with how long officers are on the route. It deals with the morale. It deals with a variety of different issues. So I would encourage you at Mardi Gras Advisory, make your case. If the entire advisory committee agrees with you, they can make the case to the superintendent and she can judge if whether or not that's something they can accommodate. Yes, sir. All right. Thank you for being here today. Thank you very much. All right. Is there any other commentary? Hearing none, I will move this item to the full council, seconded by Councilmember Hughes. All in favor? Any opposed? Hearing none, we move to the full council for consideration. Are we voting on the amendment? There's an amendment. I'm sorry. Yeah, I don't, I don't, are you, are you intending to vote and get this on consent? Why don't we, I'm not saying, well, if we have an amendment to it. We can't, yeah, so we don't need to vote. Okay, on the amendment. So, all right. With that, I think that clears all of our items. I will move to adjourn. Oh, I'm sorry. I apologize. We need to go back to item, uh, right F1, Edwin Murray. I was in error. He does have a waiver. It was timely received. I will move for him to be appointed, seconded by Councilmember Hughes. All in favor? Aye. All right. That's five, four yeas, no nays. Mr. Murray, forward to the full council for consideration. With that, Councilmember Hughes moves that we adjourn. Councilman McCarran seconds. All in favor? Aye. All right. Any nays? Hearing none, we're adjourned. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.
Edwin Murray - Downtown Development District Appointment
F1 Edwin Murray. I was in error. He does have a waiver. It was timely received. I will move for him to be appointed, seconded by Councilmember Hughes. All in favor? Aye. All right. That's five, four yeas, no nays. Mr. Murray, forward to the full council for consideration.
Mardi Gras Ordinance - Public Comment - Ken Beck (Sparta Route Concern) and Adjournment
We have two public comments. First, we have Ken Beck, our last speaker. You are our last speaker. Before the council, I'm here to speak on the proposed change of the Sparta route, which eliminates the portion of our route that is on Magazine Street. It is often the favorite part of our route by a lot of our members, who have already paid their dues expecting that that would be a part of the route, because there was no proposed change until now. We read about it last night in NOLA.com, although I had some heads up before that that I've talked with our board about. Just from a historic perspective, the reason we started parading on Magazine Street, and Sparta has been parading in New Orleans since 1972, we typically had the traditional route at that point, which would go from Napoleon to St. Charles, St. Charles to Canal Street, we'd make a loop on Canal Street to Basin, back up, and then towards the end of the route in the Convention Center area. When the changes were made on the Canal Street portion of the route, which eliminated that portion of our route, we were compensated, if you will, by putting it to the beginning of the route and giving us Magazine Street. Members have really, really enjoyed that. That's their favorite part of the route. To eliminate those miles on Magazine Street and simply cut us short, it doesn't seem equitable, especially when there are other crews who have portions of their route that nobody else covers either. Now, I don't know whether it's accurate or not, but what I read yesterday in the NOLA.com article was that the reason for this was because it was difficult to move the police from the beginning of our route to the end of the route of the parade that rides behind us. I don't understand that. If it was a financial issue, if it was a security issue, you know, we'd have some things to talk about, and I'd like to have an open discussion with you all about this before a final decision is made. Again, we've got people who have already paid their dues, expecting, purchased their throws, expecting to be riding on Magazine Street. And there's a different culture in the Magazine Street portion of the route. As you ride a Mardi Gras parade, you find one culture there, you find another culture on the beginning of the St. Charles portion, Napoleon Avenue is a different culture, Canal Street is a different culture, and they're all fabulous. And we don't want to lose that portion of our route, and if there's anything that we can do to work with the city so that we can maintain that, we're willing to do that. Council Member Hughes. Thank you, Council President, and is it Mr. Beck? Mr. Beck, thank you. Let me just say your comments are not lost on me, and as somebody who was born and raised in New Orleans, I know how special Mardi Gras is to just everybody here, and most certainly the crews. But I'm going to say, you know, look, from a, and this is just one council member speaking, you know, I remind people, I know everybody thinks that we as council members just are responsible for 20 to 30 to 50 to 60 different things, but the charter really gives us the responsibility for three things, land use and zoning, the regulation of public utilities, and the most important, in my opinion, the budget. Some of our decisions, the bottom line is, as you look at this budget situation in this city, we're going to have to make decisions that are budget conscious, and the bottom line is to a Mardi Gras, unless NOPD can correct me, number one, those offices don't work for free, and overtime is enormous. And so everybody's going to have to either give some give-and-take, or if the crews want to put some substantial financial skin in the game, we can certainly have that conversation. But we can't have a conversation where crews are going to be able to say, we're not going to give any give-and-take, and we're not going to put any additional substantial financial skin in the game. I'm going to just be honest, that's just not going to work. That's not what I said. I'm not going to go back and forth, but to my point, some of these decisions for me are going to be informed by the budget, and all of the crews are just going to have to work with us as we navigate rising costs and a very precarious budget situation. But I hear you loud and clear, and I agree with you, we should continue to have open dialogue, and I look forward to it. That's all we're asking for. You know, I understand budgetary concerns. Thank you, Mr. Bett. Thank you very much. Just, and Buddy, I might call you up on this. First off, the route change was required and mandated by a superintendent of police, as I understand it. So as far as a negotiation, there's not only a negotiation with the council, you're negotiating with NOPD. I asked to. Okay, number two, the bigger problem you have is that with all these routes, working with the mayor's Mardi Gras Advisory Committee is to make consistency among the crews. Once Pygmalion changed their route, we would be paying for cops just to keep your route at its current location. That not only is financially unfeasible, it is stretching the bounds of how many officers we have and how we can provide services to give you a route that no longer is enjoyed by other parades on the same night. That is not unique. You, under the current routes, based upon what Sparta wants, you would be the only one with magazine. You understand that? I understand that, but there are other crews that have portions of their routes that are not shared by anyone else as well, including Pygmalion. When you funded the end of their route. Pygmalion has aligned themselves with what is being requested. You would be the only crew that night that would be on magazine.
Am I correct, buddy? So part of the issue is, when we're redoing these routes along with the times, is to provide consistency among the parades rolling that specific day to make it all the same, to make it easier for coordination, not just with NOPD, but also with sanitation. Because sanitation, we have to pick up just your portion and then the rest. It would require everything to be realigned. What I would tell you is that the opportunity you had as a crew to voice your concern would have been through Mayor Mardi Gras Advisory Committee, which your crew captain is a member of, correct? I am the crew captain. I'm a member of that and I will attend tomorrow night. So you expressed your concerns there, right? I have and I will again. Right. And I also sent a letter to... But you expressed it at Mayor Mardi Gras Advisory, correct? Which is the appropriate forum. We haven't had the opportunity yet. It's not meeting until tomorrow. Well, certainly you can express it there and the entire Mayor Mardi Gras Advisory Committee believes that your issue has merit. They can reach out to the superintendent, appeal to the superintendent to change the superintendent's position because right now the alignment of the parades is being driven largely, not just expenditure of funding, but also to Mr. Mishu's point earlier, it deals with how long officers are on the route. It deals with the morale. It deals with a variety of different issues. So I would encourage you at Mardi Gras Advisory, make your case. If the entire advisory committee agrees with you, they can make the case to the superintendent and she can judge if whether or not that's something they can accommodate. Yes, sir. All right. Thank you for being here today. Thank you very much. All right. Is there any other commentary? Hearing none, I will move this item to the full council, seconded by Councilmember Hughes. All in favor? Any opposed? Hearing none, we move to the full council for consideration. Are we voting on the amendment? There's an amendment. I'm sorry. Yeah, I don't, I don't, are you, are you intending to vote and get this on consent? Why don't we, I'm not saying, well, if we have an amendment to it. We can't, yeah, so we don't need to vote. Okay, on the amendment. So, all right. With that, I think that clears all of our items. I will move to adjourn. Oh, I'm sorry. I apologize. We need to go back to item, uh, right F1, Edwin Murray. I was in error. He does have a waiver. It was timely received. I will move for him to be appointed, seconded by Councilmember Hughes. All in favor? Aye. All right. That's five, four yeas, no nays. Mr. Murray, forward to the full council for consideration. With that, Councilmember Hughes moves that we adjourn. Councilman McCarran seconds. All in favor? Aye. All right. Any nays? Hearing none, we're adjourned. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.