Winnfield City Council (Council) held a Regular City Council Meeting on Tuesday, March 10, 2020, at 6 PM at the Allen Municipal Building in Winnfield.

Winnfield resident Kenneth Dudley addressed the Council regarding loud music being played up and down his street. According to Dudley when there is an event at the fairgrounds or the convention center the music is so loud that he cannot stay at his home. Dudley recited an ordinance that prohibits loud music and asked the Council to please help with this issue. He stated that he repeatedly calls the Winnfield Police Department with no resolution.

Winnfield Police Chief Johnny Ray Carpenter addressed the Council stating that he has had a difficult time getting in touch with the city regarding where he should turn to if he should need to seek legal advice in regards to how he may need to handle certain issues at the police department. 

Notable business at the meeting was the introduction of Ordinance number 5 of 2020 which would amend section 2-80 of Ordinance number 1. Ordinance Number 1 prohibits the use of city vehicles for personal use, prohibits city employees from leaving city limits in a city vehicle unless for city business and states city vehicles should be parked in designated areas when not in use. The ordinance excludes police and fire department employees from the restrictions. Ordinance 5 would add electricity and water department employees to the list of employees who’s use of city vehicles would not be restricted. Ordinance 5 was introduced by District 5 Councilwoman Teresa Phillips. District 2 Councilman Gerald Hamms remarked in opposition to the introduced ordinance. 

District 3, Councilwoman Sarah Junkin made a motion to accept the transfer of property from the Winn Parish School Board to the City of Winnfield. The motion carried.

District 4, Councilman Matt Miller gave an update on the city animal shelter stating that it is scheduled to re-open on April 1st.

Ken Folden, CPA reviewed the cities financials. He stated that the city is moving in the right direction with 2020 financial and should soon be ready for the 2019 financials to be audited. Currently, the city is not receiving any state grants because they are out of compliance with state auditors. 

You can download and view the financial statement here.

To watch a live recording of the meeting you can visit the Winn Parish Journal Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/winnparishjournal/videos/637782103679234/