The Baton Rouge Metro Council will consider a report on the feasibility of a parishwide fire protection system at its Wednesday night meeting. The Fire Chief’s Association will present the report, which was requested by Councilman Mike Walker at the Sept. 14 council meeting. “I hope it will show us that we need to combine all fire stations outside the city limits,” Walker says. He expects the report to detail how such a consolidation can take place and what costs will be incurred. “They will recommend as to how it will be done,” he says. “Do we want to do it and spend the money? That’s where we go into details. … I’m ready to see what they have to say.”
The council will also hold a public hearing on a proposed revision to the Baton Rouge Code of Ordinances regarding animals. The ordinance, which has been deferred three times since August, would divide Animal Control into two entities: an animal shelter run by the Companion Animal Alliance, and an animal control center and rescue center run by the city-parish. “It’s sort of a tedious division of administrative duties,” says Joseph Scott with the parish attorney’s office. “There are about 100 individual changes of duties.” The animal shelter would get rate-setting authority for adoptions and would determine holding prices for strays. Read the full agenda here.
The Metro Council meets Wednesday at 4 p.m. on the third floor of the Governmental Building, 222 St. Louis St. — Ian McGibboney
Editor’s note: This story has been changed since its original publication.
