As the calendar turned to January, the Mamou Town Council Wednesday night discussed plans for the annual Mardi Gras weekend.
“Mardi Gras is coming a little early this year,” said Mayor Ricky Fontenot. “We have it on February 13. I think we have all our bands together. We’re waiting on the chief to see that he has everything he needs.
“We’re kind of ready to go and kind of got it done early,” he continued. “We try to bring in good entertainment and try to make it to where it’s enjoyable and safe for the people who want to come to Mamou.”
The council discussed how they have cut expenses over half over the last couple of years. “We always say that we don’t mind spending money,” the mayor said. “We just don’t want to waste money. There was a lot of wasteful spending, and that’s what we cut.”
Also discussed by the council were changes to the booth requirements. The mayor said, “The only difference now is when somebody’s going to apply to sell alcohol then they have to go to the sales tax office in Ville Platte to get a clearance.”
“That also comes into play with the three day permits,” said Mayor Pro-Tem and Councilwoman Leisa Deshotel. “When you go to the state and get a three day permit, the way the permits are written for alcohol is it’s three consecutive days. So, if vendors want to sell on Saturday, they’re not permitted through Tuesday. They would have to buy a second permit, and the state will enforce it.”
Days of activities for the booths are Saturday, February 10; Monday, February 12; and Tuesday, February 13. The deadline for permits is Friday, February 9 at 3:30 p.m. Information and request for space availability can be gotten by phone at 337-468-3272 or by fax at 337-468-3089.
In other business, the council approved the hiring of Johnny Freeman as a part-time patrolman at the rate of $7.61 per hour and the hiring of Jaimie Darbonne and Coreyanna Gallow as part-time dispatchers at the rate of $7.25 per hour.
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TONY MARKS