Two attorneys will try to work out a way to reduce loud music and other complaints centering on a Fifth Street bar, the Table 5 Lounge in Morgan City.

That decision was reached after lengthy City Council discussion on Tuesday, the night when the council considered liquor licenses for city businesses.

Also Tuesday, the council passed a city government budget that accounts for $20 million in water, sewer and natural gas system upgrades funded through state and federal grants. And council members heard a presentation in favor of the Hospital Service District No. 2 tax proposition that will appear on the Dec. 7 ballot in eastern St. Mary.

Police Chief Chad M. Adams came to the council with printouts of 46 complaints involving Table 5, located in the 700 block of Fifth Street. The complaints include people drinking outside the bar in the early morning hours, loud music and vehicles parked in nearby yards.

Two more incidents involve a bullet hole in a truck from a round believed to have come from the area of Table 5 and three shell casings found nearby. Table 5's connection to those incidents is a matter of dispute.

Adams said that as a new chief in 2023, he tried to find a solution that would not close the bar. That included telling the bar's management that the bar owner -- Cherie LeBoeuf has the liquor license -- that she's responsible for preventing customers from drinking outside the bar.

And, told that the bar couldn't afford to hire more security, Adams said he made plans to assign reserve officers on nights when crowds are anticipated if he received notice that a big event was scheduled. But no one called, he said.

One nearby resident, Hettie Carries of nearby Greenwood, is among the people who have complained.

"It sounds like the music box is at my front door, knocking to come in," Carries said.

Lt. Richard Briscoe responded to one of the complaints about people partying outside the bar just before closing time on May 26, 2023, when he was still a sergeant. He told the council that he has since viewed body cam footage of the incident.

At the time, with no officers available for backup and with no desire to hurt the business, Briscoe tried to resolve the situation without a confrontation.

"I was slightly disappointed in myself because someone should have gone to jail," Briscoe said.

But, from the point of view of David Ardoin, an attorney representing the bar's management, Table 5 was being singled out.

Ardoin asked whether other lounges in Morgan City are treated the same way.

"How many other bar owners did you call and say you have to call before you open?" Ardoin said.

He said the city's loud music ordinance isn't specific about the sound level and is unenforceable, he said.

"If you act in a manner that deprives them of the ability to conduct business, you will be sued," Ardoin told council members

LeBoeuf also produced what she said were letters from neighbors who said the bar is not a problem.

At one point, Councilman the Rev. Ron Bias got into a brief but loud shouting match with some of the bar's supporters, prompting Mayor Lee Dragna to move behind Bias' chair and move the councilman's public address microphone away.

Bias later apologized for his outburst.

But popping the cork seemed to release some of the pressure. And by the end of a discussion of more than two hours, Ardoin had agreed to work on a solution with City Attorney Paul Landry, possibly by measuring sound levels and setting a limit.

Budget

At first glance, the 2025 budget passed unanimously by the council Wednesday shows $61.7 million in revenue and $70.1 million in expenditures.

But among the expenditures are capital budget items including $3 million from a state Water Sector grant for an upgrade of the water system; a $7 million water program revolving loan, a portion of which is forgivable; $5 million from a federal grant for the city's gas system; and a $5 million request for capital outlay funding for sewage system improvements.

Without intergovernmental revenue and capital expenditures, the consolidated budget shows anticipated revenue of about $45.8 million and expenditures of $44.6 million.

The city expects to receive $10.8 million in tax revenue, about $900,000 less than this year.

The budget calls for public safety spending of about $8.2 million, up about $110,000 from this year, and $4.5 million in general government spending, up about $60,000. Public works spending is budgeted for $2 million, down about $104,000 from this year.

Utility operations and interest are expected to bring in $27.9 million, while utility system operations will cost $19.5 million.

Hospital tax

Hospital Service District No. 2 is seeking a 9-mill property tax to be paid by district residents. The $3.4 million expected to be raised each year will go to repairs and improvements at Ochsner St. Mary, owned by the district and operated under lease by Ochsner health.

Among the needs identified by The Grace Hebert Curtis Architects firm are sealing the building against moisture and installing energy-efficient and hurricane resistant windows.

The hospital also needs a new heating and air conditioning system.

District counsel Bill Bourgeois told the council that the building is 45 years old and showing signs of age.

The tax will also be used to raise money for scholarships for local young people going into health-care related fields.

If passed, the tax would amount to $45 a year for the owner of a primary home worth $125,000, and $157.50 per year for a home valued at $250,000. Under Louisiana's homestead exemption, the first $75,000 of a primary home's value is not subject to parish-level property taxes.

Early voting for the Dec. 7 election was to begin Friday and run through Nov. 30 except for Nov. 24, 28 and 29.

Housing

authority

Morgan City Housing Authority Director Clarence Robinson presented Finance Director Deborah Garber with a check for about $63,000 as a payment in lieu of taxes. That's up from the $59,000 payment in 2023.

Ninety-seven percent of the authority's units are leased, Robinson said, even with 10 units vacant for modernization.

In 2024, the authority performed $1 million in roof repairs, and exteriors of two-story units in Brownell Homes are being cleaned and repainted.

Robinson thanked Dragna for new sidewalks that students can use to walk on Veterans Boulevard.

Among goals for 2025, the authority hopes to raise its lease-up rate to 98%, continue modernization of housing units and partner with the technical college system to provide education for residents.