By PAUL KEDINGER

Managing Editor

Mayor Jim Petitjean made a special point of expressing his appreciation at the conclusion of Monday night’s City Council meeting to all city workers, but especially Street Supervisor Foots Senegal and his crew for their efforts in securing the Garden Club Federation’s State Cleanest City title for the third year in a row.

Saying the administration thanked all city workers as well as city residents for their efforts toward building “a feel-good town,” the mayor noted, “Rayne is a good working model of what it takes.”

Mayor Petitjean also praised the four members of the Rayne High School ProStart culinary arts and food service management team, Joli Angelle, Destiny Kapp, Rebecca Palma and Victoria Williams, who became the first Louisiana team members to win the ninth annual National ProStart Invitational in Overland Park, Kansas. He noted the four earned over $200,000 collectively in scholarships.

In other business, the Council authorized the mayor to negotiate for the services of an abstracting service to provide the needed title information required to obtain rights-of-way donations for the I-10 service road between Highway 35 and along Nation Road to the entrance of the future Frogland USA waterpark project.

City Engineer Tim Mader reported the anticipated timetable is construction could begin in May 2011 and be completed by January 2012.

The Council approved an ordinance taking 8.22 acres that borders Janet Drive off Highway 35 North in to the city limits.

Council members adopted the recommendations of Building Inspector Donnie Ousse regarding rundown structures in the city, as follows:

• A trailer at 808 Chappuis and a house at 806 Chappuis were ordered demolished within 30 days:

• The owners of a house at 613 W. Harrop, 600 Live Oak and 904 Malvern were given 60 days to demolish those houses; and

•The owner of a house at 413 Sixth Street was given 60 days to make needed repairs.

The Council members accepted a $700 bid for a 1993 GMC pickup truck submitted by Fairco of Mississippi.

The Council accepted Michael Richard and Nicholas Broussard as new recruit for the Rayne Police Reserve as recommended by Commander Edward Plaisance.