Businessman David Meaux Tuesday morning asked Orange City Council to put the city’s nativity scene on a meeting agenda and have a public vote to keep the Christian symbol at city hall.
Also during the meeting, District 1 Councilor Pat Pullen commended the Orange Police Department for catching burglars and robbers. However, he said, the district attorneys and the judges need to do their jobs to keep criminals off the streets.
Meaux, when talking about the nativity, said he has contacted the governor, U.S. Representative Brian Babin and State Representative Dade Phelan and Senator Robert Nichols. All said the city could continue to put the manger on public property.
“You have every right to display a nativity,” he told the council.
City Manager Shawn Oubre in December issued a media release saying the city decided to remove the nativity rather than put up a banner requested by the Orange County Atheists. The nativity was moved to the adjacent Stark Park, which is private property owned by the Stark Foundation.
Meaux said the community wants the nativity at city hall. He pointed out that a court decision recently upheld the right of the Kountze cheerleaders to display Christian signs and banners and football games.
“Please don’t let the voice of one group drown out” the will of the people, he said to the council.
The council members could not respond because Meaux spoke during the citizen comments time and the subject was not on the posted agenda.
Meaux is president and CEO of Sabine Federal Credit Union and is also a member of the board of the city’s Economic Development Corporation.
Councilor Pullen spoke during the council comments part of the meeting. He is a retired captain from the Orange Police Department. “Our police department is doing an excellent job catching these burglars and robbers,” he said. He said the district attorneys and judges also need to do their jobs. “If you do see your district attorney or your judge, tell them” we want to keep Orange free from crime, he said.
The council unanimously approved the replatting of individual lots on 16th Street into one lot. The land is now a strip commercial center now known as Putnam Plaza at the corner of Putnam and 16th Streets. The owner of the land requested the move.
Also, the council voted for the city to get a contract with the Stark Foundation to install promotional banners on approximately 15 light poles on 16th Street. The foundation will pay for the banners.
The council met in closed-door executive session to discuss a lawsuit filed against the city and individual council members concerning vote to move city hall from downtown to 16th Street. The closed-door session lasted about an hour but no action was taken.
The council in January unanimously voted to buy the First Financial Bank building to turn into city hall. The bank will build a new building on nearby vacant land. The vote came after months of closed-door meetings about the city hall campus. A local non-profit group Historic Orange Preservation Empowerment (HOPE), and lawyer Leslie Barras, who lives in the Old Orange Historic District, filed a lawsuit to stop the city from buying the building and moving city hall.
City Manager Shawn Oubre told the council the city needs to buy a new pumper fire truck. The purchase is included in the current city budget. He asked whether the council wants to have a separate workshop to discuss the truck or whether to include the purchase in a regularly-scheduled meeting.
-Margaret Toal, KOGT-
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