The Bogalusa City Council continues to tighten up the city codes and to back the laws up with stricter enforcement.

Now anybody caught stealing water from the city can be fined between $100 and $500 and/or imprisoned for up to six months, and the code regarding motor vehicle parking, stopping, impoundment and related fees has been updated.

The action was taken during a City Council meeting Tuesday.

The theft of water was already against the law, but the code now provides for the punishment of violators. City residents whose water has been turned off due to non-payment have been known to cut off the locks put on their meters and turn their water back on, or to connect a hose to a neighbor’s outside faucet.

Mayor Charles Mizell has said that the theft affects every citizen and is not fair to those who rightfully pay for their water. He added that violations could be easily determined via computer in City Hall.

The code regarding water theft also covers all utility service.

The other updates to the city code cover parking, stopping, unloading and more. All of the codes are now available online, by clicking on the link on the city of Bogalusa’s website at www.bogalusa.org.

In other business Tuesday, the council authorized Mizell to enter into an agreement with LSU Health Care Services to provide health care services for the city. It also authorized the mayor to enter into a lease agreement with The Salvage Store for two lots in the Industrial Park.

Director of Washington Economic Development Foundation Ryan Seal said Ron Feske and his son, Derrick, own Salvage Store location in Bogalusa and Franklinton as well as Bargain Depot in Franklinton and are in “growth mode.”

The facility in the Industrial Park would not be a retail store, but a company headquarters and distribution center.

Mizell later said the Feskes built the “forward-leaning company pretty much with their own hands,” and he welcomed them to the Industrial Park.