BREC Foundation

Park Places

rsagency — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 20:40:45 +0000

Baton Rouge Business Report
By Stephanie Riegel
Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Shortly after voters approved a 2.53-mill property tax in 2004 to fund a $70 million building program for the parish’s recreation department, then-Superintendent Mark Thornton wanted to see “a lot of early completion of projects” called for in the BREC master plan.

But nearly six years later, just three of the 12 signature parks are completed and open to the public. Three more parks are scheduled to be finished by the end of this year, and four others are in various stages of construction.

Those parks that have been completed have won rave reviews, and BREC officials say they’re pleased with the progress they’ve made implementing the Imagine Your Parks plan.

“I feel like we’re going along at a good pace,” says Assistant Superintendent Ted Jack, who oversees the building program.

But some taxpayers are growing impatient, and they say a 25% completion rate isn’t terribly impressive six years into the program. At least one former BREC commissioner agrees.

“It does bother me that here we are six years into this, and they sold bonds so we could get the money to move on this, and it hasn’t been done,” says Carroll Breeden, who was a BREC commissioner from 2000-06. “I’m not saying there’s been any misuse of funds, but when you say you’re going to do something with tax dollars, you’ve got to do it.”

: ON COURSE: The $7.5 million overhaul of City-Brooks Community Park included the rehabilitation of the historic 9-hole golf course and artistic touches for BREC’s urban, flagship park.

BREC officials concede that construction is taking longer than they initially hoped. But they say damage from two hurricanes, post-Katrina cost increases, and difficulty identifying and acquiring sites for some of the parks have made delays inevitable.

“Stuff came up that was beyond our control,” says Bert Neal, who was BREC’s head of recreation when the tax was passed and now serves as a BREC commissioner. “I know some people are probably upset it’s taking so long, but to get everything done that we promised, we had to go a little slower.”

A lot was promised in Imagine Your Parks, specifically 12 signature or community parks that would be strategically located throughout East Baton Rouge Parish. The idea was to create a model system that would put every parish resident within a 10-minute drive of a major park with green space and state-of-the-art recreational facilities. Some of the projects involved thorough overhauls of existing parks; others were to be developed from raw land.

The issue was not terribly popular with voters, in part because just months earlier they’d renewed another millage to fund BREC’s $40 million capital improvements plan, whose projects would be implemented simultaneously with construction of the signature parks. BREC commissioners also were divided on the new plan and tended to generate controversy, which led to mistrust among voters. In the end, the 20-year tax to fund Imagine Your Parks passed by 1,800 votes.

BREC administrators were eager to get started on the projects. They sold $40 million worth of bonds to raise cash so they could begin work on several projects simultaneously. It wasn’t a bad idea, and it would’ve worked, except for several unexpected problems.

First, Hurricane Katrina struck southeast Louisiana in August 2005. That put everything on hold for several months while the parish dealt with evacuees, traffic jams and the long-term consequences of the storm. Then, the price of construction labor and materials dramatically increased.

For BREC, that meant a 20% to 30% increase to costs associated with Imagine Your Parks projects. As a result, some projects were scaled back, and others were put on hold.

“We saw how much materials and labor were going to cost us, and we had to step back and let some of that high tide pass,” Neal says. “In the end, it really did save lots and lots of money. But that’s really the main reason it’s falling behind now.”

In fall 2008, Hurricane Gustav dealt another blow to the plan. One of every three trees in East Baton Rouge Parish was destroyed, and BREC sustained more than $4 million in damage to its parks and facilities. Though the Federal Emergency Management Agency ultimately covered 90% of BREC’s costs, the cleanup lasted for several months.

“If we hadn’t had any of that, we’d probably have three or four more community parks open by now,” BREC Chairman Bill Benedetto says. “It’s hard to say.”

Given those circumstances, BREC officials say they’re proud of where they are today.

Three signature parks are finished and open to the public: City-Brooks Community Park, which cost $7.5 million and included a complete overhaul of the historic, 9-hole golf course; Anna T. Jordan Community Park in Scotlandville, which cost $1.95 million; and Howell Community Park in north Baton Rouge, which cost $2.76 million.

Three other parks are scheduled for completion by the end of the year. Forest Community Park, on South Harrell’s Ferry Road in the eastern part of the parish, should be finished this fall. The overhaul has cost $5.27 million and includes a renovated tennis facility that will open next month, ahead of the park.

The first phase of Zachary Community Park, on La. Highway 964, should be completed later this month or early next month. The first phase, which cost more than $2.8 million, includes all park amenities except the recreation center, which is scheduled for construction next year.

One of the more noteworthy parks in the plan, the Perkins Road Community Park, is scheduled to open on Oct. 16. The site has been converted into an extreme sports park complex, including a BMX track, skate park and rock-climbing tower, at a cost of more than $5.1 million.

Of the other six parks outlined in Imagine Your Parks, four are in various stages of construction. At Greenwood Community Park in Baker, the multi-purpose center is under construction and site improvements are under way, with a spring 2011 completion date. Highland Road Community Park also is expected to be finished next year; the park has remained open throughout its overhaul, with improvements taking place piecemeal.

North Sherwood Forest Community Park is open on the site of the former Federal Sharp Station Depot, but work has been slow. BREC officials say it has been hampered by the fact that FEMA, which previously owned the warehouse on the property, still uses the facility. No date has been set for completion.

The $6.6 million Family Aquatic Center at Independence Community Park also is under construction. The facility, which is scheduled to open Memorial Day 2011, will include water slides, a lazy river, splash pads and sand volleyball courts.

“There’s been a change in aquatics over the years, and most of our BREC pools were built in the 1960s or 1970s,” Jack says. “Kids aren’t playing in those anymore. This park brings it to a whole new level.”

The final two parks in the plan arguably give critics the most ammunition when they complain about the pace of progress in realizing Imagine Your Parks. Hooper Road Sports Park, which will be the primary community park for Central, is scheduled go out on bid. The project has a slower timetable because BREC didn’t acquire land for the park until spring 2009.

“When you’re going to acquire new land, it’s hard to find people who want to sell,” BREC Commissioner Bettsie Baker Miller says. “Locating and paying for property has been very difficult for us.”

That’s also the reason no site exists for Northeast Community Park, which is planned for the northeast part of the parish. BREC officials continue to search for an appropriate, affordable location.

Assuming BREC stays on its current schedule and completes three more signature parks this year and at least three more next year, Imagine Your Parks will be 75% complete within seven years of the election. Still, critics say that rate falls short of what voters were told in 2004.

Breeden recalls a timeline that Thornton presented at a meeting of BREC commissioners. The timeline called for the completion of most parks within five years.

“I don’t know if it was an official timeline,” Breeden says. “But it was a goal that Thornton had.”

BREC officials say there never was an official timetable for all projects to be completed. They say that rushing the projects would not be in the best interest of the agency or taxpayers.

“There’s a problem with going too fast, because you start getting bad-quality work,” Jack says. “I’ve gone around the country looking at parks, and they may have the same amenities, but if they don’t have the right design they don’t work. And if you rush you end up with something that doesn’t work.”

Ultimately, a more useful question to ask is not whether BREC is moving quickly enough, but whether taxpayers are getting what they want. Anecdotal evidence would suggest they are. Detailed plans for the parks were put together with considerable input from the community, and BREC officials say they constantly receive positive reactions from park users.

“I get a lot of feedback from people who really like what we’re doing,” says Benedetto. “People love City Park—it’s a home run—and Howell Park, too. That kind of feedback lets you know you’re going in the right direction.”

But anecdotal evidence is easier to come by than hard data. Though BREC has some statistics on usage, those numbers are not put into context or measured against what other cities are doing, a shortcoming that frustrates at least one BREC commissioner.

“It’s very difficult to get data,” Miller says. “I constantly ask for data to benchmark better how we’re doing so we can see how we compare to other systems similar to ours.”

That’s important not just in terms of the Imagine Your Parks plan, but in connection with BREC’s other parks, programs and facilities. Does the agency, for instance, really need seven golf courses when usage at golf courses nationally is down, and when the public is clamoring for more walking and bicycling trails that connect parks and neighborhoods throughout the metropolitan area? And are the agency’s facilities and programs as effective as they could be, relative to what comparable cities are doing?

“I want to know what they’re doing in San Antonio and St. Paul,” Miller says. “Is there a way to get southern averages for systems like ours, so we know how we’re doing?”

Benedetto acknowledges that some commissioners would like to see more data. But, he says, he believes the community is pleased with what BREC is doing.

“While we don’t have the exact numbers and figures, we get a good indication from the public on how they feel about these facilities,” he says. “People are using our parks and enjoying them.”

IMAGINE THESE PARKS

Anna T. Jordan Community Park
Location: Stilt Street
Size: 40.2 acres
Status: Open
Defining characteristics: Ball fields, playground, recreation center, swimming pool, tennis courts

City-Brooks Community Park
Location: City Park Avenue
Size: 147.5 acres [City Park]; 5.65 acres [Brooks Park]
Status: Open
Defining characteristics: Historic 9-hole golf course, dog park, tennis center

Forest Community Park
Location: South Harrell’s Ferry Road
Size: 114.3 acres
Status: Under construction; fall completion date
Defining characteristics: Ball fields, dog park, playground, recreation center, soccer fields, tennis center

Greenwood Community Park
Location: La. Highway 19, Baker
Size: 390 acres
Status: Under construction
Defining characteristics: 30-acre fishing lake, 18-hole golf course, 18-hole disc golf course, hiking trails, model-boat launch, tennis courts

Highland Road Community Park
Location: Highland Road
Size: 144 acres
Status: Under construction
Defining characteristics: Ball fields, disc golf course, observatory, playground, recreation center, tennis courts

Hooper Road Sports Park
Location: Hooper Road, Central
Size: Not available
Status: Design work complete
Defining Characteristics: Ball fields, fishing lake, nature trails, soccer fields

Howell Community Park
Location: Winbourne Avenue
Size: 114.5 acres
Status: Open
Defining characteristics: Ball field, 18-hole golf course, sand volleyball courts, swimming pool, tennis courts

Independence Community Park
Location: Independence Boulevard
Size: 96 acres
Status: Family Aquatic Center scheduled to open April 2011
Defining characteristics: Aquatics center with water slides, a lazy river, splash pads and sand volleyball courts; ball fields, botanical gardens, children’s forest, model airplane field, theater and cultural center

Northeast Community Park
Location: Central
Size: Not available
Status: No site has been selected or acquired
Defining characteristics: Not available

North Sherwood Forest Community Park
Location: North Sherwood Forest Drive
Size: Not available
Status: Partially under construction
Defining characteristics: Ball fields, fishing lake, indoor playground, fitness room, virtual park, walking track

Perkins Road Community Park
Location: Perkins Road
Size: Not available
Status: Under construction; October completion date
Defining characteristics: BMX bike path, climbing wall, skateboard park, velodrome

Zachary Community Park
Location: La. Highway 964
Size: Not available
Status: Under construction; September completion date
Defining characteristics: Not available

SOURCE: BREC

Imagine your trail

rsagency — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 14:37:49 +0000

Baton Rouge Business Report

By Emma James

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Exercising along the northern and eastern sides of City Park Lake can be a risky activity.

The western and southern sides of the lake boast an asphalt path along Dalrymple Drive and May Street; people who are walking, running or biking along East Lakeshore Drive on the northern and eastern sides of the lake must share the road with motorized vehicles.

As Cornelius Coleman can attest, people working out must do so warily.

Coleman, 32, runs at City Park Lake and University Lake twice a week. Since running on the road has its hazards, he supports the construction of paths around the lakes.

“I go around with much more situational awareness,” he says. “There are areas where cars come around and can’t see you. Some care, some don’t. You really have to pay attention.”

What can BREC, which owns City Park Lake, do about the situation?

Nothing, for now. There are no funds available to complete the path around the lake, which means people who exercise there will continue to navigate the vehicular traffic hazards.

“The community has already said, ‘We want to invest a lot in recreation,’” says Ted Jack, assistant superintendent for BREC. “Even though we’re able to do a lot, there are still projects all over the parish that would be great to do, but are beyond the funds that are available.”

Jack says BREC invested more than $6 million in City-Brooks Community Park, including rehabilitation of the existing 9-hole golf course, a new tennis center and tennis courts, a new dog park, new playgrounds with restrooms, new picnic areas, new walking trails and bike paths, a new labyrinth and display areas for public art.

The renovation, which was completed in May 2008, transformed the historic urban park, and usage has increased exponentially since it reopened. BREC acknowledges the safety concerns, and it has made efforts to address places where people and vehicles are in close proximity.

“I don’t think people stopped imagining what they could do with parks,” says Kristi Williams, communications director for BREC. “They’re going to continue to ask for more, more, more. They are pleased with what they are seeing and are encouraged by that.”

Two portions of the park’s initial design—a site marked “destination facility” between Washington Street and the Dalrymple Drive on and off ramps to Interstate 10, and a boathouse and café on East Lakeshore Drive east of Dalrymple—were tabled because of a lack of funding.

In April, the BREC Commission voted in favor of an agreement that donates the land intended for a destination facility to the Knock Knock Children’s Museum and identified the museum as the operator of the proposed 20,000-square-foot facility. BREC also contributed $3 million from a reserve fund to the museum, which needs an additional $3 million in order to break ground by the end of the year.

But if money exists to fund a children’s museum in the park, some people have queried, why can’t there be an investment in bike and walking paths around the lake? Jack says the museum will benefit East Baton Rouge Parish while also fitting in with the original vision of City Park.

“It’s a very strong project,” he says. “It’s a strong, important piece that’s really going to work well for the whole parish. Everyone is going to be able to benefit from this facility.”

BREC is funded primarily by the Imagine Your Parks tax, which was passed in 2004. In surveys leading up to its passage, 85% of respondents listed bike and walking paths as a priority. But BREC also pledged dedicated tax monies to 11 other community parks, three of which are scheduled to open by the end of the year.

Any extra funding, Jack says, would come from the BREC Foundation.

“At this point, we are looking for extra donations to do these kinds of projects,” he says. “There’s not enough BREC funds to do it by ourselves.”

The BREC Foundation raises money by soliciting donations from people or companies interested in contributing to specific projects. The foundation has identified 14 signature projects for which it wants to raise funds in its ongoing campaign. Bike and walking paths around City Park Lake are on the list, as are the boathouse from the City-Brooks Community Park master plan and the dredging of the lakes.

But the foundation has not approached potential donors, says Executive Director Carl Stages Jr., although it compiled a list of people and companies it wants to target.

A steering committee consisting of representatives of three owners of the lakes that stretch from City Park to LSU’s John M. Parker Agricultural Center—BREC, LSU and the city-parish—could spearhead fund-raising efforts if there is enough interest, Stages says.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that such interest exists. The lakes have often been called “the heart of Baton Rouge”—and some donors have given large amounts to improve the surrounding area. For example, developer Mike Wampold contributed funds to restore and improve Baton Rouge Beach off Stanford Avenue, an area that was renamed for his grandfather.

But no one has stepped forward to lead a fund-raising effort for City Park Lake walking paths or all of the lakes in general, Stages says.

“We want to find a champion to lead the project and raise the funds,” he says. “We haven’t found one yet, but we hope to.”

Susan Hayden, the co-founder of the biannual female triathlon Rocket Chix, says the lakes are a draw for exercise enthusiasts of all kinds. City Park Lake is known as a child-friendly place to bike, a reputation she attributes to BREC’s work in the area.

“BREC’s initiative is great,” she says. “I think we take for granted the fantastic opportunities that other cities don’t have. My opinion of their investment in that area is pretty high.”

Hayden says her biggest concern in the lakes system is a short section along Stanford between East Lakeshore Drive and South Lakeshore Drive, where bikers, runners and walkers must share a narrow sidewalk next to the busy four-lane road.

“I am concerned about that,” she says. “I’d like for something to be done. While there has been some improvement in that area, it’s a ticking time bomb waiting to happen.”

While there has been an arrangement with DPW to pave the existing path along Dalrymple Drive, the rest of City Park Lake falls under BREC’s jurisdiction. There are plans to revamp an existing stretching station on May Street, which is on the foundation’s list but also has no current funding. BREC has also made efforts to address “pinch points,” or places where exercisers and traffic share the road, most notably with signs and other identifying marks.

But in the end, BREC is responsible for all community and neighborhood parks in the city-parish, Jack says. And that means there is little extra funding because so many needs exist, and they vary from place to place.

“There’s always a wish you had more resources,” he says. “There are a lot of different recreational items to provide to the community. Some people’s bread and butter is different than others.”

Cane’s goes to the dogs again.

rsagency — Thu, 06 May 2010 15:09:43 +0000

Cane’s goes to the dogs again

Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers is helping to establish another dog park named after founder Todd Graves’ longtime pet and the famed mascot of popular chain eatery. Cane’s donated $70,000 to help fund the $3.2 million improvement project at BREC’s Greenwood Community Park. This will be third Cane’s-sponsored dog park to open in Louisiana, including the green space located in City-Brooks Park on Dalrymple Drive in Baton Rouge. Greenwood Community Park is located at 13350 Hwy. 19 in Baker.

Raising Cane’s and ExxonMobil Pledge Donations.

rsagency — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 16:15:33 +0000

BAKER — Construction is under way on a $3.2 million improvement project at BREC’s Greenwood Community Park off La. 19.

Members of the Recreation and Park Commission of East Baton Rouge Parish and invited guests attended a program Wednesday that officially marked start of construction at the 150-acre facility that includes Dumas Golf Course.

The park also borders BREC’s Baton Rouge Zoo and J.S. Clark Park and Golf Course. Site improvements in the first phase of construction include a realigned entrance drive, asphalt parking areas, site lighting, a splash pad, enhanced lake access, an outdoor amphitheatre and stage, a realigned disc golf course, picnic areas and restrooms.

In addition, Raising Cane’s is donating $70,000 for a new dog park and ExxonMobil is donating $50,000 to install science trails around Cypress Bayou Lake.

The renovations were outlined in the Greenwood Park Master Plan, developed with public input to determine the community’s opinion of existing facilities and its vision of what the park should be.

The master plan was completed in 2005 by BREC’s Planning and Engineering Department.

Funding for these renovations is from proceeds of the “Imagine Your Parks” tax that East Baton Rouge Parish voters approved in November 2004.

The money is dedicated to the refurbishing of neighborhood parks and development of 12 community level parks as well as the improvement of special facilities, walking trails, aquatics and maintenance.

Baker May Get Land Donation

rsagency — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:41:54 +0000

By PATT ROBERSON
Advocate Baker – Zachary bureau
Published: Mar 10, 2010 – Page: 3B

BAKER — The City Council voted Tuesday to schedule a work session to review donation procedures of the nine-acre Landry-Nettles property on Parklan Drive.

The property was donated to the private Buffwood Club in the 1950s, City Attorney Ron Wall said, with the stipulation that when the property was no longer used it would revert to the heirs and the heirs would then donate it to the city.

The work session will also address hard-surface parking lots, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, and Planning and Zoning ordinance development and code enforcement.

Carl Stages, executive director, BREC Foundation, presented a book, “Every Town Needs a Trail,” by Jen Ohlson and asked the council and others present to write comments.

The book will be given to U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., next week in Washington, D.C., when a request will be made for an appropriation for construction of recreational trails throughout the parish, Stages said.

Stages said BREC is renovating Greenwood Park on La. 19 at a cost of about $4.5 million. A multipurpose building on the lake will include a golf pro shop, meeting rooms, theater and a restaurant or concessions.

He said the plan includes a dog park and a $450,000 playground.

ExxonMobil has donated $50,000 for a trail around the lake, to be stocked with rainbow trout. There would be canoes and kayaks for rent, Stages said.

The upgraded park is scheduled to open a year from now, Stages said.

In other business, the council saluted Police Chief Mike Knaps for his appointment to the Drug Abuse Resistance Education International Law Enforcement Executives Advisory Board.

James LeBlance of the Unity Project announced a march will be held March 20 from Baker City Hall to the Unity campus at 2400 Debra Drive to raise awareness of crime, substance abuse and truancy.

The YWCA will have an office on the campus to mentor problem youths and develop apprenticeships, LeBlance said. A newsletter titled Baker United will start up April 1, he said.

BREC Foundation Announces New Board Members

rsagency — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:13:48 +0000

New board members Kevin P. Reilly, Sr., Dr. Andrew Smith and Collis Temple, Jr. have been elected to the BREC Foundation Board of Directors for a three year term. (January 1, 2010 – December 31, 2012)

The President is also pleased to report that the Board of Directors re-elected the following Board members to a three year term of office (January 1, 2010 – December 31, 2012): Hal Butt, Barbee Edmonds, Beau Box, Todd Graves, Brad Myers.

The Nominating Committee is pleased to report that the Board of Directors elected the following individuals for a one year term of office (January 1, 2010 – December 31, 2010): President David Ellison, Jr., Vice President Craig Freeman, Treasurer John McKowen, and Secretary Todd Graves.

Golden Deeds Award Honors Sue Turner

rsagency — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:10:08 +0000

A woman who was among those who saved the historic Magnolia Mound Plantation house has been named this year’s Golden Deeds winner.

On Tuesday, the Inter-Civic Council and The Advocate recognized Sue Turner for her many years of work with museums and in historic restoration and preservation, naming her the recipient of the 68th annual Golden Deeds Award.

“I’m overwhelmed,” Turner, 82, said Tuesday night, shortly after learning of the honor.

“I’ve only done what I enjoyed doing and I’ve profited more than I could ever give in return.”

Turner, a resident of Baton Rouge and a native of Plaquemine who was married to the late Bert Turner, reared five children. She said she never stepped foot into a museum until she was 21.

“I was in New York for the first time and I went to the Whitney Museum and I asked the lady what was I supposed to do,” she said. “I’ve been visiting museums ever since.”

Turner has received national recognition for her preservation and advisory work with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. She said she will be catching a plane today to attend the trust’s national conference in Nashville.

Turner is also a member of the Louisiana Museum Foundation, served on the board of directors for the Louisiana State Museum, and is a board of trustees member and adviser on the National Trust, a member of the board of directors for the BREC Foundation, and founding member of Louisiana Association of Museums.

“Sue Turner’s decades-long association with BREC has provided a sense of continuity,” Carl Stages, executive director of the East Baton Rouge Recreation and Park Commission Foundation, wrote in his nomination letter.

“Having been involved for such a long period of time, she has seen the ebb and flow of different issues, community perception and attitudes, and always brings to the table that kind of institutional knowledge and sense of history,” Stages wrote.

Some of Turner’s notable accomplishments include her efforts and those of others to save Magnolia Mound Plantation’s historic house from developers who in the mid-1960s had proposed using the site for condominiums.

Turner, who later became a member of the Friends of Magnolia Mound Plantation Board of Directors, said residents and organizations aggressively petitioned the local and state government to save the site. By 1972, Magnolia Mound Plantation was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and restoration of the main house began that year.

Turner and her husband also restored Live Oak Plantation in St. Francisville.

“In my heart, I believe as citizens that we have an obligation to the place in which we live and it’s one of my greatest wishes to see so many of the things we hoped for be realized,” she said. “Citizens have to care and be involved.”

Turner will be honored at a banquet scheduled 7:30 p.m. Nov. 10 at the Marriott Hotel, 5500 Hilton Ave. Tickets are $40 each. Call (225) 293-3674 or e-mail dcarroll23@hotmail.com.

By CHANTE DIONNE WARREN
Advocate staff writer
Published: Oct 14, 2009 – Page: 1A

The Board of Directors Approves Grants to BREC

rsagency — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 21:29:08 +0000

The Board of Directors approved the following grants to BREC: $495.84 for the BREC Recreation Department (for Back To School event) from unrestricted Foundation funds, $9,009.00 for the Blackwater Conservation Area (for construction of handicapped pier and other improvements) from restricted funds donated by Commercial Properties Development Corporation through the Baton Rouge Area Foundation and $31,500.00 for the City Park Tennis Center (third payment) from restricted funds donated by Capital One; the Board rescinded the designation of $5,000.00 that was restricted by Board of Directors for BREC Teen Conservation Corps (funds not needed under new scope of program); the Board approved the endowment policy and the MOU relative to Sue Turner’s gift of $425,000 for the Magnolia Mound Visitors’ Center; the Board approved in concept anticipated contributions relative to the new phase of dog parks and the BMX track at Perkins Road Extreme Park.

Park project donors sought

rsagency — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:20:24 +0000

The East Baton Rouge Recreation and Park Commission Foundation is looking for private donations to help fund projects such as a new running track, a boathouse for City Park and a new elephant exhibit at the Baton Rouge Zoo.

Even the community parks that already have opened, like City Park and Anna T. Jordan Park, could use enhancements to their new playgrounds, BREC Assistant Superintendent Ted Jack said.

And in the case of City Park, funding is needed to build projects that are proposed for future phases, including a boathouse offering boat and canoe rentals for the LSU Lakes, Jack said.

In all, Jack has identified 14 projects that need funding to become a reality, and the BREC Foundation is gearing up to spearhead a fundraising campaign for them.

BREC Foundation Director Carl Stages said his organization already is in the process of approaching prospective donors for the proposed $1.5 million Magnolia Mound Visitors Center.

Stages said the capital campaign also would seek to raise awareness that donors can be eligible for naming rights for some of the projects.

If a donor contributes at least half of the cost of a project, he or she may be eligible to name that amenity, Stages said.

State law prevents parks and buildings from being named after living people, but it’s sometimes possible to name an amenity in a park or a room after someone who’s still alive.

In addition to the Magnolia Mound Visitors Center, other projects in need of private funding include:

$2.4 million for playgrounds at the 12 community parks. BREC has budgeted $325,000 per park, but needs an additional $150,000 to $325,000 per park, Jack said.
$6 million for the City Park boathouse, which would rent boats and fishing tackle.
$2.5 million for a new City Park Art Gallery. The existing gallery would be used for other purposes.
$5.5 million for a new elephant exhibit at Baton Rouge Zoo.
$2.4 million for a botanical garden at Independence Park.
$2 million for a Field of Dreams ball field for disabled people at Independence Park. BREC already is planning a special playground there designed for the disabled.
$2 million to build a café and an outdoor plaza called Thought Square near the entrance of the proposed new main library in Independence Park.
$820,000 for the second phase of the dog park at the Burbank Soccer Park. Plans include an agility course for canines.
$4.2 million for bike/walking trails. BREC has money budgeted for new trails in the community parks and along Ward’s Creek near the Mall of Louisiana, but wants to expand the trails to connect parks with bike paths and points of interest. Cost is $350,000 per mile.
$2 million to create an interactive room offering state-of-the-art video and computerized games in BREC’s Womack Administration Building on Florida Boulevard.
$800,000 to build an Xtreme Sports Building in Perkins Road Community Park. The building would wrap around a rock-climbing wall, and would house restrooms, an attendant’s office and a concession area, Jacks said.
$500,000 to build a new track next to Memorial Stadium. BREC had budgeted $500,000 for the project, but now estimates it needs twice that amount.
$400,000 to build a new pro shop at Howell Golf Course.

By SCOTT DYER
Advocate staff writer
Published: Apr 26, 2009
- Page: 1B

Soccer Complex Expanded

rsagency — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:24:00 +0000

Soccer players and fans will get a kick out of the newly expanded soccer complex at 12400 Burbank Drive that’s formally opening today.

The East Baton Rouge Recreation and Park Commission spent $3.8 million to add new soccer fields, baseball fields, restrooms and a new dog park to the complex between Bluebonnet Boulevard and Siegen Lane.

The project added 10 new soccer fields to the complex, increasing the total to 22 fields.

The new fields will all have state-of-the-art irrigation systems to keep them in top condition throughout the season.

The improvements to the Burbank Soccer Complex also include the addition of five baseball fields and new restrooms. A new dog park is also under construction at the complex, according to BREC Assistant Superintendent Ted Jack.

Jack said the ball fields were relocated from nearby Highland Park to make that facility into a community park with a destination playground, walking trails and other facilities.

Both projects are part of BREC’s “Imagine Your Parks” construction program, which is funded by a 3.253-mill property tax voters approved in 2004.

Jack said the additional soccer fields should make Burbank Soccer Complex into a prime facility for major soccer tournaments.

Already, the complex is reserved in June 2010 for the U.S. Youth Soccer Southern Regional competition, which will feature championship teams from 12 Southern states.

At 10:30 a.m. today, BREC officials will join the Baton Rouge Soccer Association in a ceremony to formally open the complex.

The Baton Rouge Soccer Association helped fund the project with a $750,000 donation to the BREC Foundation.

The soccer association is responsible for purchasing and installing the lights and making other improvements to the complex.

This financial support and the in-kind contributions represent the largest single cash donation ever made to BREC, said Bill Palmer, BREC superintendent.

For additional information, call (225) 272-9200, ext. 445, or visit http://www.brec.org/burbank.

- Bill Feig, The Advocate