Prep Roundup Week 2
September 16, 2015
Terrebonne sheriff and deputies sued over shooting of teen
September 22, 2015
As part of an effort to revitalize East Houma, Terrebonne Parish will soon begin work on a small park in the Houma airbase.
The project will contain a dog park for pet owners and a splash park for children. The park is expected to be complete this calendar year.
Councilman John Navy proposed the plan last week at the Terrebonne Parish Council meeting. The council OK’d the measure, and Recreation District No. 11 approved the plan Thursday.
Navy says he expects work on the park to begin soon, and that the project should not take long to complete.
“I couldn’t give you an estimate, but I’m hoping to be finished with the park before the end of this year,” he said.
The airbase was not the original location for the park. According to Navy, he originally wanted to build it adjacent to the Wal-Mart on Grand Caillou Road. However, District 11 wanted to see the park at the airbase.
According to Navy, the project will be built “in-house,” which means that the parish can use its own workers and materials to complete the park. It should also cut the cost of the project.
“Those things are very inexpensive to compile. So I don’t think it’s going to cost that much money,” he said.
Navy did not have exact figures for the project, but he estimated that the splash park would cost less than $160,000 and the dog park’s price tag would be less than $50,000.
The councilman said building the park at the airbase location makes better use of government property and breathes new life into the area.
“It’s a big piece of property that’s not being utilized right now. I think if you revitalize it, ideally not creating a whole new area but using property and land you already have, it could be a workable situation,” he said.
“I think it pushed us in a direction that’s going to be more beneficial overall,” Recreation District 11 board member Jonathan Foret said of the project.
Navy, Foret and community members hope to see more attractions and activities at the East Houma airbase.
“I don’t think there’s any other place like that in Terrebonne Parish, that can serve like a miniature City Park like that area right there. It’s so ideal,” Navy said.
That is a common opinion among people who live and work on the east side of the city, Foret said.
“What’s cool with the folks that represent [the area] is that there’s discussion now of revitalization of the east side and I love that,” he said.
The above illustration is an artist’s rendering of a proposed splash park at the Houma airbase. Councilman John Navy proposed the plan for the park at last week’s Terrebonne Council meeting.
