Learning the facts about recreation

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If you’ve read the papers or seen the council meetings, you have learned much about the problems of the recreation districts of Terrebonne Parish. Or have you? You’ve heard the opinion that Recreation District 11 has had insurmountable problems and need to be taken over by parish administration and the Terrebonne Parish Council. You’ve also heard that Recreation District 2-3 has not only been breaking laws but they have also been sitting on $4 million while the Bayou Sports Complex sits idle.

Years ago, Recreation District 11 did indeed have serious problems. Despite the efforts of then Councilmen Dirk Guidry, Ronald “Red” Hornsby, and Danny Babin to address them, other council members during that time chose to ignore the problems – even the very councilman who now seems to want control of recreation in District 11.

What you haven’t heard about with the same determination is that Recreation District 11 now has board members who have demonstrated responsibility. They have begun improving the district and handling its affairs appropriately. Several new projects are underway. This was accomplished by the dedication of a renewed recreation district board. One can only wonder what other motives lie beneath the desire to take control away from recreation district board members who live in the very communities they serve and who know best how to serve their children.


The noise surrounding Recreation District 11 resulted in lights being shined upon all the recreation districts. As a result, Recreation District 2-3 had shadows cast upon its operations. There are reports that cash was being demanded to open the gates for practices, among other things. While there was truth to the accusations, they led readers to believe that these were simply greedy people who were getting their palms greased for allowing the use of public facilities.

This is not what was happening. The reality is that a shortcut was being taken. The teams using the field were paying the employee directly for his services rather than paying the Recreation District who should then pay the employee. While ethics and laws may have been violated, there was absolutely no ill-intent. This is simply the way it had been done for years dating back to a time when this was an accepted practice. If ill-intent had been involved, a cover-up would have followed. Even the reporters would agree that there was no attempt at a cover-up.

I am not defending these actions, but without hesitation or reservation, I will defend the reputation, the character, and the intentions of the men on the board of Recreation District 2-3. For decades these men have given their time to improve the lives of our children.


In addition to the media attacks, the parish president has broadcasted that Recreation District 2-3 has been sitting on over $4 million while delaying the completion of the Bayou Sports Complex. Others believed his rhetoric and jumped on his bandwagon.

The facts show that Recreation District 2-3 had a bank balance of under $725,000 at the end of 2016. After they received $1.2Million in ad valorem tax revenues and paid their bills, their bank balance at the end of February was about $2.1 Million. By the end of June the Recreation District had finally gotten reimbursed for their infrastructure projects by the state and collected their hotel/motel tax, bringing their balance to about $3.5Million.

Since June 30 and prior to the false accusations of hoarding money, the Board of Directors for Recreation District 2-3 approved expenditures for lighting for the girls’ complex ($450,000), building concession stands ($850,000), and covering backstops and dugouts for the boys’ fields (about $72,000). In collaboration with the parish and the soccer association, they are also moving forward with completion of the soccer fields and parking lots. Obviously the accusations were unfounded.


With the recreation district already under fire, one councilman decided to throw them a grenade by snatching their checkbook, passing it to administration. This mean-spirited act was done without warning or explanation. It was done on the tail end of the council meeting that granted “oversight” to the parish council over all recreation districts. In one simple act, he proved exactly why the ordinance passed earlier in the meeting was inappropriate and would result in more problems for recreation than solutions.

One can only speculate as to his motives. Was it because District 2-3 board members didn’t want to embrace his far-fetched ideas? Was it because he wasn’t satisfied with the speed at which the volunteer board members responded to his requests? Could it simply be that the council member wanted to flex his political muscles?

Recreation District 2-3 has acknowledged their mistakes and is taking aggressive steps to correct them. Wouldn’t it be nice if parish government would do the same?


This ordinance will only result in multiplying bureaucracy, costing the parish more money and discouraging good people from wanting to serve on these boards. There is much to be proud of in Terrebonne Parish Recreation; however, the vote Wednesday evening was a giant step backwards for the sake of politics. Perhaps a better action might have been to simply thank the members of these boards for their service, guide them when oversight is needed and get out of their way so they can continue their good works in providing recreation and facilities for our children.

Gerald Michel