While watching the June 19 meeting of the Ascension Parish Council, it came to my attention that the Boy Scouts could not afford the $1,000 rental fee at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center for their day camp this year. However, the scouts were able to have a successful event at the Ascension Civic Center in Sorrento in spite of the problems with the water well and complications with the toilets.
This reinforces the fact that even though the parish spends $2.2 million per year to lease and operate the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center, this facility is overpriced and inaccessible to Ascension Parish residents. The parish president has promised a decision by December related to the continued lease and possible purchase of the center, with a price tag of $7.5 million.
Comments made by the parish president and several councilmen reinforced that the Ascension Civic Center was more than adequate, and President Martinez pledged to fix the problem with the well.
The parish leases the center from the School Board and pays maintenance and operating expenses. The parish presently operates 16 neighborhood parks. The recreation budget is around $1.3 million. Money should be spent for services that our children and citizens can directly benefit from. After all, it is the taxpayers’ money.
Cheryl Fontenot
Duplessis
