City of Landau officials and volunteers discussed a proposal to regrade the small hill between the public swimming pool parking lot and the pavilion to improve drainage, create stepped seating and improve festival access. The concept, presented during a budget workshop discussion about the FY2025–26 city budget, centers on a contractor scheme to ‘stair-step’ the slope and install a 20-foot flat area adjacent to the pavilion to reduce runoff and create informal amphitheater seating. The plan’s estimated cost is $48,000 and several local volunteers and groups told council members they would provide labor or materials if the city commits funds.

Why it matters: festival organizers and staff told the council recurring drainage problems force volunteers to bring dirt and repeatedly repair the area after events. Council members said spending the city’s discretionary festival funds on a one-time repair could reduce ongoing maintenance burdens and make the park more usable year-round.

Council discussion focused on scope, funding and logistics. Staff said the contractor concept would grade the slope in stepped 2-foot rises with a 20-foot flat area that would align with the pavilion roofline. The design includes routing runoff around an existing tree and installing a rock-lined swale behind the pavilion to slow fast-moving water. Council members and festival organizers also raised adding exterior access to two existing pool bathrooms so they could be locked off from the pool but open to festival attendees; staff estimated that change could cost “a couple thousand dollars.”

Several participants said local volunteers and festival partners—identified in the meeting as “Crawfish” organizers and individual community members—offered to assist with labor and materials. Staff identified DC Myers (contractor) and a public-works contact (Jeradon/Jeradon) as technical contributors who would help implement the grading plan and, if necessary, return to fix issues. One council member said an awning or gutter work to open up the pavilion view could cost about $8,000; staff said the awning would also help route water.

Funding options discussed: the council considered keeping an anticipated $27,000–$30,000 of the city’s discretionary festival allocation (referred to in the meeting as “hot money”) and directing those funds to the project instead of dispersing small grants to outside groups at the annual distribution meeting. Council members asked staff to bring budget figures and follow-up information; no formal vote was taken and staff emphasized the body could not make a binding budget decision during the workshop.

What happened next: staff invited the council to review the schematic drawings and asked volunteers to color-code the plans. Council members directed staff to explore the funding shift further and to return with precise budget language and timing at a subsequent meeting; no formal motion or adoption of funds was recorded.

The discussion also flagged related maintenance items—regrading, potential pavilion covering, and exterior bathroom access—that council members said could be staged if full funding was not immediately available.