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Council approves amended MOU for District 6 community center, sets non‑binding terms and timelines
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Summary
The Metro Council voted to adopt a memorandum of understanding setting goals for a new District 6 community center, including an aspirational $7 million estimated design-and-construction figure, possible BREC matching up to $2 million and a revised termination date in the MOU to Jan. 10, 2026.
The Metro Council adopted an amended memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Feb. 12 that lays out non‑binding terms and intentions for design, construction and operation of a proposed District 6 community center.
Parish counsel and staff reviewed several language changes to the draft MOU during the meeting. Among the clarifications read into the record: the city “wishes for the design” (language made aspirational rather than prescriptive), the estimated cost of design and construction is now described as "approximately $7,000,000," and references to the city parish funding include a caveat that project funding is “subject to availability of funds in prevailing circumstances.”
BREC (the parks agency) was described in the amended text as expressing “an intention to contribute the use of property pursuant to a right of use agreement,” and the draft language set a potential BREC match toward construction “not to exceed $2,000,000.” The proposed right‑of‑use term was described as “expected to be no more than 75 years” subject to later definitive agreements. The parties inserted an explicit non‑binding clause stating the MOU is not intended to create legally binding obligations until definitive agreements are negotiated and executed.
Councilman Cleve Dunn Jr., the item’s sponsor, offered a friendly amendment to change the termination date in section 4.7 from January 10, 2025 to January 10, 2026; the parish attorney and staff confirmed the final posted MOU available to the council reflected the corrected date before the vote. John Pierce, representing Southern University, said the administration has been in talks with universities about “larger plans” near campus “including a grocery store, a supermarket close to campus.”
Councilman Dunn Jr. moved to approve the MOU as read by the parish attorney; Councilman Gaudet and others thanked staff and BREC for partnership. The motion to approve the MOU as amended carried on the floor with no recorded roll call tally in the public transcript. The MOU includes a citizen witness signature listed as Sharon Weston Broome on page 8 of the final packet.
Council members and staff stressed that the MOU itself is non‑binding: definitive cooperative endeavor agreements (CEA) and right‑of‑use contracts will require later negotiation and formal approvals to create enforceable commitments and funding obligations.
