Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Residents press officials over locked Randolph Park; council, rec district authority debated
Loading...
Summary
At a town hall, residents demanded that Randolph Park be reopened after recreation district locks; speakers debated who has authority, whether safety or discrimination motivated the closure, and parish and council members proposed meetings and legal fixes while urging community cooperation.
A lengthy, sometimes heated public-comment exchange at a Terrebonne Parish town hall focused on Randolph Park, where residents said the recreation district has chained off fields and locked facilities even during daytime hours.
A resident complained that "that park is locked with chains and locks on it to the kids and the taxpayers of Recreation District Number 1," arguing the closure denies youth access to practice and games. Other residents raised concerns that gates were locked in the daytime, bathrooms had been vandalized and that schooling and scheduling were inconsistent across recreation districts.
Commenters and at least one council member said the recreation district boards — which are appointed by parish council members — set hours and rules for managed facilities. The parish president said he had "no authority" to order a recreation district to change its practices and explained the difference between "public access" parks and "managed access" facilities that entail insurance, maintenance and scheduling.
One commenter said she was "not gonna just today say it's a racist thing, but I'm inclined that it could be that too," while a recreation-district or district-supporting speaker said boards manage assets to protect fields and facilities after vandalism and theft, citing recent bathroom damage at Randolph Park. A council member said changes may require charter or ordinance revisions and recommended a joint meeting of rec-district officials, council members and residents to seek solutions.
The president proposed producing a public map that would clearly label which parks are open to the public 24/7 and which are managed and require scheduling, and urged residents to participate in localized problem-solving. Several residents suggested an immediate interim step: coordinated volunteer supervision or incremental reopening at limited hours while longer-term legal changes are pursued.
The town hall did not produce a formal decision; officials said they would report back to the council and work to convene the relevant parties.
