Save Our Park System—Nix HB 86 AND 87

State Rep. Dixon McMakin, sponsor of these two bills aimed at upending BREC, has said they will improve efficiency and bring about cost savings.

HB 86 eliminates the current BREC commissioner structure and places BREC under the control of the mayors of Baton Rouge, Baker, Zachary, Central and St. George, and, by extension, their city councils. What happens when those parties start vying for resources and squabbling over annual budget allocations, perhaps tapping BREC dedicated funds to shore up their own budgets?

The City-Parish already has a $40 million deficit and wants to tap dedicated tax funds to close the gap. What will happen to our parks system if BREC is brought under local management?

Moreover, HB 87 dissolves BREC as a state entity, which has been in place since 1946 because Baton Rouge was not funding its park system. How does it benefit the people of EBR Parish to return to that situation?

These bills are part of a surreptitious campaign to eliminate the nine-hole golf course and turn City Park, Baton Rouge’s first park, into an amusement venue with kiddie rides, an amphitheater, paddleboat rentals, restaurants, and a running track. City Park will NEVER be able to support all the hardscape and concrete called for by the marauders so-called “vision,” and the additional traffic/parking load will be horrendous.

Having lost at the ballot box, the marauders are trying to upend BREC and get control of the park by means of legislation and a “conservancy” tied to the Lakes Project, which has nothing to do with City Park except its proximity to the south end of the park.

Last year, City Park Golf Course supported more than 26,000 rounds, nearing the capacity of 30,000 rounds established for it by the National Golf Foundation in 2014.

If the course is reconfigured or disappears entirely, Baton Rouge proper will have only one public golf course remaining—Webb Park—which already has more than 50,000 rounds played yearly. This is counter to national trends in golf. In an era where course contractions outpace openings, the municipal golf supply has increased by 140 courses since 2004, according to Golf Industry Magazine (March, 2025)

Stop the marauders! Call or write your representatives and senators and tell them to kill HB 86 and HB 87.