In a 7-2 vote Monday, May 5, the parish council approved the sale of a piece of parish property in Fairfield Plantation Oaks subdivision, where a pool, clubhouse and playground sit.
The inclusion of the playground in a future auction shocked some residents of the neighborhood, who thought the parish would auction only the pool and clubhouse that had become major liabilities and expenses for the neighborhood. But other pocket parks in the parish could see a similar fate as the parish moves toward a centralized park system, with more multiuse, regional facilities and fewer, smaller neighborhood play spaces.
Parish President Matthew Jewell said parish officials made the decision to focus on park quality over park quantity after the parks and recreation department’s 2020 master plan highlighted the need for reducing the number of underutilized parks and parks with “low recreational value.”
“That just basically means that you go to a park and it’s maybe an empty field, or just a playground set,” Jewell said. “Which is maybe good for some small kids, but what can a teenager do there? What can an adult do there? What can a senior do there?”
Jewell said larger, regional parks that more residents can access with a short drive would offer something for everyone and be of overall higher quality.
“Rathborne Park is a good example,” Jewell said. “You go to Rathborne Park, and you have workout equipment, a playground set, walking paths, baseball fields and a basketball court. So, parents with older children can let their kids play on the playground set while they workout.”
A parish rule that requires developers of subdivisions to reserve a space for playgrounds or pay a fee to the parish, which has been on the books since the code was developed, helped grow the parish park system to 56 park sites.
“The parish park system grew to become very fragmented,” Jewell said. “One area would get a park and then, you know, a council member or a police juror was under pressure to get a park for the residents in their district. And so there really was no rhyme or reason or planning behind how our park system was laid out.”
Jewell said a more centralized park system would make maintenance and upkeep at parks more manageable for the parish.
“From my perspective, we get our best value out of park sites that we can go in and easily maintain,” he said. “We can go to one site. We’re not hopping all over the place to try to, you know, catch the wasps, fix equipment, cut the grass, clean the trash cans, fix vandalism, things like that.”
He said the parish’s intent is never to take anything away from anybody, but to get all parish recreational facilities to the highest possible standards. He noted that over the last five years, the total amount of recreational acreage has grown in St. Rose. The parish is also committed to making improvements to the larger, more multiuse parks in the area, he said.
“The idea that we can make these improvements and just keep everything that we have, I don’t think is realistic,” he said.
Danielle S., who has been a resident of Fairfield Plantation Oaks since 2020, said the sale of the neighborhood playground would be a tremendous loss. She said she often takes her two-year-old son to the playground, where he pretends to be Spider-Man and plays with neighbors.
“This park is important to so many residents of this community, and spans generations,” she said. “We host Easter egg hunts, have barbecues, birthday parties, family gatherings and crawfish boils. It is our children’s only safe space to play.”
She said that, while she understands the parish’s commitment to larger, regional parks, Fairfield Playground requires minimal maintenance – only grass cutting, trash services, and the occasional checks on playground equipment – and is accessible to residents of the neighborhood who don’t have cars.
“[My family] is fortunate to have the jobs that we have and have our cars so we could drive to another playground nearby if we wanted to,” she said. “But I know not every family in the neighborhood has that. There’s so many families that have young children that are just old enough to be able to safely walk to the park alone.”
She said she feels like parish officials see the property as a burden.
“I think at the end of the day, it’s not a question about saving funds for other parks,” she said. “To me, I get the impression that it’s just a burden they don’t want to deal with, and they want to get money from the sale of the land and call it a day.”
The property at 102 Stephen Drive was donated to the parish by the developer of the neighborhood, Tomeny Construction, in 1976. The neighborhood association leased the property from the parish until late last year, when it gave up its lease because of rising insurance and operating costs. After securing the pool and clubhouse, parish officials decided to auction the property.
The ordinance in front of the parish council last Monday allowed the auction of 102 Stephen Drive. During the council’s discussion it became clear to Councilmember Michelle O’Daniels that the property for sale would also include the small playground in addition to the pool and clubhouse. She was shocked and voted against the ordinance.
O’Daniels said there are solutions to keeping the park, including subdividing the property to exclude the playground from an auction.
“I’m deeply disappointed that the parish is closing the small pocket park and green space in Fairfield,” she said. “But I would like the parish to reconsider that decision. If they cannot, if they do not reconsider that decision, I’m hopeful that we can come up with a private-public partnership to keep this particular green space.”
After the council’s vote, O’Daniels made a public Facebook post sharing with residents the council’s decision and asking for feedback. She received over 30 comments, with multiple residents voicing their disappointment with the council’s decision.
“Residents have sent really heartfelt emails to us, pleading with us to keep the pocket park because they are roughly two miles away from any other recreational facility,” O’Daniels said. “And Fairfield has no green space other than this space.”
Danielle, the Fairfield resident, said she only found out about the future sale of the park from O’Daniels’ post, which was shared to a neighborhood Facebook group. She said she is upset about a lack of communication coming from parish leadership.
“This was decided and voted on in two days and no resident was even notified or invited to express their opinion,” she said. “And I don’t feel like we’re asking for much. We’re asking for a conversation. To make these decisions without announcing it to the residents of the neighborhood and giving us a chance to voice our opinions. Yeah, that’s the part that really upset us.”
She started a petition to save the playground, which now has over 70 signatures.
Jewell said the confusion over what was included in the property listed for auction was unfortunate, but that the property always included the playground, not just the pool and clubhouse. He said he is committed to working with O’Daniels and others to make improvements to other parks in the area.
“I’ve already talked to the councilwoman, and we’re going to put our heads together and figure out some other opportunities to make enhancements at other facilities within St. Rose,” he said. “And we’re committed to working on that at the end of the day.”
