Uptown Messenger (https://uptownmessenger.com/category/parks-and-greenspace/page/4/)
Southern live oaks make up the vast majority of the trees along St. Charles Avenue. The proportion of live oaks has continued to increase over the years, a tree survey has found. The St. Charles Avenue Association retained Bayou Tree Service, its official partner, to perform a tree survey in a continuation of surveys that have been conducted since 1992.
An underwhelming number of voters Saturday overwhelmingly decided to allow the city to reallocate the property tax money going to parks and recreation. The parks and rec measure passed with the support of 76% of the voters who showed up for a single-issue election; by the time polls closed, 18,308 city residents had pressed the “yes” button. In its initial, unofficial estimate, the Secretary of State’s Office puts the turnout at 9.4% of registered New Orleans voters. The more than $20 million in property taxes used to fund parks and recreation will be split among City Park, the Audubon Commission, the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission, and Parks and Parkways. Notably, the change will provide City Park with city funding for the first time in its 169-year history.
By India Yarborough, iayarbor@my.loyno.edu
Loyola Student News Service
New Orleanians will decide the fate Saturday of a city proposal to redistribute parks and recreation funds. And while many city residents might gloss over the plan’s fine print, involved parks and rec organizations say the proposal is an effort to improve the quality of life of New Orleans residents. “It’s vital, and it’s no fluff,” said Ann Mcdonald, director of the city’s Department of Parks and Parkways. Parks and Parkways is one of four parks and recreation organizations in the city that have an interest in seeing the millage proposal pass. The proposal, if passed May 4, would take the 6.31 mills of taxpayer dollars that are currently divided between Audubon Nature Institute, New Orleans Recreation Development Commission and the Department of Parks and Parkways, and redistribute that money more evenly between four organizations: Audubon, the development commission, Parks and Parkways, and City Park.
Saturday, May 4
Municipal General Election
Sample Ballot
Voters will select “yes” or “no” to the following:
PW Parks and Recreation – 6.31 Mills (In Lieu) – CC – 20 Yrs. In lieu of 3.00 mills currently levied for Parkway and Parks Commission and New Orleans Recreation Department and 0.32 mills and 2.99 mills levied for Audubon Commission (“Prior Taxes”), shall the City be authorized to levy a special tax of 6.31 mills (“Tax”) for twenty years, January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2040 (estimated at $22,150,000 in the first year) with proceeds dedicated first to payment of debt service obligations secured by the Prior Taxes then to improving park safety and accessibility, capturing stormwater to reduce flooding, repairing and upgrading playgrounds and recreation centers, conserving natural areas, and constructing, improving, maintaining, and operating parks, recreational, and wildlife conservation facilities in the City, except that a portion of collections shall be remitted to certain state and statewide retirement systems as required by law, allocated pro-rata as follows: 1.95 mills to New Orleans Recreation Development Commission; 1.80 mills to New Orleans Department of Parks and Parkways; 0.61 mills to City Park Improvement Association; and 1.95 mills to Audubon Commission, supplemental to and not in lieu of City general fund appropriations budgeted for 2020, subject to requirements provided by Ordinance Calendar Number 32,501 and with expenditures subject to public disclosure through annual audits?
by Will Abberger, Vice President, Director of Conservation Finance
The Trust for Public Land
On Saturday, May 4, Orleans Parish voters will have an opportunity to vote “Yes” to enhance places where kids and adults can run, play, experience nature, while improving stormwater management—all without increasing taxes. The Trust for Public Land urges Orleans Parish voters to vote “Yes” for parks and people. The Trust for Public Land is one of the nation’s foremost park experts. At the request of New Orleans’ park providers—City Park, NORDC, Parks and Parkways, and the Audubon Commission—The Trust for Public Land worked for three years to find ways to collaborate and strengthen New Orleans’ parks for all of its residents. The result of this partnership was a proposal to more equitably fund New Orleans parks to improve parks and recreation area safety, repair and upgrade playgrounds, conserve natural areas, provide natural flood water storage, and make parks more accessible.
The Lower Garden District Association is hosting a volunteer “Park Work Day” in Coliseum Square Park this Saturday at 10 a.m.
The goal of the day will be to plant some beautiful flowers (provided by Parks and Parkways) around Lafon Fountain. Volunteers meet at Lafon Fountain, Camp and Terpsichore streets. It’s a chance to meet neighbors and get some exercise in before French Quarter Festival. For more information and to RSVP, go to the event Facebook page. The association’s April meeting will be held on Monday at 6:30 p.m. at Felicity Church, 1220 Felicity.
Green space restoration has begun on Louisiana and Jefferson avenues, the Southeast Louisiana (SELA) Urban Flood Control Project announced. Crape myrtles and hollies have been planted on Louisiana Avenue and magnolias have been planted on Jefferson Avenue. The plantings are a final stage in a massive years-long drainage project.
An independent New Orleans research group is backing the proposal to replace three existing property taxes into one millage for citywide parks and recreation. But there’s a caveat: If passed, the city is urged to monitor the park agencies’ spending plans and performance outlined in a cooperative endeavor agreement. The Bureau of Governmental Research, a nonprofit public-policy research organization, released this morning their study on the City-Wide Parks and Recreation Proposal. The proposal allows the city to reallocate taxpayer revenue for park spaces, while tacking on inter-agency cooperation among the city’s four park powers: City Park, the Audubon Commission, the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission, and Parks and Parkways. This ordinance does not include tax increases for residents; it just redistributes current revenue to help improve citywide infrastructure while assisting the lesser-funded agencies.
Hoffman Triangle residents are invited to come out to Taylor Park on Saturday, April 6, from noon to 2 p.m. for a family-friendly event to learn about ways they can reduce flooding by planting trees, installing rain barrels and reducing paving. “Many neighborhoods in New Orleans, including the Hoffman Triangle, are vulnerable to repeated flooding,” said Dana Eness, executive director of the Urban Conservancy. The Urban Conservancy is working with Launch NOLA Green, Sustaining Our Urban Landscape (SOUL), Green Light New Orleans, Water Block, and the city’s Office of Resilience and Sustainability — as well as Hoffman Triangle residents, churches, schools and others — to improve the neighborhood’s stormwater conditions. “This event is part of a larger outreach effort aimed at understanding community needs, assets and growth opportunities” says Atianna Cordova, founder of Water Block and outreach manager for the project. At the Green Your Neighborhood event, Hoffman Triangle residents can learn about effective stormwater management techniques and resources to help reduce flooding on their properties and on their streets.
New Orleans officials have been rethinking how the city’s parks, recreation and greenspace are organized and managed. To inform New Orleanians of the whys, hows and whats of citywide master park and recreation planning, Parks For All is sponsoring a forum, “Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Planning: International Best Practices and their Application to New Orleans.” It will feature Kurt Culbertson, a longtime leader in sustainable development. Culbertson, an LSU alumnus, will offer “perspectives gained through 40 years of experience in the planning and design of park and recreation systems and reflections on the application of these lessons to the needs of New Orleans,” the event flier says. Culbertson, the 2016 recipient of the American Society of Landscape Architects’ highest award, is chairman and CEO of an urban design and landscape architecture consulting firm, the Design Workshop.
