[StBernard] FIELD OF DREAMS

[Westley Annis]

FIELD OF DREAMS
Sunday, March 04, 2007
St. Bernard crafts $15.8 million plan to restore Chalmette park

Metal walls of a concession stand shredded by Hurricane Katrina's fury flap
in the wind, and leaning trees and power poles fill the once-vibrant Val
Riess Park in Chalmette. 

Located along the levee at the 40-Arpent Canal, the park was pretty much
ground zero for the hurricane's storm surge as it crashed over the levee,
tearing through metal structures, leaving baseball dugouts and nearby homes
in shatters. 

But St. Bernard Parish officials have unveiled a $15.8 million restoration
plan to make it a superpark of sorts, complete with a miniature train. And
officials think the first phase of about $3.7 million in work could be done
in as little as six months, St. Bernard Parish Public Works Director Chris
Merkl said. 

 
The elaborate plan would be phased in using a combination of financial
sources, but it would be financed mostly with FEMA money meant to improve
flood-damaged recreational facilities. 

Although the future is not carved in stone, administrators and council
members agreed to a plan that brings back some parks and gymnasiums first,
with others being combined and not repaired to meet the needs of a reduced
population, Merkl said. 

That first phase at Val Riess includes building a state-of-the-art
cloverleaf of four baseball fields with a new concession stand facility in
the center, adding a soccer field and widening the walking track that
encircles the park at the northern end of Palmisano Boulevard. Each of the
phases includes improved parking facilities as well. 

Councilman Craig Taffaro, chairman of the council's Building Mitigation
Committee that prioritizes and monitors projects financed with FEMA
reimbursements, said the first phase would be on the eastern side of the
park, where three baseball fields are located. 

"Val Riess was the most logical piece of land that we already owned that
could house a centralized complex," Taffaro said. "The importance of the
complex is not only to serve the population of residents who have returned,
but it will also offer us an opportunity to generate revenue by the use of
the facility in tournament-type activities." 

Taffaro said the FEMA money being used for the Val Riess project can't be
used on any other public infrastructure repair projects. 

Taffaro said the second phase, with a projected price tag of about $3.5
million, would include facilities for track, soccer, football, a second
concession stand and an adult baseball field. 

The third phase would include renovating the Scout House multipurpose
building, building tennis courts and a recreation center that would include
a gymnasium, and building office space at a cost of $6.49 million. The final
phase would include a miniature train like the one in New Orleans' City Park
with an estimated costs of about $2.15 million. 

While the council recently approved the engineering plans for the park work,
Taffaro told council members that anything but the first phase "are dreams"
at this point. Meyer Engineers Ltd., which drew up the plans, will be paid
for its engineering work as the phases are constructed. 

Since Katrina, the parish has done some rehabilitation work at various
facilities to hold youth sports activities. However, no large-scale work has
been done at Val Riess except for a volunteer cleanup recently held by the
Rediscover District C group to clean the asphalt walking path so it could be
used. 

. . . . . . . 

Karen Turni Bazile can be reached at kturni at timespicayune.com or (504)
826-3321.