On Sunday, February 25, The Garden District Civic Association (GDCA) held its annual meeting at Leola’s, with nearly 40 in attendance. Speakers, including GDCA President Justin Kozak, Councilwoman Carolyn Coleman, Public Service Commissioner Davante Lewis, BREC, and CSRS, primarily focused on the neighborhood’s notorious flooding, the potential rezoning of Barracuda Taco Stand, and an update on the University Lakes Project.

Helmed by board member Hance Hughes, the Stop the GD Flooding campaign has had significant momentum in its genesis, having already met with the City of Baton Rouge (City) and initiated a study of our water lines. CES trucks have started running cameras in lines at Park and Tulip and will unclog if necessary. The City plans to survey the lines on Cherokee and Tulip to identify the root cause. “While it’s disheartening that much of our community continues to experience devastation, I’m encouraged that the City has moved swifter than expected,” Hughes said. “We remain vigilant and optimistic that we can come to a sustainable solution.” Everyone is encouraged to send photos of flooding – both past and (potentially) future – to the campaign’s Instagram account.

The concern about the rezoning proposal for the St. Rose lot behind Barracuda Taco Stand is directly connected to our flooding. Currently, the residential dirt lot is being used as unofficial parking for the new outdoor restaurant, and the City recommends rezoning it commercially for a parking lot. Barracuda owner Brett Jones has secured alternative options for parking elsewhere because he, in congruence with the GDCA, agrees that not only will a commercial concrete lot set a bad precedent for future businesses in our walkable community, it will exacerbate our flooding issues. The GDCA has presented an opposition letter to the City and plans to meet with its leaders soon. 

Other updates

Councilwoman Coleman has spoken with Fred Raiford, director of transportation for the City of Baton Rouge, about the neighborhood’s drainage issues and will provide updates following last month’s meeting. She also asked attendees to contact her office for help if they ever have problems with 311.

Commissioner Lewis previewed multiple updates coming to our inbox related to energy and water bills. We can expect a slight increase in our water bills to build up an emergency fund. Also, Entergy plans to add a $5.50 Disaster Ida fee to our accounts for the next 15 years. Finally, he shared that there are intentional efforts from his office to provide alternative energy sources to Entergy for the community.

Reed Richard of BREC and Mark Goodson of CSRS shared that Phase 1 of the University Lakes Project should begin in late Spring. Our neighborhood and adjoining areas can expect minimal delays once the project kicks off. BREC is partnering with the City to develop watersheds and a greenway from Dalrymple to Downtown Baton Rouge.

Get Involved

Water plants – The neighborhood sign at Park Boulevard/Government has been raised in height, and the soil improved. There will soon be new landscaping with native plants, and we need consistent support with its watering. 

Maintain the alleys – Potholes, poor lighting, and overgrown vegetation are the biggest problems in the alley. We ask neighbors to assist with keeping it clean and cut back. Doing so helps with safety and utility services. You can read more about our alleyways and how we can keep them clean and safe. 

Protect the live oaks – Kimberly Coffey and The Live Oak Love Collective have made beautiful gains in getting sections of Park Blvd cleaned up and beautified. We hope to improve the medians on Cherokee/Park and Kleinert/Terrace next, but we need neighbors to pitch in support. 

Contact us at [email protected] to volunteer and learn more ways you can get involved in our community.

What we learned at City Hall?

Members of GDCA Drainage Committee and Garden District residents met with Fred Raiford, EBR Director of the Department of Transportation and Drainage, and the Stormwater Master Plan project team February 16, 2022 at City Hall. They are aware and acknowledge that there are problems with drainage and flooding in the Garden District. According to engineers, the drainage system models show that the neighborhood should not be experiencing problems if our system is functioning properly. Therefore, they have reason to believe that there might be a localized problem in the subsurface drainage system.

Step One is to identify the unknown problem(s)

The City is sending their subcontractor, CES, to survey the subsurface drainage lines on Cherokee and Tulip to identify the problem. CES trucks have been seen in the area. If lines are clogged, they plan to unclog them. If there is no infrastructure problem identified, the city has agreed to pay the funding to HNTB engineers to design the solution. As of today, we have not heard from the City and HNTB on what has been discovered during the survey or identification of the problem.

If the problem requires infrastructure work, there is no funding for the construction of the solution. Funding would come from a grant; the application is due by the end of May. Grant qualification requires information on the homes that have experienced property damage.

WHAT YOU CAN DO!

PROPERTY DAMAGE? LET US KNOW!

If you or someone you know has experienced flooding in the Garden District, please complete the Stop the Garden District from Flooding: Photo/Doc Submission form and submit photos. If you have trouble uploading your photos/videos because of the size, please email a link to [email protected]. The City needs this information to apply for funding to fix the problem!

SHARE & TAG

Follow us on Instagram @StoptheGDFlooding. Share your photos of flooding so your story is heard.

BE PART OF THE SOLUTION

• Help determine what is happening. Get active if there are problems on your block.
• Do NOT blow leaves and grass clippings in the street or drains.
• Bag leaves and grass debris.
• Ask your neighbors and their lawn service providers to stop blowing leaves and grass clippings in the street.
• Pick up litter.

Follow us on INSTAGRAM @STOPTHEGDFLOODING

UPDATE:

This year, you may have seen your GDCA board members out judging Christmas lights on a Baton Rouge Pedal Pub. This was the first time we held the judging in this manner, and we have discussed opening this up to the larger Garden District neighborhood next year because it was so much fun! These are kid friendly, and can negotiate a group rate for rides.

Winners of the contest received gift cards for two free rides, and the one-hour Pedal Pub ride for the judging was generously donated by Baton Rouge Pedal Pub. We hope that involving more of the neighbors in this annual event will get more of our neighbors to put up lights and get involved in the spirit of the holidays!

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Your Garden District board rode up and down every street and toiled over which houses were the best. It was a hard decision, but here are the WINNERS! Congratulations!!!