Plans for new rec center on track

YOUNGSVILLE — Construction of a new $12 million recreation complex in Youngsville could be under way before the end of the year, city officials said.

Mayor Wilson Viator said the City Council is scheduled to begin advertising for bids on construction this month, and work could begin by November.

The 70-acre sports complex is expected to be completed by fall 2013, Viator said.

“We are moving as quickly as we can. I know people are chomping at the bit to use it,” the mayor said.

The project is funded with a 1-cent recreation sales tax that voters approved last year.

The new recreation complex is planned for a site near the Sugar Mill Pond development donated by Young’s Industries, a local business.

Plans call for a playground, a walking trail, a fishing pond, pavilions, tennis courts and sports fields.

A $5.5 million civic center also is planned at the site in the future, and the city will try to secure about $3 million from the state next year to help fund that project, Viator said.

The mayor said the soccer and baseball fields should be ready for play by early 2014, because a few months are needed after construction is complete to allow the grass to settle in.

While the recreation project in Youngsville is progressing, the neighboring city of Broussard also is planning a large new recreation complex after voters in that city approved a half-cent recreation sales tax last year.

Broussard officials have scheduled a public meeting from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sept. 19 at Broussard Middle School to hear public input on the types of recreation offerings residents would like to see.

Broussard has a working budget for the project of $20 million for purchasing land and construction of facilities at two locations.

The Broussard/Youngsville area has been the fastest-growing region of Lafayette Parish for several years, and officials in those cities have long talked of the need for better recreational facilities for the growing number of families there.