OPELOUSAS, La. (KLFY) — The renovations to South City Park in Opelousas have raised questions among residents about the fairness of funding for city projects.

Opelousas City Council Member Delita Broussard is one of them.

“We have nothing against what’s going on at the South Park with their project,” Broussard said. “I just feel that the North Park doesn’t get the equal funding.”

With millions of dollars projected to be spent on the South City Park reonovations, Broussard and residents Grasshopper Mendoza and Stephen Picou say focusing those sales tax dollars on one park misses a huge opportunity to improve various parts of the city’s infrastructure and make improvements to the city’s other park on the north side.

“We love Opelousas. We want our businesses to thrive,” Picou said. “But the plans for South Park are monuments to amateur sports that very few people actually get to take part in. In parks are for all people of all ages and all abilities to use.”

Mendoza said many children and families would benefit from investing in both parks as opposed to just one and would like to see a more balanced approach to city development moving forward.

“We are so supportive of the youth, and we’re support of a balance between the South Park and the North Park,” Mendoza said. “But we don’t need to spend $8 million before interest, that was a low bid, on something that we can spend maybe just a few million dollars to do some basic upgrades.”

Broussard said all she is asking for is equal funding.

“We have two parks, two main parks in the city,” she said “We should be able to have something over here for the kids, the elderly people as a whole to be together. It seemed like we being separated.”

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