LAFAYETTE PARISH — UPDATE: Sen. Boudreaux sent out the following clarification on Thursday to clear up any confusion related to yesterday's announcement:
"All four parks referenced in legislative instruments authored by Senator Gerald Boudreaux will retain their legal names and entity. There is no proposed change in the naming of Brown Park, City Park, Heymann or Moore Park in any of the bills filed for the 2025 session. Five years ago, the Lafayette City/Parish Councils approved resolutions creating Recreational Complexes which does not impact or change the existing names of the four parks. The pending legislation will codify the action of the councils at the state level."
Four parks complexes in Lafayette would get new names under bills introduced today in the Louisiana Senate.
State. Sen. Gerald Boudreaux, who was once head of Lafayette's Parks and Recreation Department, introduced Senate Bills 76, 77, and 140, which would impact City Park, Brown Park, Heymann Park, and Moore park.
Under his proposed legislation, the City Park complex would be named after Ernest Nabors, Jr., who once served as head of Lafayette's Parks and Recreation Department.
The soccer complex at Moore Park would be named after Deanna Bostick, who founded the city's youth soccer association in the 1980s.
The Brown Memorial Park complex would be named after Merlin Leger, who volunteered for more than forty years at the park. Brown Park recently reopened after a multi-million dollar renovation project.
The Heymann Recreation complex would be named after John Leblanc, who worked for the parks and recreation department for more than four decades.
