January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 42

LAKE CHARLES
filled with insurance adjusters, contractors
and brainstorming sessions.
It became obvious that restorations
would be costly. High prices and
supply chain issues lingering from
the pandemic meant these repairs
could take years to complete. To
make matters worse, in February
2021, Winter Storm Uri brought
unprecedented snow and deepfreezing
conditions to Lake Charles,
and a 1,000-year rain event in May
2021 flooded houses that were finally
completing repairs from Laura.
This series of disasters brought on
a new nickname for the city coined
by the National Weather Channel:
Cypress Alligator Pond was closed for
four years after Hurricane Laura until donations
made through Partners in Parks
facilitated its rehabilitation.
" the most weather battered city in
America. " It was now not only a
mission to bring back quality of
life to the city, but also a necessity.
Industries including a major port,
airports, gaming resorts, healthcare
and manufacturing plants all require
a robust workforce. With major
repairs needed to infrastructure,
the city's budget for attracting this
labor force was stretched thin.
Rebuilding for Resilience
Again,
the
Hunter
administration
had to get creative, and one
approach was to leverage the existing
Partners in Parks program.
Although some building and park
repairs were underway, it would be
a long time before they were fully
open to the public. The city's recreation
and parks team focused once
more on working with partners to
produce free and family-friendly
programming in neighborhoods
across Lake Charles. These events
were a welcome distraction and a
reminder to people of the sense of
community. Although devastation
was still evident throughout the
city, just as evident was the growing
sense of hope.
Mayor Hunter and his administration
vowed that the rebuild
would focus on achieving greater
resilience. It would be an opportunity
to showcase forward thinking
and proactive leadership. Every
plan was intentional. All construction
materials
were
deliberately
chosen. Eventually, the natural disasters
would open doors to mul42
Parks & Recreation |
J ANUAR Y 2 0 2 5 | PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
PHOTO COURTESY OF KATIE HARRINGTON

January 2025 – Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2025 – Parks & Recreation

January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - Intro
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - Cover1
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - Cover2
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 1
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 2
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 3
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 4
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 5
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 6
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 7
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 8
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 9
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 10
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 11
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 12
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 13
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 14
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 15
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 16
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 17
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 18
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 19
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 20
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 21
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 22
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 23
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 24
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 25
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 26
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 27
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 28
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 29
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 30
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 31
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 32
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 33
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 34
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 35
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 36
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 37
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 38
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 39
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 40
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 41
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 42
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 43
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 44
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 45
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 46
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 47
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 48
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 49
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 50
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 51
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 52
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 53
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 54
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 55
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 56
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - Cover3
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - Cover4
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2025
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2021
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com