Town Talk Church Point
Town Talk Church Point
Transforming a Town: The Surprising Power of a Community Skate Park
Ever wondered how a piece of pavement can transform a neighborhood into a thriving community? Buckle up, because Mayor Spanky and Chris, will take you on a journey to discover how our town's skate park did just that. Thanks to the brainchild of resident Scott Lafleur, our skate park has become the nexus of community development in unexpected ways. It's not just about teens landing kickflips; it's about the surge in residents from other areas, the flowering of local businesses, the bolstered schools, and lively housing markets.
But don't think it's been a smooth ride. Change is rarely easy, and we've faced our fair share of hurdles. Tune in as we share insights on combating negativity, keeping the community informed, and holding onto hope in the face of adversity. We'll demystify the behind-the-scenes work that goes into creating a space that fosters community growth and sustainability. Our town's transformation is proof that parks can be more than just a place to play—they can be the heart of a thriving community. So, grab your helmets, folks, it's time to drop in.
Time for yet another episode of the town talk podcast. Mayor Spanky and Chris and this episode wanted to talk about the great thing surrounding the skate park Depot, skate of Palooza, whatever we're calling it. We got people from all over.
Speaker 2:I've talked to people from Jennings, from Broadbridge. I mean that little skate shop in in Lafayette has been pumping it on their Website and stuff and man, it's been a lot. I mean I'm telling you I'm so impressed by the happiness and the positivity and these kids appreciate it. Yeah, I mean I went and you know skaters was treated pretty badly for a long time because they'd be riding on sidewalks and parking lots and business people and homeowners would come out and Get you till out of here.
Speaker 2:you know, and I thought that was always unfair, because that not every child is just your cookie cutter Baseball football player, correct? They got different interests and we need to Intervene with that to make them get outside, get off their phones, and I can tell you that crew over there they ain't on their phones. Yeah, they having a good time. They bring the ice chest. They pick up that trash. After I seen one he was blowing off the Skatepark yep to take a pride in yeah and I mean you see them, they walk the Sonic, they get some drinks, they come back.
Speaker 2:I mean it's a win-win. I mean the Central Park is a win-win. The they had that music festival. It was a big success on July 1st. Yep, I mean the heat that people.
Speaker 1:Hot as days of the year.
Speaker 2:Yep, literally, was one of the hottest days of the year, there's no doubt. I mean the last night I passed by and the skate park buggy building pickleball court. They had to have 60, 70 people there. There was cars everywhere and there was no function. Mm-hmm, it was just enjoying. Yeah, the the things that we're doing. You know and you know. I've had people come up and Look there's negative on everything. Oh, park, park, park, park, park Parks.
Speaker 1:Park.
Speaker 2:Park Park Park Park Park, park, park Park. Okay, you can say that to you, blue in the face, come find out something. Yeah, if you want to talk about it, it's a drop in the bucket what we've spent on parks, compared to what we put into the sewer plant, into the water plant, into the streets, into the grants, into the. There's a whole lot of moving ports, but the one you see is the park right, that's the more visible one, and and you know I'm proud of what I've done at the parks and if you don't like, I'm sorry.
Speaker 2:I've been to so many meetings, I've been to so many classes that back in the day it was about school, it was None of them. Maybe that's not a good thing. Yeah, I'm just saying in the towns that are growing, the towns that are running the right way, they put parks in right first and they're. Everything from there grows. Well. You get your restaurants coming in with more people coming in. There's more restaurants coming in with that. You know schools are being done there's. Those things spark a whole lot more than just, oh, there's a park right there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there's a whole lot more moving parts than what you see. People have to have something to do, people have to send their kids somewhere and they have to be able to work. We don't have big industry over here. We're a bedroom community and that's fine, that's great, but we could be the best damn bedroom community we can be. We got LUS fiber coming Yep. We got property values that's lower in the area, one of the lowest Yep. There's no reason why this is not a stopping point. I mean, you're gonna be seeing this economy is not the best right now. Housing markets, it's probably gonna take a hit. And those folks that are in some different towns around Lafayette that paid $800, a million for a house, they might be looking to downsize. You know they might be looking to not downsize. You can get a mansion over here for what you buy over there for a three bedroom, two bath.
Speaker 1:Yep.
Speaker 2:You know, and that's what we we gotta show our strengths and this is how we build the community. Yeah, you know, a lot of the things that happen are people are scared to change. Well, we've been like this for so long. I'd rather not change, cause I know this and I understand that. But that's not. That's how you lose a city. Yeah, you can't grow. Yeah, if you don't grow, you're going backwards. And that's when you get a town that nobody wants to come to, Nobody wants to move there, Nobody wants to invest in. And guess what? We were on that road.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:But now we're breathing new life. I'm seeing people moving here from other states, from other areas, and we have some things coming up that's going to be even more enticing. So these parks, I mean it's a wonderful thing on a multitude of reasons, but, like I said, the skate park itself is probably, I mean, one of my most biggest successes because it's being used every day, yep.
Speaker 1:And look, let's just take a pause right there because I also want people to realize that that skate park was something that was dreamed of of one of our citizens. Scott Scott Lafleur approached you with that idea. Yeah, and I tell this to people a lot, that you're very open to new ideas. And again, like what we talked about on other podcasts or the one about you know, don't go ragging some restaurant on Facebook or local business on Facebook, don't. But if people actually schedule a meeting with you, have a rational, normal conversation about an idea that they have for town you are going to look at every single time.
Speaker 2:I know that about you.
Speaker 1:You know I do so. You know Scott thought of this and it was in the works for a while. You know it's something that wasn't 100 percent funded by the town. No, the town didn't pay much of I mean a bit of half of it.
Speaker 1:Yes, we got a generous donation from Church One, community Development, and we got multiple, multiple generous donations from private citizens and businesses to get this done. Like that's how much people believed in it. There's now picnic tables there. There's now barbecue pits there. Those are put there by donations of people, from people in businesses. Again, that believed in in saw Look, man, there's a lot happening there. Ok, I'll go and buy a picnic table for you. Look here's. Here's my donation towards this. And you know, just seeing that also shows a little bit of success as well.
Speaker 2:That's right. And look when I say what you're saying is 100 percent right. And I have to say this Scott LaFleur came to me with this idea and worked his tail off on it. Work every angle, dude did I know how to find the right contractor for skate park.
Speaker 1:That wasn't something that was in your wheelhouse.
Speaker 2:I rollerbladed in the early nineties to hire the tiger. It wasn't. I'm not. I'm not a skateboard guy. I don't know these things, but you know what he showed me. I mean, he was sending me pictures from different cities Look how many people are coming, look how many this, this, this and I just worked on it the best I could and and figured out how to get it done. But Scott put the work. You know, it's just like community development with the welcome signs.
Speaker 1:Yep.
Speaker 2:That was their creation.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And you know what? They worked their tail off on it. They, you know, designed it. They were. I mean, I just had to figure out how to get it done and we got it done Yep. So it's not, just come talk to me and say I want this, ok, well, let's get it. But if you say, well, I don't really have time to do anything, well like it is not going to happen. Yeah, yeah but if you're ready to work and I'm ready to work we could probably make something happen.
Speaker 1:Yep, and these days it's a lot about instant gratification. Yes, people just see you right now, you know, but I know parks and other improvements that you had or you did around town over the past four, four and a half years, whatever it is close to five towards the end of this year.
Speaker 1:It's a long term plan. It's not something that we could see some success and for some stuff we are but it's a long term vision. It's not a vision of two, three, four years. Obviously, yes, you do know that we need to do some work on roads, but we also need some water line work. We can't black top roads if we're going to tear them up to do water line work. You know there's a lot and there's also a lot of infrastructure work that y'all are doing that people just don't see. That's right. They don't see it. There's a lot of that happening. There's a lot of grant money coming in and there's a lot that's going to be happening again.
Speaker 1:Over the past few years I saw someone comment it might have been on another one of the pages, but it was something about the Central Park area and the walking sidewalk and somebody said it was too hot, need some trees, yeah, I mean. So I mean, let's just think about that. If you planted some trees right there, I wouldn't see them in my lifetime. It wouldn't make shade, for I don't think my grandchild in her lifetime. So it's just one of those things, man, just a little common sense thinking. And if you go run around the track at Church Point High School. That's your exercise. There's no shade there either. You know what I mean. But you want to complain about something that the town?
Speaker 2:did, and that's one of the things I say that all the time, the things that we're moving on right now is going to be something where not everybody understands it and not everybody supports it, and I understand that. I'm good with that. But in the years to come, I think you'll figure it out, because you either accept where you at you accept you're going to be a bedroom community for life yet and you shine it up as much as you can and guess what? It just might happen, and it will. It will Because there's towns that are digging in and trying to make themselves better and there's some that are just laying down, letting politics get involved and getting nothing done. Those are going to stay stagnant. And look, I'm not asking you to agree with me. I don't expect everybody to understand what I'm doing, but I don't think anybody out there can say that I'm not trying. And when I hear the pork's, pork's, pork's, I really. That's why I do these things, to make sure things are clear.
Speaker 2:Ok, mm-hmm, we put Marie Street had, I think, around 90 mainline leaks in 10 years. We paid 100% and we changed those lines. Those people are no longer under ball water advisers. Our next one that was horrible was St Jude and LOC. We paid that.
Speaker 2:Yeah got it done, Great Good. Those are very important deals We've done. We've done the sewer in pretty much the whole town. That's huge. Nobody knows that Right, Nobody realized that. But you know what the park, the playground at the park, was in a partnership with community development. Skate park partnership with community development. And the private Welcome signs community development. The playground at Central Park community development.
Speaker 1:The building that holds the buggy was community development Yep.
Speaker 2:I've done workout equipment. That was a 5k run donation by a crossfit church point. Are you starting when you say parks, parks, parks, parks, parks, Because people are coming and bringing their hard earned money?
Speaker 2:We're gonna try to get them the best out of they can get. And if you don't like free money, I don't know what to tell you. You know, if you're still negative about those people donating how they want to, well, hey, bring your money, I'll do it. Let's figure out something, you know, yep, but that's. I think what people really need to understand is that parks is for everybody and it brings the community together and it makes a starting point to build a sustainable community. And we're in the beginning phase of that and I'm gonna tell you it's working well. There's out there that say, oh, he's crazy and I'm good with that. I'll take that. I'll take that every day, because you know, to run for this position, you gotta be a little crazy. You gotta be a little crazy and I'm good with that.
Speaker 2:But we need to stick together. We need to understand that these things are a long term solution. Go look around the towns that are very good right now. Go look at their stuff and go look at the towns that you wouldn't live in if you yeah.
Speaker 1:I know some. Somebody gave you a house there.
Speaker 2:I know some and I'm not gonna say their name's on there, but you couldn't give me a house where those people live and go look at their parks, go look at their infrastructure. I'm telling you this is a good thing. You may not understand it, and that's fine. Step aside, you know, don't go. And you know Facebook and all this stupid stuff. I'm not looking at it and I'm not paying attention to it. So and look, tell me that I can't do something. I'm gonna prove you yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah. But man, you know seriously, and I know it will just come back real quick I want to reiterate too you are open to ideas, man. You very much are, and if you can find a way, you got somebody that comes to you with an idea that can help you find a way. You're all about that.
Speaker 2:Everything that we've done was done before. Either people came and talked to me about it. People have seen things, sent me pictures. I've seen things. I mean there's a look, there's a lot of stuff that goes on to this. I'm not sitting here saying all of this was my. I didn't. Hardly any of it was, but if I could see a, if I could see the positive in it and you're willing to work, we can get some stuff done, you know.
Speaker 2:And, like I said, it's just a. We have to change our minds a little bit. I have to let the positivity come in and let this town grow.
Speaker 1:So again, mayor, thanks for the time. This was another thing that was kind of your idea too, and we came together on trying to do this, and the town talk podcast is really about, again, you trying to get out information and keep everybody up to date, answer some questions and look, I'm going to tell you the.
Speaker 2:I'd like you to explain it a little more, but the belt marks on my back which I'm fine with that. I get a lot of those. That's not a problem. But Chris, tell me what we went when I took over. How did the people get the information?
Speaker 1:When you took over, people probably got their information from the newspaper, or maybe they had to go and sit in a town council meeting and I would, and I would bet that that not many people did that. They were there, there was and this is not we're not talking bad about any previous administrations but there wasn't many ways to get information out.
Speaker 2:Mm-hmm, and they had a Facebook.
Speaker 1:But it hadn't been dealt with.
Speaker 2:I don't even know if that the password for it. Yeah, we went after Facebook.
Speaker 1:Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2:We went after different forms to make sure that and that you get as much information as possible, and we got beat. We could beat up for it constantly. You see why people in government doesn't do anything right. That's why Because, when I was running, we want to pay our water bills online. You can pay your water bills, yep. We want to see you know updates and stuff. You got that, yep. But you got those bottom feeders that Want to complain about everything and that's fine, yeah, you can do that.
Speaker 2:If you want to stay up all night and complain about everything, go ahead. I'm gonna get up and we're gonna go to work and we're gonna live our life, you know.
Speaker 1:It's funny you bring that up, because the other day I was scrolling one of the local news websites and I saw another municipality had a boil water advisory just for an example, and I thought about it.
Speaker 1:I'm like I wonder how the people in that area found out there was a boil water advisory Mm-hmm. Hey, maybe it may have tagged their doors if it was what the allotted amount of tags and you're supposed to put, you know. But but again, it's like if we put boil water advisory, people get upset. Well, how did I know? Well, how were you going to know? Yeah and then like if a waterline breaks, how did the town know that that waterline was going to break?
Speaker 2:You know, it's just it goes back to the end. And this is something that actually happened and I always thought this was very funny. A lady got up at a council meeting and Said that she was disappointed that the cops were not passing by our house. Well, happened to be. We have GPS's. So we, we looked it up, they had passed it. I think it was like one in the morning. Mm-hmm. She says well, I was sleeping, yeah, but that doesn't mean that it didn't pass. What you said was they don't pass, but they did at this time. Yeah, but I didn't see him. Just because you didn't see him, don't mean that it doesn't happen. Yeah, yeah, you know.
Speaker 2:And look all these things that we're doing and look the belt marks on my back, and that's fine, I knew that coming into it. But we've had a lot of successes. Yeah, and I'm gonna tell you this and I'm not saying it's now and I'm not saying it's in six months, but every time I do something to pork, they go in and say what about a splash pad? Well, I'm starting to work on it now. I want you to get ready Because I'm gonna get that, that splash pad. Get what you're gonna complain about next. Get it, get it early. Let's start. Let's start working on it, because once you're gonna get that, then there's gonna be something else and that's fine.
Speaker 1:I can't wait for that something else. Yeah because the other thing is always a splat. What about the splash pad for the kids?
Speaker 2:they hot now that happens.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I want to know what the next thing the next thing is I, maybe there's a dome.
Speaker 2:That we can air-condition to save on the on electricity you know, we don't have to pay electric. We just build a dome over the whole town and we'll AC. You know I, maybe that's what it is.
Speaker 1:Hey look.
Speaker 2:I know it's goofy, I know we're joking right here, but it is. Yeah, it's true. I mean, I'm gonna work my tail off on it and I'm gonna tell you, in the past five years I had a pretty good track record. When I start something, it's gonna get done. It might take time, might take a while, but I'm gonna get it done.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Yep, so that's what I want to say. Okay, well, that was Towards the end of this episode. You got a little inside information. We'll see. I'm not gonna mention anything about it.
Speaker 2:We'll see how many people listen and if anything happens surrounding the organic of a splash and again, I'm gonna say one more time it's not tomorrow, it's not six months, it's gonna. It's in my plan, yep. And for the people that's gonna say ah, what about the roads? There's a plan on that too. Yeah, everything that you can complain about. I got a plan for it. So, thank y'all, we're gonna. We're gonna do fine. This town is running very, very well right now. We've got a lot of positive things. Just hold on, stay in your in your lane and just yep.
Speaker 2:Help us. There you go, let's get it done.
Speaker 1:Yep Well, mayor. Thank you so much again. Uh, any, any questions, you can message our town of church point facebook page. You can also email town talk questions at gmailcom until next time. Thank you, mayor, thank you.