By MELISSA PEACOCK

RESERVE – St. John the Baptist Parish School Board President Gerald Keller said the Parish Council can purchase the Second Ward school property if they are willing to use it for education or recreation.

“We have been talking about this (sell) for three or four years now,” Keller said. “At first, they said the property would be used at the discretion of Nickie Monica. We added the language that they have to use it for educational or recreational purposes.”

In June a tentative School Board voted 7 to 4 to approve the sale of the land with the provision the property be used for education and recreation on the West Bank. At the time, the Parish Council was looking at the property as a potential home for a West Bank recreational facility.

“I understand that (Parish Council member) Lester Rainey wants to buy another piece of property (for the recreational complex),” Keller said. “He believes the property is too small.”

In June, Rainey told L’Observateur he had found a more suitable site for the multimillion dollar recreational complex.

“The thing is, we want to build a recreational complex with multiple courts and multiple fields and I don’t think the Second Ward property is large enough to meet that need,” he said.

Meanwhile, rumors circulated the parish administration was looking at using the old school property for a public works facility, one council member said. School Board stipulations would prevent that use.

The Parish Council is scheduled to vote Tuesday on an ordinance authorizing the Parish President to purchase the property from the School Board for $72,000.

Parish officials have not said what they will do with the property if it is purchased from the board.

“There seems to be some turf fights going on (within the Parish Council) right now,” Keller said.