As the BREC Board of Commissioners prepares to meet tonight for what likely will be a heated debate and contentious vote on the controversial relocation of the Baton Rouge Zoo, a state Senate committee is taking up a measure that would change the composition of the BREC board.
Sen. Regina Barrow’s Senate Bill 470 would increase the number of BREC Commissioners from nine to 11, replacing the school board representative on the commission with the state representative, state senator and Metro Council members whose respective districts include the Baton Rouge Zoo.
The measure also provides for the appointment to the commission of a licensed veterinarian, who would be chosen from a list of two nominees submitted by LSU and Southern University.
Under the proposed law, the remaining two ex-officio members of the commission—a representative from the mayor’s office and a representative from the planning commission—as well as five other commissioners appointed by the Metro Council would remain unchanged from current law.
Barrow, a vocal opponent of BREC’s effort to relocate the zoo out of its Greenwood Park home in her north Baton Rouge district, says the bill is in response to her frustration with the agency’s plans and the commission’s seeming reluctance to listen to voters—not only in north Baton Rouge but also near the Fairground site in the southeastern part of the parish, where BREC has proposed relocating the zoo.
“We will be held responsible for what they do and people come to us about BREC issues,” Barrow told Daily Report earlier this month. “We should have representation and since the commission was created by state statute I believe this is the best way to do it.”
The bill is the second this session taking aim at BREC over the zoo. Barrow’s fellow north Baton Rouge legislator, Rep. Barbara Carpenter, has filed a bill that would specifically prohibit BREC from moving the zoo from its current location.
Both measures are expected to face a tough battle in the Legislature, which is typically loathed to meddle in local affairs to such an extent. But the zoo battle has become increasingly heated in recent weeks.
The four mayors from East Baton Rouge Parish and Metro Council members have jumped into the fray, either by choice or through targeted lobbying efforts from one side or another.
The Senate Municipal and Governmental Affairs committee is hearing Barrow’s bill this morning. Even if it were to pass, it would still need approval from the full Senate and the House of Representatives and would likely not have any influence over tonight’s BREC meeting, which is scheduled for 5 p.m. at 6201 Florida Blvd.
