By KEVIN CHIRI
Slidell news bureau
LACOMBE – An effort that started 20 years ago to rebuild and upgrade the Lacombe Main Street boat launch, followed by creating a nature park nearby, appears ready to head into the final stretch run after a groundbreaking was held on Friday for the park.
A host of parish officials joined together, headed by Parish Councilman Joe Impastato, who spearheaded the idea 20 years ago when he led an effort to rebuild a boat launch at the end of Main Street that was so dilapidated it could not be used anymore.
Impastato put together a team of others who got behind the project, including former Parish Councilmen Jimmy Davis and Al Hamauei who represented the Lacombe area. First, they spent $50,000 to completely rebuild the boat launch into a nice facility that is heavily used today.
But Impastato had a vision for something more in the beautiful, wooded area fronting Bayou Lacombe.
“The funny thing is that we started to rebuild the boat launch 20 years ago even though the land was privately owned,” he said. “But then we were able to buy the boat launch property, which was part of 26 acres here, and then we got to work on buying the entire land.”
That finally happened in 2012 when parish officials managed to obtain a $1 million grant that allowed them to purchase the entire 26 acres.
Since then, Impastato said, they have tried to amass the funds to turn the area into a nature park. Adding to the historic feel on the land is a huge, abandoned train engine that will be incorporated into the design.
“My number one priority as a councilman for the Lacombe area where I grew up is to create more nice areas for the kids to enjoy,” he said.
Impastato said he spent his childhood sailing out on a rope swing and falling into the bayou.
“This is such a beautiful area for a park and it’s really what it is all about—doing good things for our community. I’m really proud of what we are doing here,” he added.
The park project will cost $2 million to construct, with the parish having put up $1 million in years past that is reportedly still being held for use. Then it took another $1 million grant from the state to have the funds.
When completed, the park can only be accessed from the nearby Tammany Trace on grounds that were a Native American settlement decades ago.
“This will be perfect to finish with the 30-year anniversary of the Tammany Trace coming up soon,” said Parish President Mike Cooper, one of many parish officials on hand. “Joe has advocated for this project for a long time and now we will have it finished in one year.”