BATON ROUGE — A local coalition is welcoming new developments around the future management of City-Brooks Park and the University Lakes.

Rep. Dixon McMakin has fully introduced his master plan, known as the McMakin Plan, that keeps the Historic City Park Golf Course fully intact, according to the Friends of City Park.

McMakin also reported productive discussions with Louisiana State University about future management of the University Lakes. LSU said it has no plans to join any third-party conservancy that would merge the University Lakes, BREC or any outside party into a single management entity.

Since LSU owns most of the Lakes system, its position directly contradicts the single-conservancy model proposed by Sasaki, a design firm. Community leaders pointed out that Sasaki is not a governance expert and that its proposed structure does not reflect LSU's role as the primary landowner.

"These developments reinforce the importance of keeping governance structures clear, separate and publicly accountable," said coalition spokesperson Stan Spring. "We appreciate Representative McMakin's leadership and LSU's clarity on this issue."

The coalition said it will continue monitoring these matters and provide updates as more information becomes available.