The vote by the City Park Board of Commissioners concerning the fate of the new golf courses at the park will come in May, said Gerry Barousse, head of the Bayou District Foundation at a press conference at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans on Wednesday.

The Bayou District Foundation, a Louisiana non-profit, has submitted a complete $46 million overhaul of the park's golf and recreational facilities to the City Park board, headed by Bob Becker.

Barousse and Mike Rodrique said that the project is dependent upon national fund-raising in a difficult time but the project is moving along. "It's not a great time to be raising money nationally," Barousse said, "and we recognize that it is a City Park and a public course."

PGA Tour member Joe Ogilvie is helping with the fund-raising portion of the project that will not only redesign golf in the park but redevelop public housing and educational facilities in the St. Bernard neighborhood, based upon the successful model in Atlanta called the East Lake project.

"Golf will be a big part of the funding," Ogilvie said. "When this is completed, it will be a model for the country. I'm sure that the people of New Orleans will be skeptical in the beginning, but this will be a boon to the city."

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