The Baker City Council at its March 9 meeting recognized members of the Lady Buffs basketball team for having advanced to the Top 28 and then placing second in the state. Each player received a certificate from Mayor Harold Rideau and congratulations from the council members.

Others recognized at the meeting were Police Chief Mike “Snapper” Knaps for his appointment to the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) International Law Enforcement Executives Advisory Board; Mark Milligan who plans to run for state representative from District 63, the position held by the late Avon Honey; and Jay Avance Jr., new pastor at First Baptist Church.

The council scheduled a work session to review donation procedures of the nine-acre Landry-Nettles property on Parklan Drive.

The property was donated to the private Buffwood Club in the ‘50s, City Attorney Ron Wall said, with the stipulation that when the property was no longer used it would revert to the heirs and the heirs would then donate it to the city. Some homeowners want the property subdivided into residential lots.

The work session will also address hard-surface parking lots, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, and Planning and Zoning ordinance development, code enforcement and staff ramp-up.

Carl Stages, executive director, BREC Foundation, presented a book, “Every Town Needs a Trail,” by Jen Ohlson and asked the council and others present to write comments in it.

The book will be presented to U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., in Washington, D.C., with a request for an appropriation to build trails throughout the parish, Stages said.

BREC is renovating Greenwood Park on La. 19 at a cost of about $4.5 million. A multipurpose building on the lake will include a golf pro shop, meeting rooms, theater and restaurant or concessions, he said.

A dog park is part of the plan as is a $450,000 playground. ExxonMobil donated $50,000 for a trail around the lake, to be stocked with rainbow trout and have canoes and kayaks for rent. The renovated park will open in a year from now, Stages said.

In other business, the council voted to introduce an ordinance to update the code to protect the potable water supply from backsiphonage and backflow to comply with state regulations.

James LeBlance of the Unity Project announced a march on March 20 from Baker City Hall to the Unity campus at 2400 Debra Drive to raise awareness of crime, substance abuse and truancy.

The YWCA is setting up an office on the Unity campus to mentor problematic kids and develop apprenticeships. A newsletter titled Baker United will begin publishing April , he said.

The next meeting of the council will be 6 p.m., Tuesday, March 23.