BATON ROUGE - A ribbon cutting ceremony for the re-opening of the BREC Maplewood Park happened Saturday afternoon, after nearly seven years of the park being closed due to flood damage.

To celebrate, the Glen Oaks Area Neighborhood Association hosted a family picnic for people to enjoy the newly renovated park.

"When you have a building that's been flooded and hasn't been used in a long time what once was a resource becomes an eyesore. BREC did an amazing job at restoring this facility to make sure that is was useful but also pleasing and added value to the community," East Baton Rouge Metro Councilman Darryl Hurst said.

The park is complete with new playground equipment, like indoor and outdoor basketball courts. Councilman Darryl Hurst says it's important to have these facilities so that kids have a safe place to play.

"The fact that people from across the street can come here and shoot basketball, a parent knows they're in a safe place. What it does ultimately is bring hope to the community and says while we have these other issues going on people are still making an investment to ensure we bring our communities back," Hurst said.

The inaugural picnic had plenty plenty for both kids and adults. A job fair and free haircuts were also available for anyone to enjoy. Hurst says he hopes events like this can be a catalyst for change.

"We expect this to be a spark that creates a wildfire and keeps on giving and getting more community members involved, so we can take Glen Oaks from where it is to where it could be," Hurst said.