BATON ROUGE - This weekend, BREC Superintendent Corey Wilson is taking a backseat. The Commission has started a national search for a new superintendent. In the meantime, an interim is sitting in; Janet Simmons is the former President and CEO of Hope Ministries and will officially take over superintendent duties starting Sunday, June 1. 

Other changes are coming to BREC. Bills are moving through the legislature that could reshape the Park Commission. BREC is also looking for a new Aquatic Manager after the other one resigned in April.

BREC says the absence of an Aquatic Manager is not why Liberty Lagoon is closed. Former Aquatic Manager Daniel Burg spoke with 2 On Your Side about what happened leading up to his resignation.

Burg, who was hired by BREC in 2018 as a full time exempt employee, has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against BREC accusing the Commission of misconduct, including discriminatory practices, retaliation, and abuse of authority. Last October, while still employed by BREC, Burg started to investigate an employee who he thought was abusing the system.

"I was having issues with an employee and decided to suspend them for time fraud and payroll theft and after the investigation things took a turn," said Burg.

That turn led to Burg being suspended without pay for several days in December 2024 and ultimately formally resigning from his job in April 2025. Burg says he was removed from the investigation process involving the other employee without an explanation and was taken over by BREC internal audit and Aneatra Boykin, BREC CAO, and general counsel. The lawsuit says Burg was questioned about his findings, where he disclosed his use of surveillance footage to verify payroll discrepancies. 

Burg says his access to the surveillance system was revoked and the suspended employee was allowed to return to work.

"He filed a grievance, which is a form of retaliation and BREC did not protect me," said Burg.

Burg was suspended for five days without pay and in an email from March 2025 that suspension was upheld. In an email from Boykin to Burg, "it was determined that you failed to fulfill your obligation(s) as Supervisor and manager of the facility."

Burg tells 2 On Your Side that what transpired over those months deeply concerns him. 

"It's very combative and I didn't feel like that was a viable work environment," said Burg.

Last week, Burg says he attended a BREC Commission meeting with a poster meant to alert Commission members of the violations he alleges in his lawsuit. Burg was escorted out of that meeting by law enforcement. 

In January, Burg typically starts training lifeguards for the summer season. This year, he wasn't able to. Burg says his request to travel to Texas to renew his American Red Cross lifeguard instructor certification was denied. Last fall, Burg says he started to submit work orders to BREC for maintenance and equipment needed to get the next summer season started at Liberty Lagoon. Burg says those requests weren't tended to until March and April 2025.

Liberty Lagoon is closed. It did not open for the unofficial start of summer, Memorial Day weekend. In a release sent out, BREC said they did not have enough lifeguards to open. 

Crews were seen working at Liberty Lagoon on Friday, addressing landscaping and other maintenance. BREC denied an interview but says the opening date for the park is still TBD.

BREC says it contracted with SELA Aquatics on May 2 to start training lifeguards specifically for Liberty Lagoon. Until a new Aquatics Manager is found, BREC's Assistant Director and Director of Recreation will be overseeing the facility.

BREC declined to comment on why Burg was denied travel to complete his lifeguard recertification training, saying it is a "personnel matter." BREC is also unable to comment on legal matters.

This week, BREC told 2 On Your Side it would provide a report of outstanding maintenance requests for Liberty Lagoon, but the information was not received at the time this story aired.