The topic can’t be breached these days without sparking some debate; improvements to Picayune city facilities.

Tuesday’s City Council was more of the same, but came with a jab. Councilor Wayne Gouguet’s request for an update to the efforts being put forth to improve Friendship Park during that meeting could have only one outcome, fellow Council member Larry Breland asking why the city is spending money it says it doesn’t have to conduct work at a park that doesn’t need grant funds.

This time his argument was brief, comparatively speaking, but as always he had a valid point.

In previous meetings this year, he’s asked the Council to approve a motion to seek grant funding for the city’s parks, in the hopes that improvements in the way of lighting and other work would take place without hurting the city’s coffers.

While his first request neglected to list Friendship Park, and as such was denied, his subsequent request included all parks. It too was rejected.

So, it was no surprise that Breland would find contention about Gouguet’s most recent request for an update concerning work at Friendship Park, which was 100 percent funded by city funds.

It falls in line with Breland’s request for a wrought iron style fence around the cemetery on Eighth Street earlier this fiscal year.

A request that was repeatedly rejected, even though a similar fence was installed at the city owned cemetery on Palestine Road.

While his arguments that the Palestine Road cemetery is segregated are now moot since that’s the only city owned burial ground with available space, his request for an identical fence at Eighth Street is warranted; just like his request to seek grant funding to conduct improvements at all city parks.

For one of the city’s leaders to tout the use of city funds to improve Friendship Park while refusing to apply for grants for all parks could be taken as a jab.