Want changes at Abilene public parks? Now is the time to let city know your ideas.
At every Abilene park, Elisabeth Mathews would like a splash pad or other water feature, a favorite of her 3-year-old daughter.
"She wants me to take her every day," Mathews said recently at Kirby Lake Park watching a group of daycare children. That park does not have a splash pad.
More shaded benches and tables next to the playground equipment was the suggestion from Sophie Hartig as she monitored her two children, ages 2 and 4, by the slide at the south Abilene park.
The mothers had other suggestions, too, including more trails and better maintenance of them, along with safer paths along the lake for the children.
Now is the time to give such ideas to the city of Abilene's park and recreations department, which is gathering input for a 10-year master plan. Part of the information-gathering process includes a community survey that runs to July 31.
The survey is available online at bit.ly/abparks.
"We're wanting to know what does the future need to look like for parks and recreation in the next 10 years?," said Chris Gibson, assistant director of community services for the city of Abilene.
"... That is geared heavily around what the community's expectations are, and what the community wants those parks and recreational facilities, programming, all of those things to be in the upcoming years."
Abilene parks and recreation facilities
About 8% of the city's $110.7 million 2021-22 budget is earmarked for parks and recreation.
The department's budgeted funds of $9,348,679 puts it behind the $33.2 million (30%) for the police department and $25.5 million (23%) for the fire department, but just ahead of $9,022,431 (8%) earmarked for public works.
The city budget allows for 93 full-time employees – plus additional seasonal staffing – to manage and maintain 26 parks totaling 720 acres. Outdoor amenities scattered at some of the parks include athletic fields, courts, pavilions, playgrounds, skate park and walk/run paths.
In addition, G.V. Daniels, Cobb, Rose and Sears parks have activity buildings and/or recreational centers dating to the 1960s.
Parks and recreation also provides landscaping services for 257 acres of other city properties, including the 4-mile berms along the Union Pacific Railway that bisects the city's middle along North and South First streets.
Another responsibility is administration and maintenance of Abilene Municipal Cemetery, north of downtown. There is common functionality between maintaining the grounds of a cemetery and a park, Gibson said.
The cemetery "is considered a park, and that's not uncommon in most cities from what I've found," he said.
What is a master plan?
The council Feb. 22 approved the hiring of Brandstetter Carroll Inc. for $85,000 to assist in assessing the city's parks, facilities and programs.
Services include gathering public input and developing an action plan for the next decade.
The process is in the information-gathering stage, with final proposals tentatively scheduled to come at the end of the year.
An analysis of program participation is part of the process.
"What is it we're offering the community and what is being successful and what do we need to probably revamp or do differently?," Gibson said.
The final report will be a roadmap with short- and long-term recommendations. Should the Abilene City Council adopt the master plan, it is not a guarantee that every recommendation will come to fruition.
"It's more of a plan so that as we have monies become available to us, as a department then we know that we have a direction and a plan that we can go in and look at," Gibson said.
A vision of potential future improvements allows the department to respond as opportunities become available.
"It really allows us to be more effective and efficient as to what it is we're wanting to do and how we're going to get there," Gibson said.
Gathering input
The consultants have met with city staff and stakeholders who are regular users of the buildings and outdoor facilities, such as running and bicycling clubs, churches, police and fire departments and many others.
At an open house June 16 at the Abilene Convention Center, visitors were prompted to write answers to two general questions: What do you like about the public parks and recreational programs, and what improvements are needed?
Each open house visitor also was given round, red stickers to post on display boards about different facilities, features and services. It was a way to visually cast their opinion.
On the board "What features are most important to you?", options included playgrounds, trails, aquatics, public art, outdoor fitness equipment, picnic shelters, nature areas, athletic fields and more.
The square getting the most red stickers at one point, however, was the game courts. Pickleball enthusiasts had practically covered the square, with a "P" penned on their stickers to denote the sport from other court games.
The recent popularity of pickleball that combines elements of badminton, ping pong and tennis shows how a master plan is a fluid document.
"The community's focus changes," Gibson said. "An example of that is 10 years ago, pickleball wasn't even on the radar, and today pickleball is a big thing for a lot of different demographics within our community."
How Abilene progressed on last master plan
The last parks and recreation master plan was approved by the Abilene City Council in 2014. A master plan for Kirby Lake was crafted in 2018.
Based on input from the public and stakeholder groups, the 2014 master plan identified 10 facilities needed to improve recreational opportunities:
Trails
Aquatic facilities – swimming pools, aquatic center, splash pads
Playgrounds (with shaded structures)
Pavilions and picnic facilities
Multipurpose flat fields for soccer, football, lacrosse, etc.
Additional parkland in south Abilene
Citywide athletic complex with soccer, softball and baseball
Open space preservation/natural habitat areas
Basketball courts
Volleyball courts
The 2014 master plan included five recommendations for improving city facilities and 15 more for outdoor enhancements.
"We touched on many of the different recommendations in various degrees," said Lesli Andrews, the city's director of parks and recreation.
Some items were delayed due to COVID-19, she said. Others have been approved and are in the design stages.
At the top of the facilities list was a public/private joint venture for a citywide recreation center. That became a reality with the February 2020 opening of Dodge Jones Youth Sports Center, operated by Abilene Youth Sports Authority, at Nelson Park.
More: Eyes were wide at first peek inside new youth sports complex at Nelson Park
Ten outdoor fields for soccer, football and other related sports could be added next to the sports center after the city council voted June 23 to enter an agreement with AYSA for the project.
If AYSA raises $10 million within 12 months, the city will provide $5 million in cash or in-kind services for the fields and development of related infrastructure, such as parking and water and sewer lines.
The other facilities suggestions in the 2014 master plan involved improving the recreational buildings at Daniels, Cobb, Rose and Sears parks.
Topping the list of outdoor recommendations was acquiring land for a new south Abilene park. That has not occurred.
"It's been quite a while since we've added a new park," Gibson said.
Part of the challenge is acquiring land.
"What a lot of people don't understand is a lot of these parks, the property themselves were donated for the use as a park facility. And then once it's designated as a park, it's very difficult for it to be anything other than a park from that point forward, depending on the stipulations of the agreement with which the property was actually donated," Gibson said.
The second and third suggestions that related to aquatics have been implemented. Adventure Cove opened in June 2017 at Rose Park, its $6 million price tag funded by bonds approved by voters in 2015.
At Stevenson Park, whose aging pool had been closed in 2014, a splash pad opened in September 2016, one of five operated by the city today. A sixth one for Coach James Valentine Park, formerly Lee Park, is in design stage, Gibson said.
The city's first splash pad opened in 2012 at Nelson Park, near Fort Imagination and the Abilene Zoo and was funded by private donations.
Voters later approved bond money to add splash pads to Stevenson, Redbud, Sears and Scarborough parks.
Improvements have been made in recent years at other parks, such as a nature trail and dinosaur dig at Kirby Lake Park and more recently at Stevenson Park with new courts and lighting.
A ribbon cutting is slated for late July for upgraded playground equipment near the South Seventh Street entrance at Rose Park. The all-inclusive play equipment includes swings and ramps to accommodate people with special needs.
More: New playground equipment at Rose Park to ensure fun for all
The recommended development of trails connecting city parks is an unrealized aspiration, with more and better trails still a common request today, Gibson said.
Those working for years to develop a trail along Cedar Creek will have to wait longer. The council recently voted to turn down a $2.36 million construction contract for 1.5 miles of trails along the creek from East South 11th Street north to Stevenson Park because of a higher cost compared to other bids.
Bond money has been set aside for the project.
Whether the development of additional trails continues to be a priority in the years to come will depend in part on feedback for the next parks and recreation master plan.
Laura Gutschke is a general assignment reporter and food columnist and manages online content for the Reporter-News. If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com.
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: City crafting master plan to improve Abilene parks and recreation
