At its June 17 meeting, council approved a resolution for the town to apply for a grant from the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department’s Local Parks Non-Urban Outdoor Recreation Grant Program. The deadline for application for funding through this grant is Aug. 1, a council agenda memo states.
MHS Planning and Design is assisting with the grant application. The company has assisted with other town park grants, said Chuck Jennings, Flower Mound's parks and recreation director.
The details
Jennings explained to council the grant requires a 50% match of up to $750,000. The program has other requirements, such as the park must be dedicated as parkland in perpetuity.
“We know the development of Trotter Park is going to far exceed $750,000, so we’ll easily be able to match that amount,” Jennings said.
The grant program is funded through a portion of the state sales tax on sporting goods, with additional funding coming from off-shore gas royalties through the Federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, Jennings said. Town officials should know between March and May next year whether they will receive the grant, which is for the acquisition, development and renovation of public recreation areas and facilities.
Zooming in
With a little more than 13 acres, Trotter Park is located at 4551 Cross Timbers Road. A master plan for Trotter Park was recommended by the Flower Mound Parks Board on June 6, and council is set to consider approval of the plan in July. Funds to assist in the development of Trotter Park are scheduled to be appropriated in the fiscal year 2024-25 budget. Design for the project will take approximately 10 months, starting in October, Jennings said. Park construction funding will start in fiscal year 2025-26 with an expected opening date in early 2027, Jennings said.
Jennings said the TPWD officials will look at a number of aspects in the application for its scoring matrix, such as park amenities and a master plan.
“Working with MHS is good because they do this for a lot of other cities as well as, and they have a good track record and a good relationship with the folks [at TPWD], so they’ll help us get as many points as we can get and make sure we’re beefing up the application,” Jennings said.
