The land was officially named Argyle Nature Trail at the Feb. 26 meeting, which was a name chosen by the park committee, said Mayor Pro Tem Ronald Schmidt.
What’s happening?
The town council officially created a standing committee consisting of 14 individuals to champion and provide recommendations related to Argyle park properties. Their terms would end in October 2026, said Community Director Harrison Wicks.
“The diversity of this group is awesome,” Schmidt said. “We have master gardeners, naturalists, stakeholders ... it’s really fantastic seeing community people doing work for the community.”
Their first line of business will be to find someone to clean up the property on Cook Street, focusing on preserving native foliage while removing unnecessary debris and hazards.
According to city documents, the work would include:
- removing approximately 140 yards of dirt, a shed, wheels, tin, concrete and other waste
- removing underbrush for equipment access to the shed
- removing and disposing of approximately 7,400 feet of fencing
- removing and disposing of approximately 17 specified and identified dead or diseased trees.
The backstory
In December 2023, Argyle approved the purchase of the property on Cook Street for nearly $1.03 million, according to city documents. The land was purchased with the intention of creating a nature trail, outdoor meeting space, a garden area and a veterans memorial garden.
At the October 21 council meeting, individuals interested in serving on the park standing committee brought ideas on what to do with the land. They had three meetings prior to this town council meeting and a few of the members walked through the property several times to see what ideas they could come up with.
“We basically see this as a nature type environment, not kids playground equipment everywhere or a sports park ... we see this as a trail through the park,” said Stephan Shannon, a member of the park committee.
He brought a concept plan to the council for what the trail would look like and spoke with Gary Packan, the parks and recreation director in Denton, about how to create a park trail.
With Packan’s advice, Shannon and the park committee came up with some ideas to accomplish their vision.
The ideas consist of a concrete 4-foot path to make the trail accessible to guests with disabilities and include soft nature trails branching off that concrete pathway. Packan suggested adding two feet of grass on either side of the path to give space for a truck to come through and clear out fallen trees and hazardous debris.
Shannon gave an idea of the phasing, saying that he sees the project consisting of four phases:
- Cleaning up the property
- Asking a civil engineer to design the trail, which will require funding from the town council
- Putting the project out to bid to construct the park
- Building the park
Additional details
The land is located behind businesses including Little Joe’s Farmstead, 407 Nutrition and Argyle Party and Gifts.
Jim Reid, who owns Little Joe’s Farmstead, and Emily Holt, owner of Argyle Party and Gifts, are both on the park committee.
“The idea is for the park space to become a central focal point and help businesses in the area,” said Schmidt.
Additionally, Schmidt said he wants to add a veteran memorial, which he is hoping will be discussed by Town Council sometime in April.
