During the work session before the regular council meeting, Southlake Director of Community Services David Miller made another presentation to council.
Miller and city staff took suggestions from feedback the council provided during the Dec. 3, 2024, meeting and brought back updated renderings and options.
Zooming in
The current park sits between Southlake Town Hall and Southlake Boulevard/FM 1709. It is often the focal point of many of the city’s events like Oktoberfest, Arts in the Park, Celebrate Southlake and Southlake Stars and Stripes, according to its website.
The city budgeted $527,000 for the park in the fiscal year 2024-25 capital improvement program, according to the city website. More than $14 million is budget in the fiscal year 2025-26 plan.
Current situation
Miller presented a traffic study on Fountain Place, the road that separates the park from the gazebo and fountain.
There were two options to keep the road open, another to close it fully and a fourth hybrid model that used bollards that could close the road for traffic.
Miller said there are 16 parking spots on Fountain Place. During a typical mid-week day, 33 cars per hour used the road, a report showed.
He said if the 16 parking spots were removed there are still 2,453 city-owned parking spots nearby and a total of 5,300 in Southlake Town Square.
“I’m totally against vehicular traffic,” council member Ronnell Smith said in regard to expansion over Fountain Place. “I think we should encourage fewer cars through that strip.”
What happened?
The consensus from council was to forge ahead with closing Fountain Place. That would eliminate the 16 parking spots, but three angled parking spots would be added on Grand Avenue and three more on State Street, Miller said.
The closure would provide a lawn area that stretches from the water fountain near Southlake Town Hall to the gazebo. According to the presentation, there would be tables with seating added near the upgraded gazebo.
"I’m fully on board with Option C,” council member Dr. Randy Robbins said in reference to the three plans presented. “I think Option C is infinitely better than anything else. It gives the most pop. It gives us the best place to have everything. It looks first-class, top to bottom. Either go big or go home.”
Also of note
Council was also tasked with deciding on the option between natural grass, artificial turf or a mixture of the two.
Mayor Shawn McCaskill mentioned the city recently had to replace sod in front of town hall where a skating rink opened for the first time for the holiday season.
He asked if the city wanted to replace the grass every year after the skating rink was taken down or if the city should turf that area. He also mentioned that many of the city’s baseball and softball fields have recently installed turf and that has allowed for games to be played during rainy days.
Miller said that having the option with natural grass in the large middle area and artificial turf on the sides could present problems in the event it rains before a big event the city hosted.
Mayor Pro Tem Randy Williamson echoed that situation could cause issues.
“You have a heavy rain event two days before the Fourth of July celebration, and people are looking around going, 'why are we putting blankets over here in a kind of muddy area and all that really nice turf is on either side? Why are we doing this? Why didn't the city have enough foresight to turf this whole area?'” he said.
Stay tuned
Miller said the staff will work on the design proposal with infrastructure, minus the overlook/gazebo area. Council will have to look into adding restrooms during the phase of construction or make it a second phase of construction.
“[We are] looking forward to bringing a design and then proposal very soon,” Miller said.
