This summer the city took a major step in furthering its efforts to provide a state-of-the-art parks system by providing a new funding source that allows the city to not only ask residents to withdraw an already approved $13 million worth of bonds, but also brings in an influx of $5.5 million annually for parks expansion, land acquisitions and renovations to some of the city’s most-used recreation areas.
Right now the city has more than 40 parks that offer a range of activities—from sports fields to hike and bike trails, two aquatic centers with another under construction and several other park updates in the works. However, as the city population increases the demand on the existing park system does as well—particularly the demand for additional sports fields.
Tasked with revamping stalled park projects on her third day on the job in October 2014, Parks and Recreation Director Rhoda Savage said she began strategically planning.
“I took the existing capital improvement [project] list the city had, compared it to the parks master plan, which included a list of amenities residents said they wanted, and married the two,” Savage said. “The goal we set was to get the prices down so we could afford to actually complete those [park] projects. As construction costs continued to rise nearly 8 percent a month, we altered some plans and started looking at alternate ways of funding.”
The search for alternative funding led the parks department and the city to the McKinney Community Development Corp.
The MCDC is funded through a half-cent sales tax devoted to promoting and preserving quality of life in McKinney. The MCDC budget consists of roughly $10 million a year that has always in some part been devoted to parks and open space improvements, public recreation, and sports and community facilities. With the creation of the city’s 10-year capital improvement plan that coincides with its 10-year budget, MCDC has stepped up its contributions toward the city’s parks and recreation goals.
The most recent project funded in large part by the MCDC is the 80,000-square-foot, $34.5 million aquatic and fitness center under construction at Gabe Nesbitt Park. The MCDC sold more than $24 million in bonds to cover part of the construction, which is slated to be complete in December 2016.
Interim City Manager Tom Muehlenbeck said the new funding ties back into one of the least-understood November city bond propositions—Proposition 7. The city is asking residents to revoke its authority to issue $13 million worth of bonds dedicated to the parks system. Since the city has identified this new source of funding, it no longer needs to issue those bonds and can now devote $5.5 million to the parks system each year for the next 10 years, far surpassing the $13 million worth of bonds approved in 2008.
“We are going to be able to start the long haul of [creating] a state-of-the-art park system,” Muehlenbeck said. “[The funding] is not only devoted to our existing parks but to the new parks that will be coming in the future. And the nice thing about it is that we are paying cash for improvements and will not have to go in to debt to fund it.”
Muehlenbeck called the funding a “simple formula” that both the City Council and MCDC are excited about.
Fiscal year 2015-16 will see $5.5 million to be used at Gabe Nesbitt Community Park where The Courts, a nationally recognized tennis facility, will be expanded for roughly $3 million and where additional parking will be added for about $1.5 million. With the remaining funds, Savage said efforts are underway to tie together all of the amenities at Gabe Nesbitt Park. Plans include adding pavilions, bocce ball courts, trails, landscaping and playground equipment.
“We wanted to place any additions to Gabe Nesbitt Park in this next [fiscal] year since the contractor is already on-site,” Savage said. “By adding another task to the existing contractor, it will bring huge savings to the city,” Savage said. “We won’t have to send the project out for bid, mobilize a construction crew [since they are building the aquatic center] or issue any bonds.”
The proposal for the expansion is expected to go before the parks board sometime in October, followed by a presentation to the MCDC and then go on to City Council for approval.
Quality of life
As new residents pour into North Texas, quality of life continues to be a top priority for the city.
“The parks system is one of the telling facts of any city,” Muehlenbeck said. “We can put concrete all over the city much like Dallas did, but imagine the acceptance Clyde Warren Park in Dallas has had. People like to get in tune with nature, and I believe as our community ages, we will have an even better experience with that."
Planning for parks
To help alleviate some of the costs associated with the high demand for parks and open space, the city of McKinney requires a 1-acre parkland dedication for every 50 residential units placed in a subdivision. However, even with that requirement the city is still seeking potential land acquisitions.
“One of the things we need to do is acquire property,” Muehlenbeck said. “We need to do that now because the price for land is going to continue to increase.”
Muehlenbeck said demand for the limited number of sports fields has increased. Several land acquisitions are being considered to address the need for more fields. Savage said the parks master plan includes new parks throughout the city.
