Grapevine's new parks and recreation chief



A resident of Grapevine since 2000, Kevin Mitchell has served the city of Grapevine for 15 years in various capacities ranging from horticulturist to assistant director of parks. Throughout his time with Grapevine, Mitchell has helped the city parks and recreation department receive an array of awards including Best Design for Oak Grove Ballpark. In May, he was promoted to fill the open Grapevine Parks and Recreation Director position and now has his sights set on a new vision that he said will engage the entire community.



"Grapevine really is a trendsetter," Mitchell said. "The things we're doing and programs [we have are] top notch."



How have you seen the city's parks change over time?



Really, they're just on a steady incline. The quality of the parks has risen, and we've been fortunate that the council has provided funding. The Oak Grove ball fields set the tone for the park system. The signage that we've put around the parks system took its nod from Oak Grove signage. The Dove pool house renovation we just did took its nod from that. The Community Activities Center will be a game-changer for parks and recreation. To have that kind of facility for our citizens will be wonderful.



Grapevine's economic strategy is focused on retail and tourism. How do the city's parks and recreation facilities add to that?



Oak Grove Ballpark Complex is really the catalyst that got us started thinking about [retail and tourism]. From now through the middle of July, we'll have over 200 teams in Grapevine for World Series events at the facility. You figure every team has 11 to 12 kids on it, a couple coaches, and you're looking at 10 to 15 hotel rooms for an average of four nights; that's a huge impact. We also routinely host many regional basketball tournaments. That's a huge economic driver to the hotels, and the school district is a great partner as well.



What projects are in progress within the Grapevine Parks and Recreation Department?



The largest project, obviously, is the Community Activity Center expansion. We're on schedule, things are looking good there, and [the facility] is expected to open in spring 2015, with the pool to open a few months later. That's really the largest project right now. During the summer months we're so busy with the lake parks and all the extra guests that come, we try not to do too many projects in the summer. A key project that we're not managing but will inherit is the Links Trail. (See Page 9 for more). That is a huge project for us, and we're really excited.



As the new director, what plans do you have for the future?



I really want to craft a new vision for the Parks and Recreation Department. We want to increase the amount of programming in our offerings for everyone. The demographics of Grapevine are changing. We're all different. With the CAC joining with the Senior Activity Center, that's going to force us to take a hard look about how we do our program. We have a goal mindset with Lake Grapevine and all the park acreage. One thing that came out of our visioning meeting was [staff] looking at outdoor opportunities, whether it's active, like hiking, or passive, like learning about the water systems. We want a little something for everyone out there, and there's enough space out there to do that. The beauty of the vision session was that everyone really had the same vision and the same direction. That was really reaffirming for me to know that all of our talented individuals in all different areas of expertise really saw the same vision that I saw.



What is a hidden gem of Grapevine's parks that most people might not know about?



I recommend for people to drive to a trailhead and experience a new trail or activity. I'll ask [people] about the botanical garden and they'll say, 'Yeah I drove by and saw it' but unless you park, get out of your car and you walk through the gardens, you really haven't experienced the gardens. The other one I would say is our hike-and-bike trails. We have over 30 miles of hike-and-bike trails along the lake and different areas.