Beautiful parks are a common and popular part of nice cities. They are an enjoyable part of living there for current residents and an attraction for would-be newcomers.
The City of Willow Park is on the verge of expanding its park amenities - and residents are being asked to be a part of that growth.
Willow Park city staff met with the design team of Dorothy Witmeyer and Glenda Arroyo to review first and second concept plan renderings for Kings Gate Park. The creation of these concepts considered the 2019 Parks and Trails Master Plan and its community feedback, along with the park’s current uses, demographics, and topography for the near 30-acre park.
Westwood suggested a new community survey be conducted before adopting any design, as growth and demographics changes can affect interests for park amenities.
“The concept plans Westwood has given us show a wide variety for these spaces,” Willow Park Director of Communications and Marketing Rose Hoffman said.
Possibilities for those spaces include a restroom, which is in great demand, along with multi-use courts, one or two small pavilions, a grand lawn, natural settings, and perhaps even a small disc golf course.
Public feedback will reveal more of what the majority wants.
“We have not sought public input on all parks since 2019, so the time is right for touching base about those priorities,” Hoffman said.
The estimated cost for all improvements is estimated to be just more than $7.8 million and separated into three phases, ranging from what is perceived to be most urgent and easiest to accomplish as Area 1, and progressing to more complex elements in Areas 2 and 3.
Details of the public survey and subsequent town hall meeting(s) have yet to be determined.
“We would like to encourage all citizens to participate in this process,” City Manager Bryan Grimes said. “Willow Park never had an endeavor this big in our parks system and it’s going to take the entire community to make it successful.”
As council moves forward with the renovation of the parking lot at Willow Park City Hall, that work could now include moving Memorial Park from its current location - which was next to the former city hall on Ranch House Road.
A conceptual design has not yet been requested, but a cost estimate for basic elements for such a project is $610,000 with a 30% contingency. That would be added to the already estimated just more than $1 million for the rest of the parking lot, which does not include a fee to create construction documents.
The concept design by Witmeyer and Arroyo of Westwood Professional Services, Inc. was approved at a meeting in late June.
The parking lot project was tabled at Tuesday’s meeting, largely because the work would take place during Christmas holiday celebrations. Also, it gives the council time to determine its approach for funding for the project.
“It’s very important for us, as a city, to honor our veterans, both those that are living and those who have passed,” Hoffman said. “By taking our time and weighing all our choices carefully, we can ensure that we pick the option that properly honors their service and for future generations.”
The project is expected to increase the parking lot width from 31 feet to 76 feet, along with the box for payments to the city being relocated so folks don’t have to drive around the building. Signage with individual highlighted letters spelling out Willow Park on a raised flower bed is also included.
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