Dallas and Denton counties awarded $1 million each for park projects

by PegNews wire

Dallas County

The City of Dallas was awarded $1 million to acquire 28.5 acres of land to develop approximately 138 acres into the Elm Fork Athletic Complex in the northwest corner of the city. Plans for Elm Fork include soccer fields, a trail and a 28-acre woodland area.

Denton County

The City of Ponder was awarded a grant in the amount of $50,000 to make improvements to Eddie Duessen Park that include a playground, picnic tables and grills, a pavilion with tables, walkways and restrooms.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission on Aug. 21 approved $10 million in competitive parks and recreation grants for city and county parks and other sites across the state. Grant project descriptions are listed by county below.

Dallas, Travis County, San Antonio and Houston were each awarded $1 million from TPWD’s Urban Outdoor Recreation Grants program. Houston was also awarded $1 million from TPWD’s Indoor Recreation Grants program.

Urban Outdoor and Indoor recreation grants are reserved for communities with populations of 500,000 or more, and both provide matching grants of up to $1 million. Urban Outdoor grants are used to acquire and develop parkland. Urban Indoor grants are for constructing public recreation centers, community centers and nature centers. Once a grant is awarded, recipients must permanently designate the site for public recreational use and agree to operate and maintain the grounds.

Eight other communities across the state were awarded a combined $2.9 million in grants from TPWD’s Outdoor Recreation Grants program, which funds acquisition and/or development of outdoor recreation sites for communities with populations less than 500,000.

Seventeen communities were awarded a total of about $760,000 from TPWD’s Small Community Grants program. This program provides matching grants of up to $50,000 for communities with a population of 20,000 or less.

These grants support the acquisition, development and beautification of city parks, seen as the "frontline" in the nationwide system of parks. TPWD funds can be applied to the construction and repair of trails, ball fields, fishing, boating or hunting facilities, picnic areas, playgrounds, swimming pools, camp grounds, gardens and other recreational facilities.

The Small Community, Urban Indoor, and Urban Outdoor grants are funded exclusively from the Texas Recreation and Parks Account, created by the Texas Legislature in 1993 to help cities and counties provide public recreation facilities. TRPA revenue comes from a portion of the state sales tax on sporting goods.

Outdoor Recreation Grants are funded from the TRPA and from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, which is supported by offshore oil and gas royalties. All are 50-50 matching grants, requiring recipients to provide equal dollars to match what the state provides.

For more information, including grant application forms and deadlines, see TPWD’s Grants Web page or phone the department’s Recreation Grants Branch at (512) 912-7124 or e-mail rec.grants@tpwd.state.tx.us.

Source: Texas Parks & Wildlife