Granite Shoals upgrading Bluebriar Park restrooms with LCRA grant
Lower Colorado River Authority and Pedernales Electric Cooperative representatives present a $25,000 grant to the city of Granite Shoals for upgraded restrooms at Bluebriar Park. Pictured (from left) are Granite Shoals Fire Chief Tim Campbell, Utilities Supervisor Joshua Hisey, Mayor Pro Tem and City Councilor Ron Munos, PEC Public Affairs representative Jared Fields, Police Chief Gary Boshears, Assistant City Manager Peggy Smith, Parks Committee member Mark Moller, City Manager Jeff Looney, Parks Committee member Graham Fisher, LCRA board member Margaret Voelter, city Finance Director Russell Martin, LCRA board member Carol Freeman, Parks Committee member Michele Landfield, LCRA Regional Affairs representative Susan Patten, and parks supporter Kerry Landfield. Photo from LCRA
The city of Granite Shoals will upgrade the restrooms at its popular Bluebriar Park with help from a $25,000 community grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority and Pedernales Electric Cooperative, the LCRA announced Monday, May 16.
The Community Development Partnership Program grant plus $151,075 in matching funds from the city will pay to remodel the public restrooms for visitors as well as the first responders who use the park as a staging area during emergencies, according to the LCRA media release.
The upgrades will put the restrooms in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, making it easier for more people to enjoy the park, according to Granite Shoals City Manager Jeff Looney. The city’s most-used park offers a boat ramp, playscapes, picnic areas, a pavilion, and a fishing and swimming area.
“It finally will give the park a restroom that everyone will be comfortable using,” Looney said in the release. “People can rinse off or get a drink of water — it’s just so important for people to have access to these improved facilities.”
The remodeled restrooms also will offer first responders fighting wildland fires or performing water rescues a better space to prepare for and clean up after emergencies as well as make the park a bigger draw for community events, birthday parties, and fundraisers, Looney said. The plan includes the first drinking fountain for the park.
The community grant is one of 36 grants recently awarded through LCRA’s Community Development Partnership Program, which helps volunteer fire departments, local governments, emergency responders, and nonprofit organizations fund capital improvement projects in LCRA’s wholesale electric, water, and transmission service areas. The program is part of LCRA’s effort to give back to the communities it serves. PEC is one of LCRA’s wholesale electric customers and is a partner in the grant program.
Applications for the next round of grants will be accepted in July. For more information, visit lcra.org/cdpp.
