Park View Park bid call in early 2024
Bidding for Park View Park, a 12-acre city park near the north intersection of Park View and Parkridge drives in Marble Falls, could begin at the start of 2024. Staff photo by Nathan Bush
Bids for building Park View Park in northeast Marble Falls will move forward in January, whether or not the city receives a much-hoped-for grant from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The city should know by the second week of January if the 50/50 matching grant will be awarded, which will determine next steps.
“If we’re a recipient of (the TPWD grant), we’ll need to follow their process,” Parks and Recreation Director Lacey Dingman told the Marble Falls City Council during a regular meeting on Dec. 5. “If we don’t get any grant funding, we’ll (still) be ready to start the bid process.”
The proposed 12-acre park will be built on city-owned property near the north intersection of Park View and Parkridge drives. It has been in the planning stages since April 2022.
“This has been a labor of love for our department,” said Dingman, adding that input from residents was crucial for determining the park’s design.
“The community has given us a lot of great feedback,” she said.
The park will have 10 parking spaces and a single-unit family restroom, both hot-button issues long debated among residents, city officials, and the Parks and Recreation Commission.
“We heard very loud and clear, not only from council but from the community, that we needed to keep (the restrooms and parking) small and simple,” park designer Brett Luck told councilors.
Playscapes for Park View Park will have natural aesthetics. Current plans include rustic swings and slides, a bench modeled after a bird’s nest, a wooden balance beam, a small ropes course, and a sandbox.
“I think they will settle very nicely into that natural theme that we were looking for and desiring for in the planning of the park,” Luck said.
He hopes the park will be entertaining for children of all ages.
“The nets and a lot of the climbers are for some of the older age groups from ages 5-12,” Luck said. “We wanted to also have some play opportunities for some younger kids (ages) 2-5.”
Mayor Pro-tem Dee Haddock was concerned about the city’s ability to keep the sandbox clean.
“A sandbox outside like that can become a litter box for various animals,” he said. “How do we prevent that?”
Dingman said Marble Falls has been contacting area cities with parks that include sandboxes to gain insight on preventative measures to avoid sanitary issues.
“I can certainly reach out to see what kinds of steps they’ve taken on a maintenance level,” she said.