Small Granite Shoals park gets big boost from land sale
Timberhill Park is one of the smallest parks in Granite Shoals, but it could get a big financial boost with the sale of two tiny portions of city-owned land that were once part of the park on paper. Staff photo by Dakota Morrissiey
About $46,000 will go toward the improvement of Timberhill Park in Granite Shoals with the successful sale of two small pieces of city-owned land that were once technically part of the little park.
The city had long debated whether to sell portions of fill land that were attached to Timberhill Park on paper but physically separated from it by a canal on Lake LBJ. These small pieces of land were literally in the backyards of residents, who were ultimately able to purchase the land from the city after the decision was made to declassify it as “parkland” in March 2023.
The combined value of the sales was about $46,000, according to city staff. The sale of a 0.14-acre piece from Lot 51 brought in roughly $36,000, and the sale of a smaller portion from Lot 56 made up the other $10,000.
The Granite Shoals City Council on July 23 voted to allocate the profits earned from the sales to Timberhill Park.
“Timberhill Park is not the prettiest park, and now it has the opportunity to be a really, really good park,” said Place 4 Councilor Steve Hougen prior to the vote.
Timberhill is located across the street from 504 S. Timberhill Drive, deep in the heart of Granite Shoals. It is one of the smallest and most modest city parks and primarily serves as a boat launch with an unpaved turn-around for trailers. It does have picnic tables, benches, trash cans, a swing set, and a single-stall restroom.
The decision to use the sale proceeds for Timberhill was not unanimous. Place 1 Councilor Brian Edwards was the lone objecting vote. He argued that the money should not be restricted to improving Timberhill alone but instead any city park.
“Does it all need to be designated for Timberhill Park?” Edwards asked rhetorically. “If we say ‘for parks,’ (the money) can be used at the discretion of what is needed.”
Edwards was voted down 6-1.
“(The sale of the land) has taken away something from the park,” Hougen said. “Yes, (the land) wasn’t used, but people could look at it.”
Hougen was referring to the fact that the land in question was inaccessible on foot without trespassing on private property or crossing a canal and climbing over a concrete bulkhead along the shoreline, but it was still technically public land and part of Timberhill Park.
The land across the canal was part of Timberhill, according to original lot lines dating back to 1973, but it is unclear if it existed at the time or was created by past landowners adding fill dirt.
Hougen clarified that the sale of the land, even though it was not part of the park, was still a sensitive issue in the city.
“Nobody wants to be on the record of selling a park,” he said. “You will have torches and pitchforks at City Hall if you dare breathe ‘selling a park.’”