The Texas Parks & Wildlife Commission during their March 24th meeting awarded $250,949 to the City of Plainview to go toward the development of Travis Trussell Pond Park. The application was submitted for the Non-Urban Outdoor Recreation Grant category, and part of an overall $10.4 million the Commission awarded to 39 community parks across the state.
The Non-Urban Outdoor Recreation Grants are given to municipalities with a population less than 500,000 and were awarded to 20 communities. Plainview, along with the City of Gruver, were the only Panhandle region cities to be awarded this year.
Money for the Local Park Grants Program comes from a portion of the sporting goods sales tax through the Texas Recreation & Parks Account and the Texas Large County & Municipality Recreation & Parks Account. Additional money comes from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund. Congress appropriates program funding each year. TPWD is the pass-through agency for local governments in Texas.
The scope for the pond project includes regrading and stabilization of the pond, adding additional land for parking, walking trail, new fencing, solar lighting, wildlife viewing stations, and interpretive signs. City staff will begin work on the project soon with plans to finish by end of summer.
“City staff with assistance from South Plains Association of Governments has been working on this grant submittal since summer 2015 and we are excited to receive this award from the Texas Parks & Wildlife Commission. The TPWD staff has been great to work with throughout the process.” City Manager Jeffrey Snyder said. “This was a project identified as a priority in our comprehensive plan and we are excited to get started.”
(News release from the City of Plainview)
