BRENHAM PARKS AND REC ADVISORY BOARD HEARS FAMILY PARK UPDATE

  

The Brenham Parks and Recreation Advisory Board received an update today (Wednesday) on the design and construction plans for the future Brenham Family Park.

Board members heard from City Manager James Fisher and Public Works Director Dane Rau on the status of the project. The proposed park will be located on 107 acres of land donated to the city in 2013 by Ed and Evelyn Kruse.

Fisher said there have been changes to the preliminary layout of the park over the last two years, namely to the placement of the recreation pond/detention pond. The city was informed in the fall that the vision of having one on-channel lake/detention pond was denied by the Corps of Engineers in Fort Worth.  The city was initially looking to have the detention pond set to the north of the park to capture water, but with the development of the Baker Katz shopping center project, it was determined the pond could not be built the way it was initially designed.

After consulting Jones-Carter Engineering, two new options were submitted to the city that included multiple water structures, ranging from .5 acres to 7 acres. Fisher said they are only options if the intent is still to partner with the Kruse family to have multiple uses for recreational lakes/detention ponds on park property.

Fisher then posed this question to board members: what exactly is the vision for this park?

 

Rau said the city will not deviate from having some form of lake structure and a trail for hiking, biking, and walking at the park. Rau said honoring the wishes of the Kruse’s is very important, as is preserving the wildlife in the area.  He noted that the Kruse’s envisioned a multi-purpose full-size athletic field at the park.

The site of the park is bounded to the north by the Baker Katz project, to the west by Kruse-owned land planned for residential development, and to the east for proposed non-residential development. Fisher said finalizing the location of the pond amidst the surrounding development is the last big step to take before moving forward with the first phase of the park.

Rau said the south portion of the park can be left blank during the first phase and developed in later stages with other amenities. Fisher added, after getting phase one open, the city could get the opinions of citizens out at the park and hear what they would like to see there.

Community Services Specialist Crystal Locke said the city applied for a $1.8 million grant for the project’s first phase, which includes the ponds, a portion of the two-mile trail with lighting, and the associated roadwork. She said the city should be notified in May if it receives the grant, with the grant agreement coming in July.

You can view the packet for Wednesday's meeting here.