Leadership Seguin class proposes large pavilion, fundraising plan for Manuel C. Castillo Park

Leadership Seguin’s class of 2025 presented plans Thursday for a community-funded pavilion at Manuel C. Castillo Park and asked the city council for nonbinding support as the group completes fundraising and vendor selection.

The students said the pavilion will provide shade and seating near the park’s existing soccer and football fields and the future playscape. Jake Flume of Kimley-Horn, who introduced the project, said the class is pursuing a structure roughly 40 feet by 60 feet, an ADA-compliant charcoal grill, picnic tables, a concrete slab and a small decorative “Seguin squirrel” sculpture as part of the Seguin Squirrel Trail program.

The leadership class framed the proposal as a community project produced largely with donations from local businesses and sponsors. “The majority of this project is being donated,” Flume told council, noting donated concrete and rebar offers and vendor quotes showing a wide range of costs depending on structure type.

Why it matters: Manuel C. Castillo Park is heavily used by families and youth sports programs, council members said, and the pavilion would supplement the city’s separately budgeted $700,000 park improvements by providing shade and a centralized gathering space for parents and participants.

The project team said vendors quoted roughly $70,000–$130,000 for conventional 30-by-40 and 40-by-60 pavilions, while an alternate VersaTube-style structure was quoted near $30,000 for a 40-by-60 configuration. Fundraising already is under way; the class plans a March 27 golf tournament and hopes to begin construction in mid-April so the pavilion can be completed by the leadership class’s May graduation date.

Council members praised the students and emphasized local contracting: council member asked whether local firms were being used; Flume said nearly all subcontractors and donors are Seguin-based, with one vendor outside the city. Council member Biesenbach said she will sponsor a Navarro High School team in the golf fundraiser.

The council took no formal action and did not direct staff; presenters asked only for the opportunity to move forward with fundraising, vendor selection and final permitting. Mayor Donna Dodgen and other council members thanked the group for the proposal and for coordinating with city staff on the park’s planned improvements.

The leadership class said the pavilion will be sited inside the walking trail between the new playscape and the fields, avoiding tree removal and minimizing permitting issues. The class also proposed decorative masonry elements if funding allows and said community artists would design the Seguin-themed squirrel sculpture.