Friends of Highland Village Park Foundation seeks T‑Mobile grant for Unity Park interpretive trail around historic pecan

The Friends of Highland Village Park Foundation presented a proposal for an interpretive trail around the Unity Tree at Unity Park and said it will apply for a T‑Mobile Hometown Grant that can fund up to $50,000 for a shovel‑ready project.

Kevin Fenderson, president and founder of the Friends of Highland Village Park Foundation, described the Unity Tree as a historically significant pecan near the Little League fields and said the foundation wants to build interpretive stations and a short decomposed granite trail that tells the tree’s story and connects people to the city’s landscape. “If our park foundation had a bumper sticker it would just read we plant trees,” Fenderson said, summarizing the group’s mission to plant trees and support preservation and education.

Fenderson said McAdams produced renderings and hardscape concepts and the foundation plans six interpretive signs around the outside of the existing fence, plus one memorial monument. He said the foundation will try to keep construction costs below the $50,000 grant cap by re‑using the existing fence and by removing higher‑cost elements such as concrete curbing from the proposal. The foundation is exploring cantilevered pedestal signage with QR codes and possible audio content to increase accessibility.

Project details described to the board included: an estimated tree age of about 200 years, five perimeter interpretive stations covering approximately 40‑year historical increments, decomposed granite trail segments on the north and west sides, and use of an existing sidewalk on the south and southeast sides. The group said it is working with a certified arborist on a baseline inspection and that the arborist recommended keeping the perimeter fence to limit soil compaction around the tree’s root zone.

Fenderson said the T‑Mobile grant has rolling quarterly deadlines and the current quarter closes March 31; he said the foundation earlier filed an incomplete application and does not want to repeat that mistake. He requested a letter of endorsement from the CDC; he said the group has also asked the mayor and the parks department for letters of support.

Board members asked about maintenance and drainage. Fenderson said the foundation expects minimal maintenance in year one and estimated roughly four hours per year of upkeep focused on signage and weed control; he offered that the foundation could help with annual maintenance. Phil, parks staff, said the fence shows rust and could be a future supplemental budget request, but that the fence is currently serviceable. The parks staff and the foundation discussed drainage details, permeable decomposed granite mixes, bender‑board edging to prevent washouts, and the need for the engineer/contractor to install positive slopes so the trail does not pond water in the tree’s drip zone.

Fenderson also said the foundation intends to apply to place the Unity Tree on the Texas Big Tree Registry and that registration would be an asset in grant applications but would not prohibit trail work around the tree.

The board took no formal vote at the meeting; the foundation asked the CDC to consider an endorsement letter and to continue coordinating with parks staff as the project advances.