The Sugar Land Parks Board received an update July 8 on seven small “quick‑win” park development projects completed or underway across Imperial Park, Reservoir Park and Sugar Land Memorial Park.

Penlyn Du, parks development manager, summarized 12 months of work funded in part by a local sales-tax entity and by in‑house design and installation. “We have completed most of the projects, and I'm very excited to give you an update on completion along with two additional projects that we have just recently wrapped up,” Du said.

Completed and ongoing projects (as presented):
- Imperial Park Recreation Center (IPRC): An underused meeting room was converted in‑house to a cardio room; Du said the facility had a soft opening in May and membership at the IPRC increased by about 140 in fewer than two months.
- Imperial Park shade structure: A 30-by-30 shade structure adjacent to parking and trail connections was installed with picnic tables and grills to support families and trail users.
- Reservoir Park playground shading: Custom fabric shade pieces were installed over Playground — Du said staff considered multiple designs to maximize coverage and completed the work in May; the project drew community compliments.
- Memorial Park butterfly garden pavilion and rain barrel: A 16-by-16 pavilion and a 300‑gallon rainwater harvesting barrel — with artist-painted artwork by Diverro Simpson and interpretive signage funded by Utilities — were installed to support volunteer-maintained butterfly garden irrigation and education.
- Splash pad design at Memorial Park: Du reported that (as stated in the transcript) “Shipman 4 b approved 8 hun about $890,000 for the construction of this splash pad and the construction administration service fees.” Staff said the goal is to construct the splash pad by summer 2026 and that the design takes advantage of existing trees and will include a large shade structure.
- Additional parking pilot at Memorial Park: Parks and engineering staff installed six pilot permeable parking spaces using a commercial-grade “true grade” surface and the city plans to evaluate expanding this approach if successful; staff estimated the approach could deliver 27 additional lakeside spaces or more than 140 spaces on the dog‑park side with broader application.
- Park vehicular signage: Seven new vehicular wayfinding signs were installed around Memorial Park and the connector park to improve navigation; the design intentionally leaves space to add splash‑pad information once completed.

Why it matters: Du said the three parks in the update account for “almost a third of all the park visits in our city,” and Memorial Park averages about 200 visits a day, making incremental improvements to shade, parking and family amenities a priority for user comfort and access.

Budget and partnerships: Du said many tasks were completed in‑house (design, site work, furnishings installation) to reduce cost. She also noted a public‑private partnership established in early 2023 with an operator (transcript: “GoA Zip Plan and Adventure Park”) at one site. Utilities funded the rainwater‑harvesting signage and the city worked with civic arts on barrel artwork.

Board and public comments: Board members and residents praised the new shade structures and pavilion and asked practical questions about distribution of smaller rain barrels to residents (Du said the city’s water conservation team sells discounted smaller rain barrels and the project signage includes a QR code to city information). A resident suggested more marketing for underused rooms (for example, hosting showcase events and using social media outreach); staff said that tactic is under consideration for underutilized rental spaces.

Decisions and next steps: No formal board action was recorded on these projects during the meeting. Du said staff will continue to monitor pilot parking results and advance construction of the splash pad once external funding and approvals are in place.

Ending: Board members thanked staff for completing several projects in 12 months and highlighted in‑house work and cross‑department collaboration as cost‑saving measures.