Lewisville parks staff report progress on Green Centerpiece Master Strategy; nature center RFP narrows to three finalists

Lewisville — The Lewisville City Council on Oct. 20 received an update from parks staff on the Green Centerpiece Master Strategy, a multi-agency effort to manage and program public lands including Lewisville Environmental Learning Area (LELA), Lake Park, and associated green corridors.

Director-level staff and Chris Chastain, the city's preserve and greenbelt manager, told council the strategy updates work that began with the city's earlier planning efforts and described several completed actions and items in progress, including a finalized core lease renewal at LELA, new volunteer-management coordination, preserved partnerships with the University of North Texas (UNT) and Lewisville Independent School District (LISD), and a narrowed procurement process for a planned nature center.

The presentation noted that much of the Green Centerpiece property is federally owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and that partnership agreements and development plans are required for stewardship and public access. City staff said they completed a lease renewal in December 2023 for core property and renewed the Lake Park lease with the Corps in April 2025.

Key action items and accomplishments cited by staff - Volunteer management: the city is working with UNT and LISD to streamline volunteer on-boarding so volunteers can easily participate across partner organizations. - Programming: the city launched "Nature on Wheels," a vehicle-based outreach program, and expanded school and youth programming to reinforce classroom lessons at LELA. - Partnerships and formal agreements: memorandums of understanding have been completed with Friends of LELA, Texas Master Naturalists and other partner groups; UNT is collaborating with city staff on research, internships and restoration work. - Prescribed burns and ecological restoration: staff described coordinated prescribed-burn management with the fire department and Corps oversight and said they plan to document procedures in a formal manual. - Capital projects and facilities: Lake Park shoreline and Boat Ramp 2 improvements are in planning; a kayak launch is at 60% design with construction anticipated next year; the nature center RFP process has been reduced to three finalists who will return in December with concepts. - Land acquisitions: staff said the city acquired the DuBie properties and Bennett Nature Park and will conduct assessments to determine restoration needs and future programming.

Staff said the nature center procurement is a collaborative process; the three finalists visited the site with partners including UNT and LISD and will present concept proposals in December. Staff said elements from all finalist proposals will remain city-owned so the city can incorporate strong ideas from any submission.

"We want volunteers within the Green Centerpiece to feel they have a streamlined opportunity to come in and be a part of what we do," the preserve and greenbelt manager said, describing efforts to remove friction that previously required separate sign-ups for different partner organizations.

Why it matters The Green Centerpiece strategy organizes partnerships and management of significant public natural areas and programming that reach students, volunteers and recreational users. Staff emphasized the work's multi-agency nature and said the plan provides a framework for capital investment, volunteer coordination and programming that supports ecological restoration, education and recreation.

Sources: Presentation by the Lewisville Parks and Recreation team and remarks by Chris Chastain at the Oct. 20 council workshop.