Flower Mound parks staff report $750,000 TPWD grant for Trotter Park, multiple trail and park projects underway

Flower Mound parks staff told the Parks Board that the town received a $750,000 Texas Parks and Wildlife outdoor recreation grant for work at Trotter Park and has submitted applications for regional Transportation Alternatives grant funding to support trail projects.

The grants and ongoing construction matter because they will fund trail and park improvements across the town, advance the Peters Colony Memorial Park project next to the Flower Mound Public Library, and help the town leverage an $82,000,000 parks-and-recreation bond the Town Council approved for a May election.

Parks staff (identified in the meeting as a staff and director and as Parks Capital Improvement Program staff) said the TPWD award is an outdoor recreation grant with a 50/50 match and will go toward Trotter Park. Staff also reported they submitted a Transportation Alternatives application through the regional COG and were seeking up to $10,000,000 for trail projects; that program noted an 80/20 match. Staff said they will also submit a preliminary TxDOT transportation application that could yield between $5 million and $25 million for eligible projects if the application advances to the detailed phase.

On construction and maintenance timelines, Parks Capital Improvement Program staff reported: Bluebonnet Park trail repairs began about two weeks earlier and should be finished next week, weather permitting, with temporary closures only on active sections; Peters Colony Memorial Park has public utilities and storm sewer installed and is working toward electrical service and rough grading, with staff aiming for completion by early fall; and Trotter Park design work is continuing but staff flagged a central engineering issue: the project area lacks sewer and the planned restroom will need a septic solution, which staff said they are still refining.

Staff also described planned playground replacements and other improvements. Rustic Timbers playground equipment was approved for purchase and will be donated to the nonprofit Project Playground when removed; equipment shipment is expected in early spring and installation is estimated to take six to eight weeks. North Shore Park playground designs (two concepts) will be presented to the neighborhood; Post Oak Park work may include a permanent restroom, playground upgrades, trail and LED lighting replacements, drainage fixes and minor spillway work. Spring Lake Park will lose proposed outdoor exercise equipment after community feedback; staff removed that element and plan to replace the wooden gazebo with a new metal structure with improved pad and furnishings, with demolition targeted in March.

At Twin Coast Park staff said they will replace aging access gates and are preparing a Wi‑Fi upgrade to support staff and guests. Staff also reported crews are planting trees across medians and parks and installing bike repair stations along the trail system.

Staff stressed that the $82 million bond approved by Town Council for the May ballot will fund multiple parks projects and that the town will run an education campaign and webpage explaining the bond program.

Asked how residents can help with grant applications, staff said recommendation letters from local organizations and homeowners associations have been beneficial in past submissions and encouraged the board and residents to provide letters tied to project areas when appropriate.

Less critical details: staff said the Peters Colony park will have a veterans memorial area, flagpoles, a stone monolith with inscriptions, and a future public art installation funded with $100,000 allocated by council; they also noted contractor delays tied to wet weather and permitting had slowed some work but contractors were mobilizing as conditions allow.