Dateline: November 25, 2004

Public hearing to discuss park ideas

By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

The City of Clarendon will hold a public hearing at the Clarendon High School Auditorium next Wednesday at 7 p.m. to discuss park improvements.

According to City Administrator Sean Pate, city officials are considering applying for a Texas Parks & Wildlife Department grant and are seeking to gather input from the public.

“We’re working with other entities – the school district and the economic development board – to develop a master plan for what we want to do to revitalize the park area,” Pate said.

Discussions so far have centered on rehabilitation or reconstruction of the existing McClelland Field and Hart-Moore Field, currently used by the high school and Little League; development of a new softball field south of Hart-Moore Field; and enhancement of facilities associated with the ball fields and City Park.

“We always hear there’s nothing for the kids, and that’s a concern for the city and the school,” Pate said. “We’d like to envision a park where there is something for everybody.”

Officials have discussed looking at the park and fields as one recreation complex with a central restroom and concession facility, a walking trail encompassing the entire area with benches in several locations, and new playground equipment. Improvements would be done in phases.

“The key right now is to develop a plan and get support,” Pate said. “We want to be able to say, ‘Here’s what we want the park to look like in 2015, and here’s the first step.’”

Pate emphasized that any grant application to the state will be more likely to succeed if it is well supported by local people, and he said cooperation is an important factor in that. He hopes to see other parties – such as the county, the Little League, and the Chamber of Commerce – join in the effort to improve the park.

“Successful communities are the ones where all entities work together,” Pate said. “That’s the defining moment of a community. You don’t have a community unless you have unity, and that’s what Clarendon needs right now.”