Water recreation project making progress

One year after an anonymous benefactor offered a $500,000 challenge grant to help Clarendon build a water recreation facility, slow but steady progress is being made toward meeting that goal, city officials say.

City Administrator David Dockery says the project is about to enter its most critical point – fundraising.

“The next phase will be the most important and will determine whether we get the facility, whether we can match the challenge, and what the facility will look like,” Dockery says.

A city-appointed steering committee spent several months evaluating two different locations for the project before voting in April to select property already owned by the city on the southeast corner of Fourth and Kearney Streets, east of the Post Office.

Prior to that, the committee had considered the old Texas Saddlery building (or red school building) located south of Prospect Park and even had a professional evaluation of the building before deciding not to proceed with that site

The downtown site was selected for several reasons, among which were the fact that it is already owned by the city, the fact that it is connected with the city’s park by a lighted walking trail (making it eligible for a state park grant), and its proximity to the central business district.

With site selection completed, the committee then met in May to consider three preliminary designs submitted by Waters Edge, the same design firm that worked on the Wellington Aquatic Venue. The committee’s initial reactions to those designs were relayed back to the designer, and a second meeting was held last week.

The committee met in conjunction with a called meeting of the city council last Wednesday, July 6, to discuss the project with designer Dave Schwartz of Waters Edge.

Dockery says that meeting helped focus what the committee wanted to see as the size of the pool – about 4,500 square feet of water area – and helped narrow down what amenities are to be considered. Schwartz is taking the committee’s suggestions and is expected to submit another preliminary drawing within about 30 days.

The committee is looking at a project that will cost about $2 million, Dockery said.

Meanwhile, the city council this Thursday will consider approving a Master Park Improvement Plan that documents public support for some type of water recreation facility connected to the park.

The document, prepared by the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission, is one of the necessary first steps in the city applying for matching funds from the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department for the water recreation project.

The city is planning to apply for the state funds in 2017, and fundraising will have to be done ahead of that, Dockery said.

Alderman Sandy Skelton, who chairs the steering committee for the project, agrees that the next steps are critical.

“I appreciate the work of the Steering Committee over the past year,” Skelton said. “A great deal of research has been completed and we are close to beginning the all-important phase of fundraising to include local citizens (current and former), Donley County land owners, foundations, grants, and others.”

“Once funded, Clarendon will have a long awaited water recreation facility of its own,” Skelton said.

Those interested in making a donation to the project at this point can contact Dockery at City Hall or tax deductible contributions can be mailed to the Donley County Community Fund, PO Box 906, Clarendon, TX 79226, and note “water recreation project” in the memo.