State awards $500k for city pool project

A half a million dollars from the State of Texas last week has put Clarendon’s proposed water recreation project within striking distance of being fully funded.

The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department gave final approval last Thursday to a $500,000 grant for the pool project. The city’s application was ranked fifth out of 36 in its category, and Clarendon was the only community in the Panhandle that was funded in that category.

Mayor Sandy Skelton attended the TPWD board meeting in Austin and thanked the department for its support of the city’s $2.086 million project. Now, he’s looking for more support within the community.

“We’ve done really well, and we now have more than 85 percent of the funds needed for this project,” Skelton said. “We need some more citizens to step up at this point.”

One final grant application for $150,000 is pending with a determination expected next month. If that application is successful, the project will be $155,000 short of being fully funded.

TPWD officials will be in Clarendon on April 30 to review grant requirements and visit the project site.

The project began in 2015 when an anonymous donor offered the city $500,000 for a water recreation facility if the community could match those funds. Since that time, $280,420 has been raised or pledged privately, including a $100,000 gift from the Charles & Thelma Bairfield Foundation; and the Clarendon Economic Development Corporation boosted the project with $525,000.

Total funds pledged or available now totals $1,780,420.

Skelton says the city’s water recreation steering committee will meet soon to discuss ways to raise the remaining funds for the project.

“Donations of any size are appreciated and needed,” Skelton said. “Whether its $1,000, $100, or $50, we need as many people as possible to support this project and finish out the fundraising.”

City Administrator David Dockery said a public pool facility for Clarendon could happen quickly if fundraising is finalized soon.

“We would set a target completion date in the summer of 2019,” he said.

Those interested in donating to the pool project are asked to call Dockery at City Hall at 874-3438 or send donations to the city at PO Box 1089, Clarendon, TX 79226.