Summary: Parks & Trails Master Plan; Cross Timbers Playground; future park and trail improvements with 5-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP)
Latest Update: Saturday, 11 February, 2023 / Monday, 01 May, 2023 added minutes
Tags: #Parks
Meeting Packet (agenda, minutes) / WPC Civics Blog Audio File
Agenda Items
• 1. Discussion: Proposal by Baird, Hampton & Brown to amend Parks & Trails Master Plan
Background: Larry Colvin is a Senior Designer for Civil, Landscape, and Trails for Baird, Hampton & Brown, Inc. and the President of the Weatherford Mountain Bike Club. He, who was instrumental in the design and implementation of the Parks of Aledo Trail system, has spent many uncompensated hours for the past 1.5 years working with Mayor Doyle Moss, Mayor Pro Tem Lea Young, and City Staff with designing a single-track trail plan for the City of Willow Park. It was requested that Baird, Hampton & Brown submit the attached proposal for an official addendum to the City’s Parks & Trails Master Plan to include a final design of the Willow Park Trail System. The total proposal is $44,235, divided and paid in increments as benchmark tasks are completed, including some of which that have already been completed. Staff and Mayor Pro Tem Young believe that updating our Parks & Trails Master Plan with a current, realistic, and implementable trail plan and map will help to validate the project and build momentum within the residential and business community and increase fundraising opportunities.
City Council approved the acceptance of this Proposal at its meeting on January 24, 2023.
Baird, Hampton & Brown has provided the following preliminary and tentative timeline below.
Task 1 – Preparation Of Autocad Base File Information (Completion: Mid February)
Follow up with City of Willow Park regarding digital information Future Land Use Plan, approved parcels, future street infrastructure projects, city and ETJ limits).
Download remaining LiDAR topo, FEMA floodplain and floodway limits. Update Nearmap aerial photo of Willow Park city limits and ETJ.
Verify existing, proposed and/or conceptualize trails defined by NCTCOG and surrounding communities.
Task 2 – Meetings With City Staff, Other Governmental Entities And Stakeholders (Early March)
Follow up meeting with Chad Marbut and NCTCOG about EPCoT Trail project scope.
Meeting to notify TxDOT of intent to create trail under I-20 bridge at the Trinity River.
Meet with Kyle Wilks, Jim Martin and TCA
Schedule meeting with FWBA, WMBC and Parks Board on project progress (Note: This could be included in TASK 3).
Task 3 – The East Parker County Trail Meeting (Late March)
Schedule and host a workshop meeting at Willow Park city hall to present progress report to city staff of the 5 communities served by the EPCoT Trail
Task 4 – Site Visits And Data Collection (Early April)
Task 5 – Preliminary Design Reports (April)
Task 6 – Public Input Meeting (Late April)
Task 7 – Final Design Report And Presentation To City Council (Early May)
Exhibits:
Proposal for “Professional Services for Amending the City of Willow Park October 2019 Parks and Trails Master Plan” "The purpose of this revision is to include soft-surface, nature trails (commonly referred to as singletrack) to the master plan. Singletrack trails are used for off-road bicycling, hiking, trail running, backpacking and dog walking. BHB will be tasked with performing a study within the city limits and extra-territorial jurisdiction (ETJ) to identify areas that are suitable for development of singletrack trails. Additionally, BHB will study public roadway rights-of-way and off-street, paved trailways open to the public to identify routes where people on bicycle or foot can recreate and/or commute within. Goals for amending the October 2019 Willow Park Parks and Trails Master Plan will accomplish the following: [See document in Agenda linked above.]
“East Parker County Trails” draft map (below) [in .pdf]
Minutes
Larry Colvin, Senior Designer with Baird, Hampton & Brown and President of Weatherford Mountain Bike Club, was present to discuss the scope of the subject proposal. He also, again, expressed the importance of the Willow Park connection to successfully link Aledo and Weatherford trail systems.
Ex-Officio Member, Lea Young, explained the purpose of the addendum and the necessity of the City's foresight for future trail development in our ETJ and undeveloped areas. She also explained the bike lane being added to several areas within our street project.
Board Member Wagner stated that he felt this was good for the city and asked Colvin if we could access other cities' ideas, to which Colvin replied we could.
Board Member Gomez asked if the other cities within the EPCoT Trail would pay for their own portion of the trail, to which Colvin confirmed that Willow Park pays for Willow Park's portion only.
Colvin also discussed the changes to the e-mountain bike allowance on the trails and explained that now Class 1 e-bikes are classified as bicycles, which must now be permitted on the trails; however, Classes 2 & 3 are still prohibited. Board Member Gomez asked who polices the Class 2/3 bikes on the trails, to which Colvin replied that, although local law enforcement have the authority to do so, it is most often the existing trail bikers that keep it controlled.
Willow Park Civics Meeting Notes
Board discussed funding opportunities for trails, with main goal to minimize costs for Willow Park tax payers:
business partners
business funding opportunities
sponsorships
private fund raising events. Example. Wilks Development and Weatherford Bike club have been in talks to host a Weatherford Bike Club festival in the new, Willow Park North amphitheater.
grants
set up trails organization to accept charitable contributions
developers - Example. Currently meeting with Trinity Christian Academy and Wilks Development to include trails in their future development
reserving portion of future street debt for parks and trails funds Example. Debit funding for current street improvement project is covering hike and bike lanes of three (3) feet on either side of Crown Road, which is currently under construction.
Larry and Lea meeting with other local cities who are interesting in supporting the EPCoT plan. Most cities in Texas are planning new trails.
Updates: The hike and bike trail project at the south end of the Squaw Creek Golf Course is on hold by request of the club.
Discussion of motorized vehicles on EPCoT. A current article in The Community News indicated no motorized vehicles on Willow Park EPCoT, however class one, e-bikes will be allowed. The Board had a lengthy discussion about e-bikes. A class 1 e-bike does not have “a throttle mode and runs with only pedal-assist mode with a maximum speed of 20 MPH” In addition, “the motor wattage of a class 1 e-bike is no more than 750 [and] a class 1 e-bike may be ridden in a general bicycle lane without any obligation.”
3. Discussion: Cross Timbers Playground - Equipment Update
Minutes: Staff, Toni Fisher, informed the Board of repairs that were made to the handicapped swing at Cross Timbers Park, and the removal of the wire to the xylophone mallot, which is now also missing (the first was broken and removed in June 2022). It was agreed to keep the xylophone as is until other renovations come necessary in 4-5 years.
Willow Park Civics Meeting Notes: Cross Timber Park equipment needs repair.
4. Discussion: Revisit future park and trail improvements with 5-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP).
Minutes: Future improvements were briefly discussed and Fisher suggested the potential of adding a donation sign with a QR code to the park(s). Ex-Officio Young explained that the bond package for roads which had a park allocation was used for adding the bike lane to the design and construction of designated streets, and we were able to get a few park improvements done with that, as well.
Willow Park Civics Meeting Notes: Discussed need for Parks and Trails Capital Implement Pan in order to purchase more parks and trails land and qualify for grans.
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