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Parks

PARD director estimates $1 million in weather-related damages

At last week’s Parks and Recreation Board meeting, Parks and Recreation Department Director Kimberly McNeeley presented the most recent director’s report for the department, highlighting PARD’s response to the historic winter storms and the power outages in the region. According to McNeeley,…

Austin Parks Foundation gives an update on Zilker train restoration

The Austin Parks Foundation has laid out its plans to restore the beloved train formerly known as the Zilker Zephyr, which ceased operations last year. In January 2020, after more than two decades in operation, the owners of the Zephyr…

PARD gives update on cemetery improvement plans

Last September, around 15 gravestones were vandalized with blue paint at Evergreen Cemetery in East Austin, the city’s first municipal graveyard for Black residents when it was founded in 1926. Commenting on the event, Mayor Steve Adler tweeted that the…

Parks department needs 600 lifeguards by May

In anticipation of the upcoming swim season, Parks and Recreation Department Director Kimberly McNeeley submitted a memorandum to City Council on Jan. 22 that contained an update on maintenance and staffing in the city’s aquatics department. The memo states that the…

Parks department considers ways to standardize its partnerships

The Parks and Recreation Department is continuing its work creating uniformity and standards in partnerships with nonprofit organizations that are expected to play a larger role in maintaining and improving parks facilities in the coming years. At last week’s Parks and…

Parks board asks Council to update rules for naming facilities, features

The city will change its rules for naming parks and the amenities within them, in a move to increase equity and add more public input to the process commonly used to honor community leaders. The Parks and Recreation Board voted…

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Parks board pushes for easement, land dedication on S. Congress project

The Parks and Recreation Board found that a development along South Congress Avenue adjacent to Williamson Creek must provide parkland as part of its site plan approval process, and cannot pay a fee in lieu of that donation. The board…

Covid impacted Austin parks concessions

Like many other enterprises, concessions operating in Zilker Park and along Lady Bird Lake suffered various financial impacts last year due to Covid-19, according to a report from the city’s Parks and Recreation Department. Gross sales generated by Town Lake Park concessions fell…

Parks board tables renaming recommendations for Council

The Parks and Recreation Board has once again taken up the task of suggesting revisions to the city’s naming and renaming ordinance, the law that lays out guidelines for the naming process behind city facilities like parks, sports complexes, pools,…

Discussions continue about Hancock Golf Course’s insolvency

Parks and Recreation Assistant Director Anthony Segura and Division Manager for Golf Operations Kevin Gomillion gave an update on the community engagement status of the Hancock Golf Course’s revenue troubles at the Dec. 4 special Parks and Recreation Board meeting.…

Parks board wants bigger say on financial, budget issues

The Parks and Recreation Board is making a move to dive deeper into the financial and budgetary issues that affect the city’s parks department. At the board’s Oct. 27 meeting, Board Member Sarah Faust made a recommendation to modify the…

Council OKs purchase of Wood Street parkland

After a lengthy discussion about the rules regulating acquisition of city parkland, Council voted 7-2-2 on Thursday to purchase 0.214 acres of downtown property at 702 Wood St. Council members Jimmy Flannigan and Pio Renteria voted no, and Council Member…

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