BY THOMAS LEFFLER
Veterans and Niemietz park renovations Cibolo is anticipated to invest $1.3 million in park renovations in 2026.
Mapping it out
What else?
Cibolo is another city looking at the future of its parks. In March, Cibolo City Council and the city’s park staff outlined a parks improvement plan, including plans for Veterans and Niemietz parks, at the request of the council. “For both parks in general, we’re trying to do a renovation on both of them. … What we’re trying to do [now] is get community input, letting them tell us what they want to see at their neighborhood parks. This will tie in eventually to our overall master plan for our park system,” City Engineer Julio Gomez said. Council discussions centered around items at the two parks, such as a resurfaced basketball court with a shaded structure, as well as a new playground surface and multipurpose field renovation. Gomez said public input has been related to accessibility and parking, along with the afore- mentioned amenity renovations. In June, the council approved a work order with Kimley-Horn Associates for master planning services for the parks, totaling $83,500, which will be funded through 2024-25 Capital Improvement Program funds. Gomez said parks staff and Kimley-Horn will return to the council in late January or February to provide updates on master planning. If City Council approves the plans, the projects will move into the design phase. Construction would begin in late summer, Gomez said. The project budget for both parks is approxi- mately $1.3 million and will be funded through the city’s Capital Improvement Program. Assistant Public Works Director Margarita
A bevy of other park projects were completed in 2025 and are on tap for 2026. In Schertz, several renovations were completed at the Schertz Soccer Complex, including lighting upgrades that installed high-efficiency LED fixtures, according to previous Community Impact reporting. “The new lighting improvements have added extra capacity to maximize the amount of games that can be played here,” Shrum said. In 2026, Shrum said a city priority is continued work on the West Dietz Creek Trail Project, a $1.25 million endeavor to create a 10-foot-wide concrete trail along West Dietz Creek from Schertz Parkway headed northwest and crossing Maske Road, Savannah Drive and ending at Wiederstein Road. According to agenda documents, $1 million of the project is funded through the Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization for Transportation Alternatives Funding, with a $250,000 match from the city. The project is scheduled to continue into fiscal year 2027-28. Live Oak staff completed an interior refurbishment of its community clubhouse in 2025, updating the facility with new flooring, lighting, countertops and appliances. Other cities are looking even further ahead, such as Selma, which will present a parks master plan for approval in February, City Administrator Johnny Casias told Community Impact .
Veterans Park
New playground surface
Playground shade structure
Resurfacing of basketball court
Basketball court shaded structure
Site furnishings
Multipurpose field renovation
Tree additions and irrigation of park
Stormwater pollution prevention plan
Niemietz Park
New playground surface
Football field renovation
Softball field renovation and fencing
Restroom renovations
Site furnishings
Walking trail addition
Kitchen and meeting room renovations
Stormwater pollution prevention plan
SOURCE: CITY OF CIBOLO/COMMUNITY IMPACT
Hernandez said Cibolo’s parks have “lots of health benefits” for the community. “[Parks are] a safe space for [residents] to walk, so they’re not embedded into the vehicular traffic, the issues with streets,” Hernandez said. “There’s a designated space for pedestrians and bicycle users.”
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NORTHEAST SAN ANTONIO METROCOM EDITION
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