Katy Edition | May 2022

TRANSFORMING KATY'S GREENSPACE ’ With the passing of the parks bond and the parks master plan underway, the city of Katy is eyeing these points of interest for current, ongoing and future projects.

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said. “We need to look at ways that we can address mobility beyond just the traditional built roads.” Meanwhile, four projects to improve existing parks facilities are pending the approval of the city’s master plan, including the new Leyendecker Landing rec- reational area, a 3- to 5-mile trail system and the 3B Learning Center. Some of these projects are funded by the city’s $6million parks bond approved inMay 2021. The parks plan ties into Katy’s comprehensive plan, which is set to be nalized in spring 2023, city ocials said. The parks plan should be done by the end of August. The city’s last comprehensive plan addressed development from 2000-20. Katy has tappedKendig Keast Collaborative, a Sugar Land-based planning rm, to construct both plans. Meredith Dang, Kendig Keast’s community planning and practice leader, said the comprehensive plan will address public safety, livability, sustaining the tax base, implementing the 2021 parks bond and the development in the city’s pipeline. “With that, we will have a road map for the next 20 years as to how the city should grow,” City Adminis- trator Byron Hebert said. Park improvements One of the main functions of the parks plan is to address the developments within the parks and rec- reation system and implement projects from the 2021 parks bond—which Hebert described as the most intentional legislation for parks funding in his over 20 years of service to Katy. The bond provided $4.2 million to create a trail sys- tem, rebuild or repurpose the parks maintenance sta building at Katy City Park and provide renovations to existing parks, Hebert said. The other $2 million will go to improvements to municipal buildings. Other ongoing improvements, such as renovat- ing the elds and courts at Katy City Park, are being funded by the scal year 2021-22 budget, Hebert said. A capital project funded by the parks budget is the conversion of a 5.5-acre property on Franz Road into the 3B Learning Center. It will provide oces to the parks and recreation sta, and the back acreage will serve as a bees-, butteries- and bird-watching station and outdoor education center, Browne said. “It is going to be a unique space that lls a need in a way we do not currently have,” Browne said. Ideally, Browne said, the oces and learning cen- ter will open to the public in the fall, but it is too early for an exact timeline since it is pending the nalized parks master plan. “The architectural design process just started in late April,” Browne said. “That will determine a projected cost for the oce renovation and how soon we are able to move forward with construction documents, bidding and construction.” Leyendecker Landing, a 68-acre site located oppo- site of the ponds at the corner of Pitts and Morton roads, will be funded partially by the parks bond and partially from local and national grant opportunities pending the adopted parks plan, Browne said. Mayor Bill Hastings and the former mayor’s advi- sory group dedicated the space to former City Engi- neer David Leyendecker, who died in December 2020. David Kasper of ARKK Engineers, the rm develop- ing the new recreation area, said the company does

Parks

Planned projects

CLAY RD.

Parks and Recreation Projects

“The trails systemwill create opportunities for mobility and access outside of people having todrive.”

3 3B Learning Center Details: The city of Katy is developing a historic property into parks and recreation oces and converting 5.5 acres of green space into an outdoor education center. Cost: TBD Timeline : April-TBD Funding source: scal year 2021-22 general fund 4 Parks maintenance sta building Details: Renovating or rebuilding the parks maintenance sta building at Katy City Park was approved by voters in the 2021 parks bond. Cost: $200,000 Timeline: TBD Funding source: 2021 parks bond

1 Hike and bike trail fromFirst Street to Pitts Road Details: The proposed trails system will connect neighborhoods to Leyendecker Landing, parks and downtown Katy. The city's bond plotted a possible trail route, but ocials said it is subject to change. Cost: $4 million Timeline: TBD Funding source: 2021 parks bond 2 Leyendecker Landing Details: The 68 acres will serve as a recreational park that provides drainage. Cost: TBD Timeline: fall 2022-TBD Funding sources: 2021 parks bond, local and federal grants

KEVIN BROWNE, PARKS DIRECTOR

MORTON RD.

LILAC ST.

CANE ISLAND PKWY.

Along the proposed trail

5TH ST.

1 VFW Park 2 Heritage Park of Katy

3 Thomas Park

3RD ST.

1ST ST.

SOURCE: CITY OF KATYCOMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER

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not yet have specics on the scope, cost or timeline of the project but did describe the site’s concept. “The visual theme of the park will be based on a working farm,” he said. “Amenities will include walk- ing trails and boardwalk trails with a focus on encour- aging waterfowl habitat and viewing opportunities.” The spacewill serve as both a drainage area and rec- reation eld, Mayor Pro Tem Chris Harris said. City ocials said the goal is for Leyendecker Land- ing to serve as the trailhead for the largest portion of the 2021 parks bond: the $4 million, 3- to 5-mile hike and bike trail system that will go from the city’s cen- ter at First Street up to where Leyendecker Landing will be. Connecting thecity The new trail system will connect Katy’s parks to neighborhoods, businesses and the city’s recreation amenities as well as create multimodal mobility options throughout the city, Browne said. “The trails system [will] create opportunities for mobility and access outside of people having to drive,” he said. Katya Morzhueva, co-owner of bike shop Cool Cat Cycles at Villagio Town Center in Cinco Ranch, is a cyclist and advocate for increased bike safety.

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Morzhueva’s advocacy led her to the Willow Fork Drainage District, a water control and improvement district in the Katy area that maintains outfall drain- age facilities and contains 13municipal utility districts in Fort Bend and Harris counties. The WFDD implemented its own parks plan and passed a $29 million bond in 2011 to build three parks and 50 miles of trails in its jurisdiction. WFDD PresidentWendy Duncan said it is important to maintain relationships among Katy-area entities to make shared infrastructure, including trail systems, more uid. She said she hopes to one day combine WFDD trails and Katy trails for a continuous ride from Katy to Houston. “I would love for the Katy system to be connected into our system,” Duncan said. “We could have the ability to go from the city of Katy or the Katy Board- walk to downtown Houston.”

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KATY EDITION • MAY 2022