PRIORITIZING PARKS
ATTRACTIVE ASSETS The Woodlands Townships’ parks and recreation o erings serve the township’s population of more than 114,000 residents, but they are also open to outside users. Some amenities, such as swimming pools, also generate program revenue to support operations.
Parks and recreation projects have taken the largest percentage of any department in The Woodlands’ capital project budget since 2018. Recreation programs also bring in revenue to o set costs.
Capital projects in The Woodlands Township, 2018-22
Total expenditures* in The Woodlands Township, 2018-22
Total capital project expenditures Parks and recreation capital projects
Total budget expenditures Parks and recreation operating expenditures
$12.2M
$132.34M
$12M
$100M $125M $150M
$127.26M
$127.01M $124.21M
$9.4M
$118.79M
$0 $2M $4M $6M $8M $10M
$8.7M $8.6M
$7.2M
$5.7M
$0 $25M $50M $75M
$3.9M
Current facilities include:
46.6%
$3.5M $3.28M
$3M
53%
$24.63M
49% 42% 35%
$21.45M $22.63M $23.92M $23.86M
150 parks 2 recreation centers 2 boathouses 14 swimming pools 5 playgrounds 220 miles of pathways
19%
18% 18% 19% 19%
2018 2019 2020 2021
2022
2019
2020
2018
2021
2022
* Program revenues and expenditures are from initial approved budgets. Actual end-of-year expenditures and revenues may di er.
SOURCE: THE WOODLANDS TOWNSHIP COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
including funding for items at Bear Branch Park, improvements to the Texas TreeVentures complex and a lazy river. “I mentioned it would be nice if we had the state’s longest lazy river in a public pool,” Chair Gordy Bunch said at an Aug. 23 budget meeting Nunes said there is room in Bear Branch Park between the pool and the recreation center for a lazy river. The longest river would need to be more than 1 mile long, Nunes said, but the township could manage the longest in the immediate area. Whether the project could begin in 2023 or 2024 was not determined at the budget meetings. “This park would be the place to be,” Director Jason Nelson said at the Aug. 23 meeting. Rieser said he believes the enhanced amenities also add to the township’s appeal as a tourist destination. “I expect that sports tourism will be a bigger focus for us,” Rieser said in an interview. Maryann Braid, village association
The rst phase of a $4.23 million Falconwing Park renovation this fall includes adding pickleball courts. The project will be complete by spring break in 2023, Nunes said. Budgeting for recreation needs Not all of the projects identi ed in the needs assessment will necessarily come to fruition, Nunes said. How- ever, the projects identi ed for Alden Bridge Sports Park and the new Gosling Road park are two of the larger projects being prioritized. Alden Bridge Sports Park, located o Hwy. 242, has considerable parking and restroom needs, Nunes said. A site east of Gosling Road roughly across from Woods Edge Church has also been identi ed for a new park. “It would be a great entryway for our community in Creekside Park,” Nunes said. Nunes said projects originating from the needs assessment will come back to the board during design and bid phases for additional review and approvals, so details may be updated over time. The
plan will also be reviewed during sub- sequent budget cycles as the current cycle only covers 2023, he said. Over the past ve years, the town- ship has spent more of its capital improvement fund on parks and recre- ation than any other department. In 2022, 46.6% of the township’s capital projects budget went to parks and recreation. Operating expendi- tures in 2022 for parks and recreation were $24.63 million, or 19% of the township’s operating budget. One municipality in the Greater Houston area that was used as a peer city during the 2019-21 incorporation study was Sugar Land. Its 2022 oper- ating budget for parks and recreation is 1.8% of its expenditures. However, Sugar Land has 27 parks and 35 miles of trails, compared to The Woodlands’ 150 parks and 220 miles of trails. Other recreation improvements Other capital projects for parks and recreation outside of the needs assessment study come in at about $20 million for 2023,
Projected needs: (15-20 years)
2 dog parks Environmental education center 2 sets of 4 pickleball courts 9 tennis courts 2 community gardens
SOURCE: THE WOODLANDS TOWNSHIP COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
president in Alden Bridge, said ame- nities are important to residents and a source of pride in the community. “There was always the attitude that The Woodlands wanted to have things that weren’t available other places,” Braid said.
For more information, visit communityimpact.com .
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THE WOODLANDS EDITION • SEPTEMBER 2022
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