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The Festival Gardens Park, Community
Garden Park, Fair Grounds Complex, or whatever you call it -- many
people have talked about it, dreamed about it and, more recently,
watched it start to take shape out on Hwy 6 east of town.
This particular park project, (one of
many efforts through the years) began with former Mayor John Adcock
and a grant application back in 2001. In his personal column of April
19, in the Free Press, Adcock wrote: “We are looking into the
possibility of a grant that will allow us to build a Fair Grounds
complex on the property that now belongs to the Peach and Melon
Association.”
In May of that same year, Adcock wrote:
“We have a meeting set up...with our grant writer to find out what
progress we’re making concerning funding to make the property owned by
the Peach and Melon Association into a year-round facility, with all
kinds of uses, as well as a new and permanent place to hold our
annual, world-renown Peach and Melon Festival. We are really excited
about this.”
Once the grant application was approved a
flurry of activity followed involving questionnaires and giant
thermometers to register donations. Pledges were taken, including some
for labor and materials, and people were caught up in a park project
“fever” of sorts. Since then, there have been set-backs (some of them
serious) as well as progress, and many, many people working to achieve
the “Community Park” dream.
These days, “Discuss and consider
activities with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Grant” is on the DeLeon
City Council agenda every session and some people take it for granted,
while others have dismissed it out-right with “never is going to
happen” because of all the delays and extensions which have had to be
filed.
But current city officials, as well as
those who pursued the project during the administration of Jim Adams,
believe that it will.
Jamie Welch, DeLeon’s assistant city
secretary, has spear-headed the park project for more than a year, and
as various stages are initiated (electrical, plumbing, concrete, etc.)
she grows more and more excited.
“The park project is really rolling,”
Welch said. “It’s so exciting to see progress almost daily. And I can
see, in my mind, exactly how everything is going to look.”
With work now progressing at a fairly
rapid pace, Welch visits the park project site daily. She also
conducts tours occasionally, and one of her favorite stops is a large
hill, or a “natural amphitheater” at the back of the site. As she
stands there, Welch points out to visitors exactly where everything
is, or will be, including the seating, the stage, the restrooms and
even the dance floor. “The slab for the dance floor is more than 8,000
square feet,” Welch said.
Even though some people made their
pledges several years ago, Welch said they still have a chance to be
involved in the process.
“We still have the pledge sheets that
were submitted at the beginning of the project,” Welch said. “There
are pledges from businesses for equipment, materials, labor, trees and
plants. There are pledges from citizens for equipment, materials,
labor, grounds work and even pledges to prepare lunches for workers.
During the course of this project, we will be calling on each of those
individuals and companies and will continue to recruit additional
volunteers.”
Welch pointed out that among those who
have helped so far are County Commissioners Bobby Schuman and the late
Clyde Brinson, as well as other county workers. “We appreciate their
help so much,” Welch said. “Bobby had a lot of previous experience
with grades and elevation when we were doing the dirt work, and that
was just what we needed.”
City employees and P&M Festival workers
are excited to see some of the individual aspects of the park “coming
together.”
“We met recently with the Tractor Pull
folks,” Welch said, “so that they could review the latest revised
plans. While they were generally very pleased with the plans, they did
have a few more changes. The engineers will now review those and make
the necessary adjustments. It is great that so many of those guys have
been involved.”
The RV park is another aspect of the
project which has been eagerly anticipated, with Mayor Danny Owen
often talking about how much revenue such a facility could generate
for the city.
Since many former DeLeon residents return
yearly for the Peach and Melon Festival, city employees and festival
volunteers plan to be as “visible” as possible with park plans this
week. Information and fund-raising booths will be set up downtown, and
at the current festival grounds on Saturday, August 12.
“We’ll even have the drawings and plans
for people to look at,” Welch said. “And we’ll have the gate open at
the new site Saturday, if anyone wants to look around. This really is
happening. The new site will be the home of the 2007 Peach and Melon
Festival. It is so exciting.” |
