Eagle Pass parks stimulate community business interest

Progressive communities such as Eagle Pass, Texas, understand some of the intrinsic values of parks and recreation areas as barometers of that elusive “quality of life,” sought after by those considering moves to a new community. Stacie Talbert, Eagle Pass Parks and Recreation Department director, is certain that such values are real, not merely intangible. “I believe that our parks are vital in terms of both economic development and the health of our society as a whole,” Talbert said last month (Oct. 30). Talbert moved to Eagle Pass in 2004 from a position as financial consultant and recreation programmer for the city parks department of Austin. Though Austin has a nationally prestigious reputation, Talbert was persuaded that Eagle Pass is ripe for cautious, but progressive ideas for open space protection and development. With an annual operating budget of $1.7 million, Talbert manages the work of 41 employees that include park maintenance and recreation program staffers. The city and county care for about 169 acres of parklands in 11 parks. But Talbert aspires to meet national standards, maintained by the National Recreation and Park Association, related to population statistics, that – when met – would add another 115 acres to the city’s inventory. The parks also include a 35-acre, nine-hole golf course that sprawls along the banks of the Rio Grande, a clean, green landscape that lays beneath the international bridge to Piedras Negras. “It’s a nine-hole course, but we have 18 tee boxes, so you never have to tee off from the same place for 18 holes of golf. We are the masters of illusion,” Talbert laughed. Nearby Shelby Park, also on the riparian fringe of the Rio Grande, includes an oddity not expected by most park patrons, a cement boat ramp into the Rio Grande. Talbert explained that the ramp is used primarily by the U.S. Border Patrol for river rounds and Texas Parks & Wildlife Department for environmental monitoring. “Yes, anyone can use it, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone use it other than Mr. Foster [Chad Foster, mayor of Eagle Pass] for boat tours of the river,” said Talbert. Stacked onto Talbert’s responsibilities now is the city’s new International Center for Trade, a convention center perched high above the Eagle Pass skyline, with a massive ballroom, smaller meeting and reception rooms, and industrial delivery loading docks and storage. Talbert’s favorite is the corner “West Room” with ceiling-to-floor, paned glass windows she says afford an arresting view of Eagle Pass at night and during approaching storms. Eagle Pass has also established standards of parkland acquisition commensurate with subdivision development. Mandatory dedication by developers requires that eight acres of parkland be set aside and donated to the city at the rate of eight acres per estimated 1,000 residents. Since subdivisions of that size are rare, the ordinance requires cash contributions – ranging from $375 to $575 – for smaller subdivisions in lieu of property when at least 174 lots will be developed. The funds generated by the parkland dedication ordinance will be used to purchase land and/or make improvements to existing park facilities. These funds are not to be used for operating purposes. By way of comparisons, the City of Del Rio manages 23 parks, with a total acreage of 310.5 acres, according to city parks director, Ben Rivera. Of that amount, the San Felipe Golf Course is 73.14 acres. Federal Emergency Management Agency buyouts of property inundated during the catastrophic 1998 flood add 26.1 acres to land that could be used as parkland and open space. Talbert has firm ideas on parklands needed in Eagle Pass. “We’d like to see some parks that would span the interests of generations, where our senior population would feel comfortable walking and getting exercise, and kids up to 12 years old would have an opportunity for a playscape, too. “We also would like some open areas, for our youth soccer association, more than 300 strong. And here in Eagle Pass, we play year-round baseball. While we have fields to host games and competitions now, we’re really short on practice fields,” Talbert said. Long-range, Talbert envisions more multiple-use parks, including hiking, walking and biking greenway developments. “With development here moving northeast, there’s a big arroyo and canal out there that we’re trying to get developers to help us provide access to for that kind of activity. We hope they can dedicate land contiguous to that corridor so we can have entry points to it, particularly since it runs through Maverick County Lake Park. Talbert remains confident that a first-class park system will be developed with the growing city’s population and diversity in mind. “The parks here are and will be important not only environmentally, but for our citizens’ mental and physical health, as well,” Talbert concluded.