Kyle Parks & Recreation
by KERRY URBANOWICZ
In about eight weeks, the City of Kyle will have a new park to play in. This new park will offer amenities never seen before in a park in Kyle. Lake Kyle will have miles of trails and acres of nature along with fishing, picnicking, horseshoe pitching and bird watching. But Lake Kyle is a “managed park.”
What is a managed park? Very similar to state parks, managed parks are open to the public when the gates are open and the park staff is on site. When the gates are closed, the park is closed. Lake Kyle is a managed park because of the way the park was acquired, developed and constructed. Two large grants funded Lake Kyle and the grant applications and presentation scored high points for open space and nature conservation along with water quality preservation and recreational programs that can only be guaranteed within a managed park.
With the grand opening scheduled for March 10, and soft opening in late February, your Kyle Parks and Recreation Department staff is trying to create a schedule that will maximize the hours and days Lake Kyle is open to the public. However, the current Kyle PARD budget does not include overtime or additional staff to open the park headquarters, and park gate, beyond 40 hours a week. We know that the public will want to use and enjoy Lake Kyle more than 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday – Friday.
This is why we need volunteers. Your Kyle PARD is working to develop a flexible schedule for the public to maximize the hours but we need volunteers to help the park stay open later and more often. This is a great opportunity for retirees looking for something rewarding to become involved in. Outdoor clubs and organizations that want to participate in an outdoor setting, we need you. School interns needing hours, how about working in a park? Teachers off during the summer, spend a few days or hours a week in the great outdoors. We need you if you can volunteer two hours a month or as many as 20 hours a week.
Although office volunteers are in the highest demand, your Kyle PARD also needs volunteers to help with outdoor activities and events. Do you have an ability to make trail signs? Would you like to assist with fishing tournaments and other outdoor recreational programs? Would you like to help build the Plum Creek Nature Trail? We need you!
To find out more about becoming a Lake Kyle Volunteer, visit www.kylepard.com and go to the link “Lake Kyle Volunteers.” Or drop by your Kyle PARD Office and talk with the nice folks.
