Maintaining green, clean, and safe public parks is our daily mission.
There’s nothing Parks professionals love more than seeing our community get outside and enjoy our world-class parks facilities. This week’s featured park is a beautiful space for outdoor lovers and sports enthusiasts!
North Park is next to the Southlake DPS North Training Center and is Southlake’s newest community park. Completed in September 2012, the park serves as a fantastic amenity to the surrounding neighborhoods of Estes Park and Oak Pointe. Those who live around that area have surely noticed North Park’s distinctive Tuscan villa-inspired concession building, but that’s not the only feature that makes it outstanding!
This spacious community park is an asset to the community and a local example of superior park design. Complete with three lighted multi-purpose sports fields, various walking trails, a unique playground, a large pond, and generous open play space, North Park has it all! In addition, North Park hosts our recreation flag football games and the Southlake Carroll Lacrosse Association’s lacrosse games!
North Park is not just for the athletically gifted, however. Art and architecture admirers will find a hidden gem within the Italian tower of the North Park Villa. While its primary function is for concessions and restroom amenities, it’s also the home to one of our Public Art collection pieces. Next time you find yourself at North Park, be on the lookout for Janice Hart Melito’s gorgeous “Longhorn Bass Relief.”
Whether you’re a Lacrosse fan, enjoy the gnome-themed playground, are on the lookout for unique public art, or enjoy walking around outside, North Park is a world-class green space for the Southlake community,
Make sure to pencil in an outing to North Park this week!
Maintaining green, clean, and safe public parks is our daily mission.
There’s nothing Parks professionals love more than seeing our community get outside and enjoy our world-class parks facilities. This week’s featured park is a beautiful space for outdoor lovers and sports enthusiasts!
North Park is next to the Southlake DPS North Training Center and is Southlake’s newest community park. Completed in September 2012, the park serves as a fantastic amenity to the surrounding neighborhoods of Estes Park and Oak Pointe. Those who live around that area have surely noticed North Park’s distinctive Tuscan villa-inspired concession building, but that’s not the only feature that makes it outstanding!
This spacious community park is an asset to the community and a local example of superior park design. Complete with three lighted multi-purpose sports fields, various walking trails, a unique playground, a large pond, and generous open play space, North Park has it all! In addition, North Park hosts our recreation flag football games and the Southlake Carroll Lacrosse Association’s lacrosse games!
North Park is not just for the athletically gifted, however. Art and architecture admirers will find a hidden gem within the Italian tower of the North Park Villa. While its primary function is for concessions and restroom amenities, it’s also the home to one of our Public Art collection pieces. Next time you find yourself at North Park, be on the lookout for Janice Hart Melito’s gorgeous “Longhorn Bass Relief.”
Whether you’re a Lacrosse fan, enjoy the gnome-themed playground, are on the lookout for unique public art, or enjoy walking around outside, North Park is a world-class green space for the Southlake community,
Make sure to pencil in an outing to North Park this week!
The holiday season is finally here, and we can’t wait to ramp up the celebrations!
The City came together last weekend to celebrate Home for the Holidays and light up Town Square with holiday cheer. As Thanksgiving is this week, however, we didn’t want to let this crucial holiday pass without expressing our gratitude.
Here are five things we are thankful for this week:
Incredible Partners
Our mission is to create world-class experiences, and we couldn’t accomplish that without strong partnerships. Thank you to our volunteers, vendors, sponsors, board and commission members, athletic associations, and community services organizations that enhance the quality of our services every day. We're grateful to you for sharing our mission and helping us meet it daily!
Beautiful Green Spaces
The holiday season is beautiful, but nothing beats having expertly planned and maintained public green spaces and parks. From the twinkling lights in Town Square to chilly walks in Bicentennial Park, November is a great month to get outside. Thank you to our Parks Division for your commitment to city-wide beautification all year round!
Serving our Community
Not everyone is lucky enough to get to do what they love for work every day. Parks and Recreation professionals have the privilege of dedicating their careers to promoting healthy habits, providing exciting recreational programming, and celebrating life’s most precious moments! We love working with our community, from Champions Club members to Senior Activity Center members, programs, and athletics participants! Thank you for your trust!
Supportive Teammates
Cliché as it sounds, teamwork, makes the dream work, and we have an incredibly supportive team in the Community Services Department. This Thanksgiving, we are grateful for co-workers who are always willing to lend a helping hand and make showing up to work fun every day!
Taking Time to Celebrate
Life moves by fast, so it’s essential to take the time to celebrate all occasions, big and small! We are grateful to celebrate this upcoming holiday as we continue to plan world-class holiday programs in the coming weeks. We hope our residents take the time to celebrate with their families and join us throughout the holiday season!
Happy Thanksgiving from the Community Services Department!
The holiday season is finally here, and we can’t wait to ramp up the celebrations!
The City came together last weekend to celebrate Home for the Holidays and light up Town Square with holiday cheer. As Thanksgiving is this week, however, we didn’t want to let this crucial holiday pass without expressing our gratitude.
Here are five things we are thankful for this week:
Incredible Partners
Our mission is to create world-class experiences, and we couldn’t accomplish that without strong partnerships. Thank you to our volunteers, vendors, sponsors, board and commission members, athletic associations, and community services organizations that enhance the quality of our services every day. We're grateful to you for sharing our mission and helping us meet it daily!
Beautiful Green Spaces
The holiday season is beautiful, but nothing beats having expertly planned and maintained public green spaces and parks. From the twinkling lights in Town Square to chilly walks in Bicentennial Park, November is a great month to get outside. Thank you to our Parks Division for your commitment to city-wide beautification all year round!
Serving our Community
Not everyone is lucky enough to get to do what they love for work every day. Parks and Recreation professionals have the privilege of dedicating their careers to promoting healthy habits, providing exciting recreational programming, and celebrating life’s most precious moments! We love working with our community, from Champions Club members to Senior Activity Center members, programs, and athletics participants! Thank you for your trust!
Supportive Teammates
Cliché as it sounds, teamwork, makes the dream work, and we have an incredibly supportive team in the Community Services Department. This Thanksgiving, we are grateful for co-workers who are always willing to lend a helping hand and make showing up to work fun every day!
Taking Time to Celebrate
Life moves by fast, so it’s essential to take the time to celebrate all occasions, big and small! We are grateful to celebrate this upcoming holiday as we continue to plan world-class holiday programs in the coming weeks. We hope our residents take the time to celebrate with their families and join us throughout the holiday season!
Happy Thanksgiving from the Community Services Department!
Promoting learning and growth is a fundamental part of our City and Community Services departmental strategy. The best way to achieve that corporate objective is when our employees move up our ranks!
Luis Marquez is a prime example of a home-grown employee in the Community Services Department. Luis is currently the Athletics Coordinator for the Recreation division, but he’s no stranger to our recreational programs. Throughout his time with the City, Luis has held multiple part-time positions that have created world-class experiences for our customers.
Luis began his journey with the Community Services Department as a Recreation Attendant for Athletics in December 2019. In 2020, he worked as Camp Counselor during Spring Break and Summer Camp Mania. Luis became a Recreation Specialist in December of 2021, wearing multiple hats by working with the Cross Timbers Forest Preschool, Athletics, and Programming teams. His last part-time role was Nature Camp Counselor at Bob Jones Nature Center before being promoted to his first full-time position later during the summer.
Let’s see what he has to say about his new role.
What is your favorite part about your current position?
“It’s hard to pick one favorite part about being the Athletics Coordinator, so I’ll pick two! I love when I see old faces from Camp. They love coming up to me to say hi and say they miss me being a counselor. Also, I like that I can use all the feedback I received over the last three years and implement them in our leagues. From what I’ve seen and heard, most participants have enjoyed participating in our Fall Leagues. This year’s Fall Leagues are my first to coordinate as a full-time employee.”
What do you hope to accomplish in this role?
“Ultimately, my main goal is to ensure all participants have fun while maintaining the level of competition they seek. It’s super important to enjoy the sport in all aspects. My current goal is to help improve registration numbers for girls across all leagues. I love seeing girls play in our flag football league and would love that trend to continue!”
What is something Athletics participants should know?
“I plan to be active throughout our leagues, so you’ll see me often on game days! Come say hi to all the Athletics staff!”
What do you like to do in your free time?
“In my free time, I like to play video games, hang out with friends on the weekend, or go to the gym!”
Congratulations on settling into your new role this Fall season, Luis! We can’t wait to see what else you’ll accomplish!
The Community Services Department recently learned that it is the recipient of the 2022 Texas Recreation And Parks Society (TRAPS) North Region’s Excellence in Maintenance (Class II) Award!
The Department submitted its recently created Marq Asset Replacement Plan for consideration and is delighted to achieve this recognition from our peers. Let’s learn some more about our newly award-winning Marq Asset Replacement Plan!
With over 107,000 square feet of fitness, aquatics, social, and community spaces, The Marq represents one of the City’s most significant capital investments. In the last year, a cross-departmental team of City staff worked tirelessly to create a comprehensive Asset Replacement Plan for The Marq to proactively strategize critical maintenance and future replacement of every major asset in the building. This collaborative effort resulted in a comprehensive 20-year asset strategy for The Marq Southlake.
Creating the plan was a lengthy and collaborative process between Community Services, Finance, and the City Manager’s Office. Conducting careful research was crucial to creating an operationally and financially viable plan. Staff knew they needed a solid methodology for a fiscally responsible plan.
The plan's goals were clear: build out a 20-year plan (through the year 2039) that creates a replacement schedule that all staff can adhere to. The plan accounts for future inflation, cost escalation, and labor costs. To be prepared for the worst, the plan incorporated the highest-cost options for the earliest replacement year for each asset to ensure enough funding is set aside annually. To determine accurate replacement years for the plan, staff relied on vendor recommendations, known industry standards, and best practices used by other cities.
After spending most of 2022 working on this project, The Marq Southlake Asset Replacement Plan was complete! A truly comprehensive asset maintenance strategy, the Asset Replacement Plan consists of several unique facility Asset Categories:
The Marq Asset Replacement Plan took an exhaustive approach far beyond large-scale investments, like fitness equipment, to include all assets, such as paint and flooring.
The Marq Asset Replacement Plan embodies a year-long process of research, financial know-how, and cross-departmental collaboration. Building solid partnerships with vendors and allowing Community Services staff to take ownership of their business areas was also a crucial step to turning this plan from an idea to improve our financial readiness to a reality.
According to the awards letter, our “nomination stood out above the rest to exemplify commitment and dedication in the field of parks and recreation. We are honored to present this award to you and for your commitment to excellence in all that you do in your daily pursuits.”
The Department will publicly accept this award at the TRAPS North Region Conference in Irving on Thursday, November 3.
Congratulations to everyone who worked on the Marq Asset Replacement Plan for being recognized for your commitment to excellence!
The Community Services Department recently learned that it is the recipient of the 2022 Texas Recreation And Parks Society (TRAPS) North Region’s Excellence in Maintenance (Class II) Award!
The Department submitted its recently created Marq Asset Replacement Plan for consideration and is delighted to achieve this recognition from our peers. Let’s learn some more about our newly award-winning Marq Asset Replacement Plan!
With over 107,000 square feet of fitness, aquatics, social, and community spaces, The Marq represents one of the City’s most significant capital investments. In the last year, a cross-departmental team of City staff worked tirelessly to create a comprehensive Asset Replacement Plan for The Marq to proactively strategize critical maintenance and future replacement of every major asset in the building. This collaborative effort resulted in a comprehensive 20-year asset strategy for The Marq Southlake.
Creating the plan was a lengthy and collaborative process between Community Services, Finance, and the City Manager’s Office. Conducting careful research was crucial to creating an operationally and financially viable plan. Staff knew they needed a solid methodology for a fiscally responsible plan.
The plan's goals were clear: build out a 20-year plan (through the year 2039) that creates a replacement schedule that all staff can adhere to. The plan accounts for future inflation, cost escalation, and labor costs. To be prepared for the worst, the plan incorporated the highest-cost options for the earliest replacement year for each asset to ensure enough funding is set aside annually. To determine accurate replacement years for the plan, staff relied on vendor recommendations, known industry standards, and best practices used by other cities.
After spending most of 2022 working on this project, The Marq Southlake Asset Replacement Plan was complete! A truly comprehensive asset maintenance strategy, the Asset Replacement Plan consists of several unique facility Asset Categories:
The Marq Asset Replacement Plan took an exhaustive approach far beyond large-scale investments, like fitness equipment, to include all assets, such as paint and flooring.
The Marq Asset Replacement Plan embodies a year-long process of research, financial know-how, and cross-departmental collaboration. Building solid partnerships with vendors and allowing Community Services staff to take ownership of their business areas was also a crucial step to turning this plan from an idea to improve our financial readiness to a reality.
According to the awards letter, our “nomination stood out above the rest to exemplify commitment and dedication in the field of parks and recreation. We are honored to present this award to you and for your commitment to excellence in all that you do in your daily pursuits.”
The Department will publicly accept this award at the TRAPS North Region Conference in Irving on Thursday, November 3.
Congratulations to everyone who worked on the Marq Asset Replacement Plan for being recognized for your commitment to excellence!
Calling all cool cats! Our next Teen Trip to Alley Cats Hurst is right around the corner!
Our last Teen Trip was such a success, that we couldn’t wait to do it again. Join us on Saturday, November 5 at 9:30 AM for an afternoon of friendly competition.
Alley Cats Hurst is the ultimate destination for fun and entertainment with friends. Bowl to your heart’s content in search of a Double or Turkey. Play arcade games to rack up enough tickets for a stellar prize. Dominate at laser tag, slay at mini golf, and spin around in circles at their carnival rides! Alley Cats has something for all interests.
All that amusement is sure to work up an appetite. Take a break from all the games to enjoy a pizza lunch included in this program. This is the perfect outing for the overscheduled teen looking for an afternoon of fun.
Don’t wait to reserve a spot as space is limited. Register today!
Calling all cool cats! Our next Teen Trip to Alley Cats Hurst is right around the corner!
Our last Teen Trip was such a success, that we couldn’t wait to do it again. Join us on Saturday, November 5 at 9:30 AM for an afternoon of friendly competition.
Alley Cats Hurst is the ultimate destination for fun and entertainment with friends. Bowl to your heart’s content in search of a Double or Turkey. Play arcade games to rack up enough tickets for a stellar prize. Dominate at laser tag, slay at mini golf, and spin around in circles at their carnival rides! Alley Cats has something for all interests.
All that amusement is sure to work up an appetite. Take a break from all the games to enjoy a pizza lunch included in this program. This is the perfect outing for the overscheduled teen looking for an afternoon of fun.
Don’t wait to reserve a spot as space is limited. Register today!
Community programming is a quintessential aspect of Parks and Recreation. The goal of the Community Services team is to create world-class experiences for our residents and participants.
Recently, the Community Services Department learned that it won two awards from the Texas Recreation and Parks Society North Region. The Southlake Senior Activity Center's Floral Friends Program won the Excellence in Programming Award (Class II). The Southlake Arts Council won the Arts and Humanities Programming Award (Class II) for the Southlake Presents Art Show and Competition.
These two awards represent our community’s commitment to excellence in the field of Recreation. We are proud to receive this recognition because these two programs highlight the extraordinary efforts of Southlake residents.
Let’s learn a bit more about each award.
Floral Friends Program
The Floral Friends program is simple. Every week, a senior center member picks up unsold flowers from a local grocer through a community partnership and delivers them to the Senior Activity Center. Once dropped off, another group of volunteer seniors works on arranging the flowers into masterpieces that elevate the visitor experience at Legends Hall.
The Floral Friends program unites our senior volunteers through the common goals of learning, taking pride in their shared space, and bringing joy to those who utilize the facility. They work hard to make the Senior Activity Center at The Marq a home away from home for visitors and employees alike! This cost-neutral program also strengthened community relations and improved waste reduction while providing vital social and creative interactions for our active adults. The benefits of this program are three-fold. It builds a long-lasting partnership with a local business, reduces waste by utilizing unsellable flowers through an in-kind donation, provides an avenue for a low-to-no-cost program for the senior center, and brings our Senior community joy. Talent-sharing, catering to the needs of our senior community and supporting our local businesses perfectly tie into the City of Southlake’s Strategy Map principle of Partnership and Volunteerism.
The Southlake Senior Activity Center is so proud of our Floral Friends volunteers for being recognized for their dedication to beautifying our shared spaces.
Southlake Presents Art Show and Competition
The Southlake Presents Art Show and Competition was the brainchild of the Southlake Arts Council. It was brought to life by a partnership that included City staff, Arts Council members, the APEX Arts League, and local Southlake artists. The Southlake Arts Council desired to emphasize the significance of the arts in Southlake by mounting a public art exhibit that only featured pieces created by Southlake residents for the first time. Planning began in early 2022, and the application period lasted from January to March 15. The program was advertised on the City’s social media, the Experience Southlake website, and My Southlake News.
Twenty-four local artists entered over 70 original pieces into the competition by the time the deadline rolled around. The Southlake Arts Council selected 15 unique pieces ranging from oil and watercolor on canvas, photography, and mixed media, to quilt art for the exhibit.
In addition to the exhibit, the City of Southlake, the Southlake Arts Council, and the APEX Arts League partner to provide a public art reception to kick off every new public art display in the Town Hall. The Southlake Presents Art Show Reception was on Sunday, May 1, at 5:00 PM in the Town Hall Lobby. Participating artists and their families came to celebrate their art and answer questions.
Congratulations to our Senior Activity Center Floral Friends volunteers and the Southlake Arts Council for being recognized for your extraordinary commitment to strengthening our community.
The Community Services Department will publicly accept both awards at the TRAPS North Region Conference at the Irving Convention Center on Thursday, November 3.
