Year in Review

YEAR IN REVIEW 2021

T-Mobile Hometown Grant Recipient

The City of Elgin, Texas was one of T-Mobile's 25 Hometown Grant recipients and the only town in Texas to receive a grant to jumpstart vital community development projects! This grant will fun the creation of an outdoor classroom with ADA picnic tables and free WiFi in the Veterans' Memorial Park Expansion Phase 1.

Hometown Grants are part of the Un-carrier’s massive commitment to bring 5G to rural America. Over the next five years, T-Mobile plans to hire 7,500 new employees in small towns and rural communities and provide $25 million in grants for community development projects.

View the entire Press Release.

Elgin Receiving T-Mobile Grant 2021 - Picture 1
Master Plan Cover Page

Parks, Recreation and Open Space Master Plan 2021- 2031 Adopted by City Council

Beginning in January 2020, the City of Elgin Parks Advisory Board worked for 18 months to create the “Parks, Recreation and Open Space Master Plan 2021-2031” to dictate the direction for the City of Elgin Parks and Recreation Department. This plan included multiple phases of community feedback through surveys, community input posters, park observation periods and community leader surveys. This 350-page document includes specific land acquisition plans, park development plans, programming needs and more. Community feedback was available online, in person at popular events and local gathering spaces like the local high school and community college. Community input boards were provided to Down Home Ranch, the VFW, Elgin Recreation Center and at local events. This document was adopted by the City of Elgin, TX City Council on their October 12th, 2021 meeting, and was approved by Texas Parks and Wildlife a month later in November 2021. 

Read the full plan here. 

Central Region Texas Recreation and Park Society Conservation Award

This year the City of Elgin Elgin Recreation Center Pollinator Gardens won the Central Texas Conservation Award. The Pollinator Garden is a mix of native and adaptive host plants that support the growth of pollinators and our ecosystem in general. The plants along the side of the Recreation Center are home to a wide variety of wildlife. 

To learn more about this project, visit the Park of All Seasons page. 
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Central Region Texas Recreation and Parks Society Class Presentation

Elgin Parks & Recreation Program Manager, Elizabeth Marzec, was invited to give a presentation on programing and developing events for the community at the Central Texas TRAPS Conference. This opportunity highlighted the hard work on the City of Elgin's Parks and Recreation Department to creatively program events for our community. 

Recreation Center Pollinator Gardens named Elgin Garden Club Yard of the Month

In the Fall of 2021, the Elgin Garden Club honored the Elgin Recreation Center as the first business to receive the Yard of the Month award! The Pollinator Garden was still in full bloom until the beginning of December, keeping alive beautiful butterflies and bees of all types! 
Yard of the Month

YEAR IN REVIEW 2020

New Playground & Walking Trail


St. David’s Foundation selected the City of Elgin to receive $199,909 as part of the “Parks with a Purpose” program where more than 19 applications were received in 2019 from Bastrop, Caldwell and Travis Counties.

The City of Elgin matched the grant to replace aging playground equipment, add fitness opportunities, create a multi-purpose track, and plant new trees in Elgin Memorial Park. Sidewalks, paving and parking lot improvements from Alpha Paving, costing $74,545, were funded by the City of Elgin.

Playground Ribbon Cutting
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Edible Arbor Walk


The Edible Arbor Walk Project began in 2018 with the planting of a handful of donated fruit trees. Year after year the Elgin Parks & Recreation Department partners with the community to plant new fruit, shade, nut, and evergreen trees in Elgin Memorial Park to increase the biodiversity in our park, provide hands-on learning opportunities, and allow park patrons to grab a snack straight from the tree. 

Community volunteers at our Texas Arbor Day event and members of Ranch House Recovery planted more than 55 trees in Elgin Memorial Park in 2020.

Little Free Libraries


Through partnerships with Jeanette Shelby Realty and Lions Club Thrift Store, two of Elgin’s parks have become home to new Little Free Libraries. A Little Free Library is a “take a book, return a book” free book exchange meant to encourage the sharing of books and knowledge in the community.

In 2020 Jeanette Shelby Realty built, donated, and continues to stock three (3) Little Free Libraries; two (2) in Elgin Memorial Park and one (1) at the trail entrance to the Shenandoah Greenbelt. You can recognize these Little Free Libraries by their classic house shape and bright pink paint!

Jeanette with Library
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Events


While the Coronavirus Pandemic has impacted how we physically come together, Elgin Parks & Recreation has adapted to continue providing quality engagement opportunities throughout the year. More than 2,000 Free Weekly Activity Books were distributed to the public every Wednesday from March until September, then monthly through December. These free activity books provided seven days of activities that ranged from arts and crafts, to educational materials.

Elgin Parks & Rec puts out two new “StoryWalks” in a different park each month. StoryWalk® helps promote health and literacy in children while having fun in nature by highlighting fun, representative books that connect us to our surroundings.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Elgin Parks & Rec has hosted two socially distanced in person events, accommodating over 30 families. These include the Pumpkin Carving Event and Texas Arbor Day Tree Planting and Crafting event. Elgin Parks and Recreation also hosted a number of digital and socially distant events such as Virtual Webinars on Prehistoric Mammals and Sea Animals with Dinosaur George, Scavenger Hunts in the park and a Toy Campout in the Park.

Recognition & Awards


At the Texas Recreation and Parks Society (TRAPS) State Conference in February 2020, the Elgin Parks & Recreation Department was awarded multiple accolades: Debora Marzec, was awarded the Individual Outstanding Service Award, the Elgin Parks & Recreation Department was awarded the Arts & Humanities Programming Achievement Award Class IV for the Trash Art Week Contest & Crafts event in September 2019, and Dock Jackson was awarded the TRAPS Lifetime Achievement Award. Dock Jackson worked for the City of Elgin for 9 years.

TRAPS Awards

In November, the Central Texas Chapter of the Texas Recreation and Parks Society (TRAPS) awarded the Elgin Parks & Recreation Department two Central Texas TRAPS awards; the Lone Star Programming Award for TRAPS Central Region for the Cardboard Boat Race that took place over the summer 2020 and the Arts and Humanities Award for TRAPS Central Region for the Free Weekly Activity Books.

Weight Room

Facility Operations


To continue offering the best service possible to our patrons while keeping them safe, the Elgin Recreation Center is open seven days a week by appointment only. Appointments can be made over the phone or online, and allow for limited household groups to partake in the Recreation Center amenities, while providing time for sanitization between reservations. While most classes and programs are suspended, the Rec Center continues to offer WildCat Walkers Monday—Friday so patrons aged 60+ can come walk laps in the gym to get their fitness and social goals met.

Over the summer Morris Memorial Pool opened by appointment only, much in the same way, and even provided Water Aerobics to pool patrons in limited numbers to allow for appropriate social distancing.

Concession Stands Now Open!


Elgin Parks & Recreation Department is now opening concession stands in the parks each weekend! There are drinks, snacks, bubbles and chalk for $1.00 each, as well as sports equipment and games to borrow free of charge. This means that families can participate in tennis, basketball, soccer, disc golf and more without having to own or bring the equipment to the park. Visit Thomas Memorial Park, 411 Madison St, from 10AM – 2PM on Saturdays and Elgin Memorial Park, 127 North Main Street from 12PM – 4PM on Sundays to take advantage of the concession stands!

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Partnerships


Elgin Parks and Recreation has strived to connect with and support the community more than ever due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. We are proud to say we have partnered with Ranch House Recovery, The Evening Lions Club, Drive a Senior, Advocacy Outreach and the Bluebonnet Trails Community Services “Parents as Teachers” organization. Through these partnerships we create a stronger community. #OTOTOF

Parks Master Plan Begins


At the beginning of 2020, the Parks Advisory Board surveyed the public to compile a list of park improvements, additions and acquisitions to pursue in the next 10 years. Work on the updated Parks, Recreation and Open Space Master Plan 2021-2031 is ongoing and will be presented to City Council in 2021.