Missouri City Wins $50,000 Lowe's Grant

MISSOURI CITY, TX -- Missouri City and The Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation recently announced that the city will receive a $50,000 grant for the Quail Valley North Park Playground Replacement project.

“I am very proud of Parks & Recreation Director Jason Mangum and his team for their efforts in understanding the importance of public/private partnerships in achieving our goals,” City Manager Anthony Snipes said. “Their hard work on this application is evident and will result in an enhanced quality-of-life for residents.”

As part of the city’s High Performance Organization model, staff is finding innovative ways to fund projects and programs. In addition to the newly created 501©3 Missouri City Parks Foundation, which is actively pursuing proposals and sponsorships, employees also took the initiative to apply for multiple regional and national grant applications to fund several projects, including the grant.

“Thanks to the hard work of staff, we were awarded the highest level of funding from the LCEF to replace a park that was destroyed by an arsonist two years ago and unfortunately has not been replaced due to limited resources,” Snipes said. “This is a great partnership with Lowe’s that will help rebuild a community recreation space and allow us to work collaboratively with one of our corporate sponsors. I am proud of the ‘Show Me’ spirit exhibited during this process and look forward to an innovative new playground that area families can enjoy.”

Snipes said that as the city plans for growth and development, the city council is working to meet goals through creative and strategic methods and are already showing successful through the grant and the parks foundation, which will focus on parks, recreation facilities, trails, special events, public art, education, equipment, scholarships, and municipal facilities.

To establish initial funding for the foundation, the Parks and Recreation Department collaborated with MCPF to host a range of signature events with community impact; they started in October, 2016 and will run through Spring 2017. All ticket proceeds and net revenues from the events will go to support the foundation’s purpose and scope.

In addition, MCPF Board members, along with many citizen volunteers, are gifting their time to collaborate with City staff to execute key fundraisers.

In October, the individuals partnered for two successful activities: Community Night Out, which featured live musical performances, and Tricks and Treats in the Park, a family-friendly event that featured a Monster Mile Fun Run and a sweet treat trail.

A crucial part of the City’s branding and marketing of Parks & Recreation programs includes the rebranding of the City Hall complex as a premier events venue and entertainment hub. New events such as Community Night Out and the future 2017 Music Festival along with longstanding programs such as the Snowfest Festival are expanding the recreational services offered to area residents and designating City Hall and Missouri City as an excellent tourist destination.

Progress is under way on the City Hall Master Plan, which proposes renovations to the Community Center and the creation of an amphitheater and veterans’ memorial. Part of the project took place in August when staff removed trees from the courtyard area of the Community Center; the removal is consistent with the Phase II Renovation Plan for the facility.

Phase II of the Community Center Renovation Plan may also include a new roof, acoustic panels and emergency lights, as well as landscaping and the installation of new playground equipment, in order to offer a beautiful, fun, and enjoyable civic center to citizens. These plans coincide with final construction of the new Houston Community College campus adjacent to City Hall and the future expansion of the Missouri City Library, which will include a three-story addition and walkways between the three complexes.

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