Making Dreams a Reality

 In 2017, a local resident donated a 1-acre downtown parcel to Twain Harte Community Services District (THCSD). This generous action kickstarted a dream that would soon be shared by the entire community – a dream to build a park that would gather generations of families and friends together to relax, play and enjoy Twain Harte’s natural beauty and charm. Over the next two years, hundreds of residents gathered with THCSD staff to dream, create, and design a park that authentically reflects their small mountain town. With a final conceptual design complete, Twain Harte Meadows Park (Meadows Park) took form in the minds of the Twain Harte community.  The only thing keeping the dream from becoming reality was the financial resources to build it.

THCSD is thrilled to announce that the community’s dream can now become reality.  On Monday, August 22, 2022, the State Department of Parks and Recreation awarded a $1,202,700 grant to THCSD for the construction of Meadows Park. The grant is through the highly competitive Proposition 68 Rural Recreation and Tourism Grant program, which offered $23.1 million for park projects across the state.  Eighty project applications were submitted, totaling over$183 million.  THCSD was one of just twelve projects selected for award.

The journey to make the Meadows Park dream a reality was not a quick or easy one.  Several grant applications have been developed to fund the Park and the $1.2 million grant is not the only one needed to construct the $2.6 million project.  Last year, THCSD successfully competed for and obtained a $3.75 million grant through the State Water Resources Control Board’s Stormwater Grant Program.  About $1.4 million of the stormwater grant is dedicated to Meadows Park.  The new $1.2 million grant provides the remaining funding to complete the entire park.

THCSD’s General Manager, Tom Trott, expressed how great an honor it has been to work with the community to get to this point:

“The Twain Harte Meadows Park project not only represents the physical beauty of our mountain community, but it also represents the part of Twain Harte that makes it most charming – residents of all kinds happily working side by side, united by their common love for Twain Harte.  It has been a joy working together to develop this dream and an honor working to obtain the resources to fund it. Now we get to share in the excitement of making the dream a reality!”

Meadows Park will be located next to Eproson Park in the heart of downtown Twain Harte. The Park will add to the town’s rustic, mountain atmosphere with a natural meadow feel. In addition to serving as an aesthetic reminder of why people choose to live in and visit Twain Harte, its recreation features will be chalk-full of local history and interactive education to remind future generations of the town’s rich cultural background. The Park will be specifically designed with features that gather community together, including:

• Open Space Mountain Meadow: At the center of Meadows Park, this large open space will be a place for families to play and will be surrounded with boulders for children to climb.
• Outdoor Pavilion: A large, rustic lodge pavilion will serve as a beautiful, shaded gathering spot for community events.
• Water Play/Watershed Discovery Lab: A water play area, mimicking a mountain stream will give kids and families a way to cool off, while engaging in hands on learning about where our local water comes from and how water plays an important role in our local ecosystem and everyday lives.
• Picnic/Barbecue Areas: The Park will have one large picnic area for community-sized events and several small picnic areas for family-sized outings.
• Town Christmas Tree: The Park will include a large town Christmas tree that can be lit during the holiday season and create a safe place for community to gather around.
• Outdoor Education/Discovery Labs: The Park will include a variety of interactive learning labs designed to teach residents and visitors of all ages about sustainable water use and healthy plants and soils. The labs will not only teach principles, but show residents how they can simply implement the same practices on their own properties.

Obtaining this grant is a great victory for the whole Twain Harte community. It will add to the town’s rustic charm and improve the lives of its residents, businesses and visitors.  THCSD’s Board of Directors and staff are exceptionally proud of this accomplishment and are excited to move the project into completion.  Board President, Gary Sipperley, said:

“I am so proud of Twain Harte CSD and all the work that our General Manager has put into our organization to help make Twain Harte an even better community than it already is.”

The Meadows Park project is anticipated to break ground later this fall or early in spring 2023 and is expected to be complete in 2024. For more information on all of the proposed recreational features in Meadows Park, visit: www.twainhartecsd.com/twain-harte-meadows-park

There will be plenty of opportunities to be involved in the Meadows Park construction.  If you are interested, please email THCSD at: info@twainhartecsd.com