Under Article IX, Section 17.40 of the appropriations bill (Senate Bill 1), money from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department shall be provided for the following Houston recreational facilities in the following amounts:

(1) $1,000,000 for Selena Quintanilla Perez Park;
Adjacent to the community center building, Perez Selena Park offers a playground, lighted sports field, 0.87-mile hike and bike trail, swimming pool, indoor gym, weight room, meeting room, and volleyball court.

(2) $750,000 for Tidwell Park;
Next door to the community center building, Tidwell Park offers a playground, lighted tennis courts, lighted sports field, swimming pool, indoor gym, meeting room, and an outdoor basketball pavilion.

(3) $5,000,000 for Keith Weiss Park;
Keith-Wiess Park, nestled within pine forests along Aldine-Westfield Road, has a history that includes the philanthropy of one of the area’s most influential oil and timber families, a land grant from the Republic of Texas, a family-run dairy, Prohibition era bootleggers, pre-Columbian hunters, and creative flood control engineering. The 499.46-acre park has become a key to flood control for the Hall’s Bayou watershed.

(4) $7,000,000 for Veterans Memorial Park and Flag Park (City owned and County operated) The military memorials in Veterans Memorial Park spread out across its grounds. A round central plaza contains bronze reproductions of sixteen highly regarded United States military medals for discipline, courage, and sacrifice. A curved seating wall is decorated with tile mosaics of twenty official campaign ribbons. Nearby, vertical sculptures suggest stylized trees from the battlegrounds of America’s wars: plantain for the Spanish-American War; laurel for the European battlegrounds of World Wars I & II; and bamboo for Korea and Vietnam.

These funding appropriations will improve recreational opportunities and enhance the quality of life for Houston area residents. Today, the Houston Parks and Recreation Department (H.P.A.R.D.) system includes 380 developed parks and more than 167 greenspaces totaling over 39,501 acres, aligning with our mission to enhance the quality of life by providing safe, well-maintained parks and offering affordable programming for our community.

The Houston Parks and Recreation Department also seeks the pursuit of a park system that is equitable and balanced and provides engaging recreation programming for people of all abilities, ages, and socio-economic levels.