Parks director previews FY2026 budget, equipment requests and $2 million in trail design funding

At the May 15 meeting, the parks director provided a high-level overview of the preliminary FY 2025–26 budget and capital priorities for Mansfield parks. The director emphasized that the numbers presented were early and subject to further review with the finance department.

Key budget proposals highlighted included capital equipment requests—an outreach van for program staff, multiple mowers (including replacement of an older triple-deck mower and a Z-turn), a Kubota RTV replacement, a pull-behind blower and a new turf slicer to aid field maintenance. The director also recommended increasing the capital maintenance program by $100,000 after identifying nearly $400,000 of maintenance needs during the current year.

On programmatic and project priorities, staff proposed continuing land-acquisition funding ($500,000) and increasing playground evaluation and replacement planning (typical playground life cited as 15 years). The meeting record shows a proposed $100,000 line for ADA transition work and a security-camera program with an added $50,000 (bringing that program to $150,000) to improve system integration with the police department.

On trails, staff reviewed several linear-trail projects (Walnut Creek Linear Trail connections, Phase 2B and 2C, Palm Branch Linear Park Phase 2, Bark to Chandler and Forest Brook) and said the board intends to allocate $2,000,000 to start the design process for two high-priority trail segments in the coming fiscal year, pulled from the master-plan priority list.

Board members asked about timing for budget workshops and whether additional meetings would be necessary; staff said a budget workshop is scheduled for the next regular meeting and the board retains flexibility to meet again before the August budget adoption deadline. Questions about grant opportunities for security cameras and whether Rose Park camera needs are included in the program were answered: staff said Rose Park camera additions are a separate project and they could investigate potential grant funding for cameras.