Lewisville City Council looks to establish Lewisville Park Alliance in coming years

Lewisville Leader
By Arianna Morrison | Star Local Media
January 10, 2023

Lewisville City Council met for their first meeting of 2023 on Monday, Jan. 9 to receive a presentation regarding an update of the establishment of the Lewisville Park Alliance.

In 2019, Councilmember Daniels pitched an idea for a nonprofit to support Parks and Recreation initiatives and the consideration for the combination of the nonprofit with Keep Lewisville Beautiful. Over the next few years, conversations with Keep Lewisville Beautiful ensued.

Soon enough, the Lewisville Park Alliance was beginning to take form as a stand alone entity that included a partnership with Keep Lewisville Beautiful, but with no formal administrative support.

Since July 2022, the initial board for the nonprofit has been able to get a certificate of formation filed with the Secretary of State, create a name and vision for the organization, create by-laws and policies and procedures, and develop a financial management plan.

The Lewisville Park Alliance exists to promote, protect and enhance the parks and recreation system of the city of Lewisville through education, resource development, and community partnerships.

The primary focus of the organization will be to engage in key projects that support the Parks and Recreation Department’s vision and provide program support through scholarships for programs and memberships at Thrive, LLELA, and Herring.

The next steps for the organization is to file for nonprofit status, seat a long-term Lewisville Park Alliance Board, and develop fundraising strategies once the board is in place.

The Lewisville Park Alliance will focus on fundraising event planning and coordination, letters of support for city grant submissions, and support the overall mission of the parks department. The city’s role will be to oversee project planning and approval, provide a meeting space or booth space, access to Thrive or other park assets for fundraising events, and provide representatives from staff and parks board.

This month, the Lewisville Park Alliance will begin to recruit board members for. In Spring 2023, the park alliance hopes to have a board in place and will begin creating a strategic plan for fundraising.

In May 2023, the Lewisville Park Alliance agreement will go before city council for approval and in 2024, the park alliance and the Parks and Recreation Department will work together to foster the success of the city of Lewisville.