HARKER HEIGHTS, Texas (KXXV) — The mayor of Harker Heights released a letter in response to talks between the city and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers about leasing Dana Peak Park, saying he wants to lower costs and make the park open 365 days a year. The letter also says he wants to make it a budget priority for the upcoming year.
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The park is currently owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which recently completed road construction and fire mitigation work there.
Shelton Magee has lived in Harker Heights his whole life and visits Dana Peak Park regularly. He says the park is in need of more attention.
"As I was a kid, growing up, even uh in my adult, you know, stages of life, I just, uh, the past probably 5 years, I've slacked. I haven't really come a whole lot. Um, it's also been flooding and you know, the park's always been destroyed, so they're always repairing it or working on it," Magee said.
Magee says flooding has caused significant damage that has gone unaddressed for years.
"The floods that we had destroyed the, destroyed the playground. This was probably, I don't know, 3 years ago, and there's still not a new playground in place. Um, the parking lot hasn't been repaved in I don't know how long," Magee said.
He also pointed to staffing as a factor in the park's upkeep struggles.
"The year-round employees, so like all over the park there's um brush, like up on the shores from the floods, and the brush has been there for years, you know, since 3 floods ago and they just, they just don't have enough guys on it, working on it to, you know, keep up with it," Magee said.
The mayor's letter noted the park is a spot the city has heard feedback about for years. 25 News reached out to both the mayor and city manager and did not hear a response. As of now, there is no concrete plan for the city to take over the park.
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