By Louis Zylka
The 830 Times
City council members recently accepted a donation for improvements to Rotary Park along the San Felipe Creek near Brown Plaza.
During its March 25 meeting, council members approved a resolution accepting a donation from the Del Rio Rotary Club, a local civic organization, to improve the park. The donation includes fencing materials, an irrigation system, grass seed and dirt, valued at a total of $21,237.33, according to documentation provided to the council.
Councilman J.P. Sanchez made the motion to approve the resolution, and Councilwoman Carmen Gutierrez gave the second.
The Rotary Park is located off Elm Street and Andrade Street in the San Felipe neighborhood of south Del Rio. The park lies along the banks of the San Felipe Creek between East Canal and Academy Streets and was adopted by the Rotary Club in the early 2000s. Members of the club have worked towards improving the park and its surrounding area every year.
As mentioned in a memo submitted to the council by Scot Carcasi, the city’s operations and compliance manager, city staff was approached by the Rotary Club to offer support in updating the soccer field at the park. The focus of adding installations to the park is to improve its current irrigation system.
During the March 25 council meeting, Carcasi said the donation
operations and compliance manager; and Cheryl Simmons, Del Rio Rotary Club president elect,
were present at the March 25 council meeting to discuss refurbishing the soccer field at Rotary
Park along the San Felipe Creek. (Photo by Louis Zylka)
to the park represents the partnership between the city and the community. He said the club bought the materials, and city crews have been installing the fences and preparing the electricity for the irrigation system. Sunrise Landscaping will be providing the labor for the sprinkler system in the park and applying the hydro seed, Carcasi said.
Cheryl Simmons, Rotary Club president-elect, and Lazaro Castro, the city’s parks and recreation superintendent, were also present at the council meeting to answer questions. Simmons made a comment about the club’s donation and said the soil will be topped after Easter celebrations.
Simmons spoke with The 830 Times early in the week and gave more details about how the donations came about. She said the Rotary Club applied for a grant in November 2024 from the Friends of Val Verde Health and Wellness, The Bargain Box (a local non-profit organization), and the grant was approved in February.
“We received (funds) from the Bargain Box, and with those funds we are completely redoing the soccer field (at Rotary Park),” Simmons said.
The city has already installed a new chain-link fence around the park’s field, and Simmons said the club will also be involved in adding park lighting in the future. Simmons also wanted to thank the Bargain Box for their contributions to the park, adding, “Without them, (the work) wouldn’t have been done so quickly.”
Before moving on to the next topic on the agenda at the council meeting, Sanchez commended the Rotary Club for all the work they have done for the community.
