The College Station city council learns during their September 14th meeting that their parks board discussed earlier in the week about the future of the former site of the Texas Independence Ballpark. That’s after the council stopped construction due to soil quality issues.
Assistant city manager Jennifer Prochazka says the parks board was given a list of options for the property that is now called Southeast Park. Prochaska said staff will seek more input from the parks board and the public.
Prochazka’s update came after former mayor Karl Mooney asked the council to consider the property on Rock Prairie Road west of Fitch for a recreation center that can be managed by the YMCA of Central Texas.
Mooney says an architect told him that a recreation center, possibly with a pool, would be more than sufficient to offset concerns of spending $10 to $16 million dollars to improve soil conditions that stopped the city’s construction of four ballfields.
The council was not allowed by state law to respond to Mooney’s comments because he spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting.
As for the loss of four baseball fields at the former Independence complex, Prochazka said staff is collecting information from “the baseball community” and the final decision will ultimately be up to the council.
Click below for comments from Jennifer Prochazka and Karl Mooney during the September 14, 2023 College Station city council meeting.