Saturday, June 29, 2024
Recent flooding in Coryell County impacted several areas across the Gatesville community, including extensive damage in Faunt Le Roy Park.
The park closed its gates due to rising waters on the morning of Sunday, May 5. Gatesville Parks and Recreation Director Seth Phillips said that the park will remain closed until it receives a professional assessment of the damage.
“We cannot clean anything up until we get a professional opinion/estimate on the significant damage that has occurred,” Phillips said. “The city hopefully will be able to receive access to grants and other resources for repair/restoration of the park, but that will take time.”
Settled along the banks of the Leon River, Faunt Le Roy Park is no stranger to flood damage. In 2018, severe flooding caused erosion to the river’s embankment. Since then, a road that leads to the damaged section of the park has been closed for safety reasons.
Phillips said the latest damage is to the banks of the Leon River, the road that wraps around the park, and the walking trail.
“I believe we may have experienced more damage this time around,” Phillips said. “We won’t know for sure until we receive a professional opinion/estimate of the damage.”
For many, Faunt Le Roy Park is a focal point for activities such as exercise, sports, camping, and events. One organization that frequents the park every weekend is Amtgard, a global nonprofit that recreates medieval-style combat with foam-padded replicas of weapons. Members of the local chapter, which welcomes approximately 40 to 60 people weekly at Faunt Le Roy Park, addressed the Gatesville City Council on Tuesday with their concerns about losing the space.
“It's been a hit for us, because that's kind of a safe haven for a lot of people,” said Aaron Adams, a member of Amtgard. “We take in a lot of trouble teens. We take in a lot of individuals that have social disorders. We give them a safe place for them to come and express themselves and to be who they are and let them kind of grow, but our park’s been taken from us.”
Adams and another member, Tiffanie Meagher, said they are looking for another spot to host Amtgard while Faunt Le Roy Park is closed, but it is difficult to find a spot large enough to host the group.
“It's a little concerning to not have a park. I know a lot of people use Amtgard for catharsis therapy, a way to get out, and a way to meet people,” Meagher said. “It's kind of like a second church and kind of like a second home to a lot of us – it’s like a family to a lot of us.”
Mayor Gary Chumley said that the park will not open until it is deemed safe for citizens.
“How long that will be I don't know,” Chumley said. “This is not the first time it’s flooded. We still have not repaired the damage that occurred in 2018 in that flooding.”
Former City Manager Scott Albert, who was interviewed by The Messenger before his resignation on May 14, said city officials will meet with a stormwater engineer next week to assess the flood damage and determine the necessary recovery steps.
“Additionally, we will discuss options for requesting financial assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) and the Texas Department of Emergency Management (TDEM) to help with repairs in the park,” Albert said.
In December 2023, the Gatesville City Council voted to move forward on an agreement with engineering and consulting firm, Frees and Nichols, to perform an initial assessment of the damaged riverbank from the 2018 floods.
Albert said the upcoming assessment will determine how the city will repair the park after both flood events.
“The proposed assessment will primarily document the damage to the park and determine the most effective strategy for the city to seek financial assistance in repairing the park following both the recent and the 2018 flooding events,” Albert said.
In 2020, the city received a $1.3 million grant from FEMA to repair Faunt Le Roy Park. Due to concerns about how the park would stand against future floods after repairs, the city chose to designate a portion of the funds toward the development of a new park across from the Gatesville Fitness Center, according to previous coverage by The Messenger.
“We can go to Freedom Park or Raby, and we're looking into those. But that's our home park, so we would like to have that back,” Meagher said.
