(Seguin) — A proposed neighborhood pocket-park is getting a new name and its first official amenity.
The Seguin City Council on Tuesday agreed to name the property near, Jones and Dolle avenues, as Pachanga Park.
Parks Director Jack Jones says this is something that they’ve been discussing for quite some time.
“The city bought this property roughly eight years ago as part of the work to do the Walnut Springs Trail,” said Jones as he shared a map with the council. “Right over here is now a parking lot. It used to be the Juan Seguin Elementary School, now a parking lot but it needs a name. It’s been there for awhile. There has been lots of events held there over the years. The parks board met several times to talk about a park name and historic names were thrown out there,” said Jones.
The property, which is just north of the old Juan Seguin campus, has been used for a number of public events in the past. The West Side Neighborhood Project uses it for a clean up day each year, and the Pan American Golf Association has also used it for Easter egg hunts. Jones says they worked with Councilman Chris Rangel, who grew up and still lives in that area, to come up with the name.
“And we thought who else to talk about to get some more context and background to that park was Councilman Rangel. We invited him to a meeting Oct. 2. He spent some time with us. We were picking his brain on the history of this park. In the end and after discussion, the board just decided that the name, Pachanga Park, is the recommended name for this park located on the southwest corner of Jones and Dolle Avenue,” said Jones.
The park not only got an official name, but the council also approved the installation of a basketball court, which will become the first amenity for the park. The courts will not have lighting, but the council asked staff to see if lighting could later be included as a way to provide kids in that area more opportunities to have fun and safe activities after dark.
The council also agreed to extend the name of the Walnut Springs hike and bike trail all the way down to Max Starcke Park. The trail was recently extended, and now travels from New Braunfels Street all the down to Starcke Park.