When there isn’t much going on, Levelland parks provide recreational opportunities to beat midsummer boredom. The Parks Department oversees, constantly maintains and improves these opportunities.
“We have something for everybody,” Director of Parks and Cemetery Dustin Reichelt said. “We have something starting at 2 years old, or even smaller really, all the way up to the skate park, and things like that, for any age.”
Levelland currently has 14 parks including the skate park, sports fields, pickleball courts, fishing ponds, playgrounds and more. Each park is different, but while exploring one can find basketball and volleyball courts, pavilions, a disc golf course walking trails, a Gaga Ball pit and restrooms.
“We don’t have a lot of events ourselves, but we have a lot of open space for you to get out there and just explore if you want to,” Reichelt said. “You just have to be open-minded and go out there and do it,” The Parks Department manages improvements and maintenance at parks as well as the civic center, Oxy Sports Complex and city pool. Recently, they have been working to improve ball fields at City Park, extend the walking trail at Lobo Lake and make ADA improvements. They also finished phase two on the pickleball courts to add three more courts and a shade structure next to the skate park on 4th Street.
“The great thing about parks is it’s never ending,” Reichelt said. “We’re not perfect, but we are also not sitting back in 1982. It takes time and a little bit of funding, but we’re always moving that needle ahead.”
The department works all year maintaining more than 200 acres throughout the city. Depending on the season, they mow, fix equipment, stock fish and take care of anything else that needs attention. Additionally, someone goes to every park every day to open and close restrooms as well as make sure everything is in order.
“Our thing is our parks need to be safe, clean and fun,” Reichelt said. “We don’t just pick up trash and mow like a lot of people think. We do a lot more than that.”
Within the 200 acres are ball fields and pavilions available to rent through the Parks Department’s website. These are free to reserve, though there are some restrictions on ball fields to accommodate high demand. The city pool and civic center can also be reserved for a fee through city hall.
“A lot of people come from out of town,” Reichelt said regarding ball games. “They stay and spend their sales tax money here. A quarter percent of that goes into the LCDC, and then that’s what funds projects like what we’re doing out here fixing these ball fields, extending the trail or all those things I mentioned earlier.”
As citizens enjoy parks, they should be considerate of others by putting trash in trash cans and being courteous when using restrooms. The common saying in national parks, “pack in, pack out” is a good rule of thumb.
“Clean up after yourself is the biggest thing,” Reichelt said. “Be respectful of the park because if you vandalize or trash something, that just takes away from something else that we could be doing to keep the parks improving. We have somebody in the parks every day of the year to limit that and get eyes on the parks, but it’s still a challenge.”
According to Reichelt, the department hopes to start a new parks masterplan soon. While improvement ideas already come from various places, the plan will give community members a chance to give feedback and ideas for moving forward in the parks.
“I think people will be excited to give their thoughts, and then that will give us a roadmap of where we’re going to go for the next 10 years,” Reichelt said.
“Then after that, a lot of things will be funded and built off of that plan. You just never know what will come out of it, but at least it lays out the roadmap, and the important thing is we’re not chasing one thing when we could be chasing a bigger picture.”
In the meantime, the department has a “summer challenge” so people can go and see all Levelland has to offer. Information about each park as well as reservations can be found on the Parks Department’s Rec1 webpage.
“We have great parks,” Reichelt said. “If you really home in on our park system in the region, there’s a lot to be thankful for.”