On Monday nights this fall, the in-line hockey rink at Herfurth Park hosts two adult league games, at 7:30 and 8:45. The Rowlett Hockey League's youth 2026-27 season was set to open there on Saturday, October 31. The rink is also the clearest answer in the city's new park survey. Of the 338 people who responded, 198 named "keep the hockey area in the same location" as a top active-recreation priority. That's 58.6%, more than any other activity on the list.
That answer sums up the whole redesign. The concept residents built carries an estimated cost of about $6.7 million. The city has about $5.1 million to spend, so there's a gap of roughly $1.6 million. Most of what residents asked for keeps what's already at Herfurth and makes it more comfortable to use. Most of what Council talked about trimming sits near the bottom of the survey.
Three years on hold, then about three months of design
Rowlett voters have funded this park twice. The project agenda Council reviewed in October lays out the timeline:
- May 5, 2018. Voters approve $1.8 million for Herfurth Park through the Community Investment Bond Program. Phase 1 took out the baseball field and improved sidewalk connections, and it was finished in 2023.
- May 6, 2023. Voters approve Proposition C, which adds $4 million for the park.
- Later in 2023. Council starts looking at Herfurth Park as a possible site for the proposed Municipal Complex. While that question was open, the remaining park work stalled.
- March 16, 2026. Council tells staff to look at other locations for the Municipal Complex, and park design picks back up.
- August 18–19, 2026. Council approves a design contract amendment with Hoefer Welker, not to exceed $393,000, and the firm gets its notice to proceed the next day.
- September 28–30, 2026. Staff present the first concept and the survey results to Council. Two days later, residents and Parks and Recreation Advisory Board members work through a hands-on layout exercise.
- October 19, 2026. Council runs its own version of the layout exercise, with help from Hoefer Welker, Westwood and Swinerton.
- November 16, 2026. Staff expect to bring Council a refined concept.
Herfurth Park waited almost three years. Once the Municipal Complex search moved elsewhere, it went from a signed design contract to a Council-level layout session in about two months. The Municipal Complex search continued separately. On June 2, 2026, Council approved an amendment to Hoefer Welker's agreement for a site suitability assessment of alternative locations, and the consultant's initial findings, received July 6, covered a citywide review of more than 150 properties.
What 338 neighbors put at the top
The survey closed September 20, 2026. The city says plainly that it was an open, opt-in survey and doesn't represent all Rowlett residents statistically. It's still the most detailed record available of what park users want from this site. Here's how the improvements ranked when respondents picked up to five things that would make them more likely to visit:
| Improvement | Share of respondents |
|---|---|
| Shade structures | 71.6% |
| Restrooms | 63.9% |
| Trees and landscaping | 58.0% |
| Walking and jogging paths | 53.0% |
| Playground equipment | 37.6% |
| Lighting | 32.0% |
| Sports fields | 31.1% |
| Parking | 24.0% |
| Dog park | 22.8% |
| Open space | 11.5% |
The top four are all about comfort, and the fourth, walking paths, still beat the fifth item by more than 15 points. When asked what they'd want to do at the park, 64.5% picked walking or jogging. Picnics and family gatherings came next at 51.5%, followed by playground use at 50.0%.
The playground questions point the same way. A covered or shaded playground drew 70.7%. Restrooms near the playground drew 63.0%, and seating for parents and caregivers drew 51.5%. Slides got 13.9% and climbing equipment got 16.3%. In other words, respondents cared more about the shade and seating around the playground than about the equipment itself.
On the sports side, the rink led. Pickleball followed at 53.0% and open fields for informal play at 51.5%, while tennis drew 32.8%. The park already has four tennis courts, four pickleball courts and the Scentral Bark Dog Park. So a lot of what people asked for is already there and just needs upgrades. The written comments say the same thing. Hockey came up the most among features people wanted kept or improved, and pickleball, the other courts and the dog park came up often too.
Where the $1.6 million gap is likely to land
At the October 19 work session, Council looked for ways to bring the concept closer to the $5.1 million budget. According to the city's recap of the session, the options discussed were:
- Keeping existing parking and park infrastructure where practical. Parking drew 24.0% in the survey, far below the top four.
- Using the City's portable stage instead of building a permanent one right away. A stage wasn't among the survey's top-ranked improvements.
- Refining trail connections and cutting duplicate trails. Walking paths drew 53.0%, so this means trimming the trail plan, not dropping it.
- Keeping improvements to the roller hockey rink and considering tennis court resurfacing. These match the survey's top active-recreation answer and an existing set of courts.
- Making shade structures smaller while keeping shaded gathering areas. This is the one item on the list that touches a top survey request directly.
- Deciding on parking, playground and water feature options based on available funding.
Council also talked about improving the park's Main Street entrance and adding trees and landscaping, which drew 58.0% in the survey.
Line those options up against the table above and they track closely. The biggest savings ideas, a permanent stage and new parking, are items respondents ranked low. The rink, the courts, trees and walking connections all stayed in the discussion. Shade is the real tradeoff. It's the most-requested improvement in the survey, and it's also where Council talked about smaller structures. How much shade survives the November concept is the number most park users will want to see.
The open questions are the playground and water
Two items are still undecided, and both matter to families.
The playground is listed among the options to be weighed against available funding. Respondents cared most about the setting around it: shade, restrooms nearby and somewhere for adults to sit. A smaller playground with good shade and a nearby restroom would still match what people asked for.
Water features weren't one of the survey's multiple-choice options. Even so, some respondents wrote in splash pads, spray features or fountains on their own. Council listed water feature options among the items that depend on funding. If you've wanted a splash pad close to home, this is the part of the plan to watch.
Under the city's process, the October 19 session gave direction but approved nothing. The recap says the team would come back with a design that includes "priorities for amenities that could be added later if funding becomes available." That means an item left out of this round isn't necessarily dead. It may just be moved to a later phase.
What November 16 decides, and what comes after
At the Council meeting on Monday, November 16, staff plan to present the refined concept for approval before the project moves into the next design phases. The order after that is schematic design, Council approval, design development and construction documents, bidding, and then construction. The city has published no construction dates. Approving the concept on November 16 doesn't fund a contract or start any work. It sets the direction for the detailed drawings.
If you want to follow it, here's where to look:
- Read what Council saw in October. The October 19 work session agenda packet has the project background and timeline.
- Watch the layout exercise. The video of the October 19 session shows Council working through the tradeoffs.
- Look at the full survey. The Herfurth Park Community Design Survey results break out every question, including the written feedback themes.
- Check the November 16 agenda when it's posted. The city's news page has been running agenda previews and "Minutes & More" recaps after each meeting.
In the meantime, the rink keeps its schedule, with adult league games on Mondays and a youth season set to open October 31. At a March 4, 2025 City Council meeting, league members described a December food drive they hold at the rink every year. The Rowlett Hockey League's site says the 2025 drive collected 7,279 items.
At Jeanie Marten, we've been part of these northeast Dallas suburbs for a long time, and parks like Herfurth are part of what makes a street feel like home. If you have questions about how the redesign might affect your corner of Rowlett, or you'd just like to talk over what's changing in town, give Jeanie a call. We're always happy to chat.
