Cullinan Park Background: MOU & Interlocal Agreement
On May 19, 2015, the City of Sugar Land (“City”) and the Cullinan Park Conservancy (“Conservancy”) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) regarding the financial contribution and development of Cullinan Park (“Park”). The MOU outlines the contribution benchmarks that the Conservancy must meet. First, the Conservancy had to raise $500,000.00 for the City of Sugar Land to annex the Park and, in turn, begin operations and maintenance. The Conservancy shall also raise funds for capital improvements that are consistent with the intent that the Park be a place of natural beauty and peacefulness.
Additionally, on or about June 22, 2015, the City of Sugar Land, City of Houston, Houston Parks Board, and LGC entered into an Interlocal Agreement for the operation, maintenance, and construction of permanent improvements for the Cullinan Park at Oyster Creek. Under the Interlocal Agreement:
- Use of the Park will remain consistent with its existence as a place of peacefulness and natural beauty;
- Landowner will remain as the City of Houston and the Houston Parks Board. City of Sugar Land will receive a right of entry for a 30-year term;
- City of Sugar Land will be responsible for managing, operating, controlling, and supervising the Park;
- Conservancy shall be responsible for raising the capital funds to support the Park’s development.
Donations & Ongoing Capital Improvement Planning
On January 19, 2016, the City annexed the Park by adopting Ordinance 2039. From May 2016 to November 2018, the City accepted three donations from Cullinan Park Conservancy, totaling $1,209,381.56, which funded the phase I design and construction completed in Fall 2019.
On December 1, 2020, the City accepted the fourth donation check in the amount of $213,500.00 for the design services of Phase II, together with the in-kind services for conceptual design equaling $56,346.93 and park wayfinding signs equaling $17,619.00
The project is budgeted in the City’s Five Year Capital Improvement Program and is funded from donations from the Cullinan Park Conservancy as the funds are raised and donated to the City.
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City accept the fifth donation check in the amount of $1,237,000.00 from the Cullinan Park Conservancy for Phase II construction with a corresponding budget amendment to both revenues and expenditures.
This brings the total for cash and in-kind contributions to $2,733,847.49 to date from the Cullinan Park Conservancy. The project is budgeted as CPK2001- Cullinan Park Improvements, Phase II.