Jim Rodgers is the quintessential parks man.  He has spent nearly 40 years working for parks departments throughout Central Texas, including the Cities of Austin and Cedar Park.  He also served as the first-ever Parks Director for Williamson County, helping build the department from the ground-up. This month we sat down with Jim to talk about his amazing career and to learn from his experience building and managing parks.

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Just one week after the ribbon cutting ceremony, Dripping Springs Ranch Park hosted the 6th Annual Dripping with Taste Wine, Food, and Arts Festival in its new 165,000 s.f. event center.  The widely popular event has maxed out smaller venues in years past, but found a new home with ample space this year at the event center.

The festival is known for having “the most Texas wines in one location,” featuring more than 25 wineries, 5 independent breweries, and 17 food vendors.  The juried art show from the Artists Alliance of the Hill Country brought a new component to the event this year, with over 20 artists competing.

RVi has been involved with the design of Dripping Springs Ranch Park since 2008.  During this time the park has grown from 64 acres to over 100 acres.  The first phase of new construction included the event center and arena, outdoor playscape, and primitive camping areas.  Pedestrian and equestrian trails, picnic areas, and spaces for open play are currently under construction.  Existing elements of the park, including an outdoor arena, round pen, and ranch house with barn for group meetings and weekend getaways continue to function as part of the newly expanded venue.

On the last Friday of every month, RViers gather for Friday Design Review, where we get the chance to learn about projects going on in the office. This month's Design Review featured the following projects:

• Arlington of Naples, a senior living facility in Naples, Florida - presented by Colin Owen
   
• Pflugerville Trails Master Plan & Park Development Plans - presented by Paul Cozzolino, Barbara Austin, and Chris Lalich

Both projects are currently underway and experiencing significant milestones.  Arlington of Naples is wrapping up Construction Documents and is expected to start construction at the beginning of October.  The Pflugerville Trails Master Plan & Park Development Plans recently held a public input workshop (pictured on sidebar), where members of the community had the chance to see RVi's progress toward developing a comprehensive Trails Master Plan, as well as plans for 14 individual parks in Pflugerville.