Accepting the award are, clockwise from bottom right, Mayor Pro-Tem Kris Whitfield, Parks and Recreation Director Rick Atkins, City Clerk Sara White, and Assistant City Manager Bryan Williams.

The City of Round Rock was presented the 2012 Municipal Excellence Award in the City Spirit category for cities of more than 15,000 population at the Texas Municipal League Annual Conference and Exhibition, held in Grapevine on Nov. 13-16. The award recognized the city for its Play for All Abilities Park.

The Play for All Abilities Park has been a community-wide effort and a dream come true for Round Rock and surrounding communities. Through the Play for all Foundation, the City’s Parks and Recreation Department, local civic clubs, city staff and professionals and parents who have worked with children with special needs, Round Rock was able to design a beautiful park to serve the children of Williamson County, including its 7,945 children with a disability.

The mission of the park is to provide a safe, fun place to play and develop new skills for children and playscapes that easily accommodate children with special needs. Used for therapy and learning — as well as play — the park includes all ability swings, an all abilities playscape, a sensory pod, and even a village with mini-versions of Round Rock businesses to help children learn life skills.

The park, just east of A.W. Grimes Boulevard, south of U.S. 79, is heavily shaded and tucked away from busy streets. The Brushy Creek Regional Trail will be accessible from the park (2013 construction). The trail will connect Redbud Lane/CR122 to A.W. Grimes Boulevard and connects into the Greater Lake Creek Trail System. 

The Texas Municipal League is a voluntary association of more than 1,120 Texas cities. Its primary objective is to serve the needs and advocate the interests of Texas cities, and it is the largest organization of its kind in the United States. The City of Round Rock is a member of the Texas Municipal League. 

The Texas Municipal League Municipal Excellence Awards and the City-County Cooperation Award recognize and encourage the achievement of Texas cities in meeting the challenge of municipal government. The programs showcase the best in cooperation, innovative problem-solving, excellence in management, increasing citizen participation, and reaching toward higher service levels.