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Parks & Recreation

O'Donnell Park
Address:
526 G Ave. (Fabens)
Pool Information:
Monday Open for Labor Day Weekend
Tuesday - Sunday from 12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Admission Free $1.00
Bam Arturo Robles, 15, and his friends Jesse Garza and Robert Chavez, both 14, did not wait for the dedication ceremony to end before hitting the skateboard area at O'Donnell Park in Fabens.
"It's real cool," Bam said, describing the new skateboard facility, which features ramps, bars and slides. "it's great to try new things and practice a lot. We need to practice before going to the big skate parks, like the one on Carolina Street."
"its awesome," said Jesse, as he went up a ramp and wavered coming down. "I was scared at the beginning, but not anymore. I just need to practice some more.
The three young friends were among the 40 Fabens residents at the dedication Saturday of the new and improved O'Donnell Park in Fabens. For years, students at O'Donnell Elementary, Fabens Primary and Fabens High School had asked for a park near their schools. They wanted a park with a playground, skating area, basketball courts and T-ball diamond, with picnic tables and more.
Now they have one. The old O'Donnell Park, which is surrounded by all three Fabens schools, has been refurbished by El Paso County in coordination with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission, the Fabens Independent School District and the County Water Improvement District No.4. Even the old swimming pool, which boasts a water slide, has been remodeled.
Saturday's ribbon-cutting ceremony was organized by the County Parks and Recreation Department, featuring music, hot dogs, drinks and a free day of swimming. Commissioner Miguel A. Terán, in whose district is O'Donnell Park and who worked for nearly four years to get the park's refurbishing started, was not able to participate in the ceremony because of illness. Representatives of the water district and the school district and the school district were on hand for the dedication.
"This is just the first phase of the impingements to O'Donnell," Terán said, a few days before dedicating. "The problem is that the County can build parks, with help from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission, but it cannot maintain them. It simply does not have the money. That's why we (the County) has been negotiating with the schools in the areas and with the water districts to maintain them,"
Total cost for the O'Donnell improvements was $185,000, of which $110,000 was provided by the County, $50,000 by the Parks Commission and $25,000 by the Water District, Terán said. He added that in-kind services were provided by the County's Road and Bridge Department, the Fabens Independent School District and the County Water Improvement District No. 4.
O'Donnell is the second in a series of eight small parks planned for the Lower Valley and the Far East Side. The First was the Risinger Fabens Park. Next on the list is the Ruben Estrella Park in Montana Vista, which is under construction. Plans are the drawing board for the Sparks and Ascensión Parks, with others to follow in Dan Elizario, Clint, Socorro and Tornillo.