Flags will be flying this Veteran’s Day at Rick Rice Park and Veteran’s Memorial Plaza in Katy.

It’s an unofficial public unveiling for this new regional park, tucked along the banks of Mason Creek, between CrossPoint Community Church and car dealerships on the south side of I-10.

Already equipped with benches, overlook platform and a flag plaza, this 8-acre park with a central lake and bubbling fountain won’t actually be complete for another three to six months. But Interstate Municipal Utility District officials are eager to share with the wider public what a few neighborhood dog-walkers and joggers already have discovered.

“We’re very excited about this,” says Barry Kaplan, president of Interstate MUD’s board of directors. “We’re trying to create terminal vistas and a beautiful place where people want to go.”

Flag-raising ceremonies are planned for 11 a.m. on Wednesday, November 11. Representatives of a Katy veterans group have been invited to conduct the ceremony in honor of U.S. Veterans.

The plaza features two large flag poles for the U.S. and Texas flags and five shorter poles for each of the military branches. The Interstate MUD board will present service flags for the Army, Marines, Navy, Coast Guard, and Air Force to representatives of the Order.

The public is welcome to attend, and to see how this little-known park is progressing. Phase One construction, about $1.5 million in all, is almost complete. There’s a mile-long trail around the lake, with benches under shade trees for resting and native plantings of lantana and bottle brush to attract hummingbirds and butterflies.

Along the westernmost side of this triangular park is a lake overlook. Veterans Memorial Plaza sits at the northern point of the triangle, its lighted flagpoles visible from the freeway.

“It’s quiet. You don’t hear the freeway; you don’t look at the car dealerships,” Kaplan says of the park.

Future development includes Harris County Precinct No. 3. Interstate MUD has been working with Commissioner Steve Radack on plans for trails along the west side of Mason Creek, from I-10 to Kingsland.

Radack was cautious about those plans, but said he’s been working with Interstate and other MUDs for many years to create a trail system through West Harris County.

“I think there could be some good things happening out there, but there’s nothing on paper yet,” he said.

Interstate is designing a pedestrian bridge across Mason Creek, linking future westside trails to the eastside park. The pedestrian bridge will be lit at night, and visible from the freeway, says Bill Odle of TBG Partners, a consultant to Interstate.

Eventually, park planners hope county residents will be able to join the trail at Rick Rice Park and walk, jog or pedal all the way to George Bush Park to the south, or other county parks to the north.

“The park has been designed to collaborate with regional parks throughout the county and region,” says Odle. “In the overall logic, we are creating a system of trails that connects the larger parks that are part of Harris County Precinct 3.”

Kaplan said Interstate MUD has been working on the Rick Rice Park project for several years. MUD voters previously approved a multi-million-dollar park bond package to finance the project. The greenspace is named for Rick Rice, who has been active for many years on community boards and commissions concerned with beautification and park development, Kaplan said.

Park developers are collaborating with neighbors to make the most of this new project. Mason Creek MUD is currently filling in sidewalks along Kingsland Boulevard to its boundary at Westgreen, connecting schools and churches along this busy roadway but also giving Nottingham Country residents a clearer path to the park.

“This is a park where people will walk over, which is why we need to have sidewalks,” Kaplan said.

CrossPoint, which has a mile-long crushed-granite walking and jogging track around its property, has connected with the park trail as well.

“We’re excited to have the park back there, rather than what you used to see: A big hole in the ground,” said John Moore, the church’s director of sports and facilities. “They’ve really landscaped it nicely and put in trees and an overlook. It’s taken an area that was an eyesore and made it pretty.”

CrossPoint says they don’t mind if people use their parking lot to access the park.