The West Port Arthur Community Garden Association and Valero opened a one-acre community park Wednesday in the shadow of the oil refinery, committed to helping area residents grow their own fruits and vegetables.

Valero paid almost $1 million to launch the park, designed by Terralab Landscape Architects in Houston. Community members and Valero began planting in the 35 raised garden beds located on the fenced grounds.

Funding for the project came from a supplemental environmental project funded by Valero, in partial payment after the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality alleged that the company had violated standards on air quality emissions. The project grew from a 2016 settlement — the company denied the charges — that was forged as a creative and way to benefit the nearby community that would have been affected by the emissions.

Mark Skobel, who moved to Port Arthur as plant manager about 18 months ago, seemed well pleased with the quality of the work that went into completing the garden.

He recollected that as a boy in western Pennsylvania, his grandfather, father and family worked a garden of about an acre to help feed their family. His father was a coal miner.

“We grew tomatoes, watermelon, green peppers, corn and cabbage,” he said, later relating that story to the crowd. He said the bountiful crop was usually divided into thirds: one third for his family, one-third for neighbors and one-third for the squirrels.

Former Port Arthur Mayor Bobbi Prince, president of a five-member board that will oversee the park, said 22 of 35 garden beds had been adopted before the ceremony. She said there was room for more raised beds, if needed.

Dr. Marvin Getwood, assistant superintendent for Port Arthur ISD, said the park had been set up as a 501c3 charitable organization and would be “a boon for the West Side community and the city of Port Arthur.”

Jeff Saitas, former TCEQ director, said the park represented a strategy to benefit the nearby neighborhood.

Mayor Derrick Freeman thanked those who worked in developing the park and cited it as a new opportunity to “raise the level of excellence” in the city.