Johnson County Park & Recreation District: Planning and Expansion

Antioch Park (Sub-Regional Park)
A new master plan with recommendations for long-term management needs to be prepared to enhance and preserve this exceptional community resource. The master plan for Antioch Park should illustrate the optimum way to provide recreation facilities to better serve County residents. It should seek the proper balance between recreation facilities and natural features. Proposed changes to the park should be based on their ability to enhance the overall appearance of the park, promote land stewardship and provide a quality recreational experience for the users.

The completed master plan should address the following issues:

Upgrade the existing playground to meet ADA requirements.
Provide seating areas around play area for adults accompanying children.
Improve/enhance the interior pathway system and related drainage.
Review planting design and the use of new and/or relocated existing materials to ensure seasonal interest, screen parking and focus views.
Preserve views and vistas of the small lakes.
Increase potential usage of rose garden.
Replace timber planters with native stone walls.
Naturalize the shoreline of both lakes, construct fishing access and formalize the inlets and outlets.
Add aquatic plantings at South Lake to enhance aesthetics and wildlife habitat.
Redesign the pathways at South Lake.
Develop a comprehensive replacement program for pathways so that they are replaced in a logical and orderly fashion and built to the same specification.
Revise drainage swales and structures to reduce visual impact, add landscaping and improve the quality of stormwater run-off from parking lots.
Restore Oak savannas, remove underbrush, restore cover vegetation, and conduct periodic burns.
Reduce speed of water in the creek through the use of brush layering along banks and the installation of plants.
Repave the basketball court and create additional court space.
Repave the tennis courts and increase surrounding fence heights.
Replace manufactured play equipment with new play equipment.
Emphasize satisfying the needs of park visitors and minimize the impact of the automobile in future site planning at the park.
Minimize the number of intersections between the main roadway leading to the primary entrance and park pathways.
Locate future parking to permit the installation of parking lot screening.
Consider relocating recreation administration facilities as a means of maximizing the amount of parkland available.

Athletic Training Center (Sub-Regional Park)
In conjunction with The Parks and Recreation Foundation of Johnson County, the District recently took advantage of a unique opportunity to lease and renovate this private racquetball and health club and to make the facilities available to the general public in 2001. The former Athletic Club of Georgetown is in good condition and contains nine racquetball courts, a weight room, a multi-purpose room and other facilities Planned renovations include converting a portion of the racquetball courts to usable space for the District's gymnastics program and other instructional programs.

Oakridge Farm (Sub-Regional Park to be part of adjacent Regional Park)
The following recommendations for additions and improvements are suggested to enhance aesthetics, reduce maintenance and provide better facilities:

Prepare a master plan that identifies a program that provides improved public access while preserving the park's natural, peaceful character.
Rehabilitate the existing historic residence for administrative offices and for revenue-producing facilities that could accommodate meetings and conferences.
Return a substantial portion of the existing pasture to prairie.
Remove the existing seven stable buildings and construct a new equestrian operation at the Kill Creek Regional Park.
Connect Oakridge Farm to the Mill Creek Streamway trails.
Identify Oakridge Farm as a portion of Shawnee Mission Park and not as a separate park.
Improve those portions of Ogg Road under the District's jurisdiction to improve access to the site.
Restore prairie areas and woodlands on the site.

Roeland Park Recreation Complex (Sub-Regional Park)
Recommended improvements include:

In conjunction with the City of Roeland Park, reconfigure the play area to improve public access.
Prepare a site master plan that buffers the impact of the aquatic center on the adjacent neighborhood.
Replace the older pneumatic dome within the next 1-3 years in order to continue the viable use of the facility for basketball and volleyball activities.
Provide enhanced maintenance of the dome covering the aquatic center so that it will be serviceable over the next 15-20 years.
Using intergovernmental cooperative agreements, initiate a linkage between of Roeland Park and the Turkey Creek Streamway Park to improve pedestrian accessibility in this part of the county and allow better open space utilization.

Shawnee Mission Park (Regional Park)
This is a large regional park with 1,236 acres and is an exceptional resource that possesses a balanced approach to preserving natural areas while providing extensive recreation facilities. The following recommendations for additions and improvements are suggested to enhance aesthetics, reduce maintenance and provide better facilities:

Integrate Oakridge Farm and Tomahawk Recreation Complex into Shawnee Mission Park (e.g. Oakridge Farm at Shawnee Mission Park).
Provide a large group shelter.
Expand parking for the off-leash dog area.
Increase the size of the park through land acquisition.
Make improvements to The Theatre in the Park with supplemental private funds.
Expand the administrative center to accept the recreation administrative uses currently located at Antioch Park and Tomahawk Recreation Complex.
Make aesthetic improvements to the beach, including decorative fencing and picnic areas.
Improve parking areas and add shade trees to reduce heat.
Inventory natural resources and create a restoration and management plan for selected areas of the park.
Limit new tree and shrub plantings to native species, thus preserving the landscape character and natural history of the region, and create larger prairie areas and improve wildlife habitat.
Changes to the native plant community resulting from the suppression of fires may be reversed through an inventory, assessment and development of a restoration and management plan for existing natural resources.
Future landscape improvements at the park should be located and designed to discourage geese.
Reduce maintenance costs by converting some lawn areas to natural vegetation.

Tomahawk Recreation Complex (Sub-Regional Park and Golf Course to be part of adjacent Regional Park)
Planning for this recreational site located adjacent to Shawnee Mission Park should begin with a comprehensive development program of improvements for this facility and an architect's assessment of the structural quality and condition of the clubhouse. Additional recommended improvements are as follows:

Renovate the clubhouse and replace the pneumatic dome over the basketball and volleyball courts.
Remove the swimming pool, improve the golf course and pro-shop, renovate the parking lot, redesign the main vehicular entrance and improve the day care facility.
Enlarge the tot lot for day care programs with new playground equipment meeting ADA and CPSC standards.
As with Oakridge Farm, identify Tomahawk Recreation Complex as a part of the Shawnee Mission Park and not as a separate park.
As funds are available, relocate greens subject to flooding.

Potential Sub-Regional Park (SRP)
Previous opportunities to expand the amount park acreage in this densely populated area have often been missed due to a lack of funding and/or coordination. As suitable property or properties become available for one or more Sub-Regional parks within this CPA, the District should coordinate acquisition and development. For example, should a property similar to Meadowbrook Country Club become available for purchase, as it has in the past, the District and municipal partners should acquire it and convert it into a Sub-Regional park.