On Saturday, July 12, I exchanged a couple of messages with my contact at KCMO Parks & Rec. In my initial message, I simply thanked him for offering to get this project up and running, and I asked again what could be done on my end to help get things rolling. His response:
KCMO Parks and Recreation is ready to work with you and your neighbors in planning how best the park can be improved to best meet everyone's needs.
As we discussed, our PR Planning Services Division will be helping to develop a plan or updated plan for Highland View Park. We should soon expect a Project Manager to be assigned to work on this effort. A playground, similar to what was accomplished at Romey Hills Park, will be most certainly be considered as part of the planning process.
There are funds we can use for Highland View Park and we will be determining the amount available for the improvements desired.
Also, we will do some research to see what plans may have been prepared for the park in the past. We will provide you with copies of any maps and plans we find. Next week we should be able to email you a basic park boundary map from the city's property records database.
Discussing this effort with your neighbors is critical to success. We want to be sure that there is opportunity for everyone in the community to participate in planning out what will happen in the park. Knowing what the community desires and needs is very helpful in assuring good use of public funds.
As you can see, he is eager to get moving on this project, and has again verified that funds are available for an upgrade to Highland View Park! However, he also stresses the importance of getting people involved. That said, please be sure to visit the Get Involved! page to see how you can be a part of this project!
When I get copies of the boundary map and any historical development plans as mentioned above, I will post them on the site for you to review.
Finally, if we are able to build anything like the park mentioned above (Romey Hills Park), I think we will all be extremely happy with the improvements. I've included a picture here, but you can check out the Photos page for more pictures of Romey Hills Park.
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