The Prairie Village Council Committee of the Whole on Monday approved authorizing city staff to move forward on designs for an inclusive playground at Harmon Park without a $250,000 donation from local nonprofit Variety KC.
Driving the news: The donation required the city to fence the entire perimeter of the playground and include a Variety KC sign for 20 years.
- Several councilmembers said they did not like the idea of a large sign there because it night detract from the park itself.
- Additionally, the cost of the fencing alone could have taken up about half of the prospective donation, city project manager Melissa Prenger said.
What they’re saying: Some, including Councilmember Terrence Gallagher, the city parks and recreation committee chair, said the donation would have been appreciated but it wasn’t in tune with the city’s needs.
- Councilmember Cole Robinson said turning down a quarter of a million dollars because of a sign and fencing is “a Prairie Village problem to have” and asked if there was any way to find some middle ground with Variety KC.
Key quote: “We were all extremely excited about it at first,” Councilmember Lauren Wolf said. “But the number of strings that started to become attached made that number go lower and lower and lower and lower in terms of what we were going to actually get at the park.”
Harmon Park improvements
The inclusive playground is one facet of the park getting an upgrade in the near future.
- The city already approved a $575,000 budget for the playground, which is now moving into the design phase.
- About 400 residents responded to a survey earlier this summer offering up two potential concepts for an inclusive playground, and a majority of respondents chose an option modeled off a treehouse design with a wheelchair-accessible top platform.
- That concept is not a final design layout, though.
- Prairie Village is also working on $1 million worth of improvements to the park’s parking lot and tennis court relocation.
What happens next
Prenger told the Post via email that city staff is coordinating with the vendor on the final layout before any agreement for the playset.
- An agreement for the playset will come before the city council for consideration at a later date, she said.
