By David Markham
Guided by its mission to enrich the Johnson County community through excellence in parks, recreation, culture, education and public service, JCPRD made tremendous progress in meeting its lofty goals and objectives in 2023, including beginning or completing several major projects, delivering more than 4,000 programs and events, preserving over 10,000 acres of green space, and completing an update of the agency’s long-range strategic plan.
“Due to the support of our citizens, Johnson County Board of Commissioners (BOCC), JCPRD Board, partners, and certainly the dedicated team of staff and volunteers, it’s been another incredibly successful year,” said Executive Director Jeff Stewart. “In fact, our community has told us that. The Johnson County Government citizen satisfaction survey results rated JCPRD number one in satisfaction of all county services. In that same survey, citizens also indicated they want continued emphasis to be put on JCPRD services as a top priority. Johnson County citizens understand the importance and value of high-quality park and recreation services. They appreciate the many things that JCPRD provides and cares for; however, there is an expectation that enhancements continue.”
Stewart highlighted just a handful of the many projects and developments of 2023. One of these was the completion of the third and final phase of significant improvements at the Mid-America Sports Complex, which he described as placing JCPRD “on the map for being among the best sports complexes in the country.” He also mentioned the mid-2023 start of a two-year silt-removal project to improve water quality in Heritage Park Lake, resulting in “better recreational opportunities, habitat, and water quality for the lake and downstream.”
Two structures in Shawnee Mission Park – the Marina and Park Shelter #10 in the Walnut Grove area – also saw major renovations in 2023 to improve accessibility and user experiences.
“In both cases, the unique and iconic structures were rehabilitated while protecting the character they’ve had for so many years,” Stewart said. “It’s exciting to see barriers removed while making improvements that enhance the experience to the over 2 million people that visit Shawnee Mission Park annually.”
Stewart also mentioned ongoing efforts to implement the JCPRD Natural Resources Plan.
“Tremendous work has been done to remove invasive species and preserve habitat and green space throughout the 10,000+ acres of park property that JCPRD owns,” he said. “JCPRD works with many partners and volunteers each year to collect and plant native seeds, maintain its native prairies, and provide healthy habitats for the wildlife that call JCPRD parks home.”
He also noted that the still-young JCPRD Public Art Program was tremendously successful in its second year of implementation. In 2023, this program unveiled the first four entries in an ongoing JCPRD Poster Project inspired by the iconic style of Federal Art Project artists from the 1930s; presented Local Artist Chris Dahlquist’s “Cloud Cover” installation which will remain near the entrance to the Theatre in the Park though September 2024; hosted its second-annual Art and Natural Resources Residency for which artist duo Cydney Ross and Alix Daniel created an ephemeral artwork called “Restoring Refuge” at Kill Creek Park; and restored local artist Arlie Regier’s “Cattails” art installation at Shawnee Mission Park’s Shelter #4.
JCPRD’s personnel were another emphasis of the past year.
“It’s no secret that JCPRD’s most valuable resources include the dedicated professional staff that provide services to the 10 million visitors and participations JCPRD welcomes each year,” Stewart said. “Following a market study sponsored by Johnson County Government, I am proud of our progress in making appropriate adjustments to fairly compensate all of our employees – the best in the country. Additionally, continuous efforts to support and nurture a culture and environment that thrives on creativity, innovation, teamness, and meeting our community where they need us most was noticed by Johnson County citizens. JCPRD was recognized with the Best Large Employer in Johnson County Award, as voted by Johnson County citizens, which was an incredible honor, but also telling of the incredible people and volunteers we have throughout the organization.”
Another important effort that will impact JCPRD for many years to come was the updating of the agency’s 2015 Legacy Plan, which the JCPRD Board accepted in September. The new 2024 Legacy Plan sets future priorities and will guide the agency for the next 15 years.
“That was a big accomplishment in 2023 that touches everything that is JCPRD,” Stewart said. “It was a great process and was received very well by the JCPRD Board, which participated throughout that process along with heavy community engagement. It was essential for us to reengage with our citizens and stakeholders as we approached the midpoint of the (2015) Legacy Plan. Much progress has been made over the last seven years, and much has changed, triggering our interest in making sure JCPRD is focused on current priorities.”
In the first seven years of the 2015 plan, JCPRD opened over 3,000 acres of new park ground (Lexington Lake Park, Big Bull Creek Park, Meadowbrook Park, Cedar Niles Park, Coffee Creek Streamway Park) throughout Johnson County.
“Many miles of paved and single-track trails have been developed,” Stewart noted. “And great progress has been made in improving existing parks and park assets. Additionally, through enhanced partnerships, major growth occurred. JCPRD’s Children’s Services Department doubled in size with its partnership with the Olathe School District, providing before and after-school programming in all Olathe elementary schools. The partnership with the Shawnee Mission School District also expanded, with JCPRD being chosen to manage and operate the state-of-the-art Shawnee Mission School District Aquatic Center.”
As a next step, JCPRD is working with the Trust for Public Land to get a better understanding of the economic impact the agency has on the community as it relates to tourism, environmental, and health impacts.
“That report is being completed and will be shared with our board and the community in the first quarter,” Stewart said. “From that, we’ll continue to work within our existing resources while we visit with the JCPRD Board and the community about potentially identifying additional resources to implement even more of the plan. There will be a prioritization process with our existing resources with great focus on the priorities that citizens have shared with us. We’ll also look for additional partnerships and grant opportunities to help advance that.”
Conversations about what JCPRD can tackle with the resources available and identifying additional resources moving forward will continue, he said.
“We’ve even taken our five-year Capital Improvement Plan out another ten years just to see at what level are we funded and what we could accomplish,” Stewart said. “We are about 46% funded (for the 2024 Legacy Plan), and that is a gap that we are concerned about. We also appreciate the resources provided to us by the community to do great things during the first seven years of the (2015) Legacy Plan and moving forward. Things that we’ve done impact the community and really have been appreciated by the community, so we want to continue to do that in our efforts to follow our mission and complete our vision.”
