Around our towns

The new water park attraction coming to south Kansas City has a name: BayRider.

It’s a surfing simulator that is scheduled to debut on Memorial Day weekend at The Bay Water Park. BayRider got more online votes than the other options of KC Kahuna, Pipeline and Riptide.

Kansas City is only the second city in Missouri to have the ride, also called a FlowRider. Kansas City parks officials describe flowriding as “a sport that has the look of surfing, the ride of snowboarding, the tricks of skateboarding, and boards derived from wakeboarding.”

The Bay is at 7101 Longview Road.

Kansas City residents 16 and older can seek paid internships at the 10th annual Bright Future Employment Fair next month.

The event will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 5 at the Pierson Auditorium, inside the Atterbury Student Success Center at 5000 Holmes Road on the University of Missouri-Kansas City campus. For more information and to RSVP, visit

kcmayor.org

.

Happy Tails Dog Park will temporarily close March 24 for maintenance on the turf and grounds.

The goal of Lee’s Summit Parks Recreation is to have the park open again by April 18. Questions or comments may be directed to

816.969.1500

lspr@cityofls.net

.

Kansas City has scheduled its spring curbside leaf and brush collection from April 14 to May 2. On their regular trash pickup day, residents may place up to 20 bags or bundles of leaf and brush at the curb by 7 a.m.

The schedule:

• 

April 14-18 for those north of the Missouri River.

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April 21-25 for residents between the Missouri River and 63rd Street, except those east of Blue Ridge Cutoff.

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April 28-May 2, for residents who live south of 63rd Street, plus everyone east of Blue Ridge Cutoff.

Sacks and bundles can weigh no more than 40 pounds each, and only paper lawn debris sacks can be used. Branches, no more than 3 inches in diameter, must be in bundles less than 2 feet in diameter and no more than 4 feet long. No grass clippings will be accepted.

More disposal rules can be found at https://www.kcwaterservices.org/leaf-brush/.

Residents also can use the leaf and brush drop-off sites, which reopened Saturday. They are at 11660 N. Main St., 1815 N. Chouteau Trafficway and 10301 Raytown Road.

All three are open and free for residents on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. In addition, for a small fee, residents may recycle yard waste on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the North Chouteau Trafficway and North Main Street sites.

Mulch also can be picked up at the drop-off sites.

The Lee’s Summit Arts Council invites the public to a meeting Wednesday where the downtown art/festival space will be discussed.

The council will meet with architects Hollis+Miller at 6:30 p.m. in the Howard Conference room at City Hall, 220 S.E. Green St.

The property at 123 S.E. Third Street includes the vacant Arnold Hall. At the city’s suggestion, the arts council will work on two ideas, one incorporating Arnold Hall and the other without using the building.

Lee’s Summit is getting ready to spend at least $600,000 to renovate Miller J. Fields park in the Briarcroft subdivision.

The 18-acre park, designed and built 34 years ago at Third Terrace and Circleview, includes three baseball diamonds used for youth sports.

“It’s way overdue for what we’re proceeding to do,” Parks Administrator Tom Lovell said.

Parks officials met with neighbors last week to begin planning. Suggestions included security lighting and rebuilding shelters, baseball backstops and fields. Several liked the idea of adding a walking trail, but others were cool to the idea unless the design provides privacy for homes with backyards on the park borders.

Residents said use of the park drops steeply during the heat of summer, so they suggested a water feature, perhaps a spray ground.

Once the department has conceptual plans drawn, it will schedule another meeting. It’s hoped that some construction can start by fall.

This story was originally published March 18, 2014 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Around our towns."