After clashing, Joco park board agrees to $3.8 million center at Meadowbrook Park
The new Meadowbrook Park in northeast Johnson County will have a clubhouse/activity center after all.
The Johnson County Park & Recreation District board agreed on Wednesday to replace the former Meadowbrook Country Club and Golf Course clubhouse in Prairie Village, responding to concerns from residents and city leaders that they might demolish the dilapidated building as part of developing the 82-acre park and not put something in its place.
But the decision was far from easy as the deeply divided board members spent more than two hours debating whether the clubhouse was necessary, how much to spend on it, how it should be designed and whether Prairie Village taxpayers should be required to pay for it.
They ultimately voted 5-3 to approve an $8 million slate of projects at the park that includes $3.8 million for a new clubhouse along with money for a grand pavilion, multipurpose lawns, pickle ball courts, a senior fitness area, a garden area and a nature play area with restrooms and shelters.
The district plans to pay for the projects by selling bonds later this year. That bond sale will also include $5.5 million for development of Big Bull Creek Park in southwest Johnson County.
In addition to bonds, the district will receive $5.2 million from Prairie Village for general site work on the park, picnic shelters, trails, restoration work to existing ponds on the property and a destination playground.
Prairie Village bought the park’s 82 acres from developer Van Trust Real Estate on Tuesday for $5.9 million and turned it over to the park district. Van Trust plans to develop the remaining 45 acres of the golf course into a senior living community and a mix of single-family lots, luxury apartments, twin-home units and a boutique hotel.
The city is using tax-increment financing, or TIF, which captures future property tax gains on the Van Trust development, to pay for the park and improvements over the next 20 years.
The controversy over the clubhouse arose in March after the park board voted 7-1 to demolish the 1974-era structure, concerned that it would cost too much to renovate.
Board members reversed the decision a month later after Prairie Village and county officials raised concerns that some sort of activity center had been promised during public meetings about the park.
Prairie Village resident Charles Schollenberger echoed those concerns Wednesday, warning the board that many residents supported the park plan with the understanding that the park would include indoor meeting space.
“To tear the clubhouse down now without replacing it now would be a big disappointment to a lot of people,” he said.
A subcommittee of the board developed two options, both envisioning the current clubhouse being demolished and both costing around $7.5 million. The first would replace the more than 24,000-square-foot clubhouse with a $4.9 million, 12,750-square-foot activity center and pay for other park work. District staff estimated the building could generate net income of $56,000 a year serving as a home for classes, camps, preschool activities and private functions such as weddings.
The second option would not replace the clubhouse, instead using the extra money to bulk up the list of park projects.
Several board members said that while they supported replacing the clubhouse with a new building, they felt $4.9 million was too much.
Board member Michael Pirner suggested building a 6,500-square-foot clubhouse for $2.5 million and said he couldn’t support spending more than that in park funds for an indoor facility.
“I cannot go to Lenexa or Overland Park or Olathe and say we just spent two-thirds of the available money we had on an activity center that will be used primarily by Prairie Village residents,” Pirner said.
Other members, however, said that a $2.5 million building was too small and would reflect badly on the park.
“I think if we’re going to do a building we ought to do a nice facility,” said board member Leslee Rivarola.
Another proposal was to fund construction of the clubhouse’s first floor only, leaving the basement to be completed in the future through alternative sources. That too couldn’t garner enough votes for approval.
“I don’t think I want a half-built building,” said board member Chris Carroll.
Board member Steven Baru said he didn’t believe the district was obligated to build the clubhouse and that Prairie Village should share in the cost.
“This building is a luxury compared to everything else (at the park),” Baru said. “Because it is a luxury and not a necessity if they want it I think they should put something in it for that.”
Board member Nancy Wallerstein countered that Prairie Village residents won’t be the only ones using the park.
“Overland Park is across the street,” Wallerstein said. “Leawood is a stone’s throw away. This is not a Prairie Village park, it is a county park.”
Prairie Village City Administrator Quinn Bennion, who attended the meeting with City Councilwoman Courtney McFadden, said the city is already having to repay the costs for the park land and infrastructure and would have to shift millions of dollars from other projects or borrow additional money to help pay for the clubhouse.
“That would be a hurdle,” he told the board.
The compromise that was eventually approved, offered by Chairman Paul Snider, doesn’t specify the size or design of the clubhouse, instead asking staff to design the building as best they can with the $3.8 million. Snider said the district could seek alternative sources of money to fill out the building, including $800,000 that Prairie Village has set aside as a construction reserve for building streets, sewers and other public infrastructure on the site.
David Twiddy: dtwiddy913@gmail.com
This story was originally published May 19, 2016 at 11:23 PM with the headline "After clashing, Joco park board agrees to $3.8 million center at Meadowbrook Park."