JoCo Community College asked for access to Stoll Park. Commissioners say, no way
Thomas Stoll Memorial Park, with its soccer fields, fishing lake and spacious off-leash dog area south of Johnson County Community College, is one of the county’s most visited parks. And its supporters packed a parks commission meeting Wednesday night.
Stoll’s widow, his oldest daughter and many nearby residents vehemently opposed the college’s idea of creating a small road south of campus into the park, to be used for emergency evacuations. They pleaded with the parks board not to allow this encroachment.
Even though JCCC had not yet forwarded a formal request for the route, the Johnson County Parks & Recreation Board of Commissioners heeded those appeals.
“I don’t want to wait for a proposal,” Commissioner Steven Baru told the crowd of more than 50 people, thanking them for their passion for Stoll Park. “I’d like to put forward our own proactive proposal. We are not open to this idea.”
The commission voted 6-0 to reject any college request for park access, prompting a standing ovation from the crowd. Commissioner Paul Snider, who is also an elected JCCC trustee, recused himself from the discussion and did not vote. Commissioner Steve Klika was absent.
The college had floated the idea of building a 10-foot wide crushed gravel path as a minimally intrusive connection from JCCC to the park’s 10-foot wide asphalt path at the park’s north end, in the vicinity of West 115th Street in Overland Park. The path would have been wide enough for vehicles to drive on in an emergency, with access otherwise blocked.
The college had contemplated the emergency egress route in its 2016 master plan, envisioning some crisis such as a tornado, a gas explosion or active-shooter incident. In 2014, the campus did experience a lock-down for several hours after someone reported seeing a woman with a long gun, although no viable threat was identified.
The parks commission held listening sessions Sept. 18 and Oct. 3, where dozens of people blasted the idea and no one spoke in support.
Those concerns were echoed Wednesday night.
“Please do not let this happen,” urged MaryAnn Stoll Adams, whose late husband Thomas S. Stoll was a major force behind the 79-acre park’s establishment more than 38 years ago. “It will hurt the integrity and serenity of the park.”
Shari Stoll Adams, Thomas Stoll’s oldest daughter, said the park is everything her father envisioned as a fabulous gathering spot, and she argued the college has other options that would not compromise the park amenities.
Some in the audience recalled that the college had tried to engineer a “land swap” in 2004, in which the college would get the park land and provide comparable land farther south for a new county park. That idea was torpedoed after neighborhood protests, but some residents saw this new proposal as a “foot in the door” for another land grab attempt.
Others suggested that if the college faces an emergency like a tornado or active shooter, the best approach may be to “shelter in place.” Some argued that students driving on the path in an emergency could jeopardize the safety of children and others using the park. They suggested a better option would be for the college to steer an emergency route through the nearby St. Thomas Aquinas High School at 114th Street and Pflumm Road.
JCCC spokesman Chris Gray said Thursday that directing a path through the high school property would require going through the school’s football field, which isn’t possible.
Gray insisted the college had no intention of trying to do a park land grab. He said this pathway would have only been used in a true, rare emergency, to help ensure the safety and security of students and faculty.
The college considered the park pathway to be the best solution, Gray said, but planners and trustees will continue to explore viable options.
“Student safety is still paramount,” Gray said.
This story was originally published October 18, 2018 at 11:39 AM.