Funds sought for parks, public safety improvements in Grandview

Grandview needs new police and fire equipment and wants to add features to its parks system, so city officials are asking residents Aug. 5 to approve bond issues totaling $13 million.

The bond issues are split into two packages:

$8.7 million for parks and recreation projects.

$4.3 million for public safety.

If the proposals win the required four-sevenths majority of support, the city’s property tax levy will remain at 38 cents per $100 of assessed valuation for the next 20 years. If the bonds are not approved, that tax levy will go down.

Grandview City Administrator Cory Smith said he knows of no organized opposition. He said the city is virtually debt-free at this point and the projects are needed.

“We do have a capital improvements sales tax that generates about $1.25 million a year, but that doesn’t nearly cover all the needs the city has,” Smith said.

For instance, a new police and fire radio system that’s part of the public-safety bond package would cost $1.8 million. Smith said it would give officers better coverage and allow them to talk among departments and with other cities, something they can’t do now.

“Lee’s Summit and Grandview are the only cities on the Missouri side (of the metro area) that don’t have that system,” Smith said, “and Lee’s Summit will make the change in the next few months.”

The city also wants to spend $500,000 to refurbish a 10-year-old aerial-equipped fire truck, and a similar amount for a new pumper truck. Smith noted that buying a new ladder truck would cost two or three times as much as the repair job.

The city also wants to renovate its fire stations, which are 20 years old or more, and build a new police firing range. Lastly, the city plans to modify the police parking area at City Hall and build a separate entry/exit for police to make it safer for citizens who visit the building for other purposes.

If the parks bond issue passes, the city plans to add new lights, concession stands and restrooms to the five baseball/softball fields at Shalimar Park and to add one or two soccer/football/lacrosse fields.

The city’s largest park, Meadowmere, would get a state-of-the-art amphitheater for musical and theatrical productions plus additional bike/hike trails and a new sand volleyball court.

Perhaps the capstone of the parks proposal would be to build a splash park capable of hosting 300 people at a time in Meadowmere Park. The city closed its swimming pool there last year, citing the expense, while the existing splash park in John Anderson Park attracts thousands of users each season.

The new splash park would be several times the size of the current one, offering attractions for people of all ages. Given that drowning is nearly impossible in the couple of inches of water in most features, splash parks are cheaper to operate than pools because fewer lifeguards are required, Smith said.

The View community center would get a 15,000- to 20,000-square-foot addition to be used as a senior/teen center. Right now, it has 60,000 square feet of workout and swimming pool space.

“It would have a gaming area, computer labs and classroom space and a juice/snack bar,” Smith said. “It would keep everybody occupied without impacting the people working out in the existing areas.”

Older adults could use the new space during the day, and teens at night, Smith said.

This story was originally published July 26, 2014 at 1:36 PM with the headline "Funds sought for parks, public safety improvements in Grandview."