Michael Gunn Park set for development

Platte County officials have decided the time is right to begin development of a long-idle swathe of park land in the southern end of the county.

Michael Gunn Park at Platte Meadows, located off Northwest 52nd Street, Kansas City, has been a county property since 2002, and its development was part of the county’s original Parks Master Plan. That plan was revisited in 2014 and county officials believe now is the time to make moves forward on phase one of construction at the park.

Director of parks and recreation Daniel Erickson presented the request for bids at the Tuesday, Sept. 7 meeting of the Platte County Commission, held at the county resource center in Kansas City. Plans include construction of a parking lot and trail on the site.

“There is a lot of development in that area, so it’s a good time to activate that park,” said presiding commissioner Ron Schieber.

Many people may not realize the undeveloped land is park land at all, officials said. The entire area is undergoing revitalization, as within the past few years Park Hill’s new Walden Middle School opened, new homes were built and Northwood Road was completely reconstructed.

“Opening up this park will benefit those families moving into the area,” said district commissioner Joe Vanover.

Another longtime project in the area was also wrapped up at the Tuesday meeting, as commissioners approved the final change order for Northwood Road. The project was funded through the county’s roads sales tax in partnership with the City of Kansas City, with the county acting as construction supervisor. Utility easement problems and delays plagued the project, but director of public works Bob Heim reported with the approval of the nearly $300,000 change order the project was almost complete and maintenance responsibilities would be turned back over to the city.

Also at the meeting, the county set the general fund property tax levy as well as the drainage district and county road and bridge levies. According to county attorney Bob Shaw, due to reassessment and the rollback requirements of the state Hancock amendment, all three levies were lowered slightly.

The drainage district levy went from about seven and one-half cents to seven cents per $100 assessed valuation. The bridge and road district levy was reduced from about 32 cents to 31 cents.

The general fund levy went from just over six cents per $100 assessed value to right at six cents, Shaw said. The general fund levy is affected not only by reassessment and the Hancock amendment but also by a tax ceiling vote in 1980. At that time, Platte County voters approved the county’s tax ceiling, which is then recalculated annually, with reductions taken dependent upon the county’s sales tax earnings.

For the past decade, the bulk of funds raised by the county levy has covered payments for the federally mandated 911 radio system upgrade.

Schieber said the tax reconfiguration committee, which completed its work in 2020, created preliminary budget plans for several county departments for the next 10 years.

He hopes future commissioners follow the framework set out in those recommendations and noted the six cent levy would run through at least 2022 to pay for continued upgrades to the 911 radio system.

Other law enforcement-related action taken at the Tuesday meeting included the approval of an application with the Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA), which according to Captain Tony Avery, will help the Platte County Sheriff’s Office to increase professionalism in the operations of the department.

A Department of Homeland Security grant totaling nearly $25,000 will help the county with its emergency management capabilities, including the purchase of a drone allowing assessment of dangerous flood situations.

Both the sheriff’s and prosecutor’s offices are pursuing grant funding through a COVID-related federal program stepping up enforcement of crimes against children. Funding would pay for deputy overtime, prosecutor salaries, computer equipment, audio-visual equipment and more to combat abuse.