The City of Parkville has approved an agreement with Platte County Parks and Recreation for maintenance of the Brush Creek Trail.
Parkville’s director of parks and recreation Brittanie Propes presented the agreement ordinance at the Tuesday, Jan. 16 meeting of the board of aldermen.
The Brush Creek Trail is a two-mile, 10-foot wide concrete trail that provides a scenic outdoor experience for residents and visitors alike. This trail is set to become a connector within the Platte County trail system, linking to the Southern Platte Pass Trail. It is also a component of Platte County’s long-term plan to connect existing neighborhoods, like Thousand Oaks, to the trail system. Plans are being prepared to extend the trail to the Thousand Oaks neighborhood and across Park Hill School District’s planned elementary school. Both trail extensions should be under construction this spring and summer. The trailhead to access this trail is located at 15500 NW River Road.
Platte County funded and managed the construction of the trail with the intent of partnering with the city for continued trail maintenance. Per the Brush Creek Trail Maintenance Agreement, the city will
be responsible for ongoing maintenance and operations of the trail and the county will be responsible for capital maintenance projects.
Maintenance work will be funded through the use tax approved by voters last year, with actual cost yet to be determined as the city will gather data on manpower required during the first year of operations. The city will add trash cans, dog waste receptacles and possibly benches to the trail.
The maintenance agreement is similar to the Missouri Riverfront Trail approved among Platte County, Parkville and Riverside in recent years.
Propes also updated the board on the wetlands restoration project at Platte Landing Park, stating she has been working with the Army Corps of Engineers on vegetation choices. The Community Land and Recreation Board (CLARB) and board of aldermen will hear a full update on the project in February.
Design plans on the new Parkville Farmers Market are also upcoming, she said. Architects will update the board on the project in the coming weeks, Propes said, allowing the aldermen to see what basic design work has been done so far and to provide feedback before the final design process.
The current plan is to relocate the farmers market structure a little to the northeast to allow more space for parking and to eliminate the possibility of drivers sneaking through the narrow area to the east of the market.
Chief of police Kevin Chrisman reported on the archery deer hunt at Park University, which started in 2010. The hunt runs from November through January each year to thin the population of deer on about 500 acres of Park University property. Hunters are selected by the Parkville police department. A total of 18 deer were taken in this year’s hunt, Chrisman said, consisting of 10 does and eight bucks. More than 140 deer were taken from 2015 to the current hunt.
Chrisman said he sometimes gets reports of deer in neighboring subdivisions, but the hunts allow the city to help keep numbers manageable and the herd healthy. The Missouri Department of Conservation reported the deer left in the acreage seem to be healthy. He also reported deer strikes on the roadways around the area are also reduced.