Ladies and Gentlemen, the news is finally official. The next Park Hill School District Elementary School and LEAD campus will be within potato gun range of my house. The BOE approved the contract last night on a $3M purchase of 272 acres north of NW 68th and Waukomis. The site will be on the Line Creek Trail so if designed right, could be the first school completely accessible safely by bicycle.
Now these facilities need new names and I hope that we have some names to choose from reflect the history of the Line Creek Valley. I've got a few I would suggest:
- Miltonwood after the original town of Miltonwood.
- Drennon Valley after old Drennon Lake.
- Barrymore Station after the old KC St. Joseph Interurban stop on the site.
There will be quite a few hurdles on this site. I will more than happy to assist the school district if requested to help get a site laid out that works with the existing topography and preserves what we can of this untouched site.
I just hope the School Board issues a competitive RFP for design professional services on the site to get competition in the architecture/engineering community because this site could be a huge legacy project if done right rather than just using who they always do.
The site is a perfect natural playground. It's rocky and full of plenty of old growth trees.
If not, expect to see the all of this beauty below mulched and graded into a flat prison like looking school campus with tons of impervious surface and huge detriment to Line Creek water quality.
So cool to be part of #linecreektrail that opened up 100+ acres of parkland & last few undeveloped areas in #KCMO pic.twitter.com/6C8fheJNyy
— Wes Minder (@WesKCMO) May 28, 2015
Somewhere behind the trees is the #linecreektrail through one of KCMOs last undeveloped valleys pic.twitter.com/mCICOUzto2
— Line Creek Loudmouth (@LCLoudmouth) August 10, 2014
Dear @MoDNR @MDC_online please buy this 300+ acres. Last large virgin growth forest in KCMO in Platte County. Worth preserving forever pic.twitter.com/prO4gPkjcY
— Wes Minder (@WesKCMO) March 18, 2017
Please @MoDNR @MDC_online pic.twitter.com/zPaxFAuQX9
— Wes Minder (@WesKCMO) March 18, 2017
Almost every species of oak, some specimen shagbark hickories (perfect for bats), sycamores @MoDNR @MDC_online pic.twitter.com/S84olwgaih
— Wes Minder (@WesKCMO) March 18, 2017
Known archaeology sites related to the Deister sites @MoDNR @MDC_online but places where passive hiking & mountain biking trails cld go pic.twitter.com/XMl86khewD
— Wes Minder (@WesKCMO) March 18, 2017
Just acres and acres of species @MoDNR @MDC_online and my boys can't wait to keep exploring. Next generation needs to see why preservation pic.twitter.com/Fq9x1pDvvy
— Wes Minder (@WesKCMO) March 18, 2017
In the time it took me to tweet the one above, 11yo & 8yo already 200+ feet ahead. They're preservation's future @MoDNR @MDC_online pic.twitter.com/NuDtyn4I6g
— Wes Minder (@WesKCMO) March 18, 2017
I'd even volunteer the professional engineering to develop the initial site & volunteers to do it @MoDNR @MDC_online pic.twitter.com/NN9pbCxsFn
— Wes Minder (@WesKCMO) March 18, 2017
Roughly 130,000 or so ppl w/in 5 miles. Nearest @MoDNR @MDC_online site is Weston Bend 20+- miles away. Ethnically diverse pop cld enjoy pic.twitter.com/c23nqsOajT
— Wes Minder (@WesKCMO) March 18, 2017
They ran to go climb up a rock wall @MoDNR @MDC_online pic.twitter.com/MAmmziSOwb
— Wes Minder (@WesKCMO) March 18, 2017
He's investigating the possible bat habitats @MoDNR @MDC_online pic.twitter.com/D6XwfqQZF8
— Wes Minder (@WesKCMO) March 18, 2017
With the right attorney and environmental specialist, this all can be beige cookie cutter suburbia @MoDNR @MDC_online pic.twitter.com/7MWDFiH2Lv
— Wes Minder (@WesKCMO) March 18, 2017
Tons of new Paw Paw saplings growing. Sign of a healthy ecosystem @MoDNR @MDC_online pic.twitter.com/KHCEb6l3EJ
— Wes Minder (@WesKCMO) March 18, 2017
Oh by the way land has 1 mile of intact & untouched KC St.Joe Interurban railbed in place in horizon of this picture @MoDNR @MDC_online pic.twitter.com/LzyPpGXKwj
— Wes Minder (@WesKCMO) March 18, 2017
Fully intact KC St.Joe Interurban arch. I think designer was famous for them. See https://t.co/kN0aJ66QLR@MoDNR @MDC_online pic.twitter.com/QDI67Haxt3
— Wes Minder (@WesKCMO) March 18, 2017
#linecreekvalley monster sycamore with kids for scale pic.twitter.com/pLXDlc9LGD
— Line Creek Loudmouth (@LCLoudmouth) February 6, 2016
#linecreekvalley#linecreektrail#kcparks#fog pic.twitter.com/koHWwHh5L6
— Line Creek Loudmouth (@LCLoudmouth) May 24, 2016
6yrs ago the first phase of #linecreektrail was getting finished. It's a testament to vision & willpower overcoming pic.twitter.com/66IKCZ1zqP
— Line Creek Loudmouth (@LCLoudmouth) November 24, 2015
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