JC Parks invested $8M in community amenities

Isadora Burton, 8, pushes her brother Liam Cook, 10, on the swing Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021, while visiting the playground at McClung Park with their grandmother.
Isadora Burton, 8, pushes her brother Liam Cook, 10, on the swing Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021, while visiting the playground at McClung Park with their grandmother.

Three years into its 10-year parks master plan, the Jefferson City Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department is checking many things off that wish list.

Improvements are finished or underway at Community, McClung and Ellis-Porter Riverside parks, bringing the department's investment total to $8 million so far, and new projects are being added.

For instance, JC Parks Director Todd Spalding said, the master plan that was developed in 2018 didn't anticipate a park on Adrian's Island.

The plan lists Adrian's Island as a "wonderful expansion opportunity" but didn't go into specifics.

Now, the Bicentennial Bridge to the island and the framework of a park will open next month. The long-term goal for the park is to have a life-size chess set, walking trails, seating areas, viewing spots of the Missouri River and a hammock area.

By the end of October, the trails, landscaping and concrete areas are expected to be in place.

Spalding said the department has made good strides into the plan over three years.

Simply getting the plan done and securing funding through a bond approved in 2019 is an accomplishment, he said.

"There has been tremendous rewards to the community," Spalding said. "Think about Community Park, think about the amphitheater. I'm pleased with getting it done, securing funding or at least seed money, getting it started and then completing some projects. I feel pretty good about that."

Community Park

One completed project is the improvements to Community Park, which Spalding said is also the biggest success story to him.

The master plan listed Community Park, which is off Dunklin Street near Lafayette Street, as the top priority with the longest list of improvements needed.

Those Community Park improvements, Spalding said, included bathrooms since the park didn't have any when he started as parks director. They have since been added along with play equipment, a splash pad, ziplines, a climbing tower, security lighting and additional parking.

Public art has also been added to the park. In June, JC Parks placed one of seven sculptures celebrating the Historic Foot District - where Community Park is located - and the experiences of Jefferson City's Black community.

For Spalding, the driving force behind the master plan is about improving quality of life in Jefferson City.

While that's hard to quantify, he said, a conversation shortly before Community Park reopened from renovations sticks out as an example.

Spalding said he visited the park a few days before it officially opened in June 2020 and spoke with six young women ages 6-12 who were exploring the park.

"They were by themselves; they had walked (across the street)," he said. "They told me, for the extent of their young lives that they lived there, they could not go to the park and play. They're just saying to me. 'We're so excited.' And they're showing me what certain features of the play things were doing. Call that cherry picking, but that was a targeted focus group that lived in that community whose quality of life instantly went up."

The department spent $3.5 million on Community Park improvements.

McClung Park

Along with the work in Community Park, the department remodeled the McClung Park dance hall, play area and parking lot. Work was completed in December 2020.

Spalding said part of the plan for McClung Park, which is off Chestnut Street near Leslie Boulevard, changed after more conversations with the community.

The master plan included a Capitol viewing tower where people could climb and get a view of the state Capitol.

Part of the goal of the plan is also to spark conversation and debate about the items in it, he said. The viewing tower became a debated project.

"We thought McClung shared this unbelievable view of the Capitol and the city, and it's at a high point," he said. "So we thought, wouldn't it be great to have a climbing structure in there where people can climb up 60 feet or 80 feet.

"Well, all of a sudden, you know, that community over there was like, 'Oh my God, they're going to put a tower there. Somebody will see me in my underwear.' They were really against that."

As a result, the department didn't put a tower up as part of the renovation of the park.

The department spent $1.3 million on McClung Park improvements.

Ellis-Porter Riverside Park

JC Parks is continuing to work on Ellis-Porter Riverside Park, but one of the largest aspects is complete.

The Capital Region MU Health Care Amphitheater started shows this summer with multiple selling out. The park is located at South Grant and Edwards streets.

Spalding said the amphitheater stuck out to him as an area for improvement that could not only benefit the people in Jefferson City but potentially bring in tourists in for shows.

Along with the amphitheater, the department also put in new patios in Riverside Park, and it recently signed an agreement with the Central Missouri Master Gardeners for a botanical garden in the park.

The next big project in Riverside is to renovate the manor, which is already on the property, into office space, storage and a ticket office for the amphitheater.

The Parks and Recreation Commission and City Council awarded the project to Verslues Construction Company Inc. in the beginning of August, and work is expected to start in the coming weeks for $606,100.

The department has spent $3.2 million on Ellis-Porter Riverside Park improvements.

Going forward

While those three projects are mostly done or underway, the department is looking to get started on others.

One project - improvements to East Miller Park, at East McCarty and Chestnut streets - could be drastically different than in the master plan.

The plan lists improvements to East Miller Park as the second priority, but in February 2020, the Parks and Recreation Commission approved transferring the land to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for the Jefferson City National Cemetery.

The cemetery is across the street from the park and is out of space for new burials.

When the commission approved the transfer, it planned a new park between East Elm Street and U.S. 54/63.

The East Miller Street neighborhood spoke out against losing the park, and the transfer hasn't received a vote by the City Council.

Spalding said he expects a decision to be made soon.

Because of the uncertainty about what will happen with the East Miller Street Park, work has been on hold.

Improvements in the master plan include a sound garden, new play structures, rentable shelters and a half basketball court.

The parks in that area are still on the department's to-do list, though.

Spalding said Park Place Park, which is a few blocks from East Miller at Park Avenue and Center Street, could be worked on this year. Plans there include playground repairs and resurfacing, basketball court repairs, a play feature addition and multipurpose turf play area.

That timeline will depend on what happens with East Miller Park, he said.

"Depending on what happens at East Miller, we'll do Park Place and maybe another one, hopefully, this year," Spalding said.

He also plans for work to start on Hickory Adams Park before the end of the year.

The master plan includes a park shelter, a half basketball court, ADA and inclusive playground equipment, and an overlook plaza for the park at Hickory and Adams streets.

The goal is also to work on Memorial Park, off West Main Street near Binder Drive, next year by adding a new shelter and restroom, play areas and pickleball courts, according to the master plan.

Between work completed and upcoming plans, the Parks Department addressed seven of the top 10 park priorities.

The remaining ones are Binder Park, McKay Park and Oak Hills Golf Center at Hough Park.

Spalding said some work at Binder Park, which is off Henwick Lane, was started such as the mountain bike trail expansion and pump track. The plan also calls for a destination play area, renovation of the historic dairy barn on the property for receptions and construction of a gazebo.

For McKay Park, which is at Sunrise Lane and Southridge Drive, the plan calls for a dog park at the base of the dam, trail renovations and a boat launching spot on the lake.

At the golf center, which is at Ellis Boulevard and Rosewood Drive, the plan discusses a new club house, conversion of the old one into a community event center, a storage building and a tournament plaza.

Outside of the top 10 priorities, the master plan addresses other areas such as playground equipment and parking at Washington Park and gardens at North Jefferson Park.