GRANDVIEW PARKS & RECREATION
2021 ANNUAL REPORT OCT. 2020 - SEPT. 2021
Serving Grandview since 1973
A LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR Dear Friends, “The only constant in life is change. One’s ability to adapt to those changes will determine your success.” – Benjamin Franklin
We have changed quite a bit this past year. Our Parks Manager, Don Fowler, after 37 years of dedicated and loyal service, retired from the City of Grandview Parks & Recreation Department. Don hired Kraig Briggs, and he also retired from the city on his 25th year anniversary of dedicated service. In a matter of weeks, we lost over 60 years of institutional knowledge. However, we are an adaptable and resilient department and we lean into the change. We are lucky to have hired a great team of leaders to fill those shoes. Andy Larson is our Parks and Facilities Manager, Mike McLawhon is our Assistant Parks Manager and Nick Althauser is our Assistant Facilities Manager. If you see these men out in the community, please welcome them to the team! We had to change some community programming to fit the pandemic mandates. For example, this year, instead of gathering hundreds of children for our annual Egg Hunt, we enlisted the help of our Bunny to assist us with dropping off candy-filled eggs to Grandview homes. As the mask mandates change, we will do our best to continue to program and still comply with the local mandates. This program is just one example of how our team leaned into the change and made a fun program! We also changed the look of our tennis courts at John Anderson with different colors and added pickleball court lines. Safety concerns pushed this project to the top of our list and was funded by the Park Levy. I hope you find time to enjoy this upgraded amenity. Look for some upcoming changes in the next couple of months: Shalimar Park grading on the east side of the park and demolition of old buildings at John Anderson Park. Speaking of changes, we will be reaching out to you soon to be part of our survey for upcoming changes to our park system. The Facilities Master Plan is a guide for the next 10 years of park development. We know we cannot afford everything for everyone, but we need to understand the facility needs for Grandview. Recreation trends are constantly changing and we want to make sure we are leaning into those changes. Thank you for trusting us to provide programs and parks for you.
Go Play,
Sue
Grandview Parks & Recreation "Investing In You"
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Front Desk
CONTACT US!
816-316-4888
STAFF DIRECTORY Sue Yerkes
Director of Parks & Recreation 816-316-4880 syerkes@grandview.org
Mary Roseburrow Administrative Assistant 816-316-4879
mroseburrow@grandview.org
Morgan Tangen Recreation Manager
816-316-4814 mtangen@grandview.org
Kyle Sullivan Recreation Coordinator
816-316-4884 ksullivan@grandview.org
Dana Johnson Aquatics Coordinator 816-316-4886
dana.johnson@grandview.org
LizMarketing OgleManager
Justin Wieberg Business Manager
816-316-4881
logle@grandview.org
Andy Larson Parks & Facilities Manager 816-316-4883 alarson@grandview.org
816-316-4896 jwieberg@grandview.org
Erica Ramirez Guest Services Supervisor 816-316-4885
eramirez@grandview.org
Mike McLawhon Assistant Parks Manager
Alyssa Cedro Guest Services Coordinator
Nick Althauser Assistant Facilities Manager
LuisFitness Benavides Coordinator
816-316-4987 mmclawhon@grandview.org
816-316-4889 nalthauser@grandview.org
816-316-4998 acedro@grandview.org
816-316-4892 lbenavides@grandview.org
Park Commissioners Rodney Schmidt Ward I - President
Cortney Schroeder Candy Miller Ward II - Vice President
Samuel Jewsome Ward I
Irene Kendrick Ward II
Ward III
Sara Keleher Ward III - 2nd Vice President
Damon Randolph Damon Greene Board of Aldermen Representative School Board Representative /GrandviewParks
@GrandviewParks
Thomas Rousey At-Large Representative
@GrandviewParks
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PARKS & TRAILS NEW PATHS AHEAD Don Fowler retired this year after 37 years as Parks Services Manager. Andy Larson accepted the promotion to Park & Facilities Manager. We welcomed Mike McLawhon to the team as Assistant Park Manager and Nick Althauser as Assistant Facilities Manager.
PROJECTS The Parks Division completed three major projects this year. A drainage system was installed at Belvidere Park. A new water line and small dog water fountain was installed at the Tails & Trails Dog Park. The John Anderson Tennis Courts were resurfaced and new fencing and lighting were installed.
TRIMMING
Crews trimmed hundreds of trees as they cleared dead trees and branches around parks and trails.
MOWING
Crews mowed a total of 1,365 hours, which is equal to 170 Full Workdays of Mowing.
LITTLE BLUE TRAIL 58,023 people recorded on our Trail Counter
THE VIEW Due to COVID-19, The View continued to follow the Jackson County mandates and restrictions. This included enforcing mask mandates and social distancing guidelines.
NEW FITNESS EQUIPMENT Earlier this year, The View replaced all fitness equipment with brand new machines, including new machines and apparatuses we did not offer before.
RENTALS
20,303 people celebrated their special events with us, compared to last year's number of 18,435.
INDOOR EVENTS As we got back to hosting events again, we had to adapt and reimagine some of our annual events that are hosted at The View. Our annual Boo at The View became a drivethru Trunk-or-treat where we had over 300 cars drive through to visit vendors set up all over The View & Meadowmere Parking lots. Santa was able to meet and talk with children in scheduled timeslots with a plexiglass barrier for safety. Instead of the normal annual Easter Egg Dive and Hunt, residents were able to sign up to have eggs delivered to their front yards or doorsteps!
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FITNESS, PROGRAMS & MARKETING 54 lives saved
49,000
uses of the Fitness Area at The View
193
32
Different Farmers Market vendors this season.
Modes of communication to the public: Social Media E-Newsletter Quarterly Mailer REACH TV's at The View & City Hall Flyers Banners Grandview Website Coffee News KC Parent Magazine NextDoor App Digital Sign Park Message Boards Rainout Line Have an idea of how we can better reach you? Tell us!
Hosted
110
by learning how to swim
Senior programs
2,901
Personal Training
Sessions completed
364
people attended Grandview Parks & Recreation events
kids played
youth sports
Updated & consolidated the Parks & Recreation pages on new
CITY WEBSITE
13,963 followers on social media
s e il m 5 4 8,2 2Wal ked on the treadmills.
128 Trips
across the length of the Grand Canyon on the power mill climbers!
17 Saves by
lifeguards
819
took waterbased group exercise classes
Monthly e-Newsletter had an average open 50% rate of
43%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
GVPR Newsletter
Industry Average
200
average weekly land-based group exercise participants 6
A YEAR IN PHOTOS
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A YEAR IN PHOTOS
7
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