Council member Paul Gray complained a bit about the environmentally-friendly building designs. Vice Mayor Jim Skelton balked at the potentially huge price tag.
Otherwise, council members Tuesday mostly voice support for an ambitious plan to turn about 420 acres of vacant city land into a sprawling park with a 215 acre lake. The plan is pretty complex. It involves a Cornejo & Sons-affiliated company mining tons of sand out to build the lake and extensive landscaping with the leftover top soil. Then it would be up to the city council to approve funding for roads, about 14 miles of trails, several large buildings, a cable system that tows waterskiers and wakeboarders and a swimming beach. Parks and Recreation Director Doug Kupper said it could cost $60 million to $100 million, depending on when things are built and how many donations/sponsorships they can secure from corporate partners.
(See conceptual renderings of the park.)
Mayor Carl Brewer and council members Janet Miller and Jeff Longwell gave the plan glowing remarks and support. All acknowledged the plan would probably have to happen in phases. Gray also said he likes the idea — despite the “grandiose” building designs. “I really do like this plan,” he said.
The park would be right next to the closed Brooks Landfill. Kupper said the city, state and consultants have done extensive research and found the landfill poses no environmental threat to the park plan.
14 Comments
They’re gonna clean the area of all the environmental contaminants from the landfill runoff well enough to allow people to swim in the water? Unh-hunh.
Sounds like the city just wants to blow a bundle of money on something again.
If Wichita wants to be more than Podunk of the Plains, then they need to create things for people to enjoy. Another 1 cent sales tax would pay for this with money to spare.
I don’t care if it’s next to a landfill. There’s no way it can be more polluted than the Arkansas River, with all the cow waste run off, and pesticide run off. If anything, people should be voicing concerns about the current quality of our drinking tap water.
Where’s the tea baggers at now. Why in the world would they build a lake next to a dump. Need to pay off some of there buddies. I would guess. Just another mess the future people of Wichita will need to clean up in 10-15 years. A lake where no one can swim, fish or just about anything else but to look at. But I guess the morons that live in Wichita will let them do it. Wichita “City of Cowards’. Be cheaper just to give there buddies cash. Then you won’t need half a billion in 15 years to clean the dump lake up. Stupid idea. But hey, No one said you morons had any brains.
In your ear, Tex.
The only morons in Wichita are the ones that think this is a stupid idea and that the city wont make sure that the landfill doesn’t pose a threat to the lake. It doesn’t matter anyways, you aren’t the kind of people that parks are built for anyways. You know, people that go outside and walk.
I would have to have serious concerns about the safety of the water activities with it being next to the landfill. The basic idea sounds worthwhile to look into further. The glowing support is hardly new from especially Brewer who has never seen a project that he can’t vote for. Like most of the other projects in Wichita it seems like we go on a wing and a prayer and then wonder why it takes so long to get anything done and then it is more of a patch job for past screwups.
Once again the city of Wichita is snuggling up in bed with Cornejo & Sons. I smell a rat.
i wondered who will get the business and money. cornejo gets free sand. and we get the arena/scool bond/ no casino public relations champaign again and again.
does he brother in law deal ever end in this town.
“I don’t care if it’s next to a landfill. There’s no way it can be more polluted than the Arkansas River, with all the cow waste run off, and pesticide run off. If anything, people should”
ok you first with the swimming thing in the ark river.
i have never let my dog drink outta or get close to the river.
however, if your grand kids glow in the dark it’s just that much easier to keep track of them.
lots of sand pit lakes around here.
bulid it else where.
NEXT TO A HUGE DUMP…
LOL LMAO HAHAHAHA WOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GHEEEEZZZZZZZZZZ YIPEEEEEEEEEEEE
“With our ideas and YOUR money, we can accomplish anything.”
You think swimming in a lake near a landfill is bad, you Wichitan should be aware that your city is removing water from the Little Ark in Harvey county, which has high levels of atrazine ( a weed killer) and recharging the Equus Beds and then sending it to you to drink. I guess I would be more worried about this then swimming near a landfill.
Good grief, they can’t even get a plan for the nebulous Waterwalk in order. How can they be expected to juggle this, too?
Cornejo doesn’t get “free” sand. They pay the city a royalty on a per ton basis.