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Shawnee County parks list major projects including Family Park clubhouse, Bettis turf and Shawnee North replacement options
Summary
Parks and Recreation staff presented a slate of large facility requests — from a possible Family Park clubhouse and Dormwood/Dornwood complex renovations to turf replacement at Bettis and a proposed $20 million replacement or new recreation center for Shawnee North — and commissioners asked for project breakdowns and partnership options.
Parks and Recreation staff outlined a range of large parks projects during the July 10 Capital Improvement Plan review, asking commissioners to consider how much of the work to advance and which projects might be financed through bonds, grants or other sources.
Major items discussed included a potential renovation or replacement of the Family Park clubhouse and associated trail, dog park and amenity work; turf replacement for the quad fields at Bettis; renovation phases at Dornwood (sometimes referred to as Dormwood) including lighting and field improvements; a boathouse renovation at Lake Shawnee; and a proposal to replace or substantially renovate the Shawnee North community center. Staff suggested the Family Park clubhouse could combine greens‑fee revenue and private donations but said no private donor figure had been pledged yet.
On the Shawnee North community center, Parks staff described the existing building as aging, with accessibility and plumbing issues that make it difficult to program; staff estimated a full replacement or “state‑of‑the‑art” recreation center could cost on the order of $20 million. Commissioners and staff discussed alternatives including preserving the historic building for limited programming, building a new facility in another location, or pursuing public–private partnerships and school‑district arrangements to share gym space.
Other items discussed included the boathouse at Lake Shawnee (staff said preliminary plans and prior grant applications exist), replacement of worn turf at Bettis (staff said the current quad fields are in their mid‑teens of service life and showing wear), and upgrades at Dormwood including replacement light poles and regrading in places where drainage has become problematic.
Parks staff also noted smaller, higher‑priority work such as playground equipment replacement at several neighborhood parks and requested more refined, itemized cost estimates. Commissioners asked staff to break larger packages into discrete line items so they could prioritize clubhouse, trail, lighting and field work separately and to explore grant and sponsorship opportunities, especially for trails and smaller improvements that might attract outside funding. No final funding decisions were made at the work session.
