Greenwood Park Board adopts Freedom Park master plan

The Greenwood Park Board voted to adopt the updated Freedom Park Master Plan after a presentation by Parks Director Rob Taylor.

Taylor said the city has worked on the plan "since 2024," explaining that changes since the 2007 plan — including an aquatic center relocation, new pickleball courts and additional land purchases — prompted the update. He described a proposed access drive off Horse Hill Road that would activate the pond, dog park and playing fields, and listed new features such as a pump track for bicycles, an ice ribbon for skating, shelter houses and warming stations, native plantings to keep Freedom Springs flexible for future expansion, and a potential new community center with an indoor pool.

Board members questioned timing and phasing; staff said the next step is phasing and cost opinions from the contracted firm and that the plan will be used to prioritize items in the city's capital improvement plan. One board member said the road should be built first to enable other improvements, while another praised the plan as a tool to avoid ad hoc, piecemeal work.

The board moved to adopt the plan as presented and voted in favor. The adoption sets a phasing framework and gives staff direction to incorporate plan items into multi-year capital budgeting; it does not itself appropriate construction funds. Staff said specific project timelines and cost estimates will be developed as phases are prioritized and funded.

The board will use the master plan to guide future capital-improvement decisions and to schedule projects on a multi-year basis; next steps include phasing, cost opinions and integration with the city's capital-improvement planning process.