Designers present near‑final plans, timeline and cost estimate for Vireo (Jesse James) park project

Larry Reynolds, the landscape architect leading the Vireo park design, told the Kearney Parks and Recreation Board on Nov. 18 that construction drawings are approximately 90% complete and that the team expects to submit plans for city and state review before issuing bid documents.

Reynolds outlined next steps: issue a targeted RFP to fitness‑court vendors, separate that package from the general bid to ensure specific vendor submittals; submit plans for state grant review; advertise the general contract mid–late January; and begin construction in spring with an aim to finish by the following fall.

The design includes a 24‑foot square shelter, prefabricated restrooms, a fitness court, a multipurpose pickleball/fitness area, a walking loop, shade structures and site furnishings. Reynolds said the drainage plan uses bioretention cells and vegetated swales routed to an inlet on Highway 92; he described a sequence of treatments intended to reduce runoff and meet MoDOT review requirements.

On costs, the consultant provided line items (general site improvements, parking, sidewalks, shade/restrooms, fitness court, stormwater, utilities, landscaping and furnishings) and reported an anticipated total of "about $9,969,000" including contingencies, bonds and insurance. Reynolds said alternates — such as a porch swing, flagpole or higher‑end fencing — remain possible depending on bids and final funding. The board and residents asked about maintenance implications and daily man‑hour estimates; staff said routine upkeep was estimated to require roughly one to 1.5 daily man‑hours on average.

Reynolds also noted a months‑long exchange with MoDOT over stormwater connection details delayed progress earlier in the year; he said the team received approval to connect to the Highway 92 inlet in late September and resumed work on the construction drawings.