Download a four page handout of 2011-2012 progress toward the Master Plan (855kb pdf)

2012 Recap of Roanoke Park activities and achievements

• Native grasses and wildflowers planted in three areas in the park November 10. "Volker Bluff" across from the community center, "Valentine Slope" backing up to SW Trafficway, and "Roanoke Drive Glade" at the East / West Roanoke Dr hairpin turn. 
• Discussion begun with MDC and KCMO Parks to improve the permanant spring area below Coleman Highlands by pushing back the invasive species (wintercreeper), planting more natives and enhancing its value to native birds and animals using the park (and people).
• Jazz Concert in the Park is held June 27th, with the UMKC Conservatory Jazz Band.
• Phase Two of Roanoke Park’s hiking / biking / nature trail "The Layover" is completed and opened June 18th. Work begins on the "Bindle Byway" section of trail below Coleman Highlands.
• May Day Walk in the Park brings neighbors together to learn about park improvement efforts and enjoy the park. 
• Roanoke Park Conservancy Park Conservancy 501(c)3 status approved - donations are now TAX DEDUCTIBLE
• MARC matching grant awarded to create a vegetated bio swale in the vicinity of the Community Center parking lot to address storm water runoff and erosion concerns and to provide education about its purpose and design. It's planted June 16th with lots of volunteer help.
• Missouri Department of Conservation T.R.I.M. grant applied for and WON, to do an extensive tree inventory throughout the park.
• Tree Inventory completed, finding a great diversity of trees in Roanoke Park, despite a great number of non-native ailanthus trees.
• Missouri Department of Conservation donates 237 native trees and shrubs to the park. Volunteers plant them March 24th through 31st.
• Generous neighbors donate tree seedlings from the Arbor Day Foundation.
• The Missouri Park and Recreation Association awards the Roanoke Park Conservancy a 2012 “Organizations Citation” thanks to a nomination from the Kansas City Parks Department.
• The Roanoke Park Conservancy's facebook page is created at www.facebook/RoanokeParkKC to give anyone interested in the Park a venue for discussion and sharing.
• Phase One of Roanoke Park’s hiking / biking / nature trail "Devil's Dip" is completed and opened March 10th with the park’s best attended volunteer day yet: over 80 volunteers!
• Continued eradication efforts directed at shrub honeysuckle, garlic mustard and euonymus wintercreeper with well attended work days March 10th and April 21st.
• Lilac bushes replaced along E. Roanoke Drive thanks to KCMO Parks.

2011 Recap of Roanoke Park activities and achievements

• Two all-neighborhood clean up days with coffee & pastries provided by Miles Krivena and Dave Foster. Results include less honeysuckle and being able to see not only into the woods but through the woods to man made environments and natural outcroppings.
• Nine weeks of focused efforts led by Scott Burnett, Randy Moore, Frank Messer, Manny Lopez and Curt Watkins cleared all along the wall/fence line from the Westport Roanoke Community Center east to 36th to prepare for repair of erosion damage and fall seeding led by the Parks Department’s David Burke.
• Earth Riders Trails Association members led by Brett Schoffner and Brian Duff begin survey of park and marking of preliminary singletrack trail routes around the bluffs. Look for the red tape tied to trees back in the woods.
• Volunteers from as far as Liberty and Lawrence come to begin trail blazing as trail volunteers join honeysuckle cutting to make way for proposed trails with the first section of trail projected to open in April, 2012.
• Park Volunteers ask for benches to be installed in select areas. Parks and Rec acquires and installs benches in places to pause and, as many have commented, make the park begin to look like, well, “a park”.
• Pitch magazine awards “Best Comeback” award to Roanoke Park, citing changes caused by volunteers working together with the parks department to improve the park.
• A generous donation from Roanoke Homes Association matched by private giving led by Pete Browne gets funding off to a $10,000 start to fund a landing/sitting area at the top of proposed stair steps: A new park amenity and better access to the park from "Lookout Point" along Valentine Road.
• Alice Kitchen’s essay about park project to Historic Kansas City Foundation contest wins the “Community Catalyst” award for 2011 for the all of the volunteers in Roanoke Park Conservancy project.
• Sunday family picnic in the Park with Live music from BluesberryJam sponsored by Roanoke Homes Association and Pete Browne and Kissick Construction Co.
• KCTV5’s Bonyen Lee does second feature on the Park. This time about the $10,000 private donations to help fund a sitting area at Lookout Point.
• Roanoke Park’s’ volunteer naturalist and web designer Chris DeLong reseeds selected areas of the park with locally collected native grasses and wildflowers. More seeding and tree seedling plantings are envisioned.
• Year ends with filing of articles of incorporation by Bill Koenigsdorg to create the Roanoke Park Conservancy, as a 501(c) 3 corporation. Incorporators are Kite Singleton and Randy Moore. First Board consists of Scott Burnett, Glenda Goodman, Pete Browne, Randy Moore, Kay Johnson and Curt Watkins.
• The Surrogate Volunteer’s program proves to be a popular and easy holiday gift selection to honor friends and family with a donation to the Roanoke Park Conservancy.

Since February, 2010, over 100 area residents have participated in some manner. They have walked, talked to neighborhood groups, worked in the park, donated to hire workers, fed the troops and/or attended the meetings. Honeysuckle warrior skirmishes took place most every weekend to eradicate bush honeysuckle and volunteer junk trees. They continue despite the weather.

• We think it's pretty amazing to already begin to see the park as a commons for ideas and for meeting.
• Work Load: An estimated 1800+ man hours have revealed beautiful and dramatic rocky bluff formations not seen for perhaps 50–75 years.
• Casualties: You can spot some veteran warriors mingling and scratching among the general population. They got into the poison ivy before Rose could tell them about avoidance and preventive elixirs and practices.

What’s been done so far, more recent items first:

• April 16, 2011 - Earth Day in Roanoke Park. 58 people attended to help drag brush to the curb for Parks Department pickup, remove trash and pull weeds. Mayor-elect Sly James even stopped by for a hot dog.
• March / April, 2011 - Master Plan Document created, showing the master plan aerial, detailing the master plan process, and including a great deal of background about Roanoke Park.
• March, 2011 - Agreement between neighborhood associations, Parks Department and Earth Riders Trails Association to create hiking / biking / nature trails in Roanoke Park.
• February-March, 2011 - Locally collected native seeds, primarily River Oats, planted in former honeysuckle areas with the guidance of Bill Fessler, leader of the Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department Conservation Corps.
• November 22, 2010 - Initial draft of Master Plan Concept produced by Michael Lockwood of Populous Architects and posted on roanokeparkkc.org.
• October 21, 2010 - Facilitator’s Notes on Charrette released on www.roanokeparkkc.org.
• October 9, 2010 - Charrette held at the Westport-Roanoke Community Center, with walking excursions throughout the Park. 38 attended.
• September, 2010 - Locally sourced Solomon’s Seal roots and Red Columbine seeds planted, south of baseball diamond and elsewhere
• August 30, 2010 - Roll out of Park Survey Results and version 2.0 of www.RoanokeParkKC.org
• August 20, 2010 - Meeting in Park with Forest Decker, Kansas City Parks Dept. Forester, to discuss grooming and grass seeding of cleared flat areas. Reaching out to MO Dept. of Conservation and Kansas City Wildlands recommended for sloped areas. Also attending were parks department employees Dave Parks, Clarence Brown and Derone Sparks lending their expertise. About a half dozen neighborhood park advocates in attendance.
• August, 2010 - Three PIAC requests made:
  1. Fix water drainage problem that leaves a portion of sidewalk perpetually slick from a moss covering. It is a safety hazard.
  2. Create walking trails through woods.
  3. Reforestation of park with historically significant and regionally appropriate trees.
• August 11, 2010 - Meeting with architect Cary Goodman to refine charrette process and review progress to date.
• Officers Jim Schriever and Scott Finn begin bringing Community Service workers in July to help the vounteers.
• July 18, 2010 - Roanoker passes the hat raising over $600 to acquire new, HD weed whacker and assorted tools to aid in clearing weeds and light growth.
• July 14, 2010 - Meeting with Parks landscape architect to consider ground covers for reclaimed lands in park. Six battle experienced honeysuckle warriers joined the walk to investigate flat and sloped surfaces that had been taken back for occupation by us; not the honeysuckle aliens.
• June 2010 - Surrogate Volunteer Program established by anonymous donor who sponsored 5 landscapers for a day’s work.  Since the program's inception, five other neighbors have stepped forth to sponsor a work force to join with the volunteers.
• June – July, 2010 - Residents of Valentine, Volker, Coleman Highlands and Roanoke are invited to take a survey about a vision for Roanoke Park including features, fixtures and amenities wanted or not wanted. The survey was completed by 211. It was designed to inform the discussions leading to the Master Plan for Roanoke Park.
• PIAC request made for more sidewalk south of the playground on 36th St.
• June 10, 2010 - Meeting at Parks and Rec offices to engage parks department, articulate the vision of an in-perpetuity private/public park project. Deal struck deal for brush pickup. Attended by 3 from Roanoke Park, 8 from Parks and Rec.
• May 14, 2010 - Meeting to plan “charrette” in the fall as key step to fleshing out the Master Plan.
• www.RoanokeParkKC.org, version 1, is created. (Version 2, the sequel, is what you're looking at now.)
• May, 2010 - An afternoon in the Missouri Valley Room searching out historic photos and documents about Roanoke Park for use as background in neighborhood meetings and on the idea of a website.
• May Day, 2010 - “Walk in the Park #2.” Dona Boley presented the history of the Kessler-designed Kansas City Park & Boulevard System before leading a Roanoke Park walk to contemplate what might be done. 43 attended.
• April 17, 2010 - “Walk in the Park #1.” Dona Boley, a champion of parks and the leader of the Gillham Park Improvement Project (GRIP) guided a group through Gillham Park to see what had been done. 28 attended.
• March 2010 - Miles Krivena convenes meeting with reps from 4 neighborhoods and Dona Boley to gauge area interest. All in attendance recognize the importance of the park as a community asset with the potential to positively impact area lifestyles and property values. Resolved to lay out orderly plan leading to publication of a Master Plan for the Park in the Spring, 2011. 9 attended.
• February 2010 - Volker neighbor Kite Singleton fired the first shot in the Roanoke Honeysuckle wars and Roanoke neighbor Miles Krivena enlisted himself in the fight. Kite arranges for training in identifying, cutting and killing of bush honeysuckle.