Community Spirit, Identity and Amenities

Community Center

Anonymous — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 21:19:30 GMT

A civic center is not a community center. A privately owned fitness center is not a community center.

Natatorium/Aquatic Center

Anonymous — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 01:10:41 GMT

With the large numbers of youth swimmers in Lenexa and the surrounding areas, a natatorium or aquatic center would be a terrific addition. A facility that could be used year round and could serve not only competitive swimming but also provide a family venue such as an indoor waterpark could be a big draw. think birthday parties, swim lessons, swim leagues, etc. Many teams currently travel out of the area multiple weekends per month to compete. Cities such as Lawrence (Aquatic Center) and Topkea (Hummer Natatorium) have these venues and reap the benefits of increased revenues to the city (hotels/restaurants/shopping) during the events which are typically held Friday night through Saturday. Competitive youth swimming regularly draws 500 swimmers to an event. End of season competition draws folks not only from Kansas but surrounding states as well. End of season Kansas high school state championships are held in Topeka with over 50% of the competitors from the Lenexa/Johnson County area. Many year round Lenexa swimmers particpate on club teams which are not located in Lenexa. Summer leagues are huge, Lenexa currently supports 125-150 swimmers per year. Competitive summer swim meets shut down city pools for 7-8 days minimum each year. Other Johnson County cities are looking into becoming a premier swimming location, should Lenexa be left out? If built for both the competitive and recreational swimmers, Lenexans would all benefit through increased revenues and year round opportunities for increased physical fitness.

Trails

HankSterling — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 19:14:35 GMT

Lenexa should focus on more trails, accessibility to the trails, connecting all trails to the County Trail system, and improving the safety of some existing trails. Specifically, the trail that exists on the south side of 79th and just west of Mill Creek grade school should be an under the roadway path similar to what exists at 83rd Street. It is somewhat dangerous to cross 79th at that location and many people do so on a daily basis.

Devloping with vision 2

Anonymous — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 22:17:26 GMT

This title was purposely mispelled to emphasize the need for a uniform development code to enhance the beautification of the city and help protect Real Estate and the city as a whole-Leawood is a leader in this area.

Devloping with vision

Anonymous — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 22:05:20 GMT

I am tired of having to go to Olathe, Overland Park or Shawnee or Leawood to shop or dine or do anything(nothing against those cities) but Vision 2030 should turn Lenexa into the "best of both worlds"-a small suburban city bordered by many other cities and a place that could stand alone if need be-what would we want Lenexa to look like if it were out in western Kansas somewhere? What amenities would we want and need? As the suburban area grows around Lenexa- I hope it doesnt become a "blip" on the map or a " bump" in the road-which means a place which people have to travel through in order to get where they are going. I think a good start would be to at least define the borders of our city with Large monument signs like Olathe has done out on K-7 highway. Some people may not even know when they are in or out of Lenexa-o.k.-peole who live here will, but I think when you drive into Lenexa, you should know it. Signs ,scenery, landscape, decor, etc. Commercial and Reidential developments have to reflect the standards set by thes Vision commitees. Frankly, I think if Lenexa would be developed similar to the building codes set forth in the Cedar Creek subdivision in Olathe- it would be great- they seem to be able to develop without destroying the bueaty of the area-I see Lenexa bulldozing huge tracts of land, knocking down trees that will take 30-40 years to regrow. Everything doesn't have to built at once- you just need a Master plan for the community moving forward- When the city center is built, it is possible that the existing 87 th street corridor may need to be transformed. If and when it is, it needs to compliment and conform to what is being done now everything should flow together instead of clash. I recommen an arcitectural design commitee be utilized to ensure the conformity of development similar to what cities in the southwest such as north Scottsdale in Arizona are doing. It's kind of like having a homeowners association for the entire city. It gives certain building standards and architectural guidelines that "fit" within the overall vision of developmeent that city planners decided they want.

Upkeep of existing facilities

Anonymous — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 05:15:54 GMT

As we expand our parks, trails and other faciliteis I hope that we keep in mind our responsibility of maintaining our existing facilities. For example the older trails from 79th & Lackman to Christa McAuliffe and along 83rd Street East of Lackman in my opinion have not been maintained well. We've tried taking our jogger stroller on these trails but they were too rough so we stick to the sidewalks instead. I sure hope something is done to improve them in the next few years because I would love to use these trails to ride bikes to school. I read about a proposed new sales tax to help keep these facilities up. I'ld like to see a list of specific items that would be addressed if this were to pass.

Beautification

Anonymous — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 16:10:55 GMT

I'd like to see Lenexa come up with some sort of standard or aesthetic requirements for retail or commercial buildings that are adjacent to residential areas or are prominently displayed. It seems as though all too many of the current buildings are just plain slabs of concrete that have no character or style to them. Many of them typically do not blend into their surrounding either. A good case in point in the City Center area that is being built right now. Even though the two buildings are still only partially into constrution, I cannot see these as being anything other than an eyesore. I'm sure too that the people in the adjactent apartment complex are not happy to look out their windows and see a wall of concrete where as before they had a view of open fields.

I would also like to see Lenexa require that when stands of tree are clear cut, that a significant number of trees are replaced and not with tiny sapplings. I've seen way too many stands of large trees cut out and a handful are replaced with trees that are not even 5 years old.