Dream one step closer to reality

Local government officials and community members discuss the designs presented during Wednesday evening's final design workshop for the Fort Scott Riverfront Park and Trails and the three preliminary designs are projected on the wall. (Michael Pommier/Tribune)

The dream of a riverfront park is one step closer to becoming a reality as design drawings are presented to the public.

Community members filed in at the River Room Wednesday evening to get a glimpse of the design drawings for the Fort Scott-Bourbon County Riverfront Park and Trails. The drawings came as a result of several design workshops with Patti Banks and Associates which had been held since Monday evening.

"This is a great dream," Fort Scott-Bourbon County Riverfront Authority Chairman Dean Mann said. "Now it is time to make it a reality."

The public got involved during Monday night's meeting. Each of the 45 attendees was given 10 orange stickers which they then placed on a board next to the amenities they valued the most.

"We've had a lot of participation," Mann said about the turnout and involvement of the community.

Amenities in which the public chose from included everything from canoeing to classrooms.

The feedback from the public, along with feedback from the steering committee -- which met Tuesday and Wednesday mornings -- lead to the creation of three drawings. The steering committee then looked at the three drawings and chose what they liked about each one and created the final drawing.

The amenities included in the final drawing are things such as a recreational vehicle area, historic train exhibit, river access, wetlands area, a lookout tower with a classroom area, botanical garden, an event pavilion area, and several others. Among the most significant additions is a designated entry to the park area.

The end result of the workshops, according to Mann, is a more defined vision of the project which began in April 2007 with the Kansas Legislature's creation of the Fort Scott-Bourbon County Riverfront Authority. Mann said that by having the master plan more defined the Fort Scott-Bourbon County Riverfront Authority can get a better idea of how much the project will cost. In addition, the designs will be more attractive when applying for grants.

"Now we hope ... to have a more defined master plan," Mann said. "It gives us a better product to show to potential funders."

According to Mann, the Fort Scott-Bourbon County Riverfront Authority is in the process of finishing it's land acquisition phase of the project. He said they are now focusing on applying for grants to fund the project.