LAHARPE — The addition of a zipline and other playground equipment to the LaHarpe City Park has brought increasing numbers of visitors of all ages, City Council members noted Wednesday.
With increased usage, local residents have set their sights at improving the park’s other amenities.
The LaHarpe PRIDE Committee is in the midst of refurbishing a sand volleyball court, having dug out the original play surface, and added flexible pipe and a thick layer of rock to provide better water drainage. Sand and a new net will be added in short order.
PRIDE also will repaint the interior of the park’s shelter house this weekend, weather permitting.
Meanwhile, a group of softball enthusiasts has begun upgrading the park’s ball diamond, which sat idle for several years before being used for the first time for an overnight tournament last weekend.
The organizers are seeking to use the diamond regularly for tournaments, and perhaps add a girls softball league, Councilman Ron Knavel Sr. said.
They’ve offered to do needed repairs to the diamond’s backstop and fence, provided the city pays for materials.
Council members agreed to spend up to $1,000, using proceeds from the sale of the city’s old digger truck.
And while that’s going on, city employees are repairing water lines to the park’s concession building — after all, what good are softball tournaments without the essential cold drinks and hot dogs? — and electric service will be restored soon.
Council members agreed to contact J&C Electric of Iola to see what’s needed to return electric service to the building, as well as to one of the light poles surrounding the ball diamond.
Council members agreed that having the ball park humming with activity over the weekend was a welcome sight.
“And they cleaned up everything before they left,” Councilwoman Sharlyn Thompson added.
Thompson credited tournament organizer Brian Rutherford for the tournament’s success.
“He was out there for two days working the diamond to get the park ready for Saturday,” Thompson said.
MAYOR MAE Crowell noted resurfacing work was to begin today on Sixth, Monroe and other streets around town.
The resurfacing work will be done by Allen County crews. Sixth and Monroe will be ground down before another layer of chip-seal is added, Crowell said.
THE COUNCIL formally accepted a $10,000 grant from the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City, which will be used to add a security system and exercise equipment to City Hall, making the building more accessible to local patrons.
LaHarpe PRIDE member Harry Lee Jr. noted the city applied for a $30,000 HCF grant.
Had the full request been awarded, the city also would have hired a wellness coordinator to meet with clients on a regular basis as well.
Lee said he would begin searching for options to determine what type of exercise equipment would best fit City Hall.
Councilman David Lee also noted local residents — perhaps even PRIDE members — may be needed to help oversee how City Hall is used with the added amenities.
“The city employees already have quite a bit on their plate in getting ready for these electric upgrades,” David Lee said.
PHOTOGRAPHIC evidence exists of wild cats — either bobcats or mountain lions — in a backyard in the east side of LaHarpe, Councilwoman Diana Mullins said.
Two of the cats have been spotted, one significantly larger than the other, Mullins said.
“There are too many kids out playing in the summer at night” to do nothing about allowing dangerous animals to roam LaHarpe’s streets, she said.
The Council will reach out to the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks to connect the city with licensed fur trappers.
COUNCIL members also:
— Accepted a bid from Floyd Sinclair to purchase the city’s old digger truck for $1,000. Sinclair’s bid was the higher of two received. (The proceeds from the sale are being used for the aforementioned ballpark improvements.)
— Accepted a bid from Ray Maloney and Ray’s Metal Depot to demolish a condemned house at 1102 S. Washington at a rate of $175 an hour, and at a total cost not to exceed $1,875. Maloney’s bid was the lower of two.
— Approved changes to the city’s purchasing policy, directing city employees to get the Council’s endorsement before making any purchases exceeding $500.
