SNCO Commissioner speaks on developments for Parks and Rec/Public Works

TOPEKA (KSNT)- Shawnee County Commissioner Aaron Mays joined the 27 News Morning Show to discuss some upcoming projects taking place within the county.

One of these projects is the "Parks in Progress Campaign" for 2023/2024. According to Commissioner Mays, this has already been in progress, but they are excited about the new developments that will be coming to parks across the county.

"We have 110 parks in our system, and this program is going to about a third of them over the course of a couple years," Commissioner Mays said. "So, within the next year, we will see another 15 parks done. "

He said that just recently they finished updates to Washburn Park near 10th and Oakley to revamp the playground there.

"They are doing some cool things," he said. "At this park, they put in a special kind of a swing for parents and children."

He explained that the swing has a spot for both parents and kids to sit down so they can face one another while using the swing. They are calling it the "selfie swing".

"Maybe Gabby would be able to use that when she has her baby," he said.

And he said the improvements don't stop at playground updates.

"We are also doing new walking paths, picnic shelters and picnic tables," he said. "We are hoping to see just about every park being touched within the next few years."

And on the topic of "improvements", Commissioner Mays also spoke on public works projects that are coming up soon as well. One of those is the roundabout being put in place near 29th and Auburn, right near the new Washburn Rural Middle School being built.

"It's a safety enhancement," he said. "Auburn Road is a high-speed, two-way road, and I think it will make a big difference in the amount of accidents out there. "

Additionally, another roundabout is being built at the corner of 46th St. and Highway 75. He said because of the size of this roundabout, it's going to make the project more difficult and time-consuming.

"The pavement up there needs to be replaced," he said. "It's in bad shape. And again, the people that use that on a daily basis already know that, but I think they will be happy with the outcome once it is done."

As far as the timeline for both of these projects, Commissioner Mays said the target is to be done by next summer.

Commissioner Mays also spoke about Operation Greenlight and provided a statement regarding the future of Heartland Motorsports Park and the Oakland Pool. To hear what he had to say, watch the full interview linked above.

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