Shawnee County reveals models of renovations for 'Gage Park Master Plan'

TOPEKA (KSNT) - Residents of Shawnee County got a first look at the future of Gage Park.

Shawnee County Parks and Recreation held an open house Thursday for the community to see the latest Gage Park renovation plans. Bartlett and West is the Topeka-based architecture firm responsible for the construction. The company created renderings of some of the updates it's planning to make.

The open house brought residents from all over Shawnee County together at the Big Gage Shelter House to see the models and give feedback to county officials.

Shawnee County commissioner Bill Riphahn was the Park Planner for Shawnee County Parks and Recreation for 32 years. He told 27 News it's not the first Gage Park Master Plan, but that it's certainly past time they made another one.

"During that time," Riphahn said, "I actually did a master plan at one time for Gage Park. That was probably back in the '90s or something like that. It's been a long time and it's overdue."

The renovations will be partially funded by the Gage Park Sales Tax which took effect in April of 2023. It's a 0.2% tax on all sales within the county.

The renderings shown are just the first draft of the plan, and Parks and Recreation is still asking for community feedback. Community members are invited to share their feedback at gageparksurvey.com.

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