UG Awarded Top Honors from Kansas Recreation & Parks Association
Published on February 11, 2025
In late January 2025, the Unified Government Parks & Recreation Department took top honors at the recent Kansas Recreation & Park Association annual awards for Outstanding New or Innovative Park Project of the Year Award.
"This project was truly collaborative, starting with Community Development, various other UG Departments, and stakeholder support from community members and leaders," said Director Angel Ferrara, CPRP. "Our team worked hard last summer to execute these projects to deliver new amenities and upgraded spaces for our community. I’m so proud of our UG Parks & Recreation Department team!"
Learn more about the work below!
Project Honors
On August 23, the Unified Government Parks & Recreation Department hosted a ribbon-cutting tour at three of its parks. This event celebrated the investment of more than $2.1 million in improvements funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. The investments and developments were long over-dude. These parks are all East of I-635, in the historically redlined neighborhoods of Wyandotte County, Kansas City, Kansas’ urban core. The CDBG grant funded projects not only improve the parks and services for the community, but also contribute to our community’s quality of life.
- Klamm Park, located at 2511 N 27th Street received $1,196,203 million in investments which included 2 new post-tensioned basketball courts, 3 new tennis courts, and 8 new post-tensioned pickleball courts as well as a new LED LSI lighting system.
- Kensington Park, located at 2900 State Avenue received $415,063 in investments which included a new post-tensioned basketball court, connecting sidewalk, and benches, as well as upgrades to the parking lot.
- Clifton Park, located at 2200 Wilson Blvd received $501,962.08 in investments which included a brand-new spray park (the newest spray park in 20+ years).
Project Audience and Program Goal
The target audience of these projects included residents within a ½ mile radius of the park, as well as neighborhoods in historically redlined communities and qualified census tracts.
- Klamm Park: Approximately 6,783 residents live within ½ mile radius
- Clifton Park: Approximately 6,627 residents live within ½ mile radius
- Kensington Park: Approximately 8,145 residents live within ½ mile radius
The goal of these projects was to re-invest in historically redlined communities, address deferred maintenance, and bring a new recreational amenity such as pickleball to our community and begin to introduce the sport. KCK’s first pickleball courts were installed at WYCO lake in 2023, with the addition of these 8 courts, the County now has 12 courts for residents to utilize.
Because of these projects, new programming opportunities are evolving, such as pickleball and tennis clinics with a free pickleball clinic being offered on October 19th. The tennis courts also serve as a great and close practice facility for Sumner High School’s tennis team, a local USD500 school which also is challenged with up to date/safe facilities for play. 
Project Funding
$2.1 million in improvements funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program made these projects possible. The following is a breakdown of investment per project:
- Klamm Park: $1,196,203
- Clifton Park: $415,063
- Kensington Park: $501,962.08
Community Response
The community response for this project was and has been overwhelming. The Department celebrated with a ribbon cutting “tour” due to the fact that there were multiple parks that received major investments for long desired improvements. The tour was well-attended by many community members, several who spoke to the testament of these projects and how long over-due they were. This was also featured on a local news segment that night and can be provided for reference.
It’s hard to offer a comparison to similar park projects within this department because this was the largest funding investment for a park project(s) in 15+ years. UGPRD has suffered severe budget cuts for the last two decades, and capital improvements of this investment have been non-existent.
Project Success
What makes these projects successful is many things. The community input and feedback that was used to determine the project direction. This was done through the 2017 Master Plan process, and recent community engagement sessions and workshops with the Park Board. These improvements and additions of pickleball courts will provide the community with new recreational amenities that didn’t previously exist, and for upgraded facilities such as basketball and tennis for safe play and increased programming opportunities. These sport courts were also converted from old, crumbling asphalt, and upgraded to post-tensioned concrete which will last much longer and the maintenance over time will be minimal. What also made these projects successful is that they were made possible through Community Development Block Grant Funding.
About the Kansas Recreation and Park Association
The Kansas Recreation and Park Association (KRPA) is a non-profit, professional organization representing the parks, recreation, and leisure industry in Kansas. We represent nearly 1,500 professional, commercial, agency, board/commission, student and retiree members throughout the state.
With members in nearly every county, KRPA has a vast network of support and active professionals who are dedicated to improving the quality of life in Kansas by providing high quality park and recreation services. Local parks and recreation agencies and state parks serve millions of Kansans and tourists each year at parks, open spaces and recreation facilities, and through healthy programs for children, adults, and senior citizens.