Author Spotlight
Elizabeth Mikkelson
photo by Noelle Griffin
Wassmer Park opened in Prairie Village on Oct. 26 in honor of the former mayor, Parks and Recreation Committee Chair and environmental advocate, Laura Wassmer.
Wassmer Park is one of the two newly opened parks in Prairie Village along with the recent opening of Meadowbrook Park this summer.
The land for Wassmer Park was originally the site of the Faith Lutheran Church, which closed in 2017 and went up for sale. While the city of Prairie Village didn’t offer the highest bid, the Church accepted their offer to turn the land into a community park space, as opposed to the highest bidders’ plan to develop the land for housing.
However, according to Ward 1 (Northern Ward of Prairie Village) City Councilwoman, Jori Nelson, there were people who adamantly opposed the purchase of this land for a park in the community. Those who opposed felt that the community didn’t need any more greenspace or parks since there was already one down the street.
Although this was deliberated upon in council meetings, the city ultimately agreed on building the park — considering the additional greenspace it would provide. After the purchase of the property in 2017, they began construction in early 2019.
Similar to Wassmer Park, Meadowbrook Park was originally planned to be completely developed, but the city proposed to turn it into a multi-use property in order to further the land opportunity. According to KCUR News, the land at Meadowbrook Park was significant in terms of greenspace in the neighborhood and “more than doubled Prairie Village’s park acreage.”
“I’m very hopeful that those parks will be continued for a very long time,” Wassmer said. “And that the community will also take good care of them.”
In 2009, the city of Prairie Village hired a market professional for the specific issue to help improve the parks system and received back a Parks Master Plan. The master plan stated that since the city is landlocked, they should act on any greenspace opportunities. For the past decade, Prairie Village has sought out these opportunities to collaborate with the Johnson County Parks and Recreation District.
Nelson remarks that since the Parks Master Plan in 2009, the acreage has significantly increased in parks like Meadowbrook and Wassmer in the past ten years and provided the city with more greenspace.
“We have really built a magnificent park system within our city,” Nelson said. “It reaches all the way from the northern part of Prairie Village to the southern part.”
In order to celebrate the added greenspace of Wassmer Park, the opening celebration was held on Oct. 26 with face painting, food trucks and a zipline.
Over 100 residents came to support the opening, including senior Jessica Hickey. Hickey lives a few blocks away from the park and has watched the process of it being constructed, which began with the destruction of the previous church. Along with attending the opening, Hickey and her friend took part in some of the park activities.
“[My friend and I walked] down there and got some food from the food truck and then we started joining in on the games,” Hickey said.
One of the main advocates for the land being used as greenspace instead of commercial use was Wassmer.
When the discussion was brought up of what to name the park, Wassmer became the decided choice. This naming commemorates her time as mayor of Prairie Village and her prevalence in advocating for environmental progress in the city.
There are personal touches in this park that are unique to some of Wassmer’s interests, including a public garden space. Gardening has been in her family for generations and something that is valued.
“My mom loves to garden and her mother loved to garden,” Wassmer said. “So there’s definitely family history revolving around plants and nature and all of that.”
Wassmer felt honored to have the park named after herself.
“I’m really overwhelmed and just extremely grateful,” Wassmer said. “It’s a very fitting tributeto the time I put in and my particular passions.”
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