David Garrett was a 16-year-old Eagle Scout without any land-development experience when he drew up the plans for a neighborhood park on a patch of land North Kansas City had purchased near his home. Decades later, that same design helped shape the roughly $4 million River Forest Park that finally opened this year, and Garrett, now 61, was there to help cut the ribbon.
Garrett designed the park as his Eagle Scout project in 1981, according to On Scouting. He developed the concept with help from his parents, and his plan included a playground, a restroom pavilion, nature trails, a native pollinator meadow and access to a natural waterfall, per the outlet. Leland Odell encouraged Garrett to take on the design project, and Jim Rich, who served as both an assistant scoutmaster and a North Kansas City councilman, helped shepherd it through city channels. North Kansas City ultimately accepted Garrett’s design and approved funding for the project, On Scouting reports — but the money never came through at the time.
Accounts differ on exactly when the city acquired the land. The Kansas City Star reports the city purchased the site in 1973, while North Kansas City’s local NBC affiliate, KSHB-41, has reported the land had been city-owned since 1974. The outlets similarly diverge on the year of Garrett’s design work: KSHB has reported he drew up the layout in 1980 at age 16, while the Star reports a local Eagle Scout drafted the proposal in 1981.
Decades of False Starts
Garrett’s plan was approved, but funding never materialized, KSHB reports. His own Troop 301 tried again in 1994, conducting a site study, gathering public input and completing topographic mapping, according to the station. An engineering study around that era found that fill slopes on the site were failing because of years of stormwater runoff, the Star reports, and recommended drainage improvements and a retaining wall…