Curtney House, director of public works for Shawnee County, asked the Board of County Commissioners on Nov. 3 to approve a project budget and solicit bids to repair failing panels in the East Parking Lot at the county’s North Annex and to add a sidewalk and a walkway down the slope from Sling Street.

House told commissioners the lot "is really the only public parking lot that we have" and that some panels, particularly around handicap parking areas, "have started to degrade." She said the project would replace those panels and, "while we were in there, I got the crazy idea that we could improve some safety for people that park along the curb on Sling Street, provide them with a sidewalk at the back of the curb and then a walkway that goes down the slope to the East Parking Lot." The director said the existing grass slope can be a safety issue in inclement weather.

The work will be put out to bid and take place after the first of the year, House said. She said county staff prepared the plans in-house and that funding would come from a combination of park roof and parking lot funds and solid waste funds; the solid waste funds are user-fee generated. House estimated parking-lot repairs make up roughly 50–60% of the project, with the safety enhancements comprising the remainder.

Commissioner Aaron Mays moved to approve soliciting bids; Commissioner Bill Rippon seconded. The motion passed 3-0.

The board did not set a construction start date beyond the general timeline House provided (work after Jan. 1) and did not provide final contract awards at the Nov. 3 meeting. Commissioners asked whether the project needed to be bid and confirmed the project was large enough to solicit competitive bids.