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Try having a picnic on a hot day without shade. Shade trees make the hot summer temperatures more bearable, providing cover for both humans and wildlife. "Nothing makes a park better than big shade trees." "There's some big oak trees I hate to see go," Riphahn said. A lot of pin oaks were planted in the park during its early years.īill Riphahn, park planner with Shawnee County Parks and Recreation, said the issues affecting Gage Park are complicated. He said pin oaks live to be about 75 years old. Rick Knight, horticulturalist with the zoo, said the pin oak trees being cut down are near the end of their lives. 3, at noon in the education room at the zoo. He said he would be willing to hold another meeting Monday, Dec. 20 at the zoo, but only media showed up, no one from the neighborhood was there. Wiley said he held a public meeting about the zoo expansion at 6 p.m. Wiley said Koopman is leaning on standards established by the Mid America Regional Council on Stormwater Best Management Practices. Wiley said Bob Koopman of PEC is the engineer involved in the design of the storm water drainage system. When asked if there was any study proving there is a water quality problem, Wiley said he was unaware of any water tests.Ĭalls to the EPA's Kansas City office have not been returned. I believe Hill's Dog Park Patrons clean up after their dogs and put baggies of poop in the trash cans. The bio-filtration system, with wet land, will clean the water, he said. The dogs in the dog park leave poop behind, he said.
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Wiley insisted this is a water quality project. During high periods of rain, he said, the bear holding area may get 2 inches of water in it. Wiley said water drains into the bear facility in the southeast corner of the zoo, but the water has not been a threat to the animals.
#Topeka zoo s 2018 lion professional#
The contractors KBS Contractors and Professional Engineering Consultants of Topeka are handling the construction projects. About 62% of the funding for the 7,000 square foot garden is coming from Kay McFarland and the balance from private donations, "in theory we are hoping it will all come from private donations," Wiley said. The zoo is spending another $6.4 million on the construction of Kay's Garden.
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A total of $2.1 million is being spent to do the storm draining system, new parking and group entry. He said the storm drain system will cost $1.5 million. Wiley said Kay's Garden has been set back a year due to the challenges associating with accommodating the drainage system. A phone call to Koopman has not been returned. When asked, Wiley could not produce any correspondence from the EPA addressing this issue, but instead referred to the engineer who has worked on the project, Bob Koopman of Professional Engineering Consultants of Topeka. The storm water is presumably to be cleaned through "a biofilter system and retention pond." He said the EPA reviewed the project and determined the park lacked a storm water drainage system. He said that the EPA came into Topeka and conducted an audit of the construction of the Camp Cowabunga.
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Wiley said the need for the storm water channel came about after an audit by the Environmental Protection Agency in fall 2017. Trees along the green path in the proposed plan are being removed.