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.
Even as those technical hurdles mounted, the site became the subject of a longer-running debate. The North Kansas City Public Library notes the land sparked decades of disagreement over whether it should become a developed park or be preserved as nature. Nearly 40 years after the city acquired the property, not much had changed on the ground, according to the Kansas City Public Library. In the meantime, the unused site dealt with invasive species, litter, informal camping and erosion, the Star reports.
Garrett checked in with city staff during high school and roughly once a year after that, On Scouting reports, holding onto hope that his design might eventually get built. He went on to live in the Kansas City area with his wife, Ellen, raising a daughter, Allison, who married fellow Eagle Scout Luke Lanning, and a son, Jackson, who also became an Eagle Scout before passing the bar exam to become an attorney.
The Pandemic Changed the Calculus
It took a pandemic to finally move the project forward. During COVID-19, residents grew increasingly frustrated by the lack of easily accessible green space nearby, the Star reports. City officials knew it was time to act, with COVID-19 helping make the park a priority as municipalities nationwide focused more attention on outdoor areas, according to the same account.
In August 2021, the North Kansas City Council and its Parks Board agreed to jointly commission a feasibility study on potential park improvements, according to the city's own parks and recreation department. That groundwork eventually led the city to officially kick off construction on March 13, 2025, funded in part by an American Rescue Plan Act grant, per a city announcement. The build-out included new storm water, electrical and water utility lines along with hardscape, retaining walls, stairs, plantings, irrigation and streambank and slope stabilization work, according to city bid documents.
Parks and Recreation Director Victoria Ressler called Garrett after city staff rediscovered his old design in the process, On Scouting reports. Garrett's decades-old plans ultimately guided the construction of the finished park, according to the outlet.
A Ribbon-Cutting Decades in the Making
River Forest Park spans approximately 7.5 acres north of the Hillside Levee and east of Interstate 35 in the city's Ward 4, according to North Kansas City's parks department. When it finally opened this year, Garrett was honored at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, On Scouting reports, and the North Kansas City City Council and mayor recognized him with a proclamation declaring it David Garrett Day.
Coverage of the opening date itself varies. The Star reported the city planned to open the park on June 15, 2026, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony set for June 18, while KSHB reported the park officially opened in June, with Garrett on hand to help cut the ribbon more than 40 years after he first drew up the plans. Garrett told reporters he was glad to see the park completed in his lifetime, according to On Scouting, which featured his story in its Good Turns section.
