Jackson native starts GoFundMe for City Park basketball venue

Josh Lukefahr wants something done about the outdoor basketball courts at City Park in Jackson and he's launched an online GoFundMe fundraising page to raise money in hopes of restoring them.

Lukefahr, a 1997 Jackson High School graduate and two-year letterman as an Indians point guard, played on the lighted courts along West Park Street near the National Guard Armory as a boy.

"Growing up here in the '90s, this is where everybody was. You'd have people waiting in line to play the next game," said Lukefahr, western U.S. marketing director for Sobi-North America, a biopharmaceutical firm.

He is dismayed at the condition of the courts today.

"They're in bad shape. You see grass growing through. You can't see the lines on the three-point line or the free throw line," Lukefahr said.

"Look at that hoop there," Lukefahr said Wednesday. "It's obviously been welded onto the backboard so the ball doesn't have a chance of going in with a bank shot."

Lukefahr's GoFundMe effort seeks $10,000.

"I did some research on what resurfacing might cost as well as new posts, new backboards, some concrete on the two worst sections to close everything in, maybe some fencing and some signage," he said.

City input

"Those courts were on the redo list, as was the tennis venue, had the use tax passed," said Mayor Dwain Hahs, referring to the failed Nov. 2 referendum to pass a use tax for park improvements. The plebiscite failed by a 57% to 43% vote.

"Donations are encouraged and we like to work with groups and individuals," Hahs said, noting private gifts made possible upgrades to the park's rock garden. "Unfortunately, we don't have enough money to do everything from the city's budget."

Jackson's new parks director, Jason Lipe, said the venerable hoops venue has not been ignored.

"It's definitely on our list but it's just one of those things where it hasn't yet gotten to the top of the priority chain," said Lipe, former Jackson Civic Center manager who succeeded retired Shane West Anderson as parks director in January.

Example

"This is a great opportunity for passionate people to come alongside the city and provide funding and resources to make a project happen," Lipe added, noting work done on the eight pickleball courts in Litz Park.

"That's exactly how they started with a group of individuals who wanted to see improvements made and they went out and raised private money."

Lipe said he doesn't have cost estimates on what it would take to restore the former glory of the basketball courts but used the pickleball complex to make a cost comparison.

"Pickleball was a little larger in scope than this would be, but we figured it would take $45,000 to do a total resurface and basically start from scratch over there. We're just starting to take a little deeper dive into the numbers for basketball and see exactly what it would take," he said.

Last word

Lukefahr recalls the moment he decided to start the GoFundMe page.

"Our fourth-grade son, Jay, is really into basketball now and in remembering the great times I had as a kid in City Park, I went by last weekend to just do some shooting. That's when I saw the condition of the courts and thought something has to be done," he said.

"I still live in Jackson and don't want to be contentious about this or ruffle too many feathers. The sign coming into town says Jackson is a 'city of beautiful homes, churches, schools and parks.' You know, we've got to keep it that way if we want the message to mean something."

As of presstime Thursday, Lukefahr's GoFundMe page had raised $2,300 of its $10,000 goal. For those interested in participating in the fundraising, visit www.gofundme.com/f/jackson-mo-basketball-court-improvement-project.