The Olathe City Council convened on Tuesday, June 4, 2024, at 6:30 PM in the Council Chamber at 100 E. Santa Fe. The meeting opened with executive sessions, followed by a live streamed session beginning at 7:00 PM. Additional executive sessions were held later in the evening. Councilmember Felter was absent; all roll call votes were 6-0 unless otherwise noted. The meeting adjourned at 10:12 PM.
Good evening. Welcome to the regular meeting of the Olatha City Council for Tuesday, June 4th, 2024. The first item on our agenda is the Pledge of Allegiance. Would you please stand with me for the pledge? I pledge allegiance to the plague of the United States of America and to republicans under God. Next on our agenda is special business proclamation declaring June 19th, 2024 is Juneteenth. Juneteenth recognizes the emancipation of slaves in the United in the U.S. and allows us the opportunity to celebrate the contributions of our black neighbors to our community. Joining us tonight to accept this proclamation is Terry Loudermill, a longtime member of our Citizens Police Advisory Council. So Terry, would you please join me at this microphone? So the proclamation reads, uh is this all? The proclamation reads, whereas on January 1st, 1863, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring that all persons held as slaves within any state shall be then thenceforward and forever free. And whereas many more than two years more would pass before the news reached black Americans living in Texas, when on June 19, 1865, Union soldiers spread the word that slavery had been abolished. And whereas Juneteenth was celebrated the following year and continues to be celebrated today to acknowledge a period in our nation's history that still shapes and influences our society and to honor the principles of the Declaration of Independence. And whereas the City of Olatha is committed to fostering a community that recognizes the value of each resident that is strengthened by our diversity and that celebrates the varied cultures and backgrounds that make up our great city. Now, therefore, I John Bacon, mayor of the City of Olatha, do hereby proclaim June 19, 2024 as Juneteenth in Olathe, urging all citizens to recommit ourselves to the work of equity, equality, and justice, and to making Olatha a better place for all to call home. Thank you for presenting. First of all, I'd like to thank Mayor Bacon and the City Council and my good friend Robin Essex for this proclamation. I've been a longtime resident of Olatha and I love Olathe, so whatever I can do to the betterment of our community, I'm more than happy to do. But uh I'm I'm happy to help. We also have a mentoring group with some educators and local business leaders in Olatha that's called Team. It stands for Teach, Educate, Achieve, and Mentor. And one thing we do, we take athletes of color to help them have academic success. So we give them a track rec road to from their freshman year through high school on academic successes. So when colleges or universities or even uh junior colleges come and look at them, they have that academic success so they can play at the next level, whether they want to or not, but it gives them an opportunity to do all those things. And so we've been fortunate enough to uh start that in 2019. COVID was a tough year for us, as with everyone, but um the last two years out of the eight young men that we had, seven of them had uh at least a 2.4 GPA. Uh so that's successes. So now we're taking those seniors to let them mentor the younger kids because we all know kids listen to younger kids more than they do adults sometimes. So again, thanks to Mayor Bacon and the community for this award and uh whatever I can do to help the community, I'm more than happy to do, and I appreciate you guys as well. Thank you. Thank you. I'll turn the floor. Uh thanks again, Terry, for being here tonight for all you do for our community. Thank you. Now move on to public hearings. I would like to open a public hearing in consideration of resolution 24-1021 on a request by Safari Belting Systems LLC for industrial revenue bonds and tax phase N of a single series project for the construction of a 75,000 square foot manufacturing, assembly, and distribution facility on two parcels, totaling 12 acres located at 607 West Old 56 Highway. This project is expected to create 57 new jobs over the next 10 years with an average starting salary of almost 70,000. Financial strategy and procurement manager John Page joins us for a presentation. Welcome, John. Thank you, Mayor and City Council, John Paige Financial Strategy and Procurement Manager. Here to go over presentation for an IRB application we had, as you mentioned from Safari Belting Systems LLC. So a little info about this project. This represents 12 acres at 607 East Old 56 Highway. It is a $19,375,000 investment. As you can see, the project is outlined in the blue along Old 56 Highway. It's 75,000 square feet total of industrial and warehouse facilities, and it represents almost $25 million in new wages in year 10 of the abatement period. And it represents $57,500 in projected annual city property tax revenue after the abatement of period ends. So a little bit about IRB qualifications for any businesses applying for them. This is an existing business, and it must exceed the minimum investment threshold set for newer existing businesses by the city's IRB and property tax abatement policy.