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Record of Proceedings

Olathe City Council Meeting – December 17, 2024

City Council — Tuesday, December 17, 2024
BodyOlathe, Kansas
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, December 17, 2024
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Good evening.

0:01

Welcome to the regular meeting of the latest city council for Tuesday, December 17th, 2024.

0:07

The first item on our agenda is the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:10

Would you please stand with me for the pledge?

0:15

Pledge of allegiance to the publication.

0:34

We'll now move to our consent agenda.

0:37

The items listed below are considered to be routine by the City Council and may be approved in one motion.

0:42

These may include items that have been reviewed by the City Council in a prior planning session.

0:46

There will be no separate discussion unless a council member requests that an item be removed from the consent agenda and considered separately.

0:54

Council members, are there any such items tonight?

0:58

Yes.

0:59

Councilmember Schoonover.

1:01

Item D, please, Mr.

1:02

Mayor.

1:03

Okay.

1:03

Item D.

1:05

Any others?

1:08

Motion to approve the consent agenda would be in order.

1:11

Mr.

1:11

Mayor, I move to approve the consent agenda minus item D.

1:17

As present.

1:18

Second.

1:19

We have a motion and a second with the city clerk, please call it all.

1:23

Mr.

1:23

Bacon.

1:24

Yes.

1:24

Ms.

1:25

Boat?

1:25

Yes.

1:26

Mr.

1:26

Gilmore?

1:27

Yes.

1:27

Mr.

1:27

Schoonover?

1:28

Yes.

1:29

Dr.

1:29

Felter?

1:30

Yes.

1:30

Mr.

1:31

Vacus?

1:32

Yes.

1:32

Ms.

1:32

Essex.

1:33

Yes.

1:33

Motion passes.

1:34

6-0.

1:35

I'm sorry, 7-0.

1:37

I'm looking back from last week or from two weeks ago.

1:41

So item D is consideration of resolution number 24-1075 adopting the industrial revenue and tax abatement policy.

1:50

Councilmember Schooner.

1:51

Yes, I uh appreciate the uh the updates to the IRB policy and uh especially after a conversation last week.

2:00

I I had a couple of questions though, as it relates to I guess what our role as as counsel is uh regarding some of those policies.

2:11

That is, I understand under the new policy in addition to the kind of tightened wage requirements uh or or wage targets, um there is a reporting requirement that that companies receiving IRBs uh need to provide to the director of economy reports relating specifically to their wages and some some other information.

2:34

I guess what I'm wondering is if if we find that companies that receive an IRB are not meeting their end of the bargain, uh what is what is our stick, so to speak, as as a council?

2:51

How do we handle that situation?

2:53

Yes, Jamie Roboshot Economy Director.

2:56

Um that would be outlined in the performance agreement that we establish with them that will have mechanisms if they're not complying with our requirements.

3:04

I might have Ron get into the specific legal requirements and the mechanisms there.

3:08

But to kind of give you an overview of what the process is, um, our economic development analyst Kaylee manages all of the um administration of these incentives and annually will reach out to all of the active IRBs and ask them for the required data.

3:24

So we confirm that they gave their community foundation donation.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Economic Development█████████████████████████████████████████████58%
Procedural██████████████████████28%
Community Engagement██████8%
Environmental Protection█████6%
Summary of Proceedings

Olathe City Council Meeting – December 17, 2024

Note: The meeting agenda and minutes list the start time as 7:00 PM CST (01:00 UTC on December 18). The user-provided timestamp of 2024-12-17 13:00:00+00:00 (7:00 AM CST) appears to be a discrepancy; the actual meeting convened at 7:00 PM CST on December 17, 2024.

The Olathe City Council held its regular meeting on December 17, 2024, at 7:00 PM in the Council Chamber. The meeting included approval of a consent agenda (with one item removed for separate discussion), adoption of an updated Industrial Revenue and Tax Abatement (IRB) Policy, and holiday greetings from council members. No public comments were received. The meeting adjourned at 7:25 PM.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved (7-0) with the exception of Item D (IRB Policy), which was removed for separate discussion. Items approved included:
    • Meeting minutes of December 3, 2024.
    • Renewal licenses as recommended by the City Clerk.
    • Resolution No. 24-1074 (Annexation Policy, PI-6).
    • Acceptance of several final plats: Prairie Canyon, Second Plat (61 lots); Olathe Commerce Park, Fourth Plat (1 lot); Johnson County Government Plaza, Third Plat (2 lots); Enclave at Regency Plat (13 lots); The Shops at Prairie Farms, Second Plat (2 lots).
    • Transfer authorization and contract award for the 167th & Ridgeview Geometric Improvements Project (PN 3-C-018-22) to VF Anderson Builders LLC.
    • Water Main Relocation Agreement with Water District No. 1 of Johnson County for the 119th Street Improvements Project.
    • Excess workers compensation insurance and property/casualty insurance programs for 2025.
    • Contract award to Mammoth Sports Construction, LLC for dugout replacement at Lone Elm Softball Complex.
    • Purchase of two Toro Groundsmaster 5900 and one Toro Groundsmaster 4000 for Parks Maintenance.

Discussion Items

  • Industrial Revenue and Tax Abatement (IRB) Policy – Resolution No. 24-1075
    • Councilmember Schoonover removed Item D from the consent agenda for discussion. He asked about enforcement mechanisms if companies receiving IRBs fail to meet commitments, particularly wage requirements. Jaime Robichaud, Director of Economy, explained that the new policy includes an annual reporting requirement (already standard in performance agreements) and that staff would bring noncompliance to the Council only if efforts to resolve it internally fail. Mayor Bacon confirmed that deviations from the standard language would be reported to the Council.
    • Councilmember Gilmore questioned the new language in Section 2.B Design Criteria stating that abatement would be provided only if projects exceed minimum environmental standards. City Attorney Ron Shaver clarified that the intent was to reflect existing practice, where high-quality projects typically exceed codes, and that the language was not tied to a 5% bonus (except for data centers). Councilmember Vogt expressed preference for the previous policy language (“preference will be given to businesses that exceed applicable environmental regulations and energy efficiency standards”).
    • Motion by Vogt, seconded by Gilmore, to approve Resolution 24-1075 with the amendment to keep Section 2.B Design Criteria as in the previous policy. The motion carried 7-0.

Key Outcomes

  • Resolution 24-1075 (IRB Policy) adopted with the amendment to retain the original design criteria language. This formalizes wage reporting requirements and annual performance data collection, giving the policy “more teeth” against negotiation.
  • Consent agenda approved (items A–C, E–Q) as routine.
  • No public comments were made.

New City Council Business & Reports

  • Councilmembers Felter, Vakas, Gilmore, Essex, and Schoonover offered holiday wishes and thanked staff. Mayor Bacon announced the Mayor’s Children’s Fund has reached approximately $110,000 toward a $155,000 goal, with donations accepted through December 31 at OlatheCares.org.
  • Planning Session Report: A report on annexation of approximately 7.57 acres (two parcels on Black Bob Road) was presented for informational purposes; no action taken.
  • Additional Items: Councilmember Vakas requested an update from Johnson County staff on funding allocated for a homeless shelter. City Manager Wilkes noted that County Commissioners typically present a budget overview early in the year and that the topic could be addressed then. Wilkes also confirmed that a sustainability initiatives page is already live on the City’s website.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 7:25 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening. Welcome to the regular meeting of the latest city council for Tuesday, December 17th, 2024. The first item on our agenda is the Pledge of Allegiance. Would you please stand with me for the pledge? Pledge of allegiance to the publication. We'll now move to our consent agenda. The items listed below are considered to be routine by the City Council and may be approved in one motion. These may include items that have been reviewed by the City Council in a prior planning session. There will be no separate discussion unless a council member requests that an item be removed from the consent agenda and considered separately. Council members, are there any such items tonight? Yes. Councilmember Schoonover. Item D, please, Mr. Mayor. Okay. Item D. Any others? Motion to approve the consent agenda would be in order. Mr. Mayor, I move to approve the consent agenda minus item D. As present. Second. We have a motion and a second with the city clerk, please call it all. Mr. Bacon. Yes. Ms. Boat? Yes. Mr. Gilmore? Yes. Mr. Schoonover? Yes. Dr. Felter? Yes. Mr. Vacus? Yes. Ms. Essex. Yes. Motion passes. 6-0. I'm sorry, 7-0. I'm looking back from last week or from two weeks ago. So item D is consideration of resolution number 24-1075 adopting the industrial revenue and tax abatement policy. Councilmember Schooner.

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