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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Olathe City Council Meeting - July 1, 2025: Proclamations, Appointments, Rezoning, Transit Tax, and Sculpture Presentation

City Council — Tuesday, July 1, 2025

BodyOlathe, Kansas

SessionCity Council

DateTuesday, July 1, 2025

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:26:51

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:07

Good evening.

0:09

Welcome to the regular meeting of the Olatha City Council for Tuesday, July 1st, 2025.

0:15

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

0:18

Would you please stand with me for the pledge?

0:23

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and Liberty and Justice for a noticed our agenda looks a little bit different tonight.

0:46

That's because we are now live streaming our entire meeting.

0:50

Transparency and accessibility in local government are important to us, and this change supports our efforts to help our residents stay up to date and engage with our city even when they can't be here in person.

1:01

So if you're online tonight, you can see the whole thing.

1:25

So Dr.

1:26

David Spittle led MU for the past 12 years, and in that time his impact was felt far beyond the college campus.

1:33

We're honored to have him here tonight to allow us to recognize and thank him for everything he's done for Olathan and the impact he's had on Olatha.

1:41

So, Dr.

1:41

Spittle, would you please join me in the middle of the room?

2:07

So I've got a proclamation to read here.

2:13

Is that better?

2:14

Oh, that's right.

2:15

That's great.

2:15

So I've got a proclamation I'll read, then I'm going to let Dr.

2:18

Spittle say a few words if he'd like to.

2:20

So it says, whereas Dr.

2:21

Spittle has dedicated his life to educating and mentoring young people, including 12 years leading Mid-American Nazarene University as president.

2:30

And whereas under his leadership, MU has significant has saw significant growth and success, solidifying its place in Olatha not as an exceptional university, but also a steadfast community partner.

2:44

And whereas Dr.

2:45

Spittle's undeniable impact includes helping thousands of students grow to reach their full potential, shepherding countless young leaders into the world, including our community, and strengthening MNU to be able to continue this great work for generations of future students.

3:01

And whereas Dr.

3:02

Spittle has been a role model for servant leadership, vision, and integrity, and his legacy will continue to inspire and shape the future of MU and Olatha for years to come.

3:14

Now, therefore I, John Bacon, mayor of the City of Olatha, do hereby proclaim July 1st, 2025 as Dr.

3:20

Spittle, Dr.

3:22

David Spittle Appreciation Day.

3:24

With sincere gratitude for his years of service and lasting impact on Olatha and especially our young people and emergency and emerging leaders.

3:32

Thank you, Dr.

3:33

Spittle.

3:34

Thank you.

3:40

Thank you, Mr.

3:41

Mayor and the City Council.

3:42

Thank you so much for this.

3:43

I will treasure this and I appreciate it.

3:46

I have been asked two questions when I announced my retirement.

3:49

They were saying, what are you going to do after you retire?

3:51

Retire.

3:53

And the second one is, are you going to move away?

3:56

And the answer is, why would I do a stupid thing like that?

4:00

We have just uh Olathe is now our home.

4:02

Uh we have uh we want to thank Mayor and City Council for making this a great place for all of us.

4:08

And uh it's a place hard to leave.

4:10

One problem with that, though, um we have students coming from us, coming from all over the world, all over the United States, a couple of foreign countries like California and New York.

4:19

And once they get here, they won't leave.

4:21

And uh this is truly a place that they call home.

4:24

And so I want to thank uh all of you for your leadership for making making Olatha a wonderful place to live and grow and learn, and Mid America is proud to be a partner in that.

4:34

Thank you, Mr.

4:35

Mayor.

4:36

Do you want to introduce any of your guests?

4:38

I have I have some students have some members of my cabinet here.

4:42

My wife Donna Spittle is here tonight.

4:48

She's the cabinet that operates from my home.

4:51

Uh Daryl Anderson, my chief financial officer.

4:54

Uh Lisa Hood, Vice Associate Vice Vice President for Strategic Planning.

5:02

And Krista Jenkins works in our foundation, Todd Garrett, new vice president for University Advancement and Athletic Director, Carol Best, our Director of Communications, and the gentleman back there smiling, is the new president of Mid-American Azure University, Dr.

5:21

John North.

5:22

And we will wish him our best tonight.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Procedural██████████████████████████26%

Public Art██████████████14%

Community Engagement█████████████13%

Arts And Culture████████8%

Personnel Matters███████7%

Public Engagement█████5%

Engineering And Infrastructure█████5%

Public Safety█████5%

Historic Preservation████4%

Summary of Proceedings

Olathe City Council Meeting – July 1, 2025

Mayor John Bacon called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM with all seven council members present (Bacon, Vogt, Gilmore, Schoonover, Felter, Vakas, Essex). Staff in attendance included City Manager Michael Wilkes, Deputy City Manager Susan Sherman, and City Attorney Ron Shaver. The meeting was live-streamed for the first time to enhance transparency and accessibility.

Special Business

Proclamation for Dr. David Spittal: Mayor Bacon read a proclamation declaring July 1, 2025 as Dr. David Spittal Appreciation Day, recognizing his 12 years as president of MidAmerica Nazarene University. Dr. Spittal thanked the council and affirmed that Olathe is his home.
Resolution No. 25-1060 (Human Relations Commission): Appointed Kenny Stokes and reappointed Hector Silva (Chair) and Ben Hillman. Each spoke briefly about their commitment to community unity. Motion passed 7-0.
Resolution No. 25-1061 (Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop and Farm Advisory Board): Reappointed Connie Snider, Cara Rinne, and Kelly Peetoom (ex officio). Chair Don Seifert introduced them, highlighting their volunteer contributions. Motion passed 7-0.
Resolution No. 25-1062 (Persons with Disabilities Advisory Board): Appointed Evalana Vaughn. Chair Mark Gash introduced her, noting her theater work and American Sign Language skills. Motion passed 7-0.

Consent Calendar

Approved 7-0. Included: minutes of June 17, 2025; new and renewal licenses; acceptance of land dedication and final plat for Park 169, Second Plat (5 tracts, ~24.16 acres); and renewal of contracts for electrical lighting maintenance (Black & McDonald), traffic signal supplies (Mid-American Signal and Traffic Control Corp), fiber restoration (K&W Underground), and water valve/hydrant testing (Xylem/Wachs Water Services).

Public Comments & Testimony

Gene Senesac, Olathe resident and candidate for Johnson County Board of County Commissioners, expressed support for the new Olathe Police Department firing range project at New Century Airport. He praised the potential for collaboration with other municipalities and encouraged continued investment.

Discussion Items

Ordinance No. 25-19 (RZ25-0003) – Cardinal Brush Rezoning: Rezoned 2.38 acres at 15790 S. Keeler Terrace from CTY IP-2 (County Planned Industrial) to M-2 (General Industrial) to allow expansion of Cardinal Brush’s commercial brush and squeegee manufacturing. Planning Commission recommended approval 7-0. Approved 7-0.
Charter Ordinance No. 83 – Transient Guest Tax: Approved a charter ordinance and a two-year agreement with the Olathe Chamber of Commerce regarding transient guest tax. Previously presented as a report item on June 17. Motion passed 7-0.
Sculpture for 119th & Northgate Roundabout: City Engineer Nate Baldwin and Events Manager Renee Rush introduced a presentation by Adam Buete of Project One Studio (Indianapolis). The recommended sculpture, titled "Luminescence," is a painted aluminum structure with dynamic LED lighting, inspired by Olathe’s energy and forward focus. The design was selected from 227 submissions (including from Switzerland and Canada) and unanimously chosen by the Public Art Committee. Cost is under 1% of the total road project budget (per city policy on capital projects). Council questions covered paint warranty (10–20 years, longer life expectancy), LED reliability (easily replaceable with multi-year warranty), wind resistance (engineered to exceed local standards), and landscaping (to be designed complementary). Councilmembers expressed general approval of the colors and lighting. No vote taken; next steps include contract development and final approval at a future meeting.

Reports (Accepted Without Discussion)

Proposed amendments to Title 9 (Olathe Public Offense Code).
Proposed amendments to Title 10 (Olathe Traffic Ordinance).

Executive Session

Council recessed into executive session for 15 minutes (returned at 8:21 PM) and then for an additional 15 minutes (returned at 8:36 PM) regarding personnel matters of non-elected personnel per K.S.A. 75-4319(b)(1) concerning City Manager Michael Wilkes. Upon reconvening, Mayor Bacon announced that Wilkes plans to retire during the first quarter of 2026 after 27 years of service. Council members expressed gratitude and praised his leadership.

Additional Items

Councilmember Vakas requested information on mobile food vendors and wished everyone a safe Fourth of July.
Councilmember Felter expressed condolences for two firefighters killed in Idaho, asked staff to review policies for first responder safety, and praised staff responsiveness.
Councilmember Vogt requested an update on the City Auditor’s work plan; staff responded that a plan may take several months.
Councilmember Gilmore congratulated Wilkes and noted the strong team he built.
Councilmember Essex thanked Wilkes and wished a happy Fourth of July.
Councilmember Schoonover reminded residents about railroad safety, noted July as National Minority Mental Health Month, Disability Pride Month, and National Ice Cream Month, and expressed disappointment in the Attorney General’s recent criticism of Olathe Public Schools.
Mayor Bacon thanked Mayor Pro Tem Marge Vogt for running the previous meeting.

Key Outcomes

All resolutions and ordinances were approved unanimously (7-0).
Consent agenda approved.
Reports accepted without discussion.
Sculpture presentation was informational; a future vote will be held on the contract.
City Manager Michael Wilkes’ retirement was announced.
Meeting adjourned at 8:52 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening. Welcome to the regular meeting of the Olatha City Council for Tuesday, July 1st, 2025. 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 flag of the United States of America and Liberty and Justice for a noticed our agenda looks a little bit different tonight. That's because we are now live streaming our entire meeting. Transparency and accessibility in local government are important to us, and this change supports our efforts to help our residents stay up to date and engage with our city even when they can't be here in person. So if you're online tonight, you can see the whole thing. So Dr. David Spittle led MU for the past 12 years, and in that time his impact was felt far beyond the college campus. We're honored to have him here tonight to allow us to recognize and thank him for everything he's done for Olathan and the impact he's had on Olatha. So, Dr. Spittle, would you please join me in the middle of the room? So I've got a proclamation to read here. Is that better? Oh, that's right. That's great. So I've got a proclamation I'll read, then I'm going to let Dr. Spittle say a few words if he'd like to. So it says, whereas Dr. Spittle has dedicated his life to educating and mentoring young people, including 12 years leading Mid-American Nazarene University as president. And whereas under his leadership, MU has significant has saw significant growth and success, solidifying its place in Olatha not as an exceptional university, but also a steadfast community partner. And whereas Dr. Spittle's undeniable impact includes helping thousands of students grow to reach their full potential, shepherding countless young leaders into the world, including our community, and strengthening MNU to be able to continue this great work for generations of future students. And whereas Dr. Spittle has been a role model for servant leadership, vision, and integrity, and his legacy will continue to inspire and shape the future of MU and Olatha for years to come. Now, therefore I, John Bacon, mayor of the City of Olatha, do hereby proclaim July 1st, 2025 as Dr. Spittle, Dr. David Spittle Appreciation Day. With sincere gratitude for his years of service and lasting impact on Olatha and especially our young people and emergency and emerging leaders. Thank you, Dr. Spittle. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Mayor and the City Council. Thank you so much for this. I will treasure this and I appreciate it. I have been asked two questions when I announced my retirement. They were saying, what are you going to do after you retire? Retire. And the second one is, are you going to move away? And the answer is, why would I do a stupid thing like that? We have just uh Olathe is now our home. Uh we have uh we want to thank Mayor and City Council for making this a great place for all of us. And uh it's a place hard to leave. One problem with that, though, um we have students coming from us, coming from all over the world, all over the United States, a couple of foreign countries like California and New York. And once they get here, they won't leave. And uh this is truly a place that they call home. And so I want to thank uh all of you for your leadership for making making Olatha a wonderful place to live and grow and learn, and Mid America is proud to be a partner in that. Thank you, Mr.

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