Uh yes.

Motion.

I move the late state council recess into an executive session to discuss data relating to financial affairs or trade secrets secrets of a corporation pursuant to the exception provided in KSA seventy five dash four three one nine B for forty five minutes.

Because we need to get back here before seven, so we'll have thirty-five or forty minutes.

Okay, good seconds.

We got a second.

Uh a motion and second one.

City clerk, please call a roll.

Mr.

Bacon.

Yes.

Mr.

Schoonover.

Yes.

Dr.

Felter.

Yes.

Mr.

Vacus.

Yes.

Miss Essex.

Yes.

Mr.

Craighton.

Yes.

Mr.

Denol.

Yes.

Motion passes seven zero.

All right.

Yeah.

This will be a room full.

Good evening.

Welcome to the regular meeting of the Latha City Council for Tuesday, January twentieth, twenty twenty-six.

And to Ray for Nation in the Wall with the Liberty and Justice for all.

Thank you.

Before we get to special business tonight, I want to take a moment to recognize our outgoing city manager, Michael Wilkes.

Tonight is Michael's last meeting after 27 years with the city.

We've had a wonderful celebration for him last week.

Quite a crowd came out, which I believe demonstrates how much of an impact and influence he has had on our community.

Under Michael's leadership, Olatha celebrated many significant projects that moved our city forward, including raising the rails, the community center, redoing Lake Olatha, Mahaffey Visitor Center, two new libraries.

Actually, three.

We tore one down after it had water damage.

So a new police building, the fire training academy, new parks, new streets, and even a new interchange.

His significant role in our economic development has brought quality job opportunities to our residents and helped our city grow, including the exciting revitalization happening in our downtown.

Michael also created a culture of teamwork, leadership, and community pride in this organization that has allowed us to hire and retain the best local government employees in the nation.

So, Michael, thank you so much for all you have done for Olatha.

I guess our parting gift to you is that you finally get Tuesday nights off.

Okay.

So we uh on behalf of the council, uh enjoy your retirement and the time with your loved ones, and uh you deserve this.

So thank you so much for all your behind the so I guess after that you might have to say a few words, Michael.

Um just you know, I would say thank you.

Thank you.

That's um appreciate the the great event last week.

Uh, I have had a lot of folks reach out since then.

Of course, this has been going on for a while, but I've had just a lot of people reach out.

So you know, many things.

It's been a blessing.

It's been a blessing for me and my family to be able to raise my kids here and uh have my folks live here now, and so it's just been a huge blessing to us.

I love the organization.

I love the community.

We're staying here.

Uh it's going to be movie nights on Tuesday night from now on.

So uh with Holly and I.

So looking forward to that.

But uh yeah, just thanks to all the many wonderful people that I've worked for on the City Council over 27 years and the staff.

I I can't say enough about the staff here and and uh the the folks that really make the things work uh here, and so my thanks and appreciation to them.

They are, as you've heard me say, the secret sauce, so thanks to all of them.

So it's been a great ride, thank you very much.

I know that we'll be talking about the impact of Michael Wilkes that you've had on Olatha for years and years to come.

So great job.

We'll now move to special business.

Uh the first item is consideration of resolution number 25-1007, reappointing a member to the Board of Housing Commissioners.

Do I hear a motion?

A motion to approve.

Second.

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

Dr.

Felter.

Yes.

Mr.

Vacus.

Yes.

Ms.

Essex.

Yes.

Mr.

Creighton.

Yes.

Mr.

Denult.

Yes.

Mr.

Bacon.

Yes.

Mr.

Scannover.

Yes.

Motion passes.

7-0.

The Board of Housing Commissioners oversees our public housing program in Olatha.

Their work supports our efforts to ensure everyone has a high quality of life as well as an opportunity to reach their full potential.

So at this time, I'd like to welcome forward the chair of the Board of Housing Commissioners, Rick Heinick.

Rich.

I said Rick, I meant Rich.

Please come forward.

Okay, good.

Okay.

So John Benny was appointed to the Housing Authority in December of 2021.

During those four years, John has served in the most important position as the treasurer.

His responsibility as a treasurer requires him to several times a month, if not weekly, to stop by the housing authority to sign any number of checks, which can be sometimes 50 plus, believe me.

John has also served on two other committees.

He served on the 20-year comprehension planning committee and on the 2040 planning committee.

He recently retired from Hope Chapel Church, where he served in numerous capacities over 28 years.

John and his wife Kathy have lived in Olatha for tw 40 years and will be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this year.

They have two children and two grandchildren that are also Olatha residents.

John is looking forward to retirement and a part-time job at Heritage Golf Course this spring.

John Thank you, John.

And while we're talking about Kathy, Kathy's a retired nurse from Olatha North for how many years, Kathy?

Twenty-two.

Twenty-two years, so long time Olatha residents and contributors to our community.

We'll now move to item B, which is recognition of high school student champions.

We are a city of champions.

And tonight we are handing out City of Champion Awards.

These go to Olatha students who earned the title as the best in the state in their respective sport or activity.

This award gives us the opportunity to celebrate these young people for representing Olatha so well.

But also for showing us what can be accomplished with hard work and commitment.

We're proud to have such outstanding student champions right here in Olatha.

So would Olatha Public Schools Director of Athletics and Activities, Matt Johnson, please come forward.

Matt?

Good evening.

Thank you guys for having me.

Consequentially, I am retiring this year, and so when I'm back in April for my last one of these, I'll really enjoy that standing ovation that you guys gave Michael.

So yeah.

No, but congratulations, Michael.

Um one of the favorite things I get to do is uh come before you all three times a year to help recognize the accomplishments of students in Olatha, who in their activity or their athletic displayed, you know, um tremendous talent and skill and got recognized for that.

And the fact that Olatha does this three times a year to recognize these students really illustrates how awesome this city is because Olatha is this really big small town that has this great feel, and and my time in Olathe has just been amazing, and I just love coming here uh each time to do this.

So you guys did not uh come to listen to me speak, so without any further ado, I'm gonna introduce to you from Olathe East, Dr.

Mike Wolgast, the athletic director, to talk about a couple of his kids.

Thank you, Matt, and it is my pleasure to recognize a couple of our students from Olathe East.

Would uh Brindley Hudson please come up to the front, please.

Brindley is a junior at Alatha East and is truly a special individual.

As a youth, she was very active in competing at high levels in soccer and softball.

And then uh unfortunately had an issue where she was cleated in a soccer game that changed things in her life.

Uh that injury didn't heal as you would hope.

Lots of infections, lots of medical things going on.

And uh the final day of her sixth grade year, she was admitted to the hospital and eventually lost her left leg.

But that hasn't stopped her at all.

She's continued to play softball, believe it or not, as a catcher.

But then most recently she got involved in power lifting, and she is phenomenal at the bench press.

And so earlier this year, she was at a competition in Alabama and she did so well there that she was selected to represent the United States at the 2025 Para Power Lifting World's Next Gym competition that was held in New Cairo, Egypt.

And so in October, Brindley competed and placed second in the world in her weight class with a bench press of 147.2 pounds.

So congratulations, Brentley also will be heading back to Alabama at the end of this month in hopes to uh make it on to the next world competition that'll be in Chile.

So we hope and wish her well there.

Next with Caitlin Sparks, please come forward.

Kaelin is also a junior at Olathe East and has been one of the top gymnasts in the state throughout her entire career.

Prior to coming to Olatha East, Caitlin was also a top competitor in Arizona and was on their uh state team there as well in 2022.

Caitlin excels in various individual events, which have led her high placements in the all-around competitions throughout the seasons.

And this year was a great year for her.

We're in the Sunflower League.

She placed third in the all-around and then on to the state competition, which was held here in Olatha.

She did great in all the events and was fifth overall in the all-around, but she was also the Kansas State High School Activities Association 2025 champion on the beam.

So congratulations to Kaelin.

Thank you, Dr.

Wolgast.

It's my pleasure this evening to um recognize two former Ravens from Olatha Northwest High School.

Uh Daryl Kane Jr.

Would you make your way to the front, please?

Well, during um Darrell's freshman year at Olatha Northwest, he was involved in choir and represented Kansas as well as Olatha Northwest at the Congress of Future Medical Leaders.

Daryl is currently a sophomore at Olatha Northwest at Olatha North, where he is a member of the Medical Professions Program, host, and has continued his involvement in choir.

Thank you, Darrell.

Our second person to recognize this evening is Ms.

Abigail Dresbah.

Abby was the thespian award winner at the International Thespian Festival.

She is a 25 grad of Olatha Northwest High School, where she was involved in yearbook, NHS, link crew, and theater.

She has continued to stay active while during her time at Kansas State University, Go Wellcats, and is involved in newspaper, yearbook, and magazine because she just couldn't pick one.

So thank you, Abby.

Okay.

It's my pleasure to introduce to you uh Mr.

Dustin Pence, the Olatha North Theater teacher.

I have the honor of recognizing Lauren Ware this evening, who also won a Thespi Award for her design sound design at the International Thespian Festival.

Lauren Ware has been a valuable part of the Olatha North Theater Program for all four years of high school, working mostly with our sound and sound design crews.

In those years, Lauren has earned over 160 Thespian points, which means that she has served for at least 1,600 hours in the theater department outside of her school day.

In that time, Lauren has also competed four times in the International Thespian Excellence Awards or Thespies.

Lauren improved every year, including last year when Lauren took her sound design for the Olatha North production of You're a Good Man Charlie Brown to State and earned a superior.

Disqualified her for the international competition last summer, and she took that same event and received a perfect score for her thespi, earning her the International Thespian Excellence Award or Thespi.

Lauren is only the second student in Olatha North history and the Olatha Public Schools history to earn a sound design thesby.

Lauren is currently trying to repeat and took both a sound and set design thesby to state this year, earning a superior in both, and we'll have the opportunity to take both of them to the International Thespian Festival this coming summer.

Lauren's Thespies are a part of many festivals that are being recognized tonight.

And as long as my numbers are correct, that makes the Olatha Public Schools the largest public school entity with the number of thespies in the country.

Tickets are available at WW dot Olatha North Theater.com.

And Lauren in this case worked on the set on the set design, and so as you come in and you would see the set, that would be Lauren's work in that production.

Congratulations, Lauren.

I will now introduce Dr.

Sean Dimory from Olatha South.

Good evening.

I have the honor and privilege of serving as principal for Olatha South High School and have a chance to recognize two phenomenal Falcons tonight.

He is over at University of Kansas working on his uh bachelor's degree in music education.

So we look forward to bringing him back to Olatha to teach.

But tonight he's still a champion of our city, so we'll talk about him anyways.

Cole also took place in the international thespian competition and won a thesby for his solo as a tenor.

He's got a beautiful, wonderful voice, which is why he's studying choral education.

As Mr.

Penn said, we are just extremely proud of theater in Olatha.

Go see Annie and then turn around and come see our show a month later, Latha South.

There is no better place for theater performing arts than the latha public school.

So congratulations, Mr.

Cole Witt.

Our second student or student recognized tonight is Abby Vandevere.

Come on up, Abby.

Abby is a phenomenal student at Olatha South.

Most recently she has taken on a role not just as a student, but an employee.

She is now actually working for us as a paraeducator.

So in the morning she learns, in the afternoon, she helps others learn, and we're very proud of her for that.

Abby is getting ready to pursue a degree in special education at Emporia State.

And I have said numerous times and we'll say today on record in front of our city council dibs.

Uh when she graduates, she will be able to come back to Olatha South and work for us.

We'll find a way to make it work.

But tonight we're celebrating her because she took sixth place at the National Education Rising competition.

It's a competition held to recognize future educators and to show off uh their ability to lead and to teach, and we are so excited for the future she brings for Olatha South and for Olatha in general.

Thank you, Abby.

So congratulations once again to all of our champions.

And like uh was said earlier, we're looking forward to coming back and uh spending your careers in Olatha.

So 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, are there any such items this evening?

I don't see any flashing lights.

Uh council Councilmember Craig.

Uh I would like to pull item S and Sierra.

Councilmember Schoonover.

Thank you, Mayor.

I hit the wrong button.

Um I would like to pull items L and N, please.

What was N or I don't know the phonetic.

N is in Nancy.

November.

Yeah, November.

Any others?

Seeing none, a motion be in order.

Uh mayor, I move to approve the consent agenda.

That's items A through Y.

Less F, L, and N.

So 22 items.

Second.

We have a motion and a second.

So F was pulled as well.

No, S.

S.

Yes.

Okay.

Okay.

So we have L, N, and S excluded from this motion.

Okay.

All in all good.

Uh we have a motion and second with the city clerk.

Please call the roll.

Miss Essex.

Yes.

Mr.

Creighton.

Yes.

Mr.

Denalt.

Yes.

Mr.

Bacon.

Yes.

Mr.

Schoonover.

Yes.

Dr.

Felter.

Yes.

Mr.

Vacus.

Yes.

Motion passes.

7-0.

Item L is consideration of resolution number 26-1012 authorizing the 2026 neighborhood and school traffic safety improvements project.

PN3-C-048-26.

Councilmember Schoonover.

Thank you, Mayor.

And I appreciate this opportunity.

Nate, I saw you uh walk up.

So if you wouldn't mind, uh I know we had a chance to kind of communicate a little bit about this this project today, but if you wouldn't mind, I think just giving folks a background as to what what this project is, what this money goes for.

Yeah, I'd be starting.

And I'm I may have a few questions left after that.

Actually, I will, I promise you.

I'll hold you to it.

Uh Nate Baldwin, City Engineer.

So uh thank you for the opportunity to talk to you about this.

Um the uh neighborhood and uh school safety program is a project that we started two years ago in 2024.

And what this really was is we found that we'd get calls all the time from neighborhoods about kids walking to school or just pedestrians using their neighborhoods uh tourist streets, and how can we improve safety of um you know the speeding vehicles, um people walking to and from parks, schools, neighbors, wherever.

So this gave us an opportunity to uh install some safety measures and take a look at things.

So those items include some pedestrian refuge islands.

So you'll see in the middle of a road, there's a little island that you can call kind of uh a pedestrian can stop in if their cars go on other either side.

It also slows down cars.

Uh the R RFBs, which is the uh rectangular rapid flash and beacons, it's where you push the button and the kind of that you get the little strobe lights, and that helps bring people to awareness that there's a crosswalk there.

We've installed a lot of those.

So you know, I think one of the things that um Councilmember Schoonover and I talked about earlier is uh last year we had a very tough budget year, right?

So um this project in the past was funded at a higher level than it is today, but that's the case for a lot of our annual programs.

We had to make a lot of tough choices last year, and um that's kind of what we're the reality we're in today, and probably for the coming years.

But we're gonna continue to come back to you with this project, talk about it.

Uh one thing, Councilmember Schoonover, I failed to mention earlier, and I emailed uh council about it.

I don't know if you got to see that last Friday, but we were awarded a uh safety action plan grant, right?

In the total project value is about $864,000.

And Olatha is only going to have to pay for about $8,000 of that.

So that's 1%, 99% match.

And a lot of things that we're gonna do with that grant funds is things that we would do in this program.

So we're gonna leverage the $50,000, you know, the $8,000 will come out of it, and so then you're gonna be seeing over $900,000 spent on safety improvements uh in neighborhoods and around schools this year.

Thank you, Nate.

I really appreciate that.

If uh so if uh I'm sure we've all heard from from folks at at various schools or or parents um if if somebody has a concern with the traffic around their school or the pedestrian access to their school or in their neighborhood, how can they suggest that that that project for our consideration?

Yeah, absolutely great question.

So uh a couple things.

We've got our OLAF that connects, so they can get online, and there are drop-downs to a bunch of different traffic related things, and those find our way to our traffic engineers and we look at those uh other things we get emails or calls from the public.

And so uh like right now, um just those pedestrian refuge islands that I was talking about, we've got 31 locations right now that traffic staff is analyzing.

Those range in value from or cost from about 10 to 20,000.

So those are some of the things we look at doing.

Uh the RFBs that I talked about earlier, those flashing lights, we have 77 requests right now.

So not every request is going to be um a place that we think it's appropriate, but that tells you what the demand is out there, and those run about 33 to 35,000 apiece.

So there's there's a lot of tough decisions that we have to make.

So we really base that upon conversations with the school districts and what they're seeing, what our traffic engineers are seeing, and what's actually happening on the ground.

We try to leverage as much data as we can to make those decisions.

I appreciate that.

So uh I you know, as I mentioned, I've I've heard a lot from parents.

I will I will flag uh Black Bob Elementary.

I've certainly heard a lot of of concern around that elementary school, and I think it's it's one of our only schools in the district currently right now where enrollment is increasing.

But I know that there uh we've uh at least I've received a lot of uh concern from parents.

So I would certainly encourage us to look at that and and what improvements we need to do um around Black Bob Elementary to make that safer.

But I guess with all of the projects that we kind of have identified or in the hopper, uh you know, I know the answer to this question is is no, but it it is is the fifty thousand dollars ultimately enough, or should we be looking at additional ways that we can increase this pot of money um to help make you know the commute to school for kids a little bit safer?

Yeah, yeah, you know, we're always looking for additional money to do as much as we can out there, but um I think staff did a really great job of going after grant funding to really leverage what we've got this year to to do as much as we can.

Um you know, we're gonna come to you again with the CIP this year and have a lot of tough choices to make, and one of them is how much we spend on this program.

Okay.

Thanks, Nate.

Other questions or comments on item L.

Seeing that a motion be in order.

I moved and improve item L on the consent agenda.

Second.

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

Mr.

Schoonover, yes.

Dr.

Felter.

Yes.

Mr.

Vacus.

Yes.

Ms.

Essex.

Yes.

Mr.

Creighton.

Yes.

Mr.

Denult.

Yes.

Mr.

Bacon.

Yes.

Motion passes 7-0.

Item N is consideration of resolution number 26-1014 authorizing the 2026 streetlight LED conversion and maintenance project PN3-C-009-26.

Councilmember Scoonover.

Thank you, Mary.

And I pulled this one just based on uh the conversation that we were having before.

One of the questions that I asked Nate um uh earlier today was essentially whether it made sense to switch the numbers that were associated with these two projects to allocate 150,000 to the school of traffic safety and then fifty thousand dollars instead to to the uh LED conversion project.

I think based on on your on what you told us that some of that grant money that we just received is going towards the school safety projects and all of all I I think I'm satisfied, so I don't think we need any other questions on item N.

Motion be in order.

I move to approve, improve, approve item N on the consent agenda.

Second.

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

Mr.

Creighton.

Yes.

Mr.

Denult.

Yes.

Mr.

Bacon.

Yes.

Mr.

Schoonover.

Yes.

Dr.

Felter.

Yes.

Mr.

Vaucus.

Yes.

Ms.

Essex.

Yes.

Motion passes 7-0.

Item S is consideration of an agreement with BNSF Rail Ray for funding of the BNSF West Track Separation Preliminary Engineering Project PN3-C-029-24.

Councilmember Creighton.

Ms.

Excuse me.

Mr.

Baldwin, thank you.

And I apologize.

I realize that of all the phone calls I made in the last few days, I forgot your view all on this.

This is the beginning of a what could be a very major project in Olatha.

West rails have been an impediment to safety to transportation and can impact the redevelopment of the downtown.

Could you just take a quick moment to two things?

One, just let the citizens know what's what we're doing with this tonight.

And then also, I think it's really great that we've got partners in this.

We got uh Federal Railway Administration as well as BNSF.

So those are big things to have.

So that's really all I want.

I'm I think what we're doing is great.

I just wanted a little bit of information on the record for our residents.

Yeah, I can absolutely provide that.

Again, Nate Baldwin, City Engineers.

So uh yeah, this is a very exciting night.

I think this is the first time we've ever gotten money from BNSF, right?

Usually we're we're the ones writing the checks for them for all sorts of things.

So um the fact that they're coming to the table for this project is a great start to a partnership that we need to have to solve things on the west side of town, right?

Um so um we've we've talked in the past, but I know we've got a couple of new council members who probably didn't see the presentation.

So what we're doing right now um with this study is we're working, and this just goes into what we have to do for the uh Federal Railroad Administration grant that we received.

So we have to provide them what we call a uh project management plan.

We um our consultants have finalized that.

We have reviewed that and we anticipate sending that to them this month.

So they review that as soon as that's approved.

That's when we can really start the study going.

So uh we would anticipate probably sometime this summer fall is really the first time that we're gonna have public outreach with that.

Um, I don't know if it's gonna take the FRA a week or six months to approve the the PMP, but we're just kind of at their mercy.

Um but but we're excited about it.

So you're gonna see later this year a lot of action on this.

Um we're gonna be coming to the public with ideas.

We're gonna be listening to their ideas and try to figure out what we can do you know with all these crossings on the West tracks to improve safety and traffic congestion uh on the west side of Olatha.

Thank you.

That's all I had.

Any other questions or comments on item S?

This is a good project.

We're looking forward to the report.

Unfortunately, it won't be here until January of 2028.

Or that's the latest date.

That's that's the latest.

So we hope to be done before then, but we really uh I really want to stress how much public involvement is going to be on this, which really lays the groundwork for the ability to us to move into projects and to get federal funding for those projects.

So uh this really sets the foundation for a lot of good things to come.

Great.

Thanks, Nate.

Thank you.

A motion to be in order on item S.

Thank you.

I move to approve item S of the consent agenda.

Second.

We have a motion and second with the city clerk.

Please call the roll.

Mr.

Creighton.

Yes.

Ms.

Essex.

Yes.

Mr.

Vacus.

Yes.

Dr.

Felter.

Yes.

Mr.

Schoonover.

Yes.

Mr.

Bacon.

Yes.

Mr.

Denult.

Yes.

Motion passes.

70.

We'll now move to new business.

Item A is consideration of ordinance number 26-03, which is RZ25-0018, requesting approval of a rezoning from the O office district to the C1 neighborhood center district with a preliminary site development plan for Solomon's Porch Assisted Living, located at 16560, Indian Creek Parkway.

Planning Commission uh recommends approval A to zero.

Um this proposal is for a 32-bed assisting living assisted living facility.

No one spoke at the public hearing uh last month at the planning commission.

Um is there a need for a presentation on this item this evening?

Councilmember Creighton.

I I do not need a presentation.

This is a uh rezoning.

It's uh land use.

It's a great thing that we need.

I know that area very well.

But there is one thing that I want to do, and I don't want to mean to get in the weeds, but I did ask staff if they could be prepared to comment on one thing.

Um you can go ahead and approach the approach the podium.

The um I know the uh this spot very well.

It's within a couple of blocks of my house.

It backs up to the office park that I used to work in.

And what I know is that there were issues with detention in that area.

And more than once I saw the uh current detention basin top, and once I saw a breach rather significantly.

So can you just tell me what's in this plan to alleviate that so we are not dealing with problems down the road for neighbors and sure.

So the um existing stormwater area is going to be extended along the east property line, and I can go ahead and bring up a visual to help as well.

So on the left side of your screen is the site plan and outlined in blue is the stormwater tract.

And in the right side of the screen is the uh wet detention area.

So that is being extended north along the east property line to account for the additional impervious services, including the building and the parking area of this development.

So it meets all Title 17 stormwater requirements.

Thank you.

I know when that was originally built, I'm sure Title 17 wasn't even heard of at that time.

So I just wanted to make sure that we were working on it and we were aware.

Thank you.

Councilmember Felter.

Thank you, Mayor.

This is an exciting project.

We need assisted living facilities.

Um a friend of mine and he's also insurers me.

Harlan Parker's office is right there.

And so I reached out and just said, this is going in, any input.

And he mentioned the road coming off of Indian Creek Parkway.

It's a private road into that actual complex.

Needed some sprucing up, maybe you know, new blacktop and curb uh repairs done.

And so I asked staff should this be a stipulation and was told probably not make it a stipulation because there's no enforcement really we could do because it's a private road.

But I I understand that the developer is willing to participate in the road renovation.

Is that correct?

Yes, that is correct.

I'm pleased to hear that.

I mean, it'll be better for everyone, and I know that it'll um make for good neighbors.

So welcome to Olatha.

We are really excited about this project.

Thank you.

Thank you.

So, as part of that, I mean, is there an owner's association that um is responsible for these access roads?

So that they're going to be a part of.

Yes.

So the existing access roads within the parking lot has shared access with all of the property owners within the Indian Creek office park.

Um this would be in addition to that association in the agreement for the shared maintenance of those access drives.

Great.

Any other questions or comment on this item?

Seeing none, a motion would be in order.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Uh I move to approve item uh 9A.

This is ordinance number 26-03, rezoning 25-0018.

Is this 9A or 8A?

I'm confused.

9A.

It is 9A.

Okay.

Okay, we have a motion a second with the city clerk.

Please call the roll.

I just want to be clarify it is 8A.

Thank you.

Okay.

So we all have 9A except for 8.

Okay.

Yes.

Mr.

Scunover.

Uh yes.

Dr.

Felter.

Yes.

Mr.

Vacus.

Yes.

Mrs.

Esse.

Ms.

Essex.

Yes.

Mr.

Creighton.

Yes.

Mr.

Denult.

Yes.

Motion passes 70.

We'll now move to item B, which is consideration of ordinance number 26-04, RZ25-0016, requesting approval of a rezoning from the C2 Commercial Center District to R4 residential medium density multifamily district with a preliminary site development plan for stellar apartments located south of 133rd Street and east of Blackfoot Drive.

Planning Commission recommended approval 7 to 0.

This project would include 280 residential units across eight buildings.

Thank you.

Okay.

Good evening, Emily Carrillo, Senior Planner.

As mentioned before you tonight, this is a request for rezoning and preliminary site development plan for stellar apartments.

The subject property is located near 135th and Black Bob Road and consists of just under 15 acres of undeveloped land.

The applicant is proposing 280 unit multifamily development that includes eight apartment buildings and associated amenities.

The property has been zoned C2 since 1988 and was previously planned for a retail center.

However, no final site plans were approved and the site has remained undeveloped.

So the applicant is requesting rezoning to the R4 district to allow construction of apartments.

The proposed development is consistent with and is supported by both of these designations.

So that paired with evolving development patterns along the corridor would suggest that traditional strip commercial development may no longer be most suitable at this location.

So with that, the proposal is consistent with several policy elements of the Plan Olathe Comprehensive Plan, including consistency with the plan, encouraging housing, nurse services, and support for a variety of housing types and densities.

So the development plan includes a mix of three-story buildings that top out at 37 feet.

You can see those highlighted here in the lighter blue color, and then three and a half story split buildings, go up to 47 feet in height.

Those are shaded in the darker blue color, all meeting UDO height standards.

Parking on this image is highlighted in orange, which is provided through a combination of surface spaces, garages, and carports that are all located internally to the site.

Access is provided from West 133rd Street and South Blackfoot Drive with internal connectivity to roadways.

There are two connected detention basins that are proposed along the western portion of the site that do meet Title 17 requirements.

And then lastly, the project does provide over eight acres of common open space, of which two acres is active amenities, which include a clubhouse, outdoor pool, dog park, walking trail, and gathering areas, all exceeding UDO requirements.

Approximately 35% of the existing trees will be preserved on site, primarily along the south and east property lines highlighted here in green, which does exceed our UDO standards.

Required landscaping and street trees are going to be provided throughout the site.

The applicant is requesting one waiver to reduce the required landscape buffer along portions of the south and east property lines as indicated here on the screen.

And staff is supportive of those requested buffer reductions as outlined in our report.

Kind of give you a better sense of the design and the quality being proposed.

This is kind of a bird's eye view of the intersection looking south and east from 133rd and Blackfoot Drive.

And then this is an image that kind of gives you a little more perspective on those three and four-story split buildings and kind of the how the the grade on the land and how that how that fits in.

The buildings are finished with class one bricks, stucco, and glass, and include lap siding accents in muted natural tones.

All facades do exceed UDO requirements.

Additionally, all units include patios and decks as required per code.

And each building provides the required variation in facade articulation, height variation, and expression techniques.

All public notice requirements were met with this project.

A neighborhood meeting was held on November 19th with no residents in attendance and staff has not received any additional correspondence at this time.

That being said, this application does meet the golden criteria for considering rezonings as outlined in our staff report.

And at this time, staff does recommend approval of the rezoning RZ25-0016 and the preliminary site development plan as stipulated.

That concludes my presentation this evening.

And we do have the applicant in attendance as well, and we're both available for any questions you may have.

Thanks, Emily.

Um questions of staff or comments.

Councilmember Denult.

Thank you, Mayor.

I just want to say real quick, I know with these housing developments, uh a lot of care goes into making sure they look right, feel right.

Uh placement in our city is good.

And I think this one's a really clean one.

It's in my ward.

Uh I think it's going to be it's got you know great walking um access to a lot of great amenities.

So I think this is a really good example of one that's going to fit pretty well.

So thanks to everyone for putting this together.

Other comments?

Seeing that a motion be in order.

I move to approve item 8B.

This is ordinance number 26-04, RZ 25-0016.

Second.

We have a motion and a second with the city clerk.

Please call the roll.

Mr.

Schoonover.

Yes.

Dr.

Felter.

Yes.

Mr.

Vacus.

Yes.

Miss Essex.

Yes.

Mr.

Craighton.

Yes.

Mr.

Denult.

Yes.

Mr.

Bacon.

Yes.

Motion passes.

70.

Welcome.

We'll now move to item C, which is consideration of ordinance number 26-05 requesting approval to annex approximately 4.57 acres located northwest of West 175th Street and South Merlin Road.

This property is currently a private Catholic school, and the property owner intends to continue that use.

This item was a report at our January 6th council meet meeting.

Is there any need for a presentation or questions of staff seeing that a motion be in order?

I move to approve item 8C.

This is ordinance 26-05.

An approval for an annexation of approximately 4.57 acres.

Second.

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

Miss Essex.

Yes.

Mr.

Creighton.

Yes.

Mr.

Denult.

Yes.

Mr.

Bacon.

Yes.

Mr.

Schoonover.

Yes.

Dr.

Felter.

Yes.

Mr.

Vacchus.

Yes.

Motion passes 7-0.

We'll now move to general issues and concerns of citizens.

We have a few individuals that have signed up to speak tonight.

So would the city clerk please read the guidelines and then call up our speakers tonight.

The council has extended this privilege to allow people who live and work in Olatha to address concerns to the city council.

Speakers must only address the council.

Council members are not required to respond.

The council has allocated up to three minutes per speaker and up to 30 minutes total for this portion of the meeting.

Tonight we have two speakers.

So each speaker will get three minutes.

The first speaker tonight is Charlotte O'Hara.

Please come to the podium, state your name and address for the record.

Welcome.

Good evening and thank you, Mayor Bacon.

John and I have known each other probably for at least 25 years.

Yeah.

Long time.

It's been a long time.

Well, I am here very concerned about the compressed timeline that you are under on the chief's practice fields and executive offices.

And it in it reads, in recognition of the fact that a representative government is dependent upon an informed electorate.

It is declared to be the policy of the state that meetings for the conduct of governmental affairs and the transaction of governmental business be open to the public.

And from the HB 2001, notwithstanding the provision of Open Meetings Act in the discretion of the chairperson of the council, and that's a coordinating the legislative coordinating council.

The chair person, one person that they that any review testimony, discussion, or provisions thereof regarding a proposed agreement shall not be open to the public.

And this was for the uh stadium and uh accelerate uh projects, including the Olatha.

And there's just so many questions.

We're we're asking the public to finance $975 million of this project in Olatha.

1.8 billion at the stadium, and that doesn't include all the CIDs and the TIDs and the IRBs and the TIFF districts.

This is a huge project.

We have a an apartment complex that is required to go through all of the stages of our planning, and all of this is open meetings.

But yeah, we're changing, we're changing the rules.

So I was at the um juvenile detention center this afternoon for Bible study.

And one of the verses just really hit me.

False weights and unequal measures, the Lord detests double standards of every kind.

And what we're looking at is that billionaires have one level of standards, and the rest of us have another.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speech speaker is Bridget Moore.

Please go to the podium, state your name and address for the record.

Welcome.

Hello, Bridget Moore, 1305 North Levy Drive.

Olatha, Kansas.

I got a real brief one, don't worry.

Now we've seen what's going on in Minnesota, Minneapolis.

ICE agents are entering homes in the cars without warrant signed by a judge, which is against the Fourth Amendment rights.

At least that's what I kind of remember for my constitutional law class.

Ice ages, ICE agents were going door to door in Gladstone the other night.

Once again, no signed warrants because if you're going door to door, you're not going to have it signed by unless you have like a really good list of who's going there.

Olathe is a very diverse community.

We celebrate that monthly.

We also have a wonderful police forces work to create connections with our diverse community.

A police force that has sworn to uphold the Constitution.

We've seen in most cities that are dealing with ICE that the City Council, the City Mayor, are the ones that need to take the lead.

It says pre-plank planning is an extremely important.

You know, at some time they're going to be here in Olathe.

So what will our city do when the folks are being pulled out of their cars or household doors are being knocked down by a battery rings?

We'll be able to protect all our Olathians.

Are we going to be able to protect our police at the same time?

Thank you.

Thank you.

We'll now move to convene for a planning session.

We have one report.

It's a report on a request for annexation of approximately 4.7 acres.

Any questions on that item?

Seeing none, we'll move to discussion items.

Our first item under discussion is discussion of the City Hall Parking Garage Project PN6-Cero Zero Three-24.

Good evening, Mayor, City Council.

Yes, uh, we have a very brief um presentation and discussion on the City Hall Park and Garage Project.

Uh we are currently in design, and so we have representatives from both Frequel Williams, our architect and uh Holtz or builder, it's a design build team.

So I'm gonna turn it over to Graham Still with Finkel Williams.

Thank you.

Sorry.

Sorry about that.

Um, Zach mentioned, we are starting into the design process for the Olatha City Hall parking garage.

And we just have a very brief introduction into that project.

Really wanted to highlight a few of the key main elements that we've discussed over the course of the last, I believe, just at two months, month and a half.

Some of the key elements are highlighted here.

We really have focused on the guiding principles and priorities, what really makes sense for this garage.

And one of the key elements that we really needed to take into account is the structural system.

It really boils down on a parking garage into cast in place or pre-cast concrete.

And so the team, all of the stakeholders have kind of come to a conclusion, and we wanted to share that and share some of the thought process as to how we ended up there.

And then lastly, we wanted to really highlight and share who we've met with in terms of stakeholder meetings.

It's not just been the team from Finkel Williams, our parking consultant now to Chicago, Desmond, Nab Holes.

We also have the consultants in the city, or I'm sorry, our MEP consultants and landscape and civil, but many other stakeholders throughout City of Olatha.

So the general guiding principles.

I want to say three or four meetings with various stakeholders, whether it was uh Zach and Laura or taking away from meeting with the pre-application meetings with the planning department or our interaction with the partners at the county who are also playing a part in this.

And so really the key elements were employee and citizen focused, fiscally responsible now and into the future, and that's kind of one of the key driving elements in terms of the structural system that we we landed on.

Civic stewardship, which aligns with that as well.

Experience centered, highly collaborative process, which we'll hopefully highlight.

And the idea that this is more than just a garage.

It's kind of center point in three highly important aspects of the downtown kind of corridor.

You have the county courthouse, city hall, obviously, and then the addition of the library.

And so, how can we make this a fourth structure that relates to three different uh somewhat disparate designed buildings?

They don't all necessarily look the same, feel the same, but they all have a civic purpose that we wanted this to tie into.

That being said, the guiding principles really boiled down to something that we've heard multiple times from various stakeholders throughout throughout the uh meetings.

Maximize parking, aesthetics, and safety.

Um we've heard these over and over with one not being more important than the others.

Um, we don't want to make a five-story garage that is an ugly block, but you could fit more and more parking in.

So it's a balance between all three of these things.

So that being said, that leads us into kind of how we selected the structural system.

We have the design build team, Desmond, Finkel Williams, and Nab Holtz in particular.

Uh Desmond is our parking consultant, but they also perform the structural engineering.

So they have quite a bit of experience with both pre-cast and cast in place structures.

Uh they do parking garages all over the country.

Uh, they're subject matter experts, uh, as well as NAB Holz with their understanding of the local contractor environment.

Um we base the structural system evaluation on this series of factors, including uh the highlighted ones as being probably the most important or most valuable for this project.

Initial construction cost, long-term maintenance, um, construction schedule is kind of a wash between the two.

Availability of labor, again, is a wash between the two.

Flexibility to meet special framing conditions was not nearly as important, but the appearance of the exterior, the appearance of interior, impact on lighting and signing, as well as impact on fire protection.

Um in general, we our analysis found that cast in place does have a premium cost at the beginning.

Um, but mainly because of all of these evaluation factors really outweighs the benefits of pre-cast.

In addition to that, working with Desmond, they've done a lot of analysis related to other parking structures, and what they've found is uh the life cost uh over approximately 40 years.

You have a much more reduced uh long-term maintenance for a cast in place structure as opposed to a pre-cast structure.

And so ultimately the life costs end up being maybe within 100 to 50,000 of one another.

So that upfront premium, again, over the course of 40 years does start to go away.

And so that kind of leads us to again three principles as to why we chose or why we're leaning towards the cast-in-place structure, which is uh the pre-pay maintenance.

Uh you'll know it won't be as large of a budget item every year for continual maintenance and or less uh challenge in terms of staying up on top of the maintenance because it's a l a smaller cost.

The quality of the structure, there is a lot more openness associated with a cast in place structure as opposed to pre-cast, so there will be a lot more visibility through it, and so the perception and the feel of safety is another key element, as well as the quality of experience.

It's interesting.

Um parking garage.

Uh they have a pre-cast parking garage right next to a cast in place parking garage, literally butting up to one another.

And you can kind of walk through it and realize how much more open and um inviting as much as a parking garage can be, inviting the um the cast in place is.

And so all of those elements really have led to kind of our suggestion or the direction that we're proceeding with the cast in place at this point.

Lastly, just a quick summary of the stakeholder meetings that we've held in the last really in the last month and a half because of the holidays and Thanksgiving.

We've managed to meet with the City of Olatha IT and Infrastructure, Olatha Arts Commission, Olatha Persons with Disabilities Advisory Board, um, met with the Chamber of Commerce.

We've held a pre-application development meeting, and I believe we've actually scheduled our second or are in the process.

Um we've also had meetings with the Ovaletha Police Department as well as the Johnson County Sheriff's Office and some of their security representatives to make sure that not only is it a safe structure, but it's a structure that promotes safety to the surrounding buildings.

Um then lastly, ongoing, we continue to meet with the city and county stakeholders and have regular meetings, coordination meetings to maintain alignment on goals and schedule and budget.

So again, this is uh light on well, not light.

It has no pretty pictures at this point, but um we wanted to make sure that we were engaged and collaborative throughout the process so you knew why we um why we've ended up in this direction.

Thank you.

Uh it's an exciting project.

So um do you have a timeline tonight uh to share with us?

And then maybe I missed it and you shared it earlier, but are we starting construction in 2026?

And so when we're talking about construction scheduling, the play, you know, the plan for parking in the meantime, you know, with our county partners and the library and the chamber and all of us.

So that's kind of a concern.

Right.

I know the mayor introduced me previously, but I did not introduce myself, so I apologize for that.

Zach Hardy, Deputy Director of Infrastructure.

Yes, uh, we do have a timeline.

We anticipate starting construction in June of 2026, and the team we have very clearly stated that it has to be open by old settlers' days, 2027.

Wow.

And we have already started construct uh communications meetings with our communicate communications teams on uh putting together maps, uh alternatives for getting people around and parked in downtown and all the communication is gonna take place with our citizens, the county citizens, customers, visitors, all those things.

So yeah, we definitely understand that communication is a big piece of this.

It'll have a big social media presence.

We'll also have uh a project website once we get uh maybe a little further along in design.

So yeah, uh we definitely understand that communication is a big piece of this and it will be disruptive to downtown.

But it'll be great when it's done.

I think Councilmember Vacas was wondering what was happening to his parking spot.

So I think that's what we want to find out.

So you'll be communicating to all of us the temporary arrangement for parking.

Absolutely.

Yes, yes.

That is uh not just with you, but with with everybody.

It's uh we understand it's gonna be it's gonna be a big change for 14 months, and that uh we'll we'll have to you know work with people to make sure that they know where to park and and uh how to get around downtown.

Good.

All right.

Councilmember Schoonover.

Thank you.

Um and and thank you, Zach.

Uh just a couple of questions.

Uh first, I so construction is starting in June 2026 or anticipated to start June 2026.

And this is kind of a uh snotty question, but also a serious question.

Will the City Hall roof be done by then?

Uh that's not even the first roof dig I've got today.

So no, I I appreciate that.

Uh yes.

Uh the City Hall Roof, we had a meeting with call uh this this morning, and uh they do anticipate being done uh by the end of the month.

Great.

That that would be wonderful.

Yeah, exactly right.

Um so I do have uh uh an actual serious question about this on slide five, if we could go back just a couple.

Um I saw some numbers here, and it looks like we're talking.

Am I reading this right that that we're talking 9.2 million dollars for this for for for this uh uh parking garage that we have?

Because we've got 22 and a half in our budget.

So let's sign the deal now.

Now unfortunately, this is only for the structural elements.

So it was basis of the pre-cast concrete versus the cast in place concrete.

And so um with the parking garage, the majority of it is going to be concrete.

Uh so unfortunately it's also the majority of the cost.

Okay.

All right.

Well, that made me sad, but okay.

I accept that answer.

All right, thank you.

Councilmember Craight.

Thank you.

Two items.

And first of all, Mr.

Hardy, thank you to you and Laura for your time last week to get me up to speed on the project because I hadn't been on the council at that time.

So two questions.

One of the things, can you talk about the EV hazard as far as the charging stations and why why you are proposing to put them where you do?

And then because if there is an EV fire of a vehicle inside, they burn longer, they burn hotter.

Is the proposed construction type more likely to hold up better in the in that case?

And then the second thing would be a uh if we continue to have growth in the downtown areas is this design so that we can expand in the future if necessary.

Sure.

So yeah, right now we are tentatively we are planning to put the EV charging stations outside of the parking garage.

And we're kind of reworking the existing parking uh and the loop if you're familiar with that out there.

Um and really that's just kind of a best practice at this point is is uh putting those EV charging stations outside of a garage.

Uh in terms of the the danger of of having a uh EV uh electric vehicle parked in a parking garage.

You know, um I did look into that after we talked today.

It's it's minimal.

You know, most of your um EV fires typically happen when they're while we're charging, so that we mitigate that.

And then I've had just uh this tonight had some discussions with fire.

They aren't concerned uh, you know, in terms of uh anything in particular uh with having EVs parked inside a garage.

Um so I think I think we're okay.

Do you have anything else?

And I it's not necessarily tied fully to EVs, but the intention or you know, we'll uh the code does now require it to be a fully sprinklered building and uh the updated code and so um which I believe you either just adopted or will be adopting shortly, and so we're building it and designing it to that standard to make sure that it's fully sprinklered.

And then the second question on expansion if necessary.

Yes.

Yes, we did talk about that um as a uh potential to add to design.

So we'll continue to have those discuss those discussions with design uh when I spoke on the the um to to city council earlier or late last year on this project.

They there was some guidance to you know consider going bigger.

Um and we are budget driven uh at this point.

That's that's definitely an important component of this project.

Um but we we will kind of as uh as we work through design uh that's something we will definitely consider.

Um but we we will kind of as uh as we work through design uh that's something we will definitely consider Thank you that's all any other questions of staff or I guess the um designer I see none thank you for the information we're looking forward to this I think it's much needed I I spoke to uh Steve Howell last night and he's really excited too because he's gonna get some handicapped spaces for people that use the courthouse so um I know that's why they agreed to be a partner on this so we're excited for that too as well.

Thank you so much for being here.

Thank you.

Council uh the next item on our agenda is an executive session.

So do I hear a motion?

Oh wait a minute wait a minute.

Oh wait fire discussion of fire station number four project P and this is item two under discussion items sorry about that uh this uh project P and six-Cero two two-two five director of infrastructure Zach Hardy is here for that also and is I didn't see Jeff.

Maybe if he's here maybe you'd want to or somebody from the fire department that's not here tonight, but might want to comment on the A V charging as well.

But uh thank you, Zach.

Yeah again Zach Hardy, Deputy Director of Infrastructure.

And uh we do have uh Finka Williams.

Uh we've got Jessica Reid Schultz here to talk with about uh this project in particular and then we also have uh representatives from Centric.

So thank you.

Hello everybody I'm Jessica Reed Schultz.

I'm project architect with Finka Williams here speaking on behalf of our design team.

Um so just to take you through um what we're gonna show you today um introductions this is our broader design team we've been working with the department as well as our site partners for the past several months to get to where we are today.

Um we're gonna lead you through a bit of our process on how we've got to this point and show you where we're at with the latest plans and concept massing.

So we always start with our guiding principle principles and project goals so um we want to create a home to be proud of we want to maintain a high standard of tradition and excellence for the sleepless nights which is the nickname of the uh folks over at station four um we want to communicate and work together as a team we want to use daylight and outdoor connections where they make sense we want to be durable and fit and efficient to take the department's legacy into the future and as always health and safety um is paramount for the firefighters at this station.

So this is a Google Earth image of our site so that's um Merlin there to the left side of the site there's just a diagrammatic dash showing the extents of our um our property just off the page to the south is 135th and that's a commercial development to the to directly to the south this is another diagram just touching on some of the constraints that we are working within um just at a high level there's a stream cutting across the north and east edge of the site there's a pretty mature tree line um flanking that stream um and we the the city did acquire a new property directly or a new addition to the lot to directly to the south that has provided us some flexibility on where the station can go on this site.

So this is the current site plan that we're at today Merlin is on the left side of the page this station has three bays so that kind of wide stretch of pay pavement on the west is on access with those bays running perpendicular to Merlin.

We have um staff parking located to the north side of the site which is where it currently is today and we have some visitor parking oriented in this portion of the plan on the south.

This is a mood board and exterior palette that we've been working hard um as a team to develop for what the look and feel of this building will be.

These are inspiration images of other stations and facilities as well as materials we hope to incorporate into this project.

This is the journey that we've been on over the past few months showing a series of bubble diagrams and some earlier diagrammatic plans that we studied early on as well as some massing studies of what this station could look like that we've been studying as a group up to this point.

These are whoops I skipped a little teaser there of that rendering these are the current plans as we're at today so you the main public entry is on the southwest location of the site into the open office area the three um apparatus bays that I spoke of surrounded by their support spaces.

The gym is on the east side of the site facing that mature tree line and most of the residential functions are upstairs for this station.

Um with the living spaces facing again, that lovely um tree line on the back side of the site.

And this is a concept rendering of what that could look like.

So um we've kind of matched our massing and plans with those inspiration images.

Um we're showing that light material would be a um very durable brick or stone material.

Um we know we have to be within the class one and class two material requirements.

Um and that black would be um some sort of concealed fastener very architectural metal panel.

We're also showing it's a little dark on the screen, but um some warm wood um materials at the soffits.

And this is a view from the other side of the site.

Um more from that staff parking area.

Most of the staff will enter at that door um on the north side uh to go straight up to the living quarters.

Um we wanted to really celebrate that side as well of the building.

And that's it.

Great.

Looks great.

Um how old's the station that's there now?

How many years has it been there?

So over 50 years.

Yes.

Awesome.

Or no, right at 50 years, I guess.

Close to.

Um other comments.

So um construction will start on this um when you thank you.

Um I just have a little guilty pleasure question.

And this is with the creek back there and the Indian Creek being not very far.

Uh is there any room to ask parks to throw a trail in as another entry point uh right along there?

And then uh maybe a little pickleball court so that firefighters can come out and play when the kids are out.

Um we can look at the site plan and see what's possible.

That's all I ask.

Okay.

Thanks.

Any other comments?

Seeing none.

Thank you so much.

Looks great.

Okay.

Thank you.

Now I'm surprised you didn't jump up and wave and say, hey, don't forget about us because I almost skipped it.

Uh well, now we'll move to executive session.

Do I hear a motion?

Uh yeah, so I move on uh item A.

That's city council recess into an executive session for evaluation of an individual employee, a municipal court judge, pursuant to the non-elected personnel exemption uh provided in KSA seventy-five-4 through one nine B one.

How many minutes, Mayor?

Um I would guess probably uh forty-five minutes or thirty minutes at least.

You want to start with thirty minutes?

That'd be good.

Okay, good.

Second.

We have a motion and second of the city court, please call the role.

Mr.

Breaken.

Yes.

Mr.

Scannover, yes, Dr.

Felter.

Yes.

Mr.

Vacus.

Yes.

Miss Essex.

Yes.

Mr.

Craighton.

Yes.

Mr.

Denult.

Yes.

Motion passes.

7-0.

Okay.

Sorry, yeah.

Oh, I had to fill it right.

For fifteen minutes to be in order.

So moved.

Second.

Motion second.

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

We are reconvening from an executive session a motion be in order.

I move to authorize staff to proceed with the strategies discussed and with with and directed by the governing body.

Second.

We have a motion and second with the city clerk.

Please call a roll.

Mr.

Bacon.

Yes.

Mr.

Scunover.

Yes.

Dr.

Felter.

Yes.

Mr.

Vacus.

Yes.

Miss Essex.

Yes.

Mr.

Grayton.

Yes.

Mr.

Denult.

Yes.

Motion passes.

7-0.

I would just like to make a comment that we are very pleased as a council with Judge Jill's um work here at the city and want to continue her employment here.

So we um very much like her work.

Um we'll now go to additional items.

I'll start on my left.

Councilmember Cr Creighton.

Uh just one thing, Mayor.

And I was reminded of this a few days ago when somebody on an e-scooter was not following directions and almost ran into me or me, the him one way or the other.

Um at some point, could we get an update where we're at on our regulations of uh e vehicles?

So who's working on that?

Ron?

Are you working on that?

So uh sounds like a yes.

Sure.

No.

Um I think I can't recall if we did it with the old council or the current council.

Um talked about providing an update to the council about um east scooters and e-box.

We're having discussions between uh legal department, police department making sure that we're making the regulations clear for enforcement purposes.

Uh we do intend to bring you something here in the spring.

So uh we'll we'll get you something pretty soon on that.

And we'll uh it will address the cough cart thing as well.

Okay.

Thank you.

That's all I had.

Councilmember Scanover.

Thank you, Mayor.

Uh just uh a couple of things.

First of all, it w it's it's always so cool to see the high school kids recognized for for everything they do, even beyond the athletics to hear all of the the really cool things.

Um uh a lot of proud parents in the in in the audience tonight, certainly with good reason to be.

Um so thank you for coming and sharing that with us, because that's always neat to hear.

The other thing I just wanted to say is thank you to Michael Wilkes for three decades of wonderful service.

Thank you for your leadership and for your friendship over these last couple of years.

Certainly learned um a lot from you and wish you all the best as you move on to hopefully more relaxing pastures.

Councilmember Felter.

Thank you, Mayor.

Congratulations, Michael.

We're so proud of you and happy for you.

I'm gonna be watching uh at Lowe's Hill to see if you're keeping up with your goals to to do that.

It's hard, isn't it?

Yeah.

And Holly, you should be really proud of him.

It's nice to have you here tonight.

Yeah.

You're on a new journey.

We can't wait to see what you're gonna do next.

But we owe you a great debt of gratitude.

We're just excited for your next chapter.

Thank you very much.

Um the uh Olatha Human Relations Commission did a bang up job uh for those of you that were there.

Uh Dean and the Mayor were there for the uh Martin Luther King annual contest.

It was the 25th annual contest, and the theme was love.

Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy to a friend.

It sounds like a timely reminder.

And that's a quote from Dr.

Martin Luther King Jr.

himself.

And wow, the talent of our students and the level of engagement was outstanding.

So thank you to all of those that worked so hard into Garmin also for sponsoring it.

That's all I have.

Councilmember Bacchus.

Thank you, Mayor.

Uh it's a good day to be uh an O Lathian.

Joe Michael, again, from me also heartfelt thanks for all you do.

You're not really retiring, you're transitioning, and there's a lot more to come ahead, so I can't wait to see what it is.

Thanks very much.

Thank you, Mayor.

Councilmember Essex.

I also want to say congratulations to our student champions.

It was fun to see everything from um someone in band to uh I don't know, uh the sports if they were desbians.

Yeah, there were all kinds of I love to see all that.

So it was wonderful.

So and Michael.

Um I didn't make your um going away reception.

I'm so sorry I missed it, but um I think you know how much we appreciate you and and your contributions to this city.

Uh we'll be feeling them for years to come.

So I won't be joining you on Lowe's Hill.

But um, any time you want coffee, give me a call.

Don't be a stranger, and we so appreciate you.

Thanks for everything.

Council Mayor Denol.

Yeah.

I just wanted to say I'm very much looking forward to the to the grant of Safe Streets.

I think that's going to be really, really great for Olatha.

And then Michael, I feel like I just met you because I did.

But I hope to run into you many times in the years to come and we get to have some good conversations.

So thank you for everything you've done.

Left a wonderful city to get to oversee right here.

So City Manager Michael Wilkes or Susan Sherman, either one.

Anything for tonight?

Well, I want to make break the chain here.

As I'll say congratulations, but we also wanted to take a moment and introduce a new staff member to you.

So uh Jamie Robishad can make our way up here, Director of Economy.

We are happy to introduce our new deputy.

Um Jamie Ribashad Economy Director.

I am super excited to introduce you to Lucas Mellinger, who's our new Deputy Chief Financial Officer and Controller.

Um this is day six for Lucas, and he came to us um previously was serving in the role as assistant county administrator and finance director for Miami County for the past about five years before you came here.

So we're really excited to have him on board.

He's already hit the ground running and has lots of projects and problems and things uh to look into.

So that's you know, that's never a dull moment in the finance world.

Well, great.

Welcome.

Nice to meet you.

And you're joining a great team.

So look forward to working with you.

Excited to be.

I've got a couple of items.

If you're a high schooler and you want to learn more about local government or careers in public service, and you'd like to uh possibly join our student um uh council, our city um Olatha Teen Council, you can do so or learn more about this at Student Government Day next month, February 6th, here at City Hall.

Students are invited to come meet the City Council, shadow city staff, and see firsthand why local government is so important.

This event is put on each year by the Olatha Teen Council, and you can find out about registration at our link at the Olatha Teen Council Instagram page as well or um a link at OlathaCast.gov at our on our calendar.

Um I did want to say something too about uh our celebration we had Saturday at Olatha Northwest.

Um I enjoyed the Madrigal choir, did a good job on a couple of uh um vocal pieces um for Saturday morning was cold.

They did an awesome job.

And um then afterwards uh some students came up to me and said, Mayor, would you be willing to just come meet with some students?

And these guys are there working hard on a Saturday on their robotics uh project, getting ready for a competition that hopefully they'll do well in South Dakota, then uh a regional here in Kansas City, metropolitan area, and then maybe nationals in Houston.

But um I got to meet uh two-year-old robotic named Lukey, and she was very nice and took some pictures, so I'll share those somewhere.

But uh yeah, uh dedicated students doing more of these outstanding things that our students do here in Olatha.

So um on a Saturday.

So that was exciting.

Um Michael, nice to see you, Holly.

Um looking forward to many more years of involvement in our community.

I know you're not done.

So um we'll get you plugged in and and anxious to see what's next.

That is I could say something about the Chiefs.

I know everybody wants to know all the stuff about the Chiefs, and we honestly are trying to be as uh forthcoming with information as soon as we have it.

So I'm gonna say some uh just some comments here.

So since the announcement between the state and the chiefs last month, we continue to receive a significant amount of requests for updates on the chief headquarters and training facility here in Olatha, and I'll share with you what I can.

This is the largest economic development project that we've had in our city's history.

Almost a billion dollars of investment that will transform Olatha into a premier destination.

Beyond the state-of-the-art training facility, this project will anchor a vibrant mixed-use entertainment district, bringing new restaurants, hotels, and retail to our community.

The Olatha City Council will consider an ordinance to pledge local incremental sales tax from a certain project area to the Chiefs project.

We must hold a public hearing and a vote before February 20th.

As of tonight, we have not yet set dates for the public hearing or vote because we are still working on details at this time.

When we confirm our public hearing date, you will know City Council agendas are published the Friday before our council meeting.

So keep these two dates in mind.

January 30th and February 13th.

Those are the Fridays before our next two meetings.

So we've also heard concerns from residents about how this project will impact their taxes.

This partnership utilizes star bonds, allowing us to fund this vision through future sales tax revenue generated by the project itself without raising taxes on Olatha residents.

I'd like to say that it's my intention for the Chief's training facility to make Olatha more prosperous, not less.

So with that, go Chiefs.

Thank you all for being here and for listening.

We are adjourned.