OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Overland Park City Council Meeting - November 17, 2025

City Council — Monday, November 17, 2025
BodyOverland Park, Kansas
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, November 17, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:11:29

Transcript — Verbatim
0:07

All right.

0:08

The clock on the wall says 7:30, so I'm going to call the Monday, November 17, 2025, Council meeting to order.

0:18

Clerk, please call the roll.

0:20

Mayor Scog?

0:21

Here.

0:22

Council President Rummert.

0:24

Here.

0:24

Council members Healy.

0:26

Cheatham.

0:27

Here.

0:28

Metritch.

0:29

Here.

0:29

Orlaza.

0:30

Here.

0:31

Kite.

0:32

Here.

0:32

Mosier.

0:33

Here.

0:34

Reese?

0:34

Here.

0:35

Passer.

0:36

Present.

0:37

Eunice.

0:38

Here.

0:38

Fox.

0:39

Here.

0:40

Newland.

0:41

Over here.

0:42

Mr.

0:42

Healy has an excused absence.

0:45

Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:48

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

0:53

And to the Republic for which it stands.

0:56

One nation.

0:57

Under God.

0:58

Indivisible.

1:05

Next on our agenda is the open public comment period.

1:09

And we have one speaker who has signed up.

1:11

Jeff Harkness.

1:13

Jeff, you want to join us over here at the podium.

1:18

As you may recall, there's a clock there for three minutes that will uh start green and end red when uh when your time is up.

1:29

So please give your name and address.

1:31

We look forward to hearing from you.

1:32

Jeff Harkness, 9407 Blue Jacket.

1:35

Just a couple comments about property taxes, Mayor and Council members.

1:39

Every year we go through the same process.

1:42

The people come to the city and county and complain about high property taxes.

1:46

Well, if you look at your property tax bill, well over half of it goes to public schools and the community college.

1:52

The city already has the lowest mill levy rate, and Johnson County has 19 cities to kind of co-administer.

1:59

And I think we need this year to start asking the question: should we start running our schools, our public schools, colleges, and universities like businesses, as opposed to the way it's going now.

2:08

Just start asking people and we can maybe build on this, start early.

2:12

Thank you much.

2:13

Thank you very much.

2:15

That completes our open public comment period.

2:19

So we'll move on to our public hearing tonight.

2:22

Item number one on the agenda, which is consideration of a 2025 budget amendment.

2:29

Welcome.

2:31

Good evening, Mayor and Council.

2:33

Each fall city staffs bring forward budget amendments as needed to make sure the city maintains ample budgeted expenditure authority to close out the fiscal year and remain compliant with state budget law.

2:43

This process includes publication of the proposed amendment, a public hearing, and formal adoption of the budget amendment by the governing body prior to the end of the fiscal year.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural████████████████████████████████████████████44%
Engineering And Infrastructure████████████████████████24%
Parks and Recreation█████████████13%
Fiscal Sustainability█████5%
Affordable Housing████4%
Budget Equity Analysis███3%
Public Engagement███3%
Transportation Safety███3%
Public Safety█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Overland Park City Council Meeting - November 17, 2025

The Overland Park City Council met on Monday, November 17, 2025, at 7:30 PM. The meeting included a public hearing on a budget amendment, recognition of outgoing council members, approval of several contracts and agreements, and adoption of bond resolutions. All votes were unanimous.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Jeff Harkness (9407 Blue Jacket) addressed property taxes, noting that over half of property tax bills go to public schools and community colleges, while the city already has the lowest mill levy rate. He urged the council to ask whether schools should be run like businesses.

Discussion Items

  • 2025 Budget Amendment: Staff presented a proposed amendment to increase expenditure authority for the Transient Guest Tax (TGT) fund and TGT Operating fund due to higher-than-anticipated receipts. The TGT fund budget was proposed to increase from $11,370,000 to $13,050,000; the TGT Operating fund from $2,525,000 to $2,900,000. After a public hearing with no further comments, the council unanimously adopted the amendment.
  • Proclamation – National Records Professional Appreciation Week: Mayor Scog proclaimed the week of November 9-15, 2025 as National Records Professional Appreciation Week in Overland Park, recognizing the Police Department's Records Unit for their work in maintaining records and improving efficiency.
  • Resolutions Recognizing Outgoing Council Members: Four resolutions (No. 5078, 5076, 5077, 5075) were adopted honoring Council Members Jeff Cox (Ward 6), Scott Mosier (Ward 4), Sam Passer (Ward 5), and Jim Kite (Ward 3) for their service. Each member spoke about their experiences and appreciation for staff.
  • Council President Report: Holly Grummert announced that the Luminary Walk at the Arboretum is nominated for USA Today's best holiday lights display and urged voting; also mentioned the Kansas City Press Association contest.
  • City Manager Report: Lori Curtis Luthor unveiled a public education campaign on e-bike and scooter safety, targeting kids, parents, and drivers, using multiple channels (website, newsletter, social media, school outreach). Also announced the launch of the Portfolio Homes program, offering free, pre-reviewed small-scale home plans to promote high-quality, affordable housing.
  • Transit Services Agreement: Assistant City Manager Jack Messer presented a three-party agreement with Johnson County and Lenexa for a pilot transit service from the Overland Park Convention Center to KCI Airport, funded by a $2M federal grant and a $600,000 local match (Overland Park contributing $200,000). Service will run daily from 5 AM to 11 PM with 25-minute headways, for approximately nine months. The council unanimously authorized the mayor to execute the agreement.
  • Public Works Items:
    • Supplemental Agreement No. 2 with HNTB for 175th Street design (amount $298,837; total not to exceed $2,771,752). Approved.
    • Supplemental Agreement No. 1 with Olsen for the Kenneth Road Bridge preliminary engineering study ($360,854.50), partially funded by Johnson County Stormwater Management Program. Approved.
    • Supplemental Agreement No. 1 with HNTB for Schweitzer Road improvements ($291,345). Approved.
    • Award of bid for street light maintenance to Custom Lighting Services, LLC (dba Black & McDonald) at $230,000 annually, with an option for two renewals. Approved.
    • Award of bid for field marking city utility locations to Integrity Locating Services, LLC ($181,750 annually, renewable). Approved.
    • Approval of the 2028 Neighborhood Streets Reconstruction Program, selecting streets in the Knoll Hills, Knollwood Heights, and James Place subdivisions (7.36 lane miles) at a projected cost of $16.75 million, funded by the OP MOVES sales tax. Councilmember Passer inquired about tree preservation efforts; staff noted ongoing pilots in the Wicklow project to minimize tree removal. Approved.
  • Bond Sale Resolutions: Finance Director Christy presented the successful sale of $13,050,000 in bonds (Triple-A rated) at a true interest cost of 3.175811%, with 14 bidders. Three separate actions were taken:
    1. Resolution 5079 accepting the bid (approved, roll call 12-0).
    2. Ordinance B-3502 authorizing bond issuance (approved, roll call 12-0).
    3. Resolution 5080 prescribing bond form, with a correction to the QCIP number (approved, roll call 12-0).

Key Outcomes

  • Unanimous Approval of 2025 Budget Amendment for TGT funds.
  • Unanimous Adoption of Four Resolutions honoring outgoing council members.
  • Unanimous Authorization of transit service agreement with Johnson County and Lenexa.
  • Unanimous Approval of All Public Works Contracts and Bids as presented.
  • Unanimous Approval of 2028 Neighborhood Streets Program list.
  • Unanimous Approval of Bond Sale Resolutions (5079, B-3502, 5080).

Meeting Transcript

All right. The clock on the wall says 7:30, so I'm going to call the Monday, November 17, 2025, Council meeting to order. Clerk, please call the roll. Mayor Scog? Here. Council President Rummert. Here. Council members Healy. Cheatham. Here. Metritch. Here. Orlaza. Here. Kite. Here. Mosier. Here. Reese? Here. Passer. Present. Eunice. Here. Fox. Here. Newland. Over here. Mr. Healy has an excused absence. Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it stands. One nation. Under God. Indivisible. Next on our agenda is the open public comment period. And we have one speaker who has signed up. Jeff Harkness. Jeff, you want to join us over here at the podium. As you may recall, there's a clock there for three minutes that will uh start green and end red when uh when your time is up. So please give your name and address. We look forward to hearing from you. Jeff Harkness, 9407 Blue Jacket. Just a couple comments about property taxes, Mayor and Council members. Every year we go through the same process. The people come to the city and county and complain about high property taxes. Well, if you look at your property tax bill, well over half of it goes to public schools and the community college. The city already has the lowest mill levy rate, and Johnson County has 19 cities to kind of co-administer. And I think we need this year to start asking the question: should we start running our schools, our public schools, colleges, and universities like businesses, as opposed to the way it's going now.

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