City Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening. Welcome to City Hall for the Tuesday, July 21st regular meeting of the Olathe City Council. 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. We'll now move to special business. We have a couple items under special business tonight. Item A is a proclamation recognizing the Olathe Noon Optimist Club on their 80th year. Here in Olathe, we're fortunate to be home of some exceptional civic clubs full of passionate volunteers who dedicate their time to making our community a better place for everyone. Tonight, we're celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Olathe Noon Optimist Club. So would club president Bob Quartz please come forward? Did I say Barb? It sounded like Bob, but it's actually Barb.

Thank you. All right.

So let me read the proclamation, and then if you want to introduce the folks that are here and say whatever you'd like.

Sure.

So I'll read the proclamation. It says, whereas for eight decades, the Olathe Noon Optimist Club has demonstrated a strong commitment to the principles of optimism, fellowship, and civic engagement. And whereas the club has contributed meaningfully to the quality of life in Olathe through charitable efforts, volunteer service, scholarships, and programs that encourage and support young people, including the Olathe Mayor's Children's Fund. And whereas the City of Olathe recognizes the lasting impact of organizations such as the Olathe Noon Optimist Club, whose members have given generously of their time, talents, and resources to benefit others. And whereas the 80th anniversary of the Olathe Noon Optimist Club is an opportunity to honor its history, celebrate its accomplishments, and express appreciation for its continued contributions to the community. Now, therefore, I, John Bacon, Mayor of the City of Olathe, do hereby proclaim July 21, 2026 is Olathe Noon Optimist Day and encourage all Olatheans to join in recognizing and celebrating the Olathe Noon Optimist Club for its many years of outstanding service to our community.

Thank you so much. Okay, we do have a few people from our club that have, are here as well for this exciting moment. I would like to, on behalf of the Olathe Noon Optimist Club, I'd like to thank Mayor Bacon the City Council, as well as you, the citizens of Olathe, for supporting us. And we certainly enjoy serving the youth of Olathe, and you may be familiar with some of the ways we serve the youth. In addition to the aforementioned scholarships, we also encourage youth that are interested in the arts. With Olathe's Got Talent, we encourage them to participate. They get scholarships. to go to more of an artistic kind of college that furthers their education. And a few of our winners are actually in the entertainment field. I think one of them is actually at the dinner theater in a performance right now. We also sponsor some essay and oratorical contests, which help youth to further enhance their speaking skills and their writing skills, which I don't have because I'm looking at my notes here. Recently, the Olathe Noon Optimist Club supported Olathe Northwest High School's Sources of Strength students and the videography students who successfully produced a public service announcement on the 988 crisis line. It is entitled, Five Minutes That Matter, and is currently being used by various suicide prevention groups in the Olathe community and beyond. It's available on YouTube for anyone who wants to use it. I'm going a little off script here. As a club, we also participate in hosting a Kansas District Optimist Golf Tournament, which will be on August 3rd. And all the proceeds from that event, and we've been doing it for many years, are donated for the purpose of sending youth who are battling cancer to camp for one week. It pays for their expenses and a medical team accompanies them so that their treatment is not interrupted. This offers them a nice opportunity to go camping and offers their parents some respite from the stress of caregiving. We always welcome participation in these events as well as new members. And more information can be found on our website, OlatheNoonOptimist.org. And once again, we thank Olathe for recognizing our 80 years of service to the youth of our community. Again, thank you.

So thank you, Barb. I don't know what. Good grief. Okay. And also the Optimist Club for all the work that you do in our community. It's amazing, and we wanted that to continue. So when I get to come and address your group once in a while, a year or so, once a year, I guess, and I get some really good questions from that group. So very active. We'll now move on to item B, which is a proclamation recognizing August 4th, 2026 as National Night Out. This event is a great opportunity to highlight some of the strengths of the Olathe Police Department, our public outreach, relationship building, and community policing. Here to accept the proclamation tonight is resident Ashley Squires and community outreach specialist Beth Wendell. So I'll read the proclamation. It says, whereas since 1984, National Night Out has been providing neighborhoods an opportunity to connect with each other and local law enforcement to come together with a shared vision of safer communities. And whereas the city of Olathe, along with thousands of communities across the country, will host National Night Out on August 4th to promote community policing and to emphasize the importance of relationships in maintaining safe neighborhoods. And whereas this gathering strengthens the connections between officers and residents allowing for improved communication, understanding, and a more caring and safer Olathe. And whereas it is essential that all citizens of Olathe understand the importance of crime prevention programs and the impact their participation can have on reducing crime, drug abuse, and violence in our city. Now, therefore, I, John Bacon, Mayor of the City of Olathe, do hereby proclaim August 4th, 2026, as National Night Out in Olathe in conjunction with the Olathe Police Department, Olathe Fire Department, Johnson County Med Act, and the National Association of Town Watch.

Yep, I'll speak for both of us. Thank you, Mayor and members of the City Council, for your continued support of National Night Out. This annual event brings neighbors together, strengthens partnerships with law enforcement and first responders, and helps build safer, stronger communities. On Tuesday, August 4th, neighborhoods across Olathe will gather for National Night Out, and Olathe police officers, as well as Olathe firefighters and Johnson County medic, will be visiting neighborhood events throughout the city from 6.30 to 8.30 p.m. We appreciate your support and look forward to another great evening of connecting with our community.

So thank you, Beth and Ashley, for being here, and good luck on the event next month. We'll now move to public hearings portion of tonight's meeting. Item A is a public hearing in consideration of Resolution No. 26-1058 regarding the structure located at 617 North Water Street, declaring the structure to be unsafe and dangerous, and ordering the property owner to commence repairs or demolition of the structure by August 20, 2026. Chief Building Officer Ryan Arter joins us for a presentation. And that's not Ryan, that's Chet Belcher. So. Ryan's on his way. Okay. Welcome.

Thank you, Mayor, City Council, Ryan Arger, Chief Building Official. I'm here to talk about 617 North Water. This is a single family residence with a detached garage structure. That is an unsafe and dangerous structure. Per Olathe Municipal Code 1502.250, we enforce these dangerous structures and also in compliance with Kansas Statutes 12-1750. This residence is on North Water at the cross streets of Mulberry in Water, just a little north of City Hall here. In a brief history, notices and violations were sent from our property maintenance group on several attempts with no response from the homeowner. During this time, we were informed that the property owner is deceased. And our next step was to get a hold of the next of kin to help us with the property. And nobody is taking responsibility or wants to be a part of the property rehabitation. So We are, it's essentially an abandoned property at this point and uncared for for the last decade or so. This year we started the abatement process and did some inspections and we're here today to finalize that motion.

Thank you, Ryan. Any questions or has anyone signed up to speak in this public hearing?

No, sir.

Is there anyone in the audience that would like to address this property at 617 North Water. Seeing none, a motion to close the public hearing would be in order. I move to close the public hearing.

Second.

We have a motion and a second. Would the city clerk please call the roll?

Mr. Schoonover? Yes. Dr. Felter?

Yes.

Mr. Bacchus? Yes. Ms. Hessex?

Yes.

Mr. Creighton? Yes. Mr. Dinault? Yes. Mr. Bacon? Yes. Motion passes 7-0.

So if there's no other questions or comments of council members, then a motion to approve resolution number 26-1058 would be in order.

I move to approve resolution.

Second.

We have a motion and a second. Will the city clerk please call the roll?

Mr. Creighton?

Yes.

Mr. Denault? Yes. Mr. Bacon? Yes. Mr. Schoonover? Yes. Dr. Felter? Yes. Mr. Bacchus? Yes. Ms. Essex?

Yes.

Motion passes 7-0.

Item B, I'd like to open up a public hearing in consideration of Resolution No. 26-1059 regarding the structure, a single-family detached house located at 414 East Cedar Street, declaring the structure to be unsafe and dangerous and ordering the property owner to commence repairs or demolition on the structure by August 20, 2026. Ryan is here again, so if you want to give us a brief presentation.

Yes. Thank you, Mayor, City Council. Once again, Ryan Arter, Chief Building Official, speaking on 414 East Cedar Street. This is actually a multifamily residence. It's been converted into eight units as unsafe and dangerous at this point. Once again, the municipal code that presides over this action. And the property is across streets of Southwater and East Cedar. And the brief history here is our property maintenance group has been working with the property owner and there have been several citations and violations in court appearances over the last few years. We were not granted permission to enter the property to do any inspections. So with probable cause, we got a search warrant and served that in April of this year and beginning the abatement process.

Any questions of staff on this from council members? Is there anyone? No one has signed up to speak. Is there anyone in the audience that would like to speak in this public hearing? Seeing none, a motion to close the public hearing be in order.

Thank you, Mayor. I move to close the public hearing.

Second. We have a motion and a second with the city clerk. Please call the roll.

Mr. Bacon. Yes. Mr. Spoonover. Yes. Dr. Felter. Yes. Mr. Vacas. Yes. Ms. Essex.

Yes.

Mr. Creighton. Yes. Mr. Dinnall. Yes. Motion passes 7-0.

A motion to approve resolution number 26-1059 would be in order.

I move to approve resolution 26-1059. Second.

We have a motion. Second. Would the city clerk please call the roll? Ms. Essex.

Yes.

Mr. Creighton. Yes. Mr. Dinnall. Yes. Mr. Bacon. Yes. Mr. Schoonover. Yes. Dr. Felter.

Yes.

Mr. Bacchus. Yes.

Motion passes 7-0. We'll now move to the 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 Member Vakas.

Could we pull item I?

I WOULD LIKE TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT L OR COUNCILMEMBER SCHOENOVER. THANK YOU, MAYOR. I'D LIKE TO PULL ITEM N IS IN NOVEMBER. OKAY.

AND L AND M FOR ME. Okay. A couple of questions. So I, L, M, and N are the exceptions. A motion to approve the consent agenda would be in order.

It was I, L, M, and N? I, L, M, I and M, or L and M are related. Okay. So we have 24 items on the consent agenda, so I move to approve the consent agenda as presented. Last items I, L, N, and M. Just for clarification.

Just for clarification, he said N like Nancy. Yes.

And you say L is associated with N. I said L is associated with M as in Mary.

Okay. So are we pulling M also? Yes.

Okay. L, M, N, and I.

Okay. Just clear as mud. Second that.

Okay. We have a motion and second with the city clerk. Please call the roll.

Mr. Schoonover. Yes. Dr. Felter.

Yes.

Mr. Bakas? Yes. Ms. Essex?

Yes.

Mr. Creighton? Yes. Mr. Dinault? Yes. Mr. Bacon? Yes. Motion passes 7-0.

Item I is consideration of resolution number 26-1064, repealing resolution number 24-1059, city council policy PI-1A, bidding requirements policies for public improvement projects. I'm sorry, who pulled that? I did. Oh, thank you. Council Member Vakis.

Thank you, Mayor. And I just asked City Legal to just give us a quick review on what we're doing here. Thanks, Bob.

Evening, Council. Mayor, Bob Gallimore, Assistant City Attorney. Mayor Potem, this is really a trailer to the ordinance that you passed two weeks ago, approving essentially what's in this policy with some updates, but moving them in the ordinance. with the other procurement policies. That ordinance will go into effect on July 27th, and so we don't want to have both the existing policy and this new ordinance operating at the same time because they cover the same subject matter. So this resolution will just repeal the existing policy the same date that the new ordinance goes into effect.

Okay, very good. Thanks, Bob. Thank you.

Any other comments or questions on item A? Seeing none, a motion be in order.

Thank you, Mayor. So I'll move to approve item A on the consent agenda as presented.

Second.

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

Please call the roll. Dr. Pelter?

Yes.

Mr. Vacas? Yes. Ms. Essex?

Yes.

Mr. Grayton? Yes. Mr. Dinault? Yes. Mr. Bacon? Yes. Mr. Schoonover? Yes.

Motion passes 7-0. Item L is consideration of an authorization of transfer from the street excise tax fund to the Dennis Avenue hedge lane and to Parker Street. Improvements project PN3-C-021-26. Thanks, Nate. My question on this particular, this is going to start the ball rolling on a potential $17 million project for improvements to Dennis Avenue from Parker to Hedge. Some of the comments, well, it's tied to item M, but so I don't know if you want to talk about them together. My concern is as we're tightening our belt a little bit and we're actually postponing some of our CIP projects, this project for 17 million, doesn't really add any additional lanes. It does have some turn lanes. But it talks about improving Dennis as far as curbs, sidewalks, and stormwater. But there are parts of this street that already have all of that. Matter of fact, the sidewalk goes all the way from Parker to Hedge. Now, if you go further west on Dennis, FROM HEDGE TO WARPLIFT OR LAKE SHORE, THERE ARE NO SIDEWALKS. SO I GUESS BEFORE WE START SPENDING THE TWO MILLION BUCKS FOR THE ENGINEERING AND ALSO I UNDERSTAND THERE'S SOME MONEY AVAILABLE, SO IF YOU WANT TO JUST KIND OF GIVE A LITTLE PRESENTATION, I JUST WANTED COUNSEL TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE READY TO GO ON THIS.

NEW SPEAKER THANK YOU, MAYOR, COUNCIL MEMBERS.

NEW SPEAKER YOU WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OREGON TRAIL JUNIOR HIGH, TOO, AS FAR AS SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT EXIST AS FAR AS STAGING FOR PARENTS PICK UP AND THINGS LIKE THAT, STUDENT DROP OFF.

Yep, I can do all that for you, Mayor. So again, Nate Baldwin, City Engineer. So thank you, Mayor, Councilmembers. So I've got a little presentation. I'm going to kind of talk about why we're proposing to do the project and then walk through. I've got some aerials of what we envision this project doing, and hopefully that answers some of your questions. And then if not, I will be here to answer your questions. So first off, it does... improved Dennis Avenue to a three-lane roadway, not the entire thing, and I'll get into that as we go through there. And there are other improvements to that. So this really is about safety and capacity. There's a lot of access management concerns with this, a lot of offset roads, and I'll go through that. Right now, as it stands today, Dennis has over 8,600 vehicles a day on that. It's a two-lane road, unimproved in sections. It also has a crash index of 4.3. But what a crash index tells you is anything above 1.0 probably needs to be addressed for safety reasons. This is 4.3. Over the past three-year period, this is the highest crash index road that we have in the city of Olathe. So it's not just capacity, but really a safety concern as well. For our traffic engineers, it's the highest priority project we have out there that we haven't already started. obviously like Santa Fe 935 is more important. But from the list, every year we put together the proposed CIP sheets. Our traffic engineers and transportation engineers in the office go through and prioritize those with a bunch of different rankings and criteria. This popped out to number one. And then as you mentioned, Mayor, we do have $6 million in surface transportation grant money that we get that through MARC. $6 million is the most we have ever gotten for an arterial road improvement through this program. So not just Olathe, but there's other people out there also saying that this project is highly important. So we'll start here at the intersection of Dennis and Parker. You can see up here, right here, a lot of uncontrolled access points to here, especially in that, the intersection influence area, right? So what we need to do is put some medians in there, help control traffic. People try to pull out as you're coming in there, and there's a lot of accidents at that point. Also, those turn lanes need to be extended. So that'll be part of this project as well. And then this section of Dennis, from Robinson to Province, we really don't have room to widen it. But you can see, I'm hoping that's showing up, yeah, these intersections are offset. And that provides a lot of conflict points. You're not facing where you're churning. So you get people churning out against each other and going on. So, again, this is another area where we have a lot of crash histories and accidents. What we're probably going to do in this area is put some medians in there to control access a little bit more where people have other ways to get around, force them to a little bit safer intersections with that. Then here we have two collect roads that come on to Dennis kind of in the middle, Robinson Drive to the south and Montclair to the north. They're offset there and that creates a very big problem. You have people trying to turn against each other. We really want to line those up, but instead of lining those up, they're a little too far away. We're going to put, a couple of roundabouts and connect them in. We call it a dog bone roundabout. So you'll be able to safely navigate through there and not have any concern with conflicting traffic patterns. And then we'll talk a little bit here. So this is the section of Dennis Avenue that's unimproved. This is where we'll widen it to three lanes, put curb and gutter, sidewalks on the south side. As you know, there are sidewalks on the north side. We'll also signalize the intersection of Edge Lane and Dennis Avenue. Right now what we're seeing a lot with the school is we get parents parking all through here. and this side just on the road, and it's only two lanes. So they try to pull off, but it only ends up leaving about one lane of traffic for people to drive through, and it's head-on traffic. So twice a day during the school, you have a lot of concerns with traffic there. We're still trying to study what we're going to do. We need to work with the school on how we can get a lot of those people off of the road and onto their property. So they need to be a partner with us on this project. But we also need... to widen this road and put some additional turn lanes in there to safely turn into the school and for some capacity improvements if we can't get all the parents onto the school property. So hopefully that helped answer some of your questions. If not, I'm here to answer any further ones.

So real quick. So Oregon Trail Pool is a city asset. So what on that screen that you're showing right there, what portion of that is city-owned and what's school district? I mean, are we going to help improve some of the parking there or the circulation or what's our plan there?

That will not be part of this project. The scope of this project is defined with those federal funds. We have to keep it on the hedge corridor. So we can't do improvements off to the parking, but that's where we look to the school district as our partner to help us with that. It may not be adding parking spaces. It may be how they circulate traffic throughout there. And we meet with the school district quarterly, and those are the type of items that we'll discuss, and we'll get them involved with this project as well.

Okay. Council Member Schoonover.

Thank you, Mayor, and thank you for pulling these items because I can attest from experience that this road, particularly in the morning, is just absolutely a nightmare. It is a bottleneck, and God help you if you ever try and turn left. I think it's dangerous, particularly when kids are walking to school and when parents are trying to drop off and then go to work. So I just want to say I fully support this project. And Nate, thank you so much for chasing the federal dollars on this one, because I think now this project needs to get done and it'll never be cheaper than doing it now. So thank you very much.

Thank you.

I think you've answered my questions. I like the idea of the dog bone roundabout to try to hook up Montclair to the north. Yeah, we're very excited about that. Okay. So with that, I would entertain a motion to approve item L and M, too. I didn't really have any other questions on M. Is it okay to combine those two? Okay.

So a motion to approve L and M. I move to approve the consent agenda items L and M. Second.

We have a motion and a second. Will the city clerk please call the roll?

Mr. Bacon? Yes. Mr. Schoonover? Yes. Dr. Felter?

Yes.

Mr. Vacas? Yes. Ms. Essex.

Yes.

Mr. Creighton. Yes. Mr. Dinault. Yes. Motion passes 7-0.

Item N is consideration of awarding contract to Vasquez Commercial Contracting LLC for construction of the Olathe Girls Softball Complex Concession Slash Restroom Facility Project PN 4-C-036-26. Council Member Schoonover.

Thank you, Mayor. And I... think this is a great project. I think it's absolutely needed. I just pulled it because I need to abstain from voting on it. So that's really the only reason why. But I guess if you have a...

If anyone has any other questions, I just... Well, I... Any other questions? Oh, okay.

Thank you. Nate, I'd love for you to present on it because I'm really excited about this.

Okay. Yeah. So thank you, mayor, council members, Nate Baldwin, city engineer. I've also got Johnny Brock is over here or park superintendent. So if there's some things I can't answer for you, I've got support right here, but this rendering, what you see before us is that this project is a combination of three different facilities out there. We've got restrooms and different facilities and concession stands. And in 2013, we did a facility report. So 13 years ago, we, We envisioned needing this facility here, and we've finally come to the day where we've got this. What we heard in the Parks Master Plan, the outreach, number one priority was taking care of existing facilities. This checks that box. The other thing we heard is restrooms. restrooms and restrooms. And this checks that box as well. This more than doubles the capacity of the restrooms and brings them all into one single location. It's not going to look exactly like this. The contract we have is for design-build, but this was the rendering that came out of that 2013 facility report. And really, by building this and providing these facilities, this is going to put us on par with other facilities like Blue Valley and JCPRD. And as we're competing for those tournaments, it's really important to stay up with those. Council Member Felter.

Thank you. Thank you, Nate. Does this put the girls' facility on par to be equal with the boys' facility?

I believe it does, yes.

Okay. And then the last time I was out there, there was a great need for shade. Is that being addressed at all?

I'm going to let Johnny talk about that.

Mayor, Council, Johnny Brock is Park Superintendent. When we redid the parking lot two years ago, we added quite a few trees in there. It's going to take some time for them to mature, but we have a plan to provide more shade in this area, yes.

You know, right in the middle, it's kind of on the asphalt where in between all the fields. Is there a way to do some sort of, canopy of some sort there because there used to be big trees, but they've been cut down. And that's where it's really hot.

Yeah, we've discussed adding some shade structures to this area to help provide shade for people using the facility. We also have shade covers over the bleachers. So on a hot day, you have a little bit of shade right there while you're watching the games.

Thank you.

Yep.

And, Johnny, while you're there, if you're at the concession stand here now, you're under a covered area. Are you planning to have some kind of a cover when you're standing for concessions on the west side of the building here?

We have spoke about maybe an eight-foot covered area to provide a little protection while you're placing an order, yes.

Okay. Very good. All right. Any other questions on item N? Seeing none, a motion be in order. I move to approve item N. Second. We have a motion and a second. Will the city clerk please call the roll?

Mr. Bacon. Yes. Dr. Felter.

Yes.

Mr. Bacchus. Yes. Ms. Essex.

Yes.

Mr. Creighton. Yes. Mr. Dinault. Yes. Motion passes 6-0.

We'll now move to new business. Item A is consideration of ordinance number 26-37 requesting approval to annex approximately 70.99 acres. Located one-fourth mile north of West 175th Street and US 169 Highway, it's ANX 26-0002. This annexation will eliminate an enclave of unincorporated land. The owner is pursuing annexation for future industrial development. Is there a need for a presentation on this item? Any questions? No.

Seeing none, a motion would be in order. I move to approve Ordinance 26-37. Second. We have a motion and a second. Would the City Clerk please call the roll?

Mr. Bacchus?

Yes.

Ms. Essex?

Yes.

Mr. Creighton? Yes. Mr. Dinnalt? Yes. Mr. Bacon? Yes. Mr. Skinover? Yes. Dr. Felter?

Yes. Motion passes 7-0. Item B is consideration of Ordinance No. 26-38 and Resolution No. 26-1067, authorizing the issuance and delivery of the General Obligation Improvement Bond Series 2026A. Bids were received today. For both this item and the next one, the general obligation bonds in item B and also the temporary notes in item C. For our funding mechanisms for city projects, financial strategy manager Kate Messer joins us for a presentation. Welcome, Kate.

All right. Thank you. All right. Good evening, Mayor, City Council, Kate Messer, Financial Strategy Manager. We have good news today regarding our geo and temporary note financing. So I'm just going to briefly walk you through kind of the details of both sales. So as with every issuance, when we go to market, we get rated by a rating agency. So Standard & Poor's was this one for both our geo notes and our temporary notes. They reaffirmed our current city ratings at AA plus for the general obligation bonds and then the S&P 1 plus for the temporary notes. Revenue bonds, we'll issue these later this summer, so you'll see those sale prices September-ish. In every rating opinion, we have highlights. And a lot of these highlights are evergreen for us. The outlook remains stable. The ratings remain stable. Strong economic growth in conservative budgeting has contributed with a track record conservative and sophisticated management team. So we take those highly. With every opinion, we also have downside scenarios. So what would it take for us to receive a downgrade in rating? And then also the upside scenario, what it would take for us to have an upgrade in ratings. So the downside scenario is always around our reserve levels. And if they continuously and sustainably reserve fall under the targeted And the policy stated policy reserve levels, and we can kind of see a downside scenario. Upside scenario, it's always kind of related to our debt burden. So we have a larger CIP. We issue more debt. So they kind of want to always see us maybe reduce that a little bit and then weather the storm of near-term inflationary pressures and revenue uncertainties. So, geobonds, par value of just over $19 million there. We got 10 bidders, and the best and lowest bidder was FHN Financial for a true interest cost of $3.17, and that's the lowest rate we've seen since 2021. Nice. Good on that front. Temporary notes, just under 173 million of par there for four bidders. The best and lowest was B of A Securities, which is Bank of America, and the true interest costs there of 2.726, which is the lowest since, what is that, 2022. So good news on both fronts of those ratings. Some of the major projects included in these financing cells in the geospace, we have 135th Street retaining wall, facility renovations, improvements, street reconstruction, modernization of fire stations. And then in the temp notes, you'll see some of the legacy projects there of Santa Fe, 119th City Hall parking garage and fire station. So three items up in front of you this evening. One is an ordinance for the geo bonds and a resolution for the geo bonds and then a resolution for the 10 minutes. And I'm happy to stand for any questions.

Any questions of Kate? No. Seeing none, I'm happy about the bids. Those are awesome. Great. A motion be in order.

So I would move that we approve Ordinance 26-38 and Resolution No. 26-1067.

Second. We have a motion and a second. Will the City Court please call the roll? Mr. Bacon? Yes.

Mr. Schoonover?

Yes.

Dr. Felter?

Yes.

Mr. Vakas? Yes. Ms. Essex?

Yes.

Mr. Creighton? Yes. Mr. Dinault? Yes. Motion passes 7-0.

Item C is consideration of resolution number 26-1068, authorizing the issuance and delivery of the principal amount of the general obligation temporary note series 2026-A. Any more questions, comments? Motion to be in order.

I would move then to approve Resolution 26-1068. Second.

We have a motion and a second. Would the City Clerk please call the roll?

Mr. Dinault? Yes. Mr. Creighton? Yes. Ms. Essex?

Yes.

Mr. Vacas? Yes. Dr. Felter? Yes. Mr. Schoonover? Yes. Mr. Bacon? Yes. Motion passes 7-0.

Item D is consideration of ordinance number 26-39 authorizing payment by the city treasurer of an eminent domain award and a court appointed appraiser's fees for constructing and maintaining the Santa Fe Ridgeview to Merlin improvements project PN3-C-025-18 in the matter of the city of Olathe, Kansas versus Olathe Landing LLC et al. Court case number JO-2026-CV-000808. This is the latest anticipated eminent domain proceeding to acquire public right-of-way and easements for this project. Is there a need for a presentation, staff, on this item? Seeing none, a motion be in order.

I would move to approve Ordinance 26-39. Second.

We have a motion and a second. Will the city clerk call the roll?

Dr. Felter?

Yes.

Mr. Bacchus? Yes. Ms. Essex? Yes. Mr. Creighton? Yes. Mr. Dinault?

Yes.

Mr. Bacon? Yes. Mr. Schoonover? Yes. Motion passes 7-0.

Next item on our agenda is General Issues and Concerns of Citizens. We have three individuals that have signed up to speak and address the council tonight. So at this time, I'd like the city clerk to please read the guidelines and invite our speakers up.

The council has extended this privilege to allow people who live and work in Olathe 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. Tonight we have three speakers. Would our first speaker, David Miller, please come to the podium. State your name and address for the record. Yes, please.

Welcome.

Thank you.

Appreciate all you all do.

My name is David Miller. I live at 15851 West Locust in Briarwood in Olathe, Kansas. I understand you're not voting on the Starfish proposal tonight. The formal hearing is expected before the Planning Commission next week. I'm speaking because I want our neighborhood's concerns heard before this proposal gains momentum. Starfish may be a great organization. My daughter has volunteered there many times, and we support her. I'm good friends with them because I know them through the Olathe Chamber. but I don't think it's a good fit for the location that they're proposing. The former Aldi property sits at the entrance to Briarwood. Our neighborhood has one primary way in and one primary way out. When the nearby school dismisses around 3 o'clock, traffic already backs up nearly to Santa Fe. Now imagine that same entrance becoming a daily destination for an organization that says it plans to serve more than 1,000 people a day. Aldi. reportedly served around 400 to 600 customers a day at that location. Starfish is proposing an operation that could create considerably more activity at an already congested entrance. This is not a remote industrial property with several access points. It's beside an established homes, it's directly across from the Olathe Public Library, and it's near the Indian Creek Trail. Some of our neighbors are concerned because of the homeless population has lived in the woods as well as when there was the quilting shop there, they would live on the sidewalks of the quilting shop and then also go to the public library. Recent reporting said Starfish wants to work with the transient population at the library. That statement matters because it connects the proposal directly to the public space used every day by families, students, and our residents. We've already experienced loitering, litter, and unauthorized camping near the trail and the wooded areas and at that particular location. Starfish has acknowledged similar problems near its previous location and expects to manage the challenges here. We do not want the trash spreading to our streets and our yards. We do not want additional camps developing along the trail or in our woods or at our library. We do not want our families becoming uncomfortable walking to the library, using the trail, or allowing their children to enjoy their neighborhood. Those concerns are not an attack on the people that they help. They are legitimate questions about whether this property can handle the predictable effects of this operation. The proposal also appears inconsistent with the City's goals for improving safety, mobility, and congestion along I-35 and the Santa Fe corridor. Adding a high-volume destination besides a restricted neighborhood entrance does not improve mobility. This property has not been vacant for decades or proven unable to attract an appropriate commercial tenant. There's no emergency requiring the city to approve the incompatible use simply to fill the building. It's a great organization, but the entrance to Briarwood's at the wrong location. Thank you for listening to me today.

Thank you.

Appreciate all you do.

Our next speaker is Jenny Steele. Please come to the podium. State your name and address for the record.

Welcome. Hey.

I love this room. I love city government, but the last time I was here, I was accepting a tennis shoe for pennies for shoes from our school for our school.

So it feels good to be back.

All right, Mayor and members of the Olathe City Council, my name is Jenny Steele. I reside at 13950 South Brougham Drive in the O'Briarwood neighborhood. I thank you for the opportunity to speak this evening. I'm here to share concerns regarding the proposed special use permit that would allow the Starfish Project Organization to operate a supply distribution location in our residential area. First, I want to express my genuine gratitude for the work Starfish does in Olathe. Many in Briarwood support their mission and we acknowledge the value of their service to neighbors experiencing housing insecurity and basic needs. However, good services must be paired with appropriate land use planning. And according to the city's own maps and demographic data identifying focus areas for lower income assistance, 135th and Brougham is not identified as a high need zone. There are no longer Title I schools in this immediate vicinity. From a city planning perspective, placing a high-traffic distribution resource outside of designated support service corridors creates unnecessary logistical challenges and fails to serve clients efficiently. Furthermore, Briarwood is an established single-family residential neighborhood. While mature neighborhoods naturally face aging infrastructure, stability is key to preserving them. Introducing an active non-residential supply distribution hub directly into a residential area undermines neighborhood stability and risks accelerating property value decline. Now, my family is truly deeply committed to Olathe. We want our tax dollars to support Olathe's growth and our schools and our neighborhood's future. but allowing a commercial scale service organization operation in a single family residential pocket is inconsistent with sound zoning and comprehensive planning. Now I will be offering this statement at the upcoming Olathe Planning Commission, but felt compelled to bring it here before any vote will occur. I'm asking that you deny the special use permit for the Briarwood location and instead encourage the placement of this facility in a commercially zoned corridor, better suited for high-density public access. I really appreciate your time, and thanks for what you do for our city.

Thank you. Our final speaker this evening is Robert Aslan. Please come to the podium, state your name and address for the record.

Robert Aslan, 1430 East College Way, apartment 41. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated and no warrant shall issue, but upon probable cause supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized. That's a direct quote of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution. There's no doubt in the city of Olathe, so-called automated license plate readers, or ALPRs, are more common by sight. These cameras purport to cut down on crime by capturing license plate numbers and personal identifying information as cars pass by, which is all searchable by law enforcement. Because these cameras constantly capture this information, thousands of Olatheans have had their information collected not only by local law enforcement, but also by corporate entities, Block, Motorola, etc., regardless of whether they are suspected of a crime. This is done on a mass scale and all without the issuance of a warrant, and I argue that these cameras are unconstitutional. In no fewer than three cases, Riley v. California, Carpenter v. United States, and Chetri v. United States, the Supreme Court has ruled that accessing electronic cell phone records consisted of a search under the Fourth Amendment and required a warrant. In Carpenter, the Supreme Court further stated that a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy in the whole of their physical movements. This system of what amounts to national mass surveillance directly infringes on that expectation of privacy. In my view, it's unconstitutional because unlike cell phones and other electronic devices we opt into using, there is no opting out of being surveilled. If accessing cell phone records is a search that requires a warrant, then I argue that searching for vehicles by license plate, location, or other piece of identifying information is a search and one that requires a warrant. And in some cases, this data has been abused by certain law enforcement officials, most concerningly a Kansas City Star guest columnist in Lenexa. The private firms that sell these mass surveillance systems to law enforcement claim that the cameras are instrumental in solving crime. Thanks be to God that Olathe is a safe town, far safer than most. And by all accounts, crime in Olathe is on an overall decline. Correlation, however, does not prove causation. There's not been substantial evidence that the installation of these cameras has directly resulted in a decline in crime rates across Olathe. If they did, they have played only a peripheral role. And furthermore, regardless of results, the owners of the vast majority of vehicles are innocent. And why must the innocent majority give up their rights for the criminal minority? For the contingent in this room that will continue to insist they have nothing to be afraid of as they have nothing to hide, consider the wisdom of one of the greatest Americans in history, Mr. Benjamin Franklin. Those who give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. I humbly request that the city of Olathe requires these cameras to be removed from city limits. Thank you for your attention and your consideration. Thank you.

Okay. We'll now move actually to item nine. We'll convene a planning session. We have one report that talks about noxious weeds. And so is there a need for questions of staff on this? I have a question. So I noticed that we're going to keep poison ivy on here. But I had an argument with a guy, a neighbor, and I told him what poison ivy is. Oh, no, no, that's Virginia creeper. What's the difference? Because Virginia creeper can cause a lot of the same issues that poison ivy can. So how do you...

address that uh mayor city council johnny brock is park superintendent so virginia creeper usually has five leaves yes and poison ivy usually has always has three for the most part so you could really tell the difference with that you can get a rash or from either one is that correct I mean, a lot of people are allergic to a lot of different plants. You know, it just depends on your skin. But poison ivy, for the most part, will cause a rash. I can dance in Virginia Creeper and not get a rash from it.

All right. Well, that's good to know. That's the only question I had because I thought they were similar as far as how a person reacted to them. But you're saying Virginia creeper is virtually harmless.

Yes.

Okay. Okay. I didn't know that. Thank you, Johnny. I don't see any other questions.

Thank you.

All right. We'll move now to item 10 for an executive session. What are you thinking, 20 or 30 minutes? 25 MINUTES? IS THAT OKAY? YES. SO A MOTION TO RECESS INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION WOULD BE IN ORDER.

Your mic. Thank you. Executive session 10 item A. I move that the Olathe City Council recess into an executive session to discuss personal matters of non-elected personnel for the mid-year review of the city manager pursuant to the non-elected personnel exception provided in KSA 75-4319 B1 for a time not to exceed 25 minutes and that we would expect to return to the council chambers not later than 815?

820.

820? 820.

Second. We have a motion and a second.

Thank you. Would the city clerk please call the roll? Mr. Bacon? Yes. Mr. Schoonover? Yes. Dr. Felcher?

Yes.

Mr. Vacas? Yes. Ms. Essex?

Yes.

Mr. Creighton? Yes. Mr. Dinnall? Yes. Motion passes 7-0.

I move to recess back to executive session for a time period not to exceed 15 minutes.

Second. We have a motion to second. All in favor say aye.

We are done.

So we are reconvening from executive session, our review of city manager, and I would just say we're excited about Susan Sherman's leadership and all the good stuff that she's doing and appreciate all her work and very happy and just excited to have you on board. With that, we'll go to additional items. I'll start on my left. Council Member

Thank you. Two items. First of all, I love our police department. Spent a lot of years on the Police Advisory Council and then the Police Foundation. Many, many Tuesday, August nights with the National Night Out Group, and it was hotter than blazes. This year, because there's something going on here about budget that I have to be at, I will miss it. So, Chief, that probably means we're going to have very seasonable temperatures, and it's going to be a nice evening. Hope that's successful. Seriously, folks, if your neighborhood is doing it, it is a good event. And one last thing. We are in primary election season. If you hadn't figured that out by all the signs, I encourage you to remember to get out and vote. Advanced voting is open. I have already been out and done mine. I am a very strong advocate of advanced voting because quite a number of years ago I had a I and a block of Olathe citizens had a bad experience. Poll workers messed up royally and we were denied the right to vote. It is a privilege, but beyond that it's a right and something we need to do. So I'm a strong advocate for advanced voting and as much as I appreciated the then Commissioner calling me and offering her apologies. The fact is I didn't get to vote. So I want to remind everybody, please get out and vote. It is essential. Thank you.

Council Member Schoonover.

Thank you, Mayor. And I will just echo what my friend Council Member Creighton said about going out and voting. I did it today. Twice. No, I'm kidding.

Vote early and often, right? All right. That's recorded. All right. That's all I have. Okay. Council Member Felter. Council Member Baucus.

Thank you, Mayor. So great to see Fire Station No. 9 open and have it open. What a beautiful building. What a great facility. That sets the standard for what Fire Station should look like. So has anybody here seen the movie One Battle After Another? Jimmy and I were talking. That's a movie with Leonardo DiCaprio. It's one battle after another. He's having a tough life being a rebel. Well, we're in the middle of budget season, and it's one battle after another. But I want to take a moment and thank the staff for their professionalism. You know, everyone is striving to do so much so well. It is a struggle, but we're getting through it. And it's amazing how well it comes together, given the quality of the folks that work for the city of Olathe. Thank you all. Thanks, Mayor. Council Member Essex.

Well, everybody said great things. I agree with everyone here. I just want to say I'm a little sad that I offered to test out the fire pole at Olathe Station 9. They had it closed. They said no way. So if there's an opportunity that I can just come and... Where's the chief? Okay. If I can just come and go down at one... I mean, I think I'd be all right. Ambulances are there, right? Just a second. Anyway, thank you so much. Nothing further.

Council Member Dinnall. Thank you, Mayor. I just want to say it's really, really hot out, and I don't like it. But as a reminder, there are cooling centers or places you can go to get out of it. Libraries are a good place to read a book, and I hear they have air conditioning. Also, there are, if you don't remember, we have two farmers markets. I don't think everybody does that, but the downtown one Saturday and the Wednesday Blackbug Park. And then... Lastly, I know Susan and I have talked about this, multiple people have, for the wonderful friends online watching this, of which I know there are probably many, that area at Santa Fe and I-35 is a big project, and I know it doesn't look perfect now, but I think we have some interesting and neat things that might be coming to spruce it up over these years as we see everything develop. So look forward to that.

City Manager Susan Sherman, anything?

Nothing further tonight.

I have a couple of things. I just want to remind folks that applications close at the end of July for our Olathe Citizens Police Academy, so you can apply online at olathecs.org. forward slash police if you're interested. And then it is budget season, so this is just a reminder that we have our second workshop coming up at our next meeting, August the 4th. Public input is an important part of the budget process, so if you'd like to give us some input on how you want us to spend your tax dollars, we appreciate that. You can go on our website at olathecast.gov forward slash budget for your input. And also, All the documents that we receive as a council will be posted there for your knowledge. So with that, I want to thank everyone for being here, for those watching, and we are adjourned. Have a good night.