Following a months-long search, the city of Overland Park has found its new city manager to replace Bill Ebel, who retired earlier this year. Who is it? At Monday’s meeting, the Overland Park City Council announced Lori Curtis Luther as the new permanent city manager, just the city’s sixth in its history. Curtis Luther is not completely new to Overland Park, having served as assistant city manager from 2001 to 2005. She currently serves as the city manager in Beloit, Wisconsin, a position she’s held since 2015. She graduated from Olathe North High School and has a Master’s degree in public administration from the University of Kansas.
Source: Prairie Village Post

On Monday, the Leawood City Council unanimously voted to have city staff review the city’s sports court ordinance after receiving noise complaints about a backyard pickleball court. Background: Concerns about the ordinance were brought to the council’s attention by Councilmember Debra Filla, who said she had received complaints from residents in northern Leawood about a neighbor’s private backyard tennis court being used for pickleball. “This was approved for a tennis court,” Filla said. “The sound differential for pickleball is like having a ping pong ball on steroids. It is not a soft tennis ball.” She said there have also been issues with how late the court is being used at night.
Source: Prairie Village Post

Following the unexpected death of longtime city administrator Scott Lambers, the Leawood City Council on Monday unanimously voted to approve local business executive Patrick Geschwind as interim city administrator. Who is he? Geschwind served as an area manager for AT&T for 25 years before becoming a performance-based consultant with a specialty in interim management. He is the owner and senior consultant at Patrick Geschwind & Associates. Geschwind as served in prominent interim managerial roles before, including as interim city administrator for Roeland Park and interim CEO for Visit KC, Kansas City, Missouri’s visitors and tourism bureau.
Source: Prairie Village Post

Johnson County commissioners overruled the county planning commission Monday, favoring a less-restrictive set of regulations for solar farms that solar power advocates say is more friendly to the farms’ future development. What was approved: After a three-hour discussion and 36 comments from the public, the county commissioners rejected proposed rules recommended by the planning commission that had been criticized as some of the most restrictive in the country.
Source: Prairie Village Post