Twenty-one SH firemen will be contracted with Johnson County Fire District #1 next month. The change has been in the works about two years, as Overland Park has annexed land in the Spring Hill (JCFD#2) area, the decision was made to split #2 evenly between Overland Park and JCFD#1, which serves the Gardner Edgerton area. Dennis Meyer, fire chief for JCFD#1, said the change will not increase costs to local residents; however, the district will assume 21 Spring Hill employees, and #2 will contract for that management. Source: Gardner News

A proposed utility-scale solar facility was discussed by the Edgerton City Council at a work session Sept. 23. Johnson County is currently updating their comprehensive plan and zoning regulations to address utility-scale utility providers. NextEra Energy is considering a future solar facility in an unincorporated area. Area cities have been asked to review plans and provide comments. Following the regular meeting, council member gave feed back regarding the proposed solar regulations. They voiced concerns about the one-mile buffer area from cities which could impact future growth, buffering for neighboring properties, dangers involving battery fires and wildfires, the length of the term [...]

The off site signage land development code amendment was tabled for further discussion and vote at the Sept. 27 meeting. Commission members said they needed more information and time to decide height requirements for billboards after hearing from citizens at the public hearing. David Knopick, community development director, said it would be easy to strike out the one sign per parcel requirement maximum from the code and could be flexible moving the setback distance from 50 to 15 feet. Knopick said he would suggest and look into a conditional use permit process for signs wanting to be over 30 feet. “We could look [...]

Miami County commissioners met Sept. 1 for their fifth week of study sessions listening to expert feedback on various topics related to establishing a city within the county. The testimony phase continues through early September before county commissioners deliberate on incorporation of third class city Golden, Kan. It requires a 4-0 vote by the county commission. Residents in a nine square mile radius in Northwest Miami County north of Hillsdale Lake bordering Southern Johnson County have petitioned a proposal for the city of Golden. They hope to keep Edgerton’s intermodal warehouses known as Logistics Park from being built on land used for [...]

Gun owners and property owners  will now be held responsible for discharging firearms in unincorporated Johnson County. The ordinance passed 7-0 at Johnson County Board of Commission’s Aug. 26 meeting. Fines will range from a minimum $500 to $1,000 per violation. Discharged bullets that leave the boundaries of their property and land on another property without consent or are discharged on a property without consent will be in violation, Peggy Trent, chief counsel and county legal advisor, said. Trent said the discharge of a firearm is allowed in lawful defense or by a law enforcement officer, however. Calvin Hayden, Johnson county [...]

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Aug. 5 for the Hillsdale Water Treatment Plant at 22705 Moonlight Rd., Spring Hill, Kan. The ceremony marked the completion of an expansion and provides the treatment of water from four million gallons of water per day to seven million. The expansion was necessary due to the city’s growth and population increase. Source: Gardner News

A lack of land for sale, and an untested market has limited Edgerton’s residential growth, according to a recent housing study commissioned by ElevateEdgerton! James Oltman, ElevateEdgerton! recently provided information at an Edgerton City council meeting regarding a housing study. The board of directors for ElevateEdgerton! completed a study based only on Edgerton. ... He stated the final step in the process was the final report that showed the market analysis, overview of housing challenges and assets, directions for moving forward and a memo regarding the code review. According to the report, demolitions have outpaced construction in Edgerton with 23 houses [...]

The majority of Gardner residents have no issue with the current fireworks ordinance, according to survey results presented at the Aug. 2 city council meeting. According to Amy Nasta, deputy city administrator, the online survey had more than 3,300 responses and 52 percent had no concerns regarding the current ordinance. A survey was conducted thru Survey Monkey, an online software program. Nasta said the survey received the most responses from any city survey with 3,358 responses. Source: Gardner News

Elevate Edgerton! gave a presentation on Edgerton’s housing situation at the July 8 council meeting. James Oltman, president, said they had decided to work with RDG Planning and Housing Design for the city’s housing needs. Less than one percent of Edgerton’s houses were built in the last ten years with 79 percent being built between 1979 through 2009, he said. Oltman said Edgerton’s median rent is the third lowest in the county at $746 per month, but there wasn’t a lot of rental variety. “There is not a lot of supply,” he said. Oltman said the greatest shortage of housing is [...]

The Gardner City Council passed four housekeeping items during their July 6 meeting, including increasing truck route violation fines to $200 per violation. Randy Gregorcyk, council member, said he appreciated the work of Amy Nasta, deputy city administrator, for work on the ordinance. “The best way to get someone’s attention is by getting in their back pocket,” he said. Mark Baldwin, council member, said he wanted to know if they had considered raising fines with first a warning and then escalating exponentially the fines. “For habitual offenders $200 might not be a big deal,” he said. Source: Gardner News