At two separate open houses in June, Merriam residents showed up to City Hall to see the proposed plans for their new community center. On the walls hung posters listing its many amenities and a video showcased the site plan. “We asked the public what they saw as the future of recreation in Merriam, and we’re going to try to do our best to provide that,” said City Administrator Chris Engel at the June 21 open house. ... The appeal of a new pool is what inspired many residents to vote for the new community center back in 2016, when it [...]

“There are a lot of different experiences in the library’s summer programs,” said Jennifer Smart, Olathe Public Library children’s staff member. “The students get a lot of exposure to the arts, science, and more — and they have a lot of fun." Got Rhythm? was just one of the many programs on Olathe Library’s extensive youth summer schedule. Open to kids from preschool through high school, upcoming programs run through the end of August and nearly all are free of charge. In addition, free lunches are being served through the summer to anyone under 18 at both the Indian Creek and [...]

When Doug Klein heard that the Prairie Village City Council was considering a new round of guidelines designed to restrict some aspects of residential construction, he worried how they might affect the plans he and his wife had to expand their home. Klein, who lives on a corner lot on 71st Street, said he wants to add a master bedroom, bathroom and two-car garage to his mid-century home. He said reading about the proposed changes online, particularly those controlling the location of garages and minimum amounts of green space, raised concerns. On Monday, he was one of more than 50 people [...]

The word “park” is integral to Overland Park’s name, and residents care deeply about their public spaces. That was obvious Thursday night when about 100 people showed up for an open house to explore the future of Santa Fe Commons Park, 8045 Santa Fe Drive, in downtown Overland Park. “I want it to stay the way it is,” said Joan Norman, who lives on 80th Street and loves the 3.8-acre park’s trees and pastoral setting. “We need the green space. It’s the only green space we have in downtown.” The city is working with a consulting firm, Omaha-based RDG Planning and [...]

Two Kansas counties and two Missouri counties this week joined a growing tide of legal challenges to the opioid epidemic by accusing pharmaceutical companies of racketeering. Montgomery and Bourbon counties in Kansas and Lafayette and Worth counties in Missouri filed suits in federal court against more than a dozen manufacturers and distributors, alleging nine of them are in violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). Bourbon County said in its suit that it is acting "to abate the public nuisance caused by rampant and uncontrolled opioid use and addiction, and to recoup taxpayer monies that have been spent [...]

Olathe residents continue to lead the region in terms of recycling their garbage and expressing satisfaction in their city’s trash pickup services. But consultants see potential problems on the horizon and are advocating a number of steps as part of the city’s first solid waste master plan to make Olathe’s trash system more efficient and better able to deal with the city’s growing population. “We want to optimize the performance of the existing systems because you guys have a great program right now, and we want to continue that program,” Anastasia Welch, a project manager for SCS Engineers, told the City [...]

Prairie Village is one step closer to guidelines that leaders hope will help blend new large homes more compatibly into existing neighborhoods, preserving the small-town charm that people love about the city. The City Council endorsed a preliminary set of guidelines Monday night and is ready to seek input from residents on the contentious issue of teardowns and new home rebuilds. The guidelines would place restrictions on how oversized a house can look and how much land it can consume, plus add some rules for trees, driveways, garages and other aspects of residential development. (Read more: KC Star Local News)

Johnson County officials are concerned about a new policy that allows the Kansas Area Transportation Authority to keep records private and hold secret meetings. (Read more: KC Star Local News)