OCTOBER - 2009

County called “most economically vibrant county” in report by Kansas, Inc.

Johnson County has received top marks in economic vitality from Kansas, Inc.

Out of 105 counties in Kansas, Johnson County was ranked first in overall rankings in the County Economic Vitality and Distress report from Kansas, Inc., which was created by the Kansas Legislature in 1986. The organization was established to conduct economic development research and analysis regarding economic growth and trends in the state.

The 2008 Report Update identifies Johnson County as “the most economically vibrant county in Kansas.” The county also was ranked first in the 2007 and 2006 reports by Kansas, Inc. The annual report examines eight variables which relate to the overall growth, wealth, and dependent population in each county. These variables are used to evaluate and rank each county’s economic condition and strength.

“I’m very pleased to report that— for the third consecutive year — Johnson County ranked first in terms of overall economic vibrancy and was the only urban county in the state to rank in the top ten,” Surbaugh said.

“This report—which is produced by an independent, non-partisan organization—is further evidence of the strength of our local economy. It also emphasizes the fact that the quality of life in our community is highly desired, and that Johnson County is—indeed—a true Community of Choice where people want to live, work, and raise their families.”

In the report by Kansas, Inc., Johnson County was ranked first both the growth and dependent population categories in the Report Update and third in the wealth category.

The growth category was based on the net population change of Kansas counties from 1998 to 2008. Johnson County had the most population gain during that 10-year period, increasing by 101,370, or 23.4 percent, to an estimated population of 534,093 in 2008.

The dependent population category was based on two variables: the number of working age residents between the ages of 20 to 64 and the number of residents 65 and older.

Johnson County ranked first overall in the state, but sixth as a county in the percentage (61.3 percent) of working age residents to total population and eighth in the number of senior citizens to total population with 55,674 seniors representing 10.4 percent of the county’s citizenry.

The county’s per capita personal income (wealth category) was the state’s highest at $53,472 for a total of more than $8.2 billion. The county’s per capita property valuation was $15,411, or 29th in the state report. Another variable involved the number of welfare recipients. Johnson County ranked 17th with 2,218 people on welfare, or roughly 0.4 percent of the county’s population.

The state average per capita personal income was $36,525, ranging from Johnson County’s highest ($53,472) to $21,162 in Comanche County. Eleven counties, including Johnson, had per capita personal incomes above the state average. The other counties ranged from $36,912 to $40,419.

“Clearly, these successes are the result of all of us working together—not just County Government. But I am very proud of the work we do—as a local government—to support our community,” Surbaugh said.

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County Health Department Communicates H1N1 Vaccination Plan

The Johnson County Health Department (JCHD), in cooperation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), are following recommendations for the distribution of the H1N1 flu vaccine. With an approximate population of 540,000 individuals residing in the County and 200,000 of those individuals falling within H1N1 vaccination priority groups, JCHD understands the need to vaccinate targeted individuals as quickly and efficiently as possible. The plans include:

• Supplying vaccine to those that have shown an interest and ability to administer flu vaccine:
  
  o Hospitals
  o School districts
  o Childcare facilities
  o Pediatrician offices
  o OB/GYN offices
  o Family practice offices
  
  
• Once target groups have been vaccinated, JCHD will expand distribution to public providers.
  

The five target priority groups for initial vaccination are:

• Pregnant women
  
• Household contacts and caregivers for children younger than six months of age
  
• Healthcare and emergency medical services personnel with direct patient contact
  
• All individuals six months to 24 years of age
  
• Persons aged 25 through 64 years who have health conditions associated with higher risk of medical complications from influenza.

Initial doses delivered will be nasal influenza vaccine. Certain groups are not eligible for this live vaccine. Those eligible are healthy individuals aged two to 49 and not pregnant. Additional supplies of vaccine are expected on a weekly basis, including inactivated influenza vaccine.

As always, JCHD recommends individuals to take these steps to help prevent getting the flu:

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, or sneeze into the bend of your elbow. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
  
• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are also effective.
  
• Stay home if you are sick for seven days after your symptoms begin or until you have been symptom-free for 24 hours, whichever is longer.
  
• Get your seasonal flu and H1N1 vaccination when available.
  

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County Government to become classroom for visiting Olathe high school students

More than 50 students from Olathe Northwest High School will be special guests on Thursday, October 8, for a personal education about Johnson County Government.

Their classroom for the day will be moved from the Ravens’ high school to the Johnson County Administration Building and Courthouse in downtown Olathe. Their special teachers will include County Chairman Annabeth Surbaugh, County Manager Hannes Zacharias, and Election Commissioner Brian Newby.

Thursday’s visit to the Johnson County facilities is scheduled as part of the annual “Student County Government Day” sponsored by Wy-Jon American Legion Council in partnership with the Kansas Division of the American Legion.

The purpose of the program is to increase student interest in county government and citizenship, one of the principle goals of the American Legion. The annual Student County Government Day began in 1954 by the American Legion Americanism Committee of Kansas.

Student County Government Day will begin at approximately 8:30 a.m. with an official welcome by the County Chairman and County Manager and a presentation by Newby about the voting/election process. The kickoff activities will be in room 0200 in the lower level of the Administration Building, 111 South Cherry Street.

The Olathe Northwest students will then attend the weekly business session of the Johnson County Board of Commissioners. The meeting starts at 9:30 a.m. in the Board’s Hearing Room on the third floor. Each student will receive a certificate signed by the Chairman.

The visitors next will tour the Olathe Adult Detention Center, located across Kansas Avenue, from approximately 10 a.m. until breaking for lunch at about 11:15 a.m. at the Olathe American Legion Post 153, 410 Dennis Avenue.

Following lunch, the students will participate in a mock trial, beginning at approximately 1 p.m. in the Courtroom of Division 6 located on the third floor of the Courthouse. The mock trial is being organized by Johnson County Court Services and participants of its Youth Court program.

The students are scheduled to leave downtown Olathe by 2:15 p.m. and return to Olathe Northwest in time for school dismissal.

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Johnson County Purchasing Division, employee receive national awards

The Purchasing Division of the Office of Financial Management has won dual national honors in 2009.

The division has received its third consecutive Achievement of Excellence in Procurement Award from the National Purchasing Institute (NPI). And, Brett Wood, senior purchasing administrator for the division, was named Professional Buyer of the Year by the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing (NIGP).

NIGP’s Professional Buyer of the Year award recognizes non-supervisory professionals who have made significant contributions to purchasing, professional development, their own entity and to the Institute.

Wood is beginning his eighth year of service in public procurement for Johnson County. He reached the national competition by first being named 2008 Buyer of the Year by the Mid-America Council of Public Purchasing (MACPP). He received similar honors in 2007, when the Kansas Association of Public Purchasing Professionals (KAPPP) named him as their Buyer of the Year. Wood served as MACPP President in 2008. He is the first MACCP member to receive the NIGP award since 1989. He is also the first Johnson County purchasing employee to be named national buyer of the year.

NIGP has approximately 16,000 members in the U.S., and Canada. There are 2,600 member agencies in the two countries. The Achievement of Excellence in Procurement Award recognizes the Purchasing Division for organizational excellence in procurement. The award is achieved by organizations that demonstrate excellence in procurement by obtaining a high score on a rating of standardized criteria. The program is designed to measure innovation, professionalism, e-procurement, productivity, and leadership attributes of the procurement function.

The award is sponsored by NIGP, NPI, the National Association of State Procurement Officials, and several other professional purchasing associations. Johnson County is one of only 34 counties in the nation to receive the award in 2009. The county ranked in the top 10 percent both for all counties and of all government agencies in the U.S.

The awards were presented during the recent 64th annual National Institute of Governmental Purchasing Forum in St. Louis.

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Commission chairman named to Large Urban County Caucus

Annabeth Surbaugh, chairman of the Johnson County Board of Commissioners, has been reappointed as a member of the Large Urban County Caucus Steering Committee within the National Association of Counties (NACo) organization.

Her reappointment recently was announced by Valerie Brown, NACo president. Surbaugh has served as a member of the urban caucus since 2004 when Johnson County became eligible for membership by having a population approaching 500,000 or more. That population milestone for the county was achieved in 2005.

With national offices in Washington, D.C., NACo has organized caucuses to perform targeted efforts that focus on special issues of both large and rural counties. The nation has 3,141 counties.

The Large Urban County Caucus is comprised of a bipartisan coalition of elected county executives from the nation’s 100 largest urban counties. The caucus addresses broad needs and future challenges of urban counties, and focuses on joint national expectations for Congress and the presidential administration.

Surbaugh recently was named as one of only 10 presidential appointees to NACo’s board of directors. She has served on the national board for 14 years since being elected to the county commission 17 years ago. This marks her 12th year as a presidential appointee to NACo’s governing board.

She also has been reappointed to NACo’s Environment, Energy and Land Use Steering Committee. Surbaugh has served on this panel for 15 years.

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County officials attend forum to share ways to divert mentally ill from jail to treatment

Johnson County Fifth District Commissioner Doug Wood recently participated in a jail diversion forum in Bexar County, Texas, to explore effective ways that counties are diverting individuals suffering from mental illness from county jails to treatment facilities.

The forum, which occurred Oct. 1-2 in San Antonio, was sponsored by the National Association of Counties’ (NACo) in partnership with the Bexar County Mental Health Authority (Center for Healthcare Services) with support from the Eli Lilly & Company.

Wood has served on NACo’s Justice and Public Safety Steering Committee since 2005. Other Johnson County employees attending the forum included Mike Brouwer from the Mental Health Center, and Bret Cortright and Robert Keller, both from the Sheriff’s Office.

Johnson County, along with many counties across the country, have seen a high number of mentally-ill individuals being processed through the criminal justice system instead of receiving the proper mental health services. NACo and other supporters of jail diversion programs say investing in jail diversion programs is a more cost-effective and humane way to address the problem.

Participants at the forum heard from national and local experts on the various issues surrounding jail diversion. The forum featured a site visit to Bexar County’s award-winning comprehensive jail diversion program.

The host and key jail diversion speaker was Leon Evans, executive director, Center for Health Care Services, who heads Bexar County’s jail diversion efforts. The site visit included stops at the county’s Crisis Care Center, Restoration Center and Haven for Hope Facility. Evans is a member of NACo’s Board of Directors.

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County plans public hearing on proposed changes to CARNP map

The Johnson County Board of Commissioners has scheduled a public hearing at 7 p.m. Thursday, October 15, to receive comments regarding three proposed changes to the county’s Comprehensive Arterial Road Network Plan (CARNP).

The hearing will take place in the Board’s hearing room located on the third floor of the Johnson County Administration Building, 111 South Cherry Street, in downtown Olathe.

The amendments, as recommended by the Planning Commission, include:

• Modifying the CARNP map to remove “corridor to be determined” study area shown in the southeast portion of Johnson County; and,
  
• Establishing a CARNP Type I designation on the map for 179th Street as a complete connection between Metcalf and Nall avenues.

Both recommendations to modify the CARNP map were part of the Board’s decision in June 2008 to terminate any further consideration of the “South Metro Connection Study” that proposed a future route connecting U.S. Highway 69 to U.S. Highway 71 in Missouri.

The planning staff and Planning Commission also recommend the establishment of a CARNP Type 1 designation of 183rd Street as a complete connection between Nall Avenue and Mission Road

The Board also will discuss a recommendation from the planning staff to establish of a CARNP Type I designation for Nall Avenue as a complete connection between 167th and 175th streets. That proposal, however, was rejected by the Planning Commission.

Written comments regarding the CARNP recommendations can be sent by email to dean.palos@jocogov.org or by mail to the Johnson County Planning, Development, and Codes Department, 111 S. Cherry Street, Olathe, KS 66061.

More information is available by calling the department at (913) 715-2200.

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Commission Chairman seeks applicants to serve on two advisory boards

Annabeth Surbaugh, chairman the Johnson County Board of Commissioners, is accepting applications from interested residents who would like to be considered for four appointments to serve on two advisory boards for County Government.

She is seeking applicants to fill:

• three appointments – two incorporated representatives and one unincorporated member – to the Planning Commission; and,
  
• a firefighter or paramedic representative to the Board of Code Review.

Johnson County residents interested in being considered for appointment to an advisory board should submit their cover letter and current resume or fill out an application to the Board’s office at the following address:

BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
Attn: Appointments Clerk
County Administration Building, Suite 3300
111 South Cherry Street
Olathe, Kansas 66061-3486

Applications are available on the Board’s website at http://clerk.jocogov.org. For more information, residents should contact the Office of the Board of County Commissioners at (913) 715-0430.

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JCHD Receives H1N1 flu vaccine

The Johnson County Health Department (JCHD) has received 700 doses of H1N1 flu vaccine in nasal spray form. Six hundred doses have been allocated to Johnson County Med-Act for first responders. One hundred doses will be distributed at the Health Department to staff with direct patient contact and to limited, high priority, high-risk populations. Twenty-three hundred doses were direct shipped to Johnson County hospitals.

JCHD expects that the next shipment of H1N1 flu vaccine will be received in approximately one week. The plan is to continue distribution to priority groups as vaccine allotment allows. Media updates will continue to be made as more details are available.

Information is available through the Johnson County Health Department Flu Hotline – 913-826-1263 and website http://health.jocogov.org.

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County continues public hearing, defers action on proposed sewer district

The Johnson County Board of Commissioners has put a request for creation of a proposed sewer district, affecting the Blue Valley Riding Subdivision in southern Overland Park, on hold for a month.

On Thursday, October 15, the Board opened a public hearing on the project, heard concerns from two residents in the subdivision, and voted to continue the hearing until 7 p.m. Tuesday, October 27, in the Board’s hearing room located on the third floor of the Johnson County Administration Building, 111 South Cherry Street, in downtown Olathe.

The continuation will allow the Board to receive additional information from wastewater staff and to provide another opportunity for public comments regarding the project.

The Board also directed staff to provide adequate notice to residents and property owners in the Blue Valley Riding subdivision about the evening public hearing on October 27.

The Board also deferred further consideration on the request until its business session on Thursday, November 12, beginning at 9:30 a.m. in its hearing room.

The request includes the proposed creation of Contract District No. 1 of Blue River No. 14, authorization for $2 million to provide sewers to serve the district, and approval of a financing agreement with the developers. The district consists of approximately 75.7 acres located on the southeast corner of 159th Street and Metcalf Avenue in Overland Park. The project involves approximately 6,700 feet of gravity sewers, ranging in size from 15 inches to 18 inches in diameter.

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County recognized for increasing government transparency

One year after launching its Legislative Information Management System, Johnson County received the Government Transparency Award from SIRE Technologies in recognition of the County’s efforts to improve public accessibility to decision-making processes.

The award was presented during the Board’s October 15th business session to Casey Joe Carl, Clerk of the Board of Commissioners, and his team of deputies in the Office of the Board of County Commissioners.

“Active citizen engagement is a hallmark of any great community,” said Annabeth Surbaugh, Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners. “This system allows our citizens to access exactly the same information provided to the Board, to read the same reports we have, which provides both a greater level of transparency in our policy process as well as a greater level of accountability for the decisions we make.”

The Legislative Information Management System—referred to as LIMS—accomplishes two important tasks: first, it serves as a repository for the County Government’s codes, public policies, and regulations; second, it manages the entire legislative process, from an item’s introduction through final action, and automates much of the associated work, such as the production of notices, agendas, minutes, and reports. Because the system is web-based, it provides citizens with convenient access to all this information from virtually any location in the world 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The LIMS web portal is available from the County’s main website or directly at lims.jocogov.org.

The LIMS program also supports broadcasting capabilities, allowing the County to offer gavel-to-gavel coverage of its public meetings, with both live and on-demand options. The webcasting combines streaming video timed to correspond with agenda items as they are considered.

“The webcasting functionality is another example of how we’re becoming more accessible to citizens,” Surbaugh said. “That has benefits for both the County Government and the people we serve.”

The LIMS program was implemented in 2007 and was launched publicly in January 2008. The project costs for acquisition and implementation were approximately $400,000, paid out of year-end savings from the Board’s office over a three-year period, from 2005 through 2007.

In an effort to maximize its investment in this system, the County plans to extend the LIMS functionality to other policy-making bodies, including the County’s Planning Commission and four township zoning boards as well as the Johnson County Airport Commission, Developmental Supports Agency, Johnson County Library, the Mental Health Center, and the Park & Recreation District.

The LIMS program was designed using solutions provided by SIRE Technologies, a multi-national organization headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, specializing in document and content management solutions for state and local governments. The SIRE awards program, created in 2007, recognizes clients that have demonstrated excellence in state and local government operations by teaming with SIRE. Johnson County was one of three municipal governments to receive awards in 2009.

“As an enterprise solution, the system supports more effective management of policy information so that responsible decisions can be made to govern the community,” said Carl. “And the system makes that information available to the public, so citizens have access to information that affects them. By making government processes more transparent, we help build citizen confidence in County Government.”

Although the award specifically recognized increased transparency, the LIMS program has provided additional benefits to the County Government in terms of increased productivity and cost savings.

Chief Deputy Clerk Jeanne McAferty, who served as the project lead, said that the Board’s office has experienced a combined savings of approximately $40,000 from reduced paper consumption and the reallocation of existing staff to higher priority projects. Equally as important, McAferty indicated the system contributed to the County’s commitment to sustainable business practices by reducing the “white plague of paperwork” frequently associated with meetings of governing bodies in cities and counties across the nation.

McAferty estimates additional savings will be achieved as the LIMS functionality is extended to other policy-making bodies in the County Government.

She also credited the modular design of the SIRE system as being a key advantage.

“The modular approach to project implementation allowed us to develop an end-to-end solution based on our existing processes,” McAferty said. “As a result, we have a system tailor-made to function to our specifications, rather than a pre-made application designed with a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach.”

The modular design means future improvements can be made without extensive redesign of the core products. Plus, as new features or updates are available, they can be easily incorporated into LIMS.

Surbaugh said that the LIMS application helped to further one of her primary goals as the Chief Elected Official of Johnson County Government; specifically, bringing the people to the government, and the government to the people.

“The new system continues our strong commitment to involve the public in policy processes that are important to the future of Johnson County,” Surbaugh said. “The use of this technology will help people connect in new and interesting ways with their county government, and provide better opportunities to participate in the development of this community.”

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Health Department to hold public H1N1 clinic for Young Children and Pregnant Women

The Johnson County Health Department will offer a public H1N1 vaccination clinic on Saturday, October 31st, 2009 from 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. (or while supplies last) at the Northeast Offices complex, 6000 Lamar, Mission, KS 66202. Please enter through the south doors. Doors will open at 8:45 a.m.

Vaccine will be administered on a first-come, first-served basis to Johnson County residents only, for the following two priority groups:

• Pregnant women
  
• Children six months to four years of age

Healthy children ages two through four will receive nasal spray vaccine. Pregnant women are not eligible for the nasal spray vaccine and will be receiving an injectable dose.

Consent forms as well as vaccine information sheets will be provided before the clinic at www.jocoflu.org. It is encouraged to have the form printed and filled out when you arrive at the site.

For additional information, go to www.jocoflu.org.

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Number of Target Groups for H1N1 vaccination clinic expanded

In an effort to reach as many target groups as possible, The Johnson County Health Department has been able to expand the number of target groups for the public H1N1 vaccination clinic on Saturday, October 31st, 2009 (9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. – or while supplies last). The clinic will be at the Northeast Offices complex, 6000 Lamar Ave., Mission, KS 66202. Please enter through the south doors. Doors will open at 8:45 a.m. Vaccine is free of charge.

Vaccine will be administered on a first-come, first-served basis to Johnson County residents only, for the following priority groups:

• Pregnant women
  
• Children six months to four years of age
  
• Caregivers of infants less than six months of age or younger
  
• Healthcare workers with direct patient contact

Healthy individuals ages two through 49 will receive nasal spray vaccine. Pregnant women and children six months to two years of age are not eligible for the nasal spray vaccine and will receive an injectable dose.

Consent forms as well as vaccine information sheets will be provided before the clinic at www.jocoflu.org. It is encouraged to have the form printed and filled out when you arrive at the site.

For additional information, go to www.jocoflu.org.

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Public hearing continues to Nov. 19 on proposed CARNP map changes

The Johnson County Board of Commissioners has continued its public hearing to 9:30 a.m. Thursday, November 19, to receive comments regarding three proposed changes to the county’s Comprehensive Arterial Road Network Plan (CARNP).

The hearing began October 15, attracting a dozen speakers and lasting more than 1½ hours. The Board plans to reconvene the public hearing at its November 19th business session for consideration of the CARNP proposals. The business session takes place in the Board’s hearing room located on the third floor of the Johnson County Administration Building, 111 South Cherry Street, in downtown Olathe.

The amendments, as recommended by the Planning Commission, include:

• Modifying the CARNP map to remove a “corridor to be determined” study area shown in the southeast portion of Johnson County; and,
  
• Establishing a CARNP Type I designation on the map for 179th Street as a complete connection between Metcalf and Nall avenues.

Both recommendations to modify the CARNP map were part of the Board’s decision in June 2008 to terminate any further consideration of the “South Metro Connection Study” that proposed a future route connecting U.S. Highway 69 to U.S. Highway 71 in Missouri.

The planning staff and Planning Commission also recommend the establishment of a CARNP Type 1 designation of 183rd Street as a complete connection between Nall Avenue and Mission Road

The Board also will discuss a planning staff recommendation to establish a CARNP Type I designation for Nall Avenue as a complete connection between 167th and 175th streets. That proposal, however, was rejected by the Planning Commission.

Written comments regarding the CARNP recommendations can be sent by email to dean.palos@jocogov.org or by mail to the Johnson County Planning, Development, and Codes Department, 111 S. Cherry Street, Olathe, KS 66061.

More information is available by calling the department at (913) 715-2200.

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County approves $22.3 million CARS program for 2010 involving 21 projects

Road improvements totaling $22.3 million for 2010 involving 21 projects in 13 cities, were unanimously approved Thursday, October 29, by the Johnson County Board of Commissioners.

The Board gave its approval by separate unanimous votes to the new County Assistance Road System (CARS) program for next year, totaling $15,664,000, and a CARS Supplement Program, totaling $6,636,000.

Slightly more than $10.1 million of the CARS program will go to 12 new roadway projects in eight cities. The program has earmarked $5.5 million for continuation of improvements to Lone Elm Road and the I-35 Interchange at 159th Street in Olathe. CARS has provided more than $5.3 million to the project in the past three years. The new interchange, with a cost of approximately $70 million, involves construction of bridges with on/off ramps. Olathe’s share of the project cost has been estimated at slightly more than $34 million with the federal government contributing $24.6 million.

Four new projects in Overland Park will receive more than $7.4 million in CARS funding, including:

• $127th Street improvements from Metcalf to Nall avenues, $3 million;
  
• Antioch Road improvements from I-435 to 119th Street, $3.5 million;
  
• College Boulevard improvement from U.S. 69 Highway to Benson Drive, $508,000; and,
  
• 103rd Street improvements from U.S. 69 Highway to Quivira Road, $430,000.

Overland Park and Leawood will benefit from improvements to their share of Mission Road from 95th to 103rd streets. CARS has earmarked $351,000 for the project.

Two road projects in Leawood also will receive CARS funding. The program has allotted $247,000 to improve 135th Street from State Line Road to Nall Avenue and $125,000 for work on State Line Road from I-435 to 119th Street. The project is being coordinated with Kansas City, Mo.

Other new 2010 CARS projects include:

• $131,000 to the cities of Fairway and Roeland Park for 53rd Street from Buena Vista to Reinhart streets and for Buena Vista from Shawnee Mission Parkway to 83rd Street;
  
• $502,000 to Lenexa for 95th Street from Lackman Road to Santa Fe Trail Drive;
  
• $600,000 to Olathe for Ridgeview Road from 119th to Santa Fe (135th) streets;
  
• $315,000 to Prairie Village for 83rd Street from Nall to Roe avenues; and,
  
• $455,000 to Shawnee for Johnson Drive and Robert Street roundabout.

The 2010 Supplemental Program of $6.6 million was a first for the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure which oversees the CARS program.

According to Kent Lage, manager of the department’s Urban Services Division, the economic downturn resulted in project cancellations. Combined with completion or closure of several other projects, the CARS Reserve account increased to approximately $7.6 million.

“As a result of this unusually large unobligated fund balance, the CARS Technical Review Committee has recommended that this balance be used to fund road improvements in 2010,” Lage said.

The supplemental projects include:

• $3,007,000 to the cities of Olathe and Overland Park for 143rd Street from Quivira to Switzer roads;
  
• $1,790,000 to Lenexa for 87th Street Parkway from Pflumm Road to Renner Boulevard;
  
• $700,000 to Mission for Nall Avenue from Martway Street to 63rd Street Terrace;
  
• $550,000 to Prairie Village for Somerset Drive from 83rd Street to Mission Road;
  
• $349,000 to Gardner for Madison Street from Center Street to a half mile east;
  
• $169,000 to Mission Hills and Prairie Village for Mission Road from 63rd to 66th streets;
  
• $43,000 to De Soto for Wyandotte Street from the Kansas River bridge to 83rd Street; and,
  
• $28,000 to Fairway for Belinder Avenue from Shawnee Mission Parkway to the north city limits.

Lage said $964,000 of the fund balance was allocated to help fund the “annual” 2010 CARS program.

The 2010 CARS and Supplemental CARS programs are part of the Public Works Department’s budget which is encompassed into the county’s FY 2010 Budget of $778 million that was approved in August by the Board.

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2010 Stormwater Management Plan totals $11.3 million

The 2010 Stormwater Management Program approved Thursday, October 29, by the Johnson County Board of Commissioners totals more than $11.3 million, including funding for capital projects in the cities of Shawnee, Spring Hill, Lenexa, and Olathe.

The Board approved the plan unanimously.

Kent Lage, manager of the Urban Services Division of the Johnson County Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, said the 2010 Stormwater Management Program has budgeted $11,310,000 next year, including $7.2 million for seven design/construction projects.

The plan also sets aside $3.4 million for supplementary projects/efforts to support the Stormwater Management Program and funding for other countywide stormwater initiatives. According to Lage, the projects will enable cities to continue flood mitigation and initiate several proactive efforts.

“These efforts will continue to migrate the program focus from the traditional reactive focus only to include a leading-edge proactive focus necessary for the program,” he advised the Board in a briefing sheet.

In the 2010 plan, three stormwater management capital projects are located in the city of Shawnee, including:

• $1,761,000 for storm drainage improvements in the area of 70th and Flint streets to south of Yager Street;
  
• $579,750 for a project at 50th Street and Neiman Road; and,
  
• $852,000 to improve drainage in the area west of 57th and Cody streets to 55th and Monrovia streets.

Two capital projects are in Olathe. The Stormwater Management Program has allotted $1,050,000 for a drainage project near South Brougham Drive and West 147th Terrace and $1,425,000 for stormwater improvements near 151st Street and South Quivira Road.

Stormwater improvements at 108th Street and Pflumm Road in Lenexa will receive $435,904.

The program has earmarked $339,675 to improve drainage at Nichols and Race streets in Spring Hill.

The 2010 plan includes seven supplementary projects to support the county’s stormwater program and regional and countywide initiatives, requiring approximately $3.4 million in funding. Regional and support projects include maintenance of the county’s stream and rain gauge network that’s part of a flood-warning system; a future countywide or watershed-level study; and other studies and activities.

Johnson County’s annual stormwater program is funded by a 1/10-cent sales tax authorized by the Kansas Legislature in 1988 and approved by the Board of County Commissioners for the purpose of funding stormwater projects. Johnson County was the only county to implement the tax. These funds, dedicated to stormwater management, allow Johnson County’s Stormwater Management Program (SMP) to create a yearly stormwater management plan and provide 75 percent of funding for eligible design and construction projects in Johnson County and the cities.

The Board created the SMP and the Stormwater Management Advisory Council (SMAC) in the early 1990s. SMAC helps coordinate stormwater efforts and advises the Board on stormwater management related issues.

Since its creation, the Stormwater Management Program has provided more than $120 million for stormwater improvements and capital projects in Johnson County in partnership with all cities of the county and in cooperation with other cities in the Kansas City region as part of the regional stormwater system.

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