Johnson County, Kansas, Homepage - Cover Stories for April 2007

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	April - 2007 Deputy Johnson County manager named recipient of 2007 Regional Leadership Award from MARC Deputy Johnson County Manager Hannes Zacharias has been named the recipient of a 2007 Regional Leadership Award from the Mid-America Regional Council. The honor recognizes Zacharias for his outstanding contributions to metropolitan Kansas City and MARC. The award will be presented during an awards luncheon on June 1 during MARC’s Regional Assembly at the Hyatt at Crown Center in Kansas City. “It’s good to be recognized, but I’m humbled by being chosen to receive this award. It’s a great honor,” Zacharias said. Annabeth Surbaugh, chairman of the Johnson County Board of Commissioners and a member of MARC’s board of directors, supported the choice of Zacharias to receive a 2007 Regional Leadership Award. “Hannes has proven himself a key member of the county’s management team through his leadership and his willingness to go the extra mile. He takes that same approach when representing Johnson County at the regional level, which he has done exceedingly well. He is an asset to County Government and to our regional community as well,” Chairman Surbaugh said. “Hannes is an excellent choice for this award because he leads by example and is a model for other community leaders. This recognition speaks to his dedication to excellence in building quality communities at the local level—something that has defined his career as a public administrator. I’m very pleased for him.” A resident of Lenexa, Zacharias is celebrating his sixth year as a member of the county’s management team, beginning with assistant county manager in 2001 and being the deputy county manager since January 2005, in a public service career spanning 27 years. Since 1992, MARC has annually recognized individuals and institutions that have made outstanding contributions to the region. The awards recognize leadership and excellence in: advocating regional concepts, approaches, and programs; advancing the vision of the region as a community of excellence; addressing regional challenges; applying innovative solutions to regional problems; and, achieving improved quality of life and equitable opportunity for the region’s citizens. Recipients may be current or past elected officials; individuals employed as professionals within governmental organizations; institutions or agencies, including governmental units or sub-units, businesses, foundations, civic or non-profit organizations or educational institutions; or volunteer leaders in public or private organizations. Zacharias is one of five recipients of a 2007 Regional Leadership Award. The other recipients include U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Missouri; Kansas City Power and Light Environmental Initiatives; Heart of America United Way, 2-1-1 system; and Dr. Charles Eddy, a member of the Kansas City, Mo. City Council for Distinguished Board Service. back to top County approves lease, ponders tax abatement for largest tenant at AirCenter A 50-year lease was approved Thursday, April 12, for approximately 40 acres at the New Century AirCenter for the future construction and leasing of a warehouse and distribution center for Kimberly Clark Corporation. The 446,500-square-foot regional distribution center, if constructed, would be the largest single building at the AirCenter that abuts the northeast edge of Gardner. The facility, with 50-60 truck docks, is expected to employ approximately 60 workers with a target date of opening by October. On Thursday, April 12, the Johnson County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a ground lease with First Industrial Investment, Inc. to develop the distribution center for Kimberly Clark, a Fortune 500 manufacturer and distributor of paper products. The Board also scheduled an April 26 public hearing on a request by First Industrial Investment for the issuance of $20 million in Industrial Revenue Bonds to construct the distribution center and granting the developer a tax abatement at 50 percent for 10 years for the “Rosemary” project at the AirCenter. “Even though we are the company’s preferred site, if we can’t match the abatement, we will lose the deal,” Lee Metcalfe, executive director of the Johnson County Airport Commission, advised the Board in a memorandum about the request. The developer also is considering a location in North Kansas City, Mo. and has been offered an identical tax abatement. According to Metcalfe, if the taxes are abated and the project is built at the AirCenter, the county is expected to receive approximately $291,664 in new tax revenue each year for the next decade. The Gardner-Edgerton School District also would receive approximately $164,803 annually in new revenue during the abatement period. The Airport Commission, under terms of the lease, would receive $180,338 a year initially in rental revenue and $8.3 million over the life of the lease. In the past 20 years, the county has approved only two requests for tax abatements. One involved a 50-percent, 5-year abatement with Steel and Pipe Supply Company to build a 120,000-square-foot building in 1994. The project was privately financed. The company has since expanded its facility three times to a current warehouse of 320,000 square feet. None of the expansions involved county bonds or tax abatements. The other abatement was granted in 1989 when C.F. Sauer constructed a 240,000-square-foot food products manufacturing and distribution center in 2002. That abatement also was for 50 percent and for five years. The project was privately financed. C.F. Sauer recently expanded its facility to 270,000 square feet. No tax abatement was requested. “We have tried to use the tax abatement tool very judiciously, and up to this date, have proposed abatement in only two out of at least 20 opportunities since 1989. We have undoubtedly lost several projects because we would not consider abatement,” Metcalfe noted in his memo. “We know that several projects for which we were competing with other Johnson County communities ended up going to those communities and receiving, in some cases, 10-year, 100-percent abatements.” The public hearing on the request for a tax abatement and Industrial Revenue Bonds will occur during the weekly business session of the Board of County Commissioners on Thursday, April 26. The meeting will begin at 9:30 a.m. in the Board’s Hearing Room on the third floor of the Johnson County Administration Building, 111 South Cherry Street, in downtown Olathe. back to top Sunset Drive Office Building receives 2007 Capstone Award Johnson County’s new Sunset Drive Office Building keeps on winning recognition of excellence for its efficiency and design. The latest honor is a first-place Capstone Award for architectural design. The award was presented April 5 to Joe Waters, director of the Facilities Department; Neal Angrisano, deputy director; and the design-build team during the Second Annual Capstone Awards Program at the Hyatt Regency, Kansas City, Mo. The annual event, sponsored by the Kansas City Business Journal, honors projects, companies, and people which are shaping the regional Kansas City community. The Capstone Awards Program has nine categories. The Sunset Drive Office Building was nominated as one of the three finalists in the Architectural Design category and was named the winner at the awards luncheon. “The competition was very stiff, the two honorable mention projects are excellent, so the entire design-build team couldn’t be more proud of the accomplishment,” Waters said. “While the Sunset Drive Office Building is noteworthy for its environmental stewardship, this award for architectural design recognizes how successfully the project achieves its key architectural objectives: creating outstanding civic architecture with a sense of permanence and stability while embracing environmental stewardship at a fundamental level that affects not only the design and construction but how the building and site are experienced every day.” The new energy-efficient, environmentally-friendly Sunset Drive Office Building opened in early 2006 at the northwest corner of 119th Street and Ridgeview Road in Olathe. The building was built by McCownGordon as builder and 360 Architects as the designer. Both firms have offices in Kansas City, Mo. The Capstone Award is the latest of several national, regional, and local awards of excellence awarded to the new county building. Other awards include: LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. It’s the first LEED gold certified building in Johnson County and only the second LEED gold in the Kansas City region and the state of Kansas; A Design-Build Excellence Award from the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA); An Excellence Award from the Mid-America Chapter of the DBIA; The National Association of Counties Achievement Award; Merit Award for Excellence in Architecture from the Kansas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA); and, Environment Award for Merit from the Kansas City Chapter of the AIA and the Committee on the Environment. back to top Jenkins joins aging commission; Engelmann remains on museum council Wanda Jenkins of Shawnee is the newest member on the Commission on Aging for Johnson County. She was appointed Thursday, April 12, by the Johnson County Board of Commissioners to serve as a Second District representative to fill an unexpired term through September 1, 2009. Jenkins, an accountant for 40 years, was nominated by Second District Commissioner John Segale. On Thursday, the Board also reappointed Dr. C.E. Engelmann, Prairie Village, to the county’s Museum Advisory Council. The retired surgeon will serve as a First District representative on the council through May 7, 2008. He was nominated for reappointment by First District Commissioner Ed Peterson. Engelmann was first appointed to the council on October 2, 2003. He owns farm acreage that adjoins the Lanesfield School Historic Site near Edgerton. In his letter of interest to remain on the museum council, Engelmann noted that his farm land represents many historical happening in early Johnson County, including the town site of McCamish, the crossing over of the Santa Fe Trail, and the site of the pre-Civil War battlefield, known as a Battle of Bull Creek, involving General James H. Lane and Richard McCamish in 1856. Both the appointment and reappointment was appointed by the Board as part of its weekly consent agenda by unanimous vote. back to top Office of Financial Management receives 19th consecutive award for financial reporting The Johnson County Office of Financial Management has kept its string in tact in being the annual recipient of a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) of the United States and Canada. It has received 19 national honors in as many years from the GFOA. The 19th award was ceremonially presented Thursday, April 12, to Thomas Franzen, director of the department, by Annabeth Surbaugh, chairman of the Johnson County Board of Commissioners, during the Board’s weekly business session. The honor is in recognition of the office’s comprehensive annual financial report for 2005. “This award is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting,” Franzen said. He said attainment of the award represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management, noting that only three other of the 105 counties in Kansas received the award. The award was presented to only 38 municipal governments, such as cities, counties, school districts and universities, and water districts, in the state. The county’s 2005 comprehensive annual financial report, or CAFR, was judged by an impartial panel to meet the high standards of the program, including demonstrating a constructive “spirit of full disclosure” to clearly communicate its financial story and motivate potential users and user groups to read the CAFR. Franzen said his staff plans to submit the FY 2006 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report in June to GFOA in pursuit of a 20th consecutive award. The GFOA is a nonprofit professional association serving approximately 16,000 government finance professionals with offices in Chicago and Washington, D.C. back to top Director of Johnson County Mental Health Center receives Lifetime Achievement Award David Wiebe, executive director of Johnson County Mental Health Center for more than two decades, has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare. He was presented the honor during the organization’s recent annual training conference in Las Vegas. There were 63 nominations for the award. He was one of three recipients. Wiebe was described at the Awards of Excellence Program as “a distinctive leader who excels at building consensus, cultivating partnerships, and advocating systemic change in the mental health field. His lifetime dedication to improving the services and operation of the behavioral health industry has transformed the lives of many. Those who have worked with him call him a dear friend, an inspiring mentor, and a remarkable leader.” A former board member of the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare, Wiebe has served in several national and state leadership roles during his 21-year career with Johnson County Mental Health. Wiebe is a past president of the National Association of County Behavioral Health Directors, the behavioral health affiliate of the National Association of Counties, currently serves on that organization’s board and chairs its critically important Medicaid Committee. He is also a past president of the County Behavioral Health Institute. In Kansas, he served on the Governor’s Task Force on Mental Health Reform and was president of the Association of Community Mental Health Centers of Kansas. He began his mental health career in 1971 when he began working for the Johnson County Mental Health Center. Wiebe was serving as associate director of the county department when he left to become the executive director of the Shawnee Community Mental Health Center in Topeka. In October 1985, he returned to the Johnson County Mental Health Center to become its executive director. A resident of Fairway, Wiebe received his Master of Social Work Degree from the University of Kansas in 1966. back to top Olathe plans to co-locate emergency dispatch, allows county to use TV production facilities Johnson County and the city of Olathe have agreed to have their future emergency communications operations under one roof with the future construction of the new County Communications Center (CCC) in Olathe. The city and county also plan to share the use of the city’s television production facilities, located in Olathe City Hall, for the future broadcasting of the public sessions of the Johnson County Board of Commissioners. On Thursday, April 12, the Board approved two separate Interlocal Cooperation Agreements with Olathe. One agreement authorized the future co-location of the city’s emergency communications operations for police calls in the CCC. The other formalized the county’s use of the city’s broadcasting facilities. Both interlocal agreements were approved by the Board by separate unanimous votes. The agreements also must be approved by the Olathe City Council and are expected to go before the council in May. “Olathe and Johnson County have been community partners for a long, long time. We know that cooperation between the county and the city is good for everyone. It benefits the city, the county, and it certainly benefits our community,” Commission Chairman Annabeth Surbaugh said. “These agreements formalize our cooperative arrangement with Olathe. Of course, we in County Government always want to coordinate with our community partners. I hope that other cities are able to take advantage of our new communications center, too. It’s really a win-win situation all the way around.” The County Communications Center will be constructed on the county complex at 119th Street and Ridgeview Road. The facility has been designed to house the county’s Emergency Communications Center, now located in Mission, and the Sheriff’s Communications Unit, now operating out of the Johnson County Courthouse in downtown Olathe. The CCC also will have space for other municipal public safety communications from Johnson County cities. The new weather-hardened center will allow emergency communications for fire, emergency medical, and law enforcement services to continue without interruption. The CCC also will provide secure space for County Information Technology disaster recovery systems and a back-up County Emergency Operations Center. The Olathe Police Department is the first law enforcement agency to co-locate in the county facility. Johnson County has six police departments operating emergency communications units. According to Walt Way, director of the Emergency Communications Center, some of the other five departments have expressed as interest in having the ability to use the county facility as a back-up site should their communications facilities go out of service. The county will be responsible to fund construction of the CCC, maintenance and utilities of the facility, and its ongoing operational costs. Olathe will be responsible for the purchase of dispatch consoles and other equipment, furniture, software, and staffing of its emergency operations. Construction of the County Communications Center, costing $21 million, is scheduled to get under way later this year with completion by the summer of 2008. It is expected to become fully operational in the fall of 2009. Interlocal agreement paves way for county broadcasting The broadcasting of public meetings of the Board of County Commissioners is expected to become operational by the end of this year or early 2008. Thursday’s interlocal agreement with Olathe paves the way for the county to begin improvements to the Board’s hearing room and to install equipment that will connect to the city’s television production facilities as a network to Johnson County citizens. The purpose is aimed at providing a new avenue for Johnson County citizens to receive informational access to county government business and county services. “One of my personal goals has been, and continues to be, bringing the people to Johnson County Government, and the County Government to the people. This process will do just that,” Chairman Surbaugh said. “It has many benefits. It will connect Johnson County citizens and their County Government more directly, and public access to their County Government. This system will inform citizens about actions and decisions of the Board of County Commissioners and their County Government in a most timely manner.” Olathe has had the television production facility for more than a decade. It includes cable TV facilities, cameras, a recording studio, editing suite, and closed-captioning equipment. The facility is regularly used for cable television broadcasts of Olathe City Council meetings and other city programs to the community. The city has informally provided use of the facility to county staff for several years for the production of public information programs. The agreement will rely on county and city staff to collaborate on the scheduling of production, broadcasting, and program editing activities with the stipulation that county programming will not supersede city programming needs. The interlocal agreement will end February 1, 2008, with a goal to resolve first-year, start-up issues in a future process to develop “a long-term partnership.” With approval of the interlocal agreement, the county now will schedule significant, one-time modifications to the Board’s hearing room to accommodate broadcasting. The hearing room, located on the third floor of the Johnson County Administration Building, 111 South Cherry Street, in downtown Olathe, hasn’t changed much since the building opened in 1992. The room was not configured for broadcasting. Some of the required changes to the hearing room will include the addition of production lighting, placement of camera sites, modifications to the cooling system to offset the heat generated by the additional lighting, and creation of an adjacent control room with a link to Olathe’s television production facilities. The county has authorized funds for the modifications and the one-time purchase of audio equipment, cameras, computer software, and other equipment required in setting up the webcasting/cablecasting system. The modifications to the hearing room are expected to begin the first of July and take about 14 weeks to finish. Physical modifications and installation of equipment are scheduled to be in place by October 1. Testing of equipment will require approximately another month to complete, meaning the first county broadcasts will likely occur at the end of the year or early 2008. back to top County to celebrate Earth Day by honoring Environmental Department's 25th anniversary Johnson County is celebrating National County Government Week, with an environmental theme, by recognizing the silver anniversary of the Environmental Department and by celebrating the 37th annual observance of Earth Day. The activities will begin Saturday, April 21, with the annual EarthWalk, beginning at 9 a.m., followed by EarthFest from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Shawnee Mission Park’s Theatre in the Park complex, 7710 Renner Road, Shawnee. Admission to EarthFest, featuring live animals, family entertainment, and environmentally-friendly activities and crafts for all ages, is free. On the heels of EarthFest and Earth Day, Johnson County will mark the annual observance of National County Government Week with a 2007 theme of “Protecting the Environment.” The annual observance, sponsored by the National Association of Counties, was first celebrated in 1990 to raise public awareness and understanding about the roles and responsibilities of the nation’s counties. “We all need to do our part in protecting the environment that we all share,” Chairman Annabeth Surbaugh said. “We all need to do what we can to make certain we leave our planet and our natural resources intact for future generations.” On Thursday, April 19, the Johnson County Board of Commissioners will proclaim April 22-28 as National County Government Week and also recognize the Environmental Department for its past 25 years of environmental efforts, services, and programs. The proclamations will be issued during the Board’s weekly business session, starting at 9:30 a.m. in the Board’s Hearing Room on the third floor of the Johnson County Administration Building, 111 South Cherry Street, in downtown Olathe. “Johnson County is proud of the variety of services that our Environmental Department provides to the community. National County Government Week is a great opportunity to recognize the department for 25 years of outstanding service to the Johnson County community,” Chairman Surbaugh said. The publication of Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring” in 1962 marked the beginning of modern environmentalism. The book served to awaken the public to the dangers of unregulated use of pesticides, but also provided an introduction into the science of ecology – understanding the inter-relatedness of all organisms with their environment. The book helped to provide the impetus for the federal government to form the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1970. Numerous Congressional acts were passed in the 1970s to address environmental concerns with the EPA charged with developing the regulations to implement them. Johnson County Government started increasing its efforts in environmental protection with the adoption of its first Solid Waste Management Plan in 1972, followed by its Sanitary Code in 1978. The county formed an Environmental Division within the Wastewater Department in the late 1970s, involving research work in water quality. In 1981, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment delegated to the county the responsibility of permitting, inspection, and enforcement of solid waste rules and regulations on landfills and illegal dumping activities in the county. With this new regulatory role, the Environmental Department was created in February 1982 by the Johnson County Board of Commissioners to spearhead various initiatives the county has undertaken in recent years to conserve energy, protect the environment, and, as a result, save tax dollars. In 1987, environment staff and programs from the Environmental Department, the Wastewater Department, and the Public Health Department were consolidated together to better serve the public. Air Quality Program regulatory responsibility was delegated to the department in 1988, involving the inspection and monitoring of state-permitted air pollution sources in the county. Other highlights in the department’s history include: Implementation of the Industrial Wastewater Pretreatment regulatory program in 1982 and implementation of environmental pollution/hazardous material spills investigation program in the early 1980s; Start the Radon Awareness Program in 1988; Implementation of the on-site wastewater treatment program in 1990; Operation of the Household Hazardous Materials Collection Facility began in 1993; Signing a contract with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to perform all food service establishment inspections in Johnson County in 1993 and thereafter; Establishment of requirements for permits and licensing, inspections and investigations, and enforcement actions for private sewage treatment systems, installers, sanitary disposal contractors, designers, swimming pools, and public bathing places in 1994; Implementation of the grease management program in 2003; Launch of the Ozone Reduction Campaign in 2004; Move into the county’s new green building, the Sunset Drive Office Building in Olathe, consolidating for the first time all three divisions in the same building with the construction of the Water Quality Lab in 2006; and, Start of a major rewrite of the county’s Solid Waste Management Plan in 2007. Cindy Kemper is the current director of the department, which has had three other directors in its 25-year history. The department, with an annual budget of $3.3 million, currently has 43 employees. back to top EarthFest, EarthWalk scheduled April 21 at Johnson County’s Shawnee Mission Park Johnson County’s celebration of Earth Day will occur Saturday, April 21, featuring the annual return of Kansas City EarthWalk and Kansas City EarthFest to Shawnee Mission Park’s The Theatre in the Park complex, 7710 Renner Road, Shawnee. The third-annual regional EarthFest, with free admission, will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will be preceded by the 11th-annual Kansas City EarthWalk beginning at 9 a.m. EarthWalk is a fundraising event for Bridging the Gap, which is presenting EarthFest in conjunction with the Johnson County Park and Recreation District and Friends for Parks and Recreation. Walkers can choose between 1.5- or 2.7-mile options within Shawnee Mission Park. Those wishing to sign up on the day of the event may do so at The Theatre in the Park beginning at 7:30 a.m. Following the EarthWalk, EarthFest will feature more than 70 planet-friendly exhibitors and vendors from a wide variety of local groups and organizations, including the district’s Ernie Miller Nature Center in Olathe, which will feature birds of prey and other live animals. There will also be live family entertainment and environmentally-friendly activities and crafts for all ages. This year's musical artists will include children’s singer Jim Cosgrove & The Hiccups, along with Five Defy. EarthFest is again expected to feature such environmental topics as recycling, climate change, energy efficiency, air quality, alternative transportation, and more. More information about EarthFest is available by calling (913) 894-3323. More information about EarthWalk is available by calling (816) 561-1061 ext. 128 or visiting the website www.earthdaykc.org. back to top Lehman, Greene reappointed to advisory boards Two current members to Johnson County advisory boards were reappointed to new three-year terms Thursday, April 26, by the Johnson County Board of Commissioners. Gardner Mayor Carol Lehman will continue to serve on the Housing and Community Development Advisory Committee. She has served on the committee since April 1, 2003. Her new term will be through April 1, 2009. Mark Greene, Shawnee, was approved to remain a member of the Transportation Advisory Council through December 11, 2009. He was first appointed to the council on March 17, 2005. Lehman and Greene will serve as Seventh District reappointments to their respective advisory boards. They were nominated by Chairman Annabeth Surbaugh. The reappointments were approved unanimously Thursday by the Board in separate votes. back to top $20 million in bonds, tax abatement for largest tenant at AirCenter approved The final hurdles were cleared Thursday, April 26, for construction of a large warehouse and distribution center for Kimberly Clark Corporation at the New Century AirCenter. The Johnson County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a request by First Industrial Investment, the developer, for the issuance of $20 million in Industrial Revenue Bonds for the project. The Board also granted a request for a tax abatement of 50 percent for 10 years for the new AirCenter tenant. Two weeks ago, the Board also approved a 50-year ground lease for approximately 38 acres at the AirCenter for the new 446,500-square-foot warehouse and regional distribution center for First Industrial, which will be leasing the facility to Kimberly Clark, a Fortune 500 manufacturer and distributor of paper products. When completed by October, the facility, with 50-60 truck docks, will be the largest single building at the AirCenter. The distribution center is expected to employ approximately 60 workers. Lee Metcalfe, executive director of the Johnson County Airport Commission, supported the decision as a win-win situation for the county, school district, and AirCenter, resulting in more tax revenue, new jobs, and continued economic development for the airport/industrial park complex near Gardner. “I was very pleased with the commissioners’ careful ,deliberate consideration of this proposal,” he said following the Board’s decision. “This was a complex set of issues with significant economic implications for the county, the Gardner-Edgerton School District and the state. The commissioners went to great lengths to fully comprehend the issues, and they rendered what I believe to be a very financially sound decision.” Metcalfe also said the infrastructure improvements, such as roads, sewers, and water extensions, required for the Kimberly Clark facility would open up an additional 100 acres of land for future development, resulting in an estimated $300,000 annually in additional leasing revenue for the AirCenter. None of that acreage, including the land for the Kimberly Clark project, is currently generating any tax revenue. According to Metcalfe, the county will receive approximately $291,664 in new tax revenue each year during the abatement period, which ends in 2017. The Gardner-Edgerton School District is expected to receive approximately $165,803 annually in new revenue during the same period. “It is pure revenue for the school district,” Metcalfe said. The Airport Commission, under terms of the lease, would receive $173,648 a year initially in rental revenue and $8.3 million over the life of the lease. In the past 20 years, Johnson County has approved only two requests for tax abatements involving projects at the AirCenter. One involved a 50-percent, 5-year abatement with Steel and Pipe Supply Company to build a 120,000-square-foot building in 1994. The project was privately financed. The company has since expanded its facility three times to a current warehouse of 320,000 square feet. None of the expansions involved county bonds or tax abatements. The other abatement was granted in 1989 when C.F. Sauer constructed a 240,000-square-foot food products manufacturing and distribution center in 2002. That abatement also was for 50 percent and for five years. The project was privately financed. C.F. Sauer recently expanded its facility to 270,000 square feet. No tax abatement was requested. From 1976 to 1997, the county has approved 23 requests for Industrial Revenue Bonds (IRBs) for projects at the AirCenter. The single bond issues ranged from $120,000 for Cessna Aircraft Company, now Dodson International, to $8 million for Grindsted Products, Inc., now Danisco USA, Inc. Nineteen of the bond issues have since been paid off. The remaining four bond issues were authorized from 1990 to 1997 and totaled $13,360,000, including three bond series, totaling $8.2 million, for Stouse Sign and Decal in 1996. Prior to Thursday’s decision, no IRBs for AirCenter projects have been issued by the county since 1997. back to top County seeks applicants to serve on Public Art Commission, other boards The Johnson County Board of Commissioners is now accepting applications from interested residents who would like to be considered for 12 appointments to serve on five advisory boards of county government. Seven of the appointments involve serving three-year terms on the county’s new Public Art Commission. Each of the six district commissioners will name one member to the commission along with one appointee by Chairman Annabeth Surbaugh. The Public Art Commission will have up to nine members. Another member will be nominated by the Arts Council of Johnson County. The other member will be a designee from the county’s Facilities Department, which is overseeing the public art program. All nominees to the Public Art Commission must be approved by the Board of County Commissioners. Two vacancies currently exist on the county’s Museum Advisory Council. One appointment will represent the Fifth District with the nomination to be made by Commissioner Doug Wood. The other member will come from the Sixth District with the nomination being made by Commissioner John Toplikar. Vacancies also exist as District Six representatives to the Fire District No. 2 Governing Board, to the South-Central Consolidated Zoning Board, and to the Board of Zoning Appeals. The three appointments will be nominated by Commissioner Toplikar. Johnson County residents interested in being considered for appointment to the advisory boards should submit their cover letter and current resume or curriculum vitae 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://bocc.jocogov.org. For more information, residents should contact the Office of the Board of County Commissioners at (913) 715-0430. back to top