Board of County Commissioners update

More information including official minutes, votes and videos on all items is available at boccmeetings.jocogov.org.

The Board of County Commissioners will resume meeting in the Hearing Room on Thursday, June 11, 2020 at 9:30 am. To prevent the spread of COVID-19, social distancing will be observed, and limited seating will be available in the hearing room, with additional limited seating in the adjacent lobby with audio available. A live broadcast will still be available at boccmeetings.jocogov.org and on Facebook Live. Public Comments will be accepted. Persons wishing to speak during Public Comments will need to sign in by 9:25 a.m. before the meeting begins and will be called upon to speak in the order in which they signed up. Anyone wishing to speak to a specific item on the Business agenda will need to sign in before that item is read into the Record.

Persons who may need assistance, the use of a sign language or oral interpreter, or who require special accommodations, should contact (913) 715-0430, at least two (2) business days prior to the meeting.

BOCC actions for June 25, 2020

• (Sitting as the Governing Board of Fire District No. 2) Approved the Fiscal Year 2021 budget for Johnson County Fire District No. 2.
   
• Authorized a contract with McAnany Construction Inc. for 12.5 miles of overlays at various locations in unincorporated Johnson County, in the amount not to exceed $1,969,101.10.
   
• Authorized an exception to competition and approved service agreement renewals for respite care services with KidsTLC, Inc. and DCCCA, Inc., in an amount not to exceed $150,000, for one (1) additional twelve (12) month contract period ending June 30, 2021 per Administrative Policy and Procedure #110.180.A.16.
   
• Authorized receipt of the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding received from the United States Treasury in the amount of $116,311,033.60, creating a project account, in the County’s Grant Fund, and setting a public hearing at 9:30 a.m. on July 16th for the purpose of receiving public input on proposed amendments to the FY 2020 Budget for the General Fund to appropriate the $116,311,033.60, plus interest earned, of CARES Act funding.
   
• Approved City of Overland Park Application Nos. PDP2019- 00040 and DEV2019-00140, for a Preliminary and Final Development Plan to allow a new clubhouse and amenities for the Century Farms residential subdivision, located at 167th St. and Quivira Road, Overland Park, Kansas, within one mile of the Executive Airport.
   
• Approved City of Olathe Application No. RZ19-0023 for a rezoning from BP (Business Park) to C-2 (Community Center) District and a preliminary site development plan for a religious institution (Chinmaya Mission), located at 153rd St. and Pflumm Road, Olathe, Kansas, within one mile of the Executive Airport.
   
• Approved City of Olathe Application No. PR20-0009 for Revised Preliminary Development Plan for I-35 Logistics Park, on about 213 acres, generally located South of 155th Street and West of Old 56 Highway, Olathe, Kansas, within one mile of the New Century Air Center.
   
• Approved City of Olathe Application No. PR20-0007 for Preliminary Site Development Plan and PAR20-0016 for Final Site Development Plan for Fire Station No. 8, on about 12 acres, located at 14700 Lakeshore Drive, Olathe, Kansas, within one mile of the New Century Air Center.
   
• Approved City of Gardner Application No. Z-20-01 for a rezoning from County RUR, PRB2, and PEC3 Districts to City RP-1 and RP-2 districts and an associated preliminary development plan for Prairie Trace Subdivision; and also approved City Application No. PP-20-01, a preliminary plat for 356 single-family residential lots for Prairie Trace; located in the vicinity of the southeast corner of 175th Street and I-35 Highway, within 1 mile of the New Century Airport.
   
• Approved City of Gardner Application No. Z-20-02 for a rezoning of approximately 31.9 acres from County PRB2 and PEC-3 to City R-3 (Garden Apartment) District; located in the vicinity of the southeast corner of 175th Street and I-35 Highway, within 1 mile of New Century Airport.
   
• Approved City of Gardner Application No. Z-20-03 for a rezoning of approximately 100.4 acres from County PRB2 and PEC3 Districts to City of Gardner C-3 (Heavy Commercial) District; located in the vicinity of the southeast corner of 175th Street and I-35 Highway, within 1 mile of New Century Airport.
   
• (The Board voted to add this item) Authorized the utilization of Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding in an amount not to exceed $14,996,458 for the procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other related supplies needed to respond to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and authorized exception to competition for vetted vendors in accordance with Johnson County Administrative Purchasing Policy and Procedure 110.180.

COVID-19 updates

COVID-19 Funding and Expenses Report, Maury Thompson, Deputy County Manager 

The weekly COVID-19 Operating Report, detailing COVID-19 specific expenditures and funding received is available here. To date the organization has identified $1,510,996.34 in costs which are eligible for CARES Act reimbursement and received $118,879,369.82 in federal funds.

Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Funding from the CARES Act, Joe Connor, Assistant County Manager

Johnson County was awarded $631,737 in CDBG CARES funding from HUD. The 15 percent cap on public service activities has been removed. An existing MOU with the City of Olathe entitles them to 41 percent of these funds after administration costs are removed. We are required to follow the standard HUD rules to administer the funds, follow our Citizen Participation Plan, submit Substantial Amendment to the approved 2020 Action Plan which will be open for public comment June 27, 2020 for 30 days. Community Development in collaboration with Overland Park and Shawnee surveyed the community to establish priorities for this funding to prevent or respond to COVID-19. The survey feedback indicated that rent/utility/mortgage assistance, food, PPE/healthcare and childcare assistance were the highest needs. These have been listed as priorities for the CDBG-CV funding, but all applications will be reviewed. The CDBG-CV application for funding is currently open and closes on July 1, 2020. Applications will be reviewed and finalized by the Housing and Community Development Advisory Committee Rating Team appointed by the BOCC.

COVID-19 update, Dr. Sanmi Areola, Johnson County Department of Health and Environment Director

Johnson County currently has 1,427 positive cases 33,986 negatives, 81 deaths (68 deaths in LTCF, or 84%) and a 4.0% positive percentage. We have 760 presumed recovered. More information is available on our dashboard.

A trend in data is showing that younger people are being infected with COVID-19. In the first half of April, the median age was 52 and the average age was 56. In the first half of June, the median age was 41 and average age was 45. 

Hospital utilizations data is trending well. For the three Johnson County hospitals that treat COVID patients in their hospitals, the percent of their ICU beds occupied by COVID patients is about 9%. However, there is typically a lag between a spike in cases and the utilization of hospital beds. 

The results of the testing for Lenexa Chick Fil A employees are in. 62 people were tested and four people who are kitchen staff members tested positive.

Appointment-based testing continues Monday through Thursday in Olathe and has been extended to people without symptoms. The next drive-thru testing event takes place on June 26 at the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood. More information is available in this report.

COVID-19 update Dr. Joseph LeMaster, Johnson County Local Health Officer

As we see the number of cases go up, the total number of hospitalizations will likely follow. As we are trending younger, this could begin to stress hospital capacity. We need to pay close attention to the case numbers and we could need additional resources for disease investigation and contact tracing should they begin to rise exponentially.

Other updates

2020 CERI Indicators – April Edition, Penny Postoak Ferguson, County Manager

The April 2020 edition of the Economic Indicators for Johnson County has been provided by the County Economic Research Institute (CERI). 

• The unemployment rate for Johnson County was 10.5% during the month of April 2020, compared to 2.5% in April 2019, an 8.0% increase. 
• Year-to-date (YTD) the unemployment rate is 4.6%, compared to 2.9% the previous year, a 1.7% increase. 
• The number of single-family homes sold in April 2020 was 880, compared to 921 in April 2019, a -4.5% decrease.
• April sales tax is down 10%. Use tax is down 17%. Collectively, they are down about 5%.

More information is available in this memo and in this report.

There is no BOCC meeting on July 2 due to observance of Independence Day, and no Agenda Review was held today.

The BOCC held an afternoon study session to discuss its JoCo NEXT initiative and updates from the Department of Technology and Innovation.