Month: April 2019

The revocation of a special use permit allowing the temporary use of land for industrial purposes at The Woodlands is on the 7 p.m. April 25 Unified Government Commission agenda.

The meeting will be held at the Commission Chambers, lobby level, City Hall 701 N. 7th St., Kansas City, Kansas.

The horse and dog racing track at 9700 Leavenworth Road has not operated as a racetrack since August 2008. A special use permit allowed sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks and semi-truck trailers to be parked at The Woodlands’ parking lot. The racetrack has about 56 acres of property.

Representing the property owner, Ruffin Woodlands LLC, is R. Scott Beeler.

The UG planning staff has recommended that the special use permit be revoked. According to agenda information, the area is essentially a residential area where industrial use is not in keeping with the neighborhood’s character. The planning staff also stated in the agenda that there were issues with compliance with stipulations of the special use permit, while communications from the Woodlands stated they are trying to comply with the stipulations.

Also on Thursday night’s UG agenda will be an ordinance on vending machines and exterior sales. The ordinance has rules about how many outside vending machines are allowed and where they may be placed.

Another resolution would authorize up to $5.7 million for general obligation bonds or notes for a Kansas River levee project. The bonds or notes could be used to reimburse expenditures. The resolution states the funds may be used for property acquisition, relocation, facility betterment, design and construction necessary for improvements of the Argentine Levee and the Armourdale and Central Industrial District Levee Projects.

Also on Thursday, the UG Commission will meet in a special session at 5 p.m. in the fifth floor conference room at City Hall to hear a report on the zoning code status. Afterward, the commission will travel to the ninth floor for a closed executive session on litigation and labor.

Among the other items on the 7 p.m. agenda:

• 4401 N. 115th St., change of zone from planned single family district to single-family district for continuation of residential development, Matt Schlicht.

• 647 Southwest Blvd., change of zone from general industrial district to planned commercial district for a residential unit over a commercial business, Warehouse 647.

• 3316 N. 131st St., change of zone from agriculture district to single-family district for a single-family residential development, BCB Holdings.

• 9407 Main St., change of zone from agriculture district to planned heavy industrial district for a wastewater treatment plant, UG Water Pollution Control.

• 2005 N. 5th St., special use permit for live entertainment in conjunction with coffee shop, retail sales and barber shop, Jeffrey E. Hollinshed.

• 3910 Springfield, renewal of a special use permit for an Air BNB (bread and breakfast), Dana and Patti Meier.

• 2716 N. 119th St., special use permit for an Air BNB, Michael Gekas.

• 1625 S. 86th St., special use permit for a temporary asphalt plant, Bettis Asphalt and Construction.

• 6801 State Ave., renewal of a special use permit for a commercial driver’s license training facility and job placement program for graduating students, Apex CDL Institute.

• 1715 S. 94th St., renewal of a special use permit to keep two horses, Keith Orr.

• 2310 W. 41st Ave., special use permit for a short-term rental, AVC Properties.

• 625 Northrup Ave., renewal of a special use permit for an Air BNB, RZ Properties LLC.

• 4440 Cambridge St., renewal of a special use permit, Air BNB, Yola Van Laanen.

• 5443 N. 101st Terrace, vacation of utility easement, Atlas Surveyors.

• 10760 Parallel Parkway, preliminary and final plan review for Tidal Wave Car Wash, TW Macon, LLC.

• 9401 Main St., Master Plan Amendment from regional commercial to utilities (City-Wide Master Plan, UG Water Pollution Control.

• 9731 and 9745 Leavenworth Road, an ordinance rezoning property from agriculture district to single-family district.

• 1620 S. 45th St., an ordinance rezoning property from general industrial district to planned heavy industrial district.

• 732 N. 57th St., an ordinance rezoning property from single-family district to agriculture district.

• 500 N. 86th St., an ordinance rezoning property from single-family district to agriculture district.

• 428 N. 5th St., special use permit for office space in a private security guard company, Simmons Security and Protection Services.

• North 8th and Washington Boulevard, plat of Boulevard Lofts.

• North 112th Street and Yecker Avenue, plat of Piper Landing, fourth plat.

• Resolution for a cooperative agreement with the Mid-America Regional Council and other area cities to fund the Operation Green Light Traffic Control System.

More information is available on the UG agenda, online at www.wycokck.org.

The former Linn County Attorney pleaded guilty today to federal charges of stealing 350 to 500 items including electronics and equipment that belonged to the county, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said today. The estimated value of the items was $75,000.

John Sutherland, 68, Mound City, Kansas, who served as county attorney for approximately 20 years before leaving the job in January 2017, was charged with one count of mail fraud and one count of lying to federal investigators.

The crimes are alleged to have taken place from sometime prior to January 2009 and continuing until Sutherland left office.

In his plea, Sutherland admitted that on Feb. 6, 2019, FBI agents found 13 items stolen from Linn County when they searched Sutherland’s office at the Wyandotte County District Attorney’s Office.

At the time, Sutherland was working as an assistant district attorney. One of the items was a stolen Apple laptop computer, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

When FBI agents interviewed him, Sutherland denied any wrongdoing and made other false statements, the U.S. attorney’s office stated. For instance, he claimed that an Apple TV 64 GB video-streaming device the county purchased for about $220 had been destroyed. FBI agents found the device intact at Sutherland’s residence. They also found that Sutherland had given some of the stolen items to his adult children.

In his plea agreement, Sutherland agreed to pay full restitution and to surrender his license to practice law. The mail fraud count carries a penalty of up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The false statement count carries a penalty of up to five years and a fine up to $250,000.

McAllister commended the FBI, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tris Hunt and Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Oakley for their work on the case.