Officials with the federal government’s General Services Administration again are seeking public comment on plans to give the 9,065-acre Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant site near DeSoto to the state of Kansas.

Notices explaining the process for submitting written comments have been mailed and faxed to area newspapers.

Several areas within the site are heavily polluted.

“The Army cannot transfer contaminated property,” said Tony Spaar, a spokesman for the plant. “But regulations allow for a governor to approve such a transfer when there’s a plan in place for making sure the contamination will be cleaned up.

“That process requires public input,” Spaar said.

Spaar said the comments and other documents would be collected and forwarded to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ office for consideration.

As yet, Spaar said, the transfer was not tied to a specific proposal, though state officials were working on plans for the state to accept title to the site and then transfer the title to Johnson County, which plans on creating a special development district.

Johnson County officials last year rejected plans to turn part of the site into a Wonderful World of Oz theme park.

Near the looming presence of the Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant water towers, Mike Cornella takes a stroll. The federal government is seeking public input on a proposal to transfer ownership of the plant site to the state of Kansas. Cornella, who works at the now-defunct plant, walked an empty stretch of road Wednesday.

Since then, Johnson County has been considering proposals from Kessinger/Hunter & Co., a Kansas City real estate development firm interested in converting the property to a mix of residential and commercial properties.

Attempts to reach Kessinger/ Hunter & Co. officials for comment Wednesday were unsuccessful.

Sharon Watson, a spokeswoman for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, on Wednesday said department officials were negotiating which parts of the site were to be cleaned up by the Army and which would be the responsibility of the developer.

“There’s a lot that has to be in place before the final transfer can occur,” Watson said. “These are preliminary — but important — steps that need to be taken.”

Others also have interest in the defunct ammunition plant.

The Oklahoma-based Shawnee tribe has filed a federal lawsuit, claiming that under treaties signed in 1825, 1831 and 1854, it’s entitled to the property.

U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., has proposed giving 2,800 acres of the site to the Johnson County Parks Department.

A section of the nitroguanidine facility, which was the last active production facility at the Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant, stands tall over the Kansas countryside near DeSoto.