Olathe ? Johnson County commissioners want public feedback on plans for the development of the Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant.

Commissioner Dolores Furtado said the board aimed to create a meaningful public debate over plans for the 9,065-acre Sunflower site.

Eight developers have expressed interest in Sunflower. Ideas include a wind farm, residential neighborhoods, a high-tech research park and even a National Hockey League franchise.

Once the commission has heard from the public, Furtado said, board members can identify their own vision for Sunflower.

The commission has been meeting monthly with Don Jarrett, its attorney and chief Sunflower negotiator. Commissioners are expected to give Jarrett instructions on Dec. 18 on how to structure a seven-member redevelopment authority to oversee plans.

The redevelopment authority would be able to shape the future of the site, still riddled with toxic waste from decades of munitions production.

The authority would make recommendations for final action by the County Commission, Jarrett said. The body would evaluate land uses, development potential and land transfer options, conduct feasibility studies, take proposals and recommend financing options. Jarrett said he would like the authority in place by the first of the year.

Potential deal breakers for development of the Sunflower site include two lawsuits. One, brought by a taxpayers group, claims the government has not properly assessed the land from an environmental angle. That case is on hold.

The other involves the Shawnee Tribe of Miami, Okla., which has claimed the Sunflower land as ancestral territory given to them under an 1854 treaty with the U.S. government. Jarrett said officials with the Department of Justice believed the lawsuits would be resolved in the government’s favor by late spring.