photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

New home construction is shown in Eudora's Shadow Ridge subdivision in this 2022 file photo.

Douglas County commissioners will receive a presentation on a residential and senior housing development in Eudora, and in the future, may have to decide on whether to create a special district to allow the development to receive property tax rebates.

On Wednesday, county commissioners will hear an update on a nearly 180-home development proposed for approximately 42.5 acres of property located north of an existing subdivision in Eudora and west of Eudora High School. The developers of the project have requested the use of a Reinvestment Housing Incentive District to assist with “the financing of the public infrastructure improvements associated with the site.”

Eudora needs to establish the district to qualify for state tax incentives that will assist with funding infrastructure in the new development. The incentives largely include a property tax rebate — for up to 25 years — that will help developers pay for items like streets, sidewalks, utilities and other such infrastructure components.

Exactly how large of a rebate this project — dubbed Shadow Ridge North — is seeking isn’t yet known. The project’s developers are still negotiating a development agreement with the City of Eudora, which would spell out details about the infrastructure and its costs. County commissioners on Wednesday aren’t being asked to take any vote on the project, but rather are being given an update because the county ultimately could have veto authority over the issuance of the incentives at a future date.

While the tactic of providing a property tax rebate to commercial or mixed-used projects is relatively common, such rebates have been rare in Douglas County for traditional single family neighborhood developments. In fact, this state tax incentive — known as the Reinvestment Housing Incentive District program — was initially designed to encourage residential growth in smaller communities across western Kansas. However, last year the incentive program was significantly expanded. Cities across the state can now authorize the property tax rebates. Even larger cities — like Lawrence — are eligible to use the program, although they have limits on how frequently they can use the incentives during a year.

The Eudora project includes 149 proposed residential lots, in addition to approximately 30 townhome-style and duplex units for senior living. Currently, staff is waiting for a final development plan for the site, including the estimated construction timeline for the units, the draft development agreement, among other items, according to a memo provided to county commissioners.

As the Journal-World reported, this project was originally pursued in 2024 and there was a public hearing held in January 2024. However, no action was taken to create the district after “questions related to traffic and east-west connectivity within the city” were raised by Eudora officials. Since that time, a traffic study was initiated, which supported the newly proposed concept and anticipates further road improvements to nearby roads.

The Eudora City Commission is scheduled to hold a public hearing on February 24 to further review the project. Following the city hearing, an ordinance will be considered to formally establish the district, referencing the development plan and agreement.

The Eudora school district and the County Commission will have 30 days to assess any potential “adverse effects” the proposed district may have on their respective entities and adopt a resolution addressing these concerns. If a resolution citing adverse effects is adopted, it will nullify the city ordinance that establishes the district, according to the memo provided to commissioners.

Several items on the County Commission’s meeting agenda were previously scheduled to be considered for the previous meeting, which was cancelled due to winter weather last week. In other business, county commissioners will:

* Consider moving money into special reserve funds and other accounts that act like savings accounts for the county. County commissioners each year make transfers to various reserve funds as part of their year-end financial processes.

The transfers take two forms: those included in the planned 2024 budget and those that were not. When the county approved its 2024 budget in the summer of 2023, it made an effort to boost the balances of several of its savings accounts. According to a memo in the agenda, more than $20 million in the 2024 budget was intended to be placed in reserve funds to “pay for future one-time expenditures or capital replacement items,” as the Journal-World reported.

The county’s general operating fund, which covers most county services, also generated $9.3 million more in revenues than expected for 2024. Additionally, it spent roughly $5 million less than planned. Together, this amounts to about $14.3 million in extra funds that county commissioners will need to determine how to allocate.

In addition, a staff memo to commissioners recommends $11.9 million of unbudgeted transfers be made to a variety of reserve funds. This includes funding to multiple equipment reserve funds for things like sustainability, information technology and sheriff operations, heritage conservation and first responders. It also includes over $9.2 million proposed to be transferred to the capital improvement plan fund to allocate towards specific projects during 2026 budget deliberations and adoption of the county’s five-year plan.

* Consider adopting a resolution to transfer remaining funds from the 2024 budget for Consolidated Fire District No. 1 for an equipment reserve fund. The approved 2024 budget included a transfer of $150,000 to the fund, and according to a memo in the agenda, the 2024 budget has a remaining amount of $404,939 that staff recommend transferring to the fund for a total 2024 year-end transfer amount of $554,939.

* Hear an update on the planning process, challenges and progress toward being prepared for the FIFA World Cup coming to Douglas County in 2026. Douglas County, specifically, Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence has been identified as a potential base camp for a World Cup soccer team next year. Emergency Management, in partnership with stakeholders, have created a Unified Command Structure for planning leading up to the event.

A Unified Command is a framework used in emergency management to coordinate response efforts during major incidents or planned events involving multiple agencies or jurisdictions, enabling each agency to maintain responsibility for its area of expertise while sharing resources and information. In addition to serving as a base camp, Lawrence will also need to plan for fan celebrations, parades, and other events surrounding the World Cup Tournament.

* Consider the purchase of emergency fire dispatch protocol software for the Emergency Communications Center, totaling $154,406 in 2025 and $19,000 annually in ongoing maintenance from 2026 through 2029.

According to a memo provided to commissioners, Douglas County dispatchers currently use a similar system for medical emergency calls, which allows them to more efficiently dispatch responders and resources to scenes and provide some care over the phone, including helping callers provide CPR. Emergency Communications, Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical and the Douglas County Fire Chiefs Association determined that a similar system was necessary for fire calls, as well.

This new system would allow Emergency Communications to give instructions to help callers stay safe until help arrives, and that it would improve resource management for fire departments across the county.

The 2025 budget includes $160,000 for the purchase of this software, and additional funding will be included in future budgets to maintain the system. The memo said that the proposal was not submitted for bids because the software product is an “add-on feature” to the existing medical dispatch protocol software that the Emergency Communications Center already uses.

* Consider a letter of intent that will have the county participate in the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s Healthy Families Outreach, Prevention and Early intervention program. The letter included in the agenda states that the county intends to provide matching funds to “pull down federal funding for the program.” It says the “source for matching dollars will be from the county’s general fund, and Douglas County has adequate funding to provide up to $350,000 in matching dollars.”

The memo says the program helps identify families in need of preventative health services for their children, connects families to health care resources and works to prevent child abuse and neglect, among other things.

* Consider the need for a proposed bridge replacement on North 1800 Road, Farmer’s Turnpike, over Baldwin Creek; approve the plans and specifications prepared by the county engineer; and authorize Public Works to seek bids for the project. As the Journal-World reported, the Kansas Department of Transportation has granted the county $1.4 million for the bridge replacement, addressing concerns about its aging concrete and restricted load capacity.

* Consider approving a tow service provider agreement, allowing local tow contractors to be included in a rotation list managed by the Emergency Communications Center staff. In 2024, eight tow operators submitted their agreements. Staff met with these operators in January to discuss and review the terms of the annual agreement.

According to a memo in the agenda, tow operators have expressed a desire to raise the maximum charge for “motorist assist” calls. The last increase to the maximum charges was approved by the commission in 2023. However, an increase will not be considered at Wednesday’s meeting, and rates will remain unchanged for 2025.

* Hold a work session for the Heritage Conservation Council and sustainability department to present a department overview. The session is for informational purposes only, and no action will follow.

The County Commission’s work session will begin at 4 p.m. Wednesday in the Douglas County Commission meeting room at 1100 Massachusetts St. The business meeting will follow at 5:30 p.m. The meeting will also be available via Zoom.