If you live near 95th and Antioch and plan to vote in March to save Stonegate Pool, what exactly would your ballot change?
Not much for Stonegate. The pool's future was settled in July. The March 2, 2027 mail-in election will decide something else. It sets how much of Overland Park's new 10-year parks plan gets built, and the rate the City Council chose was sized from the start to cover the repairs and about half of the new parks, trails and pool work.
A Plan Priced at One Rate, a Ballot Set at Another
On Monday, Sept. 28, the council adopted Playbook OP 9-3. It's a decade-long plan for parks, trails, pools and playgrounds. KCTV5 reported that the plan calls for about $356.9 million in capital projects. At current funding levels the city has about $108.8 million, which leaves a $248.1 million gap.
City staff gave the council three ways to close that gap with a new 10-year sales tax. Assistant City Manager Kate Gunja laid out the math to the Kansas City Star:
| Sales tax rate | Estimated revenue over 10 years | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| 1/8 cent | $88 million | Maintaining current parks and facilities |
| 1/4 cent | $176 million | All maintenance plus about half of the plan's new additions |
| 3/8 cent | $264 million | 100% of the projects in the plan |
The top tier is the only one that covers the gap, and only with $15.9 million to spare. Under the middle tier, adding the tax to the $108.8 million the city already expects still leaves the adopted plan about $72 million short.
On Oct. 5 the council chose the middle option. The Committee of the Whole voted 9-3 to put a 1/4-cent tax before voters. Andrew Payne, Josh Beck and Christopher Newlin voted no, according to the Johnson County Post. The Post estimates that a quarter cent adds about two cents to a $10 purchase.
The council arrived at the middle tier from both ends. Mayor Curt Skoog had leaned toward the 1/8 cent because this would be a brand-new tax. Councilmember Logan Heley pushed for the 3/8 cent. The Post quoted Heley saying it would be "irresponsible, frankly, to stick with the 1/8-cent when we really are underfunding our parks and rec pretty significantly right now for a city with park in our name." The quarter cent won "after a series of alternative motions and amendments," the Post reported.
The Pool Question Closed in July
Pools have drawn the most public fight in the whole plan. They're also the part the March vote is least likely to change.
On July 20 the council voted 7-5 to keep the regional pool model the city has followed since 2013. That model replaces smaller community pools with fewer, larger facilities. The Johnson County Post's coverage of that vote laid out what it means pool by pool:
- Bluejacket Pool closed after the 2024 season and has since been torn down. It will not be rebuilt. The site is expected to change as part of a wider Bluejacket Park refresh.
- Stonegate Pool, near 95th Street and Antioch, will close for good at the end of its useful life. Renovations in 2009 could keep it open several more years, and the old parks plan estimated it would close around 2035.
- Young's Pool off 75th Street and Tomahawk Ridge Aquatic Center on 119th Street will stay on as the city's regional pools and get renovated.
- A third regional pool is planned for the southern half of the city. No site has been chosen.
This pattern goes back years. Roe Pool closed first, then Marty Pool in 2022, then Bluejacket. According to KCTV5, parts of Young's Pool date to 1968, and Tomahawk Ridge opened in 1992.
Cost drove the July vote. City staff estimated the regional-only approach at close to $70 million over 10 years for construction and maintenance. A mix of community and regional pools would have cost more than $90 million. The city's own community survey pointed the other way. In that survey, 62% of respondents preferred more neighborhood pools within walking or biking distance and 31% preferred larger regional ones. When respondents split a hypothetical $100 recreation budget, pools got $28.30, more than bike and hike trails at $20.47 or parks at $20.24.
Ward 2 includes both Bluejacket and Stonegate, and its two council members voted against the full plan in September over the pool section. "There's just such beauty in being able to walk to the pool and let your kids run around and swim and hang out with their friends," Councilman Drew Mitrisin said, as KCTV5 reported. Both of them still voted yes on Oct. 5 to send the quarter cent to voters.
That's why the March vote is less about Stonegate than many people may assume. The pool direction is set either way. The ballot decides how quickly the remaining pools get renovated and whether the southern regional pool moves from idea to construction.
What the "Other Half" Is Made Of
If the quarter cent covers maintenance plus roughly half of the new additions, the real question is what those additions are. The Kansas City Star summed up the plan's goals as one new park, nine park renovations, 14 shelter replacements, 27 playground replacements, new trails, a roller hockey rink and a new regional aquatic center.
The Playbook OP plan document names more specific places, especially in the growing southern part of the city:
- The undeveloped 30.6-acre park site at 161st Street and Mission Road, which would become a community park.
- Two new community parks of about 15 acres each in southern Overland Park. Where land allows, the plan suggests adding acreage along Wolf Creek to protect natural areas.
- A new regional park of about 35 acres in southern Overland Park. No parcel is named yet.
- A greenway linkage on the undeveloped 10.4 acres at 7901 W. 143rd Street.
- Crosby Kemper Farm, all 321.7 acres, stays an undeveloped natural area. The plan revisits the site in 11 or more years.
The plan isn't only about the south. For the area between I-435 and 143rd Street, it lists five new small park opportunities, the Tomahawk Ridge renovations and greenways along Indian Creek and Tomahawk Creek. North of I-435, it lists four small park opportunities, three to four small-footprint recreation facilities and trail linkages. Each of the city's three regions, north, central and south, would also get at least one universally accessible playground, designed so kids of all abilities can play together.
The city has done this before at a smaller scale. Thompson Park opened in 2020 as the centerpiece of the previous long-term parks plan. Bietigheim-Bissingen Park is the city's newer play space in the south. Playbook OP is a decade of projects at that level, and the quarter cent is sized to fund about half of them.
The Arboretum and Deanna Rose Line Item
The sales tax isn't the plan's only funding idea. The Johnson County Post reports that Playbook OP also considered higher park rental costs and less city subsidy for attractions such as the Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens and Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead. No specific admission or fee changes have been announced. Their funding is now part of the same discussion as the ballot.
Today, parks and recreation draw mostly from Overland Park's general fund, which comes from property taxes and regular city sales taxes. A dedicated parks tax would set money aside for parks, trails and recreation only. The Post compares it to the city's 3/8-cent OP Moves tax, which can only be spent on infrastructure.
The Calendar From Here to March
The ballot wording isn't final yet. Here's the remaining sequence as the Johnson County Post reports it:
- Nov. 2: The council is scheduled to consider the election ordinance. That ordinance sets the ballot language, which spells out how the money can be used for maintenance, repairs, replacements and development.
- Nov. 16: The deadline to finalize that language.
- February 2027: Mail-in ballots go out to registered voters within city limits.
- March 2, 2027: The deadline to return ballots.
- Oct. 1, 2027: If voters approve, the tax starts and runs 10 years. After that it either ends or goes back to voters for renewal.
This post is general information about a proposed tax measure. It isn't legal, tax or financial advice, and it isn't a recommendation on how to vote. For specifics, check the city's final ballot language once it's adopted.
Still on the Calendar This Fall
Whatever happens in March, the Arboretum has a full stretch ahead. Overland Park's October event guide lists "Bewitched by Orchids," a show and sale with the Orchid Society of Greater Kansas City, on Saturday, Oct. 31, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Arboretum's "Clever Crow" walk-and-read feature runs through Nov. 25.
Wondering how a nearby park, trail or pool fits into what your Overland Park home is worth today? Blake & Associates tracks this block by block, and we'd love to walk you through it. Get Your Free Home Valuation and we'll put the numbers in front of you, no pressure and no pool noodles required.
