Mike Kelly, chair of the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners, convened a Committee of the Whole Dec. 4 to consider a suite of fire-district items, including a proposed change to the Olathe Fire Protection Services Agreement.

Jim Francis, fire services administrator, said the county wants to extend an annual-renewal agreement so Olathe will be the primary emergency responder for unincorporated pockets north of 159th Street (encompassing portions up to 167th and segments near Ridgeview Road). "We'd simply be asking Olathe just to run the calls, emergency calls, everything else would be handled by the district," Francis said, describing a narrower role limited to fire, EMS, rescue and hazmat responses.

The change is intended to improve response times for populated pocket neighborhoods (Francis cited an Executive Estates subdivision with "probably 40 to 50 homes" and estimated "60 to 70 residents" across the cluster). Under the proposal, burn-permit administration and follow-up on complaints within fire-district territory would shift to the consolidated fire district and county staff would coordinate compliance activities.

Commissioners asked for map clarifications and how residents would be notified. Francis said residents likely would see little difference in who responds because the county's CAD dispatching often routes the nearest resource; historically staff has not notified residents directly for similar housekeeping changes. Commissioner Ashcraft warned that some residents have been double taxed in past jurisdiction changes and urged careful review of tax records during detachment and annexation work.

The Olathe expansion and related detachment matter are informational for now; Francis said the county is reviewing legal descriptions and publication requirements and expects formal action to be brought forward in the coming weeks or months. Chair Kelly said the intention is to direct these items to next week's action agenda if the briefing and briefing sheets are in order.