From toxic sludge to lush park? Johnson County weighs cost to take over old factory site

Tucked away in southeastern Johnson County, a wooded path curves around the Blue River.

The quiet pocket of nature has become a makeshift bike trail for some, and a tempting after-school hangout for nearby Blue Valley students. But abandoned since the 1990s when it was the site of a multi-million-dollar environmental cleanup, the land also has seen explorers get injured, and a fatal crash at the railroad tracks near it.

Now, conservationists and some local officials are urging Johnson County to take over the 35-acre site near 164th Street and Mission Road. They want the county to turn it into a new park connected to its trail system, improve safety, remove invasive species and finish ecological remediation to restore the soil and water quality.

“You don’t have to drive very far in southern Johnson County to see the bulldozers converting natural areas and former agricultural land into subdivisions,” said Bill Blessing, a board member for the nonprofit Heartland Conservation Alliance. “The ability of the county to conserve land for the use of current and future residents is rapidly being diminished due to the pace of real estate development. We see this as a closing window of opportunity to conserve natural land.”

Two Johnson County commissioners, Charlotte O’Hara and Becky Fast, have been pushing to quickly move the project forward. But other commissioners disagree on how high of a priority it should be, and are worried about taking on the liability of owning the site. They’re also unsure how the roughly $10 million park project would be funded.

“I think there’s still some environmental mitigation that needs to be taken care of,” Commissioner Jeff Meyers said. “And when you purchase property, you become liable for some of the activity that takes place there. So when I hear things, such as people are riding motorcycles or doing other activity on that property, that causes me a little bit of concern. That means the county or parks board, whichever has control over the property, would have to patrol it.”

The Kuhlman manufacturing plant, which produced zinc and aluminum die castings for the auto industry, used to operate on the site. The 74,000-square-foot plant was abandoned in the 1990s when the company went bankrupt, leaving behind cyanide-based chemicals and containers of toxic sludge.

The Environmental Protection Agency designated it a Superfund site after that and spent more than $2 million to initially clean it up. The land has sat unused ever since, while liens, the site’s condition and its location in a floodplain have kept buyers uninterested.

Children and party-seekers were known to hang out in the blighted, graffiti-covered plant, sparking calls to the sheriff’s office and growing concerns as the building further deteriorated. And a fatal crash in 2020, when a Jeep was hit by a train, killing three men, raised officials’ fears about the site being a hazard. Johnson County Commissioners agreed to spend $750,000 to raze the old factory last year.

And now some are pushing the county to take over ownership, which officials say could be done at essentially no cost, while forgiving a $1 million tax lien on the property. Johnson County could then transfer the land to the parks and recreation district, to turn it into a public park and trail connection.

Restoring the old Kuhlman site

A firm has studied options for creating a park, as part of a partnership with the county Parks and Recreation board and the city of Overland Park, which owns 30 undeveloped acres just north of the Kuhlman site.

Hindered by the ability to build on much of the land since it’s in a floodplain, the park would be primarily for passive use. But officials have studied connecting the site to the nearby trail system, including at Camp Branch. The land owned by the city could house a playground or a disc golf course. The price tag is estimated between $8 million and more than $10 million.

City spokeswoman Meg Ralph said Overland Park is supportive of collaborating on a park project with the county, but does not have money budgeted for it. The county parks department also does not have money dedicated yet.

“I think it really rounds out this story about this site, that was a nuisance. It’s polluted. And it’s a piece going forward that can be part of the renewal of this site and enjoyment of park users in the future,” Will Metcalf, with SWT Design, told the parks board this past fall.

O’Hara, who bikes in the area, wants the trail connection to improve safety for cyclists and pedestrians, saying that she avoids Mission Road because it feels too dangerous. She applauds the county for tearing down the old factory, but said safety could still be improved by putting up fencing by the railroad tracks.

“This is just a great way to improve connectivity and get the bikers off of Mission Road. This is just a jewel,” O’Hara said. “It can be reclaimed, restored, reused, and can be a real asset to the community. It’s already being used. So we need to make sure that we have the safety barriers in place.”

Environmental hazards

Fast is also urging officials to push the project forward, saying it could play a critical role in restoring the land and improving the Blue River’s water quality. She wants to see additional environmental remediation, as well as invasive species, such as Bradford pear trees, removed and replaced with native plants.

“That remediation is part of the park cost. To bring this back to tall grass prairie, to restore it, that part is so important because that filters all the toxins for this water source,” Fast said, while walking along the Blue River.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment assesses the Kuhlman site each year. Spokeswoman Jill Bronaugh said existing concerns include potential groundwater contamination, with a water sampling last fall showing “concentrations of petroleum hydrocarbons” above the state limit.

“The planned actions for the Kuhlman site consist of collecting groundwater samples to characterize possible groundwater contamination onsite and review of samples collected from the sediment to determine what remedial actions may be necessary,” she said.

The Heartland Conservation Alliance said in a letter to the county commission that, “The proposed steps of stabilizing the riparian corridor, removing invasive plants, and enabling future woodlands and grasslands to restore the soil and water quality are critical elements to improving soil and groundwater health while reducing runoff and flooding into the Blue River.”

Officials clash over priorities

While the site is restored to commercial standards, the potential need for additional remediation has caused some officials to hit pause.

Meyers said he supports the idea, but wants officials to be cautious, especially since plans would likely include negotiations with nearby private property owners and the railroad. And he expects the project cost to keep rising.

But O’Hara and Fast worry that time wasted will mean the need for more restoration in the coming years. Tensions flared at a recent county meeting, when O’Hara tried to gain support for redirecting $1.5 million in COVID-19 relief dollars toward the project. The idea hadn’t previously been discussed or studied as part of the county’s plan for the money, so Chairman Mike Kelly ruled it non-germane and adjourned the meeting.

As he did, Fast told Kelly, “You didn’t allow for any discussion of any other items. You closed it off because it’s not your idea and you don’t want to talk about it.”

Kelly told The Star that the idea of turning the Kuhlman site into a park is “intriguing.” But he pointed out that it is not at the top of the park department’s list, saying while it is part of its long-term plan, other park projects are in later phases, with funding already secured.

“There are a number of parks that are yet to be developed that Johnson County already owns. And Johnson County has spent the time and resources in developing a master plan for those parks, which takes a considerable amount of time and effort,” Kelly said.

Much work is needed, he said, before the Kuhlman project could get to that phase. But others on the commission haven’t showed a willingness to slow down, and they hope grants or other money could be approved to get work moving.