As plans to expand the Greater Kill Creek Park area move forward, the Johnson County Park and Recreation District is once again asking for public input.
On Saturday, JCPRD will host an open house for residents to learn more about the project and share feedback on what they want to see.
JCPRD is developing its Greater Kill Creek Master Plan, which envisions adding about 2,000 acres to the park in western Johnson County. The expansion would bring the park’s size to roughly 3,000 acres, making it the largest in the county park system.
The land in question is unincorporated county property west of Olathe and south of De Soto. The plan calls for changes within the existing Kill Creek Park footprint as well as expansion through the Kill Creek Streamway and the former Sunflower Ammunition Plant.
Currently, Kill Creek Park is 897 acres and offers four shelters, a lake with a beach and marina and 12 miles of trails. Visitors can fish, kayak or paddleboard on the water.
At a community engagement event in August, residents said they hoped to see more hiking and biking trails, camping areas and community gardens added in the future.
“A lot of the plan recommendations right at this point are focused on improved access for trail users and for park users in general,” said Project Manager Jim Wilson.
A 15-year project timeline
But those ideas won’t be realized right away. The timeline for the full project is about 15 years.
“The Greater Kill Creek Park project itself is only a master plan at this point,” Wilson said. “It’s going to rely on a lot of other actions to secure funding and then to implement the plan.”
One of the biggest steps will be acquiring land from Sunflower Redevelopment LLC, which owns the former ammunition plant just to the west.
Under a proposed deal, the county would give the company 58 acres of Sunflower Nature Park in exchange for 2,000 acres of the former plant site. The land — used to manufacture ammunition during World War II, as well as the Korean and Vietnam wars — will need to be cleaned up to meet Kansas Department of Health and Environment standards before any transfer can happen.
Wilson said that since the Army stopped managing the site, much of the land has grown over with invasive species.
“The overall sentiment we’ve heard is to preserve and restore the natural elements in Kill Creek and the added acreage, rather than overdeveloping the land,” he said.
Open house details
The open house will run from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Oct. 4, at the Kill Creek Park Beach House, 11670 Homestead Lane, Olathe.
JCPRD will incorporate feedback into the master plan and present it to its board by February 2026.
The public will also be able to give comments on the plan.
