Overland Park Mayor Curt Skoog takes questions at Post forum, opponent Faris Farassati declines to attend

Overland Park Mayor Curt Skoog addressed a variety of topics, including tax incentives for developers, property taxes and the closure of a popular neighborhood pool, at a forum hosted by the Johnson County Post last week.

Skoog spoke before a crowd of more than 100 people at Central Resource Library in Overland Park on Thursday, Oct. 2.

His opponent, former city councilmember Faris Farassati, declined to participate after giving the Post several conditions he said needed to be met for him to agree to attend.

The Overland Park mayoral forum came on the ninth of 12 scheduled nights of local candidate forums that the Post is hosting across Johnson County ahead of the Nov. 4 election, some of which are being co-sponsored by Johnson County Library.

Who is running?

• Faris Farassati
• Curt Skoog (incumbent)

About a month before the forum, Farassati emailed the Post, laying out several conditions he said the Post needed to meet in order for him to participate in the forum.

Those conditions:

• Include four questions written by Farassati’s side that would be asked in “exact verbiage.” In addition, Farassati asked that he be allowed to preview and approve the order of the questions to be asked by Post moderator Kyle Palmer.
• Have an open mic for members of the public to ask questions for half of the forum time.
• Prohibit candidates from having notes or written material with them while speaking.
• The Post would also agree not to suppress audience’s expressions during the event, including “clapping, etc.”

The Post would not concede to any of these conditions, and Farassati declined to participate.

How to watch the Post’s forum

The Post livestreamed Wednesday’s event on our Facebook page. A recording of the forum can be viewed there, though it is now Facebook’s policy to erase live videos 30 days after they are produced.

You can also watch the full Overland Park mayoral forum on the Post’s new YouTube channel, where it should be preserved into the future.

The full forum video is also embedded below:

Questions

Skoog, the only participating candidate, gave an opening statement and answered a series of questions based on reader feedback and suggestions received by the Post before and during the event.

The Post also asked a number of questions directly from the audience, submitted via index card during the event.

Timestamps are included at the end of each question to help you navigate through the forum video if you’d like to jump around to issues that matter most to you.

1. Opening statement [5:24]
2. Top 3 issues: This from the audience, “What are the top three issues on voters’ minds? And what is your plan for them? [6:46]
3. Property taxes: Any talk of property taxes in Overland Park and often-heard requests to lower the city’s mill rate will have to contend with the fact that the city already has the lowest municipal tax rate in Johnson County by a wide margin. And it’s set to stay flat next year at around 14.5 mills. What do you say to the inevitable pleas from some residents to consider more drastic tax cuts? What if they say they are willing to see a reduction in city services if it means lower annual tax bills? [8:38]

   

4. Tax increment financing: The city lists more than 10 developments that currently get tax increment financing, or TIF, many of them apartment and retail districts around downtown and other projects primarily in the Metcalf area and off I-435. TIF has long been a hot-button issue in Overland Park, with critics characterizing such deals as giveaways to developers. But city officials have long argued that, though some of the increased revenue from these sites goes to reimburse developers for the cost of building on a site, the city is also getting millions more in annual tax revenues each year from properties that are now generating more tax revenue. Do you support the way the city currently uses TIF? Why or why not? [11:45]
5. TIF follow up: You often hear critics of TIF complain that these are sweetheart deals for developers who have cozied up to city hall … and that TIF should only be used in rare circumstances when a property is truly blighted. What say you? [13:06]
6. Housing: Nearly every Johnson County community is contending with housing affordability in some way. Overland Park, due to its size and growing population, may feel this more acutely than many other local municipalities. Yet, there is deep disagreement among residents over what they want to see done. For instance, we had several readers email us, complaining about the number of apartments that have gone up in recent years. On the other hand, other readers suggested wanting to see more diverse types of multi-family housing, like villas and duplexes and triplexes. What policies would you like your city to pursue to make housing in your city potentially more affordable? Is this a priority for you? [14:42]
7. Apartments and density: What do you say particularly to concerns about multi-story apartments or multi-family projects that aim to drastically increase an area’s density? Are there any limits or guidelines the city should strictly follow for approving these projects and where in the city they go? [16:05]

   

8. Homelessness: This question from the audience, “Shouldn’t Overland Park be leading Johnson County in changing zoning, etc., to increase low-barrier housing [for those experiencing homelessness]? Lenexa is the only city to approve Project 1020.” You wan to address that? [17:44]
9. Homelessness follow up: What is the political calculation to addressing homelessness? Can Overland Park lead on that, as the questioner mentioned? [18:35]
10. A new Royals stadium: An entity owned by the team has purchased the mortgage of the Aspiria site at 119th and Nall … and that site is one of several around the metro the Royals have confirmed they are at least looking at as the landing place for a new stadium. From a reader email, “Would you support spending any city funds or approving any kind of tax break for the Royals to build a new stadium in Overland Park?” [19:25]
11. Royals follow up: Your opponent has publicly stated he is against the team moving to Overland Park, alluding to traffic problems and other infrastructure challenges it could pose. Is Overland Park prepared to be home to a professional sports team? Would it be more trouble than it’s worth? [20:47]
12. College/Metcalf corridor: One of the biggest projects the city plans to undertake in coming years is the remaking of the historically corporate College Boulevard corridor around Metcalf into a walkable city center. The city has purchased a seven-story office building in the area to make the new city hall and got behind Black & Veatch’s $1 billion plan to transform its corporate headquarters into a mixed-use property with apartments and potentially a public park. This excites some residents and also garnered skepticism from others. If elected, what will be your priorities in planning or this key area of the city in coming years? [23:10]
13. Street maintenance: One reader sent this email in, “I am not proud to live in Overland Park when I look at my street. Our residential streets look horrible, with tar drizzled here and there… and chip seal broken off all over the place while our traffic just keeps getting worse … Will you do anything to fight for better upkeep of our residential streets?” [24:37]
14. Chip seal follow up: Some readers may recall the sales tax vote that was supposed to lessen the use of chip seal, maybe in their minds it was going to get rid of chip seal, and now they might think it’s not getting rid of chip seal fast enough. Your response? [26:04]
15. Campaign contributions: A longstanding grievance for critics of city hall and for you particularly, Mayor Skoog, is your perceived closeness to developers. Your campaign finance reports show several large contributions from entities connected to local developers, including those that have had business before city hall. How can you assure residents that you have the city’s and residents’ needs ahead of developers? [26:54]
16. Campaign finance follow up: One final point about this and then we’ll move on. We did get a question from the audience, this person noting several $4,000 contributions from individuals or entities connected to Price Development. That’s a particular one they point out. Do you have any concerns about any contributions you’ve taken, or would it be appropriate for you to recuse yourself in the future if any business related to this contributor comes up before the city council? [28:21]

    

17. ICE and federal involvement: A question from the audience, “Has Overland Park signed a 287(g) agreement with ICE [I believe, allowing local police to partner with ICE on immigration enforcement]?” We have another question from the audience pointing out concerns that language in a recently finalized Safe Streets 4 All grant that might make the city beholden to the Trump administration’s ICE and DEI policies. Your response to that? [30:02]
18. Inclusivity and diversity: A couple of more questions on this theme. One person from the audience asks, “What will you do preserve Overland Park’s vibrant LGBTQ+ community?” Another questioner says, “Can you describe how you intend to support and nurture diverse perspectives in our community?” [31:41]
19. Cost of living: From the audience, “How do we help low- to low-to-middle income households with the rising cost of living in the city?” [33:41]
20. Development: From the audience, “What will you do to limit the spread of development in southern Overland Park that is destroying green space and threatening rural communities?” [34:55]
21. Bluejacket Pool: From the audience, “How would you approach the closure of Bluejacket Pool and what steps would you take to ensure neighbors have access to community pools?” [36:36]
22. Qualifications: What qualifies you for this job? And why should voters vote for you? [38:38]