Emery Park Evergy Transmission Easement

At a glance

Based on auto-generated captions; names and numbers may be misheard.

What: Evergy wants a permanent transmission line easement across the northern triangle (the MacArthur parcel, about 1.91 acres) of Emery Park, land donated to the Board of Park Commissioners in 1955 for public recreation use only.
Where it stands: Staff recommended not accepting Evergy's written offer of about $85,300 (roughly $2.80 per square foot, based on the original 100-foot-wide strip) and instead making a counteroffer based on lost development value. The board approved a motion by voice vote directing staff to counteroffer and to ask that any money go back into Emery Park.
Next: Staff will build a counteroffer from area sales data and negotiate with Evergy; the board expects the result to come back to it, then to the city council.

Jerry Ford (city real estate administrator) said two large sanitary sewer mains cross the western 80 feet of the parcel, leaving about 35,000 square feet developable; zoning is single family with a 25-foot setback.
Evergy first asked for a 100-foot-wide strip and agreed to about 60 feet (just over 30,000 square feet), leaving about 12,000 square feet for the park. Height clearance under the line rose from 21 to 30 feet, but staff said buildings, trees and any water feature (such as a splash pad) would be severely limited. Evergy did not revise its offer when it narrowed the strip.
Evergy will no longer agree to the clause, used in its easements for about 10 to 12 years, requiring it to relocate the line at its own cost if the park later develops the site. Staff said Evergy cannot condemn city land and has said this is the only route, though realignment was discussed.
A city attorney explained that land titled to the park board cannot be encumbered by the city without board approval, which is why the board is part of the negotiation. The easement is a conveyance of an easement, not a sale.

A commissioner whose district includes the park said the money should not go to the general fund and should be earmarked for Emery Park; staff said park-only use of the land strengthens that argument. Several members favored a splash pad for the surrounding mobile home neighborhoods; staff noted a splash pad cannot sit on the line or over the sewer mains and that costs would start above $500,000. Other ideas included asking Evergy to build amenities, a land swap (staff saw little suitable Evergy land) and improving the southern part of the park.
Specifics of what to build were left until after negotiation.

Motion: staff go back to Evergy with a counteroffer, and if an agreeable amount is reached, the funds go back into Emery Park. Seconded; carried by voice vote (several ayes, no tally stated).

About 20 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).

Meeting	Minutes
2026-10-12 - Board of Park Commissioners	20

2026-10-12 - Board of Park Commissioners - Presented by city real estate staff; board voted by voice to authorize a counteroffer with funds to stay in Emery Park.