Park City unhappy with Goddard officials: ‘Not the time to give their two cents’

When the city of Park City held a forum for comments about a proposed STAR bonds district last week, city administrator Sean Fox said his intent was for members of the public to comment — not other cities and their administrators.

However, Goddard city attorney Ryan Peck and Goddard Mayor Hunter Larkin appeared at the meeting to express their concerns that a new Park City development could hurt the existing sales tax and revenue bonds district in Goddard.

“This is not the time to give their two cents,” Fox said. “If the city attorney for Goddard doesn’t understand that, well, then I think they’ve got bigger problems.”

Peck said Goddard is supportive of development projects in other cities, “But just not at the expense of Goddard.”

He said it was clear to him that Park City was ready for Goddard to publicly oppose the project.

“I don’t think my presence was unexpected,” Peck said. “It was pretty obvious that the governing body had been coached. We had heard they had been coached on these issues in advance.”

Fox is angered at the accusation and at what he considers Goddard’s intrusion.

“First of all, no — no coaching whatsoever,” Fox said of the Champtown Partnership developers. “We treat them like adults, and they treat us like adults.”

He said no one was given a heads up about Goddard representatives coming to the meeting.

“I have no earthly idea why they were there.”

Fox said the city of Park City was aware, though, that the city of Goddard sent a letter of protest to the state several weeks ago.

“I don’t know what they’re protesting.”

(Peck speaks at about 31:25:00)

Negative impact in Goddard?

At issue, Peck said, is the baseball and softball fields the developers of the potential STAR bonds district hope to build.

Originally, they were part of the plans for the STAR bonds district, which is what raised Goddard’s concerns, and now they’re looking at putting them either next to the district or somewhere else in Park City.

“If they’re right next to the district, then they’re part of the district,” Peck said. “It’s all one and the same. I don’t think you can draw arbitrary lines and say, ‘No, they’re two different projects.’ ”

He said the fields will benefit from the infrastructure built with STAR bonds money. That could be streets, sewers, water lines, detention ponds and dirt work.

He said it’s not only illegal, but it will have a negative impact on the STAR bonds district in Goddard, which has 10 baseball and softball fields at the Genesis Sports Complex.

“We think the market can’t handle additional fields,” Peck said.

He said Genesis Sports Complex developer Rodney Steven II provided a recent market study to Goddard officials that shows the existing fields aren’t being fully utilized and that more “ball fields will have a significant negative impact on existing ball fields.”

Peck acknowledged that Goddard can’t stop the developers from building down the road from the district or somewhere else in Park City.

“That’s their right.”

‘Plenty of opportunity’ in Wichita market

Champtown Partnership member and spokesman Matt Baty said Goddard’s own research ahead of its STAR bonds project showed that the greater Wichita market could sustain more than 100 new baseball and softball fields.

“That’s their own words, not our words,” he said.

As the owner of the 316 Sluggers Elite baseball academy, Baty said he has a feasibility study that shows “there is plenty of opportunity in this market for additional baseball and softball fields.”

Fox said new fields will be good for all of Sedgwick County, including Goddard, and he said Goddard shouldn’t be worrying about competition.

Criticism of where Champtown puts its fields is off base, Fox said.

“Infrastructure supports everything throughout the city.”

He said it doesn’t matter if it’s two miles or two yards away.

“It all works together as a system as a whole.”

Further, Fox said, the Department of Commerce and the lieutenant governor, who serves as the secretary of Commerce, are the ones to decide if the proposed district in Park City is eligible — not Park City officials.

On that, Goddard Mayor Larkin agreed.

“The lieutenant governor has made it very obvious he doesn’t care about the people of Goddard.”

With the Goddard STAR bonds project, Larkin said Kansas taxpayers have spent $40 million, and the residents of Goddard have spent $3 million in general obligation bonds.

To have more ball fields associated with a STAR bonds development in another city, Larkin said, “That’s not protecting the Kansas taxpayer.”

Goddard mayor: ‘They blow us off’

Larkin said Goddard isn’t getting a response from the Department of Commerce.

“They blow us off,” he said. “I think the Kansas taxpayer would be pretty disappointed when they found out everything.”

In an e-mailed statement, Department of Commerce spokesman Patrick Lowry said the state “is aware of Goddard’s concerns.”

“We continue to work through our due diligence process with respect to the project,” the statement said. “As part of our due diligence, we engaged a preliminary visitation/feasibility study by an independent third party to analyze these issues. That process is ongoing.”

After Larkin and a rejiggered City Council terminated former Goddard city administrator Brian Silcott last month, Larkin said he and Peck went to Topeka on behalf of the city a week later.

“We went up to Topeka and talked to different legislators about our concerns.”

Larkin said Goddard’s issue is not with Park City.

“We want Park City to have a very successful STAR bonds.”

Larkin said competing ball fields won’t do anyone any good, though.

He said it’s his and Peck’s job as city employees “to fight for the city of Goddard and for the people of Goddard.”

Peck said that “the state’s a partner in our STAR bond project in Goddard, and we think they should be looking out for that project.”

Larkin said that saying the ball fields will be outside the district is a “pretty sorry excuse.”

“That’s just a loophole the Department of Commerce has used to explain how they’re not competing in Goddard. That’s their rationalization for how they’re approaching this project,” he said.

“It’s pretty frustrating that government can’t work together — whether it’s state or local municipalities, and the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing. What happened to common sense government?”

He said if the lieutenant governor or the city of Park City don’t like Goddard’s complaints, “Well, they can just stick it where the sun don’t shine.”

This story was originally published February 20, 2023 at 4:47 AM.