[CPEO-MEF] Government plans to turn over land for Oz park

[hdqrs@worldnet.att.net]

Government plans to turn over land for Oz park

By GRACE HOBSON - The Kansas City Star
Date: 06/13/00 22:15

The federal government plans a news conference Thursday to announce a
proposed agreement to allow the Oz Entertainment Co. to acquire the
Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant near De Soto. 

After negotiating for more than two years, agreements outlining the
transaction are largely completed and will be released to the public as
early as Thursday or Friday, said Blaine Hastings, the General Services
Administration official handling the transfer. 

The documents provide the framework for the land transaction, which would
then need approvals from the Johnson County Commission, the Kansas
Development Finance Authority board, congressional oversight committees and
Gov. Bill Graves. 

The Oz Entertainment Co. plans to acquire the Sunflower site in exchange
for cleaning up environmental hazards there. The federal government would
transfer the land to the state, which then would transfer it to Oz. The
transfers would occur in stages, but Oz is obliged to take all 9,065 acres
and clean up the land. 

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment will oversee the cleanup. 

Oz and the state environment department have negotiated a "consent order"
outlining the cleanup. The agreement is a final draft and could be changed
after the Johnson County Commission and the public review it, said Sharon
Watson, spokeswoman for the environment department. 

Kansas Department of Health and Environment Secretary Clyde Graeber would
sign the order upon closing of the land, which could be later this year if
the transaction is approved. 

To reach Grace Hobson, Johnson County government reporter, call (816)
234-7744 or send e-mail to ghobson@kcstar.com 


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