Overland Park's City Council approved a 10-year, $356.9 million parks and recreation plan Monday, Sept. 28, but left unanswered the biggest question: how to pay for it.

The plan, called Playbook OP, passed 8-3 on a show-of-hands vote at a Committee of the Whole meeting, according to KCTV5. The city estimates it has about $108.8 million available at current funding levels, leaving a $248.1 million gap.

Three council members voted no. Ward 2 Councilmember Drew Mitrisin and Ward 2 Councilmember Melissa Cheatham both represent the ward that includes Bluejacket and Stonegate pools. Ward 3 Councilmember Richard Borlaza also voted against the plan but did not explain his vote during the meeting.

The dissent centered on the city's aquatics strategy. Overland Park has followed a regional pool model since 2013, closing smaller neighborhood pools in favor of fewer, larger facilities. Bluejacket Pool closed in 2024 after 51 years; the site is now a grassy field. Under Playbook OP, Stonegate Pool would not receive improvements and would be left to run out its remaining useful life.

"There's just such beauty in being able to walk to the pool and let your kids run around and swim and hang out with their friends, and it's sad that we're going to be losing some of those community spaces," Mitrisin said at the meeting.

A city community survey found that respondents put more of a hypothetical $100 recreation budget toward pools ($28.30) than any other category. The survey also found support for building two new neighborhood pools north of Interstate 435 and renovating Stonegate Pool. But the council in August directed staff to move forward with a regional pool model instead, city spokesperson Meg Ralph told KSHB 41.

The city said the regional model costs about $24 million less than a neighborhood pool approach.

Mayor Curt Skoog defended the strategy at the Sept. 28 meeting. He said a new community pool would cost $10 million to $15 million for a facility usable only part of the year, KMBC reported.

Playbook OP does include renovations to Young's Pool, parts of which date to 1968, Tomahawk Ridge Aquatic Center (built in 1992), and a larger new water park in south Overland Park to be built within 10 years.

The plan also calls for a new regional park of about 35 acres in southern Overland Park, expanded trail connections, at least one universally accessible playground in each of the city's three geographic regions and continued investment in the Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens and Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead.

Sales tax still undecided

A separate discussion on a new sales tax to fund the plan stalled the same evening. The work session began at 6:15 p.m. and ran past the 7:30 p.m. start of the regular council meeting.

Council members weighed three potential rates: one-eighth of a cent, a quarter of a cent and three-eighths of a cent. City staff indicated the three-eighths-cent option would be needed to fully implement Playbook OP as written.

Ward 1 Councilmember Logan Heley pushed for a higher rate, saying voters might reject a smaller ask that doesn't match the plan's ambitions. Skoog urged caution, saying new tax measures face close scrutiny and the council should choose an amount residents are likely to approve.

The council held the sales tax question for further discussion at a Committee of the Whole meeting Monday, Oct. 5. The proposal could appear on the ballot in March, according to KMBC reporting, though no official date has been set.