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Olathe — Plans for turning part of the former Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant into a Wonderful World of Oz theme park have been put off for at least a year.

Asked to approve the $860-million project Thursday, Johnson County commissioners instead split 2-2. The deadlock meant Oz was indefinitely tabled. But commissioners then voted 3-1 to spend county dollars on a feasibility study of the theme park.

Johnson county commissioner Susie Wolf ponders her upcoming vote on the proposed Oz theme park. Wolf's vote Thursday against the Oz plan deadlocked the commission once again, tabling the issue.

The study, expected to cost between $80,000 and $100,000, will give county officials an independent analysis of the project's cost to Johnson County. But it would be months before the study could be finished and the project still faces a July 1 deadline with the state, if it is to receive state authorized bonds to help build the park.

Thursday's debate over the park stalled after commissioners Annabeth Surbaugh and Susie Wolf said they doubted Oz Entertainment Co.'s (OEC) claims that the park would draw 3.2 million people in each 185-day tourist season, or that its development would have little impact of the county's finances.

OEC's assurances, Surbaugh said, are based on company studies that were designed "to sell us they didn't look at things from our perspective."

"Johnson County deserves the very best project," she said, "and I'm not convinced this is it."

Wolf said she, too, was not convinced.

"The Sunflower plant served us well," she said. "Let's return it to the public for the benefit of more than just a few people."

She said she also wants to hear from others interested in developing the 9,065-acre site near DeSoto.

"This is really not what Johnson County needs," she said. "It's not what we're about."

Vote kept in suspense

OEC chief executive officer Dick Ferguson and Oz chairman Robert Kory react to the news that Johnson County Commissioner Susie Wolf would vote against the theme park proposal. Thursday morning's meeting drew a large crowd of Oz supporters and detractors to the commission's chambers.

Wolf's opposition was key. On Nov. 6 commission members Doug Wood and George Gross voted to endorse the Oz project; Surbaugh and Johnna Lingle voted against it.

But Lingle was a lame duck, having been defeated by Wolf in the August primary. Wolf did not reveal her position on the Oz park until Thursday.

Wolf, Surbaugh and Wood voted for the study. Gross voted against it, saying it only created another "moving target" for OEC to hit.

The delay caused by studying the project for another year, Gross said, will discourage economic development in Johnson County.

"The headlines in newspapers tomorrow ought to read, 'If you run a business and you are an entrepreneur, you might want to think twice before bringing your business to Johnson County,"' he said.

Commission member Gary Anderson, a lawyer, did not vote due to a potential conflict of interest.

'Kissing your sister'

Though seen as a compromise to the Oz debate dragging on indefinitely, few were satisfied.

"This is like kissing your sister," Wood said.

Bill Sheldon, president of Taxpayers Opposed to Oz (TOTO), called the vote "disappointing," adding "It's like Christmas without Santa Claus."

OEC chief executive officer Dick Furgeson said he was disappointed but not discouraged by the delay.

"We are very confident that any reputable company the county chooses to hire will come up with findings that support and validate the feasibility of our proposal," Furgeson said.

Before putting the study up for bid, the commission will wait to see whether the Kansas Legislature is willing to extend special bond considerations, due to expire July 1, for another year.

"That's something I think we can get introduced. We would honor such a request, sure," said Sen. Nick Jordan, R-Shawnee. "But I have no idea what the reaction will be. That's not something I want to predict."

OEC's proposal calls for developing a 900-acre tourism, high-tech commercial and residential center within the 9,065-acre site of the former Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant near DeSoto. The proposal includes spending at least $37 million to remove toxic materials now on the site.

Opponents have characterized the plan as unproven, self-serving and dependent on state subsidies