LJWorld.com / Senate approves Oz extension

Archive for Saturday, April 7, 2001

The Associated Press

April 7, 2001

Topeka — The Oz bill is off to see the governor.

The Senate voted 31-8 Friday to approve the bill giving developers of the proposed Wonderful World of Oz theme park an additional year to break ground in Johnson County on the $861 million project.

Gov. Bill Graves will now consider the measure, which cleared the House last week.

The legislation appeared locked in committee earlier this week, until Senate President Dave Kerr, R-Hutchinson, intervened to bring it out for debate. Senators dispatched it to Graves with no discussion.

"It's got potential, and we'll give them another year to see what happens," said Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka.

Supporters say that the park will draw thousands of tourists to Kansas. Critics question whether developers can complete it.

The bill extends until July 2002 the life of a state bonding package that would allow the project to be developed, with the bonds to be repaid with taxes collected at the theme park and resort.

In the works for nearly a decade, the project was initially proposed for a site in Wyandotte County before developers settled on the former Sunflower Army Ammunition plant near DeSoto.

Johnson County commissioners had voted 2-2 last month to table the project, then voted 3-1 to seek the legislative extension so they could conduct their own feasibility study.

"I was about allowing the county commissioners the right to get an independent look at the viability of the project," said Majority Leader Lana Oleen, R-Manhattan.

But the bill still had its critics in the Senate.

"I've never thought it was going to come off, from the first day I heard about it. I've always thought it was crazy," said Sen. Ed Pugh, R-Wamego.

Another critic was Senate Commerce Chairwoman Karin Brownlee, R-Olathe, whose committee initially had the bill. Wednesday, Kerr pulled the bill from her committee and sent it to the Ways and Means Committee, which endorsed it Thursday.

l For additional legislative news, see page 8B.