Committees

The Overbrook initiative

A grass roots project for community action

Why do you live in Overbrook? Is it the quiet neighborhoods, the feeling of safety, neighborly people, family and friends? Is it the beautiful library or the lake, the Landon Nature Trails, community pride, local restaurants? If you love Overbrook, or even just like it, you must have a few things in mind that bug you about it - people speeding in a 20 mile/hour zones, industrial trucks parked across from your house, unsightly yards, neighborhood blight, neglect of pets. Or maybe there are no sidewalks, plugged up culverts, no grocery store, bad internet, brown water?

The mayor, city clerk, city council, and city workers do so much for this community. We need the citizens to help us out with their feedback and support! Here is where you come in! Committed, interested, or just plain annoyed citizens can help us tackle the problems that every small town has. And even more exciting is their ability to think big about our vision for the future of Overbrook

That is why we are developing four committees made up of citizens, city employees, mayor, and city council members. The committees will address the issues mentioned below and more:

Keep an eye out for upcoming committee events on our calendar and event page: Calendar of Events | City of Overbrook Kansas (overbrookks.com).

Are you ready to step up and join our efforts to make Overbrook the kind of town you are proud to live in? For more detailed information about why these committees are being formed and what they will work to accomplish, please contact Jim Koger or Becky Coltrane at Overbrook City Hall - (785) 665-7328, email: cityclerk@overbrookks.com, or stop by the office at 401 Maple Street.

Infrastructure  Meets the 1st Wednesday at 6:00pm at City Hall

Sidewalks, streets, use of buildings, broadband/fiber internet

Contact: Carol Baughman - cbaughman@overbrookks.com  or Angela Mordecai amordecai@overbrookks.com

Next meeting: 3/22/2023 @ 6:00pm at Overbrook City Hall.

Growth Committee meets every other Monday

How do we envision Overbrook thriving in the future - expand city limits; support and boost local economy, become a tree city, support a grocery store?

For more information about Growth Committee meetings see the meeting notes below.

Contact: Cheryl Miller - cmiller@overbrookks.com 

Next meeting: 3/20/2023 @ 6:00pm. Contact City Hall for more info. See notes below for topics.

Public Safety  Meets the 3rd Monday at 7PM at City Hall

We will be talking about prohibited yard parking ordinances, vacancy ordinances, crosswalks, speed bumps, and etc.

Contact: Caitlin Curtis - ccurtis@overbrookks.com  or Angela Mordecai amordecai@overbrookks.com

Next meeting: 3/20/2022 @ 7:00pm at Overbrook City Hall.

Personnel

Made up of city employees and elected officials, this committee will address a wide variety of personnel issues including creating consistent standards, defining job titles, working with employees to accomplish their work goals.

Committee News and Notes:

Overbrook Growth Committee - Meeting Notes  (Feb 20)

The committee has completed or advised on most of the projects requested from Overbrook City Council and so our new focus will be the identification and exploration of funding opportunities to produce and promote business growth in Overbrook.  This includes sourcing grants, writing applications, and coordinating required business plans to applications.  If you have a business in Overbook with "shovel-ready" proposals, business plans, etc and are looking for funding please contact Jim Koger at cityclerk@overbrookks.com and the Growth Committee will be happy to include your plans in funding research.

  • Updates:
    1. T-Mobile Main Street Kansas - $50K Grant Application submission
    1. HEAL Funds - no longer eligible (previous recipient)
    1. Overbrook Community Foundation as liaison for grants
  • Current Projects:
    1. Jones Trust for funding current projects
    1. Kansas CDBG funding for current projects
    1. Kansas Tourism Attraction Development Grant application 
    1. Kansas Child Care Aware Capacity Accelerator - researching
    1. Kansas Creative Arts Mural & Public Art Program application
    1. Little Tikes Commercial Playground private grant funding

 

Our next meeting will be Monday, March 20.

 

Overbrook Growth Committee - Meeting Notes  (Feb 6)

The committee has completed or advised on most of the projects requested from Overbrook City Council and so our new focus will be the identification and exploration of funding opportunities to produce and promote business growth in Overbrook.  This includes sourcing grants, writing applications, and coordinating required business plans to applications.  If you have a business in Overbook with "shovel-ready" proposals, business plans, etc and are looking for funding please contact Jim Koger at cityclerk@overbrookks.com and the Growth Committee will be happy to include your plans in funding research.

 

This Week:

  1. Grant Application: T-Mobile Hometown Grant Application due Mar.31
  2. Grant Opportunities: HEAL for Kansas communities
  3. Growth Discussion: Feedback from community on recent Facebook post; possible new business ideas; visibility for current businesses
  4. Review current project status:
    1. ECKAAA Nutrition Program - stable
    2. WiFi for pool & park - in progress
    3. Casey's Lot Application - pending
    4. ADA compliant parking - tabled till Spring
    5. Tennis Court Revitalization - tabled till funding identified
    6. Childcare Solutions - long term
    7. Sewer Project - long term

Our next meeting will be Monday, February 20 in the Overbrook Library.

 

Overbrook Growth Committee - Meeting Notes  (Jan 23)

This Week:

  1. Conversation re. Mayor's Summit, growth, and grant opportunities (general discussion)
  2. ECKAAA Nutrition Program Volunteer Role - In Action
  3. Revised Community Activity Handout - In Action
  4. Community Health Handout - In Progress
  5. Casey's Lot Application - In Progress
  6. WiFi for pool & park - In Progress
  7. Pickleball - In Progress
  8. Childcare Solutions - Long Term
  9. Sewer Projects - Long Term
  10. Empty Lots - Long Term
  11. ADA Compliant Parking - Long Term
  12. Update to the Overbrook Comprehensive Plan - Long Term
  13. Dog Park - Tabled

Our next meeting will be February 6 at 6pm in the City Hall.

 

Overbrook Growth Committee - Meeting Notes  (Jan 9)

This Week:

  1. Conversation re. growth of Osage county; Mayor's Summit (general discussion)
  2. Conversation re. idea for a grant writer (general discussion)
  3. ECKAAA Nutrition Program Volunteer Role - In Action
  4. Community Health Handout - In Progress
  5. Casey's Lot Application - In Progress
  6. WiFi for pool & park - In Progress
  7. Childcare Solutions - Long Term
  8. Update to the Overbrook Comprehensive Plan - Long Term
  9. Sewer Projects - Long Term
  10. Empty Lots - Long Term
  11. ADA Compliant Parking - Long Term
  12. Pickleball - Tabled
  13. Dog Park - Tabled

 

Overbrook Growth Committee - Meeting Notes  (Nov 8)

This week was a truncated meeting due to personnel conflicts:

  1. Conversation re. after-school programs in Overbrook (general discussion)
  2. ECKAAA Nutrition Program Volunteer Role - In Progress

Our next meeting will be Nov 21.  We will review our regular open items with the aim of finalizing all projects in progress.

 

Overbrook Growth Committee - Meeting Notes  (Oct 17)

This Week:

  1. Conversation re. community feedback on wind turbines (general discussion)
  2. Conversation re. affordable housing in Overbrook (general discussion)
  3. ECKAAA Nutrition Program Volunteer Role - In Progress
  4. Community Health Handout - In Progress
  5. Casey's Lot Application - In Progress
  6. Childcare Solutions - Long Term
  7. Update to the Overbrook Comprehensive Plan - Long Term
  8. Sewer Projects - Long Term
  9. Empty Lots - Long Term
  10. ADA Compliant Parking - Long Term
  11. Pickleball - Tabled
  12. Dog Park - Tabled

Our next meeting will be Nov 7.  We will review the open items listed above with the aim of finalizing all projects in progress.

 

City Department Brainstorming Session

Members of City Council and City Departments met on Saturday for a brainstorming session led by the Growth Committee. The objective of the meeting was to identify the many areas of growth and maintenance the city has identified across all avenues of city responsibility.  The 2-hour conversation identified a very wide variety of initiatives with the following core themes identified.  The identified initiatives will be further discussed at the council's next working session.

  1. Business & Buildings
    1. Opportunities for businesses
    2. Medical & Community services
  2. Zoning & Housing
    1. Add housing options
    2. Improve existing zones & properties
  3. Parks & Recreation
    1. Add & improve Community Activities / Facilities
    2. Updates to city-funded infrastructure
  4. Education
    1. Programs for the community
    2. Updates for Overbrook Schooling
  5. City Services
    1. Fire Dept
    2. Police Dept
    3. City Hall
    4. Maintenance Shop
    5. Personnel
    6. City Visibility
  6. Sewer & Water
    1. Modernization of our facilities
  7. Programs & Ordinances
    1. Garden & Landscape enhancements
    2. Lots & Land and Programs for Growth
    3. Arts & Culture
    4. Youth
    5. Internet / Broadband
    6. Neighborhood Revitalizations
  8. Streets & Sidewalks
    1. Maintenance
    2. Improvements