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Resident raises concerns over changes to approved Osage County building, drainage and road work
Summary
A resident at an Osage County Commission meeting said a recently built commercial structure differs from the originally approved plans and may be affecting local drainage; county staff said KDOT permits and entrance work prompted some changes and staff will follow up with the applicant and state officials.
A resident told the Osage County Commission that a recently delivered commercial building was altered from the plans the county approved and that changes to road and drainage work associated with the project are creating local flooding risks.
The resident said the developer originally presented the project with certain features — including special roof covers and concrete curb-and-gutter — but that after delays the delivered building and site work differed from that presentation. “I started noticing some changes from the way it was originally on the plan,” the resident said. The speaker said two 18-inch culverts were placed and extend into the ditch, that originally specified curb and gutter or concrete were replaced by gravel and later by asphalt, and that changes to drainage may be diverting runoff onto neighboring property.
County planning staff said the county’s permit required the applicant to secure Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) approvals, which led to additional traffic and drainage work. “Part of the approval was that they had to get the appropriate permitting through KDOT,” Planning staff member Trisha Webb said, adding that the developer completed a traffic study, widened the entrance, asphalted a driveway and added a second entrance to reduce congestion. Webb said extra drainage was added to meet KDOT’s permit requirements.
The resident said the site’s runoff drains into a local ditch and recounted seeing what they estimated as a 5- or 6-inch PVC pipe handling runoff from roughly 40 acres, leaving water standing on the road after storms. “Because you get a 3-inch rain… the water just comes down through there. The water sits on the road for two weeks,” the resident said, describing an ongoing drainage concern near Guffinshire Badner Road.
Commissioners and staff acknowledged several outstanding questions about the as-built work versus the originally approved plans and the interface with state road drainage. Trisha Webb said she would contact the applicant and KDOT to collect documentation and report back: “We’ll have to reach out to Trisha and have that conversation,” a commissioner said at the meeting.
County staff identified the specific areas they will check: whether the site followed the approved plan set, whether KDOT’s traffic and drainage conditions were met, why the material specification changed from concrete to pavement or gravel, and whether the culverts/retention features extend into the county ditch system. The resident asked to be contacted with the findings and confirmed they had left contact information on the sign-in sheet.
Next steps recorded in the meeting: staff will follow up with the applicant and KDOT and inspect the drainage tie-ins; the resident will be contacted once staff has gathered more information.
