Commission approves creation of Barnhart Estates benefit district to pave subdivision roads

The Sedgwick County Commission voted unanimously to create a benefit district for Barnhart Estates and to authorize road improvements paid through special assessments on the subdivision’s lots.

County Engineer Len Packer told the board Barnhart Estates is a 42‑lot subdivision in northeast Sedgwick County at the southwest corner of 90th Street North and 40th Street East (Oliver). He said the petition to form the benefit district was signed by roughly 94% of property owners; two parcels were not signed because they were not available when the petition circulated.

Why it matters: The resolution allows the county to construct pavement and related street work and to use the special assessment/bonding process to levy cost back to the benefited lots. Garth Irvin of Gilmore & Bell, the county’s bond counsel, said the project’s final costs will be assessed against the 42 lots and may be included in a future county bond issue for prepayment or financing.

Packer said the road has been used for several years and currently has drainage in place; the pending work is for paving. Commissioners were told the estimated project cost is about $1,500,000 and that the cost of improvements would be assessed equally per lot. Adoption of the resolution starts the special assessment process; the exact per‑lot assessment will be set after project bids and final accounting.

Commission action: Commissioner Ryan Beatty moved to adopt the resolution determining advisability and authorizing creation of the benefit district; the motion was seconded and carried on a roll-call vote recorded as five ayes and no dissent.

Next steps: County staff will proceed with the improvement design, bidding and assessment calculations. Final assessments and any bond issuance would follow established special-assessment procedures and public-notice requirements.