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Residents say Olathe must fix stormwater system after repeated basement flooding
Summary
Multiple College Meadows residents described repeated finished‑basement flooding and urged the city to treat the problem as an infrastructure failure; an engineer in the audience said the constructed drainage system does not match approved designs and urged city action to repair systems and then seek cost recovery from developers.
Three neighbors from College Meadows told the council on Oct. 7 that repeated flooding of finished basements is an ongoing public‑infrastructure failure that requires immediate city action. Kate Gimbelo described storm events that create "a 5 foot deep lake" next to her home and said the damage is not a homeowner problem but a system failure requiring city repairs first and cost recovery later.
"Every major storm creates a 5 foot deep lake, larger than this entire room, this deep, against our house for hours," Gimbelo said, arguing the city has authority to repair failed stormwater systems and then pursue developers if construction or design was faulty. Raeanne Cook, an adjacent homeowner, said she has rebuilt her finished basement multiple times after flood damage. Ryan Jackson, a professional engineer who identified himself as having 15 years' experience in Kansas and Missouri, told the council that the built system "is not the structure that is there" compared with approved plans and that HNTB and other consultant reports indicate design/construction problems.
Residents asked the council to use municipal authority to fix the system for public safety and habitability, then recover costs from responsible developers. City staff acknowledged the seriousness of the complaints and the existence of consultant work product; council members directed staff to continue investigating and to follow up with affected residents.
