Overland Park officials say the city’s acceptance of federal grant funds for traffic calming and road safety initiatives won’t force its participation in federal immigration enforcement efforts or harm diversity priorities.
“There will be no change in our interactions with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). There will be no change to our policies with diversity, equity and inclusion,” City Manager Lori Curtis Luther said.
That reassurance comes after several community members raised concerns about conditions the Trump administration added to the federal grant agreement, like an expectation of immigration enforcement cooperation and compliance with executive orders on diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI.
During the public comment portion of the Overland Park City Council’s meeting Monday night, several speakers spoke up about their worries, imploring the city to be cautious about taking the money. Some urged the city to leave the traffic funds, totaling $500,000, on the table and cover the expenses with reserve funds or other cash.
Erin Atherton, one speaker, said the agreement “appears to contradict” city values, calling the language “dangerous and hypocritical.”
“What does this language mean? And why is it a grant in traffic studies?” Atherton said. “I’m here tonight as a citizen who is watching and is deeply concerned for the well-being of our neighbors. We expect our leaders to be vigilant and to protect our community.”
In the end, on Monday, the city council nearly unanimously accepted the $500,000 from the federal government and approved other agreements related to the project. At the same time, city leadership reiterated its assessment that the agreement itself would have no impact on other city policies regarding cooperation with ICE or diversity.
“Our staff has made clear that the conditions attached to the grant do not change how we operate or the values that guide our work,” Councilmember Melissa Cheatham said. “But at the same time, I don’t want to ignore that some of the language in this agreement is not aligned with our community’s values, and it sends the wrong message about who belongs here.”
“So I want to be crystal clear, Overland Park is a community for everyone, and I stand with all our neighbors,” she continued.
Councilmember Drew Mitrisin abstained from some of the votes due to involvement in the proposed traffic study by his employer, Burns & McDonnell, resulting in a final vote tally of 11-0.
Overland Park had waited months for these federal funds
Previously, Overland Park was promised $500,000 to complete a traffic Safety Action Plan using the federal Safe Streets For All (SS4A) grant program. That’s a five-year, billion-dollar program established by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed during the Biden administration, designed to cut down on serious injuries and deaths in traffic crashes.
However, this year, the money from the Federal Highway Administration was tied up amid the White House’s federal grant freezes, stalling the project. The funds were only recently released to the city, albeit with some new terms tied to the Trump administration’s political priorities on immigration and diversity.
The city plans to use the federal grant funds to conduct a series of traffic-calming demonstration projects, like speed cushions built on collector streets (that is, low- to medium-capacity streets that connect traffic to busier roads).
In all, the project is expected to cost about $625,000, with Overland Park and the Kansas Department of Transportation kicking in funds to cover what the grant doesn’t.
What are the terms of the federal grant?
The agreement, formally approved on Monday, is a 77-page document that lays out the details of the grant and how it will be used.
It also includes basic terms, like a requirement that the money be spent in five years of receipt, rules for quarterly progress reporting and instructions for a final report on the program from the city. (Read the full agreement here.)
A section describing “public policy requirements” (on Page 71 of the linked document) seems to be what speakers on Monday flagged in their comments.
One part requires the city to follow federal laws related to free speech, while also specifying that it “will cooperate with Federal officials in the enforcement of Federal law, including cooperating with and not impeding U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other Federal offices and components of the Department of Homeland Security in the enforcement of Federal immigration law.”
ICE deportations and other actions carried out by the federal government over the past several months have been the focus of several protests across Johnson County. One such protest last month attracted more than 1,000 participants who lined Metcalf Avenue.
Another part of the grant agreement deals specifically with diversity programming. It requires the city to declare “that it does not operate any programs promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives that violate any applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws.”
As is the case with a lot of grants and awards, the agreement also outlines a process through which the federal government can claw back funds for a number of reasons, including failure to comply with the terms.
'Our position does not change'
Curtis Luther said Overland Park intends to maintain its diversity programs because they do not violate federal anti-discrimination laws.
Similarly, she said, under state law, the city is already obligated to “cooperate [with] and not impede” federal law enforcement officials, including ICE. However, it would be against city policy and beyond the Overland Park Police Department’s jurisdiction to directly aid in immigration enforcement operations.
“We do not, will not, cannot enforce federal immigration law,” Curtis Luther said. “I cannot be more clear: our position does not change based on this contract language.”
Councilmembers broadly supported moving forward with the grant given the assurances from city staff, though some voiced their own discomfort with the addition of such clauses in the grant agreement and their connection to divisive national political issues.
“I just want to say I have great confidence that the programs that we have,” Councilmember Jeff Cox said, “we are following the law, and we will continue to follow the law before and after this contract. … I think the right position is the one that our staff has laid out.”
In a preliminary injunction issued in June, a federal judge in Rhode Island expressed skepticism about such clauses, particularly those pertaining to immigration, in transportation grant agreements. The judge’s ruling blocked the clauses’ enforcement in 20 states while a case works its way through the federal courts.
City Attorney Michael Koss said municipalities would be able to take similar legal measures as well if the federal government did try to take back any funds due to noncompliance with those terms.
This story was originally published by the Johnson County Post.
