OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Overland Park City Council will vote on whether they should get rid of city inspections on food establishments.
Currently, Overland Park is the last city in Kansas to have its own food inspection program, the Kansas Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Lodging program is in charge of regulating food products within the state.
“It really was a duplication of services that we were doing with the state, so what we would have now is one government agency doing inspections rather than us doing the same inspections,” explained Meg Ralph with the city of Overland Park. "State agencies have very stringent requirements for hand washing, and food preparation and food storage, and so we really trust that the state of Kansas will continue keep Overland Park restaurants where they need to be.”
Ralph said Overland Park restaurants had a $100 licensing fee to the city, which brought in $72,000 a year. The fees supported the program, so the city’s budget won’t be impacted. Overland Park also has one code compliance officer. Their job won't be scrapped, and instead their role will shift to a property maintenance focus.
KSHB 41 News talked to several restaurants in Overland Park, like Jinkies! Coffee and Hangout. Owner Madi Dombrowski said having both city and state inspections felt redundant, and customers should still feel safe eating at Overland Park establishments.
"I definitely feel like the state’s, in my opinion, was definitely a little more rigorous than the city inspections,” Dombrowski said. " I think it would be really beneficial to do away with the double inspections and allocate that elsewhere.
The Wooden Spoon is a family-owned restaurants in Overland Park. Owner Cristina Yake said there were times where both inspectors would come out on the same day and would have contradicting feedback on her establishment.
"It's redundant and conflicting at the same time, so I think it makes businesses more confused as to what to do,’ Yake said.
The meeting kicks off 7:30 p.m. Monday and if passed, Overland Park says the change will happen immediately
