DE SOTO, Kan. — Panasonic's commitment to Kansas includes significant investments in the city where it is operating.
The City of De Soto will forego $70 million in property taxes over the next two decades to get $248 million in infrastructure upgrades.
The city tacked on an additional property tax, called a Community Improvement District Special Assessment, in the development agreement
In the next 20 years, the city will receive over $19 million from Panasonic to fund economic development projects.
A new fire station is being built within eyeshot of the electric vehicle facility.
"We knew that we were going to have increased risk within the fire district, and we had to do a lot of hypotheticals on that risk," Northwest Consolidated Fire District Chief Todd Maxton said "What would it take for coverage? Because there's two pieces of it. We have to continue running our normal operations and providing for the community. That is keeping up with the other growth that's occurring within the district, and now we're getting large-scale industrial growth, and with that comes added risk."
The discussions about a new fire station started years before Panasonic came to Kansas.
However, building a new fire station could have taken years without a $9.6 million investment from Panasonic.
"This building has served its purpose, but it's also tired," Chief Maxton said. "It's an 80-year-old building. It was not intended to be built as a fire station. We have made it work over time."
With so much growth in the city, the number of emergency responders also had to increase.
Fire department incident calls are up 5% in the past six months.
According to Chief Maxton, the department had more overlapping calls, or active calls in the same district at the same time.
In addition to the new fire station, scheduled to open by the end of 2025, the fire department will get a new fire truck, six more Firefighter/EMT positions, and a new deputy chief with money from Panasonic.
McCownGordon, the company working with SFS Architecture to construct the fire station, has a page on its website with monthly status updates on their progress.
KSHB 41 also stopped by the Johnson County Sheriff's Office, which serves areas of unincorporated Johnson County.
"We've been involved in the De Soto community for several decades," said Captain Dan Diercks, Johnson County Sheriff Department's patrol commander. "We have adapted from initially almost a rural law enforcement and small town law enforcement mentality into a larger role with greater presence."
The sheriff's office said the crime rate remains consistent. They have noticed an increase in traffic, so they conduct traffic enforcement.
With the funding for law enforcement, the sheriff's office added another deputy to help cover the city.
The department will now have two full-time assigned deputies in the De Soto area and a deputy assigned to the district.
The investments from Panasonic aren't a one-and-done deal.
While Panasonic already made an initial $800,000 payment in 2024, per the agreement, they are required to make annual contributions.
For the next 20 years, they'll make payments to support fire and police services.
The payments will increase by 2% every year to account for inflation.
"The financial commitment was included in the development agreement to ensure that law enforcement resources grow alongside the city's expansion and reinforce public safety without adding extra costs to the city or county," according to a statement from the city.
KSHB 41 reporter Alyssa Jackson covers portions of Johnson County, including Overland Park, Prairie Village and Leawood. Share your story idea with Alyssa.