By Jody Hanson

As 2025 came to a close, the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners was busy celebrating the completion of facilities that will help protect the public safety of county residents and ensure that emergency help arrives when it’s needed as quickly as possible.

On Nov. 18, the BOCC joined county and Olathe leaders to cut the ribbon at a new MED-ACT station in Olathe. Station #1156 is located at 301 N. Monroe Street.

The new station houses one ambulance, one reserve ambulance and one of MED-ACT’s Special Operations Units. It will improve ambulance coverage and response times to the west-central area of Olathe as the population continues to grow and age.

The location of the new station used to be the home of the county’s Adolescent Care Treatment Center. That program is now located at the nearby Youth and Family Services building, which freed up this land to serve the community in a whole new way.

Features of the new station include a 73-kilowatt solar array on the roof to serve the station’s power need in real time. This and other sustainable features will help save on utility costs and reduce carbon emissions.

Just weeks later, on Dec. 10, another ceremony celebrated the opening of the Sunflower Fire Station, which will co-locate the Northwest Consolidated Fire District and Johnson County MED-ACT. It will feature 10 responder bunks, four vehicle apparatus bays, a community room, office spaces and a kitchen. Located on nine acres south of De Soto off Lexington Avenue near 102nd Street, the station will support the Panasonic Energy EV battery manufacturing facility as well as the surrounding community for generations to come.

The Sunflower Fire Station is a collaboration between many partners, including the Northwest Consolidated Fire District, Johnson County Government, MED-ACT, the city of De Soto, Panasonic Energy Corporation of North America and Sunflower Redevelopment, LLC.

Instead of a ribbon cutting, representatives from those partners joined for a hose uncoupling, the traditional way to symbolically open a fire station. The separation of two connected fire hoses reflects the completion of a fire call and the official opening of the new station.

Jody Hanson is deputy director of the Johnson County Department of Communications and Engagement.