Apr 14, 2025

SHAWNEE CITY COUNCIL MEETING

April 14, 2025

You can stream the full City Council meeting at the link below! If you don't have time to watch, here's my quick recap. 

Tonight’s meeting was quite brief, with mostly routine agenda items. The only item that generated much discussion was the SEED Agreement for Friction Brewing Company. Friction requested a $100,000 grant to finish their second level which can be used as an event space. There weren’t any inherent objections to the project, but four members of the governing body voted against the SEED grant. Councilmembers Kemmling and Walters vote against the SEED grants every time because they don’t support the SEED program. Councilmember Knappen cited SEED fatigue but also that Friction had already received one SEED grant before they opened, and the event space would not be open to the public so he didn’t feel public dollars should pay for it. Councilmember Stiens did not share a reason for her no vote. With the vote tied at 4-4, Mayor Sandifer broke the tie and the motion for the SEED agreement passed.

The Parks & Recreation department also gave a presentation on the city’s newly redesigned mobile app for Parks & Rec which can be used for activity and facility reservations, payment processing, pass management, etc. The governing body also held a 30-minute executive session to discuss attorney-client privileged information, so it was not available to the public.

Four members of the community spoke during Business from the Floor to complain of construction near 55th and Mize. They claimed the developer on the adjacent property is flooding their fence lines and draining the pond in their neighborhood and are concerned about the impact to wildlife that live in the pond. Councilmember Gillette requested an update from staff at a future meeting to ensure that the developer is following all the necessary rules.

Additionally, the Council considered the following:

• Passed consent agenda (unanimous)

• Professional Services Agreement for the 2024 Engineering, Technical, and Administrative Services and Staffing for the Stormwater Management Program (unanimous)

• Contract for on-call support for land acquisition services (e.g. for CIP projects) (unanimous)

• Maintenance Agreement for a monument sign on 80th Street (unanimous)

• Final change orders for 61st and Rosehill CMP and 51st and Millridge CMP projects (unanimous)

• Right-of-way and easement acquisition for Johnson Drive & Quivira and SMP & Goddard Signal Replacement Projects (unanimous)

• 6-month extension of the moratorium on battery energy storage systems and renewable energy collection systems as a land use within the city (unanimous)

• Substantial amendment to the 2019 Community Development Block Grant (unanimous)

• Ratified semimonthly claims (unanimous)

There was no Council Committee meeting.

City Council Meeting: 

https://cityofshawnee.civicweb.net/document/308539/?splitscreen=true&media=true

Recap by: Alex Welch Blattner