May 26, 2026

SHAWNEE CITY COUNCIL MEETING

May 26, 2026

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. 

There really wasn’t a ton of discussion at tonight’s meeting, but I did find one item interesting. For the upcoming Justice Center Expansion Project, the staff proposed (and the council approved) a Progressive Design-Build delivery method where instead of bidding each step of the project individually, they interview contractors and select one to see the project through from start to finish. Because of the specific nature of this project and because the Justice Center will be up and running during the expansion project, this approach will help ensure the project stays within budget. 

Additionally, the Council considered the following:

• Passed consent agenda (unanimous)

• Passed slate of appointments to various city boards (unanimous)

• Held public hearing for the Community Development Block Grant plan (no vote)

• Approved transfer of Industrial Revenue Bonds (IRBs) to KC Logistics (unanimous)

• Approved transfer of IRBs for Heartland Logistics Project II (unanimous)

• Set a public hearing on June 22 to vacate public right-of-way at 73rd and Aminda (unanimous)

• Approved updates to language of Charter Ordinance 48 pertaining to the Transient Guest Tax (6-1, Knappen in dissent)

• Approved mutual aid agreement with Prairie Village, JoCo Sheriff's office, KCMO, and KCK for police officers to support on World Cup activities and for the city to be reimbursed for their time (unanimous)

• Ratified semimonthly claims (unanimous)

During Council Committee, the committee heard routine budget presentations from several departments (City Manager’s Office, IT, Finance, Parks & Rec) with no major discussion. The rest of the departments will make their budget presentations at the next two meetings. Councilmember Knappen praised city staff for having the leanest staff-to-resident ratio of surrounding cities.

Live Stream Meeting Link: 

https://cityofshawnee.civicweb.net/document/320068/?splitscreen=true&media=true 

Recap by: Alex Welch Blattner