Nov 12, 2024

SHAWNEE CITY COUNCIL MEETING

November 12, 2024

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 wasn’t a ton of discussion on any one item tonight, but there were a few things that sparked interest. One was the extension of the Special Use Permit for Waste Management to operate the Johnson County landfill. This was last reviewed in 2020 and since then Waste Management has worked with the city to alleviate concerns related to odor, noise, and traffic, among others. Councilmembers had a few clarifying questions, but ultimately this site doesn’t receive complaints from neighbors like it used to so the SUP was extended unanimously.

The governing body also briefly discussed the proposed 1 year service agreement for data storage with DataEdge. The city’s IT department negotiated a 1-year contract with the opportunity to renew four times at the same rate, saving money over the 5-year contracts they have done previously. The council had some questions about what data was being stored there, how security works, etc. but ultimately approved the contract unanimously.

Two members from the public spoke during Business from the Floor. One complained about an Airbnb in his neighborhood which had earned fines from the city for code violations; the governing body has added this to their next agenda so they can consider revoking their permit. The other complained of sight lines at Johnson Drive and Maurer which the city has already addressed and brought up to code due to his prior complaints, but he was not satisfied with their solution. 

Additionally, the Council considered the following:

• Passed consent agenda (unanimous)

• Approved fall reappointments to the Parks & Rec Advisory Board (unanimous)

• Held executive session pertaining to the purchase of real estate and authorized the city manager to move forward with the action discussed in executive session (5-2 with Kemmling and Gillette in dissent and Walters abstaining)

• Approved revisions to policy statements discussed at their last council committee meeting (unanimous)

• Approved design services contract for the IT & Facilities Building Remodel (unanimous)

• Approved Engineering Services Agreement for the McAnany Drive - Nieman St to Lucille Ln project (unanimous)

• Approved Engineering Services Agreement for the Shawnee Mission Parkway - I-435 to K7 project (unanimous)

• Ratified semimonthly claims (unanimous)

• Held an executive session for attorney-client privileged communications

At Council Committee, the committee heard an update from Finance Director Sean Rocco and insurance broker CBIZ on the city’s property and casualty insurance program. One highlight from the presentation is that while the 30% rate increase sounds high, it’s actually on the lower end for municipal clients who have filed loss claims, and that the city’s insurer has spent 2 dollars for every 1 dollar the city spends on these claims. As they have in the past, the committee expressed interest in moving to self-funded catastrophic coverage in the future, and started a risk management fund a few years ago to start moving in that direction.

City Council Meeting: 

https://cityofshawnee.civicweb.net/document/303842/?splitscreen=true&media=true 

Council Committee Meeting:

https://cityofshawnee.civicweb.net/document/303845/?splitscreen=true&media=true 

Recap by: Alex Welch Blattner