Nov 25, 2024

SHAWNEE CITY COUNCIL MEETING

November 25, 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. 

Tonight’s meeting was quick, with most discussion coming during Council Committee. Three members from the public spoke during Business from the Floor. One complained of excessive smoke from neighbors with burn permits and felt the city should enforce burn violations better and stop issuing burn permits to people who live on less than 2 acres of land. Two complained about the intersection at Johnson Drive and Maurer; they had previously complained about visibility at this intersection, so the city re-graded to allow better visibility, so now they are upset that it is harder for that property owner to mow that corner and believe that as a result, visibility will be an issue again in the spring when the grass gets too long.

Additionally, the Council considered the following:

• Passed consent agenda (unanimous)

• Approved extension of the completion date for the Kraft Tool Expansion Project (unanimous)

• Approved contract for updated HR information/timekeeping system (unanimous)

• Approved streetlight petition from neighbors on 75th Court west of Rene (unanimous)

• Contract for reimbursement from the county for Engineering and Construction Services on the Johnson Drive and Maurer CMP Replacement Project (unanimous)

• Held executive session pertaining to the purchase of real estate 

• Ratified semimonthly claims (unanimous)

At Council Committee, the committee received a presentation from the city’s lobbyist of what to expect during the upcoming state legislative session, and reviewed their legislative agenda. Multiple members of the governing body suggested additions to the agenda: 

Councilmember Gillette requested that staff add back in language about wanting the federal government to remove Fair Housing Act protections that require the city to allow group homes for disabled seniors, believing that single-family homeowners should not have to live near these homes for disabled seniors. This language also included a statement that local government’s job is to protect property rights of single-family homeowners; Councilmembers Burchfield and Whitted pushed back against this statement, believing that local government has many purposes which also include people in multifamily homes as well. Burchfield, Whitted, and Murphy all opposed adding language that suggests disabled seniors are not welcome in Shawnee, but ultimately that language was added back in anyway (it was included in 2022 and 2023 legislative priorities as well.)

Councilmember Kemmling asked to remove language about the city using economic incentives to attract businesses, but this failed to gain a consensus from the committee.

Councilmember Whitted asked to add a statement of support for fully funding K-12 education including special education, but failed to gain a consensus from the committee  with only herself, Murphy, and Burchfield in support.

Councilmember Burchfield: asked to add a statement of support for Medicaid expansion included with the already-existing support for funding of mental health services, but failed to gain a consensus from the committee with only herself, Whitted, and Murphy in support.

The committee also received an update from Public Works Director Kevin Manning on the Street Improvement Program and agreed to start by adding curb and gutter to the stretch of 51st from Black Swan to Quivira. 

City Council Meeting: 

https://cityofshawnee.civicweb.net/document/304304/?splitscreen=true&media=true 

Council Committee Meeting:

https://cityofshawnee.civicweb.net/document/304307/?splitscreen=true&media=true 

Recap by: Alex Welch Blattner