Nov 9, 2026

SHAWNEE CITY COUNCIL MEETING

November 9, 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. 

The governing body worked through a lot of business tonight, so I will focus on a few items that did NOT pass unanimously.

One item discussed was the police department’s request for a 95 month contract with Axon that would cost several million dollars over the life of the contract. This package of tools includes drones that they consider an "officer in the sky," screens for police cars, a digital hub called Community Link that allows businesses to share security feeds with the police, VR training, a translation tool for body cams, AI assisted dispatch, 10 data portals, and body cams for firefighters. Councilmember Persson expressed that he previously had questions about transparency, privacy, oversight, and long-term governance but was satisfied with the answers he received from staff and was in support of the plan. Councilmember Burchfield was in support of some of these tools (such as the translation tools) but had privacy concerns about some other tools. Since Axon bundled these tools in a package for the city, removing elements would actually cause the price to go up, so the city can’t pick and choose what they pay for. As a result, Councilmember Burchfield voted no on the contract while the other members of the governing body voted yes.

The council also voted on an ordinance regarding the use of cell phones and mobile devices while driving. They worked this at a prior committee meeting, but had some followup discussion once receiving the new language of the proposed ordinance. Councilmember Rainey - who was absent at that committee meeting and therefore did not have a chance to give feedback then - felt the ordinance should be focused on behavior, not the platforms used (e.g. prohibiting watching videos rather than prohibiting the use of YouTube, since some people listen to YouTube without looking at the screen.) Councilmember Knappen supported the proposed language since it was more vague, but said he would not vote in favor if the language was changed to be more prescriptive. The governing body made a minor change to the wording but otherwise approved the ordinance 6-2 with Rainey and Knappen in dissent.

The Council considered the following:

• Passed consent agenda (unanimous)

• Approved ordinance change governing emergency procedures (unanimous)

• Approved annual updates to policy statements (unanimous)

• Authorized staff to bid for the Johnson Drive Pavilion Project (unanimous)

• Approved small remodel of the east side of City Hall (unanimous)

• Ratified semimonthly claims (unanimous)

At Council Committee, the governing body heard routine updates from their Property & Casualty Insurance broker and the city’s lobbyist on their legislative priorities at both the state and federal level. The expectation is with the huge swing in the Kansas House to a more balanced legislature, that the legislature will be working more closely with municipalities on local issues rather than going after them on property taxes.

Finally, the committee revisited the controversial 2022 ordinance that restricted 4 or more people from living together if one of them is not related to the others. (We often explain this by saying the governing body outlawed Golden Girls.) The city was sued for this and ultimately the courts dismissed the legal challenge; however, the governing body continues to receive feedback from residents about this ordinance. Councilmember Murphy supported going back to allowing 4 unrelated people to live together, citing rising housing costs. Councilmembers Reynolds, Whitted, Aldridge, and Persson all agreed. Councilmember Knappen was okay with this change as well but - as the only councilmember who was there in 2022 when that ordinance was passed - explained the situation that led them to pass the ordinance in the first place. Ultimately, the committee reached a consensus to go back to allowing 4 unrelated people to live together, which they will vote on at a future meeting.

Live Stream Meeting Link: 

https://www.youtube.com/live/g2uljVAbZ7M 

Recap by: Alex Welch Blattner