Oct 12, 2026

SHAWNEE CITY COUNCIL MEETING

October 12, 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. 

Tonight’s meeting was extremely brief with little discussion on main council agenda items. One member of the public spoke during Business from the Floor to complain of perceived HOA and city code violations from his neighbor. The meeting did end on a happy note with several members celebrating the renovation of Marigold Plaza downtown and the long-awaited opening of Fresh Market at 75th and Quivira!

The Council considered the following:

• Passed consent agenda (unanimous)

• Held final public hearing for the 2027 Community Development Block Grant action plan

• Approved a supplemental agreement with KDOT for federal funding to make improvements to the Johnson Drive & Barker intersection (unanimous)

• Approved final change order for the Monticello & Johnson Drive Stormwater Replacement Project (unanimous)

• Approved release of Industrial Revenue Bonds for Marigold Plaza (unanimous)

• Approved contract with Bright and Carpenter for the city's lobbyist services (unanimous)

• Approved cooperative agreement with Lenexa, OP, and Olathe for the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Grant (unanimous)

• Ratified semimonthly claims (unanimous)

At Council Committee, the committee discussed two items. First was a proposed update to the city's ordinance on the Use of Wireless Communication Devices (basically, texting while driving.) The city's prosecutors requested this change which would make this apply to not just written communication but also videos, social media, games, etc. Shawnee would be the first municipality in the area to add these items on top of the existing state ordinance. The governing body generally agreed that phone use while driving is bad, but had concerns about differing interpretations of the proposed language. For example, is listening to a podcast considered “using” your phone while driving? What about participating in a Zoom call with the video turned off? Ultimately the governing body and staff agreed that you’ll never be able to cover every scenario and police officers may need to exercise some discretion when citing people under this ordinance. The committee advanced this ordinance for a vote at a later meeting, with the understanding that they may need to amend it again as technology changes.

The other item discussed was the city’s excise tax - a tax on developers to pay for infrastructure improvements that may be needed as a result of that development (e.g. widening streets, adding traffic signals, etc.) Please note this is NOT a tax on Shawnee residents or projects currently in process, but on developers of future projects. The excise tax was suspended in 2013 in an attempt to attract development to Shawnee in the aftermath of the recession. However, Shawnee is now a more appealing location for development and staff proposed reinstating the tax to support the city’s infrastructure needs. The governing body generally agreed that it is a good time to un-suspend the tax so developers are paying their fair share of the infrastructure impacts. This will come to a future meeting for a vote.

Live Stream Meeting Link: 

https://cityofshawnee.civicweb.net/document/322526/?splitscreen=true&media=true 

Recap by: Alex Welch Blattner