For a city split down the middle — between the city’s original neighborhoods on the east and the booming new subdivisions on the west — development and, in many cases redevelopment, are challenges.
Managing that geographical divide is among the issues that will be a focus for Nolan Sunderman, who was named the city’s new city manager last month after serving as assistant city manager for two years.
“I think people feel a little bit of a physical divide in crossing [Interstate] 435, and we have a lot of development west of [Highway] K7 that some people don’t even realize is there as well,” said Sunderman, citing Shawnee’s geographic size of 42 square miles. “We are obviously an east-west community in terms of how we’ve developed.” Sunderman previously worked as assistant to the city administrator at Prairie Village and, before that, as economic development director at Lansing, Kan. He earned a Bachelor of Science in political science and a master’s degree in public administration from Missouri State University in Springfield.
He’ll have opportunity to use both his economic development and administration experiences in his new role.
(Read more: Prairie Village Post – Neighborhood news and events for Prairie Village, Fairway, Mission Hills)