Drive by the yard signs and flyers in Shawnee neighborhoods or read online community forums and you’ll find a city divided this spring.
The issue? An upcoming mail-in election about a proposed community center.
On one side, a “Vote Yes” group — yes to a proposed plan to raise property taxes to pay for building a 68,000-square-foot community center with indoor swimming pools, gyms, a track, a half-mile outdoor walking loop that links to the Clear Creek Trail and other amenities.
And in opposition: “Vote No” citizens who have decried the center as a waste of taxpayer dollars, questioned its ability to be self-sustaining and called on the city to shift dollars to other needs, such as roads or stormwater management.
The heated debate over the center that would be built on vacant, city-owned land near 61st and Woodland Drive draws closer to the end this week when Shawnee voters receive ballots that will determine its fate.
(Read more: Joco 913 News)