Shawnee County commissioners on Monday hired a new director for the county’s public works and solid waste departments and picked a company to serve as construction manager for a high-dollar Kansas Expocentre renovation project. Commissioners Kevin Cook, Shelly Buhler and Bob Archer voted 3-0 to appoint Curt Niehaus as director of public works/solid waste effective Oct. 29, at an annual compensation of $117,000. Niehaus “rose to the top” as commissioners interviewed several candidates for the job, Cook said. Tom Flanagan has held the position on an interim basis since Tom Vlach, who previously held the job, left last month to take [...]

After more than two years of discussion, the Shawnee County Commission voted 2-1 Monday to approve the county’s first-ever comprehensive land use plan. Commissioners Kevin Cook and Shelly Buhler voted in favor of the nearly 200-page plan, which will guide decision-making about the physical development of the county’s unincorporated areas for 20 years while serving as a blueprint for future growth and the preservation of agricultural land. Cook described the plan as being a “compromise” between various interests. Commissioner Bob Archer dissented, saying the plan had little or no public support and he didn’t trust much of the data it contained. [...]